The Baker and The Scholar

Chapters

Part Two - Hardship
Part Three - Avoidance
Part Five - Vacation
Part Six - Victory
Part Seven - Patience
Part Eight - First
Part Nine - Second
Part Ten - Advice
Part Eleven - Third
Part Twelve - Fourth
Part Thirteen - Coincidence
Part Fourteen - Strange
Part Fifteen - Potluck Scene 1
Part Sixteen - Potluck Scene 2
Part Seventeen - Apology
Part Eighteen - Saturday
Nineteen - Dance
Part Twenty-One - Sleepover
Part Twenty-Two - Snag
Part Twenty-Three - Chances
Part Twenty-Four - Stress
Part Twenty-Five - Test
Part Twenty-Six - Aftermath
Part Twenty-Seven - Plan
Part Twenty-Eight - Maddening, Part 1
Part One - Recognition
Part Four - Confessions
Part Twenty - Research

Part Two - Hardship

Pinkie trotted quickly down the street, feeling a slight burning sensation behind her eyes. Was it the breeze? No, there wasn't a breeze.

Now, as a rule, Pinkie didn't - ever - become embarrassed. She'd done more embarrassing things than anypony would think, especially in school. All for the sake of fun. That one time in school. Those multiple times in school, actually. Perhaps that one time when she dressed up with the stockings and cut her hair short and blatantly flirted with everything that moved. That was a laugh for weeks, wasn't it? Well, perhaps among her accomplices.

She had been in her best mood that day, which accounted nicely for the smooth performance she'd given. Of course, by the next day the rumors had begun, probably for that reason. For obvious and intentional reasons, everypony began to think Pinkie was a fillyfooler. Or just a freak. Sex addict? It took her, literally, four and a half months to clear her name. But, though she didn't really talk about, she didn't feel very embarrassed. She was kind of supposed to take it in stride, that wads her personality; but all the names flung her direction didn't really hurt her. But something did.

There was a shyer filly in her class that took the brunt of the act, whose name she'd quite forgotten. All she really remembered was the long mane. She went up to Pinkie one afternoon after school and asked, in a stutter, whether she'd like to meet somewhere for ice cream. But she had to refuse. She wasn't actually a fillyfooler. Pinkie tried to be kind, but a week later, the filly left the school. No matter who she asked, nopony knew her name after they'd graduated, considering how quickly she'd moved away.

Of course, every romance after that had died quickly. Perhaps now she understood the reason why.

The thought surprised her. In fact, it scared her... and embarrassed her more than the emotions she felt in the library had. There was such a swirling torrent of emotions built up in her head already - varying from pain to painful chagrin to frustration - that the confusion and fear barely affected her at all.

Nonetheless, that swirling torrent still took its toll on Pinkie. Her hooves struck the tiled road quicker and quicker until she was nearly galloping to her apartment.

She passed a familiar orange earth-pony without stopping or even slowing down to acknowledge her. After seeing Pinkie rush by her apple stand in such a worrying state, Applejack had all the information she needed. One of her friends was upset. She quietly closed up the booth, leaving monetary business for the next day. Today, there was more important business to handle.

Her brother, who was sitting nearby half-asleep, looked over at her, cocking his head. Where? he seemed to be asking.

"There's somethin' wrong with Pinkie. Take over, ah'll be back."

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Tears were beginning to come to her eyes. She assumed it was just another mood swing, or that she was just being angry at herself for feeling such drastic feelings. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

But, as she trotted quickly into the small white door of her apartment, she suddenly understood more things than she would have wished - which was, of course, too much to take in all at once. She walked numbly over to the small green couch near the door and sat down, still embarrassed just for breaking down for what felt like no reason.

She laid down slowly on her side, suddenly upset with herself. It would have seemed impossible a while ago.

Or would it have? After all, she'd wondered the same thing that morning (with less direct phrasing, of course). But that one turning-point thought was enough to give Pinkie a sense of affirmation.

I'm in love with Twilight Sparkle.

A dual emotion rose up in her chest, flushing her face and quickening her breath. She felt relieved, as though a weight was lifted from her chest, but... she also felt disturbed. Her? Twilight Sparkle? One of the friends she'd known the least amount of time? One who seemed to clash with her personality at every turn? Why? It felt like it was boring into her mind.

Why? It couldn't just be her personality... the characteristics Twilight had could gotten them as far as 'friends', but not much more. It was... something different.

Pinkie rolled over, her breath still shallow. Her mind had made a decision her emotions couldn't keep up with; it was more difficult than Pinkie had imagined anything to be before. Was it... her body?

No. That - that couldn't be it. It wasn't hard to say that Twilight was good-looking, because she was, and it's not an uncommon thing for friends to compliment one another's appearance. But she wasn't really that much better-looking than the other mares around, and she never really felt anything towards them. Except maybe a periodic twinge from a sideways glance at a particularly... no. That wasn't it.

It had to be the feeling. Pinkie had really been attuned to Twilight's overall character since they met - Twilight just seemed to give Pinkie a sense of calm, order, understanding, whatever you want to call it. It was almost like her friend... completed her. Balanced her. But still, there were so many questions. How? Why now? When did it start?

Pinkie's thoughts were not interrupted by the knocking on the door adjacent to her, nor by the entrance of a concerned-looking earth-pony. Applejack looked down at the curled-up pink mare on the couch beside her. Applejack could tell that whatever Pinkie had been through, it wasn't pleasant.

"You all right, sugar cube?" Applejack leaned down to Pinkie, speaking gently. Pinkie didn't respond. "What happened? Is anypony hurt?" Applejack asked her friend, laying a hoof softly on her bright pink mane and sitting on the floor next to the couch, meeting her at eye level.

Pinkie opened her eyes slowly, as though awakening from a dream. They were a light red; she'd been through more than Applejack had thought. "I -" she stuttered, her throat still dry. "I - can't tell you. I can't tell anypony. I can't let it get out, I can't let it get around -"

Applejack smiled. "Now, come on, sugar cube, ya know ya can tell me anythin'. I'll... keep it a secret," she replied, looking away and frowning, debating wither herself whether that was entirely true.

"I can't."

"Ya have to, sugar cube, or yer never gonna get any better."

Pinkie was grasped by a sudden impulse. She sat up, and looked steadily into her eyes. Well, she had a roundish face, with big, bright eyes, and always smelled like soil and apples. Not bad. She leaned forwards and pressed her lips rather forcefully against hers.

Applejack blushed and spluttered, pulling off Pinkie. "Jeez, Pinkie, what're ya tryin' ta do?" she cried, and reeled back a bit from the couch.

Meanwhile, Pinkie had stood and had begun to pace around the room, suddenly concentrating on an unclear thought. She was totally ignoring her friend, who had fallen backwards onto the hard wooden floor. Applejack stood from her position as well and stared at Pinkie, shocked and slightly frightened.

Pinkie was thinking everything over in her head, focusing mainly on the 'why'. Well, it obviously wasn't because she liked mares physically... It didn't feel much different from when she'd kissed a colt before. It had to be emotional, or at the very least psychological.

As Applejack walked quickly and shakily over to the door, a terrible thought dawned on Pinkie. If I got all nervous and sad after ten minutes in the library with Twilight, how would I be around Twilight on a normal day?

"Wait!" Pinkie called out to Applejack, who had just opened the door to excuse herself. "I need you for something!" Pinkie nearly shouted, rushing over to her and grabbing her shoulders.

Applejack stared briefly into Pinkie's eyes, and began pleading with her. "Wait, no, no, Pinkie, ah don't think ah could stand fer any more kissin', please don't do that again, Pinkie, 'cause ah'm not-"

"No, no, it's not like that or anything! I'll explain later. But I really, reeeeeally need your help!" Pinkie replied, looking back into Applejack's eyes with a pleading of her own.

The orange mare looked at Pinkie, then at the door, then back at Pinkie. But Applejack couldn't resist helping a friend in need, even if that friend happened to have just recently... um... snapped?

She sighed. "Ah... guess ah could help ya on... whatever it is. Ah mean, unless..."

"No, no, no," Pinkie repeated, bordering frustration. "I just need to talk to you. I really do need to talk to somepony, and I... I can always trust you, Applejack."

The emotion that last sentence contained broke through Applejack's defenses. "Alright," the farmer replied, putting her hooves up in surrender. "How long is thi - no, ya know what? You can take as long as ya need to. Ah'm here for ya, sugar cube."

Pinkie smiled sadly at the orange mare, and looked over to the couch. "I hope this won't take too long, either. Do you maybe want some cider?"

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"I'm not sure how to begin. I... guess I should explain what happened earlier."

Applejack had looked concerned since she'd walked in the door, but her expression changed momentarily to gratitude and relief. "Well, ah'm glad you've got a reason, or else ah'd be worried fer ya." She laughed nervously. Pinkie remained crestfallen, discouraging any further comments from her friend.

"I, um, I guess... maybe I should start over," Pinkie continued unsurely. "This is kind of hard to say. Uh..." She stopped, and slumped back in her seat, raising a hoof to the ceiling. "Why is this so hard?!"

"Yeah, why're ya bein' so shy?" Applejack asked. "Usually, yer like... well, ya know, Pinkie. Yer usually jist such a happy pony all the time, ah was confused when ah saw ya upset." She sighed. "And that's why ah'm still here, ah guess."

"You don't get it."

"Yeah, 'cause ya ain't told me nothin' yet."

"It's hard!"

"Why?!"

"I think I'm in love with Twilight!"

Pinkie and Applejack gasped simultaneously, and Pinkie covered her mouth with her hooves. The moment had come far too soon... she was planning on easing herself into it. But... it slipped out. Just like it always did.

This was such a strong thought, Pinkie said it aloud. "Just like it always does," she said, sounding tired - almost depressed.

Applejack sat and stared in shock at her fellow earth-pony. "So, ah guess that explains the -"

"Yeah." Pinkie looked downwards, averting her friends' gaze. "I... just wanted to make - wanted to know whether I was..."

"A lesbian?"

"Celestia, Applejack! Still kind of conflicted over here!"

"Alright, alright. Calm yerself down."

Pinkie inhaled deeply. The house around them was totally silent, save the still-shallow breaths of Pinkie.

"Wh-" she began. "I mean... it hurts. You know?"

"No."

"Let me finish." Pinkie sighed again and covered her face with her hoof. "There's just a problem here. I don't- I've never thought of myself as..."

"A l-" Applejack stopped herself. "...likin' other mares?"

"Yeah." She stopped momentarily, still not looking up towards Applejack. "That's why... I wanted to make sure it... with Twilight? Why Tw -" She groaned again. "Why is this so hard?!" she cried once more.

"Well, maybe it's because ya don't think Twilight's gonna be a - like you - I mean, not like - you know."

"That's what I was gonna say next, though," Pinkie replied, finally looking back towards Applejack. "I was with Twilight in the library for a few minutes today."

Applejack looked up at Pinkie. "Ya mean ya... did ya say anything?"

"Almost." She shook her head, putting a hoof on her forehead. "I just realized it this morning, and now it's - it's hard to be around - around her." Pinkie looked shattered, as though someone had just broken her heart.

"Pinkie, think! This is Twilight we're talkin' about!" Applejack was becoming more and more confounded by the minute. How? Why? Her head was filled with the same questions as Pinkie's.

"I know! That's why I need help." She swallowed. "That's why I need your help."

Applejack looked up towards her friend, who appeared to be fighting a stressful battle with herself. She looked positively... well, broken is really the only way to describe it. The orange mare was dumbfounded. Pinkie was the Element of Laughter! How on Earth did she get herself in such a terrible state?

"I know I can rely on you, AJ. You're always so... truthful, and trusting -"

A trigger went off in Applejack's head. "Ah'm sorry, 'trusting'? Ah'm not the butt of another prank of yours, am ah? Like that one you did in school - hoo-ee! That killed yer reputation, didn't it!"

"No, Applejack, please listen! I'm being dead serious!" she said, her voice breaking. Applejack snapped to attention; she felt regretful almost instantly. It didn't help anything when Pinkie began sobbing into her hooves.

"Pinkie, wait, ah'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Applejack stopped. She got up off the soft red chair and moved over to Pinkie's side, sitting next to her, and sighed. "Ya have to know that ah'm always gonna be here fer ya. Always. Ah'm one-a yer best friends, ya know. It wouldn't be right for me to abandon one-a mah friends when they needed me."

Pinkie continued sobbing, but tried to the best of her ability to speak. "It... th-this is the first time I've really felt - the - this kind of thing, and I - I know she won't..." she stuttered, leaning over more towards Applejack.

Applejack leaned back and patted Pinkie's head softly. "Ah know, sugar cube. If ya want me to... I could see if Twilight -"

"NO!" Pinkie nearly shouted, sitting up quickly. All the tears had left her for a moment. "Nopony can ever know about this. This has to be a secret." She put her head down again, seeming depressed once more. "I don't know what I would do if anypony found out. If she found out. I - I feel sick."

Applejack gulped. Trying to keep a secret had gotten her into all kinds of trouble in the past. Secrets went directly against her nature. She just hoped that nopony would ask her what she'd been doing all day... that wouldn't be good. Thankfully, there was a loophole in this.

"Why don't we... uh... do somethin' else for a while? Maybe take yer mind off a few things?" Applejack looked down at Pinkie: she was a mess. He hair was frizzy, she was flushed and her cheeks were wet, and her eyes were almost bloodshot.

Pinkie sat for a few seconds, then lifted her head. "You're right. You're right, I'm sorry. I just... you know how ponies act in those really awful romance movies?"

Applejack chuckled despite herself. "Yeah." She paused, shifting on the couch. "It is that bad?"

"... Yeah." She leaned slightly away from Applejack, the daydreams returning for enough time to make her sufficiently uncomfortable. "I don't know wh-what brought it on, really. She's just... I don't know. It's - it's too serious to shake off."

Applejack sighed. "Ah'm... ah'm sorry, Pinkie, ah didn't mean to -"

"You - you know what, though?" she interrupted, forcing a smile. "Let's just do something in the kitchen. I should probably take my mind off of it. Can't worry forever," she added, weakly.

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Three hours later, the pair finally finished their notes and ideas. The trash can was nearly overflowing with mistakes and failures, all to create the perfect apple dessert: a cupcake combined with an apple.

"Whew!" Applejack exclaimed, leaning onto the counter. "That was amazin', Pinkie! Ah never knew ya knew so much about bakin'!"

"Well, yeah, silly!" Pinkie smiled. Her peppy demeanor had returned, both in sight and mind. "Where do I work?"

"Oh, yeah."

They burst into laughter. There wasn't a particular reason (it really wasn't that funny), but it just felt good to laugh. Pinkie had essentially gone on a twelve-hour happiness fast, and it sure wasn't enjoyable.

The oven dinged, interrupting the mares' joy. Pinkie walked over and kicked open the door. "Well, here's our latest attempt," she said, turning to face it.

It was beautiful: the perfect mixture between the yellow of a vanilla cupcake and the maroon of a Red Delicious apple.

"Hey, lookit: it's got mah colors!" Applejack chuckled, pulling the tray out of the oven. It was true: the orange in the cupcake went very well with (if did not literally match) Applejack's ambery coat.

"Now, the final touch," Pinkie said, taking a sock of handmade icing from the counter and spreading it graciously over the pastry, covering every spot. Then, she got started on the decoration, working with admirable speed and grace, until the cupcake was topped with a near-perfect design.

"Woah, sugar cube," Applejack said in awe, "that's amazing."

"Yeah, I know," Pinkie smiled broadly. "I mean, I've been doing it for years now, I just had to get better sometime, right?"

Applejack grinned. Pinkie had returned to her (self-described) 'pep-tacular' state; her work was done. Other than that, Applejack had actually had a relatively nice time with Pinkie, not to mention that she learned (and helped create) a new dessert.

"Well, if ya don't mind, Pinkie, ah'm gonna take mah leave, and-"

"No, wait! Not before trying the cupcake!" Pinkie interrupted.

"Alright, okay. If you insist," Applejack replied jokingly. She walked over to the cupcake and looked down at it; it really was a beauty. Quite a shame to break apart.

Ah, well. The orange mare tore the small pastry cleanly into two, releasing a burst of apply fragrance into the air. Without looking twice at it, she took a good-sized bite.

"Holy... oh mah... Pinkie, come here an' try this. This is... oh... perfect!" Applejack smiled broadly, chewing slowly to savor the taste."This could really be a good thing fer yer business!"

"Well, if I ever start selling it, I'll give lots of credit to y- oh!" she said involuntarily, taking a bite of the cupcake. "This is... the best thing I've ever made before in my life ever and it could totally be - oh!" she said again, taking another bite.

"Why is this so good?"

"I don't know!"

The two burst again into raucous laughter, finishing off their halves of the cupcake in delight. After the bout of happiness finally wrapped up, Applejack made her way over to the door.

"Wait!"

Applejack turned again, to see Pinkie standing in front of her with her hoof out. In it was the recipe for their apple cupcake.

"You almost forgot this," she said. Applejack looked at the perky mare in front of her, and at the paper, before taking the recipe and tucking it into a corner of her hat.

Pinkie leaned in and wrapped her friend in a hug with her forelegs. Applejack returned it, grateful.

"Ya know what, ah actually had fun tonight. Ah'm glad ah decided to check on you." She dropped her voice. "Speakin' of, are you feeling alright?"

Pinkie nodded, and sighed softly. "I can bear it, yeah. I'm sorry for the whole kiss thing, by the way," she said meekly.

"Oh, there's no problem. It's nothin'," Applejack replied. "Ya know ya can always come talk ta me; Ah've been in quite a few difficult romances mahself. Well, bye now!" The orange mare walked out into the night, leaving Pinkie a bit shaken by her last comment. She shook her head, pushing the thought out of her mind, and turned back inside to her apple-scented living room.

She was glad she'd had somepony to talk to, especially one that she knew wouldn't tell anypony else. Keeping a secret alone is difficult, but sharing it with friends helps with the burden.

But now, she'd have to deal with this confusing new revelation, and plan for the future. Maybe the possible relationship wasn't hypothetical. It... could work. Perhaps. There wasn't really anything else Pinkie wanted, and for that she was grateful, but... this one thing was so important to her. She would give anything.

It wouldn't work, though. The odds were so stacked against her that it was close to impossible that the one pony she had a genuine crush on would actually like her back. But where there's a will...

Author's Note

[Edited]

Part Three - Avoidance

It had been a nice day all day; just like it had been the past week, not to mention most of Equestria's existence. But there was happiness in the air all over Ponyville, and everypony felt it - including Pinkie Pie.

She remembered the night before fondly; after all, it was one of the main causes of Pinkie's mood today. Today, the pink mare stepped out of her apartment door and took in the scent of morning with fresh vigor. She was ready to tackle the world.

Nonetheless, there was still a lot on her mind as she ambled aimlessly around the town. Even though today was basically a personal day for her, relaxation required concentration. There was little positive energy left in her after her thoughts a few nights ago.

However, the encouraging words of Applejack and the fun they had together the night before gave a hypothetical rebirth to Pinkie's mood; although it was currently undefined, it would definitely flesh itself out given enough time.

Like the morning before, she felt as though there was a lack of inspiration for her in Ponyville, along with an obvious dearth of entertainment. But, she thought, I'm not gonna go through yesterday morning again. She shook her head a bit, moving the memories to the back of her mind. She hoped she would never have to experience that again, ever.

It being such a nice day and all, there were enough ponies out and about in Ponyville that the town could be considered 'busy', at least for the time being. But there seemed to be next to nothing to do at all today; nopony seemed like they were really out to accomplish anything.

Eventually, though, Pinkie came upon a semi-conscious decision: because she'd never enjoyed 'stay-at-home' days too much, and there wasn't anything else to do, she decided to go for the next best thing: a 'stay-at-somepony-else's-home' day. She decided to visit Fluttershy. After all, Rainbow Dash was probably napping somewhere in the clouds, Rarity was always busy on Friday, and there was no way she'd visit Twilight or Applejack. Not yet.

She smiled and began skipping cheerfully to the border of the Everfree Forest.

It really is a nice day, she thought, trotting unhurriedly down the broad dirt road that led out of town. She realized why she was so peppy today; If it was trying to make her feel better, then it was succeeding.

Finally, she came to the small cottage and farmyard, and walked up to the door, knocking in her own little pattern. It didn't take long for the light yellow pegasus to answer.

"Oh, good morning, Pinkie," she greeted her, smiling softly.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie said, returning her smile. "There's nothing else to do today, so we should totally go out and do stuff!"

Fluttershy blinked, and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I already have company. Twilight just dropped over to share some good news."

"Oh... really?" Pinkie replied, failing spectacularly st sounding casual. Leaving now would be suspicious, but... she had to start setting her own boundaries. She knew by now that it could be difficult being near Twilight, and she couldn't afford to let anything slip right now.

"Well, I guess I'll just come back later, 'cause, I mean, you're already doing stuff, and..."

"No, it's alright. Come on in, I'm sure she'll want to tell you, too," Fluttershy said politely.

"... Okay."

Fluttershy had always had a gut instinct; a sixth sense, if you will. She could see outright that something was bothering Pinkie, but at the moment, she couldn't imagine what. She stepped aside and let the pink mare enter, showing no evidence of her concern.

Pinkie walked slowly into Fluttershy's living room, glancing nervously at the purple unicorn reclining on a couch facing the fireplace.

"Hi, Pinkie!" Twilight said excitedly. "Guess what, guess what, guess what?!"

"Um... what?" Pinkie replied. Twilight was acting different - something really extraordinary must have happened.

"I'm taking an exam!" Twilight said, smiling broadly. Only Twilight would be so cheerful about a test, Pinkie thought. I like it. She blinked quickly and sternly chastised herself. She shouldn't think stupid things like that; at least, not here.

Pinkie was genuinely happy for her friend, just because she seemed so passionate about it. "That's... um... great!" she responded. "But... what for?".

"Why, Pinkie. 'What for' isn't correct grammar." She stopped herself and chuckled. "Sorry. Anyway, I'm taking one of Princess Celestia's progress examinations! I'll be gone for two days starting tomorrow, and I can't wait to meet up with the princess and show her what I know! I know she'll be so proud..."

Fluttershy had quietly let herself into the room without arousing anypony's awareness. She studied Pinkie's actions around Twilight carefully and curiously; although she appeared to be acting like herself (talking at high speeds, bouncing around, etcetera), there was something else in her mood that showed ever so slightly.

After about ten minutes' worth of conversation, Pinkie's attitude began to change drastically. She began to lose her grasp on playfulness and vigor, as though she was losing energy - or willpower.

Far into the conversation, Pinkie finally began to excuse herself. "Um, I probably should get back to the bakery, 'cause I think I might have to do stuff. I don't know. I just... I should leave. Uh... bye, Twilight." She stood without waiting for a response and walked towards the door, forcing herself not to look back.

Fluttershy silently followed Pinkie out the door, floating so that she wouldn't be heard. Twilight was left rather confused in Fluttershy's living room, alone. She looked to her right and left, as though expecting somepony to just walk into the living room, and sighed, lying down more comfortably on the couch. Fluttershy wouldn't take long.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly, causing the pink mare to gasp in surprise.

"Oh, um... hi, Fluttershy," Pinkie replied.

"Pinkie, I get it."

"Get what?" Pinkie turned to face Fluttershy, who was still hovering slightly above the ground. "What is there to get? How do you think- I mean, what do you think you get? Wh-"

"Pinkie, stop." Pinkie silenced herself mid-sentence. "I understand. Just hear me out." She sighed, and touched down right in front of Pinkie. "We should get off the road. I just wanna ask you something." Fluttershy walked into the woods to her left, trusting the curiosity of Pinkie to goad her to follow.

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Pinkie and Fluttershy arrived by a still lake, which was glittering beautifully in the light of midday. Although all of nature surrounding them was lively and vibrant, Pinkie felt almost hollow inside, with a sinking feeling deep in her chest. Fluttershy sat down beside the lake, motioning for Pinkie to sit beside her.

Pinkie hesitated, and nearly turned away, before lying down adjacent her friend, watching the glimmering lake silently. She half-hoped that this wasn't what she assumed, and half-hoped that it was.

Fluttershy looked intently at the ground, as though embarrassed herself. Without looking up to meet Pinkie's gaze "I can see things that other ponies can't," she began. "I always could. I guess it's just a skill. Anyways, I could notice something different about you today. I finally pieced it together when you were about to leave."

Pinkie remained stoic, and Fluttershy continued rather awkwardly. "Um, I, uh, don't want to assume anything, so I'll just ask." She stopped briefly, wondering how to begin. "Are... are you in love with Twilight?"

Pinkie felt her face begin to burn; she never thought Fluttershy was capable of being so blunt. She felt compelled to shake her head, but Fluttershy had a voice that always seemed to coerce her into telling the truth. It was difficult nonetheless. "I... yeah," she said quietly, blushing as she looked away from Fluttershy.

"Don't be embarrassed - I'm not going to tell anypony," Fluttershy assured her. "I just wanted to know. If it's any consolation, I... happen to be... that way myself."

Pinkie looked with mild surprise at Fluttershy, who hadn't moved her eyes from the ground beneath her. "So, you mean, you're a... uh..."

"Yeah. I - I am. I don't usually tell anypony this, because I'm afraid they'll make fun of me. Or worse. Actually, I've never told anypony before; you're the first one." Fluttershy sighed and finally decided to look at Pinkie, who'd been staring at her since she confessed. "I'll keep your secret if you keep mine."

"But I'm -I'm not - I'm not like that," Pinkie stuttered. "I just... have a bit of a, um, crush on Twilight. That's it. I don't like to talk about it. Maybe it's only Twilight, or maybe I'm... um... both. I mean, I like - you know what I mean."

"... have you told anypony else?"

"Yeah, AJ. But she said she would keep it a secret. I'm wondering now if I made the wrong decision. I mean, she is the Element of Honesty."

They sat in silence, overlooking the lake while they both considered the impact of what they'd just heard.

"Um, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked. Hearing no response, she continued. "Have... you ever had a crush on one of your friends? Like, on one of us?"

Fluttershy was silent for a few seconds. "Yes," she replied quietly. "I think that's how I figured it out for myself: I started to fall for Rainbow Dash ever since she stood up for me when I was a filly. It... didn't feel normal for a while, but eventually, I started to understand myself. I'm not sure whether I'll ever tell her, though."

"... I understand."

They sat together quietly for a while, just enjoying each other's company and looking out over the lake. Without any warning whatsoever, Fluttershy leaned over and kissed Pinkie.

Pinkie gasped, taken totally by surprise. But she didn't pull away. She thought for a second, feeling it, testing herself as to whether this was she was inclined to. She broke off soon, and closed her eyes. It still didn't feel any different than a colt... maybe softer. But that might have just been Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was flushed a deep red, and turned her head away from Pinkie. Pinkie could see her eyes water, and could have sworn she saw her shiver, before her wings extended and she stood shakily, ready for a quick, shameful escape.

"No, wait, Fluttershy!" Pinkie cried, standing just as quickly and catching Fluttershy off-guard. "Don't feel bad. I hate bad feelings." Fluttershy whimpered, and Pinkie tried to smile encouragingly. "You helped me. Something just clicked." Fluttershy almost smiled as Pinkie added, "Thanks."

Fluttershy was still flushed red, and her ears were down. She looked almost like she was about to cry. "I don't know why I did that, though. Please don't think any less of me, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, I didn't really mean to -"

"Fluttershy, calm down. You're still the same nice old Fluttershy to me, no matter how weird that was. And it was pretty weird." At this, Fluttershy blushed deeper, if it was possible by that point. "But you helped me realize that it's just -"

"Twilight?" Fluttershy seemed rather upset.

"Well, yeah, I think it's j-"

"Uh, hey, guys," Twilight said, making the hairs on the back of Pinkie's neck stand on end. "Whatcha doing?"

"Twilight!" Pinkie nearly shouted, and inhaled rather deeply as though she was about to try to 'explain' everything. Fluttershy noticed this, and quickly took corrective action.

"She just walked in," Fluttershy whispered softly but clearly to Pinkie, who stopped her train of thought before it could form itself fully. That would have ruined quite a lot in the grand scheme of things.

"We were just admiring the lake," Fluttershy told Twilight quickly, "but Pinkie still needs to get back to the Cakes, right?" She nudged Pinkie. "Right?"

"Yeah! I gotta - I mean, I have to leave, and - yeah. Bye, Fluttershy! And - uh - Twilight," she finished lamely, before trotting quickly onto the dirt path leading back to town.

Both Twilight and Fluttershy stood and watched her vanish onto the wavering dirt path, the sun creating mirages in Pinkie's place. Twilight then shook her head and walked over to Fluttershy, standing beside her and looking out across the lake.

"Do you have any idea why everypony's been acting so strange lately?" she asked. "Pinkie seems to be avoiding me, Applejack tries not to talk to me, you ditch me; seriously, what's going on?"

Fluttershy smiled knowingly and shook her head. "I have no idea."

Twilight snorted. She wasn't stupid; she knew when one of her friends was lying (especially Fluttershy, she was terrible at it). She stood slowly. "Well, I should go pack. I leave for Canterlot in the morning. Wish me luck," she added, smiling.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight returned from her short sojourn in Canterlot in the quiet and peace of the night. Two days of mental examinations certainly did take an effect on even the most intelligent of ponies.

Now, knowing Twilight, anypony may have made the assumption that she would be, at this point, anxious, tense, stressed, nervous, or all of the above. But in reality, undertaking such a strenuous task gave Twilight a feeling of release and of freedom, as though her work was done, and there was no way to know what the future could hold.

And in the immortal words of Leonus Greyscale, 'What fool worries of the unknown?' Twilight thought to herself, smiling as she stowed her still-full luggage neatly under her bed for the night, before turning and lying in it, exhausted.

Elsewhere in Ponyville, there was another mare lying in bed, albeit far from exhausted. She never got much sleep anyways, but during these last few nights, her thoughts made it less and less accessible.

Each night was filled with thought - thought of the future, of relationships, and of her own personal psyche. All of these thoughts could easily have been summed up by one short phrase: Should I, how, and will I be able to?

Pinkie had tried so hard not to think about anything, and on more than one occasion, she was successful in pushing romantic and difficult thoughts out of her mind. But they always drifted back, against Pinkie's considerable will. It was almost as though her brain was begging her to listen to it.

So she did.

By the time 2 AM rolled around, Pinkie had finally made a conscious decision. She was going to do her best to tell Twilight the next time they were alone; she didn't want her friends making a scene. Of course, she didn't want Twilight making a scene either, but she was powerless towards that. She wondered how she could possibly tell Twilight anything she'd been thinking about.

Sleep wasn't important. Not anymore.

Pinkie had found herself having... strange longings, all of which having to do with Twilight. There was a part of her that just wanted to touch Twilight, to just feel her warmth against her own body. She'd begun thinking and dreaming of things that made her chest tingle, that nearly bordered on the perverted: she would have such a desire for Twilight's neck, or ears, or lips...

Somewhere along the line, Pinkie began sobbing quietly into the night. What on earth was wrong with her? Twilight Sparkle was probably Pinkie's best friend... not to mention another mare! At this, Pinkie began biting into her pillow. Hard. She just wanted to stop thinking such weird things. That was all she wanted.

She had no idea what the feelings were really expressing. True love is something that comes only once in a few centuries - and tragically, it is commonly left unrequited. Especially in this kind of situation.

By this point, Pinkie had already been recessing from her friends and social life. When Twilight left, though, she assumed the problem would lessen: out of sight, out of mind. In reality, it was quite the contrary; her social life suffered even more without the presence of Twilight. Parties became less and less frequent, she stopped picnicking or shopping with anypony, and at times she even avoided her friends on the street. And it had only been two days.

Tonight was a night of thought, and only thought could provide Pinkie any comfort.

Pinkie sighed, and shuddered. She was beginning to calm down, if only slightly. This was important to her; she just wanted it to stop. She'd already told one pony, and Fluttershy figured it out by herself. It would only be a matter of time before all her friends knew, and before Twilight herself figured it out.

It really was a relief to know that a friend was going through the same thing she was; but should she keep talking to Fluttershy about it? She didn't seem really shy about it... strangely enough. Maybe she would get advice from AJ and Fluttershy tomorrow. After work.

She felt as though if she didn't tell Twilight directly, if Twilight confronted her, that she wouldn't be able to bear it. She wouldn't be able to bear anything. She knew what she would have to do - and the sooner the better.

Part Five - Vacation

Act II

You're going to wear a groove in the floor, Twilight thought offhandedly to herself. She'd been pacing erratically around the room for almost an hour now; ever since she'd woken up, she'd had a strange feeling in her chest.

She sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed, too distracted to notice the exhaustion that had already begun setting in. By then, she'd understood the reason she felt this way; she wasn't comfortable with Pinkie's confession. There was a lot wrong with it to begin with, like the fact her best friend thought that way about her in the first place, but there were hidden oddities, things that seemed to awaken in Twilight during their conversation.

Pinkie had been so open to Twilight, which was relatively normal; but she also said she'd hidden it for two weeks. To hold on to that kind of thing had to indicate something really deep. The way Pinkie talked to her, the position she'd put herself in, and the total stoicism she'd had towards the end of the meeting gave Twilight a strangely empathetic feeling.

There was something else, too; a difficult question that popped up recently because of it. Twilight hadn't ever even tried to figure out her sexuality; what if she was a lesbian? In which case, what else could that insinuate in her and Pinkie's relationship? What had she done?

She bit her lip, concentrating. There was no other solution she could see that was possible with the means she had.

Test and research.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Even before Rarity had diagnosed her as a 'summer' type, Pinkie had always enjoyed summer. The first day of summer was today, and, as it was still so early in the morning, she was able to watch the first sun of summer rise. The window right at the foot of her bed was enough; it was pointed to the East, and it was just tall enough to allow her to glance over the top of the trees to the beautiful orange that heralded the coming of the sun.

Pinkie closed her eyes and inhaled. The air smelled like flowers, and dew, and good old-fashioned dirt. Yup. Today would be the best day of her life.

Maybe.

She trotted energetically out the door, feeling a huge spurt of energy. The sun had barely risen - nopony was up yet. That was okay with Pinkie, of course; walking alone through Ponyville in the morning always gave her a feeling of security, a feeling of calmness.

Today, she actually had plans; she'd been invited last month to attend her cousin Tulip's birthday party. She'd picked out the perfect gift last February... she'd been preparing for quite a while.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she said to herself, and turned to trot back into her apartment. Seeing the saddlebag already prepared on the sofa, she snatched it up with her mouth and bounced again out the door, now smiling broadly. She'd get to see her cousin again after almost, like, a year, she'd get to see the look on her face when she gave her her perfect present, and to top it all off, it was a great day.

But there were still a few things bothering her; before she took the train out to Saddlesburg, she wanted to check on Fluttershy. Her friend had left for home in a terrible condition. In truth, it rather frightened Pinkie, knowing that somepony who went through exactly what she did was so much more shaken up than her.

She'd had more than a few concerns abut Fluttershy. It wasn't just the fact that she seemed so broken-hearted; it was a moment of catharsis - a recognition that Fluttershy and her may, in fact, be the only two le - urgh. The only two... of their kind... in Ponyville. Maybe in Equestria, for that matter.

How could she visit her before the train left, though? She was pretty sure that the first one left at eight, and it took her about half an hour to walk across town to the station. Fluttershy's cottage was in the other direction; there just wasn't any way. Well, she'd be back at around noon tomorrow; maybe she'd be able to talk to her then. She probably needed some alone time anyway.

A few memories crept slowly back into her mind as she was walking to the station. Other ponies began leaving their homes for the day, often calling 'good morning' to Pinkie, who responded as well as she could. There were memories of a mixture of pain and relief, memories of empathy for her friend, and memories of a comfort felt from the time she spent with her.

She shook her head rapidly, clearing her mind, opening her ears again to the sounds of summer around her. She'd missed being herself for so long that she swore to herself that nothing would kill her mood today. This thought alone boosted her joy so much that she began bouncing again, happy at herself and at the world.

Everything was great.

She'd been so caught up with herself that she didn't notice that she was at the station until she was standing on the platform. She stopped, stared for a second at the tracks below her, and giggled. Almost walked into 'em.

The train ride was less than an hour long, but the clickety-clack of the rails and the scenery whooshing by kept her rather entertained. Before long, she arrived at the Saddlesburg station and began trotting happily to her cousin's. It wasn't far off; she still remembered the time she was five or six and visited her. They played all day along the little dusty road to her family's grand estate... she glanced at the shadows created by the oaks and willows and reminisced.

She grinned widely and noticed slightly a bounce developing in her step. Oh, the joy of the world! Of life, of freedom, of being Pinkie! A feeling she hadn't experienced recently grew slowly in her chest, begging to be released.

Pinkie happily obliged to the feeling, and began to sing an impromptu verse under her breath.

"The summer days are passing by
But slow and calm, so I can feel
All of the joy and happiness
They have to give, that nopony can steal..."

A tune began developing itself almost cinematically in her mind as she began skipping down the dusty path. The musical notes themselves were floating nicely in her mind to an empty sheet of music. GCEGEFDBGCEGEGAG...

"My music lingers in the air
And every creature 'round can hear
This song I'm singing from my heart
If they would ever want to lend an ear..."

The sunlight drifted down for the latticework of leaves above her, casting a dappled pattern of light on the ground in front of her. The birds around her almost seemed to be aiding her song, as though they were in harmony.

"The world is green far as I see
The birds are singing cheerfully
Would I try to suppress the joy
That because of the forest came to me?"

She decided to end her song here before she made a stupid rhyme and ruined it. That happened to her a lot. Instead, she basked in the comfort she felt as her pace began to slow and her eyes closed. Harmony. That was it. Peace and harmony.

"Pinkie Pie?"

Her thoughts were broken momentarily by a voice rather similar to her own. She opened her eyes and saw her cousin Tulip in front of her, smiling ear-to-ear. "Pinkie, I'm so glad to see you! How long has it been?" she asked, trotting up to her and giving her a friendly hug.

Pinkie accepted the hug and giggled. "It was only last summer, silly!"

"Seriously? It seems like it's been forever. I'm really excited to see you. You should see this thing we've planned out; it's fantabulous."

Fantabulous? Pinkie thought as Tulip led her quickly out of the grove of trees and into the front yard of her home. As grand as ever, the old Victorian mansion had a new addition: there was a garden now out back. Pinkie could see the plants from the walkway.

Most of what surprised her was the party she'd set up with her father, Pinkie's uncle Dorian. So far, six other ponies had arrived. Pinkie introduced herself to the relatives she knew... the other two she left alone. There were streamers and balloons and brightly colored tablecloths and, last but certainly not least, something of Pinkie's own invention: the party cannon.

Pinkie's jaw dropped comically and she raced over to the bright blue and green ceramic beauty. "Holy hay, Tulip!" she gasped, as Tulip ran to her side. "How did you... how could you have possibly..."

"Remember last year?"

"Oh, right." Pinkie had tried successfully to sneak a prototype party cannon into her cousin's birthday party. The third time she used it, it exploded. It was fantastic, and nopony got hurt, but it apparently made Tulip begin working on an improvement.

"Does it work?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"No, Pinkie," Tulip answered sarcastically, "I spent six weeks' allowance to build something that didn't work."

"Jeez, Tulip, six weeks'?!" Pinkie asked. She admired it again; it was much smoother and cleaner-looking than the one she had at home. "Has it ever been used?"

"Actually, no," Tulip replied, "all the decorations were done by hoof. I was waiting for you."

"Aww," Pinkie replied. "Thanks, Tulip." She leaned over and hugged her cousin warmly. Tulip had been her best friend when she was young; their relationship hadn't fallen apart in almost twenty years. She felt by now that she could tell her anything. Anything at all, she thought.

But would she have the nerve to bring it up?

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight collected herself again and went through the probabilities, positive and negative. She cringed as a few really terrifying possibilities were dredged up from the back of her mind.

Well, it's too late to turn back now, she thought, and knocked twice on the door. when there was no answers, she leaned over and looked into the window. "Pinkie?" she called out.

"Twilight? Twilight Sparkle, right?"

Twilight turned her head to see a familiar stallion whose name failed her. "Oh, um, hi; I'm just looking for Pinkie. Do you know where she went?"

"Yeah, she, uh, left this morning. Don't know where she was going; I called good morning to her, but she was probably just talking to herself again."

"Oh. Okay." Twilight was deeply disturbed by this news. Hundreds of questions sprung into her head. Where was she going? Why didn't she talk to anypony? Was it my fault? Oh, Celestia, it probably was. "Which way did she go?"

"To the train station, I think... why?"

"No reason. Thanks. Gotta go, bye!"

"No problem, Twi!" the stallion called as she hurried away. What was his name? Twilight's mind drew a blank. All she could think about was how cruel she must've seemed; how she must've made her friend feel. She must've just left because she couldn't stand being in the same town with her anymore. She closed her eyes as she trotted down the tiled road; she felt horrible.

Closing her eyes on the crowded street wasn't a good idea. She ran headfirst into an extremely familiar pony, one whose name she definitely couldn't forget.

"Trixie?!"

Twilight looked on in confusion as the baby-blue pony recovered quickly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes you would watch where you were going!" She began to walk away, but turned, doing a double-take. "Twilight Sparkle?!"

"Yeah," the lavender unicorn said defensively, moving quickly to her feet. A few bystanders were quickly promoted to onlookers as a small scene began to develop on Mane Street. "Still going on with the 'Great and Powerful' schtick, huh?"

Trixie suddenly grew uncharacteristically submissive. "Not really. Sometimes it just sorta slips out. Old habits die hard." There was a little smile playing at the corner of her mouth, but it died quickly. "Although I haven't been living up to my potential ever since you... did that thing you did, it far from suggests that I've forgiven you!"

The crowd around them amassed slowly in size. "You don't say?" Twilight said dryly, still rather aggressive. The anger was dying, though; it was clear that the once-prideful unicorn had changed. "What are you up to now? Haven't you realized that your name isn't much in Ponyville anymore?"

"I understand, I do! Back off!" Trixie said, scowling. "I've stopped trying to be famous. It didn't work." There was an icy undertone in her voice.

"So what are you up to?"

Trixie sighed, and shifted her eyes around at the significant group of ponies now surrounding them. "Get! Leave! Seriously, I'm trying to talk to somepony here." The ponies began to break off, scoffing and laughing. Trixie's eyes lingered on a few remaining ponies before returning to meet Twilight's.

"I'm planning on trying to find a job here. I've been turned out by a lot of other towns, just because of my reputation. A reputation that you earned for me, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'd love to take the credit, Trixie, but I'm afraid it was your lying that earned you that reputation." Twilight turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Trixie called out, almost pleadingly. "Can... can you help me?"

Twilight groaned. Ugh. I'm gonna have to do the right thing here, aren't I? She turned around to face Trixie again. "With what?"

"I just need to work for a living. I still have my magic, you know; nopony can take that away from me. I... maybe it'll come in handy. If anypony needs help, can oh at least tell them I need work?" She sighed. It was obviously difficult to speak with her former enemy. "I'd be forever in your debt."

"I guess, if I come upon anypony who wants help, I can just refer them to you... I guess," she said unsurely. At least it would make a great friendship report.

She turned to leave again, but heard Trixie's voice. "Twilight?"

"Yeah?" she replied without turning.

"... Thank you."

Twilight nodded slightly, and walked away to the station without another word. As she walked away, though, totally unbeknownst to Trixie, she was smiling.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie threw herself down on the chair, breathing heavily. In less than an hour, all the other party guests had arrived, and the party had commenced. By noon, they'd been through at least fifteen house and dance songs courtesy of the only local DJ.

A huge, recently cannon-decorated pavilion housed almost two hundred friends and relatives, and there was a long gold banner reading 'Happy 24th, Tulip' on it behind the bandstand. Pinkie had been dancing spastically nonstop since the songs had begun almost an hour and a half ago.

She looked happily around at all the ponies she knew, and all the ponies she'd come to know during the party. When was the last time she'd done this?

"I know. Two hundred seems like too much, right?"

Pinkie turned her head to find Tulip sitting next to her. "Tulip!" Pinkie seemed surprised. "Why aren't you dancing? It's your party!"

Tulip looked at her in disbelief. "Yeah, because I have the stamina to dance for an hour straight."

Pinkie giggled. "Oh, you and your sarcasm."

"Oh, and speaking of sarcasm," Tulip said teasingly, "how's that boyfriend of yours doing?"

The two burst into laughter. "Oh, come on, Tulip, that's mean!"

After trying to calm down a bit, Tulip continued. "Seriously, though, do you have any... interests?" She winked mischievously.

Pinkie sighed shortly. Any more force behind the breath and it would have been considered a snort. Now would be as good a time as ever. Plus, she always felt that she could tell Tulip anything. Anything at all.

"Actually, Tulip, I have something I wanna tell you. Can you... promise to keep a secret?"

"Well, sure, of course." Tulip grinned at her, totally unsuspecting of what Pinkie was trying to say.

"Tulip, I... jeez! Why can't I..." She trailed off for a few seconds, then regained control. "Tulip, I'm not interested in colts."

Tulip cocked her head, then raised her eyebrows, and blinked a few times. Oh, Celestia, what is she thinking? How will she react? Will she hate me? "I have something I wanna tell you, too."

Wait a second... no way. No way. "Yes?"

"I'm actually from Manehattan."

"...What?"

Tulip remained totally stoic. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were discussing things that didn't change anything."

Pinkie opened her mouth for a second, confused. Then it finally clicked and she reached over to hug her cousin tightly. "Thanks, cuz."

"Back to the party?" Tulip asked, grinning again.

"That would be just fantabulous."

Laughter ensued.

Part Six - Victory

"Tulip!"

"Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit?!" Tulip sat bolt upright, her eyes snapping open.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" Her cousin was bouncing ecstatically around her bedroom, a huge grin spread across her features.

"I'm pretty awake now, Pinkie." Tulip's eyes closed again, but she positioned herself over the side of the bed and rolled sluggishly off of it. "What's so dreadfully important that you have to wake me up at six in the morning?"

"It's nine."

"Oh." Tulip thought for a few seconds before retorting, "Well, it's my birthday, so I should get to... I dunno... sleep in and stuff."

"Your birthday was yesterday."

"Still," Tulip replied drowsily. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Not tell you, show you! See, see, look out the window. Do it! Look out the window!" Pinkie skipped over to the window in question, beaming brightly.

"Okay," Tulip said, walking over next to Pinkie. "I see... the sun. It's... really bright. It's hurting my eyes."

"And?"

"Uh... I see my backyard." She looked up at Pinkie's smiling face. "It's... um... amazing?"

"Nope!"

"What is it, Pinkie?" Tulip's patience was wearing quickly away.

"It's a beautiful day!"

Tulip looked in total disbelief at her cousin, and shook her head. Pinkie. "Welp, I'm goin' back to bed," she announced, and turned on her hooves, walking shakily back to the mattress... the still-warm, good-smelling, soft, comfortable mattress...

"Wait!"

Tulip groaned softly, and turned around, facing Pinkie again. "What's up?"

"I have to get back to Ponyville... I won't be seeing you for another year. I wanted to say goodbye before I leave."

Tulip awakened more fully because of the oddness of the comment. "I thought I'd have time for that later... don't you still have to pack your bags?"

"Nope." Tulip squinted at two horrifyingly pink bags sitting by Pinkie's hooves that she hadn't noticed before. How could she have missed neon in its purest form.

"... What time do you usually get up in the morning?"

"Sunrise."

"You lie," Tulip said, grinning. She shook her head again, chuckling. "Why... how do you... how can you possibly wake yourself up?"

"I dunno. I just do." Pinkie smiled again, her eyes shining. "Come here. Hugs."

Tulip cocked her head at Pinkie, whose mouth was open expectantly and whose foreleg was raised towards her. "Alright. Okay." She smiled again, and nodded, walking over to her cousin for a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, 'cuz." Pinkie said sadly.

"No, you're not." Tulip grinned. She'd been waiting for three months for her birthday, just to tell Pinkie something that she was sure Pinkie would love. "I," she began, pulling away, "have taken two personal days to spend in Ponyville with you."

Pinkie's mouth opened, as though she was about to say something, but all that she could force out of her throat was a squeak. Tulip walked over to the shelf above her bed and took down two dusty train tickets, before turning and waving them happily in front of Pinkie.

Eventually, Pinkie managed to speak. "...Are you gonna bring the party cannon?"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The train ride back to Ponyville was filled with laughter and happiness. It was just what Pinkie needed, a little morale boost after the emotions of the last few weeks. The recovery to her normal self was slow-going, but it turned out perfectly in the end.

Her thoughts, as per usual, were flying into her head and hundreds of miles an hour. Tons of questions and comments were tumbling one by one out of her mouth, and the conversation between the two cousins was better than ever. After all, the fact that Tulip would be with her for a few extra days in Ponyville combined with the perfect weather? Too much.

During a quiet moment, as each pony regained their breath, Tulip spoke up. "You know, I heard you singing yesterday. In the grove near the house."

"Oh," Pinkie replied. "So..."

"No, I'm not getting at anything. I'm just saying." She looked back up at her cousin, smiling slightly. "I thought it was pretty."

"Aww. Thanks, 'cuz." Pinkie smiled back brightly. "You know, I just came up with that when I was walking through the trees 'cause I was just so happy and I remembered something and then this tune came to my head and I started putting words to the tune and - oh look, we're here." She glanced out the small portcullis-style window to see the station speeding into view as the train slowed to a halt.

Tulip looked momentarily out the window to see the sprawling Germanic town, dotted with all shapes and sizes of thatched-roof cottages and long, decorative tiled streets. Beyond the station, and the town itself, she caught a glimpse of Ponyville's most essential economic feature: the huge rolling farming fields and orchards.

She remained still, her eyes opening a little wider. "It's so beautiful here," she commented to Pinkie as she was preparing their bags for departure. "I don't even remember Ponyville that much."

"Really?" Pinkie asked. "Last time you said you had such a super-duper time that you'd never, ever forget it."

"Pinkie, that was almost twenty years ago."

"So?"

"Pinkie, how on earth do you manage to wake up at sunrise every day and remember things from two decades ago?" Tulip laughed.

"It's my brain's fault," Pinkie replied, laughing along with her, and the two stepped out the train doors and onto the wooden platform. "Don't call me out for my brain. It doesn't work."

"Call you... what?" Tulip asked, confused, as the pair stepped out of the station and onto Mane Street. "You know, I'm glad I decided to do this. And I'm even more glad you let me stay at your house," she added, chuckling.

"How could I refuse having my bestest cousin ever ever over for two whole days?" Pinkie asked joyfully, bouncing along next to Tulip. She slowed down for a second and looked over to her cousin. "Why can't you stay for more than two days, though?"

"I have stuff to do back home, too, you know. Daddy's sending me to law school, actually, on Wednesday afternoon. This whole thing is like a sending-away party... and I'm sure you, of all ponies, know how to throw a party." Pinkie looked back at her friend and laughed.

"Law school? Boring!" She giggled. "Sorry. But seriously, if it's a party you want, it's a party you'll get." She nudged Tulip in the ribs with her muzzle, making her giggle, too. "I promise."

They arrived at the apartment shortly, and Pinkie, still talking and laughing with Tulip, walked up and knocked on the door.

Tulip watched on, entertained by the pink earth-pony standing on her own front steps, knocking her own door. She decided to speak up after about a minute. "Um, Pinkie, isn't this your apartment?"

Pinkie turned around, and shook her head. She thought for a few seconds and burst into laughter. "Well, I feel smart," she said, unzipping the front pocket on one of her suitcases and pulling out a small keyring. "Here it is!" she called to nopony in particular, and opened the door wide.

When both were inside, Pinkie began helping Tulip bring the luggage up to her bedroom. Pinkie began renting the apartment almost a year ago, when she could finally afford the down payment. However, she wasn't able to afford much; the best deal seemed to be a one-bed one-bath townhouse rather close to Sugarcube Corner.

As Tulip was bringing the last of the suitcases up to her room, she heard a small, surprised voice behind her. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie instantly recognized the voice, and turned around to the screen door. "Fluttershy?" she replied, and pushed open the door slowly. "Hey, Fluttershy! I haven't seen you in, like, forever!"

"Hi, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, accepting her friend's hug. "I noticed you and somepony else came back from... wherever you've been. I just wanted to make sure... have you, um, moved on?"

Pinkie smiled and looked back at the apartment behind her. "What, with her?" she laughed. "No! No, no, no, no, no. She's my cousin."

"Oh," Fluttershy murmured, and looked rather embarrassed. Maybe she shouldn't have brought anything up... after all, they hadn't spoken for three or four days.

"But," Pinkie added, her voice lowered, "I'm planning on trying soon... I mean, Twilight seemed pretty sure of herself when I asked last time. I hoped there'd be a chance, but apparently not."

Fluttershy could see that Pinkie's mood swung quickly back to downcast; fortunately, she'd been about to tell Pinkie some possibly uplifting news anyways. "Well, I wanted to tell you that Twilight's been looking for you over the past few days... she said you didn't tell anypony where you were going, and she was kinda right. She said she wants to talk to you."

This gave Pinkie mixed feelings. On one hoof, it could easily be something very good - something very, very good. On the other hoof, she could be angry or... or something. Pinkie didn't dwell too much on this thought. On the other other hoof, it could be something totally neutral.

While Pinkie thought, her cousin descended the stairs, beginning to speak to her absent cousin. "So Pinkie, I was thinking that maybe -" she stopped when she saw Pinkie outside talking to a yellow pegasus.

Tulip pushed open the screen door and walked to the pair. She couldn't hear much except hushed conversation between the two; maybe she shouldn't be interrupting.

However, Pinkie heard her cousin's hooves on the tile. "Hi, Tulip!" she said, spinning around to meet her. "I wanna introduce you to my friend Fluttershy!" Tulip reached out to shake her hoof and they exchanged quiet greetings.

Tulip leaned over to Pinkie and whispered, "Is she-"

"No, say nothing."

"Okay."

There was a brief conversation between all three mares before Fluttershy quietly walked off. Before she could, though, Pinkie called out to her. "Wait up, Fluttershy!"

She turned her head. "Yes?"

"Where's Applejack? I haven't seen her in forever."

"I'm not sure... I mean, I could try to find her.. if I can."

"Don't worry about it, I'll find her. It may take longer, but I will!" she called back, giggling a little.

Tulip leaned over to Pinkie again. "Is she-"

"No."

"Oh."

They both watched Fluttershy depart and walked back into the house, Tulip first. Pinkie almost groaned when she heard her name again, before she realized who it was.

"Pinkie?"

Pinkie turned around, her eyes darting quickly to the lavender unicorn standing a few feet away from her. "Twilight, uh, hi!" she stumbled, a light blush coming to her cheeks momentarily before Pinkie willed it desperately to fade. Just because she said she wanted to move on didn't mean she had.

"Pinkie, I've been looking for you for the past few days! I didn't know where you went!" she said with hints of annoyance and distress in her voice.

Tulip leaned over once more. "Is she-"

"... Yeah," Pinkie whispered back.

"Oh. Um. I'm just gonna - I - I have to go to the bathroom?" she offered, and laughed nervously before turning and walking quickly back into the house.

Pinkie had been watching her cousin disappear into the apartment; when she turned back, Twilight was standing only about three feet from her. Her first instinct was to step back, but she calmed herself and remained in place.

Twilight continued. "I've been worried about you! You didn't tell me, or anypony else, where you were going!" She shook her head. "Why are you always so secretive?"

"I guess I, um, just forgot to tell everypony. I, uh, went to my cousin's birthday party and I came back today but she surprised me and came back with me. I didn't plan it, but I'm happy she's here." She grinned. "She's my favorite cousin."

"Ah."

The two stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, each trying to figure out what they should say. Eventually, Twilight spoke up. "Pinkie, I... uh... I've been thinking."

Pinkie stood still, and blinked. She didn't dare assume anything; it never seemed to work out for her.

Twilight continued segmentally. "I, um, I've been thinking about, uh, what we've - what you - gimme a second." She closed her eyes and started over. "I've been thinking about what you said to me the other day. I've been thinking... that maybe it wasn't quite fair."

Pinkie didn't move a muscle. Did she dare believe her ears? Well, yeah, 'cause ears don't lie, except that one time a few months ago when the - no! Focus!

"Maybe - um - maybe I could, sort of, take a chance?" She blushed a bit. "I mean, I'm going out on a limb here, 'cause I don't wanna make myself look stupid, but I... I mean..."

Pinkie took this pause to regain her speech. "What do you mean by 'take a chance?'" she asked, almost shyly.

"Well, I mean, um, maybe we could... uh... how do I say this?" she said, frustrated. "Well, the point I'm making is that I've never taken the time to actually be with anypony. I'm just not sure whether it's fair to turn you down without thinking things through first." She inhaled, composing herself once more. "I'm not sure how to say this. Um... are you free Friday?"

The cogs in Pinkie's brain were still moving slowly, struggling to process such sudden, yet dire information. This was important; if she didn't phrase something right, this tentative grasp on a relationship could be ruined. She decided that saying less kept her safer. "Yes," she replied.

"I was thinking maybe we could meet at the corner deli on Mane Street at seven?"

"Yes. Yeah. Y-yes," Pinkie stuttered, still trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

"Well, I guess, uh, I'll see you there," Twilight said softly, still flushed pink.

"Yeah."

Pinkie stood there, dumbstruck on the tiled street, until Twilight was totally out of sight. Then, she lowered her head to the ground and sighed. Without another thought, she turned and ran back into the townhouse.

"TOOOOOO-LIIIIIIIIIIIP!" she shouted, scrambling madly up the stairs. "Tuliptuliptuliptuliptuliptulip!!!"

"I wasn't asleep," Tulip said, sitting up quickly on Pinkie's bed, the still-packed suitcases next to her.

"Oh Celestia, I have so stay calm but I can't 'cause GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"What? What happened? Was it good? Are you dead? Am I dead? Am I dying?"

"Morbid thoughts, Tulip," Pinkie reminded her, and Tulip settled down. "But guess what?"

"I did. I was wrong."

"Oh yeah. Okay, so listen."

Pinkie then sat next to Tulip on her bed, smiling happily. Tulip's face fell, and she shook her head to keep he mane out of her eyes. "So... what?"

"I've got a date on Friday!"

"What? With that mare outside?"

"Yeah! It's such a long story..."

"Oh, no, no, no, wait Pinkie -"

"So two weeks ago, oh jeez, it seems like such a long time ago now..."

Tulip sighed, and fell back onto the bed, a hint of a smile creeping onto her lips. Oh, Pinkie.

Part Seven - Patience

There was no way Pinkie could sleep. Not tonight. Instead, she drew herself slowly up from her bed so as not to disturb her cousin and walked silently over to the window near the corner of the room.

She hesitated momentarily to open the window, for fear that it would awaken Tulip, but followed through anyways. A warm summer night's breeze swept into the room with a faint, whispering whistle. Pinkie inhaled deeply, smelling the lush greenery and moistness of the night. She closed her eyes - this was what she needed to calm her thoughts. It usually was.

It may indeed have been the most exciting, joyous day of her life so far. Now, after two disheartening weeks of pain and rejection, there was a chance to prove herself. But... that wasn't the right word. She had next to no say in the matter; it was really all the decision of Twilight.

Pinkie sighed, unsure of her emotions. It was easy for her to stay serious when nopony was looking. At this thought, she was alarmed by her cousin rolling over in her cot, groaning softly. Pinkie smiled sleepily at the irony, and, having satisfied her questions, returned to her bed, taking slight comfort in the fact that it wasn't up to her.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As always, Pinkie was awake in the wee hours of the morning, sitting at the kitchen table and writing plans out furiously. When Tulip came downstairs, Pinkie had already finished her designs and had begin to call the businesses that were open at 8:30.

Tulip shook her head, and blew a few loose hairs out of her eyes. "Hi, Pinkie," she said groggily, befor wiping a hoof across her eyes and yawning. "I got 'til eight tonight... what do you wanna do?"

Pinkie had foreseen this question, and had come up with a believable answer. "I was thinking maybe today we could go and see Shimmering Lake. It's over near Fluttershy's."

Tulip looked at her confusedly, and nodded. "I'll just follow you, then. Tell me when."

"Now. Let's go."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Pinkie grinned widely. "It'll wake you up. Then we can go eat lunch, and figure stuff out from there."

"I can tell you why not," Tulip said as she followed the pink mare submissively out the door. "One, I'm tired, two, it's morning, three, what are we gonna do at the lake for, like, three hours?"

Pinkie remained silent but smiled to herself, avoiding Tulip's gaze. Oh, the look on her face would be positively priceless.

The pair arrived at the thinly-spread grove of elm and maple separating Fluttershy's cottage from the Everfree Forest. Tulip looked up at the rather impressive height of the trees and breathed, "It's almost like home."

"I was just thinking that!" Pinkie said happily.

"Wavelength!" Tulip replied in a singsong voice, and they clapped hooves above their heads, giggling.

Pinkie led her cousin into the grove, down the rocky path leading to the secret patch of grass near the lake only Pinkie knew about. It overlooked the entire lake, but nopony else had ever discovered it except her. She was planning on walking in a circle around the lake from that spot to the main beach, and then...

It was gonna be good.

"Hey, Pinkie."

Pinkie had just started to walk through the reeds around the lake, and turned her head as well as she could. "What's up?"

"There's a boat here. Why don't we just take a boat across the lake?"

Pinkie thought for a few seconds, and figured it wouldn't undermine her plans. "Sure, but I get to drive."

"You mean row?" Tulip said, climbing into the boat cautiously.

"That's what I said," Pinkie giggled, following her cousin and grabbing the oar lying in the mud next to her.

As Pinkie propelled the pair closer to the center of the lake, she caught a glimmer of neon green disappearing quickly into the brush. They seemed to have everything set up right; she could only hope that it worked out the way it had in her head.

Pinkie pulled the vessel over to the coast, to the outspoken confusion of her cousin. "Why are we pulling up to the coast here? Why not just row across the lake?"

As she helped her cousin out of the boat, she said, "This was the spot I wanted us to come to in the first place."

"Then why the detour?"

"Well, we couldn't have come from the other side, silly," Pinkie giggled, excitement already rushing to her head. "After all, everypony's hiding in the woods."

"Hiding in the-"

"NOW!"

All at once, close to four dozen ponies jumped out of the trees, simultaneously shouting "SURPRISE!" Tulip reared back, almost falling into the water behind her, before smiling at Pinkie and laughing. "You know, Pinkie, you're an absolute genius."

"Thanks, 'cuz," Pinkie replied, laughing and pulling Tulip to her hooves. "I wouldn't really call myself a genius, but..."

"Why not? You planned this entire thing in less than a day."

"Well... yeah, I did."

Meanwhile, a few ponies were pushing a strange-looking wheeled snack tray out of the trees. Applejack strode out, managing to control her apple-cart so it wouldn't careen into the lake.

"Oh, c'mere, Tulip!" Pinkie said, pulling Tulip over to her friend. "I wanna introduce you to Applejack!"

Applejack smiled amicably, and reached out a hoof for Tulip to shake. "Well, howdy-doo, Miss Tulip! Mah name's Applejack, and ah'm mighty pleased ta meetcha!"

Tulip accepted the hoofshake with equal enthusiasm, and started up a little small-talk before walking away to the rest of the crowd to introduce herself to everypony else.

Applejack leaned over to Pinkie. "Is she your new-"

"No! She's my cousin! Why does everypony keep thinking that?" she said in mock exasperation. Then she giggled. "You know, AJ, I wanna tell you some great news. Yesterd-"

"Hey, Pinkie!"

Pinkie stopped mid-sentence and turned her head past Applejack. Her eyes met a pair of sparkling lavender ones, and she smiled, unafraid of letting herself be overwhelmed. After all, if she could hold up long enough, she had a date in three days. She slowly approached Twilight.

"Hi, Pinkie," Twilight greeted her again, and stood silent for a few seconds. "I, um, brought my record player. It's right over there."

"Oh, cool," Pinkie replied. "Just set it up whenever."

"I already did."

There was another few moments of awkward silence, before Twilight began to speak again. "Um, I heard Trixie's looking for a job. Do the Cakes have an open spot?"

"Wait, you mean 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'?" Pinkie giggled, and snorted. "I'll have to check with the Cakes. I'm not sure she's cut out for baking, though." As hard as she tried, she couldn't imagine the puffed-up magician making a tray of cupcakes.

"Alright. I'll just wait for your word, then."

Eventually, just as Pinkie was about to leave, Twilight finally pieced together what she was going to say. "Pinkie, about this Friday."

Pinkie's ears unintentionally pricked up. She tried through willpower to force them down and appear less desperate. "Yeah?"

Twilight seemed very shy about the whole ordeal. "Could you... just... not tell anypony else yet? Don't get me wrong," she added, seeing the pink mare's face, "but I'm just not sure whether I'm ready for my friends - my other friends - to know about something like this. Plus, I'm not sure what it would do to the Elements of Harmony, or whether the Princess would even approve..." She trailed off and sighed. "It's just not the kinda thing I'd thought would ever be part of my life, and... here we are."

Pinkie had been listening thoughtfully, carefully. She'd taken to heart everything Twilight had said, and it actually revealed a lot more about Twilight than she might've intended. "...Okay," she finally responded.

"Thanks, Pinkie. Corner deli at eight, right?"

"See you there."

With that, both mares departed, and walked off into the sizable mob of ponies around them. Peppy party music began to play soon, setting the minds of both the mares at ease... along with the minds of two other mares that happened to be part of the party throng.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fluttershy had secluded herself from most of the other partygoers - or, um, surprise-partygoers. She would rather stay in this mystical place she'd moved into - it was a veritable oasis of magical calm surrounded on all sides by hustle and bustle. The way the light drifted through the trees and the way the dust floated about like sparkles in the air... it truly was beautiful.

Her extensive thoughts were interrupted by an irregularly small voice. "Um... Fluttershy?"

She turned from her reposing position to come face-to-face with Rainbow Dash. She gasped, and shrunk back.

If there was one thing Dash couldn't tolerate, it was letting her friends down. "Fluttershy... are you afraid of me?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I just... I don't want to... um..."

Dash shook her head, too. "I don't want us to end up without a friendship. I never did. I'm really, really sorry I shouted at you the way I did. I've been hearing taunts and stuff like that all my life, 'cause of the rainbows, and... just the general tomboyishness." She paused. "Is that a word?"

Fluttershy chose to ignore the last question; it seemed rhetorical. "I don't want us to end up without a friendship, either. But, you know, what I said was true" - her voice adopted quite a serious tone - "and I didn't lie. Everything I said, I really do think about you." Her serious tone left her, and it left her embarrassed.

Dash remembered back to the night almost a week ago. Everything Fluttershy said... everything? She blushed a deep magenta. "I - I didn't - I can't -" she stuttered.

Fluttershy stared at the ground between her hooves. "It's okay. We can still be friends, right?"

Dash looked intensely at the other pegasus. There was so little in common between them; Nonetheless, they'd kept a friendship going for just under two decades; maybe they would work well together in a... different relationship. But she'd always been straight. Always.

...Right?

She sighed, and thought things through in her head. Perhaps... perhaps she had been hasty. But how would her reputation suffer if it was publicized that she even tried something like this?

She continued staring at Fluttershy, who, in turn, was staring at the ground. She seemed like there was really something there; like she really did have feelings for Dash. Would the plan she was conjuring up work on both ends?

"You know what?"

Fluttershy looked up at Dash slowly.

"We can... try this. But I don't want it to be public yet."

Fluttershy's mouth was open slightly, and her eyes showed quite a bit of surprise. "You mean..." she nearly whispered.

"How about we meet here tomorrow at eight? Right here, in front of this lake?"

Fluttershy ha the overwhelming urge to jump into the air and fly circles in joy, but she kept herself as calm as possible, even though she could clearly hear her own heart beating. "Of-of course. Yes."

"Alright, then. We'll try this." Dash turned and walked away, leaving an emotionally bottled, yet still uncontainably excited Fluttershy in her wake.

Bottled + uncontainable = not good.

She had to pee.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie and Tulip returned in high spirits to the apartment at around noon. It was almost lunchtime, and Pinkie already had plans for that, too. She'd ordered a professional meal delivered to the apartment at noon, and picked it up as the pair entered the door. They unwrapped it from its box while it was still warm and began to eat.

After they were finished, Pinkie donned the most exaggerated mischievous look she could and stared Tulip dead in the eye.

Tulip put her fork down slowly. "Alright, beginning to scare me a bit here, Pinkie."

"Well, I have a super-duper surprise for you."

Tulip groaned in false exhaustion. "Another one? I could barely handle the first!" she whined.

Pinkie bucked open the oven and pulled out a lump on a tray covered in aluminum foil. "Well then, I guess you don't want this!" She ripped the foil off of the lump to reveal a strikingly orange, masterfully decorated cupcake.

Tulip stared at the masterpiece, then at her cousin, then back to the masterpiece. It was like gold in an edible form. Unable to speak, she looked at Pinkie, pointed at herself with her hoof, and mouthed, For me?

Pinkie nodded vigorously, and Tulip tentatively brought the cupcake to her lips. She didn't want to ruin it, but, since Pinkie insisted, she bit slowly into it.

Instantly, she was on her hooves. "Pinkiethisisabsolutelyamazinghowlongdidittakeyoutomakethisitssog-"

"Woah, calm yourself, 'cuz," Pinkie said, jamming her hoof playfully onto her cousin's lips. "You don't wanna break my speed-talking record."

Tulip smiled at Pinkie from ear-to-ear, and reached over for a tight hug. "You're the best cousin ever, Pinkie."

Pinkie hugged back. "You too, Tulip."

After all this excitement had died down and they'd been around the town a bit more, Pinkie helped Tulip with her bags and escorted her to the train station. It was a rather emotional farewell even for two cousins who only met once a year.

After this, Pinkie felt an obvious unease. There wasn't much else to do today, or tomorrow. Or the next day. She'd just have to wait until Friday.

So she went upstairs, sat down on her bed, and waited.

And waited.

Part Eight - First

Pinkie awoke from another out-of-body dream. They'd been losing frequency, giving Pinkie hope that soon they would disappear. That soon she would have no need for dreams portraying her as Twilight, and they would be replaced by dreams portraying her next to Twilight.

She sat up, and hugged herself a little, plunging herself into an unintentional daydream. In her bubbly imagination, nothing ever went wrong; the world was just as she wanted it. Everything was perfect for her, from the nature around her to her friends' feelings to her own feelings. That included her own relationships.

She remained in her own world for a little longer than she would've liked, just to boost her morale a little. She wanted to remind herself that everything would be okay.

Because tonight she had a date.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A little later, when Twilight woke in the stillness of her library, she began to prepare herself as well, albeit in a different way. She opened her eyes to the early daylight and, almost immediately, she levitated the book she'd been reading the other night from the drawer near her bed.

She looked cautiously around her and flipped it open to her bookmark. She couldn't afford to let Spike see her recent change in reading materials.

The small blue book's emblazoned gold title read, A Few Tips to Know on Your First Date. She'd sneaked it out of the library (to her great chagrin) on Tuesday. She'd nearly hit the end already, despite the fact she was forced to read in secret.

Remember to never let yourself get nervous. You should be able to be yourself, no matter what anypony else does. She thought about this. It wouldn't be hard to be herself - she didn't know how to be anypony else in the first place - but she was sure that Pinkie already knew who 'herself' was. What would she do? What would she say?

She flipped through the pages, as though expecting something to jump out at her. Obviously, nothing did, and she slumped back on her bed.

Maybe it wasn't her responsibility. Maybe she would just go along with it, see where it went. After all, this kind of thing doesn't happen every day; she doubted there was a book written on it. But she still felt an academic responsibility

How are you supposed to date a friend?

She eventually pulled herself out of bed and nudged Spike awake soon after. He responded with a groan before slipping sluggishly off of his pillow and trudging down the stairs, leaving Twilight alone once more.

She began to re-shelve books, stopping periodically to glance through a few, to take her mind off what would occur that evening. It worked well, for a good half hour, before Spike came upstairs again to check on her.

"Twilight?"

She gasped and dropped a few of the floating books, the baby dragon's small voice breaking the silence and stillness of the room. She regained her composure quickly.

"I - um - breakfast is ready," he said from the door. There was a slight pause. "Are you alright in there? 'Cause I heard a few thumps, like something dropped-"

"Yeah, I-I'm good, Spike."

The dragon turned from the door and began walking down the steps. Twilight had been acting funny over the past few days, but be just couldn't place his claw on what it was. He wasn't going to guess, either; he'd never been very good at that.

He shrugged it off and continued down the steps.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, the violet unicorn lowered herself slowly onto her bed, the interruption of her task inviting her thoughts back into her head with frightening power.

She was confused as to why she asked Pinkie in the first place. She'd thought it was an impulse action, but that would insinuate that she had deep feelings for Pinkie. Which she didn't. That was another main point.

She believed that she was testing herself, not Pinkie. But in that case, in the event she finds out that she is a lesbian, she'd be in a relationship with Pinkie. Is that what she wanted? Was it?

Twilight hadn't been given such a strange scenario to work with before. She was torn emotionally - between whether she actually thought going out with Pinkie was a good idea because she wanted to test her own sexuality, or that she might actually have feelings for her.

This made Twilight draw a shuddering breath. Maybe it was a placebo effect. Maybe, because Pinkie had said all those things to her, that she thought she might be attracted to her. But... was it really? She felt as though she couldn't read her own emotions, and it frustrated her beyond belief.

This date would affect so much in her life. She was counting on it to answer dozens of questions for her.

But for those answers, she'd have to wait until eight.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie busied herself in various ways around the house until the sun began to sink in the sky, and Luna was about to bring the night. By then, she'd taken a shower (it didn't help straighten her hair, though) and brushed herself thoroughly. It all seemed like a dream; like it wasn't really happening.

But it was, and it would, whether Pinkie liked it or not. She hoped she would love it; she hoped this date would be the most successful date in all of Equestrian history. She wanted so desperately for Twilight and her to... to 'work out'.

At a quarter till, she left the apartment and made her way to Mane Street. She scolded herself when she tried to prepare; she wanted everything to be from the heart. Nothing could screw this up - not her, not her mouth, and not her outspoken brain.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw waiting for her at a table in the corner deli. Twilight was beautiful; her coat was shining in the light of the sunset, and the early moon cast a highlight over part of her mane.

Pinkie looked up at the sky. It was almost an omen... almost exactly at eight came twilight itself, a brilliant purple color lighting up the sky briefly before night could take hold. She took a deep breath and began to approach the lavender unicorn.

Twilight noticed her arrival. "Hey, Pinkie," she greeted her, and patted the seat next to her, inviting her over.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie said, trying to contain her excitement. She walked over to the small umbrella-table Twilight was sitting under and sat near her - not quite next to her, but close. She smiled despite of herself and waited for Twilight to begin.

It took Twilight a few seconds to speak. "You know, Pinkie, I've been thinking about this. I just want to start... like, from the beginning."

Pinkie thought for a minute. "Well, I guess I can do that. Um... lessee... well, first, I'm really happy to be here." She paused. "I'm glad we could do this. I know it's a long shot, but I'm so, so glad you agreed to try."

Twilight smiled. "Well, I'm happy to do this, too. I..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say. How could she talk about what was going on in her head? She barely understood it.

Pinkie continued. "I dunno. I guess that since I've been thinking about this a lot, and then I actually see it happening, I just get ecstatic. I'll... I guess I'll just try my best."

"Pinkie, I don't want you to try, I want you to be yourself. In fact," Twilight added, "I've noticed another side to you. A quiet, thoughtful side that I haven't seen before. I'd like to get to know her better."

Pinkie swallowed. Just be herself? Herself around Twilight was different form herself normally. Maybe that's what she was talking about. "I think I started acting like this a few months ago, almost a year now, I guess, when I first met you. You calmed me down - no wait, that's not right - you... made me think. It was a challenge keeping up with you."

Twilight was listening carefully. The same thing, or, rather, the polar opposite happened to her. Instead of making her think, Pinkie let her have fun. She taught her indirectly how to let go and stop worrying. "Is that bad?"

"No! Of course not! I'm not challenged much, but I like to be. That's why I play sports and enter competitions and stuff. I like a challenge... but nopony ever seems to think that about me."

The two continued talking quietly in the dimming light, until the deli closed at nine. By then, of course, their conversation had grown so complex that it was impossible to just stop where they were. Pinkie found herself unintentionally accompanying Twilight back to the library.

"What, are you kidding? I wouldn't ever play the lottery. It's too much of a risk of getting nothing," Twilight was saying.

"Well, yeah, but the point is the thrill you get when scratching off the stuff. You're never really gonna win anything; I think it's set up that way." Pinkie giggled before she looked up and noticed that they were in view of the library.

She turned to Twilight. "Well... um... it looks like you're home."

Twilight looked up, too, and nodded. "Yeah."

Pinkie looked at her and opened her mouth as if to speak. It remained silent for a minute or two.

Finally, Twilight spoke. "That was really nice, Pinkie. I'm glad we did this."

Pinkie had been thinking of the best way to respond. "...Are you free Wednesday?"

Twilight smiled. "No, but I am Tuesday."

Pinkie tried to keep from grinning from ear-to-ear. She didn't screw up. It was gonna happen again. "Six?"

"Sure."

Pinkie's pulse picked up speed, but she declined herself her desires. "Well, good night."

Twilight watched her walk away, her hooves striking the tiled street to produce the only sound audible in all of Ponyville. The moonlight formed Pinkie's silhouette as she walked farther down the road. Twilight sighed shortly and looked to the ground, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

It didn't stay long, though; when she heard her name, her expression changed to one of surprise.

"Hey, Twi," Rainbow Dash called from above her. She flew around her until she met her face-to-face. "What's up? What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?"

"I saw Pinkie and you walk up like you were going to the library, then you stopped, then Pinkie walked away. You know it's, like, ten, right?"

"It's barely nine!" Twilight was developing a defensive tone.

"Okay, okay! Jeez!" Dash came down to earth in front of Twilight. "I was just asking."

"We had a sort of girl's night out." It wasn't really a lie, and Twilight was still reluctant to tell any of her friends about her and Pinkie's... whatever they were doing.

"Oh." Dash didn't want to mention where she'd been all evening, either. Instead, she quickly changed the subject. "I know it'd be asking a lot, but is the library still open?"

Twilight forced herself not to laugh. "You said it yourself, Dash - it's, like, ten."

"But you said it was barely nine!" Seeing the look on Twilight's face, she groaned. "Fine. I'll come back tomorrow." Without another word, she took off into the air, flying in the direction of Cloudsdale.

Twilight shook her head at the quickly departing pegasus, and chuckled to herself while walking into the library door. I've sure set her to the books, haven't I?

She slept peacefully that night, but not before she documented her findings. She learned two things: the only two things she'd ever learned that she didn't feel comfortable sharing with Princess Celestia.

First: Pinkie had indeed captured her attention. She'd opened Twilight up to a whole new side of her, a side she'd never seen before, with thoughts and emotions that she didn't think Pinkie was capable of. Second: she'd learned that it didn't seem to matter that Pinkie was a mare. She'd set a spark; although Twilight wasn't really sure what it meant, she did feel something - something she hadn't read about, and something that she would have to learn about.

She was hoping to get some more answers on Tuesday.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The door shut behind her quietly, breaking the quietness of the night for less than a second. It was enough to break her out of her trance, though.

She never thought it would go so well. She dwelt happily in this thought until another, less comforting thought crept into her mind. She couldn't really determine how well it went. Well, Twilight did say it was nice... but she's always been kind to me. What if she was trying to make me feel better?

No. She wouldn't. I could've sworn she was being serious.

She shook her head and tried to take her mind off of everything by baking a little. She didn't often bake so late at night, but she just had a compulsion. Soon, the smell of batter filled the small kitchen, and Pinkie lost herself momentarily in her task, all the while thinking positive thoughts.

Another realization came to her mind soon: she agreed to a second date. She must like spending time with her.

Maybe, she thought as she laid in her bed, just maybe, I'll be able to follow my dreams. This could work.

She hugged her pillow tightly until she drifted off to sleep.

Part Nine - Second

Act III

The days sped by. Friday was fine; Pinkie inquired with the Cakes about an open slot, and they said they might be able to squeeze one in. By chance, she caught Spike leaving a supply shop and asked him to deliver a message to Twilight.

Saturday was fine, too. She went on a few errands, and ran into Applejack on the way. Of course, in conversation, she had to leave out a lot to avoid revealing Twilight's secret, but she was still able to get a bit off her chest. Throughout the rest of the day, all her stress eventually left her. Summer always brightened her mood.

Sunday, though... Sunday seemed nearly nonexistent. It wasn't terrible, but she stayed in all day, which was, of course, quite unlike her. Perhaps it was due to the weather; it had recently become relatively hot out, which induced a lethargy in most of Ponyville. Even the Element of Laughter had little energy that Sunday.

Lastly came Monday. Monday morning, a few painful thoughts entered her mind, which plagued her throughout work. Nonetheless, she tried to be amicable to the familiar yet new employee. Pinkie would have to be training her all week, anyways, so she tried to get off on a good hoof.

When it came time to clock out that day, Pinkie felt that she'd learned a lot of things about Trixie. She was willing and filled with stamina; and, although it was difficult from time-to-time for her to follow directions, she seemed to be trying her best to fulfill any expectations of her. Pinkie had no idea what inspired such a dramatic change, but she felt good about it. It wasn't every day that somepony turned their life around.

A little later in the day, Pinkie decided to pop in and visit with Fluttershy, who she felt was one pony she could trust above any others. It wasn't like she couldn't trust Rainbow Dash (after all, loyalty was kinda her thing) or Rarity, but she had been rather focused on Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy since... well, since two weeks ago.

At about three in the afternoon, Fluttershy heard a few brisk knocks at the door. She gasped and jumped, and her already-red face turned a deep shade of maroon. She jumped up off the couch, excusing herself, and went over to the door, opening it embarrassedly.

"Oh, um, afternoon, Pinkie."

"Yes, it is," the pink mare joked, grinning. "Just wanted to drop by, no reason. Just to say hi." She paused, and looked at Fluttershy. "Hi."

"P-Pinkie, it's really not a good time, I have company over, and I just - I -" she stopped, unsure of how to continue. She'd been trying for days not to rush over to Pinkie's apartment and open up her heart, and tell her about all of the wonderful things that had been happening to her. She didn't want to hurt her friend by rubbing her own life in her face.

Pinkie smiled again. "Oki-doki-loki! If it's not a good time, then I'm out! Peace!" She turned (with a bit of a swagger) and proceeded to walk away.

"But... I didn't want to... you don't... oh!" she cried out in frustration, and stomping her hoof on the ground lightly. She had just realized how rude she must've seemed. She sighed, and turned back to the couch, a smile coming back to her face.

"Now, where were we?"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tuesday couldn't have crawled any slower. Watching the seconds tick by as she sat at Sugarcube Corner and continued helping her trainee was agony. At least she caught on quickly, or it would have been frustrating agony.

When the final order was complete, a huge grin spread across her face and she dashed out of the bakery, trotting speedily down Mane Street, making a left on Strawberry Lane and another left onto the Sunshine cul-de-sac. Her velocity only broke momentarily as she quickly unlocked the screen door and burst up the stairs. They'd agreed on six... there wasn't much time.

She combed herself and washed herself and dried herself and groomed herself and combed herself again, until her mane and coat were as shiny as the sunlight glinting off of a cupcake tray as it was pulled from the oven.

She knew by then that mental preparations weren't what Twilight was looking for, but screw it, she was nervous enough to need them. She recited a few lines in the mirror before taking a deep breath and checking the clock. Ten 'til. She should be heading to the library.

She'd already asked herself multiple times where she'd planned for them to go; she didn't want to go anywhere too expensive or too cheap, so she settled as close as she could to the middle with a little family-owned restaurant on the east side of town: Mary's Roses. She had to do a little research to find it, but hey, whatever worked.

Of course, she had to leave it open, in case Twilight had a different idea, in which case they'd go there instead. She set out on the road, and before long reached the library. Before she could step up and knock, though, Twilight slipped out of the heavy door, letting it shut quietly behind her.

Like on Thursday, she was beautiful... Pinkie could see from here that she really worked on presenting herself, and had even worn a small amethyst necklace. No doubt it was picked out by Rarity.

Speaking of, Pinkie had noticed that Twilight seemed to be spending a lot more time with Rarity since she'd approached Pinkie last Monday, if not even earlier. But there was no room to wonder. The last time she assumed... well, it didn't end nicely.

Twilight approached Pinkie, and smiled. "Ready to go?"

Pinkie tried to control herself, but just couldn't help it. She smiled back, an ear-to-ear type of smile that came not from etiquette but from true happiness. "Do you already have somewhere in mind?"

"Well, I mean, I considered all kinds of places, but if you already have one in mind, we should try that one."

"You sure? It's a bit of a walk."

"I'm up for it," Twilight said, putting a hoof over-dramatically in the air. "Let's go for a walk!"

Pinkie giggled, and walked off, motioning for Twilight to follow.

The walk there was filled with conversation, joking, and laughing. Both were in great moods, for reasons undisclosed; but despite the mystery of the happiness, it was still happiness, and they reveled in each other's company.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, their stomachs were audible. It was rather busy at 6:30, and the pair had to wait to be seated. Eventually, though, they were, and they placed their orders before they began their conversation again.

Pinkie heard herself slip twice into embarrassingly flattering statements, but Twilight didn't seem to notice. If she did, she was too polite to point it out. At this thought, Pinkie smiled again. Twilight was always so good to her.

However, Twilight, actually, made the statement that most tripped Pinkie up, and she accidentally responded to it. Near the end of a comment Pinkie made, Twilight commented after a bit of laughter, "Oh, Pinkie, you're wonderful."

She wasn't sure of the motive behind this statement, but she replied as though trying to play it off. "Well, thank you, Twilight, you are too." Just when the sentence had left her mouth, she felt a terrible sense of faux pas. She felt even more like a moron when Twilight flushed a light red, and stopped talking for a few moments.

She didn't know how to apologize or respond without saying something worse, so she tried to start a new topic. It took off well, and the two were soon talking again as though nothing had happened, but stopping every now and again to take a bite of food.

It was going perfectly, or, at least, semi-perfectly, for Pinkie, and Twilight seemed to be having a great time, too. By the time the bill came (they each paid for themselves), Pinkie found herself falling for Twilight more than ever.

It wasn't Pinkie's fault; it couldn't have been. Twilight was just so easy to fall for. She was smart, kind, understanding, caring, polite, and generous. Not to mention really... really, really pretty. Pinkie sighed and blushed at the innocent little thought.

The walk back was quieter, although it was still peppered with random comments and bits of conversation. It was barely 7:30, but it felt like they'd spent such a long time talking.

Pinkie felt that she hadn't been too much of an annoyance tonight. At last she hadn't made any major mistakes: maybe if she tried, next time could be even better. Almost just as she thought this, the library rose into view, the stately tree trunk rising above all the roofs of the nearby houses, dwarfing them against the slowly-darkening sky.

When they came to a reasonable distance from the door, Pinkie turned to face Twilight fully. "That was fantastic," she began, not a hint of falsity in her voice, "and I'm so, so glad you agreed to this. I had a lot of fun tonight."

Twilight smiled. "I did, too. I think we should do this more often. Can we do this again on, say, Saturday? Maybe I meet you at your apartment at six?"

Pinkie nodded vigorously. "Definitely." She was beginning to loosen up around Twilight; after all, friends who are dating are still friends, right?

Twilight nodded again in response, then, in a quick, premeditated, confident action, she leaned forward and kissed Pinkie gently on the cheek. It wasn't too passionate, obviously, but Pinkie could tell it was totally sincere, and definitely out of... could it be? Was it out of...

As Twilight disappeared silently behind the thick wooden door of the library, Pinkie concentrated hard on not jumping for joy. She didn't need to, though, because by instinct she turned and walked in the direction of the apartment, albeit blushing profusely.

Even in the cool night air, Pinkie could still feel the warm spot on her cheek. She could still remember the experience, no matter how quick it was. She could still remember the unicorn's soft, warm lips pressed against her face for that one amazing, beautiful moment. She still had a vivid memory of the emotion she felt Twilight was giving off; it felt like love. It really did.

This thought gave rise to an unbelievable surge of happiness in her. She bounced and skipped and laughed aloud the rest of the way home.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight was seated again on her bed, reading. By now, she'd put away all the advice books that were given to her and that she'd checked out, and was getting back into her daily routine of study.

But no matter how she tried, she couldn't concentrate on the copy of Transcendental Mathematics lying in front of her. It just wasn't possible. She was thinking too much.

She looked lazily over the page again, but found herself reading the same line twice, as she did when distracted. She looked lazily over the page again, but found herself reading the same line twice, as she did when distracted. 'All real transcendental numbers are irrational, because all rational numbers are algebraic...'

She sighed and closed the book, laying a hoof across her face. Was it the right thing to do? Did it give Pinkie the right impression? Why did I do it in the first place?

There weren't too many possibilities. The most likely was the one she least wanted to hear: that she actually had feelings for Pinkie. Maybe she did. She did feel something throughout the entire dinner; something deep in her chest that she couldn't explain. But then she thought back to what happened a few minutes ago, and bit her bottom lip.

It wasn't too far-fetched, but it was still hard for her to grasp. She hadn't even considered the possibility of this kind of relationship before, not even during the first date. But now, now that things seemed to be turning out so well... truthfully, she was beginning to get frightened.

At least tomorrow she had plans. Maybe she'd be able to get a few things off her chest then.

For now, she should get some sleep. She wanted to be alive, awake, alert, and enthusiastic tomorrow.

Part Ten - Advice

The alarm pierced the thin fabric of Twilight's dream with a shrill ring loud enough to wake even the deepest sleeper. She awoke with a start, forgetting momentarily where she was and why it was so dark. Alarms always had that affect on her; that's why she rarely used them. She needed it today, though; she didn't usually get up so early.

As they'd planned the week before, Twilight would be heading over to Rarity's boutique in the early morning. It was the only time that she felt safe and alone, as though she couldn't be seen by anypony.

She promised she'd keep Rarity updated, but, as she hurriedly and quietly forced uncooperative strands of hair down and smoothed out her bedraggled coat, she wondered to what extent. How much did she feel obligated to tell her friend? Absolutely everything, or should some matters be kept... personal?

By now, since Rarity was the only one she'd felt comfortable opening her heart to, Rarity was the only one she'd actually felt compelled to open her heart to. If she needed to say something about her... situation, she went to Rarity, who seemed happy to talk to her no matter what time she dropped by.

However, the two unicorns had planned this meeting that Sunday, so that she'd be able to talk to Rarity about the night before and so she wouldn't be made a liar by saying she had plans on Wednesday. (She didn't know why she said it; it may have just seemed natural to her. Didn't seem at all strange at the time.)

In any case, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Twilight was briskly on her way to the boutique, thinking over how she might go about asking her questions. Of course, Rarity would probably be the one asking questions; maybe she should stop worrying. She'd caught herself doing that more and more recently.

She trotted up to the elegant double doors of the shop and knocked a few times, glancing around her to detect any unwanted onlookers. The door was surrounded momentarily by a rich bluish glow, and swung open to allow Twilight entrance.

Twilight graciously stepped inside, and turned to her left, walking into an always-impressive sunroom that had been converted into a veritable workshop. More like a design studio, really.

"Good morning, Rarity," Twilight began, addressing her friend who was seated behind a writing-desk carefully measuring out a length of fabric. "Sleep well, I hope?"

"Oh, darling, still with the niceties," Rarity replied, in mock exasperation. "I'm sure you don't need to know how I slept. But -" she spun around in her chair "- I want to know how last night went."

Twilight swallowed nervously. Right down to business, huh?

"Tell me," she said, bringing a length of yarn over to Twilight (who often assisted Rarity in her work while they talked), "how was it?"

"It was great - I mean, you know, it was good like last time. It was nice." She smiled, unconvincingly trying to play herself off.

"Now, stop for a moment, darling, I heard 'great'. Why was it so great?" She'd stopped working for a second, and smiled over her shoulder to the quickly-blushing Twilight.

"I mean, it was... see, I just..." She sighed, and began wrapping the yarn into a tight ball. "You wanna know the truth, Rarity? I liked it a lot. Like, more than just fun."

"Ooh! Is something... developing?" she asked mischievously.

"Hey, hey, now, you're prying a bit too much," Twilight joked, and both laughed for a few seconds. When she calmed down, she began again.

"Really, though... I dunno. I'm not sure what's happening, you know?" The yarn hovering above her began to pick up speed. "Throughout most of the dinner, I felt something, like, in my chest, and I can't explain it." The yarn quickly became a blur of lemon-yellow in midair as Twilight's breathing began to shallow. "I'm just - just not sure - I don't - I mean, I wanna make the right choice, before - but I'm still not sure whether -"

Rarity rose from her seat and walked over to her friend, as she finally released the yarn, a good-sized ball of thick yellow thread falling to the ground in front of her. She was breathing heavily and flushed red; magic so quick and calculated took a bit of effort.

She picked up the ball and turned her head to the side, moving it over to a large wooden chest and closing the lid after it. She turned to face Twilight again. "You shouldn't get so upset after something like this. Really, darling, I know you should be conflicted, I understand, but -"

"You - it - you can't understand!" Twilight shouted, her voice reverberating around the room. She remained silent until the echo faded away. "I barely understand," she went on quietly. "I keep seeing Pinkie Pie as I've always known her, as my friend, but then she goes and changes into a Pinkie Pie I haven't seen before... I mean, she's the same Pinkie, but there's something else."

Rarity was listening quietly. After she was sure her friend was finished, she clicked her tongue. "Oh, you're right, of course; I couldn't understand. But I'll always be here for you, whether I understand or not."

A smile came quickly to Twilight's lips, and then to Rarity's. Twilight reached a hoof around her for a hug. "Thanks, Rarity. It's just confusing sometimes, and I don't like things I don't understand. I'm sorry."

She shook her head, and began walking around the room, moving a few stray ribbons and shreds of fabric from the floor and sweeping them into the rubbish bin near the door. "I'm glad you're okay with this. I wouldn't think, last week, that I'd be able to talk to anypony about this so casually and confidently. And here we are." She paused again, moving a mannequin to its original spot. "I'm just so confused about... I mean... well, Pinkie's not just my friend. She's a mare. And I... I never even thought of this happening. I'd heard of it, but never dreamed that i might be a... you know?"

"Ah, well, c'est l'amour." Seeing the look on Twilight's face, she clarified, "It means 'such is love'."

"I know what it means. I'm just really happy that you're so okay with it."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. But I have a feeling that if I told anypony else, they might not be as accepting. It's a scary thought, really; sort of a fear-of-the-unknown type of deal. Like, I don't know how it'll turn out, I don't know whether I want it to, and I definitely don't know how the others will react if it does."

Rarity invited her friend over to a large couch, and sat down next to her. "Now, although I haven't been in any situations like this, I will always be here for you. And I'll always try to help. But for now..." She leaned more over to her friend eagerly. "...How'd it go?"

Twilight blushed, remembering back to the night before. "Nothing much happened."

"Nice try, darling, I can see the blush. What did she say to you?"

"Nothing! Really!"

"Well, what's the blush for?"

This direct question turned Twilight a deeper shade of red. Should she withhold this? She kinda wanted to tell somepony; it was kind of a milestone for her. "Well... I... um... I kissed her goodnight."

"You what? What kind of kiss?" Rarity's tone quickly changed from one of teasing to one of worry.

Twilight was still feeling rather shy after her revelation, and this question took her far out of her comfort zone. "Why's that important?"

"Well, because, darling, relationships depend on timing! That kiss may have been way too early! You know the saying about the second date!"

"What the... no, I... what does that mean? I mean, come on, it was just a kiss on the cheek!" her voice had adopted a pleading tone.

"Nonetheless, darling, the actions on your next date will be crucial to your relationship's survival! She'll be expecting it again, but with more... how should I put it? Firepower. That's usually how it works." She was standing now, pacing in front of the couch where Twilight was sitting awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just so worried about the entire thing now," Rarity said, pausing where she was and turning to look at Twilight. "Usually one doesn't kiss on the second date."

"Still, it wasn't too much, just a kiss on the cheek," Twilight said, still sounding upset. "Why would it cause so much of a problem?"

"See, you can't do the same thing on the next date, and you can't do nothing, now," Rarity replied, putting a front leg to her head almost despairingly. "And if you don't want to progress any faster, you wouldn't give - well - any more firepower, like I said. I heard you say you wanted to take it slow, and really, darling, that's just not the way to do it."

She stopped when she saw the look on Twilight's face. She sat down next to her again. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Twilight. You should just do whatever feels right. I promise it'll all work out in the end."

Twilight stood. "...Thanks, Rarity," she said softly, and walked quietly out of the sunroom. Rarity was left alone on the couch near the door, Twilight's visibly worried face still fresh in her mind.

She was overcome suddenly with a feeling of emptiness; for the first time since their meetings started, Rarity felt like she was unable to help her friend. She felt like she let her down.

She also realized how skewed her perspective on the situation had become; she had thought Pinkie was convincing Twilight, but now it seemed like Twilight was actually - like she was falling for Pinkie. It was all dreadfully confusing as it was, and she forced herself to lie down.

She repeated to herself that it wasn't her job; it wasn't her business; it wasn't her responsibility. She couldn't pry; that would be positively rude. But she still felt like she should help.

She sighed, and remained prostrate for a little longer before returning to her desk and to her work.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight returned to the library as quietly and inconspicuously as she could, but attracted the attention of her most diligent assistant anyway.

"Morning, Twilight!" Spike said from the doorway got he kitchen as Twilight stepped slowly into the treehouse. "You're up early... and you were out early, too," he said, but didn't seem to be talking to her anymore. He stared off into space for a minute before returning to the other room.

Twilight watched him disappear behind the wall and sighed. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this from everypony - and definitely not from Spike. After all, Spike would be in the library when she left and would still be there when she returned. That could be for anything, from her conversations with Rarity to her actual dates. Spike might piece something together, and, whether he was right or not, Twilight didn't want him to get the wrong impression.

She hesitated to follow Spike into the kitchen, and more than hesitated to begin speaking. He was standing on tiptoe, peering into the cabinet.

"Hey, Twilight, you want breakfast?" he asked, leaning out of the cabinet and shaking a box of cereal.

"No, I - I already ate," she lied. "Spike-"

"Speaking of, we need more milk. I noticed that earlier this morning -"

"Spike," she repeated gently but firmly.

He turned to face her, and closed the cabinet behind him. Twilight walked over to the nearby table and sat down, leaning on it and laying a hoof across her face. Spike easily sensed that she was upset and hurried over to her. "Twilight, are you alright? What happened?"

"N-Nothing. I just... I just wanna talk to you," she said softly, still piecing together what she would say in her head. Her mouth went dry suddenly and she took her hoof off her face, keeping her eyes closed.

"Spike," she began, opening her eyes and steeling herself, "can you keep a secret?"

Part Eleven - Third

Pinkie stared out her window, past the buildings and trees and sky and deep into her own mind. She wasn't really focusing on much; since their very tentative relationship had begun, everything seemed to revolve around her and Twilight's date nights. Everything. Every once in a while, she just wanted to jump for joy and spill her soul out to Applejack or Fluttershy and tell them all about how everything was just so excellent, and how she wished that the future would turn out exactly as she always wanted it to.

And then she remembered what Twilight had asked her, and forced her mouth shut. Then, her mood fell and her joy depleted until it was date night once more.

Everything was centered on this. At work, her heart was bursting to just pour out her emotions to one of the Cakes or even to Trixie. At home, she daydreamed frequently about what she desired so badly for their relationship. Anywhere she went, she seemed to become preoccupied, her thoughts trailing back to the mare she had been in love with for so long now.

And now, finally, thank Celestia, it was that time again; the one day that added a new level of hope to the futures she constantly envisioned. If there was a possibility, or an opportunity, or a risk, she'd take it. As long as it helped her reach her dreams.

Everything had already been prepared. At the end of the last date, Twilight told her that she would meet her at the apartment... so all she had to do was wait. Just wait - and then she could overflow with happiness for one night; she could spend time with Twilight, real time, just talking and laughing and feeling good with her, and, if she was lucky, she would be able to do it again.

She could tell it was simple as she thought it; it was the most basic thing an early relationship was comprised of. It was strange to realize how calm and peaceful it made her feel. Of course, by the time Twilight arrived, she was practically ecstatic, having already daydreamed to no extent what could go on that night.

She heard a knock at the door, and she felt a tingling warmth run through her chest. After nearly galloping down the stairs, she forced herself to calm down before she answered it.

Pinkie was shocked momentarily by the purple mare's appearance; she truly had gone to extra lengths. Maybe. Well, her coat seemed shinier... and her mane seemed to be brushed neater... even her eyes were sparkling more. To Pinkie, of course; well, maybe it was just her emotions getting the better of her. Again.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but the words she formed in her head wouldn't form in her mouth. "I... I..." she stuttered, and blushed, embarrassed. She wasn't used to being uncomfortable, and definitely not to being shy.

Twilight giggled. "You what?" she replied playfully, smiling. "Anyway, hi, Pinkie," she greeted her, stepping to the side and allowing Pinkie to pass.

You look beautiful. You look beautiful. "...Ready, Twilight?" Just say it.

"Definitely. Where are we going tonight?"

You look beautiful. "There was a movie that I've been wanting to see for a while, I thought maybe we could go to the theatre." C'mon, Pinkie.

"Sure! I'll just follow you, then," Twilight replied, her happy demeanor touching Pinkie deeply. I think she likes being with you, Pinkie. Just tell her she's beautiful.

"...You know what, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, as they began walking out of the cul-de-sac.

"What?"

"You look beautiful tonight."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Left Decision's fourth showing began at seven; they could take their time. Along the way, they began a conversation, as per usual, but Twilight seemed to be in such a good mood that Pinkie couldn't bear to interrupt her. She took the other end of the conversational spectrum this time around; she listened.

The knowledge that somepony she had feelings for was enjoying their time together felt good. It felt really good. A brief impulse passed through Pinkie's mind before she pushed it back out. Twilight said she wanted to go slow; there was no way she would accede to something like that in the middle of the third date.

Pinkie tried to follow what she was saying, but it led off into such complicated subjects that she quickly became lost, and, although she concentrated on their rather one-sided conversation, nodding and replying occasionally, she noticed to her horror that she was slipping into another daydream. She shook her head and tried to force all the thoughts out of her mind, and it nearly worked, if Twilight herself hadn't have been walking alongside her. It really didn't help.

Thankfully, the arrival of the pair at the theatre saved her from her thoughts. Pinkie noticed that Twilight had quieted down since the building had come into their sights; she turned to her and smiled. "It doesn't start for another half hour," she said, pointing to the Left Decision poster. "Do you wanna go in now, or...?"

"Sure! We can just talk until the movie starts. You know, you wouldn't think it, but you can be a really good listener if you want to."

Pinkie followed her inside, replying, "And you can be really talkative if you want to."

"Hey!" she giggled, pushing Pinkie playfully with a hoof. "I guess I just feel really good today."

"I could tell."

Twilight laughed shortly as they walked to the back of the ticket line. "Quick wit there, Pinkie. Where'd you find that?"

"I picked it up recently," Pinkie said, remembering back to when her cousin was in town and smiling. They paid for their admissions, and picked two seats near the front in theatre 5, throwing some 'newfound' wit back and forth and laughing together.

"You know, just tell me if you want popcorn or something, 'cause I can just run up and get it before the movie starts," Pinkie commented as various commercials and notifications flicked up on the screen.

Twilight cocked her head. "Would you?"

"Sure. Back in a sec."

Twilight was left alone with her thoughts, and she began to finally dwell on them a bit. It was only about five minutes until Pinkie returned with a cliched striped bucket of popcorn, but in that time, Twilight had finally made a decision that she'd been thinking about ever since her meeting with Rarity.

Pinkie set the popcorn in-between them and sat down again, just as the lights dimmed. The screen was illuminated by a rather depressing scene - a nearly grayscale shot of a bus stop, with a mare standing under the overcast sky and in front of an overgrown, rundown urban area as the wind whipped past her and blew her mane behind her.

Twilight leaned over and whispered, "What's this about? You never told me."

Pinkie giggled. "Just watch, silly."

The plot began to slowly unfold with the introduction of two dashing colts and a sudden declaration of war, followed by a hectic evacuation scene and a few action and thrilling bits thrown in here and there. It wasn't too bad. Not bad at all.

Of course, Pinkie was hardly paying any attention to the movie. She laughed at the funny parts, when she caught them (or understood the joke), and gasped at the surprising and frightening parts, but she didn't focus too much on the movie itself as she did on the mare she came with.

She smiled when Twilight did, not because of the movie so much as because she liked Twilight's smile. Also (lucky, lucky her), during one jumpscare scene, Twilight jumped and grabbed Pinkie's foreleg, before blushing and pulling away.

She'd been tempted multiple times to do that thing she'd always read about and seen in movies, where the colt puts a hoof over the mare and on her far shoulder, and it can be all romantic and stuff. But, as she thought about it, and looked next to her at the lavender unicorn, she decided that she didn't want to take the risk. She didn't want to lose a relationship because of one stupid impulse.

She came to attention during the closing scene; apparently, one of the colts had been killed and the movie ended with a kiss between the second colt and the main character.

Pinkie felt another warm, tingly feeling in her chest, running down the length of her spine, through her entire body. She imagined, for a minute, that same kiss, with her as the colt and Twilight as the mare. The same position, the same passion, everything. If only.

Nonetheless, Pinkie was overjoyed that Twilight liked her enough to keep setting up more dates. At least she could spend time with her, whether something formed between them or not. By the time the movie was over, Pinkie noticed that she was blushing, and tried to think of something else quickly before the lights came on.

The pair left the theatre and walked through the streetlamp-lit streets of Ponyville side-by-side, talking about the movie, about the actors and actresses, about the director, and anything that came to mind. Pinkie was more than happy enough to talk to Twilight about anything. Pinkie didn't even notice they'd been walking for twenty minutes until they reached the cul-de-sac.

Pinkie stepped up to the door, and before Twilight could say anything, she asked, "Wanna come in and help me bake something?"

Twilight looked behind her, where the nearly-full moon shone in the sky. "It's about, what, nine? ... Yeah, I suppose I could come in for a little. We're usually together until ten."

Pinkie stomped her hooves against the ground. "Oh, goodie! I've been waiting for sooo long for you to try this!"

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"Well, there we are!" Pinkie said cheerfully, throwing the cupcake pan into the oven. "Now we just have to wait for fourteen minutes and twenty-four seconds."

Twilight giggled. The shine of her coat and mane had worn away, and there were small splotches of orange cupcake batter splattered about her, including a little in her mane.

Pinkie noticed this before Twilight. "Here, there's a little bit of batter in your mane," she said, and reached out to wipe it off. She brushed her hoof along her mane and let the drop of batter fall to the ground; however, her hoof remained where it was. She moved her hoof along her forehead and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, and caught her gaze momentarily. She stared deep into Twilight's deep violet eyes for a few seconds, but wouldn't allow herself any longer. She quickly pulled her hoof away and turned back to the oven, her cheeks flushing a deep red.

After a few extremely awkward moments of silence, Twilight began conversation again, and anything that had happened between the two of them was forgotten for the moment. This conversation led right into the ringing of the oven's alarm, making Pinkie squeal in excitement and kick it open, flipping around to remove the hot pan as quickly as she could.

Her back still to Twilight, she picked up tubes of gold and orange colors, quickly and deftly forming little circular patterns on each of the six good-sized cupcakes. Without further ado, she turned around and proudly presented the pan to Twilight.

Twilight smiled. "Wow, I guess we did good, didn't we? These look great," she said, and popped one out of the pan and into her mouth.

She stopped dead where she was, unable to move her mouth, or forth matter any other part of her body. "Oh... SWEET... CELESTIA," she said, chewing as slowly as possible to savor it. "How - how on Earth did you - did you do... with the - the - apples and the cupcakes and - it tastes like apple pie but better! I swear, this has got to be the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Pinkie smiled. "Why, thank you, Twilight," she replied, taking a low, comical bow. "Applejack and I came up with this a while back. I'm not sure whether I'll ever sell them, though; I kinda wanna just give them out to my friends. I mean, you know, 'cause... well, I don't know why. Maybe. I dunno."

"You HAVE to sell this. I'm not kidding. This is genius. You're a genius."

She began to blush, and turned away again to put the tray on the counter. The smartest pony in Ponyville ever called her a genius - but that wasn't what made her blush. The pony she loved called her a genius; that above all else touched her deeply.

After a few more minutes discussing the cupcakes to great length and having a couple more (the rest), Twilight finally decided to finish up the night. She turned to leave, and Pinkie accompanied her to the door.

She turned to face Pinkie, who grinned in her ecstatic-about-life Pinkie way. Without a word, she leaned over to her and kissed her cheek, despite Rarity's warnings (and confusion). But, she decided, this time would be a bit different. Not too much so, but enough to let Pinkie know that she enjoyed their date. All she had to do was kiss her a little longer... that should solve everything.

Pinkie's mind was working full-speed. It's the same as l- no, wait, it's longer, I- should I- I could- Her brain shut off as an instinctual feeling took control of her for a few seconds. She didn't have to wait for too long until Twilight stopped, then she leaned back over and kissed her cheek as well.

Another warm wave rushed over her. Even after she pulled away, she remained with her face pressed against Twilight's. Just for a second.

There was romance, of course, and a good amount of confusion, but they both paled in comparison to the joy she felt. She didn't try to restrain the smile that spread across her face, or even the blush that she knew was already there. She wanted to act on her emotions so, so badly right then, but she forced herself (with much difficulty) to remain in place.

Twilight blushed, too, and shifted her eyes down, smiling softly. "Wednesday at seven? I'll meet you in the park."

"Yes, ma'am," Pinkie replied, still trying to keep everything lighthearted to less of a degree.

Before she left the cul-de-sac, Twilight waved to Pinkie, who waved back energetically. When she finally left her sight, Pinkie walked inside the apartment and sighed, in the deepest of bliss. The smell of their earlier cupcake victory was still fresh in the air, and the warmth of Twilight's face against hers (twice!!) was still fresh in her heart.

Good dreams tonight.

Part Twelve - Fourth

The long piece of parchment floating before Twilight was filled edge-to-edge with a nearly-indecipherable scribble. On the left side was a list entitled Pros; on the right, a list entitled Cons. She blew a few loose strands of hair out of her face and laid the parchment over the small stack that had accumulated next to her on the desk.

She'd begun after she finished her friendship report earlier that evening; she retreated to her room and began writing all of her thoughts down so she wouldn't lose them. It turned out to be a list about everything she'd been thinking about for the past week or so, all written down and organized neatly. Once she'd finished the first list, though, she took out another sheet and began writing it again, repeating everything the exact same way and slipping in a few thoughts when she had them.

There was plenty on the Pros side; that was good for Pinkie. But, there was also plenty on the Cons side. In fact, numerically, they were equal once she hit the twentieth list or so. So she'd spent the last few minutes writing more lists and thinking about what really meant something to her.

She opened her desk again and levitated another sheet of parchment towards herself, staring at it for a few seconds before laying it on the desk in front of her. She plucked the quill out of the inkwell tapping it twice on the rim to release any excess.

The first thing she always found herself writing was the pros. Additionally, she found herself usually starting off with 'Funny', mainly because it was true and because Twilight really liked that aspect of Pinkie. But that could also apply to normal Pinkie, not just to the new Pinkie Twilight had gotten used to seeing.

Afterwards came 'Kind' and 'Generous', because she could really see these aspects in her. Often, memories of their first few dates were dragged up in the back of her mind. She had always been complimentary to her, always told her that she looked nice or that whatever she may have been wearing really suited her. It was odd to hear it coming from Pinkie, with Pinkie's voice, but she'd grown to like it; it made her feel warm inside.

'Ecstatic' was the last answer she could sum up in one word. Pinkie seemed to be so happy around her, but not in her Pinkie way; she seemed to be calmed by Twilight; maybe she was kept from being hyperactive because she was shy? After all, she'd already professed her feelings; maybe she just felt uncomfortable around her.

Even thinking this made Twilight feel strange. It brought her back to the confusion she felt that one afternoon in the library. She remembered what Pinkie had said about her and blushed openly; after all, who was going to see her?

This was followed by tons of sentence entries, things that Twilight couldn't think of one word to describe, like 'Seems to really enjoy my company' and 'Second personality'. That last one added quite a bit of weight to the Pros side; Twilight had quickly come to like the new Pinkie.

As she hit what she thought to be the bottom of the list, a new thought hit her with gradual force. She moved her quill down one line, and slowly formed the letters one by one.

The feeling I get.

Why else would she keep asking Pinkie out? Why else would she have kissed her goodnight twice? Why else would she have felt a fluttering in her chest when Pinkie kissed her back last time? Why else had her thoughts been drawn to Pinkie multiple times and why else would she feel that small degree of nervousness when she met her sometime during the week, on the street or at a picnic or in a party?

It was that little feeling she'd had ever since day one. That little, nagging thought in the back of her mind that she couldn't define until now. She couldn't help but feel disappointed at herself as her brain immediately went to the scientific phrasing.

It's most likely love.

No 'I think I'm in love with Pinkie' or 'Maybe I love her too', just 'it's most likely'. A myriad of emotions swam through her mind; happiness that that feeling was defined, frustration that her mind didn't seem capable of emotion, and... something strange, something that actually had to do with what she just discovered. She tried saying the phrase she came up with out loud, to test the emotion.

"I think I'm in love with Pinkie."

It didn't sound right, but after what she'd been through in the past week or so, there was comfort in it. She still didn't feel like she was a fillyfooler, though; she really felt nothing (except, maybe, to some degree, jealousy) when she saw a particularly attractive mare. Then again, she rarely felt anything when she saw a particularly attractive stallion. Maybe it was true. She said the other phrase, further testing herself:

"Maybe I love her too."

The words barely left her lips when she felt a tingle in her spine, something she hadn't ever felt before. The thought, again, hit her with quite a bit of power. It was true; there wasn't any other explanation for it. She was falling for Pinkie.

But then she muttered 'fillyfooler' aloud, albeit quietly, and almost winced. It was a strange word; she didn't like it right off the bat, but when she thought about it, she began to realize she may be one. It just confused her, beyond anything else she'd ever studied. She just couldn't wrap her mind around her own sexuality... it almost made her laugh before she realized how stupid she must be.

An idea began to grow in her, an idea that she was sure Rarity would protest against. She'd thought about it enough to consider it safe, though.

It had already become night outside, and she finally realized she was staring at darkness, the letters she'd written illuminated only slightly by the glow of the magic surrounding the quill. She laid it down gently and walked over to her bed, ready to turn in early.

Results would be in tomorrow night.

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Pinkie hummed to herself as she tried to keep herself busy at work the next morning. As always, she woke early and came in to work early, to begin filling previous orders and to get the ovens going.

She was a bit shocked when her coworker walked in the front door, moving part of her mane out of her eyes with her hoof. Usually Trixie never came in this early. She greeted her with a smile nonetheless. "Hi, Trixie!"

"Um, yeah, good morning, Pinkie," she said, yawning. "Oh, I sooo didn't have a good night. Seriously, when somepony's trying to sleep, others should be respectful and not stay up all night singing! I mean, really, singing? At night?"

Nothing could ruin Pinkie's mood today. "Hey, Trix, you wanna stay at my house for a while?" she asked suddenly, much to the bewilderment of her coworker. "It's pretty quiet in the cul-de-sac."

Trixie moved her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked around the room, as though expecting somepony to tell her what to do. But then she turned back and sighed. "No. I couldn't do something like that. I'll just stay where I am. Thanks, though," she added, smiling briefly before setting off to work.

The day... well, it didn't speed by, but it wasn't crawling. She had a little conversation with Trixie and a lot of conversation with herself. She muttered and hummed tunelessly as she kneaded and pinched and poured and squeezed and formed. The last few minutes were absolute torture, though. When the clock finally sounded, she threw her apron onto a coat hangar and dashed out madly, shouting a quick goodbye to Trixie and Mrs. Cake.

She smiled, feeling the wind and sun in her face as she galloped home. As always, she started getting a tingling in her chest as she imagined what could happen.

Without further ado, she showered and combed and brushed and made herself pretty until she deemed herself presentable. The entire time, she was giggling, the thought of spending some not-too-casual time with Twilight making her happy beyond anything else.

Then, of course, she remembered how she usually acted, and calmed down. To have a nice date, she had to concentrate and think. Of course, she also had to be herself, but she also had to be somepony else. Then again, wasn't she that somepony else?

She giggled again as she thought this, realizing that it was beyond her grasp and putting it out of her mind. She just had to do what came to her. Unless, you know, it was...

She felt that warmth in her chest again; the same kind of warmth she'd been getting when she was around Twilight. A serious, but happy warmth... well, it was hard to describe. Love is always hard to describe.

It was a quarter till when she decided to leave for the park. She wondered what Twilight had planned, the thoughts running rampant through her mind drawing her mouth into a smile.

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Link alert. Visual interpretation. Don't like, don't click.

There was still a good hour of light left, and the sun was hovering contentedly over the horizon when Pinkie skipped happily into the park gates. She continued skipping past the lavender unicorn waiting quietly on the small white marble bench, before realization dawned and she stopped where she was, turning around with embarrassment clear in her face.

"I - I -" she began to stammer nervously before Twilight stood and began to approach her. Her blush became slightly darker as Twilight giggled.

"It's okay, Pinkie," she assured the pink mare. "I don't want you to be nervous. Not tonight. I just want us to have a good time."

Although the blush remained where it was on Pinkie's face, she quickly regained her composure. "Oki-doki-loki!" she replied, and grinned. Tonight would be good.

The park was one of the most pastoral places in Ponyville. Well, not technically in Ponyville, but lying right off the border. Nonetheless, it was really quite a tranquil place, especially right before sunset. As the pair walked, the shadows of the trees flickered by them and the birds were speaking in ambiance as they fluttered from tree to tree.

"You know, Twilight, I've never seen the same in books that you do. What's so super-amazing about words on paper?" Pinkie asked.

"Well, I guess..." Twilight began, unsure of how to go on. "It's like - it's - well, I suppose it's like they're transporting you to a different, more interesting world straight from somepony else's imagination. If it flows right, it just carries you along until you lose yourself in the words and in your own imagination."

Pinkie smiled, remembering back to the first few dreams she'd had about Twilight. "I thought so," she muttered to herself. "Well, I think art is better. Like, you know, paintings and stuff."

"Oh, like visual art? 'Cause, you know, literature is another type of art. Literary art. Like culinary art." She paused. "Speaking of, have you made any more of those really good apple cupcake things yet?"

"No. Why? Do you like them?" Pinkie asked, almost teasingly.

"Definitely! I would pay for those things, Pinkie! I mean, I would literally - I mean, seriously!" Twilight seemed to actually be excited about her and Applejack's creation. "I don't know, Pinkie. Those aren't normal cupcakes. They're, like, super-cupcakes. How do you make them?"

"Ha! I can't tell you, silly," Pinkie laughed, patting Twilight's head. "This could become, like, a family secret, or - or something," she trailed off, realizing the gravity of what she just said.

Twilight stopped speaking for a few seconds, a light red showing up on her cheeks. She stopped walking and pointed to her left. "Hold up a second, Pinkie," she said, and turned. "Here's what I wanted to show you. Seriously, I think this is really cool."

Pinkie followed Twilight to the top of a rather steep hill. She paused at the top, looking behind her at the path they followed. She turned her head back to Twilight and began, "What's -"

She stopped, and her eyes opened wide. "That's... it's beautiful," she breathed. The hill dropped off suddenly to a rocky slope that led into a sparkling blue body of water, surrounded by deciduous trees and wide plains. It was breathtaking.

"I - I didn't think we were anywhere near the sea," she commented.

"We're really not. This is more of a lake, but it has a tributary that leads into the sea." She sat down, inviting Pinkie to as well. "Isn't it beautiful?" she sighed. "Things like this, especially at dusk -"

"Twilight," Pinkie interrupted with a giggle.

Twilight paused for a moment. "Oh. Oh, that was good! I didn't think of that," she said with a short laugh. "Anyways, lakes and other stuff like this never ceases to amaze me."

Pinkie sat down next to her, gazing out at the natural perfection Twilight had led her to. "How could I not know about this? I've been in the park before, and I've never even heard of it."

"I don't know. I probably wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't have stumbled upon the map of Ponyville when cleaning up the den two weeks ago."

She looked over at Pinkie, who was still mesmerized by the sparkling lake in front of them. In a minute or two, though, she looked back over at Twilight and smiled. Twilight smiled back, and leaned her head forward to put her plan into action.

Pinkie didn't understand what was happening at first; she looked in front of her at Twilight's closed eyes and down at her hooves before she finally grasped the situation. She closed her eyes and leaned back, savoring everything. Twilight... had kissed her... on the lips! And it wasn't just a - it felt like - it was totally on purpose!

She could feel the tingling in her cheeks as they quickly flushed a deep maroon. She didn't know what to do with herself; nervousness screamed at her from her mind before she finally told herself to calm down. Just be yourself. I think she likes you.

Twilight finally pulled away, her eyes remaining closed for a few seconds. Pinkie opened her eyes slowly to the lavender unicorn blushing almost as furiously as her, her mouth open slightly. She looked back over the shimmering lake, and back to Twilight, who was smiling shyly.

It'd been a few minutes before Pinkie began to speak. "Does this mean... are we..."

"I think I like you, too, Pinkie," Twilight said softly.

Pinkie couldn't suppress the grin that spread quickly across her features, and she could feel a stinging behind her eyes. Twilight was shocked by Pinkie's quick hug, but soon returned it as Pinkie's tears of joy slowly rolled down her cheeks. "I... I... thank you," Pinkie whispered, never wanting to release her grasp.

They remained at the top of the hill in their quiet embrace, as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and the lake became dark and still.

Part Thirteen - Coincidence

Act IV

Pinkie bounced alongside Twilight, across the darkened path that led them up to the glimmering lake... it would always remain in Pinkie's memory. After spending a few minutes on the hilltop, Pinkie had lost all traces of nervousness, and was ecstatic beyond anything she'd ever felt before. "So, are we, like, a couple?"

"Yeah, I mean, I guess-"

"Does this mean we're, like, dating for real?"

"I think that... well, what do you mean by 'dating for real'?"

"I mean - well - like, does everything have to be all set up, or can it just be a what-does-life-bring kinda go-with-the-flow kinda thing?"

"Well, you know, things do require planning, Pinkie; I mean, we should still take it slow," Twilight replied quietly, thinking before she spoke so as to avoid saying something that could endanger their tentative relationship.

"I know. I know. But... you know, I'm just..." She paused, and slowed to a walk. She laughed. "You know, I'm just so happy!"

Twilight smiled in the darkness, remembering back to that one evening in the library again. More and more often, that memory came to her, and made her feel that little tingle in her chest. It didn't seem uncomfortable to her anymore; it seemed sweet.

Now, though, she had a new bookmarked memory; the first real kiss she'd ever had was with Pinkie, and it wasn't the type of thing she'd forget about. But the tingle she usually felt in her chest wasn't there when she felt Pinkie's warm lips pressed against hers; it was replaced by a warmth that spread throughout her entire body. It was fantastic.

All these thoughts at the same time forced a blush to her cheeks; she was glad it was dark. She looked over at Pinkie, who she could see was grinning. She was glad that Pinkie was so happy, but she couldn't help but wonder if she made the right choice. Well, either way, she was the kind of pony who would see a decision through to the end.

Pinkie turned to look back at Twilight, who smiled. Maybe it was a good decision after all..

The fifteen minutes spent walking back to the library were relatively quiet; not much laughing or joking, just the odd question or two and maybe a comment here and there. Nevertheless, by the time they reached the library, Twilight felt refreshed and began liking the choice she made more and more.

Pinkie stopped a good twenty yards from the library, to the slight confusion of Twilight. Seeing the look on Twilight's face, Pinkie quickly explained, "Well, I mean, this is what we've been doing. Like, for all the other dates. So..."

Twilight giggled. "Not anymore. I wanted someone to talk to, so I told Spike a few days ago. He - well, he seemed okay with it..." She trailed off, a few new questions popping into her mind. Spike was pretty neutral about it, which wasn't bad; it just wasn't the reaction she expected. What was going on in his mind?

Pinkie's soft voice brought the lavender unicorn out of her thoughts. "So... does this mean I can tell other ponies?"

Twilight immediately saw the relative injustice in this, but was still reluctant to give such an outright answer. "I mean... well, I suppose that if I did, you should be able to, but... I just don't want the world to hear about it, you know?"

"No, I'll only tell a few - I mean, I already have a few in mind. That's all. I just wanna-" she stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"It's okay, Pinkie," Twilight replied. "I trust you. You're not gonna let this get out of hoof... right?"

"No! No, of course not! I just wasn't sure how you were gonna react. I was kinda nervous."

"Seriously, it's okay. Come on," she said, motioning her over and beginning to walk up towards the library. Pinkie happily obliged and sidled up alongside her - was it okay to say marefriend now? Yeah. Marefriend. Just the thought made her feel like giggling.

Twilight walked up to the steps alongside Pinkie, turning to her and smiling. Pinkie smiled back, her features illuminated softly by the candle hanging on the door. Pinkie blushed lightly as an impulse came to mind. "Can - can I..."

It took Twilight a second to realize what she was struggling to say. She blushed, too, but replied, "Yeah. Go ahead."

Then, to her mild horror, Pinkie realized that she had no idea what she was doing. She remembered what she'd been telling herself for the past few days, though: Just be yourself. Follow your gut. She likes you. She closed her eyes and leaned in, catching Twilight's lips just right, and pulled away slowly after about three seconds.

Twilight smiled and blushed deeper, before almost whispering "good night" and slipping quietly into the library.

The night was still, like the lake; no quiet breeze, no movement around her. The only thing Pinkie could hear was the sound of crickets chirping faintly around her. This set a calmness into her heart, a feeling of total peace and contentment. After this, this one evening, her life as she knew it was half-complete. She laid her head gently against the heavy, painted wooden door and whispered to the night.

"I love you."

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Every Thursday, Pinkie knew, was Fluttershy's spa day with Rarity, and there was no way Pinkie could wait any longer than she already had to tell Fluttershy the great news. As with every morning, of course, she'd woken up early, but today she hoped the Cakes would forgive her just this once to miss the first hour of work. This was some serious stuff.

She trotted down the path to Fluttershy's humming to herself and looking around joyfully at the birds and trees and things that surrounded her. Out of nowhere, a thought hit her, slowing her pace to a walk before she finally stopped, in repose in the middle of the forest. You know, it'd be kinda mean if I went all braggy and stuff to Fluttershy, 'cause she's not with Rainbow Dash. It'd be all uncomfortable and not fun.

She paused, considering turning around and walking back home, before she thought, No. I can't. I have to tell somepony, and I want Fluttershy to know really bad. I hope she won't be too mad. I don't wanna be a meanie. With this thought, and a final, short sigh of guilt, she continued walking down the path.

By the time she arrived at Fluttershy's, though, all of her pep had returned, and she was grinning from ear-to-ear, her mind replaying the events from the night before over and over in her head. She knocked twice on the door, bouncing a little in place.

She waited for a few minutes before looking around the side of the house, frowning. Where was Fluttershy? She didn't leave for her spa appointment for quite a while. But the cottage looked dark, and nopony appeared to be home.

She turned when she heard a flutter of wings behind her, and saw Fluttershy touching down about ten feet from her. "Fluttershy!" she shouted, and galloped off the porch and into a hug with her friend.

"Um, good morning, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, her voice wavering slightly. "What... what's up?"

"Nothing much. Except something totally amazingly awesome. Sh-" She was cut off by the guilty thought returning.

Fluttershy remained quiet, waiting for her friend to complete her sentence. "...Does it have something to do with baking?" she guessed, trying to help Pinkie around her thought.

"No, I know what it is, but..." She stopped again, imagining all the outcomes all at once. But, as she'd been telling herself so often, she followed her instinct. "You promise you won't get mad?" she asked quietly.

"Why would I get mad?" Fluttershy smiled, and began to walk past Pinkie to the cottage door. Her head bobbed as she walked, and she was humming softly to herself. Pinkie turned her head, looked rather surprisedly at Fluttershy, and quickly trotting up alongside her.

"Well, I mean..." She sighed. "Remember way back to when I came back to Ponyville with my cousin Tulip? You were there, and you came up and said hi, and then you left. Well, guess what happened after you left?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "What?"

"So, I turn around to walk into the apartment after you leave, but then I hear Twilight - yeah, I know, right? - Twilight calls my name, and so I turn around, and I'm all nervous, right? But then - oh, this is so super-duper - she asks me if we could go on a date sometime! She asks me!! I mean -" She stopped again, blushing something terrible.

Fluttershy looked over at Pinkie, who immediately looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I didn't mean to be rude or anything, I mean, I didn't t-"

"Wait, Pinkie," Fluttershy interrupted. "It's okay. I'm really happy for you. 'Cause I've been wanting to tell you something for the longest time, too, and I think it fits in really well here." She paused for dramatic effect, trying badly to suppress a grin. "I've been... steady with Rainbow Dash for a while."

Before she even finished the sentence, there was a huge gasp from Pinkie. "Oh my gosh, seriously?! W- th- I- i- m-" she stuttered. "I am shocked and amazed," she said finally, making Fluttershy giggle and flush a light pink. "No, seriously, that's awesome! When? How? Why?" she babbled, beginning to skip again.

Fluttershy finally smiled broadly. "Well, I was really surprised when you talked about Tulip, 'cause Dashie asked me during that party you threw for her. Sh-"

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I have to interrupt here. You call her my pet name?"

"Um, well, she asked me to. I didn't mean to -"

"Woah, wait," Pinkie said, her voice rising. "That makes it even funnier!" she snorted, and brought a hoof up to her muzzle to stifle her laughter.

Fluttershy blushed. "Well, I - I don't want to - I mean, I'm sure she had a reason - well, I mean... I think it's cute..." she trailed off, her voice hidden under the sound of Pinkie's furious giggling.

"Anyway," she continued after Pinkie settled down, "Dash asked whether we could meet at eight where the party was. Well, I got there a little early, and when Dash came, we talked about all kinds of different stuff, and... well, I'll explain later. But it went really, really well."

"What happened?"

"I, um... I got a kiss," she said, her cheeks tinted red once more. It's like she never stops blushing, Pinkie thought. To herself.

"Well, right off the bat, huh? I had to work for it."

"You mean..."

"Yeah! Last night! Twice!!" Pinkie grinned, about ready to burst into joyful laughter.

"Well, good for you, Pinkie!" Fluttershy seemed truly happy for her. "How was it? I - I mean... if you don't mind..." she added, embarrassed at her bluntness.

"It was probably the best thing I've ever felt." She stopped. "I know it sounds cheesy, but it really was the best experience I'd ever had before."

Pinkie noticed quickly that they were talking on the steps of Fluttershy's cottage, and said, "Well, I should probably get to work," before turning away and beginning her walk back to Ponyville. However, she turned back just before her friend was about to shut the door, and shouted back, "One last question!"

Fluttershy opened the door a bit again. "Yes?"

"Where were you coming from this morning?"

All Pinkie received in reply was a deep blush and a little smile, and she pretty much understood. "Ha! Oh my gosh! I knew it! You dirty mare, you!"

Fluttershy's smile grew a little wider before she disappeared behind the door.

Pinkie walked off laughing and talking to herself occasionally. "Oh, what luck!" "Seriously, what a koinkydoink." "Ha! I can't believe this."

Before she knew it, she was back at work, back on track, and ready to tackle a new day.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Spike?" Twilight called, pacing around the library and cleaning up a bit. Early-morning wasn't her favourite time of day, especially for drama or confrontations, but she had to get this over with before the thought left her mind again.

"In here, Twi!" Spike called, emerging from the basement. "It's really, really dusty in there. I'm not even - I mean, there's, like, a layer - a visible layer - of dust covering everything down there. Hurts my lungs."

"Hold up, Spike, I have to ask you a serious question." She paused as he quieted down and began paying attention. "Are you... are you sure you're okay with me and Pinkie? I mean, I would've asked last night, but you were asleep, so I just remembered it and I... have to... ask," she slowed down, noticing the confused expression on her assistant's face.

It took him a few seconds to start talking. "Well, I dunno, Twilight. I mean, it's nice and all, but - well, I just think it's a little weird, 'cause, you know, now I'll never be able to look at Pinkie the same way. Or - or you, for that matter." He looked at the ground, embarrassed by his short monologue.

"Well, yeah, I had the same problem. But it'll all seem normal in a few days, hopefully. It does to me." She smiled, and Spike smiled back.

"It's not like I have anything against it, it's just... different. I'm cool with it."

"Oh. Good," Twilight finished lamely. Note to self - no more dramatic anything in the morning. Can't think straight.

Part Fourteen - Strange

"... And then she asks me out! She asks me! It was amazing!"

"Well, that's good fer you, then, innit, Pinkie?" Applejack asked cheerfully.

"No, wait, it gets better! We went out, like, four times, and they were all awesome, but this last time a couple nights ago she led me up to this hill over a lake and it was all pretty and stuff and then after, like, ten minutes of just looking at the water, she leaned over and kissed me!" Pinkie squee'd, and grinned from ear-to-ear remembering exactly what happened as a warmth ran through her body.

"So... she..."

"Yeah!"

There was a few moments of silence that spread throughout the farm. Pinkie's face fell when she realized she had no idea what the orange mare was feeling.. "...Applejack?"

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, ah'm glad you two've hit it off." She flashed Pinkie a polite smile before turning away and dragging the apple cart down the broad central dirt path.

Pinkie followed quickly, trotting up alongside her friend. "Is something wrong? I thought you were okay with it..."

"Ah am, Pinkie, really, but..." Applejack paused, stopping beside one of the larger trees in the orchard. "It's... it's jist a little weird to see somethin' develop like this between two o' mah friends. Ah mean, how am ah suppose ta react next time ah see Twi?"

"Well, you don't really have to say anything at all; this is still really between me and Twi. I just wanted to tell somepony." Silence again - one of Pinkie's least favorite sounds. She tried quickly to think of a new subject. "... Hey! What about you? There anypony you've ever... you know..." she trailed off, nudging her teasingly.

Applejack shook her head. "Not yet. If only, right?" she chuckled. "Well, ah'm sure ah'll find somepony one day. Jist not today, apparently. One day, we're all gonna pack up n' move out, around the world, maybe with somepony. But ah hope it won't happen too soon." She smiled, and picked the reins up again to lead the cart down the road, Pinkie walking along side her quietly for a few minutes.

"Oh, um, by the way, I'm having a picnic for everypony, no reason, tomorrow at eleven." She grinned and began to skip away. "Potluck!" she added as she hopped put the gate.

Applejack was left alone in the huge acres, still trying to process the few pieces of information she'd been given. Eventually, she just shook her head and chuckled, continuing her rambling stroll through the farm.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As she entered the cul-de-sac, her tuneless humming stopped abruptly. She peered across the circular tiled street at her apartment, and noticed with a bit of a panic that the lights were on. But she turned them off! She remembered specifically turning them off!

She broke into a swift trot as she made her way to the front door. She glanced at the doorknob, wondering whether, if there was somepony inside, she could defend herself. This hadn't ever happened before.

Her suspicions were confirmed - a loud crash and a low muttering came from the door momentarily. She frantically tried turning the knob, but the door was still locked. What was going on?

She slipped her key as silently as she could into the lock, and turned it slowly. When she heard the click, though, she burst through the door as quickly as she could, hoping to gain the advantage of surprise over the intruder.

The first thought to go through her mind was Why is Twilight robbing my house? before she realized, to her great relief, that Twilight was standing in the kitchen, in front of an open oven and a mess of eggs, flour, sugar, mixing bowls, and the like on the counter.

"Oh, hi, Pinkie, I emptied your fridge," Twilight said as Pinkie walked into the room in a bit of a shock. She left the tray she was levitating down onto the counter before walking over to the pink mare and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Pinkie was still more than confused from the fact that Twilight was in her home, making cupcakes, and became slightly more confused (and turned on) by the fact that Twilight had kissed her. She blushed a little bit and smiled goofily before shaking her head. "Twilight! What are you - I don't... are you trying to make my apple cupcakes?"

Twilight smiled again. "Yup! I found your recipe in the cupboard and read all the directions carefully and... wait." She paused, and raised a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, Pinkie, saying that out loud makes me realize how weird it is. I'm so, so sorry. I was just - I wanted to surprise you, 'cause... well, I'll tell you later, but I teleported into your living room and I was just waiting but then I remembered-"

Pinkie could see that Twilight was becoming more and more flustered by the second. She stopped her with a gentle hoof on her mouth, and smiled. "You're right, that's really weird. I wouldn't expect that out of you."

Twilight hung her head. "I know. It's probably the strangest thing I've done in years."

"But you know what?" Twilight raised her head a little, looking up at Pinkie with guilty eyes. "I like it." Pinkie grinned, and skipped over to the counter, leaned over, and licked the bowl. "Needs more sugar. Also, it's a bit too thick, you could thin it down with water and maybe add a little olive oil or vegetable oil for -"

"You mean, you're totally okay with the weirdest thing I've done in forever?" Twilight interrupted, walking over to her.

"Twi, I'm Pinkie Pie. I AM the weirdest thing ever. In the best way possible, of course," she added.

Twilight laughed. "And you're still gonna help make the cupcakes? 'Cause they're your cupcakes, you know."

"Why not? I mean, after all, there's a potluck tomorrow."

"Is that still on?" Twilight asked.

"Why would I cancel it?" Pinkie replied, and picked up the cupcake tin behind her, pouring its contents into the mixing bowl and starting to measure out the sugar.

"Is everypony coming?"

Pinkie dumped the sugar into the bowl and began stirring quickly, cradling the bowl as well as she could in one of her forelegs. "I'm not sure what you're asking. I invited everypony I know except the princesses. Is that what you're talking about?"

Twilight sidled up alongside her, keeping her eyes on the bowl. "Well... should we tell them?"

"Tell them wh- ohh." Pinkie stopped stirring for a second. "I dunno. If you want to. If Fl-yeah, we could," she replied, hoping desperately that the smartest pony in Ponyville wouldn't catch on.

To no avail, of course. "Flyeah?" Twilight asked. "What was that? If Fl... yeah?"

"Can't tell you," Pinkie said in a singsong voice, trying to keep it lighthearted.

"Is it about Fluttershy? It is, isnt it?"

Dammit. "Why do you do this to me, oh smart one?" she asked.

Twilight laughed again, and Pinkie joined in. "Okay. I'll just wait. Meanwhile, need any help?"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Just one?"

"Nope."

The sweet smell of apples in the kitchen blended perfectly with the sugary smell that was almost always present in the apartment. Pinkie grinned at Twilight, happy that she was able to share such a great time with such a great mare.

"Half?" Twilight was practically begging.

Oh sweet Celestia, she's too cute. "I... um... I guess. One condition, though," she said, popping a freshly-frosted cupcake out of the pan, "we have to share."

Twilight sighed melodramatically. "Fine."

Pinkie unwrapped the pastry slowly, purposely building the tension, and tore it cleanly in half, letting the popping of air bubbles, the squish of moist cake, and the smell of apples fill the kitchen.

She compared the two in her mind, and handed the larger half to Twilight, who took it gratefully, bouncing in place and giggling before taking a slow bite.

"...You alright there, Twi?" Pinkie asked as she stared in slight confusion at the bouncing, ecstatic mare.

"I feel great today. Not to mention that these are excellent," Twilight replied, before taking another bite and closing her eyes, smiling broadly.

Pinkie blushed a little at this compliment. "Oh, stop it, you," she said, nudging Twilight teasingly with her hoof. She looked over at the lavender unicorn, just grinning. It was more than enough of a surprise that she visited. "Oh, by the way, what did you say you came over for?"

Twilight finished off the cupcake and shivered. "Amazing, really. Oh yeah, um, I just wanted to hang out."

Pinkie squinted at the purple mare. "So, you broke into my house..."

"Well, not really 'broke into', but-"

"... because you wanted to hang out with me? Twilight, that's really weird. So, this entire thing had no point at all? I mean, I'm cool with it, but... you know, it's not like you. Like me maybe, but..."

Twilight sighed. "There wasn't anything to do at the library, and I knew most everypony else was working or something. Plus, I wanted to be, you know, with you. I really do like you. A lot," she added sheepishly.

Pinkie was still stunned. All these feelings for her, coming from the only pony she'd ever had a major crush on. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Twilight as a long-time impulse popped back into her brain. She leaned forward and locked her lips with Twilight's. Her thoughts were screaming at her, but her body wouldn't move.

She noticed with surprise and relief that Twilight wasn't trying to pull away from her; in fact, she seemed to be leaning into it, enjoying it. This was what Pinkie had wanted for as long as she could remember. But it seemed so strange, so unbelievably unlikely that Twilight would just pop into her house and start making cupcakes. Honestly, it confused her.

Of course, now wasn't the time to think about it. She raised one foreleg slowly to Twilight's face and placed a hoof on her cheek, sending a tingle down her spine. Her heart beat faster and faster in her chest as she shivered with delight.

Finally, Twilight broke off, her eyes still closed and her muzzle darkened by a blush and her horn glowing dimly. Pinkie dropped her hoof back down to the floor and smiled shyly. "I - you - I'm... I don't..."

"Pinkie, calm down," Twilight giggled. "I thought we were in a relationship. Right?"

"Yes. Yeah. Definitely."

"Well, then, why are you still getting all flustered, like the first time? I don't want drama; I like the bouncy, happy Pinkie I know, but I also like the Pinkie that you showed me when we were dating - that witty, funny, smart Pinkie that I've come to like. A lot. This... well, it's good. I think I made the right decision."

Pinkie blinked, trying to understand exactly what Twilight was saying. She smiled widely and raided a hoof quickly to her eye.

"You okay, Pinkie?" Twilight teased.

"Yeah. It's fine." She paused. "You said you wanted to hang out. What do you wanna do first?"

Twilight smiled back. "You mean second."

"Still," Pinkie giggled.

"I dunno. We could walk around town, or just sit here and talk. Whatever you wanna do - I'm ready for anything."

Pinkie laughed. "Well, things do require careful planning, Pinkie," she said, mimicking Twilight's voice playfully. "Did I win you over or something? Isn't flexibility awesome?"

Twilight smiled, and looked away. "It is. But it took me quite a bit out of my comfort zone. Never thought I'd see the day when I was teleporting into somepony's house." She turned back to Pinkie and giggled. "It's your fault."

"Ha. I never thought I'd see the day that I enjoyed it when somepony teleported into my house." The kitchen became quiet again, but it wasn't an uncomfortable quiet. It was a nice quiet (something Pinkie didn't think existed).

Finally, after a minute or two, Pinkie broke the calm. "... Did you really mean all those things you said about me?"

"Did you mean all those things you said about me?" Twilight replied.

"Of course!"

"Well, then, there's your answer," Twilight smiled, kissing her gently on the cheek once more.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was almost nighttime before Twilight decided to retire for the evening. Pinkie followed her to the door, laughing, having just finished what was leftover from their dinner conversation.

Twilight turned as she began to step into the now-dark cul-de-sac. "Tomorrow, then, Pinkie?"

"Well, you don't have to leave so soon, Twi -"

"Soon? It's, like, eight. Nine, maybe."

"I mean, do you wanna stay the night?"

A smile crept onto Twilight's face that looked almost coy. "I'm not totally comfortable with that, yet, Pinkie -"

"Oh! Oh, Celestia, no, not like that! I mean, not that I wouldn't, but, I mean, you, um, I thought you -" Twilight giggled, and Pinkie paused to think for a second. "Sorry. Um, I mean, like a friendly, sleepover-y thing. I didn't mean..."

Twilight's smile spread back to being friendly. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, I still can't. Maybe next time. Maybe we could set up a date sometime, but this has all become... a bit too random for me. I'm not kidding, I'm still confused as to what's been happening." She laughed a little, the sound echoing in the empty street behind her.

She leaned forwards and gave Pinkie a warm hug and a short kiss. "Goodnight," she said softly before turning and walking quietly away.

Pinkie closed the screen door and leaned back against it, slowly slumping down to the floor. She heard a familiar sound off to her left, and smile when she saw Gummy staring blankly open-mouthed back at her.

She invited him into her forelegs and petted him slowly while thinking back over the terribly strange night. Her thoughts were interrupted by a little nibble from the tiny alligator and the sensation of a reptile snout nuzzling into her chest. As she sat, she felt his breathing slow, and heard a short, yawning sigh before he drifted off to sleep.

Pinkie yawned too (contagious indeed) and placed him gently on the couch next to her, tucking him in with an empty pillowcase she pulled from the loveseat nearby. She patted his head again, before trotting up to bed. Tomorrow would be a full, hopefully Twilight-filled day.

Part Fifteen - Potluck Scene 1

That's it. That's enough. I've had enough stress with this already. I just have to unwind. Relax. Enjoy it. What's it called when a mind is thinking furiously about relaxation? Whatever it was, it took quite an emotional toll on Twilight. This relationship is fantastic. Remember, you agreed. You started it. You love her. The unicorn paused her little early-morning pacing routine to ponder this thought her mind so willingly came up with. Love her. Love her?

Shut up, brain. Yes, I do. I love her. Is that so hard to understand? she scolded herself, and resumed pacing, but with less frustration-induced rage. I love being around her, she's funny, she's not... not bad-looking, and when we kiss, I get that feeling. That really good feeling. A warmth tickled her spine as if on cue. It's gotta be love.

She smiled to herself, and sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and standing calmly in repose. She'd finally lost the frustration that had been building up in her over her own ignorance. Now that questions had been answered, she could just be. Be in meditation, be in love, be in a relationship - just be.

Now what?

Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head, which was now pounding out a symphony on Twilight's temples. Pacing was exercise - maybe the only exercise she got on a daily basis. Maybe early-morning exercise wasn't such a good idea. She put a hoof against her sore skull. Yeah, what now? What comes next? What do I do?

"Hey, Twilight -"

Her thoughts interrupted, she reared back in shock and gasped dramatically. Spike raised an eyebrow and snorted at her reaction. "So, doin' your daily Pinkie pace?" he asked, trying badly to hold back laughter.

"That's not fair! It's - it's not daily! And it's not always about Pinkie!" she protested, but Spike dismissed her argument with a wave of the hand.

"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch."

"I - I don't even own panties!!" she replied, indignant.

"Calm down. Jeez. I'm just joking," he finished with a chuckle. "Somepony's in the library looking for you. I told her you'd be downstairs in a second."

"It's not just Pinkie and you're being funny, right?"

"No. Never seen her before in my life."

"Oh. Yeah. I'll just follow you out. I'm exhausted."

Spike opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it, shrugged, and turned to walk out, Twilight trotting alongside.

"Gee, you're chipper," he commented dryly. "Did you have a good auto-conversation?"

"Honestly, I did," she replied, grinning. "You couldn't have popped in at a better time."

"Twilight Sparkle, ma'am?" a young mare's voice came from below. When she came into view, Twilight could see her caramel coat and bright, styled copper hair. She was wearing a shoulder-slung, well-worn saddlebag and her horn was filed to a neat point.

Twilight stepped off the staircase and smiled politely. "Good morning, miss. How can I help you?"

The visitor smiled, and held out a hoof in greeting. "Good morning to you, too, Miss Sparkle. I'm Penny Lane. I'm just stopping by real quick with a donation I'd like to give to the library."

Twilight laughed, accepting the hoofshake. "Oh, that shouldn't take long at all. I'll get the forms, and you can get your donation whenever you're ready."

"Oh, I don't need to go get it, I have it right here." She levitated a nicely bound, aged-looking, thick book out of her saddlebag. It was in generally good condition, and Twilight noticed the golden lettering on the front: Coquere: Coquus Amicum Enim Proficiebat Cibum Parat.

"Oh, wow, Miss Lane, this is in the Most Ancient Tongue. This was before the Common Tongue, before the Queen's Tongue, and just after the Genesis Tongue. I'm pretty sure it's a reprint, of course, but either way, it's still quite rare. You're willing to don-" She cut herself off. An idea just popped into her head: what if Pinkie and her made a day of this? They find a random recipe, Twilight translates, and Pinkie cooks? That's perfect.

"Well, I mean, I couldn't sell it. It's all written in gibber- er - that one language you were talking about."

Twilight glanced at the book again, before levitating it over to her and flipping through it, actively inspecting every page. Everything seemed to be in order. "If I could, Miss Lane -"

"Oh, call me Penny. It's fine."

"Okay, um, Penny, I'd like to buy this book from you."

"What, buy that? Naw. I couldn't. If you really want it, it's my gift to you." She smiled along with Twilight, and, grudginly accepting Twilight's small barrage of thanks, turned to leave the library.

"Oh, um, Penny? One more thing?" She turned back in response. "Um, if I can ask, your dual cutie marks?" she said quizzically, pointing to the visitor's flank.

"Oh, sure, I get that all the time. Um, the comb is for mane styling, and the barbell on the right is 'cause of my one magical ability. You wanna see?" she asked, almost excitedly.

"Most definitely, please!" Twilight replied, instantly enthralled.

Penny suddenly became silent, steadied herself, and her horn began glowing a tannish-gold. A hazy fog of the same color surrounded the employee's desk close to them both, and, in only a few moments, it began to rise slowly, until it was almost ten feet in the air, nearly touching the ceiling of the treehouse. Twilight's eyes grew larger, and her jaw dropped comically. She finally began laughing as the desk was returned carefully to its original position.

"Oh my gosh, Penny, that's amazing! That must be hundreds of pounds! It's solid carved maple!" she gasped, clapping her hooves wildly.

Penny shook her head. "No. You should see me at work for the construction crew. Having just one pony lift something heavy is better than having a lot of ponies lift something heavy. I'm sure you know the unfortunate drawbacks..." she trailed off nervously.

"Either way, that was pretty amazing. Thanks for showing me."

Penny laughed, and waved goodbye as she turned and walked out of the library, leaving Twilight alone, considering a perfect new development.

After staring at the book in a bit of a trance for a few minutes, the idea finally took off in her mind. She trotted out the door, hurriedly grabbing her saddlebag and yelling, "ByeSpikeIgottago!"

Spike raised a hand slowly, and sighed. "Bye, Twi."

If she could whistle while walking to Sugarcube Corner, she would have. It was a beautiful day, and her spirits were high. Now that she was thinking about all the time she was about to spend with her marefriend, her spirits flew. It felt great.

She strolled into the open door, a little buzzer indicating her arrival. She walked up to the counter and looked around behind it, through the kitchen, but there was no sign of life. Anywhere, at all.

She glanced back at the door. Usually, when a door is open, so's the company... apparently, not in this case. She shrugged to herself and turned away.

"Oh, morning, Twilight Sparkle," a familiar voice greeted from behind her.

Putting on the best smile that she could, she turned back to Trixie and nodded. "Hey, Trixie. How you doin' here?"

"Oh, great, fine. Everypony's helpful and nice to me here. In fact, every employee has asked me whether I want to stay with them, instead of where I'm at now. But, I'm fine where I am." She smiled again, and turned away from the other unicorn tithe complicated pastry machinery behind her.

"By the way, I wanted to ask where Pinkie was?"

Without turning, Trixie replied, "She doesn't have a shift today. I would think she's out and about, or just at home." She threw a glance behind her. "I've heard about you two."

Twilight felt a warmth on her cheeks. "D--Did you now?"

"Yeah. Congratulations."

Twilight smiled. It didn't take long at all for Trixie to change. She wondered, for a moment, if she caused it; but soon giggled to herself. Just leave one thing unknown, Twilight. "...Thanks."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

From the moment she trotted into the cul-de-sac, she could smell Pinkie's apartment. It had to be Pinkie's apartment; she wouldn't forget the warm apply scent of those amazing cupcakes anytime soon.

She grinned and continued her cheerful walk across the tiled street, her mind slowly beginning to fill with memories. She remembered the cupcakes first - one of the best things she'd ever eaten. Second, she remembered the first kiss she'd ever had, and who she had it with.

See, this is what I was talking about, brain. Just be happy, she thought, giggling to herself. She bounced up the stairs and knocked a few times on the short Germanic door.

She let out a yelp as two pink hooves threw open the door, grasped her behind the neck, and dragged her into the apartment. With a dull thud, she slammed into the pink earth-pony staring in front of her, and they tumbled back together. When they stopped, Twilight was standing in a rather awkward position over Pinkie, who grinned widely.

Twilight's muzzle turned a shade of maroon and she carefully stepped over Pinkie, letting her pop up and begin bouncing in place. "Thank Celestia you're here, Twi! I have to get the potluck going, and it starts in an hour, so I have to gather up all the food and stuff once the cupcakes are done, then I have to -"

"Hold up for a second, Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted. "What's the deal here? How'd you know that was me at the door? Why'd you pull me inside?"

Pinkie giggled. "I have a sixth sense for these kinds of things, Miss Sparkle," she said jokingly.

Twilight's shocked expression slowly changed into one of amusement. "You got me, Pinkie," she acceded, smiling. "I have no idea how you do it."

"Well, because you're my marefriend, silly!" she giggled again, walking into the kitchen and leaving Twilight behind her, genuinely flustered. "That's why I try. Now will you help me finish this batch up? All that's left is the icing," she finished, flipping the hot cupcake in out of the oven with a flourish.

Twilight shook her head and followed Pinkie, inhaling deeply to savor the scent. "So there's no way at all I can ruin these?"

"Not as far as I can see. All I want you to do is fill the icing bag. You think you got that?"

Twilight laughed. "I think I can handle it, Pinkie."

She walked over to the corner of the counter with the bowls of freshly-made orange and red icing, and stared for a few seconds at the empty bags and the little metal things next to them.

"Pinkie?" she asked. "Could you show me how?"

Pinkie turned from the cooling rack and grinned.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Everything was as it should be, and the world was perfect. Exactly what she wanted. Baking, smiling, and closely embracing her marefriend.

Pinkie had one foreleg gently laid over Twilight's neck, and was leaning against her happily, going through the icing step-by-step. Since, of course, telling Twilight how to fill the bags didn't take too long, it kinda bled over into the actual decoration. Not that Pinkie was complaining, though; more time spent hugging her marefriend was fine with her.

After maybe the second decoration, Twilight interrupted Pinkie's instruction. "Can I try one for myself?"

"You're not gonna eat it, right?" Pinkie joked.

"Of course not. I'm not five, Pinkie, I have self-control. Even if your cupcakes are the best things ever," she added, causing a short round of laughter between the two. Twilight picked up the bag carefully with her magic and started drawing the tip slowly across the surface, in the cross-hatching pattern Pinkie was explaining.

She didn't totally botch it, but it wasn't perfect. "Not bad for your first time," Pinkie commented, picking it up and looking it over. She looked over at Twilight, who just giggled and grinned. He eyes eventually strayed to the shining clockface hanging above the kitchen doorframe, and gasped, throwing the cupcake in the basket already full if the other iced ones and picked it up with her mouth.

"Twi! We gotta go! We only have fifteen minutes to set up!" she shouted, and trotted briskly out the front door, leaving Twilight to follow. And lock up.

The pair arrived not a moment too soon. Checkpoint Hill overlooked all of the farming fields to the East; the perfect place for anything. Anything at all, really, Pinkie thought, looking over the plains below and back to Twilight. A few images of poofy white dresses, necklaces, and parties flashed through her mind before she shook her head, almost laughing. Nice try, Pinkie.

Without too much conversation, Pinkie and Twilight laid out the three neon, party-flavored blankets across the ground and began unpacking the cupcakes and a few other things Pinkie just happened to bring.

"Pinkie, is that a boombox?" Twilight asked, as Pinkie pulled all sorts of compact-sized things out of the little basket she was carrying.

"Yup!" she replied cheerfully. "And here's some balloons, and here's a few extra cassettes I snatched on my way out. Oh, and of course, I never go anywhere without my party cannon!" she finished, trotting down the hill for a moment and trotting back up with a confetti-covered cannon in tow.

Twilight looked around at all the party supplies Pinkie had obviously planned to bring, and stuttered, "How- why- when did you -"

"Howdy, everypony!" Applejack called, walking up the hill with a cart and her family following her. "Ah see we're a bit early."

"Oh, no, no, wait, AJ!" Pinkie shouted, waving her hooves wildly. "You don't get to see it yet! I'm not done decorating!" She turned and pulled the cannon to the front, aiming at the gnarled tree growing out of the top of the hill and firing in one smooth movement. A blast echoed across the valley as the tree was instantly converse in streamers and confetti. "Okay, done!" She grinned and bounced in place.

Applejack had already pulled the cart onto the hill and snapped it open with a flourish, proudly revealing great-smelling, apply wares. Applebloom soon went off to skipping around in the meadow a bit, Pinkie was making a crucial entertainment adjustment, and the rest of the guests soon got caught up in an interesting conversation about bears.

The rest of the guests turned up sometime in the next ten minutes. Fluttershy walked up carrying a shiny covered dish on her back, Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked in just after with meringue cookies ("I made them myself." "I helped!"), and then the floodgates opened.

Derpy crashed into the tree, Carrot Top climbed to the top of the hill exhausted, Colgate popped out from behind the tree, scaring the dickens out of a few colts who showed up a few minutes before, and Lyra and Bon-Bon skipped in happily alongside one another. It was only when ponies began showing up that Twilight didn't know that it finally dawned on her.

"Pinkie," she began, pulling her aside. "You know everypony in Ponyville."

"Yeah?"

"You invited everypony you know."

"Yup!"

"So..."

Pinkie stared at the shocked lavender unicorn and burst into laughter. "Oh, just the expression on your face... absolutely priceless!"

Twilight looked around at the massive mob now bleeding from the hill into the fields below. "Pinkie. How are you gonna handle this? You have some balloons and a boombox."

"I'd eat my tail if Vinyl didn't bring some kinda music."

"That's not what I was - how'd you even get her to come?"

"Oh, she knows about my parties." She paused, a faraway look in her eye. "They have quite a reputation."

As a matter of fact, Vinyl was in a conversation down in the fields, her saddlebag speakers ever-present and blasting out her latest work. Pinkie caught a riff and giggled. "There she is."

Twilight smiled, and leaned over to kiss her quickly. "Well, you know what you're doing. I'll get out of your way."

"No, wait!" Pinkie said, catching Twilight on her shoulder. "Don't go yet."

Twilight turned back to her, staring into her light blue eyes and smiling. "Alright. What do you wanna do?"

"I wanna talk to Lyra and Bon-Bon."

"You - oh. What?"

Author's Note

And with that pathetic cliffhanger, I have some people I wanna give a shout-out to. First, my thousandth tracker, Gypsinessity. If you're there, brony, give me a comment. Also, of course, I wanna shout to General_Link, who kept me from stopping myself completely on my first story, and some of my larger fans, Craterfist and Flutterdashguy. Also, shouts to Crukan Xyloniac. I love you guys, Jesus loves you guys, just keep readin'!

Part Sixteen - Potluck Scene 2

"Come on, Twi."

"I don't want to."

Pinkie groaned. "That's the point of talking to them. Once we follow their advice, you won't be all nervous about telling everypony."

Twilight threw a dramatic hoof towards the massive crowd in the valley. "Pinkie, you invited the whole town! When I said we could tell everypony, I didn't mean everypony! I mean, really, Pinkie, I - I don't think I'm prepared for that!"

"Well, what if they say, like, not to come right out with it... or something?"

"Pinkie, you're going to ask them advice for coming out! They're not going to tell you to just... to not to!" Twilight's voice was rising considerably, almost to a panic. She cast another glance over the valley. "I'm sure that there's gonna be at least one pony in there who... well, who hates ponies like us. I'm sure of it. Not to mention the fact that I don't know a quarter of these ponies! It's just..." she trailed off, and looked at the ground, rocking on her hooves.

"Can we... can we just try?"

Twilight looked over at Pinkie. She'd only heard her say that once before, and once she accepted, things turned out for the better. Definitely for the better. A half-exasperated, half-amused smile played on her lips. "Alright. I guess. But - but I'm not talking," she added weakly.

Pinkie grinned her characteristically sunny grin. "Okay! Let's go!"

"What, now?!"

"Well, yeah, now, they're right over there behind you."

Twilight turned to face the giggling pair of mares; they didn't seem to have paid any attention to the two, but Twilight didn't dare assume. "Oh, no, do you think they heard us?" she whispered urgently to Pinkie.

"I dunno. Let's go talk to them."

"Celestia, Pinkie, not -" she was cut short. Pinkie put a hoof around Twilight and trotted happily over to Lyra and Bon-Bon.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted them, a little louder than necessary.

"Oh, hi, Pinkie," Lyra replied, turning to her. "Great party as usual."

"What's up?" Bon-Bon asked cheerfully.

"Well, um..." Pinkie leaned in closer, and began speaking a bit quieter. Much to Twilight's chagrin, she was pulled into the little huddle along with the others. "... We wanted to ask you guys a question or two."

Lyra and Bon-Bon exchanged looks, but said nothing.

Pinkie shifted her eyes around and began fiddling a bit with her hooves. "I, um... we... I... uh... I can't talk, Twi, you're so much better at it than I am."

Twilight opened her mouth and shot a stern look at Pinkie, who shrugged and looked at the ground. "Okay, so, um, P-Pinkie and I," she began, her voice barely more than a whisper, "we, um, we're in - in a relationship" - she glanced quickly at their faces and flushed an embarrassed pink - "and we're, um - we're planning on-on letting everypony know about it soon." She finished and shut her eyes, as though expecting the pair to begin an argument.

"Oh, seriously? Coolio, that's another!" she said brightly, before taking into account the look on Twilight's face. "Oh. Um. Sorry. Anyways, why did you tell us first? Why not your friends? Er - closer friends."

"Well, Pinkie was, um, was thinking that we might need some - some advice?" she asked, and Pinkie nodded, brightening once more. The way that Pinkie raised her head was absurd enough that Twilight let out an unintentional giggle, before blushing and turning away.

"Wow, honey, you are beet-red. How long have you two been together?" Lyra asked, to Twilight's further embarrassment.

"Um... not too long," Twilight said slowly. "A few weeks?"

"And you guys are ready to tell eveypony already? Not bad," Bon-Bon added. "Well, we didn't really 'come out', per se. I mean, we just did what couples do - we went on dates and walked around together and celebrated Hearts and Hooves day together." At this, Lyra winked at Bon-Bon, and she giggled, blushing a bit. "Maybe you two should just act like a couple. Eventually, ponies'll start putting two and two together."

Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who was nodding vigorously. "So... that's it, then? We just, like, do what we would do?"

"Yeah. That's, uh... that's pretty much it. If you wanna see a movie together or something, then by all means, don't feel weird about it. Most ponies you see won't recognize you. Or won't care."

Twilight groaned. "Um, I'm kinda... famous. Ponies pretty much know who I am. I mean, as the Element-bearers, we saved the world a few times. And Pinkie knows everypony."

"Yup! It's a hobby!" Pinkie agreed enthusiastically.

Lyra clicked her tongue. "Yeah, that might be a problem. If you, uh, if you're really that nervous, then just pretend you're alone. I mean, if you're really against letting ponies see you as a couple... you know."

Twilight thought for a moment before believing she caught on. "Oh! No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you guys! I didn't -"

Bon-Bon began laughing. "Aw. It's okay, honey, you didn't do anything wrong. I, of all ponies, get that it can be hard. It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes." She glanced over at the long buffet tables down in the valley and gasped. "Lyra! Look! Caramel apples! I cannot possibly remember the last time I had caramel apples..." The pair began walking away, after Lyra waved a quick goodbye.

Twilight watched them leave, and looked over to Pinkie and smiled. "Well, that's it, then. Just... be ourselves."

Pinkie grinned. "So... we get to hang out more?"

"We've been able to 'hang out more' ever since I k - we started - since we, um, got together," Twilight replied. She smiled again. It wasn't hard now to see why she liked Pinkie so much. Just that last question. She really does like me back, too, doesn't she?

She leaned in to give Pinkie a short kiss and smiled again, before blushing lightly and turning to walk away. As she struck up a few short conversations with ponies she knew while walking down the hill, that last statement Bon-Bon made kept playing over and over in her mind. It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes.

It had been hard. It'd been hard for her to accept that fact since she first asked Pinkie out (which seemed so long ago now). That one little statement her mind made kept with her too: it's love. Pure and simple.

"Love her," she whispered. She opened her eyes and suddenly felt alone in the crowd of ponies. Where were her friends? Where was Pinkie? How do you get lost in a party?

She sighed and turned around, scanning the crowd for any familiar colors. Olive green, sea-blue, maroon, rainbow - Ah! she thought. Rainbow Dash, hopefully. She smiled and nudged her way through the sea of ponies, glad she caught one of her friends before she really got lost.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out, nudging past the last few ponies. "I was wondering where I'd -" she stopped short.

Dash grinned back. "Hey, Twi!" she greeted her, chuckling and raising her hoof. "How's it going?"

Twilight was still a bit stunned: Rainbow Dash still had her wing around Fluttershy. Still. Like it wasn't rude. She shook her head and slowly accepted Dash's high-hoof. Not gonna ask. "Um, I just wanted to... I mean, I was trying to find somepony I knew, um, in the crowd, and..."

"Well, here we are," Dash said, pulling away from Fluttershy for a moment. Twilight looked at Fluttershy with a face that was clearly asking, When? Fluttershy just blushed and smiled shyly, hiding behind her mane and looking sheepishly up at her friend.

Dash nudged Fluttershy gently with a hoof, and as if on cue, commented, "It's been a few weeks. In case you wanted to know."

Twilight looked around at the partygoers vaguely, still processing. Should I? What would happen if I did? What wouldn't?

Just suck it up and say it. "S -" she shook her head, still standing awkwardly and silently in front of her two friends. "Same thing with - um - with me and Pinkie," she said as casually as she could. She nearly winced as she sensed the anxiousness in her own voice.

Dash looked confusedly at her friend, and let out a small, nervous laugh. "...What?"

"Yeah. Um, Pinkie and I have been - been dating for weeks now," she trailed off, looking down and blushing terribly. The relative silence between the two was broken by Fluttershy's squeal of happiness.

"Oh, yay!" she said, clapping her hooves together. "Good for you guys! Think about it - that makes four of us!"

"Yeah, that's cool. But why are you so excited that there's four of us now?" Dash asked, chuckling a bit.

Fluttershy put her hooves back on the ground slowly. "I, um... I... I feel less alone," she admitted quietly.

"Well, come on! You got me, right?"

Twilight wasn't sure whether she should feel bad or not, and by this point, she wanted more than anything else in the world to leave this terribly awkward social situation. Oh, Celestia, I knew I did it wrong. That was weird. "Um, I - I should - uh - congratulations!" she said quickly, and trotted away without waiting for a response. She could feel herself start to blush as she put a forehoof to her face in frustration at her own stupidity.

It didn't take her too long to find the top of the hill again. She just followed the scent of food; everything everypony brought (except the snacks; they were down in the valley) was sitting either on a few tables or practically stacked on the grass at the top of the hill. There must have been hundreds of pounds of food just sitting there, waiting for the official lunch-is-served proclamation.

Pinkie was chatting with a few ponies that Twilight didn't recognize. She trotted up the hill, and stopped a few feet from the pink mare. She didn't want to interrupt her conversation, after all. She turned back and gazed over the valley, suddenly thrown into deep thought by the remembrance of her recent, um, discovery.

Apparently, Pinkie would have none of it. "Hey, Twi!" she shouted, snatching her attention. "Come here! I want you to meet somepony!"

Twilight sighed and trotted over, smiling politely. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. And y-"

"This is Austin, and this is Sunflower!" Pinkie interrupted, throwing a hoof over each of them and beaming. "Oh, um, Austin can't hear."

"You mean, well?"

"No, um, not at all."

"He's deaf," Sunflower tried to clarify.

"Got it," Twilight replied. She closed her eyes for a second, thinking, before looking back at Austin with a forehoof in the air. I assume you can sign? she asked slowly, moving her hoof and head around silently.

Austin smiled. I'm surprised you can, he replied. That's really cool.

Twilight smiled and offered her hoof, which they accepted, one at a time. "Hi, Twilight! I've heard about you, you know," Sunflower said. "Aren't you an Element-bearer like Pinkie?"

"Yes, I am," Twilight replied, hiding the ecstasy she felt at being recognized. "Element of Magic -"

"Currently paired with the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie said, popping up from behind Twilight and giggling.

"Paired?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie replied, and leaned over to Twilight, pulling her in for a kiss.

Twilight was momentarily rendered immobile, which is a fancy way of saying she was shocked. She glanced over at the two standing near them, and thought for a moment about pulling away. But then she remembered Bon-Bon's words: It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes.

Although it wasn't a long kiss, Twilight suddenly, inexplicably felt herself drawn into it. She could feel a tingle run down her spine, she could feel a blush come to her cheeks, and she could sense that one feeling she'd sensed when she was with Pinkie before. Love her.

By the time Pinkie pulled away after a few seconds, Twilight had just begun getting into it; but then her surroundings caught up with her and she whipped her head around at the two standing near them. Surprise was more than evident on their faces, and Twilight felt her blush deepen. Should she feel so embarrassed?

Pinkie took no note of the awkward silence in the air. "We've been together for few weeks now," she began. "You know, I never would have thought that it would lead up to this, but... well, now that it has, I'm just so happy..." she trailed off, staring at Twilight with a faraway look in her eye.

She snapped back to attention with the clapping of hooves. Austin was looking up at them and smiling, clapping his hooves together and nodding. Glad for you two, he signed quickly to Twilight, who in return translated for Pinkie.

Pinkie smiled. Thanks, she signed back.

Twilight looked over at her, her mouth open. "When did you - how did you -"

"I pick things up," she said, giggling.

Sunflower smiled. "I agree." She paused. "And it's weird that all of us know sign. Ooh! It could be our secret language or something!" she said enthusiastically.

"Sure. Next time we meet up," Twilight replied.

"Oh, we should get going. Nice meeting you! Bye!" Sunflower called, turning and walking away with Austin in tow. Just before they ducked out of sight behind the hill, Austin turned and signed wildly: Invite me to the wedding!

Twilight blushed furiously as soon as they passed out of sight. She looked quickly over to Pinkie, who was grinning as usual; she didn't seem to have caught on. She chuckled to herself, keeping the thought out of her head for now. "Pinkie?"

"What's up?"

"Why did we - um - why did you kiss me?"

Pinkie's face fell. "Was I not supposed to?"

"Not, um, not really," Twilight replied. "I mean, it wasn't bad or anything, but... well, what if they didn't like fillyfoolers?" The word still stung a bit. "I know there's ponies like that out there. Look, all I'm asking is why."

"Well, Lyra and Bon-Bon said to do what we felt like, and - and that's how I felt."

Hearing this, Twilight softened. "Aw. That's sweet. But you should still, you know, think before you... you do something like that."

Pinkie grinned. "Okie dokie lokie!"

"How about we wrap up the party soon, too?" Twilight asked. "I have something we could do together."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It took a bit longer to wrap up the party than either of them expected. In fact, by the time they got back to Pinkie's apartment, there were only a few hours of daylight left.

She hoped there would be time for what she had planned. In case there wasn't, though, she made sure to get right to work the minute they stepped into the kitchen.

"Okay, look, Pinkie," she said, grabbing the saddlebag happily from the couch where she left it and pulling out the book with her magic. "I found this cookbook written entirely in Most Ancient Tongue!"

Pinkie looked at her, at the floating book, and back at her, giggling. "I have no idea what that means."

"Look, look, look, I can translate this, and you can cook it!" She sighed, flipping open the book and scanning the characters written carefully across the yellowed pages. "Won't it be amazing to taste something invented thousands of years ago?"

Pinkie giggled again. "Sure. If you want to." She smiled and brushed past her, humming tunelessly.

Twilight felt a chill run through her, and, as she turned to follow Pinkie into the kitchen, a thought popped into her mind. Save it for later, Twi. She closed her eyes for a second before trotting up happily to the counter.

"Okay, look, let's start in the desserts section first," she began. "It might take me a few minutes to work through some of this stuff - you know, just letting you know. Okay, um, first thing - farina. Farina, far - far - flour. Flour! Two cups of flour, madam! Let's get this show on the road!"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Pfft! No, get - ha!"

Twilight shook her head, a dusty cloud of flour forming around her mane. She laughed again, and snatched a bit more from the bag with her magic. "Hey! Stop moving!"

"What, and let you win? Please!" Pinkie laughed, and ducked behind the counter. "Why exactly are we doing this?"

"I have no idea!" Twilight replied, and jumped around the island, tossing the flour into the air and listening with expectation for the poof when it collided with Pinkie.

But it didn't come. Instead, she heard a ding from the oven behind her, and turned around to face it.

"Ooh, yay, it's done!" Pinkie cried, bouncing down the stairs and trotting up behind her, kicking open the oven and throwing on a pair of heat pads. Twilight looked at Pinkie, at the staircase, and back at Pinkie, before sighing and shaking her head

"So, what did we make again?" Pinkie asked, pulling the two trays out of the oven and lowering them cautiously on the island behind them.

"I dunno... lessee... crustulum. Cookie. Or cake. Little cake. Cupcake?" She looked over the small tannish pastries. "...Logs?"

"Alrighty, ancient logs."

"That's good," Twilight replied, laughing. "Ancient logs."

Twilight turned away again, looking over the little cakes. "We didn't do too bad, did we?" she asked, turning to Pinkie - and receiving another puff of flour in the face. "Pfff!" she shouted, and giggled. "You haven't won yet, Pinkie!" she said, pulling another bit of flour from the bag and throwing it towards the pink mare - or where she was.

"Pinkie?" she called. "Pinkie, how do you even-"

"Gotcha!" Pinkie shouted from behind her, and she felt Pinkie's hooves on her shoulders as she was pulled into a hug.

Twilight reached a hoof around to Pinkie's neck, and turned her head to kiss her lightly on the cheek. She could feel her heartbeat. And her body. Her soft, warm pink coat and her tender embrace. She smiled, and felt herself blush. Love her.

She leaned over again, to Pinkie's ear, and whispered, "I love you."

There was silence throughout the apartment, save the light staccato snoring of Gummy in the den. Pinkie let out a short squeak, one of joy, of love. She turned Twilight around and kissed her slowly, passionately. Twilight closed her eyes and leaned in, her forehoof still lying on Pinkie's neck.

She was drawn closer, until their chests were touching. Twilight's blush deepened as she reached her other hoof around Pinkie's neck, until both mares were standing on their back legs.

That tingle, that clever tingle that gave Twilight's feeling finality, swept through her spine, being careful, as it would seem, to touch every last nerve. She moaned involuntarily, and leaned in more.

Too much. Pinkie stepped back twice, before her hooves slipped out from under her and she toppled backwards, breaking away from Twilight and let out a short shriek - before she was surrounded by a light pink glow and lowered gently to the flour-coated floor below. She looked up at Twilight, and smiled, putting a hoof on her face and guiding her down on top of her.

"I love you, too."

She moved her forehooves and, in one smooth motion, swapped positions with Twilight, until she was standing over her. She leaned in for another kiss, and Twilight accepted it gratefully, sitting up slightly to give herself more leverage.

They moved back across the kitchen together, their lips touching at different frequencies now: kiss, pull away, touch, kiss, pull away, touch. Eventually, Twilight back up against the back wall of the kitchen, near the doorway. She sat up and pulled Pinkie in closer, holding her head close to hers, touching the ends of their snouts together. Pinkie leaned forwards and kissed her again.

Twilight gasped as she felt Pinkie's tongue brush against her teeth. She thought it over for a few seconds. Was this what she wanted? It had always seemed... well, gross when she'd heard about it before. But now, now that she was here, experiencing something she'd never dreamed that she'd experience... she was more than willing.

There was only one thing she would ever be able to say about it was that it was sweet. So, so sweet.

It must have been minutes before they pulled away. Twilight gasped and touched noses with Pinkie again, now short of breath. Pinkie reached her head down and kissed alongside Twilight's neck slowly, while drawing her hoof slowly across Twilight's chest.

Suddenly, Twilight's heart leapt. She felt Pinkie's hoof begin to move down, tracing the center of her belly. Her pulse began to quicken even more than it had been. She wasn't ready for this! It was - it was too early! "Pinkie, s-stop," she said, quieter than she'd intended.

She didn't think Pinkie heard her, and she felt her hoof continue traveling slowly down her body. "Pinkie. Stop. P-Pinkie," she said, a little louder.

Pinkie continued kissing her neck slowly, and continued moving her hoof. When it finally passed her hip, Twilight's anxiousness burst. "Pinkie!" she cried, and moved away, rising slowly to her hooves.

Pinkie followed suit. "Twilight! What happened? Is there something wrong?" she asked, sounding more distraught than Twilight had ever heard her sound.

"Yes- n- Pinkie, I - I just don't think I'm ready for something like that!" she said, her pulse still racing.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"I should go. I'm sorry. I - I have to go." She turned promptly and trotted quickly out the front door, trying not to look back. She didn't want to make it too hard.

As she left the cul-de-sac, she felt tears streaming down her face. I'm such an idiot! What if I ruined everything?

It's not your fault, don't worry, I'm sure she'll understand.

I don't want her to be mad at me! I don't want her to be upset at all! I'm just not ready! She closed her eyes and trotted faster. I'm such an idiot...

A few minutes later, she walked quietly into the library, shutting the door behind her. The room was dark. Quiet. Safe. She wiped at her eyes and walked upstairs and into her room. Dark. Quiet. Safe. Here she could let her emotions out.

So she did. She sat on the edge of her bed and thought. The time for caught-up-in-the-moment emotions like sadness and frustration was over. Now only one question ran through her head.

What am I going to do?

Part Seventeen - Apology

Twilight began to read the minute she woke up. She wasn't sure why, or what for, but she felt as though it was the right thing to do.

She'd been thinking constantly about what had been happening. All her concentration had been focused, limited to a social idea that she'd only glossed over before. Romance. Love. Not things her studies really delved into.

Once it happened to her, though, a lot of other things became blurred. Studying like she was usually let her think, regardless of what she was studying. Opened her mind. Kept her focused.

It was yet another beautiful, if slightly overcast, day in Ponyville. Everything around her touched her senses - the smells, sights, and sounds; however, the book floating in a pink glow above her challenged her mind, giving her a different, more substantial feeling. She'd picked up 'Psychologies and Worldviews' from the bookshelf randomly, and popped it open to page three. She'd been reading for... well, hours now.

Her mind took her away. She was numbly flipping through a chapter on cynicism when she heard three sharp knocks on the door.

"You Pinkie pacing again, Twilight?" Spike called.

Twilight sighed. "Reading. And stop calling it that."

"Yeah, sorry, sorry." A brief pause. "You know, you're starting to worry me, Twilight. You've never blown off your job like this before. Are you sure you're okay?"

Twilight's ears pricked up, and her mind began processing the information slowly. She lowered the book onto the bed and walked silently over to the door, swinging it open carefully. Spike was leaning on the banister nearby, looking at her with indecipherable emotion.

Twilight smiled as well as she could. For some reason, she didn't want to do much at all that day, just stay in bed and read. But Spike was right: a responsibility was a responsibility. "Sorry, Spike," she said softly. "I guess I'm having a hard time getting started."

Spike's near-scowl softened. "Twilight, you seem sick or something. Really, are you okay?"

"Well, there's a few things going on," she replied as she walked alongside him down the stairs. "I'll probably cheer up later. I'm just tired, I guess."

Spike looked concerned nonetheless, but shook his head. "Alright. I'm not gonna get caught up in..." he grumbled, walking away into the kitchen.

Twilight was left alone in the library. Oh well, she thought, maybe I can keep reading down here. She looked up and around at the massive bookshelves sprawling across the walls and blinked, tiredness suddenly grasping her. She chuckled at her thoughts, pushing aside the fatigue she was feeling. Her mood was improving already; maybe she hadn't been lying.

A knock at the door snapped her from her subconscious. She turned and trotted to the door, a genuine smile now finding its way onto her face. She opened the door to the local mailmare, um... Curly something.

"Oh, good morning, Ms... um, Curly, right?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yes, ma'am!" Curly replied, and towered herself to the ground. "I've got a small instant-delivery for you, doesn't cost you a dime. Here ya go!" she finished, sliding a wrapped basket off her beck and saluting with a grin before turning on her hoof and taking off.

Twilight watched her fly off into the clouds and looked down at her nicely-sized gift. The wrapping was reflective, all nicely done up with a bow: not the kind of thing that's usually shipped instant-delivery. She gratefully snatched it up with her magic and lowered it onto the table, giggling a bit. She'd have to send a thank-you back.

She trotted up to the desk and called into the kitchen. "Hey, Spike, we got a present!"

"We got a what?" he asked, his head popping out from behind the doorframe.

"Yeah, look! We got a basket!"

Spike walked up, cautiously. "You feelin' better, Twilight?"

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Kinda. Sorry. I was just over thinking again."

Spike scowled. "Well, stop doing that. The last time you did, we had to call the fire department for no reason then you dictated a whole long letter of apology that gave me a claw cramp."

Twilight stared at him with the 'seriously?' face that she'd recently perfected. "You done, champ?" He nodded, still scowling. She smiled and tore open the wrapping. She and Spike gasped simultaneously.

"What are they?" Spike asked, reaching out with a claw to take one of the small, rolled pastries.

Twilight's face fell quickly. "Spike, don't - don't touch that," she said, batting his hand away without taking her eyes of the basket. The library's silence changed from one of relaxation to one of tenseness in less than a second.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked, annoyed.

Twilight paid no attention. "Oh, no, this isn't good. This is not good." She levitated the small, square white card over to her.

you forgot these

im sorry

Spike's already-substantial worry grew when he saw Twilight reach her hoof to her mouth, as though in shock. It finally overflowed when he saw her eyes begin to water. "Twilight, what happened? What's the note? What's going on?"

The silence in the room was screaming with suspense. "...Nothing, Spike. It's nothing. Um, I-I have to go-"

"I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong, Twi! You have to help me help you!"

"I don't need help!" she shouted.

The minute she saw the look on his face she regretted it. She sat down in front of him and leaned forward, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm sorry, Spike. I - I don't think anypony can help me. If you have to know," she continued, looking into his eyes, "I'll tell you later, but I really have to leave. I have to clear something up between Pinkie and I. It - I don't know how long it'll take. Sorry." She gave him a quick nuzzle before climbing to her hooves, grabbing the basket in her magic and note in her mouth and trotting briskly out the front door.

Spike was left sitting alone on the floor. He sighed and stood, muttering something to himself. He didn't want to see Twilight like this. He wanted to help. But he couldn't.

He looked vaguely around at the empty library, before walking off to try to find something useful to do.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie had gone to bed early last night. She knew why, but she wouldn't let the conscious thought pass her mind. Until that morning, of course. By that morning, the phrase 'I'm so stupid' bounced around her head like there was no tomorrow.

By ten-thirty, she was sitting on one of her couches with Gummy, just thinking. Her body told her that she was bored and should go outside and - and do something, but her mind wouldn't let her.

Stupid guilt, she thought bitterly to herself. Stupid Pinkie. I knew something was wrong. I knew it. I was going too fast. Stupid Pinkie. Stupid guilt.

She changed positions on the couch, getting herself comfortable. What would Twilight say? Stop beating yourself up, maybe. I don't know what she would say. I can't believe-

She jumped when she heard the knock on the door, loud and sharp. She was just able to catch Gummy before he hit the ground.

She shook her head and stretched, and walked over to it, ready to keep up appearances. She put on a friendly smile, and swung it open with a characteristic Pinkie flourish.

The minute she did so, she froze. Twilight was standing on the stairs, holding her basket and smiling softly. Pinkie was confused. She expected her to be - to be - well, something other than happy.

In less than a second, Twilight had put down the basket, reached forward, and caught her marefriend in an embrace. She reeled back for a moment before realizing it was a sincere hug. A real one, one with warmth and joy and genuine love. She looked down at the basket and at the back of Twilight's head before closing her eyes and returning it.

It was unexpected and confusing, but fantastic. Like a surprise party, if it was done right. Pinkie could feel her marefriend's heartbeat. She held her tighter, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. She giggled as Twilight pulled away.

"Pinkie -"

"Strawberries," she murmured, giggling again.

"Pinkie," Twilight repeated. Pinkie's eyes snapped to focus and she looked back at Twilight, the memories of her accident coming up fresh in her mind. She blushed deeply and turned away, mortified.

"I-I'm really, really sorry, Twilight," she stammered, not daring to look into her eyes. "I - I didn't want - I mean, um - I - you - I didn't mean to be -"

"Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted, laughing. "You talk way too much. Look, it's okay, seriously. It's not your fault. I guess I just... I guess I just overreacted. I'm sorry. Just don't be too hard on yourself." She smiled warmly, encouraging a smile out of Pinkie, too. "Come here. Can I have a hug?"

Pinkie's smile widened, and she leaned forward, throwing her hooves around Twilight. She didn't want it to end; she just wanted to be standing there, holding her marefriend, forever. The world was silent, and Pinkie could feel Twilight's heartbeat, hear her breathing. A slow tingle rippled through her spine. She sighed happily, and leaned back, taking almost all of Twilight's weight off the ground. She heard her giggle, and the most perfect truth she'd ever felt popped into her mind.

It doesn't get any better than this.

After a minute or two, though, as with every other good thing, it ended. Pinkie stepped back and looked down at the floorboards, still smiling. "Thanks."

Twilight giggled. "What did I do that was thank-worthy?"

Pinkie smiled. "Well, you know, I was kinda afraid that, um, you'd be mad or something. I didn't think you'd - you know, forgive me so quick. I shouldn't have - I mean, I didn't mean to -"

She was interrupted by a hoof on her lips. "Pinkie, seriously. It's okay. You're being waaay too hard on yourself. It's just me. I just don't think I'm - I don't think I'm ready, you know?" She smiled after a short pause. "If anypony should be sorry, it should be me. I overreacted, and it - it just caused guilt. And I didn't mean it. Okay?"

Pinkie nodded, and chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just - I said I was sorry, then you did, then I did, then you did." She chuckled again. "Nothing. You wanna come in? We could have some of those 'ancient logs'." She giggled. "That doesn't sound right."

"I wish I could," Twilight replied, laughing, "but I promised Spike I'd try not to be long. Maybe we should just try again later. Here, I brought the basket back," she said, motioning to it with a hoof.

"Keep it," Pinkie said, smiling. "I still have a few left in the fridge."

Twilight shook her head. "No, I couldn't - I mean, you already gave me a basket, like, a long time ago, I don't wanna-"

She was interrupted as well, by lips on her lips. Pinkie had leaned forwards and kissed her, placing a gentle hoof on her cheek. It wasn't long, but it seemed to give both of them a feeling of closure. She smiled as she broke off, and stared into her marefriend's lavender eyes, just thinking. "Keep it," she repeated softly, before stepping back into the apartment and closing the door behind her.

When she heard the click of the door, she turned around and sat down, leaning against it and sighing happily. It wasn't every day something worked out so perfectly. The silence in the room felt... right. Quiet. Content. She could feel her eyelids growing heavier by the second.

Her sudden lethargy certainly wasn't helped by the monotonous snore of Gummy from the kitchen. She yawned and closed her eyes, running through her memories with a smile on her face.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight was left standing alone and mildly shocked on the steps outside Pinkie's apartment. She shook her head and smiled, pausing only to pick up the basket before turning to make her way back to the library.

"I'm still giving back the basket," she murmured as she left the cul-de-sac.

The streets were busy that day. It was like all the inhabitants of Ponyville were out and about. As a cool breeze swept through the tiled streets, Twilight could see why. Or, rather, feel why. It was such a perfect day to be outside.

As she passed around the corner of a restaurant, her nose picked up a familiar smell. Apples... she smelled again. No, not the cupcakes, but definitely apples. Maybe Applejack was -

Yup. She caught a glance of an apple symbol on a freshly-painted, nicely carved wooden board. AJ's set the apple stand up somewhere new. She grinned, thinking again of those delicious cupcakes, but shook her head quickly. Those things just wouldn't get out of her mind.

She trotted over to say hello, and worked her way through a particularly tight spot of crowd. When she was finally able to walk freely over to her friend, she noticed a few more familiar faces: Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were already standing next to Applejack, deep in conversation.

"No soliciting, please," she joked as she approached the group.

"Oh, hey, Twi!" Dash said, thankfully not in an embarrassing position again. "Come join the party. Now we're only two short."

"Ah'm sure Rarity's locked up in her boutique, workin' as per usual fer a weekday," Applejack commented. "No idea where Pinkie's at. How ya doin', Twi?"

"I'm great, actually. The weather improved a lot since this morning."

"Yeah, I just got off work," Rainbow said, grinning egotistically. "Ten seconds flat, am I right?"

"Oh, I remember that!" Twilight replied, laughing. "Anyway, I was just talking to Pinkie. I'd be surprised if she left the house today. She seemed tired."

"Oh, no. Do you think she's not feeling well?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah'm gonna send her an apple pie."

"No, no, no, I don't think she's sick. There's just been... stuff going on." She paused, before taking a quick glance up at the sun. "Oh, it's almost one. I've been out for almost an hour. I better get back to Spike. Can you wrap up a strudel real fast, AJ?"

"Yeah, no problem, Twi," she replied, beginning to shuffle with a bag behind the counter.

There was another short pause. "...You know that if anything happens, you can come to us and we'll help you out," Dash said, breaking the relative silence around the apple stand.

"Definitely. We're still your friends, but... sometimes, stuff just happens," Fluttershy added, smiling warmly.

Twilight clicked her tongue. "Aw. Thanks, girls," Twilight replied as Applejack returned from behind the counter with her order. "I should get going," she said, dropping the bag into the basket. "Bye!"

The three mares watched Twilight trot away, the basket following her encased in a pinkish blur of color. Applejack was first to break the silence. "Do ya think somethin's gonna happen?"

"I hope not," Dash replied, a hint of worry in her voice.

"You're sweet," Fluttershy said softly, nuzzling her marefriend quickly.

Another few moments of silence.

"...Ah'm gonna send the pie anyways."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight walked into the cool of the treehouse soon after, basket floating in tow. Spike walked out of the den to greet her, looking exhausted.

"Hi, Twi," he said. "Everything go okay?"

"Yes, it did, thanks for asking," she replied, scooping him up with her magic and floating him over to her.

"Twilight, this feels funny..."

She giggled. "Here," she said, putting him back on the ground and bringing the basket over. "I got something for my number-one assistant," she said, smiling and pulling out the strudel.

"Seriously? For me?" he asked, grabbing hold of the floating pastry. It was still warm.

"Of course!" she replied cheerfully. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go work on the returns." She turned and walked into the main room, looking it over. Her eyes scanned the bookshelves, and her jaw practically hit the floor. She blinked twice, and reached a hoof up to rub her eyes.

"Spike?"

Meanwhile, Spike had been enjoying his gift (to the last crumb). "On' secnd, Twlgt!" he called back, before swallowing quickly and following the unicorn into the main room.

She was still captivated by the perfect appearance of the... everything, really. The books were neat and organized, the shelves were free of dust, and the returns were all put back into their proper places. She turned around as she heard Spike's claws clicking on the hardwood.

"Spike, did - did you do this?"

He shifted his eyes left and right. "Yes?" he offered weakly.

"All of this? Without magic?"

"Well, I mean, you keep it so neat anyways-"

"In an hour?"

"In case you didn't notice, I'm totally spen-"

He was cut off by a hug from Twilight. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, standing on her hind legs and picking him up off the ground. "How did you manage this? It's incredible!"

"Um - th-thanks?" he replied, still shaken by the dramatic reaction from Twilight.

She put him back down again, and trotted around the room giggling. "How on earth - when - why?" she asked from across the room.

"Well, I was bored, I guess. It's been a bit longer than an hour."

She finished her little joyful parade and slowed to a walk. "But don't you usually sleep when you're bored?"

Spike sighed. The library was, again, totally silent, except for the slow clopping of hooves on wood as Twilight walked back around the room. "...Well... I kinda - see, I just didn't..." he trailed off, rubbing his spines nervously.

Twilight chuckled. "Did you do something wrong, or-"

"Look, I just wanted to help somehow, alright?" He paused, and looked away. "I'm not good at, like, relationship stuff. I mean, I don't even wanna think about it, really. But that's the big thing with you right now. And... I dunno, I just wanted to be helpful somehow."

Twilight was standing next to him, listening carefully. She leaned down and gave him another hug, a less excited and more serious one this time. She pulled away soon. "I'm sorry," she said. "I should've noticed. Some weird things have been going on, I haven't talked to Rarity in a week, I just talked to AJ for the first time today in almost a month, and I should've been spending more time with you. I'm sorry," she repeated, and leaned in for another hug.

Spike accepted it. "It's okay, Twi. I get it. Just take your time, okay? I'll be here if you need anything, though, I don't want to die of boredom in this stu- um - library," he finished, chuckling lamely.

Twilight stared at him with her 'seriously?' face that she'd recently perfected before bursting into laughter. Eventually, Spike followed and began laughing, too. "Ha, ah. We should be getting back to work soon," Twilight said, before thinking better of it. "You know what? You've done so much already. You can take the day off." She giggled. "Oh, that sounds weird, trying to say that to you."

Spike broke into a smile. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. Go ahead, go on over to the Acres or over to Rarity's. I got it covered," she grinned.

Spike smiled again, jumped up to give Twilight one last hug, and ran out the door, laughing.

Twilight smiled as she watched him go. Never seen him quite as happy before, she thought, and looked around the spotless library again. She willed herself not to run around it in sheer joy again. No, legs. Don't do it.

Ah, what the hay.

Part Eighteen - Saturday

Act V

Twilight giggled as her marefriend's muzzle pressed gently against her cheek. She pushed it away with a hoof, blushing lightly. "C'mon, Pinkie, stop it. We're in public," she insisted softly.

It was a nice day to be outside. The Weather Patrol did a fine job of keeping the sun off of most of the city. The street in front of them had that small-town feeling to it; a few ponies headed in all directions, their destinations unknown and unknowable. The café they were sitting outside of had that aura as well; there were some groups of ponies talking and laughing around them, a few of them pointing and snickering. It was fine with Twilight, though. She didn't know them. She hoped not to.

Twilight only received a giggle in response as Pinkie leaned back to take another sip from her milkshake. "No, you come on, Twi, it's been almost a week," she said, wiping off her mouth. "I missed you."

"You only live across town, Pinkie, you could've just walked over and visited the library," she replied, levitating her milkshake up to her lips.

"Yeah, but I had to catch up on work and stuff," Pinkie said, sounding a bit disheartened. "The Cakes were worried about me. I have, like, one sick day left."

"Well, you can't let this -" she motioned between them "- take over your life." As the words left Twilight's mouth, she could feel the truth in them. She only knew what to say because she went through it herself. Her emotions had taken way too much time out of her life.

Pinkie sighed dramatically and looked out at the moderately busy street, her eyes squinting as the sun glinted off the cobblestone. "Oh, you're right as usual, Twi. I'll relax." She grinned. "As long as 'this'-" she added, mimicking Twilight's motion "- doesn't end any time soon."

Twilight smiled, and quickly nuzzled Pinkie's neck. "It won't," she murmured to herself, suddenly thrown into a daydream. Won't end any time soon, she thought, a happy little sigh passing through her lips.

Pinkie opened her mouth for a moment, looking off into the town. She blinked, running through her memories. She subconsciously put a foreleg around Twilight, smiling as she felt the warmth of her coat against her own. A small smile crossed her lips as she gave her marefriend a final squeeze before pulling away.

"I know what we should do for dinner," she said with a singsongy twang.

"Mm?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie replied cheerfully.. "I remember one time, like, way back in high school I went to this one place with a few of my friends and I remember it was all, like, sparkly and fancy and stuff, and there was really good food there with a few other things and I just thought it would be perfect!" She grinned.

Twilight shook her head. "Well, whatever you say, I guess. What are we gonna do until then?"

"I dunno. I came up with dinner, the afternoon is your job."

"Well," Twilight began, levitating her empty cup over to her and standing, "I have no idea. But who needs plans?"

Pinkie bounced to her feet, giggling. "I taught you the power of randomness. Don't abuse it, grasshopper."

Twilight laughed, making a clean toss into the trash can. "I dunno. Let's just... um... we could..." She tapped her head. "I really don't know what to do. Can you think up any-"

"Soccer tennis go prank Rainbow Dash bake brownies drink cider go swimming?"

Twilight stared at Pinkie for a moment, a smile slowly growing on her face. "I... brownies sound good."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

*Bing!*

Pinkie grinned and bucked open the oven behind her, sending a blast of chocolatey scent through the small ground floor of the apartment. Twilight snatched the tray up with her magic and flew it over to herself at the cooling rack. Racks.

Pinkie bounced over cheerfully, her batter-stained toque sitting askew on the top of her pink poofy mane. "You wanna make another batch?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, we made thirteen already. The last time you tr-"

She was interrupted with a sudden gasp. "Thirteen? Oh no, now we have to make another batch! Everypony knows that thirteen is an unlucky number!"

Twilight snorted, and chuckled. "Come on. Do you really..." She stopped herself, noticing Pinkie's unusually firm glare.

"Ms. Sparkle, if there's anything I ever taught you..."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Don't disrespect the powerful forces that I somehow don't comprehend." She shook her head and smiled lightheartedly, turning her attention back to the massive tiered cooling rack covered entirely with brownies. "You know there has to be at least three hundred here, right?"

"That's about an average, yeah."

"I'm just going to ignore that. Either way, what do you plan on doing with these?"

"Well, just about anything, really. I've sold them for my own profit, I've given them away..." She paused, staring at the rectangular stack of deep brown squares. "But usually I just eat a lot, and put the rest in the 'fridge, and then eat them later."

Twilight stared at her for a moment, before her eyes travelled down her body. For somepony who eats sweets that much, she's really fit. But a little poofy. Maybe her coat has the same type of hair as her mane? No. That's not anatomically correct. Does she work out? Every muscle seems toned, but soft at the same time, like they're made of velv-

"Hey, Twilight! Wake up!"

Her senses snapped back to her, and she shook her head. Where was she staring? She looked back to her marefriend's face. "Yes. What."

"You're gonna try one, right?"

Twilight felt a little blush grow on her cheeks. "Yeah - yes. Of course," she mumbled, reaching out and grabbing one that looked especially nice with her magic and taking a bite.

"You like?"

She nodded for a moment, looking down at the brownie and up at Pinkie. "Do I even need to say it?"

Pinkie giggled. "What, that you're allergic to brownies?

"No, that's - I'm not even -" She groaned. "You've outdone yourself again, chef. Maybe not a perfect brownie, but the closest thing I'll ever have to one." She smiled, and took another slow bite, closing her eyes savouring the crisp, chewy chocolate crust.

"Pfft. What do you mean, it's not perfect? You made most of them." She giggled. "You want another one?"

"Well, I mean, I don't really-" she stopped, opening her eyes. Pinkie was staring at her smiling, a brownie in-between her teeth. Twilight grinned, and leaned forwards, biting the other end. Their muzzles just barely touched before she tore the brownie in two and started laughing, eliciting a laugh from Pinkie, too.

Twilight swallowed and sighed, giving Pinkie another nuzzle. "Alright. What are we going to do now?"

"Still all you, Twi." Pinkie turned and flipped her head, sending her toque flying through the air straight to the cupboard.

Twilight shook her head. "I still can't - I mean, what were some of those things you were talking about before?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes and smiled. "Hm... wanna make out?" she asked cheerfully, taking a step towards her marefriend.

"Uh... um, that's not gonna... take four hours..." she trailed off mumbling to herself, staring at the tiled floor to hide her growing smile.

"Is that a yes?" came the almost purred reply.

Celestia, that's sexy. "...Mm-hm."

"Get over here."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"... Well, what else am I supposed to call you, then? Sparkle...zizzle?" Pinkie was saying with a giggle.

Twilight laughed. "What? No, I just don't want to be called 'Twily'. I mean, it's sort of a family thing." She moved her legs a bit, struggling to find the comfortable spot that she'd lost.

The two were sitting against the wall of the bakery, with Twilight snuggled up, content, in Pinkie's forelegs. A brief... intimate moment between the two dissolved into laughter and eventually became some sort of a warm hug. Every time something like this happened, it surprised her - just the idea that she could feel so comfortable in a situation like that was strange. Fantastic, but strange.

Twilight felt Pinkie's sigh on the back of her neck. "Well, I dunno. I'll think of something eventually, I guess. 'Twi's been working fine." She pulled her marefriend closer to her, feeling the heat against her chest and shivering. "... You know, I like this..." she murmured softly, nuzzling into the back of Twilight's head.

"So do I," Twilight replied, yawning and smiling.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me, there, Twi," Pinkie said, grinning. "You don't wanna be tired when it's dinnertime, do you?" She paused for a moment, and looked vaguely around the room. "Hey, what time is it?"

Twilight glanced at the flour-dusted grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "It's, um, six -"

"Six?" Pinkie interrupted, moving to a crouch. "Six what?"

"Six twelve, or thirteen, or s-"

"Oh!" Pinkie said, popping out from behind her marefriend and hopping around the counter. "Oh! Um - you should probably go and get ready. I'll come by the library in half an hour. I think. Six what?"

"Twelve. But - what time is - did you get a reservation? Where are we going that needs a reservation?" Twilight asked as she was pulled from the ground and pushed quickly to the door, still slightly sleepy. "Pinkie, I don't want you to take me anywhere too - I wouldn't - f - Pinkie - stop with the - hey -"

Pinkie swept Twilight out onto the doorstep and kissed her quickly on the bridge of her muzzle. "I'll see you in a few minutes," she added before turning quickly back into the apartment.

Twilight sighed, looking up at the door. "Um... bye?"

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The upper level of the library resounded with the sound of hoofstep - hurried hoofstep - as its resident unicorn quickly prepared herself for - well - wherever it was she was going, taking a quick shower and running a brush through her hair.

A quick glance at the clock told her that she'd only taken twenty or so minutes to ready everything. Considering the speed at which she remembered cleaning herself up, it wasn't at all an impressive feat. She frowned momentarily, but dismissed her trivial thoughts and swung the door to the second landing open - which was followed by a dull thud.

Twilight gasped and stepped out onto the balcony, shutting the door quickly behind her. She clicked her tongue. "Spike," she said quietly, picking him up with her magic and setting him on his feet. "Sorry. Break anything?" she asked teasingly.

"I don't think so," he replied, putting a hand to his head. "But usually you don't open doors so... you know... fast." He picked up the book he was reading and turned to walk down the stairs, closely followed by Twilight. "What's the big rush?"

"Well," Twilight began, looking out over the library, "it's Saturday night, and since we spent pretty close to the whole day together, Pinkie said she was taking me out to dinner." She sighed shortly. "I don't know why she thinks she can. Or should." She smiled to herself. "Nice gesture, I guess, but I'll go dutch anyways..." she mumbled, trailing off.

Spike sighed, too, and shrugged. "Well, as long as it's past five and I don't have to watch the library. I'm gonna go take a nap -"

He was cut short by a quick rapping at the door. Both Twilight and Spike glanced up at the light violet window to see a brightly grinning pink face mouthing 'Hi'.

Spike threw the book onto the front desk, and turned toward the stairs again. "Well, g'night."

"Hey!" Twilight called after him. "Put it back where it belongs," she instructed, levitating the baby dragon down to the desk again.

"Yeah, yeah, just go have your special dinner already," he grumbled, and stalked off towards the depths of the library.

Twilight couldn't help but smile. Spike had always been kinda like that, and although on multiple occasions it had frustrated her to no end, every once in a while it was just that cutesy thing that reminded her that Spike was still Spike..

"Ready to go?" a cheerful voice piped up from behind her, making her mane stand on end for a moment.

"Pinkie!" she gasped, whipping her head around. "Nearly gave me a heart attack."

She shrugged, and grinned. "Whoops?"

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"... so, remember, this is the third time he asks me this; he asks me, 'But what's your favourite colour?'" Pinkie laughs, enticing a laugh from Twilight, too. "And he's totally serious about it, like it's important! Don't you think he would be able to tell anyways? I'm the embodiment of pink!" Another round of laughter echoed around the lightly populated cobblestone square. It wasn't quite close enough to fall yet for it to be legitimately cold, but there was still a crisp early-evening breeze passing through town.

"That's a word for you, am I right, Pinkie?"

"Oh, shut up!" Pinkie giggled, giving her a friendly push. "... I swear, worst date I've ever had," Pinkie finished, giggling. "What about you? What's your worst experience?"

Twilight shook her head. "Up until recently -" she paused on the word, flashing a smile at her marefriend "- I hadn't actually been on any dates."

Pinkie looked rather shocked. "None. None at all?"

"Nope," Twilight chuckled. "Nopony took any interest in me when I was in school, and... well, I guess I was just kinda left alone."

Pinkie looked over at her marefriend with a slight feeling of pity in her chest, before leaning over and pressing up against her. "...It's a bit chilly out today, isn't it?" she asked softly. Twilight slowly began to understand her insinuation and blushed a rosy pink.

If anything comes out of this relationship, a sudden thought popped into Pinkie's head, I want Twilight to remember it well. ... Is that a good thing to think?

"You better not be getting us lost, Pinkie," Twilight sighed, glancing around at the thinning city and growing suburbs. Pinkie hadn't even noticed that they were already out of Ponyville. She tried to get her bearings quickly.

"No, no, I've been there before, remember? I - I know where it is. Right!" she added loudly and took a sharp right, nearly bumping headfirst into Twilight. "I got it. It's down third - fourth street. Third street."

"Let's just say there for now," Twilight said, before stopping Pinkie where she was. "It that it down there?"

Pinkie squinted in the dimming light down the road. "Yeah, that's it. The white one with the sides and the roof."

Twilight smiled but said nothing, and trotted off happily down the street. The Gooseberry didn't seem to be too big of a place, probably family-owned; it looked quaint in its surroundings, though, being just a little too tall and a little too thin for the other buildings around it. Twilight flickered an ear out of habit as Pinkie trotted up alongside her - she could already smell dinner. Roasting almonds, a sour tang of grapes, all kinds of pastries and breads...

"Excellent choice, Pinkie," Twilight said quietly. "Can you smell that?"

"Thank you, and definitely." Pinkie pressed her head up against Twilight's for a second, before shaking her head with a giggle and a snort. "Maybe I didn't totally break the evening. Yet."

"Don't even joke about that," Twilight said teasingly. "That's happened before, and you remember it. It wasn't funny."

Pinkie's giggles grew louder. "Yeah, but that's the funny part!" she replied as they were approaching the door, and caught it as another couple entered the already-bustling establishment. "Ladies first," she muttered, going through another bout of giggles as she held the door for her marefriend.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The noise in the restaurant began dying down around 7:45, about when both mares were full, satisfied, and just having conversation. When a microphone scratch shot through the air, the noise stopped entirely. An older stallion, with a broad muzzle, came to the center of the room.

There was a short pause as the room quickly became silent. He leaned close to the mic and said simply, "Gyvien starts at eight."

Immediately there was a flurry of movement in the center of the room - some of the circular tables were moved away by waiters and a few ponies were crowded around the back of the room opposite from Pinkie and Twilight. Conversation slowly resumed. Twilight looked across at Pinkie. "What's 'gyvien'? What was he talking about? Is that another language? I don't..."

Pinkie smiled, a glint of mischief flashing through her eyes. "First, you have to tell me whether we're staying for it."

"Well, what is it?"

"Yes or no."

Twilight groaned, and raised a hoof to her face. "If I say yes, will I be upset?"

"Hopefully not," came the chuckled reply.

"... Sure. Why not." She looked over at the center of the room again, before turning back to Pinkie. "So what is it?"

"It's a dance."

Twilight leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Pinkie."

"Mm?" Pinkie replied, leaning forward on the table, a grin spreading slowly across her face.

"I don't..." she paused, sighing again and clicking her tongue, a hint of a scowl flashing across her face. "I don't feel comfortable dancing... in a... how do I say it?"

"Twilight."

"Y-" She glanced up and stopped short. Pinkie was standing next to her chair, her hoof outstretched. The yellow light from the old oil lamps lighting up the dining room behind her gave a bright contrast to her face, just stretching the drama of the moment to its fullest. Twilight's mouth went dry.

"Dance with me."

Nineteen - Dance

*song to play in comments. I apologize for the clicheed 'background music suggestion', but it must be done.*

Twilight stared for a second at the pink hoof stretched out before her, her mind stuck in a state of slow comprehension. She looked back up at the gently smiling face of her marefriend, before making an unsure decision: "O-okay."

She stood and took the hoof, looking vaguely around at the room before her eyes set on the centre: a circular patch of bare floor that had appeared there in less than a minute. Behind the makeshift dance floor there was a stand, which also hadn't caught her attention before, and a few olive and tan stallions, Itailian in look, were setting up a drum set, strummed cello, and microphone.

All of it seemed so impromptu. Was this really intentional? She couldn't help but wonder briefly whether it was another fantastic scheme pulled off perfectly by Pinkie. It stopped being illogical soon after she met Pinkie - she just seemed to have that ability. But whether it was or not, by the time she was deep in the slowly-growing group forming in the dance ring, she didn't care.

The first song began to play before she felt herself ready. It wasn't the type of song to lead her slowly into dancing, either. All of a sudden, the beat swelled and Twilight hung onto her partner for dear life as she was led through the mosh of strange ponies beginning to dance around them.

Despite of herself, she took a few looks at Pinkie's excited face periodically and smiled, starting to really get into everything. And when the lyrics began, her adrenalin had already reached the stars.

She felt a sudden pull on her hoof, and an unintelligible shout to the crowd, which parted quickly to form a small, claustrophobia-inducing circle. Twilight looked up at her marefriend, one of her hooves still clutching her shoulder. Pinkie's grin grew as Twilight broke out into frenzied whispers. "Pinkie, what are you doing? I can't do anything - I mean, I don't want to be in - this is kind of uncomf-"

"Just follow my lead, Twi. If you don't want to move, don't."

"What do you-"

She was cut off as Pinkie grasped her midsection and spun to the left, the first disorienting move in a series of many to come. Twilight yelped as she was being slid in every direction to the metre of the music, without even the slightest of pauses in-between to let her catch her breath. At least Pinkie seemed to know what she was doing... hopefully.

Meanwhile, she could feel her marefriend's body against her own as she clung to her to keep from being flung away. It wasn't entirely personal, of course, considering more often than not she was trying to follow Pinkie's leads without falling over or otherwise making a fool of herself. But there was still... something there. They were kinda dancing together, and it was sorta their first dance... Twilight wasn't sure what that really meant, but it was excellent for the time being.

The music swelled to a drumless bridge, drawing the song to a close. Pinkie leaned in quickly and whispered, "Hold on to me."

"Wh-"

Twilight was given no time to react. She was able to hear Pinkie, but just barely, and interlocked her hooves with hers - before the finale. She was swung freely into the air, just for a moment in which she felt totally weightless. What kind of magic -

She was brought down through a graceful arc to the old wooden floor, standing and leaning against one of Pinkie's forelegs as she struck a bold, dramatic pose. She closed her eyes and sighed as the crowd began cheering and stomping their hooves. That was too much all at once, especially for somepony like her.

Finally, the crowd began to disperse and dance again as the next song began to play. She looked up at Pinkie with a stern look and a soft twinkle in her eye. "Was - was that it?" she asked, surprised at her loss of breath. "Can we - can we go?"

Pinkie smiled, releasing her hoof and accidentally letting Twilight fall to the floor. "Sorry," she said, chuckling nervously and offering a hoof. "We can't go yet, though, Twi - there's still other dances to try, and -"

"Well," Twilight interrupted, "maybe we should try one that isn't so active next."

Pinkie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever you want."

"Can - can I sit down, at least?"

"I can't stop you," Pinkie replied, bouncing onto her hooves, "but if you need me I'll be on the dance floor."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight looked down at the empty table, still slightly short of breath. She put a hoof to her head, sighing quietly. For a first dance between them, it was a bit much. She felt her stomach churn. So much abrupt action at once, and just after she'd finished eating. It didn't bode well. And the smell of the kitchen wasn't helping.

She looked around the room. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite remember what. It seemed quite quaint for a restaurant in the city. Suddenly, she caught the brief gaze of the announcer. She couldn't tell from the second of eye contact, but he almost seemed angry. He probably wasn't looking her way anyways.

She glanced over to the dance floor again. There was some sort of syncopated dance going on by that point, with, of course, Pinkie leading the group. Alliteration. Perfectly pink party pony passionately - um - passes - no. Passes... uh...

Twilight began to busy herself with mind games as she stared out at the dance floor, her eyes locked on bright pink. Wherever Pinkie learned to dance must have been professional - she was excellent at it. From set dances to just dancing from the soul, she could handle it perfectly.

She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice the gradual change in music - and definitely didn't notice the sudden absence of her marefriend from the dance floor. By the time she realized Pinkie wasn't there anymore, she already felt a hoof on her shoulder.

She turned around, gasping. "Pinkie, you scared me," she complained lightheartedly.

"I tend to do that," she replied, a huge grin on her face. "They're going slower now," she mentioned, her face becoming serious again as she motioned at the band. She motioned again at the dance floor, the hint of a smile on her lips. "You ready?"

"Of course," Twilight replied, smiling and following her marefriend to the dance floor. There was a nice, jazzy, rimshot-filled song playing, a low cello and standing bass wavering in the background. The hall was files only with the yellow, dim light of the lanterns and the pale blue moonlight illuminating the corners of the room.

Pinkie brought her to her back hooves and clasped her left hoof in her own. Twilight looked up at her marefriend and blushed softly. Pinkie wasn't being herself too much today. Almost everything seemed so romantic - it really felt like their own special night, their own special dance, all to themselves.

Pinkie's blue eyes glittered in the moonlight as she led them both nearer to the windows. Twilight felt Pinkie's hoof on her back pull her just a bit closer. She giggled quietly, despite herself, and tried momentarily to take control of the dance before they both stumbled.

"Just let me do the dancing, okay?" Pinkie said with a laugh. "This is, like, my area of expertise."

"That's true, I suppose," Twilight muttered in reply, unable to break her gaze with her marefriend. She smiled, before looking down at her hooves nervously.

"Don't trip," Pinkie said, letting her grip on Twilight go momentarily before laughing and pulling her back towards herself.

"P-Pinkie!" Twilight stuttered, grasping at her marefriend's hoof and lamely recovering from her stumble. "Don't - don't do that!"

"Heh. Sorry."

Twilight began slowly to feel the music. Each little jazzy note and syncopated triangle tinkle made her begin to feel closer to the pink mare she was dancing with. This feeling was only elevated when she felt Pinkie's hoof against the back of her head, pressing her to her shoulder for a warm embrace.

Twilight felt her face flush. She hugged back, a smile spreading across her features. She momentarily forgot exactly where she was; the room spun out of focus. All of her concentration began to funnel into this close, personal dance.

Pinkie giggled quietly into her ear. "It's hard to dance slow."

"Hm? Why?" Twilight replied subconsciously.

"I dunno. I have too much energy to just stand here and move around all slow, I guess. Sometimes I just wanna -"

"What? Swing me around again?"

"Maybe."

Twilight smiled. "Just let me have a minute or two more."

"Don't get me wrong," Pinkie said, pulling away and looking at her, "we can dance as long as you want. I'm just saying. I'm the party pony, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Twilight replied. She glanced over Pinkie's shoulder and noticed they weren't dancing in the circle anymore. They'd somehow gravitated to the corner. "Hey, I think we got a little off-center," she commented, turning back to her marefriend. "Can -"

Pinkie had a familiar mischievous smile on her face. Suddenly, Twilight felt herself being backed up against one of the tables. She felt the deep blush return. Pinkie, there are still all kinds of ponies here - don't do anything too embarrassing - she thought, but couldn't find the words to speak.

As she felt Pinkie lean closer, her eyes began to close. It was almost involuntary. Pinkie still had a hoof around her, supporting her - it did nothing but invest her further into the feeling. "P-Pinkie, this..." she trailed off, before -

"Nope. Out."

Both mares jumped, and Twilight could feel her heart jump into her throat. "Wh-what -" She turned around to see the old announcer stallion standing nearby, a stern look on his face.

Pinkie smiled. "Sorry...?" she said, backing up from the table and letting Twilight fall back to her hooves. "W-we, uh..."

"I can see what you were doing," the stallion replied, "but that doesn't mean everypony here wants to. You two need to get a room," he finished icily, beginning to walk them backwards towards the door. "Doesn't matter where you go, but you can't stay here."

"Wait - why are you - can you - you can't do that!" Pinkie stuttered defensively. "We're still customers, right?"

"I'm the owner," the stallion said. "Right to refuse service?" He opened the door and pointed out. "Night, ma'am."

"B-" was all Twilight was able to reply in protest before the door shut in front of them. She turned around, sill bewildered, and turned back to the door. "... What was that about?"

"I dunno, but I don't think we can get back in," Pinkie replied, knocking on the door twice. "That's never happened to me before..."

Twilight could sense the drop of peppiness in her voice, and tried to remedy the situation. "Well... have you ever tried to kiss anypony else in public before?"

"... You're right. That was still rude, though. I didn't even get a warning or anything."

Pinkie seemed relatively satisfied with Twilight's explanation and turned to walk away, still mumbling to herself. "...scared me more than anything else, if you think about it - I mean, the dude came out of nowhere and just..."

Twilight wasn't entirely sure about herself, though, and trotted to catch up with Pinkie, a few nagging doubts still floating around her mind. That didn't seem normal at all. Was he being so unforgiving because we're both... no. Well, maybe, but that's so...

She put her head down disappointedly. Pinkie looked over at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all, Pinkie," Twilight responded sarcastically.

Pinkie giggled. "I realized how stupid that was after I said it. Seriously, though, that makes me mad. Can't we, like, sue or something? That was just wrong."

"Technically, no," Twilight began, picking up her head and perking up her ears, smiling despite herself. "That brings up matters of private establishments and private law which is comparable to public domain and public law, but a case against the assertion of nonessential law in a private domain wouldn't hold its water in... court..." she trailed off seeing the look on Pinkie's face. "Sorry," she said embarrassedly.

Pinkie giggled again. "I'm trying to be mad, but I can't now." She began laughing, and leaned over to Twilight to give her a quick nuzzle. "You're so cute."

"Thanks...?"

"That's not the kind of thing you say thanks to." She paused. "You want to go anywhere else? The night is still young. Well, more middle-aged."

Twilight chuckled. "Pun. Clever. And, nah, I'd rather just go home about now." She yawned. "The night might still be 'middle-aged', but I'm tired."

There was a moment of quiet, which, of course, didn't survive very long. Pinkie's snorting giggles filled the air.

"What?"

"We didn't pay," she replied, snorting again before dissolving into laughter.

Twilight smiled despite of herself. "That's just wrong."

"Oh, come on. It's not like we were given the bill. It was kinda his fault."

"I know, but I'm still trying to contain my laughter."

"Don't do that! Let it run free, Twi!"

Twilight giggled, shaking her head. "Element of Laughter. Right." She turned away and looked off into the city before them. A quarter of the city had always been cut off from the rest by the Clearwater River, and the short bridge that they were nearing was one of the oldest pieces of architecture in Equestria. And in the moonlight, it was as beautiful now as it was thousands of years ago.

She glanced at Pinkie, who was staring up at the bright, starry sky. She turned away before hearing Pinkie again: "Hey, Twi."

"Hm?"

Pinkie was standing right at the edge of the bridge, the moonlight dramatizing the twinkle in her eye. She winked and stepped onto the ledge. "See ya," she said before disappearing over the edge.

Twilight gasped. "Pinkie!" she shouted, galloping over to the edge and scanning the water below desperately. "Pinkie! Are you okay?!"

She let out a sigh of relief as her marefriend surfaced, fountaining water from her mouth and grinning broadly. "Cone on in, the water's only a little bit cold!"

Twilight sighed again, and scowled. "That's not funny, Pinkie!" she replied. "That scared me!"

"Did you really think that I had no idea what I was doing?"

"... Maybe?"

"Get down here."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight shivered as Pinkie began swimming short circles around her. "A 'little' c-cold? You're c-c-crazy, Pinkie."

"Yup!" she replied, surfacing in front of her. "But that's never a bad thing. Well, every once in a while. Well, most of the time."

"I guess you're an ex-exception. Kinda," Twilight replied as Pinkie fell back into the water again.

Suddenly, Twilight felt a pressure on her back. She hurriedly lifted a wave up out of the river in front of her with her magic, and clicked her tongue when she saw Pinkie hanging onto her. "Pinkie, stop scaring me. It's already dark enough outside."

"Oh. Sorry."

"I'm still a bit upset about how whimsical this is," she chastised, lifting Pinkie into the air and placing her in front of herself. "What if the river was only, like, a foot deep? You could've hurt yourself."

"But it's five feet, eleven and three-quarters inches deep," she replied, pointing over to the nearby bridge.

Twilight shook her head. "There's no way you could..." she trailed off. "... Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Twilight remained silent, standing in the water and letting Pinkie swim around her giggling. "Come on, Twi, do something!" she insisted. "Swim around or do something magical and stuff. Tell me all about the constellations. I'll have to splash you if you don't. That's an obligation. And if I remember last summer right, you're not too fond of s- oh."

She was interrupted by a pair of violet lips on her own. She flushed slightly pinker and closed her eyes, leaning into it. Twilight pulled away momentarily, her eyes still half-closed.

Pinkie exhaled, her eyes opening wide. "What... was that about?"

"You needed to stop talking," Twilight replied, before leaning in again, much to the confusion and delight of her marefriend. Her own cheeks began to redden as she felt Pinkie slowly press up against her, warming her to no extent. This is never going to get old.

Pinkie broke off, her forehead resting on Twilight's. "You know... I'm sorry about tonight. I wasn't really... wasn't really expecting that."

"I don't mind. I mean, I mind a little, but -"

"Don't overthink it," Pinkie interrupted, leaning in for another kiss. "Just let everything happen. Go with the flow. Get it? 'Cause we're in a river, and it's running water -"

Twilight giggled. "Shush."

"But - okay."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie fell back onto the grassy shore, giggling and snorting and grasping at the air. "Twilight, I'm supposed to start the splashing, not you!" she complained, wiping her eyes with the back of her hoof.

Twilight fell on top of her, giggling and blushing about the same. She paused briefly, looking down at Pinkie. "You know, I don't see your mane down too often."

Pinkie paused as well, losing her train of thought. "Oh. Well, it doesn't usually go down. Not even when it's wet. I'm not entirely sure what the problem is."

"... It looks nice."

"Well, thanks." Pinkie replied, smiling up at her. "Ten bits says it goes back when I stand up."

Twilight chuckled, before closing in for another kiss. Slower now. Pinkie sighed and wrapped her hooves around her neck. She felt less passion and more love. It sent familiar tingles through her. She caught a glimpse of Twilight, just for a second. Her horn was glowing a light pink, which illuminated the rest of her face perfectly. Pinkie could even see the bright pink on her marefriend's cheeks.

"Am I... am I doing it right?"

Pinkie was snapped back to reality by the quiet question. She looked up and smiled. "You're a natural. Haven't I told you that before?"

Twilight returned the smile, her eyes twinkling along with her horn. As they leaned back again, Pinkie was gripped by another mischievous compulsion. She slowly reached up with a hoof and tapped the base of Twilight's horn.

"Ah!" Twilight cried almost immediately, collapsing on Pinkie's chest, her horn briefly glowing brighter before the light died out.

Pinkie stared at her for a moment before dissolving into a panic. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, Twilight! I didn't know what it would do, and I just sorta - did! What was -"

A violet hoof pressed against her lips. Twilight looked up at her, flushed a furious red and panting softly. "It's... okay. It's okay," she whispered, before returning for another kiss.

"Oh, again? Th- okay." I guess... I dunno what to think. I'm okay with it, though.

Pinkie felt a bit disappointed when Twilight pulled away relatively quickly. "What..." she panted again. "What time do you think it is?"

"Uh, I'd say nearing nine or ten. Sometime around there." She paused. "... You ready to go home?"

Twilight looked up, flicking an ear. "Yeah. I didn't mean to stay out this long in the first place. But then you pull this whole swimming thing on me, and..." She trailed off, levitating her and Pinkie to their hooves. "... It was nice, though."

"Yeah. It was, wasn't it?"

"Don't get any ideas," Twilight replied, shaking her mane a little. "Lemme help you dry off."

Pinkie felt that strange pressure on her again as she was almost air-blown in a wave of pink magic. "A convenient... replacement... for towels," she commented, giggling as her mane poofed back into place.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"It really was excellent tonight. I haven't danced that way in... ever," Twilight was saying. The ways to the library and to Pinkie's apartment were separated on Grand and Maple, the one street corner in Ponyville whose streetlight had a reputation for flickering out.

"I kinda figured. That's why I took you to the Gooseberry in the first place."

"So you did plan ahead."

A giggle. "Maybe a little."

"Well, Pinkie," Twilight said in a rather stiff voice, extending a hoof, "until our next meeting."

"Of course, my dear Twilight," Pinkie replied in the same voice, taking the hoof. "I shall count the moments."

"With bated breath?"

"With bated breath." There was a moment of silence, before Pinkie chuckled. "One for the road?"

Twilight sighed, before a bright smile broke across her face. "Alright. You deserve it." She leaned in for a brief kiss, before turning to walk away. "Bye! I'll probably see you tomorrow anyways."

Pinkie waved goodbye before turning away, smiling broadly. She could only think of one objective as she walked home.

Time to start planning for next Saturday.

Part Twenty-One - Sleepover

The air had been still since work began. It wasn't often Pinkie felt tired of her job; she'd been doing it for so long, but even then there was still a kind of expertise that took her over and kept her focused. When she was baking, she became an artist - at least on any regular day.

Today, though, she just felt like looking out the window and watching ponies walk by and counting the leaves as they fell from the trees. She couldn't get the past few days out of her head - the only one of her friends she remembered seeing was Applejack, and even then she had to go up to the acres. She didn't remember seeing anypony around town and just only remembered Twilight walking by Sugarcube Corner. Even then, it seemed hurried, like she wouldn't stop in and say hi even if she had to.

She missed her friends and the stupid pranks and the laughs and jokes and occasional adventure, sure, but she missed seeing Twilight above all that. Maybe she was just being an idiot again, but usually Twilight came by the bakery every other day at least, for lunch.

Yeah, it was probably just her being an idiot. She slumped on the counter after putting a cake unenthusiastically in the oven. She jumped when she heard a crash and a mumbled curse behind her. When she remembered she still had a coworker-in-training, she sighed and turned around, seeing with surprise that Trixie had already cleaned up the spilled batter and put the pan in the sink with a bit of magical effort.

She managed a smile. "Wow, Trixie, you are really not bad with that horn."

Trixie returned the smile, the same see-through mask that Pinkie was wearing. "Well, you know."

"Aw, come on, you can have a little pride in yourself. You're a lot quicker than Rarity, at least."

Trixie's small smile quickly became genuine as a little twinkle danced in her eye. She shook her head and shot a small burst of sparks out of the end of her horn that exploded with a firework-esque bang.

Pinkie grinned against her better judgment. Well, she felt a little better. There was an odd thought that she felt like she wanted to say aloud, but also keep to herself. Eventually, she decided to just mention it. "You have a bad day, too, Trixie?"

Trixie turned around from the sheet she was glossing over with a bit of surprise evident on her face. "Oh, um... I guess you could say that."

"I can tell," she continued, leaning back on the counter. "You're not usually so quiet. In fact, you're really not quiet, like, ever."

"Neither are you!"

"Ah, there's the Trixie I know," Pinkie replied with another grin.

Trixie groaned, exasperated. "Alright. I haven't been doing very well. I haven't been able to save anything up yet because my landlord's a -" she paused. "And I have to keep coming back to this job that I just can't get around to support myself. Okay?"

Pinkie remained quiet as Trixie turned back to her work, and let the ticking of the oven timer and the mumbles of the light crowd in the front of the store fill the room. "Hey. How's your schedule after work?"

Trixie sighed. "Look, I don't -"

"You wanna grab something to eat? Talk about stuff?"

She shook her head. "I can't see - I mean, I know that - I mean... fine." She turned away again, putting a hoof to her forehead.

Pinkie smiled, more to herself than anypony else. "I mean, ever since you came here you were a mystery to me - I don't know anything about why you came back, or where you were, or anything. All I know is you work with me, and that's not a whole lot. So, I thought we should just... catch up," she finished, finding the right word in time.

Trixie was silent for a while, the air reverting to the stillness Pinkie hated. Soon, though, Trixie smiled softly to herself and turned back to Pinkie with a slight nod. "Thanks."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The staleness of the day had slowly disappeared after work was out. Pinkie greeted her coworker with a smile and a joke, just like she was meeting her for the first time.

Pinkie had decided, when she knew that the Trixie that had caused a bit of trouble in Ponyville a while ago was going to be her coworker, that she had changed entirely for the better. After all, what's trying to start a friendship with somepony if all you can think about is the problems they had in the past?

Oddly enough, though, unlike the other times she'd tried this, she was shocked to find she was pretty much right. Trixie seemed to be a new pony, with few to none of the traits she'd had last time they met. It was a striking difference.

The two left the bakery side-by-side in the late afternoon. It had warmed up quite a bit since that morning, but fall was still in the air. "So. You know that one place on fourth with the missing tile on the roof and all the spackle?" she asked, motioning her head to the left down the street.

"Not really," Trixie replied, still quietly.

Pinkie frowned. "Deli with the weird hospital smell on tenth."

Trixie shook her head. "I don't really -"

"Little noodle place off of eighth that the tennis players always go to?"

"I don't eat out much, Pinkie," Trixie interrupted, looking off down the street and smiling. "How about that place?"

Pinkie looked at her questioningly. "But that's the to-go place with the sandwiches."

Trixie sort of shrugged. "I'm okay with that. Are you not? I mean, you know, if you - you could just - we could go eat in the valley," she finished lamely.

Pinkie snorted. "You're acting way too much like one of my friends. It's almost scary." She shook her head. "Yeah, no, to-go is fine." She nudged her playfully. "Too new to have had enough of the valley yet?"

Trixie gave a small smile. "I guess."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pinkie struggled with balling up her sandwich wrapper as she waited for Trixie to stop laughing. Pinkie smiled. "You know, you laugh a lot more than I thought you would."

Trixie sighed and returned her smile. "Well... you know."

She'd gotten a lot more comfortable around Pinkie over the month or so they'd shared a kitchen, but this was the first time Pinkie had heard her use her... well, her natural voice. She usually spoke a lot quieter or a lot more controlled than she was now.

"So life hasn't been treating you too badly? Like standing on your trachea? Or pulling your tail every thirty-or-so seconds?"

Trixie giggled again, hiding her uncharacteristic grin behind her hooves as well as she could. "Not really. I'm pretty okay with where I am now."

"Well, where are you now?"

The unicorn looked over at her, and looked away again, playing with her mane a bit. "... It's not important." She cleared her throat. "Oh, um, word's getting around town that you came up with a special apple-ish cupcake."

"No, no, it was almost all Applejack. I keep telling everypony that, but nopony pays attention." She sighed. "Oh, well." A brief pause, before Pinkie leaned over and gave Trixie a playful nudge. "Why? You jealous?"

Trixie bit her lip. "No."

"You jealous."

"Fine, maybe a little bit."

Pinkie smiled mischievously. "Oh, you jealous! I knew it!" She pushed her with a hoof, and she retaliated about the same. "Hey, come on. Next time we have a minute off at work, we'll come up something totally new. If, you know, the options haven't been totally exhausted."

Trixie smiled again. "That sounds great." There was a brief moment of silence. "... Hey. You know, not too many ponies are really... kind... around here, for lack of a better word," Trixie said, quiet once more. "It was really nice of you to, you know, do this for me."

Pinkie sat up, looking over at her. "Hey, no problem. What are friends for?" she added with a smile.

Trixie stared at her for a moment, before looking away into the distance. "... I don't know," she replied simply.

Pinkie looked up at the falling sun, before standing slowly to her hooves. "Hey, it's about time for me to get home. Next time, let's hit the deli. With boomboxes," she added with a mischievous giggle.

"R- next time?" Trixie asked, standing as well. "You mean you were... okay with that?"

"Okay with what?"

"Just..." she paused. "Me."

Pinkie smiled broadly. "Of course! What did you expect, I'd just straight-up hate y-"

She was interrupted by a swift embrace. She almost fell backwards, but recovered and returned the hug as well as she could. "Hey, Trix, take it easy. It's not that big of a deal."

She stepped back quickly. "Y-yeah, no, you're - you're right. I'm sorry. It's just - nothing. Never mind."

Pinkie's ear twitched twice. Something was up. She thought for a moment, before biting back a gasp. "Trixie, you've... had friends before, right?"

Trixie looked away.

The smile that was forming at the corners of her mouth disappeared. "Aw, Trixie, that can't -"

"Pinkie?"

She turned back towards the town and, seeing nothing, back towards Trixie, who'd developed a small blush. She did a double take and saw a bright violet form trotting towards them in the paling light. "Twilight?!" she called back, shocked.

Swinging her head back to Trixie, she felt herself blush slightly. "Um... I... You know what? Whenever you want to do something again, I'll invite some of the girls and we'll all go t-"

"Hey, Pinkie!"

She smiled weakly. "I - I'll see you Monday at work. I gotta go, though, bye!" With that, she turned to walk away - but instead ran muzzle-to-muzzle with the object of her affection.

Twilight smiled broadly. "Hi, Pinkie!" she began cheerfully. "I've been looking all over town for you. Never expected you to be out in -" she paused, noticing Trixie standing awkwardly behind them, pawing nervously at the ground.

Trixie was surprised, to say the least, when Twilight chuckled. "So what's up with Trixie?"

Pinkie smiled back and turned to look at her newfound friend. "Just an early dinner, I guess." She turned back, slightly worried. "Were you planning something? I wouldn't know."

"No, no, just wanted to talk. I already ate, too." She motioned affably with a hoof for Trixie to come over. "Hey, come on! Fill me in. How's everything going?"

Trixie just shook her head. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I should get going before it gets too dark." She flashed a nervous smile and trotted past the two into town.

The pair watched her until she disappeared into the streets. "... Well," Twilight said, nudging her marefriend, "can you fill me in? How's Trixie doing?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No, no, no, you have to tell me where you've been all week. Then I'll give you the gist with Trixie."

Twilight bit her bottom lip, and turned to walk back into town, with Pinkie closely in tail. "Uh... it's kind of a secret. You'll probably figure it out later anyways. So," she continued, with a flip of the mane, "want to make plans for... Saturday night?"

"Yes, I very well do," Pinkie replied huffily. "I've wanted to for a week, Twi!"

"I'm sorry. It was - important, for lack of a better word," she said, almost shyly. Coyly, maybe? Pinkie thought to herself. Nah. Twilight, coy. There's a thought.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Yeah," Pinkie sighed. "And then she got all nervous and, truth be told, kinda depressing. I'm not sure whether she actually ever had a friend before." She looked down at the cobbled road, remembering the odd way her coworker reacted.

"I would assume not," Twilight replied. "With the way she used to act, she -"

"But she's totally changed! One hundred percent. And when I say 'changed', I mean, like, reversed."

Twilight didn't answer for a moment. "... I probably wouldn't have done what you did. You're a really good pony, Pinkie."

There was another moment of silence, and Pinkie smiled to herself as she felt herself blush lightly. She heard the wind rustle the piles of dry leaves around them. It was a nice night.

Her ears perked up as her thoughts were interrupted. "But, yeah. My week has been... off, for lack of a better word." Twilight had reverted to that shy, almost nervous tone that she'd been slipping in and out of recently. "In fact..." She faltered, making Pinkie repress a giggle. "You know how you used to ask me if I wanted to come in for a drink? I... think I will."

"Cool!" Pinkie replied with a short bounce. "I've been wanting so show somepony my cider cellar for forever."

"Cider cellar...?"

"You'll see when we get there," Pinkie replied, taking a sharp left and almost tripping over her hooves, "which shouldn't be too long."

There wasn't much else to talk about from there to the door, until Pinkie pulled the quick-unlock trick she'd been working on for ages with only a minor fumble and swung the door open.

"Now, you wait here," Pinkie said, taking a few steps and kicking at the floor. Twilight gasped as a little part of the baby-blue floorboard opened up and the sweet smell of cider almost instantly spread through the small living room.

Twilight lifted a hoof in shock, glancing up at Pinkie and back towards her full and lovely cellar. "H-how much -"

"Gallons and gallons and gallons, Twi."

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"I'd never really been a huge cider fan until I met Applejack," Pinkie was saying, classic-style hoofcrafted cider mug emptied and on the floor. She was sunk comfortably into one of the mismatched couches and had a hoof around Twilight, as was becoming more and more common. "Before that, it was eggnog."

Twilight snorted. "Hard eggnog?"

"No. No! I was, like, ten!" She burst into giggles. "Hard cider is okay, though. First time I tried hard eggnog, I choked on it."

"Never had hard anything," Twilight began.

"Why am I not surprised?" Pinkie asked, dissolving into giggles and falling even farther into the couch.

Twilight whapped her with a pillow, grinning. "Shut up," she said with a short giggle. "On my birthday last year - you were there - everypony I know took me out and I had that really, really -" she swallowed "- really tall drink." She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."

Pinkie sighed, still grinning. "You're right, I guess." She held her closer and yawned. "You want more cider? i kinda have a lot."

Twilight just shook her head and smiled. "I'm good." She leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Thanks for the evening, though, I needed it."

Pinkie looked up at her marefriend and suddenly felt an impulse, thought it over very briefly, and pulled Twilight back into the couch with her. She yelped as she fell back, the pillows scattered about the couch popping into the air.

Twilight giggled and, without warning, leaned in for a soft kiss. Pinkie smiled. This was pretty much the Twilight she knew. A lot more romantic than she came off, and took every chance she could to grab some kind of love. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Pinkie thought to herself as she returned the kiss.

Twilight was really good at this kind of thing. Pinkie could feel everything she did, every little touch and loving sigh that she gave. Maybe it was just Pinkie, but it wasn't an experience she'd had before - or thought she ever would again. She caught a glimpse of Twilight, who was flushed to that degree that always made Pinkie want to chuckle and was illuminated by her fully glowing horn. She'd always meant to ask about that.

Suddenly, Twilight drew closer. Pinkie felt that now-familiar tingle rush through her, and leaned forwards -

With a surprising pomf, she felt herself being pushed back into the couch, a hoof on her mane and the other already wrapped around her back. Twilight was entirely into it, without the buildup she tended to favour. She opened her eyes in shock, only to be pushed back again, Twilight's mouth opening slightly. Pinkie felt an all-new heat rush through her with a moan from her marefriend, and screwed her eyes shut again.

The pillows practically enveloped them at this point, covering her in even more heat than she was already feeling. There was no way to take control at this point. Twilight had totally given her all into this. Pinkie felt her regular little blush grow.

She suddenly felt the electric tingle of magic on her hooves. She was pushed gently but firmly back onto the arm of the couch, as Twilight followed, their kiss breaking momentarily. Pinkie opened her eyes for a moment to see the mischievous grin on her face that very nearly mirrored her own.

She tried to move her hoof up to Twilight, but found with a shock that they were restrained. Twilight smiled. "My turn," she nearly whispered, letting Pinkie's hooves go as she fell forwards, locking lips with her again and forcing an involuntary moan out of her.

Pinkie finally felt everything catch up with her, finally realized all that was happening. She gasped as Twilight pulled away, already short of breath, and let go, officially letting her marefriend take the reins. Everything was absolutely perfect. She could feel Twilight's hooves trace her slowly, painfully slowly. She finally felt her lips part, and her heart soared as their tongues touched.

She couldn't even draw up the nerve to speak anymore. She could barely even think of anything else except When did this happen? I can't believe this. When did this start? When did Twilight think of this? I can't believe this. I cannot believe this. When... Finally, she felt Twilight press up entirely against her, setting her essentially on fire. She could feel everything about her, from her incredibly soft coat to her heavy breathing.

Pinkie almost burst into tears when Twilight pulled away. "D-don't stop," she murmured, he eyes still closed as she reached out blindly with a hoof.

She felt a heat on her cheek, then on her neck. "To tell you the truth..." Twilight began, whispering with a tempting softness into Pinkie's ear. Pinkie smiled, and opened her eyes, reaching around to embrace her marefriend once more. However, her attempts were thwarted easily by Twilight, who forced her hooves back to the couch, holding them firmly in place with her magic. "Mm-mm," she warned, returning to her neck and kissing it slowly, forcing yet another moan out of her marefriend.

"To tell you... the truth," she began again after a moment, after Pinkie was already good and worked up, "I'm really... really... nervous right now."

"Lies," Pinkie replied in an exhausted murmur.

"I can't... tell you all the time it took to figure this out..." she continued, finishing with another kiss to her neck.

"It - I - uh -" Pinkie stuttered, her tongue not allowing her to form words. "Please let me go."

"No," Twilight replied, giggling and returning to her neck. "Not quite yet."

Pinkie's blood, recently on fire, froze as Twilight moved to her chest. She forced her eyes open briefly to see Twilight's horn glowing with spell upon spell. Its glow swelled briefly as the lights flickered out one by one, leaving the candle in the kitchen and her horn the only two sources of illumination. Pinkie sighed, enraptured, and let her head fall back onto the pillows as Twilight continued her slow, passionate kisses, with the occasional extremely exciting lick.

Her heart may have skipped a beat as Twilight's kisses grew lower and lower, and she was positive it did when she felt a hoof against her flank. And then the other. At a snail-like pace, Twilight's kisses descended further and further. Every time she took a brief detour, Pinkie could feel her heartbeat quicken. Finally, she'd traced along her stomach... just past her hips... lower -

Twilight raised her head, making Pinkie look up and strain at her magical bonds. Twilight had reverted to sounding nervous again, which made another slow wave of heat flow through her marefriend. "Like I said, if I'm doing anything wrong, just let me know -"

"Don't stop!" Pinkie cried, looking up in distress, still breathing heavily. She made eye contact with Twilight for the first time in quite a while, and was struck by how much Twilight's eyes were like amethysts in the pale pink light of her horn. If anything, this realization shortened her breath even more.

Twilight grinned, and shook her head. "You're as red as a tomato."

"So are you!" Pinkie replied, sounding uncharacteristically desperate, before Twilight rose to sit beside her. She was kissed once more, soft and without a lot of the passion that she'd been feeling. But at the same time, overflowing with real, honest love, plain and simple. She couldn't take it. She tried her best to lean into it and get the most out of it, but was restrained by the pink strands of magic that she couldn't help but hate to death.

Twilight pulled away. "Am I doing it right?" she asked quietly.

Pinkie tried to catch her breath, before opening her eyes to a deep red and genuinely confused-looking face. "Are... are you kidding?" she asked.

Twilight shook her head.

Pinkie looked up at her in absolute shock. "You're... kidding."

Twilight looked at her, and looked down at her hooves, then back at her, the remains of her mischievous grin spread across her face. "Not really."

"Twilight..." Pinkie began, her excitement not dulling, "just - just - just - oh, dear Celestia, I love you so much. So - so much."

She paused as Twilight drew her in for another short, soft kiss. "Do you r-"

"I do! I do, I really, r-really do. I can't - you - everything is.... perfect. It's - I - I -" she stuttered again, screwing her eyes shut once more. "Please, just let me go..."

Twilight smiled, and laid down again, tracing a hoof down her chest again and eliciting a soft moan. She leaned close, giggling briefly. "When I saw you for the first time today... I couldn't stop thinking... everything I learned about... everything I studied... I wanted to apply so badly..." she trailed off, bringing a hoof to Pinkie's chin and turning her head towards her own, drawing her tongue slowly up her marefriend's burning red cheek and making her gasp. "But I didn't know how. I didn't think it would work." Her whispers fueled the fire in Pinkie's chest. "I'm trying my best..."

By this point, there was little Pinkie wanted more than to return all of Twilight's advances. Every touch by then was magical. She felt nearly numb.

"S-Seriously, T-Twi, just... let me -"

"I've always been... good at testing..."

That was a purr. Oh, Celestia. She whimpered, every thought crossing her mind now something soon the lines of 'this is Twilight'.

"You want to know something?" Twilight asked, giving her ear a delicate nibble.

"Mm."

"You haven't been... restrained... for a few seconds now."

It took a second to get this thought through her mind, but when she did, she reached a hoof up and gasped. Without any hesitation, she threw a hoof around her marefriend and pulled her close, finally feeling for herself every curve on -

She was shocked for a moment when her hoof was brought slowly back down to the couch. She strained, but she was again held in place. "Twilight!" she cried, before hearing a snort and a giggle. She looked over at the violet unicorn, almost tearing up.

Twilight smiled again. "Are we ready?"

Pinkie closed her eyes. "I don't... I don't know... anything, as long as I can do something..."

Twilight smiled, and kissed her cheek gently, before reaching a foreleg around her and enveloping her in a cocoon of magic.

All Pinkie felt for a second was a tingling, and then a burning. Then the pink cleared, and she was sitting upright beside Twilight. She looked around, but couldn't make anything out in the dark. All she could see was an endtable and a wardrobe and...

They were in her bedroom.

She realized momentarily she wasn't bound anymore. She reached a hoof up to Twilight - before being pushed away and onto the pillows at the head of the bed.

They were in her bed.

Pinkie looked up at the lightly illuminated Twilight, who looked rather worried. "Am I... are you, um, okay with -"

"Yes! Yes, so much," Pinkie replied, just able to speak before she ran out of breath again. Her head was spinning. Twilight laid down next to her, and she felt another kiss on the other side of her neck.

It was tense and silent for a moment. Pinkie felt herself flush all over again when Twilight's whisper tickled her ear.

"Thank you."

Pinkie felt a burning behind her eyes, and turned to her left, leaning into a deep kiss and stroking her marefriend's mane slowly, reveling in her ability to. She felt Twilight's tongue press against her teeth and let her in, letting out a fluttering sigh. She never wanted to pull away. She ran her hoof gently, but firmly, along the arc in Twilight's back, and along her body until she reached her flank and traced along that as well. The fact there was no protest from Twilight excited her endlessly.

After not long enough, she felt surrounded by the tickle of magic and was levitated gently away, before Twilight sidled up alongside her and finally began to trace down the middle of her stomach with a hoof. Another involuntary moan.

Twilight smiled at her marefriend, before the smile was replaced by a look of confusion. "Pinkie, are you... crying?"

Pinkie looked over at her, panting heavily and leaning her head back onto the pillows.

Finally, she wiped at her cheeks. "N-no."

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With a final, exhausted sigh, Twilight collapsed on her marefriend, glad to be able to relax entirely. Slowly, the quiet sound of gasping replaced the previous sounds that echoed through the room. She looked up at Pinkie, who was lying back against the pillows. Without too much of a second thought, she scooted up the bed and threw a hoof over her marefriend, pulling her close.

Pinkie looked up, and tried despreately to speak. "Twi - I - I don't know wh - what to - you..." She decided against it, and instead leaned forwards for a kiss.

Twilight giggled, and put a hoof on her muzzle. "Hold... hold on a second. I have to... have to catch my breath." Pinkie opened her eyes and smiled, and Twilight noticed for the first time how crystalline her eyes really were. They seemed to reflect all the light from her horn and just project it all over the room like a disco ball. How fitting.

She smiled back, and kissed the tip of her nose gently as they began settling down slowly. There was a moment or two of heavenly silence, a peace that nopony could find anywhere else.

"... Hey," Twilight said, surprised at how loud her voice seemed after such silence. She ran a hoof slowly down Pinkie's side, grinning to herself as she felt her shiver. Page 16, number four. A lot of gentle touches before and after. "I don't think I say this enough, but... Pinkie, I love you."

Much to her surprise, Pinkie didn't reply, but instead blushed slightly deeper and looked down at her hooves.

"But I... I really do. I really think that... I don't know. That this is right. And... I really do love you."

Pinkie's legs practically enveloped her marefriend in a tight embrace. "You don't have to say anything else," she whispered quietly, her lips just barely touching the side of Twilight's tingling, glowing horn. She gasped, and heard Pinkie chuckle through the darkness. "Hm. Like that?"

A rush of electricity pulsed through Twilight's body, almost literally, as she felt a tongue run slowly alongside the length of it. She gasped louder, and felt as though if her body retained any more heat, she could implode.

Suddenly, she felt herself swung forwards, onto her back, onto the pillows, as Pinkie stood above her with the most... powerfully alluring eyes. There was an entirely silent moment, until Pinkie leaned down close to her and whispered quietly to her, causing a chill to run through her whole body.

"That was your turn."

Author's Note

Mark jumped in for the ENTIRE couch scene. All of it. That wasn't my plan, but.. I can't just delete it. It's too damn cute. Anyways, I did the Trixie bit and extro. In case you care.

~ Dan

EDIT: Have you ever thought "fuck me my life's been weird innit"
this is that for me

Part Twenty-Two - Snag

Act VI

"Mmm. Hi, Twi."

Twilight awoke to a heavy warmth on her side, slowly traveling under the covers and around her chest. She remembered quickly enough who it was, and smiled groggily. "G-Good morning, Pinkie," she yawned in reply. The now-familiar tingle spread to her chest as Pinkie reached around her with a hoof, leaning forwards for a gentle early-morning snuggle.

Pinkie giggled. "You sound tired."

"Really?"

"You sound cute when you're tired, though," she added quietly, pressing up against her back.

Finally, Twilight opened her eyes before stretching her hooves out - to no support whatsoever. Her hoof grabbed at empty air, and her vision cleared. "Pinkie... how did we get on the couch?"

Pinkie giggled again. "You were on the couch. I was in the kitchen."

"We -" she paused, and thought about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah. You, uh... with the stairs, and... yeah, okay, that makes sense." She giggled, and turned back to Pinkie, who was pressed between her and the back of the couch, for a soft, tired nuzzle.

Without a doubt, Twilight felt good. It was just a heavenly position to be in - somepony she loved next to her, taking her romance and returning it with even more excitement and even more passion, both of them totally ignorant of any worries or stresses and focusing only on the other. And every tingle or rush she felt made it all the more worthwhile.

After a few minutes, a lull grew in the giggles bouncing about the room. Pinkie sighed contentedly, wrapping her forelegs around her marefriend once again and looking up at the window across from them.

"Have you ever... thought... Twi?"

The question was so abrupt, and, frankly, abstract, that Twilight was taken by surprise. "Well... I think so."

Pinkie smiled, and held her tighter. "That's a good answer. I mean, have you ever thought without... um... thinking about it?"

"I'm confused."

"I can't think of a way to say it," Pinkie replied, giggling. "Maybe... thinking without overthinking. Like, without all the facts and stuff."

Twilight readjusted herself a little, stretching out her hooves. "You mean, like, emotionally?"

"Sure."

Twilight sighed. "It was actually really recently that I... well, I realized I have a pretty logical brain."

"And only recently you noticed this?"

She chuckled. "Ironic, a bit, I know. I try to just take facts and stuff peripherally now, you know... but it can get overwhelming." She paused. "That's not the right word. Either way, if I know what you mean, no, I don't 'think without thinking' very much."

"I do. All the time. I'm kind of happy you can't."

Another quiet lull. "... Uh... why?"

"Just because that means that you can think with facts and stuff. And sometimes that gets to be too much for me."

Twilight nodded, looking back at her. "It's like an opposites-attract kind of thing."

"Or we're just two parts of the same mind."

"... I would have never thought about it that way."

Pinkie smiled, and nuzzled into the back of her neck. "That's what I'm here for."

That oddly-comforting silence returned as her words bounced about in Twilight's mind. After a content little sigh, she rolled over again to face her marefriend reached her forelegs around her, wrapping her in a close embrace. She nuzzled into Pinkie's shoulder (squeezing a giggle out of her), and just smiled.

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The sun was peeking over the rooftops across the street as Twilight opened the door. A smooth early-morning breeze ran over her slowly, giving her a bracing chill. "You know," she began, turning back to Pinkie, "you make really good hot chocolate."

Pinkie rolled her eyes and smiled. "Thanks. You drink really good hot chocolate."

Twilight giggled, and put her hoof on Pinkie's chest. "Stop. I'll see you later and we can plan something, okay?"

"Yeah."

Twilight glanced back out onto the street, and frowned, absentmindedly chewing on her tongue. There was still something missing. Something hollow in her mind that she couldn't think around. She shook her head and kissed her marefriend gently on the cheek. "Bye."

She trotted down the steps and was greeted by a light autumn morning breeze and a newspaper to the face.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Miss Sparkle -!" the colt on the cycle, a chubby little blue unicorn, called out as he rounded the corner, continuing to launch papers at every house down the way.

Twilight let out a chuckle and levitated the newspaper to herself. It wasn't just one, actually - it seemed to be a bunch all stuck together with a plastic band. Of course Pinkie would subscribe to all the Ponyville newspapers. She would consider it a hobby. Or just being nice. Twilight grinned and snapped the band off, unraveling the papers in front of her.

Her heart skipped a beat. She'd felt it before. It was like ice, freezing her blood in its tracks and sucking the breath from her before shattering in her chest. It scared her more than anything.

She lifted her hoof and tried to back onto the steps, but miscalculated and slipped off, stumbling over herself to turn around. "Pinkie," she said more to herself than Pinkie, still staring at the paper. Finally, she looked up and called out "Pinkie!"

The door swung open, almost knocking Twilight back off the steps. Her emotion got the better of her, though, and her magic fizzled, sending the stack of newspapers onto the steps below. "Oh, sorry, I didn't even -"

"Sh!" she interrupted, stuttering "look" as the front page to the Capital Cadet levitated berween them in a staticky pink glow.

Pinkie's eyes grew big, fast. "What?"

On the front page, in full colour, was a single picture framed with text and headed with "HARMONY INDEED: THE ELEMENTS SEEM TO PAIR UP TWO BY TWO." Pinkie's and Twilight's silhouettes, partially illuminated by the moonlight, shone boldly in the papers' cheap ink. The bright blue of the river around them practically leapt off the page.

"That's..."

"Yeah!" Twilight almost shouted, a mix of rage and embarrassment welling up in her stomach. Part of her wanted to cry.

"That's not my good side," Pinkie finished, her face falling. "Well, I don't really have a good side when my mane is wet."

"Wh -" Twilight began, her lips not forming proper shapes. "That's us! In the river! On our date night!" she sputtered. "Where did they g-get that picture?"

"Well, the bridge is public domain, Twi - I mean, like, anypony could have taken that and sold it to the paper."

After staring at Pinkie's rather unimpressed face for a solid five seconds, Twilight stamped her hoof on the ground in frustration. "But - but this is our personal business! What right do they have to do this?!" She didn't even notice that she was screaming until Pinkie put a hoof on her lips.

"It's fine, Twi. They're the paparazzi. We're famous. You know math," she finished bluntly. "I wouldn't consider it too big of a deal."

"But - but - but -" she spluttered. "You're the one who was afraid to tell anypony about - it - and now everypony knows! And it's being treated like a joke!" She finally felt some kind of tears building up, scratching at the back of her eyes. "Don't you care about this?"

Pinkie frowned. "Of course I do. But I don't think it matters that much anymore. I mean, weren't you the one who wanted to start being more public? Now everypony knows, and we didn't even have to try -"

"But... no! That's not what I wanted to happen at all! I wanted us to... take our time and..." she trailed off. "I don't know, integrate slowly."

Pinkie smiled broadly, pushing the paper aside. "You wanna come in again and talk about it? I can make more hot chocolate."

Twilight sighed quietly, and gathered up the fallen papers in a second or two, wrapping them together again with the band. "I don't know. I only have a few minutes, after all, and - I don't know."

"Are you really that upset over it?"

She nodded, and leaned against the railing, putting a hoof to her face. "... Yeah. Don't know why, though."

Pinkie smiled again, kicking the door behind her open a bit more. "You need some help thinking about it?"

Twilight glanced up, then shook her head, staring back at the ground. "I... think I might."

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"You wanna drink?"

It took a second to register. "Jeez, no, Pinkie, it's seven in the morning."

Pinkie snorted, flipping her mane and trotting into the kitchen. "No, I mean, like, the hot chocolate we were talking about."

Twilight sat down on the couch as the warmth of Pinkie's apartment pushed one final shiver out of her. The stack of papers came gently to a rest on the coffee table.

"Do you want some more hot chocolate?" Pinkie asked again, her head popping into view from the doorframe.

"Oh, uh, no, thanks," Twilight replied, shaking her head once before burying it in her forehooves and leaning back onto the couch.

Pinkie frowned, and walked back into the room. "Is it really that concerning?"

Twilight didn't respond for a second. "... I don't know."

Pinkie grinned despite herself, and shook her head. "You know," she began, sitting down next to her, "Nothing's going to change. We'll just keep doing what we're doing, and... nothing's going to change," she finished weakly.

"I don't know that," Twilight replied, her hooves falling back to the couch. "It's not just that it's in the paper, either, or that ponies will know. It's just that somepony was looking at us in the river and took a picture." She rubbed a hoof against the flowery fabric of the cushion. "It's uncomfortable."

"You know..." Pinkie began, leaning back with her against the pillows. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to s-"

She was cut off by what sounded like fabric tearing. After more than a decade without that sound, it was back again. Twilight shivered as a bright pink slip of glowing paper floated slowly down through the air right in front of her. The little after-shock, a short burst of pain, shot through her head, but she barely noticed. She caught the paper in her magic and lifted it back up to her:

Twilight.

Come to the castle immediately. No accessories are necessary. Deliver these messages to the other four.

Almost on cue, three more small slips of paper, folded in half and addressed to 'Rarity', 'Applejack', and 'Fluttershy & Rainbow Dash', floated to the ground in front of her.

"What is it? How did it come out of your horn?"

Twilight felt the words she wanted to say in her mouth, but couldn't form them for a moment. "We... we have to go. Set out - set out food for Gummy and - and I'll be back."

"What?" Pinkie asked, confusion clear on her face. Her cheeriness had faded away. "What did it say? You're scaring me, Twi."

Twilight shook her head, remembering where she was and who she was talking to. "It was an emergency note. Nothing," she replied, hoping her nerve didn't show. "It's nothing, probably. We just have to go meet with Princess Celestia."

"If this has to do with the paper, I'll be mad at the coincidence," Pinkie joked, smiling as well as she could for her obvious worry.

Twilight nodded, more to herself than to Pinkie, and scooped up the papers with her magic. Without another word, she turned on her hooves and trotted away, the notes trailing along behind her like the tail of a kite.

As she watched her go, Pinkie's ears fell. She knew Twilight. If she was already worried, something from the Princess would kill her with worry. Great timing. She just wished there was something, anything she could do for her, but knew there was nothing but comfort to provide.

Twilight was a romantic. That was certain. Pinkie knew she was trying, sometimes even too hard, and she loved her all the same for it, but that just meant that more rode on them both. If something stupid like the paper got in the way, it could get fragile. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lose her. After all, last night hadn't even sunk in yet, and even with all the little off patches, what they had was still... an experience, to say the least.

She closed the door and kicked at the carpet. Why did this have to happen now?

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The train was silent. The only sounds were the rumble of the wheels on the track and the soft snoring of an older pony a few seats behind them.

It was dark. There were fluorescent lights, but they were dim with years of use, and the starlight outside provided for most of the illumination. Each rumble from the tracks below, and a squeak from some loose screw somewhere echoed around the cabin. The shadows cast on Dash's face as she stared out the back window were hard black, outlining her features sharply.

Fluttershy was standing next to her, touching her hoof gently. "Do you..." She paused, feeling something welling up in her throat. "...Do you really think that Twilight was right? That this is all about us?"

Dash inhaled quickly - any moreso and it could have been a snort. "I don't know."

Fluttershy nodded, and looked down. "Why would it be, though?"

"I don't know, Shy."

She didn't sound unkind, but that didn't help Fluttershy. It was the middle of the night before they were able to get prepared and grab a train to Canterlot, and it just intensified the fear. Twilight had come to her at something like two that afternoon, gave her the note, chose her words carefully, and left. It scared her more than anything, how quiet she'd been.

The silence was loud to her. The constant rumble from the tracks and the whispers behind her made her feel cold. It wasn't like the Princess would try to separate them. There's no reason she would. So why was Twilight so...

"You know..." she began, but trailed off, deciding against saying what she was going to say.

"... What?"

Fluttershy leaned her head on her marefriend's shoulder. "I love you," she whispered.

Dash remained silent, nuzzling back and sighing. Fluttershy could feel her warm breath against her ear and wondered what she would do without it.

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"Oh, darling. It's not like she's going to fault you for getting into a relationship. She should know that you're at that age," Rarity assured her as well as she could.

That was doing nothing to help Twilight. When she came to Rarity's with her letter, she was already on the verge of tears. And when Rarity asked what was wrong, she broke down. She'd been sniffling quietly to herself for almost two hours now, across from Rarity and Applejack, and nothing anypony said helped.

Pinkie had her foreleg around her, and was looking quite disheartened herself, no matter what she was saying. "Come on, Twi," she said. "You're overthinking it."

"Ah'm goin' with Pinkie on this one, Twi," Applejack agreed. Her hat was off and sitting in front of her, and she was trying to lean back and get comfortable. "Ya do overthink things a lot."

"I know," she replied, her voice wavering. "But I can't stop."

The cab was quiet for a moment. Finally, Rarity giggled. "This is absurd, girls. We're on a train for the palace at ten o'clock at night, worrying about whether the Princess is a homophobe or something. It has to be some other reason."

"Well, that's true. There's no way the Princess is a purebirther. She has to be pretty progressive to be chill and 6,000 years old," Pinkie chimed in, making Applejack laugh.

"But - but there were letters addressed to Shy and Dash! Why would she do that if it weren't -"

"She could just have started recognizing it -"

"She would still address them individually -"

"Perhaps she means to congratulate -"

"It was an emergency n -"

"Well, she could be lecturing us like she does sometimes -"

Applejack slapped a hoof against the chair. "Quiet!" she snapped. All three shut their mouths and looked over at her in shock. "Just - just calm down, and take a nap, and we'll understand when we get there. Y'all need to calm down. Really."

With this, she covered her face with her hat and leaned back further in her seat as the old stallion in the back woke up with a snort.

Author's Note

WELL THIS FOSSIL IS BACK

Part Twenty-Three - Chances

The palace was made of white marble, cut from silt clouds in the east and imported and constructed over decades. Twilight knew, at night, it became colder and colder, no matter how many sconces were put in place under Princess Luna's orders. If anything, it just added an extra level to how imposing the great building was at night - shadows flickered back and forth on the walls, dim lightposts glowed dully on the bright white stone outside the heavy wood and iron gates.

Each hoofstep on the pavement resounded in Twilight's ears. It was so confusing and unrealistic. It felt, to her, like the Princess must have already known about her and Pinkie. She was the Princess, of course she knew. So why did she call them all here, acknowledging both her and Pinkie and Fluttershy and Dash? The thoughts and fears were draining one by one out of her mind as she tried to force logic to take over.

They were stopped at the gate, and she barely even remembered taking out her credentials and showing them to the guards, but she must have - the next thing she knew, they were in the castle's main hall, on the thick velvet carpet, in the huge, empty throne room. A hoofstep or two from behind her reverberated, showing truly how empty the palace was at this time of night.

The weren't standing in the hall for long before Princess Luna, with a personal guard of three, almost silently appeared from the left room behind the throne. They bowed, hesitating out of tiredness or forgetfulness or a mixture. "Rise," she said in her already-loud voice, amplified heavily by the halls.

Twilight looked up. Her mouth went dry. Yes, her and Princess Luna were on good, even friendly terms, but she was still a princess, and that of the night itself - and with the circumstances, the second-most imposing figure she'd ever seen before in her life. "Princess... why are we - why are we here?" she stuttered, almost wincing as her own, weak voice was amplified as well.

She noticed Princess Luna's expression with a knot in her stomach. It was sympathy. "My sister will meet you all on the Garden Balcony. All will be explained, friends. Follow me," she finished, her voice becoming softer.

The group trotted along behind her, shooting glances back and forth that asked more questions than any of them had answers. Twilight wondered whether anypony had seen the Princess' expression. She almost hoped they hadn't, for their sake. It scared her.

The glass doors swung open with dark blue magic, letting a breeze and the smell of midnight fireplaces and frost and flowers into the hall. The Princess stood by the door as her guard walked quietly down the hall behind her. "I will not be joining you." Her deep blue eyes showed no emotion.

Twilight stood before the balcony, looking up at Princess Celestia, who was already sitting at a large table with a white glass teapot. She turned to Princess Luna, and whispered, "Please tell me it's something good."

Luna said nothing for a moment. "It's something necessary," she replied.

Twilight lowered her head and walked in, the others following. Only the phrase please, no ran through her head as she sat down at one of the cold metal seats across from the Princess.

She seemed to hear her thoughts. As each of the ponies sat down, she began pouring tea. "I'm not here to judge you," she began, her voice gentle. Twilight knew then beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Princess could read her mind. A weight felt lifted from all over her, and it took every measure of her respectable self not to sigh for relief.

"Nor am I here to separate you," she continued, looking over at the two couples one at a time. "But we do need to discuss something.

"You all have seen the papers today, I would assume." They nodded, with Twilight letting out a weak 'yes'. "I apologize, by the way, Twilight, for the use of the emergency note, but I needed you here as quickly as possible and I wasn't sure where you were."

"It's, um, it's okay, Princess," Twilight murmured uncomfortably.

The Princess smiled briefly and began again. "The only reason you're broadcasted like this is because you're celebrities, as the Elements of Harmony generally are. The Elements of Harmony, though, are your function," she said, speaking slowly and picking words carefully. "You need to understand the importance of them."

Twilight looked into her tea, and back up at the Princess. "We're a defensive mechanism. We're also based on friendship. I understand that. I think we all do, right?" she asked, looking around at the group, who nodded.

"That's right. The magic of bonding ponies together is a force that we were able to harness centuries ago. It's extremely potent and, technically, can break magical law with its own power alone." She paused. "And that's why it's so touchy. I ask you, Twilight, to write friendship reports because it shows that you're committing upkeep to your friendships, which is important."

"But... does this mean something with... us?" Dash asked, the first time she'd spoken in quite a while.

"Like I said. The magic is touchy, and putting something beyond friendship - romance - will unbalance it." She stirred her tea, a gentle clinking sound the solitary noise on the balcony. "For now... there may not be a problem."

At this, Pinkie sighed audibly. "Told you, Twi," she muttered, and smiled brightly.

"But - tomorrow, we'll be testing whether this is true. We'll be using the Elements on something and observing its effects, and we may do this multiple times. It can get exhausting, but it's necessary."

"But it's alright? For now?" Rarity asked.

"For now, we will be, by government standards, in class two lockdown. This means that the Library will close, the Great Databank will close and be on guard and lockdown, and the seedbanks in the east will be on guard and lockdown for as long as necessary. Secondly, borders will be closed in some places and security heightened in others. And the general public will not be given this information." She closed her eyes and took a sip of her tea.

Twilight covered her face with her hooves. She didn't want to look at the Princess as the whole weight of everything crashed down on her. "I'm... so sorry, Princess," she murmured into her hooves, on the verge of tears.

The Princess sighed. "No. It's not your fault. It's not any of your faults," she added, turning back to the others, who were already covering their faces or looking away.

"I'm sorry, too," Pinkie said, looking uncomfortable. "It was my fault to begin with. I shouldn't have -"

"I'm happy that you're both happy," she interrupted, "and one way or another, I can't stop you from seeing one another. That power doesn't belong to anypony. However, precautions and some more extreme measures may need to be taken."

She stood. "Tonight, you'll each be given a room, and you'll get some rest. Tomorrow, at nine o'clock, we'll begin with the Elements." She smiled as she added, "You can take your tea to your room."

"Princess," Dash asked, slowly. "How... how did you know about us?"

With a burst of warm yellow magic, the Capitol Cadet appeared, unfurled, before her. "You're both on page three. Apparently you proposed."

Dash's eyes widened. "Is - is there a - um, picture?" she asked, badly trying to keep her voice calm.

"I believe. Perhaps you should have this," she said, levitating it over to Dash, who took it in her mouth, eyes still wide.

As they filed back into the palace one by one, Fluttershy hung behind for a moment at the door, turning back to the Princess and immediately looking at her hooves. "Um... your Majesty, I..." she began. "What if we can't use the Elements anymore?"

"We'll see whether that happens first. You need rest, Fluttershy," she said, and walked alongside her into the palace. "You know, you and Rainbow Dash are cute together," she added casually. As she expected, Fluttershy blushed heavily and tried to stammer some kind of thanks. She laughed.

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The stillness in the darkened room was broken with the slamming of a door. Dash spit the rolled-up paper onto the floor, her brow furrowed in an anger she felt it was too late at night to express properly. The torch by the door illuminated the bright, colourful image printed onto the page. All six of them, at the blanket, the box in Dash's hooves. She cursed quietly, frustration welling up like tears in her mind. She spent so long finding the perfect spot and the perfect necklace and everything and she didn't want to be reminded of the embarrassment.

Fluttershy had been part of Dash's life for so long that she knew in some part of her psyche how close they were before she even approached her that afternoon. She was forming some clouds, pressing them together to increase density or something, and Fluttershy came right out and asked her. And she'd know for so long that Fluttershy was more than her most intimate friend, but she didn't have the guts to even suggest that to herself. And it'd been stagger and screw-up every step of the way from then on out.

The first date was a disaster. Dash wasn't prepared in any way, shape, or form for what a date with a friend really was, and things were awkward the entire time (including towards the end, when she kissed her for no other reason than because that's what was in her stupid head.) But apparently she liked it and they did that a lot the first few weeks.

Then the potluck that Pinkie threw just because, and that she had a habit of going to. She asked Fluttershy if they could meet up and they did and Dash had no idea how to act. Another bust.

Then, a few months later, something told her to propose and she just up and did it. No reason. And, wouldn't you know it, another bust.

She finally felt the tears come back as she recounted it all, and put her head in her hooves. She didn't even hear the door open, but she did hear the quiet "Dash?" that followed, and jumped to her hooves.

"H-hey, Shy," she replied, kicking the newspaper closed with her back hoof and grinning briefly. "You know, you -" have your own room, she was going to say, but it sounded rude. "Never mind."

She brushed past her and sat on the bed, patting the blanket next to her. Dash walked over to take the invitation, but, as she looked at the torch flames dancing and sparkling in her eyes, and felt the concern emanating from her, instead simply leaned onto the bed with her forelegs and kissed her.

The canopyless canopy bed creaked quietly under the weight of two. She could feel the warm pressure of Fluttershy's hooves on her back, pulling her into comfort. It was still dark, and both the past and the future still sat heavily at the back of her mind, but she was content just for that moment's kiss. If there was anything that she didn't screw up, it was that she loved her.

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According to the Laws of Probability, chances resolve with the same possibility as they logically appear. A fifty-percent chance that something will happen means that it will happen half the time. It's more likely that an event with a larger probability will occur, and it's less so that an event with a lesser probability will occur.

But it didn't feel that way to Twilight at that moment. She held the pillow tightly to her chest and tried to remember what the Princess said. No matter how little the percentage chance was that the Elements would fail, it felt definite and that her whole world, her entire political position, and her future, would fall apart because she took a chance and enjoyed it. She could almost hear Pinkie's voice telling her it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't stop thinking, knowing, that it was.

It was no longer a problem of losing Pinkie. It was a problem of losing the Princess. All that setup all those years ago to put her where she was would fall apart under her hooves. All of this, her being the Princess' prized student, going to Ponyville, learning about friendship - she knew it was because she had to be the Element of Magic. She wasn't stupid. And she ruined it.

Pinkie would be separated from the Elements, and possibly Fluttershy or Dash or both as well, and all-new 'recruits' would have to be shifted in unless Twilight didn't consider them her friends, in which case the only possibility was recruit set number three...

She rolled over and felt angry tears fall on the pillow, before a harsh whisper shocked her into sitting up. "Twilight! Are you in here?"

"Pinkie?" she whispered back, unable to see anything but a pink-lined silhouette in the dark.

"Duh!" Pinkie replied, dropping the whisper and bounding into her bed alongside her, apparently not understanding the concept of a twin-sized mattress and sending her almost flying off the edge of the bed.

"Pinkie!" she cried, wiping away her tears quickly.

"Sorry. Came to see how you were... you know."

She sniffled as she tried to inhale, mentally smacking herself for doing so. Stop crying. "... Yeah."

"Don't worry about it, Twi, nothing bad's gonna happen. Just go with it and see how it turns out. It's not your fault."

"Of course - of course it's not my fault!" she replied in a harsh whisper and a sharp sarcastic edge. "No matter how badly the consequences for my actions may be, I can always be assured that it's not my fault!"

There was silence for a moment, as Twilight felt it settle. "I - I'm sorry, I was... I'm frustrated."

"I know. It's okay."

"Why can't you just be angry with me? Please?" she asked, a sudden burning sparking in her chest. How could she be so gracious? Why to her? Why did she have to be in love? "It'd make me feel better." It'd let me be angry with you.

"I don't know how I co -"

She stopped her with a kiss. It was a heavy one, and it pushed her onto her back, allowing Twilight to roll over onto her. It was full-force now, and each murmur of 'hold on' and 'slow down' from Pinkie changed her mind in no way whatsoever. She was gripped by a sudden passion, a want that she had no reason to repress. So she didn't.

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Pinkie fell back onto the pillow as Twilight righted herself and sat up, her breathing still shallow. She sucked in breath as whatever myriad of feelings she had rushed through her, making her lightheaded. Pinkie muttered something about it being hot (or something being hot) and kicked the covers off of her. She felt a hoof on hers, pulling her back gently a little at a time.

She looked out the window, past the balcony, into the dimly-lit city beyond. Everything going on here wasn't out there. Thoughts danced by her as her head cleared, showing themselves just enough to be interesting and then ducking away to hide somewhere in her mind.

Suddenly, she slid off the bed to all fours and wobbled a bit to get her balance.

"Twilight?" she heard. "Where are you going?"

She didn't reply. How could she? She didn't know the answer. With a fizzle of pink magic, the thick blanket wrapped around her and she opened the small balcony door and walked down the steps, through the garden, and out of the confusion.

Part Twenty-Four - Stress

She hated the smell of hospital rooms. Even though the medical wing was just a clinic, it still had that despicable smell. Sanitizing, burning, cold. It was still early, and her nose was getting used to working, but she could tell it was there.

She couldn't stop looking down at her, the morning light casting soft shadows on her face. It was scary when she left. For something like fifteen minutes, Pinkie just waited in bed, teetering on the edge of sleep, hoping that she'd pop back in through the half-open door. When she didn't, she went to find the Princesses.

Suddenly, a quiet yawn broke the veil of silence. Pinkie looked over at Twilight, whose eyes were barely half-open. After a moment, she sat up, her mouth hanging open in confusion. "Where..." she began to stammer, before she caught Pinkie's gaze and fell quiet, looking away. She knew what happened; it'd happened before. Her doctor said she had an 'affinity' for them.

"Morning, Twi," she said, smiling. "You can walk, right?"

She was silent for a moment. "... Yeah."

"Well, then, let's get downstairs. The others already started breakfast." She undid the latch on the bed-railing's gate and snapped it open, offering her hoof.

"What - what happened?" Twilight asked, an inflection in her voice suggesting she was looking for confirmation rather than an answer.

"You had an anxiety attack. Panic attack," Pinkie replied, rolling her eyes. "Silly. You know you're supposed to watch out for those. But we took care of you and stuff, and everything's fine now. Don't worry about it."

"How did I get back here?" she asked, her voice still a smooth monotone.

"Oh, um, I asked the Princess to send somepony out for you, and they found you and brought you back in."

"Was I conscious?"

Pinkie's smile slowly fell away. "Um... no," she replied, rather awkwardly. She still wasn't really sure how Twilight, well, was. She seemed frightened, fragile even. She wasn't making eye contact as they walked out the door into the large, cold marble hallway.

She'd assumed for a while now that she and Twilight were on the same level. They seemed to resonate, and a lot of what they felt, she recognized as okay to leave unsaid. But she wanted, more than anything else, to know what Twilight was thinking right then. It made her feel itchy in the pit of her stomach, like she swallowed sandpaper.

"Twilight," she began as they entered the main hall, bright early-morning light from the huge stained-glass windows making her squint for a moment. "Is there... something wrong?"

Twilight only sighed in response, but stopped walking. She looked behind her, down the long, empty hall. Pinkie turned to her, worried. "Are you still in the attack, or -"

"Pinkie, did I..." she interrupted, trailing off. She took a few small steps closer. "Did I abuse... did I - I mean, last night, did I..." she stammered. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.

Pinkie's ears fell against her head. "N-no, it was nothing, Twilight. You didn't do anything wr-"

"I promise - I swear - I will never - I could never let that happen again, and I'm - I'm so..."

"Twilight, please, it's fine. You didn't abuse anything." She took a step closer, and nuzzled her gently. The question seemed to come out of nowhere, and it set her mind to 'comfort' settings instantly. It's true, she didn't ask to start anything the night before, and they certainly didn't plan on it, but Pinkie... well, she was honestly alright with it. It was still new to her, and there was nothing that could really take that away. It was only when she realized that her marefriend wasn't quite in her right mind that she began to get genuinely worried.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Twilight was murmuring into her ear.

"I really don't mind, Twi. I - I still liked it, if that, you know, helps you feel any better."

Twilight pressed against her, firmly. Her cheekbone was hurting Pinkie's shoulder a little, but she kept her mouth shut. "What... what was it to you...?" she heard her ask in a whisper.

"It was just - it was an unexpected kind of - thing that just sort of -" she stammered, before stopping herself. She patted her shoulder gently. "It went a little fast, but I don't feel it abused anything," she added softly. "Are you oka-"

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked, sniffling and pulling away, the wetness gone from her eyes and replaced by a solid kind of seriousness that Pinkie rarely, rarely saw in her. "I won't let it happen again. I promise."

"What, you mean, like, ever? Because..." she left off, killing the joke before it began. Twilight wasn't ready to smile yet. "I know you won't, Twi."

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The breakfast table was surprisingly small. It wasn't in the main dining hall, it was in a back room, a bit cluttered and a little antique (to say the least), and the Princesses, with their literally nebulous manes and super-pony height, laughing and joking more than some of the four others already there, seemed jarringly out-of-place.

Pinkie followed Twilight, who'd managed to calm down to a degree. The room carried a genuine, lighthearted mien and smelled like breakfast should, with warm biscuits and everything.

Twilight still wasn't sure what was running through her head, but she didn't like it. She feared the afternoon, and every second it crept over the horizon she became more and more terrified of confronting it. Pinkie told her that it was going to be okay, and she knew she should trust that, but there were so many what-ifs that she couldn't shake. She didn't even want to sit down near the Princess, knowing that it was possible that she ruined something.

That's the feeling. It was guilt. Guilt and fear mixed together in a sort of despicable compound. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Look who's up," Applejack said first, a smile still on her face. "You okay, sugarcube?"

"You gave the Royal Guard quite a scare," Princess Luna added, with a laugh.

"You sent the Royal... you - you didn't have to," Twilight began, looking down and moving a hoof along the tiled ground.

"Oh, it's fine, Twilight," Princess Celestia said with a dismissive wave. "Pull up a seat."

"So, um," Pinkie began, scooting on a chair up to the table, "you guys just... eat here?"

Princess Luna looked up from her blueberry muffin. "Oh, us? Of course. We don't use the big hall very often, after all; it's rather... big."

Princess Celestia and a few others chuckled, before they were cut short by Twilight, sounding meeker now than she did when she first entered. "Did... was I far out...? From the castle, I - I mean," she added with a stammer.

"Um..." Princess Celestia replied, glancing around the room and setting down her teacup.

"It doesn't matter," Princess Luna stepped in for her sister, with a small smile. "The important thing is that we're all here now, and you're safe."

"I... I understand," Twilight replied slowly, putting her head in a hoof. The room had grown uncomfortably quiet again, and Twilight glanced over the table silently. The Princesses were, despite what they may have been trying to do, still obviously the Princesses; Fluttershy was quiet, Rainbow Dash was tired, Rarity was relaxed, Applejack was her genial morning self; and she could feel the worried glanced from Pinkie whether she was looking over at her or not.

"You know, it's rather unlikely that there'll be a problem, Twilight," Rarity interjected. "The Princesses have told us all about it. Even if there is something wrong, not much'll change -"

"It's not the test," Twilight said quietly. "It's just everything. I'm - I'm sorry for the trouble," she added, to the Princesses. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry."

Luna opened her mouth to say something, but with a silent look from her sister, she closed it again, and nodded. "We're glad to hear that. Okay," she began, slightly louder. "We're going to begin the tests at 12:00 and we should end in less than 3 hours; we had to postpone slightly. Until then, please relax in the Castle. There's enough here for everypony." She stood, Princess Celestia following suit.. "My sister and I will be on Board; session opens today in Parliament, and the timeslot's opened up."

"Thank you very much, Princesses," Rarity said with a small bow of the head.

The group watched the Princesses as they left, and watched Twilight as she quickly excused herself after.

Pinkie looked around at the others, and scooted her chair in as Rainbow Dash walked out as well, her head down and her hoofstep light and close together. She stared down at the empty plate in the silence for a moment, and leaned her head on a hoof. "... I don't think that we'll pass the test today."

Applejack looked down at her plate as well, but Rarity looked over at her. "You don't? Why?"

"Just... have a feeling."

"Oh," Rarity replied. "Well, perhaps there's still a chance. One way or another, the only real problem is that we might need to make two more friends," she said with a smile. "I'm not really worried. Is anypony else?"

After a quiet second, a small voice nearby spoke up. "I'm just sorry for Twilight. She seems so upset about everything. I think she thinks the Princess is angry at her."

Pinkie stood. "Excuse me," she said, a hint of her usual Pinkie-ness coming back to her. "I know now what I must do."

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The library wasn't silent - not this time. A small, tinny radio played an infomercial where a stallion with a manufactured-sounding voice rattled off the pros and lack of cons about a new type of blender. Twilight, as Pinkie expected, was lying silently on a padded bench, a book open in front of her and her horn providing some extra light in the shadow of the large bookcases around them.

Pinkie walked quietly in, the platter on her back balanced carefully. "Hey, Twilight," she said, trying to put a note of cheer in her voice.

"Did you bring any whiskey?"

"Whiskey - what? No! Why?" she asked, giggling.

"It's the strongest thing that I think would be in the castle," she replied in a partial monotone, shutting the radio off with a wave of magic.

Pinkie walked over to her, nudging her gently with her muzzle. "No, but I brought biscuits."

"Did you make them yourself?"

"Yeah."

There was silence for a second as the book closed gently with a wisp of pink magic and fell to its side. "... Thanks."

Pinkie took a few steps towards her, and opened her mouth, but took back what she was going to say. Instead, she sat down next to her, slipping the platter onto the floor. Twilight glanced up at her and looked away quickly, pulling herself up to the sitting position as well (still about half a foot away from Pinkie) and shifting her stare to the floor.

Pinkie smiled. "Nice try," she said, reaching a hoof around her and pulling her close. With her other hoof, she turned her head gently towards her own, and her smile fell. Without a sound, she reached around her and pulled her into a tight embrace, her muzzle fitting nicely into her marefriend's shoulder. "You scared me so much. Celestia, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, nuzzling further into her.

Twilight said nothing for a moment. "I feel awful," she replied momentarily, with a stuttered sigh.

"You don't understand," Pinkie replied, shifting her hooves on Twilight's back. "I love you so much. I love everything about you."

"Don't - don't say that."

"No, I do. I have for the longest time now, and I'm so, so glad that..." she trailed off. "I feel so small compared to you, Twilight."

Twilight didn't say anything, but pulled away from the embrace, and looked into her marefriend's face, stuttering to find an answer. Her eyes were red and her mane wasn't brushed - everything that she'd experienced the last few days was clear on her face.

"I do. You're so much to me, really." She paused. "I - I don't want to get too mushy or anything. I'm sorry, I just... every time I see you, I just..."

"Pinkie, I love you, too," Twilight replied, her voice low and unsteady. "I really do. Don't say that kind of -"

"Why?"

Twilight seemed to freeze for a moment. "I... suppose because you're funny, and you're so gentle to me. You love me back."

Pinkie nodded, the excess emotion appearing to drift away piece by piece. "There's one more reason." Twilight scowled at this, but Pinkie placed her hoof gently on her foreleg, drawing it down to come to rest on her hoof. "I know you, Twilight. You know you, too. What's that last reason?"

"You... you're comfortable," she managed, her mouth hanging open for a moment after she said it. "And - and I want that. I want to be comfortably... in love."

"So why do you do this to me?"

Twilight looked up at her from her hooves, tears coming to her eyes. "What? No, I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean -"

"Cheer up. Please. I hate seeing you worry. I want to see a smile from you, of all ponies." She smiled, less out of joy and more mischievous. "For me."

Twilight paused, wiping a tear from her eye with her other hoof. Of course that's what she was doing. Why couldn't she see that? It made her feel awful, less because of what she did to Pinkie and more because she should have seen through such a basic trick. Getting her guilted into feeling better. "You're a genius. I hate you so much," she said, smiling. "I'm sorry. But you know why I'm worried. You should know. You know what Princess Celestia means to me."

Pinkie rolled her eyes, every bit of the previous emotion drained away. "She's not mad."

"She's not, no," Twilight agreed, looking up and around at the bookcases. "But I know her more than you do. She's disappointed."

"Twilight -"

"She is. It's subtle, but she is. I need to think of some way for this afternoon to go well."

The library settled, and the only sounds were light hoofstep and birdsong from outside. There was a sort of warmth Twilight felt from Pinkie - she knew Pinkie only wanted her to be happy. That's part of why she loved her. Her hoof around Twilight's back, pressing her tightly to her side, accomplished that. Despite herself, she smiled.

"You know," Pinkie said in that tone that nobody but Twilight ever got to hear. "I meant everything I said."

"Yeah." Twilight felt something nagging at her, and tried to verbalize it. "I didn't mean you're only good for comfort, Pinkie. I meant that I'm comfortable with you. You're an amazing pony, though."

"Twilight?" A pause. "... Do you think that this'll last?"

"Us?"

"Yeah."

"Not all romances do, Pinkie, but... I really hope it does."

She could feel in her side the subtle movement from a smile. "Well, we may as well make the most of it. Do you want to go back to the room?"

"We only have a few hours until -"

"Do you want to go back to the room?"

"Yes."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The wind whipped around the balcony, a vicious, icy breeze that carried frost from the north. Dash was shivering, until she felt the warmth of somepony she recognized immediately against her wings. "H-hi, Shy."

"Hi, Dash."

Dash frowned, and turned her head around. Fluttershy was lying across her, so light that she was barely felt. "Thank you," she blurted after a moment.

"Hm?"

She sighed. "I was just thinking about how this all started. Without you asking me, we would've both died without this. Thank you."

Fluttershy simply smiled. "You're gonna get me all emotional. Stop doing that."

Dash laughed shortly and moved, lying on her back and allowing Fluttershy to fall across her chest. She was like a thick blanket, but softer. Every day, she would want to wake up next to that. She brought her closer with a hoof and kissed her gently, loving the squeak that came with it. Why is she so soft? Why didn't we do this years ago? A decade ago? "Why won't you marry me?" she asked quietly.

"I will."

"But why not now?"

"I just..." she paused. "Marriage is a heavy thing, Dash. I don't know whether I'm ready. We're young, you know, and we might not be able to manage. I will, though, but I need time." She shifted closer to her. "I want everything to be perfect," she added with a kiss to the neck.

"But -" Dash sat up, flapping her wings "- I wouldn't ever allow myself to - to do anything wrong to you, Shy. I couldn't. Imagine it - we're married. Together. We get a new house, grow your business alongside my whole flying thing, and... we could just be happy." She cursed quietly, under her breath. "But we'd be bogged down by the paparazzi. They wouldn't st -" She cut herself short. "What if we fail the test?"

Fluttershy looked up at her in surprise. "What?"

"If we do, one of us has to stop being an Element, because together we'd throw off the magic system or whatever. So the paparazzi would eventually leave us alone." She put her head back. "It could work, too."

"But... we can't intentionally fail the test," Fluttershy replied. "I don't even know how we could."

"I know," Dash said. "We could just hope."

Fluttershy rolled over, lying alongside her marefriend. "Dash... I do really want to marry you. But please, for our friends' sakes, just try your best. I promise we'll eventually make it work."

"They were there when I proposed."

"I know."

"I hate them so much. It was supposed to just be us and our friends."

"I know."

"Celestia, you're beautiful."

"I -" She stopped herself with a giggle. "Stop."

Part Twenty-Five - Test

The wind spat a leaf against the window, making Rarity jump back in surprise. A quiet snicker from behind her set her back on track, going though various shelves and drawers for whatever she may need for the afternoon. It was going to be quite breezy today, so she had to find a way to keep her mane down. Perhaps more than one way, to play it safe.

"Rarity, we're not goin' to the moon and back. Why're you packin' seventy pounds of -" she heard the shuffling of a duffel bag behind her "- hairspray?"

"Just an added precaution, darling, in case the hat and band don't work."

"Right." She heard a sigh and the creak of the old wooden bench as Applejack leaned back against it. From down the hall, moving slowly up the corridor, were two hushed voices spattered with giggles. Rarity recognized them only as they passed the door.

"There they go," Applejack said, as though on cue. Rarity glanced behind her, but the pair were already gone. "After less than an hour, Twilight's back to - normal."

Rarity couldn't help but notice the pause. She'd grown up on soap operas, after all, and she knew a pause, no matter how short, usually meant something. She wanted to keep her mouth shut, because it certainly wasn't a big deal, but she had an odd feeling resting in the back of her mind that perhaps Applejack had that implacable thought she had. "It's... odd, isn't it?"

"Well..."

"I don't mean odd as in because they're our friends or - anything, but, odd because..." she trailed off, looking down into the trunk full of extra clothes she brought should she need them. "It's polarizing? That's not the right word for it. I'm not very eloquent when it comes to these kinds of things, I suppose," she added, more under her breath.

"Ah guess."

There was a note of silence, so Rarity moved aside a dress even though there wasn't really anything underneath she needed; nervous habit, at best. "It's divisive."

"... Ah guess."

"I mean, I'd like to be friends with all of them, right?" She turned towards Applejack, leaning at a slant on the box as she closed it. "But the roles that they've brought out as this has developed is... making it difficult to connect, I suppose."

"Ah suppose," Applejack agreed quietly. "Ah'd like it to work out for 'em all, but at the same time..." she trailed off. "That's not what ah meant. Forget it."

At this, she rose and left, and Rarity quickly stuffed the remaining accessories into the duffel bag, deciding in a moment to try to catch up with her, but then a second wind of thought came along, and the magic zipping up the bag dissolved. Maybe it wasn't worth talking about. It wasn't that serious, it was just... uncomfortable. That was it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken to Rainbow Dash. Or Fluttershy. Outside of the one picnic, of course. How she hoped she would get to plan the wedding.

She looked down at the bag and let out a small sigh before trotting to the front gates to join the outgoing group.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The air began to annoy Dash. She'd resigned as much as she could to her higher morals, wanting to help Twilight who was likely under the most duress in the group, and wanting to keep their setup from falling apart. She wasn't walking alongside Fluttershy, and it felt odd. And that feeling odd made her feel odder; why? Can't she walk apart from her marefriend for five minutes? They lived apart, even, for one. It was stupid. And the wind made it worse.

The path was broad, but rocky and uneven, and the Princesses themselves were leading them all up to the 'Sun's Summit' where they could contain the power or something whatever magic. Thin alpine covered both sides of the upwards slope, but it did nothing to help the wind.

She and Rarity had been having some kind of light conversation about weather and her employment in it, and she'd been trying not to think about all the little stupid things bothering her. And so far, she was doing alright. In fact, some talking from Rarity was kind of helpful, in a weird way.

Then the little abrasive thoughts came in one by one, and she wasn't even paying attention. She let one slip. "Rarity, do you think different? Of me?"

She paused, as Rarity did, because of this very out-of-place, out-of-context question. Dash didn't really feel embarrassed about it, for some reason. In any other situation, she would have made a joke out of it or something, but instead, to her common sense's surprise, she simply looked away, and looked back, as though expecting an answer.

Rarity shook her head, breaking eye contact. "No, of course not, darling."

Dash didn't respond. She hadn't meant to ask in the first place. "So... so in all, I'm the district manager. But it's not as high up as it sounds."

"Really?"

And the conversation went on.

By the time they'd reached the top, they'd gotten to talking about wind, and Dash was glad they didn't have to discuss it because it was blowing her mane in her face now and really starting to tick her off. She looked over at Rarity, and over at Fluttershy, who wasn't talking with anypony, and before either Princess could begin talking, made her way over to her and pressed her wing gently up against hers. It made her feel better. "Hey, Shy," she whispered.

"Hey, Dash."

There were a group of guards on either side of them, who were laughing and joking as they approached but snapped to stiff attention when they saw the Princesses. On their left were two boxes, one that she recognized as the container for the Elements, and one that she'd never seen before, huge and constructed of dark grey wood, a magic circle imprinted on its front.

"Alright," Princess Celestia said, turning around, her authoritative voice ringing out above the others although she kept her volume down. "You've likely already taken notice, but we've brought something other than the Elements, in the larger box. Twilight, you may know what it is."

"Is it a malentro?" came Twilight's voice in a rather hushed response.

"It is," the Princess replied, and nodded. "These are beings of magical energy that we've been able to keep under control with tight magical bonds. However, the Elements of Harmony are among the few ways to hold them once they're free from the protection of the magical circle. When free," she added, "they will not rest or stop moving until each source of magic in the world is drained. These are your instructions.

"First, you have to focus on the antagonist during the test. It may be the only driving force for the activation of the Elements. Second, you have to focus on your friendship, and not on your significant other. That's where this exercise may get a bit... touchy. But you should be able to complete it, if I know you half as well as I think I do. Please," she finished, stepping aside with her sister, "retrieve your Elements and form your position."

Dash looked over at Twilight, who was staring down into the horizon, the remnants of the lightheartedness she'd recently had all but missing. They were silent in their task, until all were lined up in a small half-circle with Twilight heading. "Ready, Princess," Twilight called out with a small voice.

The guards brought the box over, and set it a few yard in front of the group, on a flatter piece of land, and cleared the area; then, as the wind died down suddenly, the Princess' gold magic flowed over the lid of the box, breaking it from its hinges.

For a moment, Dash didn't see anything inside - until she moved her eyes, and in the track of motion she saw a disturbance, huge, black, shimmering, vaguely pony-shaped, and gone instantly. She moved her eyes again, over and over the creature, and took a step back. She heard a cry from her left first, from Rarity. As the wind picked up again with a violent blow, she tried to shout over it. "What does it do, Twilight?!"

"Just form!" Twilight shouted back, and Dash felt that bright, staticky link again, like a bolt of electricity running through her chest, heating up the Element's heavy gold plate. It was always an experience, being lifted up by magic, but it helped her focus. She looked down at the creature, shimmering and apparently writhing but still in place, unaware apparently of the vast, blinding light of magic that was encircling the group and beginning to rise above it. She remembered the feelings from last time and tried to replicate them.

She took a quick glance over at her friends, thoughts about them rushing through her head. Applejack thoughtful funny sympathetic Rarity helpful courteous gracious Twilight clever brave ready Pinkie happy funny diligent Fluttershy

Her mind sputtered to a halt for a moment. The Elements hadn't begun yet. They were still in the air, and the creature below was beginning to move slowly towards the Princesses, who were far off to the end of the clearing. She glanced over at Twilight, who was also looking at the Princesses with tears in her eyes for one reason or another. She closed her eyes tightly as the sound of magic surging began to grow around her. Fluttershy - kind loving wise

With the familiar boom, the rainbow soared into the air and landed on the creature with a loud, twisted screech. Suddenly, there was a fizzle that she'd never heard before, like a short-circuit. Dash felt the weight of gravity all at once and immediately reached out to grab the closest pony, Applejack, and support her fall. Most of the Bearers fell to the loamy, rocky earth below with a thud, but she was able to catch Applejack and remain in the air.

Dash looked down and around. Rarity was on her side, breathing heavily, and Applejack, in her forelegs, seemed unconscious, but her eyes flickered open quickly with a shuddering intake of breath. A gasp from Fluttershy prompted her to look behind her, where she saw a hollow, hole-ridden shell of what looked ponylike, at least from this distance, steaming lightly.

She set Applejack onto her hooves, holding a hoof to her shoulder briefly to make sure she was steady, and darted over to the Princesses. "Did we do it? Did we pass? We got the thing."

Luna looked over at her sister. "We would rather run one or two more tests, to be sure."

"But -" Dash began, "but one was fine! We all did what we were supposed to and the Elements worked, so -" she cut herself off as she looked over at Princess Celestia, who was scowling lightly.

"In a split second, you won't have the time to prepare, as you haven't in the past. We want to catch you at a natural moment, and see how the Elements last then. Very few experiments have been done with these artifacts, Rainbow Dash."

Dash hesitated, but then nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll just..." she trailed off, gliding back.

They were in a sort of group, all around Applejack, who was sitting upright but quite unsteadily. "Ah'm good," she heard her saying from across the clearing. "Ah'm fine, don't worry about me."

Dash touched down lightly next to Fluttershy. "You okay, Shy?" she asked under the others' quiet conversation.

"I - I don't know what happened. It was so odd - I felt really angry for a moment, but then everything went back to normal. I don't know what it was," she continued in a weak voice.

"Sorry," she said after a moment; she couldn't think of any other way on the spot to respond. "Twilight," she began, getting her attention, "the Princesses want one or two more tests."

As if on cue, Princess Celestia showed up nearby. "Unless, that is, something happened that may limit the safety of the experiment. Is there any report?" she asked Twilight.

"N - well, no, I don't think so," she stuttered. "Applejack?"

"Ah'm fine!"

"I think we're good."

The Princess smiled. "We were observing the trails of the primary vector to see..." she began, leading into a bunch of words Dash barely recognized. Twilight was listening, apparently attentively, her eyes still rather puffy and red around the edges.

Dash turned away, back to Shy, who was talking quietly to Pinkie abut the same thing she was talking about to her not more than two or three minutes ago. "... weird, and I can't really explain it. I think I was mad at the Princesses, or one of you, or something - it was really unfocused."

"Yeah, I felt kind of a similar thing, I guess," Pinkie was saying. "More like frustration? Nah. Fear... ish? What was it? It was odd, though, yeah."

Dash sighed and sat down. "... Does the country really need us?"

Fluttershy responded after a short pause. "I'm not sure. They were doing okay on their own, weren't they? For a thousand years?"

"Yeah. It's..." she trailed off. "I don't want to do more tests."

"I heard Twilight say that," Pinkie murmured. "I don't want to, either, actually." She squinted up at the sun. "I just wish magic wasn't so... dumb."

Dash giggled, and it developed into a good-sized laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It kind of is magic's fault."

"Hey," Twilight said, walking over to the group. "I was wondering what we would target for the next test, and the Princess said to give it a few minutes and the malentro would be good as new."

"That's weird. Wait - how can the Elements be one of the only defenses against these things if it heals?"

"Pauses it for a second, I guess?" Her lighthearted expression broke for a second as she looked past Dash to the waxy, pony-like thing, and all four fell silent as the chilling aura of dark magic returned to them, if only briefly. "Hey... being of pure energy and stuff," Twilight said, her voice unsteady. "Anyways, if AJ's feeling up to it, we're ready to go in a second."

Dash looked over at Fluttershy, who looked back for a second, every little fraction of anxiety and unwillingness welling up in her. Those eyes were so familiar - she'd spent her childhood with them, and knew every in and out. And Fluttershy was scared.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

She continued staring at the dead grass and chalky rocks beneath her hooves for a few seconds before standing to join the group. It wasn't the malentro's fault that she didn't want to do another. But she couldn't tell anypony the real reason.

When she looked over at Twilight, she became stuck. Just for a quarter of a second. She couldn't bring to mind many memories of the two being just friends. It seemed forever ago that they passed that, and they weren't showing any signs of reverting anytime soon. If anything, Pinkie was learning more about her marefriend every second this test was on. And she wasn't sure she could forget about that when the Elements were on, especially if they were in the middle of a conflict that needed quick decision.

She walked over to Twilight, who was still talking to Applejack, and almost told her the fleeting thought that crossed her mind ; perhaps it would be best if she did leave the Elements. But something, or a lot of things, made her keep her mouth shut. Finally, she was feeling some of the stress she believed Twilight was feeling. Perhaps not to the most extreme extent, but it was still there.

Suddenly, they heard the gentle crack of what sounded like glass breaking. Princess Celestia turned around to the shell and stepped back. "Alright, everypony, Elements on!"

Pinkie galloped over to where she left her neckpiece on the ground, flung it on as quickly as she could - but missed. She looked around wildly, glancing up at the shifting invisible figure, and a cold sweat took her over. She caught its shape near her back hooves, hurriedly shoved it over her head, and got into position, the fear gripping her again.

She looked over at Twilight, who wasn't calm either, but... something about her just seemed confident. "Ready?!" she yelled as the Elements began to hum.

Pinkie didn't really pay any attention as they rose into the air. The colors and sounds and the suddenly-overwhelming fear squeezed her heart in a vice. She was staring down at the creature, and Princess Celestia, who was nearby, looking quickly between them and it. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced all memory of her and Twilight as well as she could out of her head, focusing on the memories of all of them as a group.

But something was wrong. The memories began shifting, like oil in water, as she began to remember her and Twilight closer together, holding each other, even, before they were together. No. Focus on something else.

She looked down again at the creature, which had begun shifting more quickly and moving, towards the Princess. She heard a shriek - whose it was, she wasn't sure - and the Elements' ray shot into the air once again. She looked up to see a mismatched group of colours, bleeding into one another, before she felt a surge of pain run through her. It was intense pain. Was it me?

Then the ground appeared in front of her and

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Twilight bolted upright, vaguely aware of the pain in her head and down her back. She looked to the right, jumping to her hooves, before she saw the blackened form of a pony, its mouth open and revealing charred, needle-like teeth. The Princess was standing there, her horn still glowing faintly. With a sigh, she turned towards Twilight - but was looking past her.

Twilight's head whipped back - the entire group, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, was prostrate on the ground, some with minor bruises or cuts. Rarity's nose was bleeding, Applejack appeared to have lost her colour, and Pinkie was struggling to get up. Dash was on her hooves, wobbling lightly, and staring up at the two of them, a look between confusion and anger on her face.

Meanwhile, the Princesses had trotted over to them, helping them up one by one, while Twilight stood and watched. Pinkie was the first to regain some level of consciousness, and left the group almost immediately, walking over to her, visibly shivering. Twilight's breath became shallow. What happened? How badly did the Elements fail? What did that mean? Questions dug into her one at a time, before Pinkie reached over and hugged her.

She winced as her hooves touched her back, but her breathing returned to normal. Pinkie's chest pressed against hers tightly, but only for a moment; just as Twilight was about to return the embrace, Pinkie pulled away. "Sorry," she said quietly. "Just..." she trailed off and looked away. "I think some of us are hurt. You need to come over to the group -"

"I know - I know, I saw," she replied quickly, trying to keep her voice calm. By the time she got to the center of the group, Applejack was laid out on her side, her coat pale and her breathing shallow. A light grey mark, like someone scribbled something in pen on her side, was slowly becoming clearer on her coat. Rarity was lying next to her, but her eyes were open and she was talking quietly to the Princesses.

"Yes... no... I think I'm okay... difficult to move," she said in a spotty whisper. She heard a crash from behind her, and whipped her head back around again, to see Dash in front of the charred malentro, its head broken and on the ground next to it, in two pieces. Dash reared back and kicked again, until Pinkie trotted over to her and tried to stop her. Voices were raised, Fluttershy was crying over Applejack - perhaps she thinks she's dead - and Twilight was caught in the middle.

She looked up at the Princesses, each of them looking over Rarity and Applejack, trying to help as well as they could. Princess Celestia. The malentro was dead, Applejack was out cold, and all of them - all of her friends, the closest ones she had in the world - were hurt in some way or another. Princess Celestia.

She felt the anger rise.

Part Twenty-Six - Aftermath

"I knew this kind of thing would happen. I knew it would."

All morning, the majority of Twilight's dialogue had been variations on that sentence. The hectic rush of the previous evening, from the initial panic to the repressing dourness of the medical wing's waiting room to their eventual unwilling retirement, had died slowly, leaving nothing but... that.

Now, they'd regrouped in the medical wing. She'd gotten there first, of course. If anypony in the room could argue that they were Applejack's best friend, it was her. She'd been standing around the bright white bed for a while by then, always glancing over. She seemed very, very dead, and it was only the heart monitor nearby that kept her from believing it.

Each of them had left sometime earlier to discuss with the Princesses the matter of returning to Ponyville. The only two left were her and Twilight, who was sitting nearby on a bench on the wall.

The medical clipboard was levitating silently in a pink glow while Twilight muttered to it. "Conditional aethyric aperturism. I figured it would happen. It's a different kind of magic. It's touchy. Of course it is."

"Twilight!" Dash said finally, whipping her head around. "Just stop for a few minutes! A few minutes."

Twilight looked over at her, and dropped the clipboard. "Alright. Fine."

Finally, silence. She looked over at Applejack one more time, and then out the window. Through the bottom of the three panes, there was a great view of the inner city. Through the middle, the great violet mountain range. And through the top, sky. It calmed her down.

"... Is it the Princess' fault?" she asked quietly. The question came out of nowhere - she didn't really mean to ask it. That was the second time in 24 hours that had happened. Strange.

There was a pause. Perhaps she really shouldn't have asked that. Twilight and Princess Celestia really had a strong bond. Maybe she shouldn't push her, in this state especially.

"It is."

She turned back towards her, this time on the receiving end of the shock. "Huh?"

"It is, definitely. The Elements aren't the safest artifacts we have in Equestria. Plus, friendship-centered magic and stuff gets really unstable. That was never a good combination." She was staring down at the floor, a thick scowl on her face. "Why did she do it?"

"They."

"What?"

"Princess Luna was involved, too."

Twilight sighed heavily, appearing ready to respond, but never did. She simply opened her mouth, decided against it, and sighed, leaning back against the wall.

Dash knew she really had no idea what was going on in her friend's head. Some huge, conflicting mess of thoughts smarter than her own. Perhaps she was right, and it really was the fault of the Princesses. Princess Celestia certainly did have a way of letting Twilight figure things out herself, but this seemed a little off.

"I have to go," she heard, muffled against her own thoughts, as Twilight slipped out of the room.

She should go, too. One final glance to her friend, the errant, false cutie mark seeming to throb on her flank viciously, and she took her leave.

It was only a few steps down the hallway before her heard her name behind her, and turned. She was standing there, her head low, her mane partially covering her face. Ever since they'd figured each other out, the stance had taken on an entirely new meaning.

"Dash," she repeated, a little bit of a question mark showing up at the end.

"Shy, I'm going to leave the Elements."

Fluttershy said nothing, but looked away.

"Look, I can't stand for this. If the Princesses are going to use us like they have, I'm not staying."

"Alright."

Dash turned fully, and walked up to her. "What's up?"

"We're going back to Ponyville."

"Cool."

"They're going to send Applejack to the hospital there."

"Okay..." She paused. "Why are you nervous?"

"Nervous?"

Dash smiled. "Nice try," she replied, starting to walk to her room. "I can read you pretty okay by now."

Fluttershy sighed. "Twilight told me earlier that she did research, and... sometimes ponies who get an overdose of magic, like AJ did, don't come out of unconsciousness."

Dash's breath stopped short for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. "As in -"

"I mean, they just don't come out of it. They don't die."

"Oh. Okay." She shook her head quickly, and grimaced. "Warn me."

Fluttershy dropped her head even more. "She said she doesn't think there's necessarily a cure, except fighting it."

"Oh. We're good, then. AJ's a fighter."

Fluttershy looked up. "How are you so calm? Aren't you still worried that she'll be in a coma forever? Isn't she your friend?"

"Shy, please," she said, trying not to snap at her. "Of course she is. But I know AJ. As long as it's not going to kill her, she'll get out of it alright."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Okay."

"Hey," Dash said as they reached Fluttershy's room.

"Yeah?"

Dash smiled. "Nothing. I'll see you in the main hall in a few hours."

Fluttershy opened her mouth for a moment, hanging back to think through her words once more. "One more thing."

"Hm?"

"About... the marriage."

Dash's ears perked up. "Yeah."

"Are you leaving the Elements... for that?"

"Wh - no, it's - it's like I said it was -"

"Don't lie to me, Dash," Fluttershy's interrupted, her eyes solid and intense, locked on to her own.

Dash faltered for a moment, the thought coming suddenly into her mind. Did I want to? Really? Was that it?

But it wasn't. It really wasn't. It was for a mess of things, but that wasn't one of them. She looked straight up at her marefriend. "No."

Fluttershy looked at her for a moment. "... I trust you," she said finally, and kissed her before closing the door behind her. Dash was left alone in the wide, cold stone hall, with her thoughts. Sometimes, she felt like a little filly, like what she wanted didn't matter anyways. She kicked at the ground for a second, lost in nebulous thought, before taking off for the Princesses to inform them of her decision.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The door swung open with a bust of pink magic. Twilight shifted to let the saddlebags settle with the weight of the textbooks.

"Hey, Twi," she heard from the bed.

"Hi, Pinkie," she responded without looking.

"I'm having a bit of trouble."

The sentence alone, and the quiet, wavering way she said it, ran a cold shock through her. Immediately, the saddlebags fell to the floor and she was at her bedside. "What do you mean? How do you feel? Where's the problem? Is there any stress in your back or head?" The questions tumbled out of her mouth one by one, a stream of anxiety and terror.

"I'm just - I'm just a little under the weather," she replied, interrupting her. "I'm just getting weird little thingies, uh, like little starbursts of happy and sad and stuff in my head."

"Oh, no, no," she mumbled quickly, "I'm gonna go get a medic."

"No, Twi, it's fine, I was reading up a little," Pinkie replied, shifting Twilight's mood almost instantly. "It's just a bit of an effect of the thing we did the thing on. Can't talk, sorry. I was just telling you so you, you know, kept away until I feel better."

Twilight sighed out of relief with a hint of annoyance. "If you think it's fine, I'm sure it is. I feel like I should take you to the medical wing anyways, though..."

"No, really, it's okay," she replied, shifting her hooves under the covers. "I'm just gonna stay here, and you can... go to the library. Away."

Twilight looked at her, deeply, just for a moment. The bright blue eyes were telling the truth - I don't want you to see me like this.

She reached out and patted her gently, before thinking twice about it and kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Did your reading tell you when it was going to go away?"

"No."

"Okay. I'll be back soon, when we can get on the train to Ponyville. You packed?"

"Yup!" she replied, suddenly enthusiastic, her eyes brightening.

Twilight smiled and almost rolled her eyes. It felt more like Pinkie being Pinkie than anything having to do with the malentro, but she trusted her marefriend. "Bye."

"Bye-bye!" she heard as she closed the door. Her face dropped from a smile to a determined scowl again as she thought about the research she had to do. There was so much of it and so little time.

She was thinking about staying to work on it, and compare notes with the Princesses. But the thought rather made her feel sick, so she decided it would be best to head back to the library with the others. Hopefully she had books on magic and anatomy, magical creatures, magical afflictions, friendship-based magic, artefacts of m-

Stop. Rewind.

She closed her eyes for a moment and stopped where she was to cross over to the windowsill for a place to lean. You shouldn't feel like that about the Princesses. They're your friends. Your mentors. Your -

They almost killed your friend because they were being careless. What could get me out of thinking th- maybe I could cut them a break? How? They're immortal, sometimes it slips their m- no, that's not very strong. Everypony makes mistakes, but not that big, so no. How do I defend against myself?

It's really cute how Pinkie was "reading up".

Okay, brain, if we're gonna decide on anything, we have to focus.

Her mind was on overdrive. There was so much to think about. Applejack, the Princesses, the Elements.

She opened her eyes for a moment and stared out of the window, down at the castle grounds, where a small, familiar-looking carriage had pulled up.

No way.

Out of the carriage, one at a time, stepped a light blue stallion and a light gray mare.

Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle.

She pressed the side of her head against the window and groaned. Loudly.

Author's Note

I am following my plans exactly. I'm not doing this off-the-cuff. It'll come together. I promise.

Part Twenty-Seven - Plan

It was still windy out, and the wind carried that special twinge of chill that it always started to around that time of year. The sun was already at a good height in the sky, but it was still only just kissing the high rooftops of Canterlot beyond the rim of the castle walls. As she trotted out onto the steps, she wasn't thinking about the kissing sun or the biting wind. She was just 'realizing' over and over that she didn't have time for this, like a skipping record.

"Mom! Daddy!" she shouted, vying for volume against the wind.

"Pumpkin!" her mother squealed immediately, her usual chipper self, and brushed past the guards that were dotting a ring outside the carriage to nuzzle Twilight. "It's been so long!"

"It's been about a year, Mom," she said, begrudgingly accepting the nuzzle.

"That it has," her mother agreed, nodding, while her father caught up behind her.

"We were notified of some trouble, Twily, is everything okay?" he interrupted, his mane frizzier than usual, his voice quiet, his eyes tired as they always were.

Twilight closed her eyes, tight, and rubbed her forehead heavily with a hoof. "They notified you?" She huffed, and shook her head. "There was an accident, but nothing that we can't figure out eventually. Eveypony's going back home in a few hours, but I'm staying here to do some research," she added, and looked at them both, one to the other, her mouth a thin line. "... You also saw the papers."

"We did indeed see the papers," her father replied quickly, glancing to her mother, "and I, for one, had no idea."

"Neither did I," her mother said, and Twilight felt the awkward hole they were digging themselves into growing larger with every word. "I always that you weren't really interested in anypony."

"I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of that soon," Twilight replied dully. "You've met her. She's happy a lot and likes pink probably too much."

"Yes, but -"

"Well, there's still -"

"Guys, can we just - can we just hold off on this?" Twilight interrupted, her voice climbing in pitch. "I have a lot to do right now. I can take you guys to meet most everypony in the main hall, but there's not much you can - well, really do."

Her mother nodded again. "Does 'everypony' include Pinkie Pie?" Her question panned out flatly, sounding almost rhetorical.

The gears in Twilight's brain froze for a moment. "Uh... w - I mean, she isn't feeling too good -" that sounds like a lie "- and she probably won't be - uh, have everything ready yet. I mean, you can - uh, I -" She stopped herself, her mouth hanging open for a moment while she reached for something to say. "... Let's just go in."

She turned and trotted back up to the huge double-doors and their guards, mentally hitting herself along the way.

Dash had everything ready to go - she'd only brought her toothbrush, so there wasn't too much to pack. She was floating slowly down to the main room, down the high-ceilinged, tapestried hall, taking her time to think some more. Not that there was much to think about.

Ultimately, she was just unfocused. Keywords like Elements and Applejack were floating unconnected to thoughts in her heads, an underscore of concepts being the only real constant.

She caught Princess Celestia's voice as she was about to pass one of the file rooms, and Princess Luna's voice came shortly after, although she couldn't really make out what they were saying. Her brain scrambled for what to do.

"Um, Princess," she found herself saying as she landed and approached the door.

Princess Celestia was standing behind a table covered in papers, levitating a few of them in front of her, and Princess Luna was sitting nearby. Both turned to look at her, suddenly stone silent.

An imaginary cold sweat broke out over her as doubts flowed into her mind. A contrast image of Fluttershy's face, disappointed. Her, walking alone away from her friends. Five bodies lying at the massive claws of a dragon. She shook her head quickly, jarring them from her thoughts. "Nothing. Never mind."

Princess Celestia smiled, an odd smile, neither friendly nor malicious, and closed the door in her face. She look to her left and right, as though scanning the hall for some kind of justification, and then behind her, out the tall lozenge window. Nothing.

She scowled at the door and left.

Silence was all that remained in the hall for a good thirty seconds. "She's gone," Luna said quietly.

"Yes."

"And that was her way of denying her original desire?"

"I believe it was," Celestia replied, and laid the papers back on the desk in an orderly fashion. She pursed her lips, something she rarely did (as she was rarely upset). "... I will admit that I rather wish we didn't have to do this."

"I've said that before myself, but we've done all we really can." Luna opened a file drawer and removed a small scroll with cartographical symbols outlining a neat chart. "There's not much chance it won't work."

"But we're asking Twilight to discover something we don't even know about. We don't even know about," she repeated for emphasis. "That's insane."

"If push comes to shove, we'll join her in her attempt and formulate a new plan."

"How long will that take? Years? Another generation or two?"

"Whatever it takes, sister." Luna's voice took an edge briefly.

"I don't want to force them into something uncontrollable, or unsolvable," Celestia snapped, her turn to Luna quite animated. "I chose these ponies myself, and I'm close to them. Especially Twilight. She is necessary."

"And you believe my anxiety is less potent?" Luna replied, her voice unreasonably calm. "I know Twilight Sparkle perhaps better than you do, Celestia, and yet I remain stolid. Perhaps you should, as I do, stay professional."

Celestia paused, and looked down at the papers. "You need to go to bed. It's almost ten."

"Call me if you need me," she replied, and left silently.

Celestia was suddenly alone in the rather small file room, and it continued to cramp her by the second. There wasn't any true alternative. She would simply have to wait and see.

Pinkie's brain felt like sausage, and velvet, and glue, all put together.

Everything she had was packed, and she was ready to go, but she just barely understood this. Everything seemed much hazier than it should have been, and although she knew why, the thought itself wouldn't coagulate into a sentence. Bubbles of visions and long streams of consciousness floated aimlessly in her head, and she laid back on the bed, and stood up again, and laid down again.

"Twilight," she said, out loud, feeling the word pass her lips. "Too. Why. Mm. Spar - hm." There wasn't any good nickname at all. She shook her head and put a hoof to her mouth, her thoughts rather bleeding together.

Maybe she needed to eat something. Maybe she needed to eat something. Or eat something. Yeah.

With a roll, she wrapped the blanket around herself and tossed her saddlebags over it and trotted out the door, smiling widely around at the windows and a pair of guards. They looked confused. She wondered why.

"Wait," she murmured to herself as she continued down the hall. "No, we have to go. I can't eat yet." She paused for a moment, slowing and looking out the window again. "Wow, I am really backwards right now."

"You okay?"

The quiet question made her jump, and she sighed when who it was connected in her brain. She turned, a hoof on her chest. "You can't just scare me like that."

Fluttershy smiled her small smile, and moved her wings a bit, adjusting her own, bright white saddlebags. "You just said you were backwards. To the window."

"Well," Pinkie replied, "I am. You know that thing we fought can make you do that? Get backwards," she added, turning to continue her walk.

Fluttershy followed alongside her. "I guess you could say I kind of got the same way. For a moment or two. It was really odd, but I kind of felt like I did when Discord changed us in the maze. Remember that?"

Pinkie's brain turned over. "Mm. Hey, are you bi, or what?"

Fluttershy looked over at her, her mouth a bit open in surprise. "Uh - w- n-no, I... why?" she stammered, and Pinkie giggled. "Are you?"

She rolled her eyes in sort-of apathy. "I dunno. Maybe. I'd probably still donk Twilight if she were a dude."

"... 'Donk'?"

"It's a good word," she replied. That was probably true. Was this weird? Nah.

Fluttershy chuckled, just the one chuckle when there's a little near-scoff and a lopsided grin. "That could almost be romantic if you rephrased it."

She kicked at the floor a little bit, dragging her hoof along the stone, almost like she was nervous. Or something. Nothing was very clear in her mind at the moment, but a little thought bubble surfaced, and she decided to roll the dice with it. "Hey, don't take this weird."

"Hm?"

"Were we ever - I don't know, were we ever really attracted to each other?" The words dripped out of her mouth syllable by syllable, but she felt a kind of alleviation on her mind, like the weirdness in her head was fading slowly.

Fluttershy was quiet, so she glanced over; her mouth was open, and she was looking out of each window they passed, likely grabbing for words. But she wasn't embarrassed, Pinkie didn't think. She wasn't blushing, or stuttering, or doing the mane thing she did whenever she was particularly nervous. And then she broke the silence. "I... I would have to say that, outside of Dash, you're my best friend."

Pinkie licked her lips, subconsciously, as the depth of the question got to her. "But, uh," she began, surprised at how quiet she was.

"But is that attraction? I don't - I don't really think so. I mean," she said, inhaling, "I love Dash. I do, I have for a long time. She's what I think of when I think of attraction."

"I kind of think that's the same thing with Twilight and me," she said, still quiet despite herself. "I don't know what's with her. It was always just mental, up to a point."

"Yeah, exactly," she agreed, finally looking back at her. "I mean, I knew what I liked forever, but, well, Dash was never my type, I guess. Athlete, you know." She paused. "I learned to love it, you could say."

"I just didn't think about it for a while. Turns out I'm not a very sexual kinda - I mean, like, I had no idea other ponies considered that kind of thing so much," she said, with a laugh. "But it got there."

"I'm going to marry her," Fluttershy said after a moment. Pinkie smiled, hearing the little pinpricks of joy standing out in the sentence, but she continued. "... Have you thought about it?"

She didn't reply, but just swallowed and looked down.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I just - don't think I know how Twilight would react. It's kind of scar-"

She stopped herself, looking up. They're reached the main room, lit bright white by the broad Gothic windows. Dash was sitting on the stairs to the upper hall, her head leaning against the banister, and Rarity was nearby, talking to Twilight. And her parents.

"Uh -"

"Hey, Shy," Dash called from across the room, the echo bouncing around a couple good, solid times before dying. Pinkie remained still, rather assuming that if she didn't move, they couldn't see her. For some reason (she knew the reason) she was terrified. Twilight did a little wave, and, after a whisper from her mother, she nodded. Then her parents waved, too, bigger. She waved back, kind of, her foreleg's movement limited by the blanket which she suddenly realized she had on.

She approached slowly as Twilight came towards her, much quicker. "I have to go talk to the Princesses," she whispered into her ear. "I'll be right back."

Pinkie was struck, taken totally off-guard. "I - I want to marry you," she blurted, looking over at her.

Twilight was silent for a moment, her eyes wide, her mouth moving noiselessly. Suddenly, she seemed to put two and two together. "I know you're a bit out of it right now," she said finally, putting a hoof on her shoulder gently. "We can talk later. Okay?"

"Yeah," she said, blinking quickly and looking away. "I don't know what..."

"It's fine, alright? I'll be back in a few minutes to say goodbye. I'm staying for a few days to work with the library." She kissed her loosely, catching just the side of her mouth, and smiled a shallow smile. Pinkie turned after her as she walked back into the hall behind them.

"So you must be Pinkie Pie," she heard, and whipped her head back around, feeling suddenly dizzy again. She looked actually quite similar to Twilight, and it confused her for a moment. "Pleased to meet you."

"And I you," she replied and took her hoof, realizing in a moment how archaic that sounded and almost laughing. "I would like to say that, uh, I'm having a couple problems, um, with my head right now, so it's probably not," she paused, losing her words, "not the best time to meet you."

"Oh," the mare replied, turning to (Pinkie assumed) her husband, Twilight's father. "Well, she did warn us."

Pinkie frowned. A glance over to the other three for help, but they were just watching in morbid curiosity. She was going to have to talk to them anyways, wasn't she. Good. So she tried, and tried telepathically yelling at Twilight to return.

She wasn't even angry anymore. She just had too many questions and needed them answered, and now, and well. The hoofsteps that echoed through the hallway quickened as time skipped on by. It took a couple minutes to find the room, but she did - the Princess would be filing with the state secretaries from nine to two today. Schedules were important to memorize.

A couple knocks on the door, and it opened by itself, squeaking briefly at the hinge. "Princess?" she asked, stepping into the room.

"Behind the bookshelf in the back. Come in, Twilight," returned the classical, regal voice. No state secretaries to be seen.

She'd begun talking before she'd found her way past the first pile of papers. "I have some questions I need to ask you. Well, confirm my suspicions, really. One -"

"Think for a while before you ask, Twilight. Either you'll figure it out or you weren't meant to know," Celestia replied, her hushed voice still carrying well in the small room.

Twilight stopped herself, passing with some difficulty by another cabinet. "I... need to know this one."

"Please, ask."

"... Why would you test us then?"

There was silence for a minute as Twilight rounded the last corner. Princess Celestia was sitting, her back turned, papers in a halo of bright yellow magic around her, shuffling back and forth slowly and periodically drifting into a surrounding pile. "You do know you're the first real group to be given the power of these artefacts."

"Of course. So you would need to test. But why then? Why when it was so dangerous?"

Celestia's papers stopped in midair, and floated in the halo to the ground in a neat stack. "This was a chance to see what friendship and romance could do to one another. I don't believe I thanked you for your time and -" She paused. "And sacrifice."

"That's the problem," Twilight said, grating her teeth for a moment to avoid raising her voice. "We'd already figured romance would unbalance a set of six friendship-magic devices. I did my whole fourth thesis on that. Why would you sacrifice our safety for research?" If I've ever wanted to kick you square in the middle of your semiomnipotent back.

Celestia finally turned, as though she could hear. "I think you know the answer to that, too."

"I don't want to believe it."

"You have to, Twilight." Her voice had suddenly taken a stiffness and a sternness. "You have to learn, now, exactly what it means to we do what we do."

"You can't care that little for mortal life!"

"I do care for mortal life. I keep this planet where it needs to be so we don't float off into deep space." And the voice had gone from sternness to genuine anger. "Never suggest that again." She paused, and turned more fully to face her. In the small space, she was huge, and she sat regally, giving off a potent air of power and immanence. "I think better of you."

A measure of shame fell on her, pressure against her mind, but it was driven off by the anger again. "... I'm sorry, but -"

"You and I both fully understood the risk in the procedure. However, if you said that you wanted to stop it, I would have fully agreed, and we would have left. But you didn't."

Twilight stood where she was, but her legs became a little weaker. It wasn't the cutting drive to her words that caused it, it was the dawning realization of something she'd sometimes ruminated over but never seriously suggested. "It's the plan."

Celestia said nothing.

"... Was Applejack part of the plan? -"

"No. No, no, no, and we are doing all we can to treat her. I have the greatest licenses in Equestria working on her currently." Celestia looked softly at her now. "I hadn't foreseen that. I am fallible."

The hush that followed lasted for what must have been hours.

"I can tell you one thing. There's a way to - fix the Elements. But you need to figure it out. I can do nothing."

Twilight looked down, away from the Princess, at the hardwood. And the torrent hit her suddenly and massively. She let out a quiet sob, and wiped at her eyes, feeling her face contract. In a quick movement, Celestia, as large and powerful and immanent as she was, leaned forwards and wrapped her in a gentle, silent half-embrace.

It wasn't like she hasn't cried in front of her lifelong mentor previous, but she was... ashamed is the best word. And, honestly, terrified. Because all she knew was that there was a plan. But what it entailed - a mystery. And she knew better than to ask.

Fluttershy would have been last on the train, but she looked around and answered the question on all the everypony's minds. "She's coming. She'll be about five minutes."

They waited, chatting quietly, the dourness of the situation settling on them as they realized the fifth of the friends was still lying, dead to the world, two trains away, surrounded by machines and lab coats. When Twilight arrived, there wasn't much of a difference.

She walked in, taking her sweet time, looking at her hooves. As Pinkie rather figured would happen, she sat right next to her, and wrapped her forelegs around her, pulling her back legs up onto the soft red cushioned seat. Dash tapped her hoof a couple times on the metal bars below. "... Wanna talk?"

"I just - just want to think."

"Tell us when, darling. I would love to help," Rarity added, quietly.

"I have to do something. Soon." A beat. "AJ's going to be fine, I think."

The conversation slowly grew back to normal over the hour before they got back to Ponyville.

Author's Note

And thus begins Squeecember.
In October.
I am very good at pun.

Part Twenty-Eight - Maddening, Part 1

"It's two."

Consciousness was sharp. The words dropped through her dream like a coin into water, breaking a path behind it, dissolving it. She lifted her head from her hooves. They were sweaty and moist and gross and she tasted sleep in her mouth. "Is - is Pinkie still here?" she asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, she's downstairs." Spike only capped a couple inches over the bedside, and he had to look up to find her eyes. "Why did you want me to wake you up at two?"

"I didn't need more sleep," she yawned, feeling all of a sudden as though that was a lie. "I need to study." She ran her tongue along her teeth and looked around her room, out the window. It all seemed like yesterday, but it was will today. Naps made her think like that.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Study what." It was rhetorical, but she answered it.

"Oh, uh, something about the Elements. In fact, could you get me the section on those?

Spike nodded, and turned to the door, but paused. "Wait, the section? The whole section?"

"Yeah. It's only, like, ten books. Get Pinkie to help you."

"She's making cookies," he replied, claws on hips.

"Of course she's making cookies. Fine, I'll help," she groaned, and stretched out on the bed before sliding off. Gravity felt funny. Everything felt funny. And her head hurt. Did she eat breakfast? Or lunch? No, she didn't. Eating was overrated, she needed water. "Actually, wait for me at the shelf, I need a drink."

"Right," he replied, and disappeared out the door.

She put a hoof on her face, dragging it downwards. Why did things have to be so complicated? It'd only been a couple weeks for them. Maybe a couple months. And this had to happen. Just as she'd settled down, gotten comfortable, really started to feel that her marefriend was a marefriend. This had to happen.

Well, take it as it comes, she thought, and trotted down to the stairs. There weren't too many ponies in the library, just two at the back as far as she could see, and with the natural light hitting her at full-force as her eyes caught the window, she felt a surge of 'awake' in moments.

She couldn't even get down the third step when she heard "Twi? You up?" from across the main room, from the kitchen.

"Yeah," she called back, and trotted down the rest, waiting for what she was pretty sure would happen.

It did. Pinkie burst from the kitchen doorway, a plate of cookies balanced to an unlikely degree on her head. "Guess what I made?" she sang, and bounced over. "Try one! They're butterscotch."

"Where'd you get butterscotch?" she asked, and levitated one from the pile. "I didn't think I had any."

"I did. I just ran home and got it."

And as to be expected, "Wow, Pinkie, this is really good." She paused, looked down at it, and smiled. Bright tan, perfect brown on the edges. Sugar on top. "No wonder you bake."

"It's the confectioner's sugar that makes it melty. You know science, that's how it works," she added, with a giggle.

"And you're certainly feeling better," she commented, finishing the cookie.

"Yeah, it doesn't last long, apparently," she replied, and moved to balance the platter. "Can you, uh, take these?"

"No problem." She set them down carefully on the stairs, and looked over at her. A bright ecstatic grin, a constant bouncing in place, a softness in her eye. It felt right. Back to normal. But it wasn't. She still had work to do all day, Applejack was still lying on some hospital bed with tubes hooked up to her. They were in a spot, and no matter how normal it felt, she couldn't let herself off her guard.

Pinkie noticed her smile falter, probably. "You alright?"

"I'm fine. It's fine, I'm just thinking." Her smile picked up and she leaned forwards for a little kiss. "Love you."

"You, too," she replied, and returned the affection, reaching a hoof up to her cheek, drawing her forwards and making a little kiss bigger than necessary. "Don't work yourself too much. I'll be down here if you need me."

Twilight clicked her tongue. "You don't have to do that. I'll be a few hours."

"I don't have anything else to do today. I'm off work, I haven't got anything planned... I mean, you know, I'd rather stick around and be moral support," she said, with a laugh.

"Uh..." She went through her mind for something Pinkie could do that wouldn't waste her time. "Do you have any upcoming, like, parties or something?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Why are you trying to get rid of me so fast?"

"I mean, it's a few hours. I just don't want you to wait up on me." She paused. "... Did you meet up with the Cakes?"

"Uh..."

"That's a thing you could do, right? Rather than use up everything in my kitchen baking," she added with a pointed grin.

Pinkie sighed, and looked out the window as well. "I mean, I could. If you really want me to."

Twilight's grin lost its edge, and she put a hoof on Pinkie's neck. "Hey. I'll take you to dinner later. Whenever you show up." She levitated another cookie over to her. "Did you try one?"

"Not yet," she said, and took it from her with one bite. "Hm. Less salt."

"They're good. Don't nitpick, come on."

She giggled. "Alright, I'll do it. But don't expect me to be more than an hour or so."

"Deal."

She grinned. Whenever she smiled, at all, the corners of her eyes turned up naturally like they would on anypony, but her cheeks rounded more like they were nothing but fluff. It was always a full, genuine smile, and it was always in supply. Another small kiss and a 'bye' and she was out the door.

Twilight frowned as the door closed. For just a moment, a concept popped into her mind like an subatomic particle, into and out of existence in a blink. I don't want to do anything today.

But the flood of information swarmed back and killed it, Applejack and the Elements and what it all had to do with her. And she tore her stare away from the door and trotted into the forest of shelves, levitating the cookies behind her.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The day went by like liquid. Sunlight melted through the windows early on, drying up as the afternoon waned. Book after book, more and more complex theorems, thousands of words about possible experiments they could take for research. Grants, publicity, professionals. Everything was taken into account.

But at that point, she'd hit a wall. Four perfectly valid experiments into love and friendship-based magic, complemented by a brief economic model and a series of hypotheses and postevent actions. And she could go no further.

That was around seven. She stared at the pages of notes, a familiar sight that smelled of old books and spilled ink, lost in a flurry of disconnected thoughts. Eventually, she simply reorganized and stood to yawn, the break a breath of fresh air.

The autumn moon shone dully at seven o'clock, and she could see it through the balcony. It was bright red, and hot, frictional against the chill in the air. She walked over to it, and thought for a moment, about nothing in particular, like a tuneless whistle. And she walked outside and sat.

Her mind had convoluted into a couple small whispers of thought that seemed to hold some weight to them regardless of their lack of substance. Applejack's issue wasn't over, but she could do nothing for her. She didn't study medical magic, or biological magic. She was helpless. All she had to go on was the word of the Princess - fixed, she said. The Elements could be fixed.

If she hadn't looked down to rub at her nose, she wouldn't have seen the bright pink against the darkening street below. The shadow of a smile found its way onto her face, and she ported down, feeling the tickle of magic on her hooves.

Pinkie reared back before realizing who it was, then chuckled. "Don't do that on purpose. I get scared."

"I know, it's funny. How did it go?"

Pinkie stretched and looked up at the sky. "Well, you know, it was fine. They needed some help with stuff around the Corner, and I just got caught up in it. Sorry it took so long," she added, the phrase drawn-out like a sigh.

"It's cool," Twilight replied, taken a bit aback by the out-of-place apology. "I'm gonna pop in and tell Spike to close up, then we can go wherever."

She nodded, and Twilight walked back to the door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pinkie wasn't smiling.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

They didn't go out for dinner. Not at first. Being out at night was always a bit beyond Twilight's standards - her day was generally very structured, and nighttime was for reading and resting. The season had turned around and shortened the days, and, despite how early it was, it was already dark. Being out on the town under the stars and in the chill of evening felt free, invigorating. And Twilight wasn't quite ready to go inside another stuffy building yet.

Pinkie had asked what else they could do outside at night. There wasn't much to do at all, she said, and Twilight figured she would know. So they found their way back down to the river, and they were sitting, leaning together, their quiet conversation merging with the noise of the cicadas and crickets around them.

"It's kind of strange to me," Pinkie was saying, her chin resting against Twilight's shoulder, "that you don't seem to talk about, you know, science and math stuff when we go out. It seems like you would."

Twilight readjusted herself, stretching a hoof further around Pinkie. "I sort of figure you wouldn't be interested. Plus, there are better things to talk about."

"Hm. Like what?"

The thoughts were sitting at the front of her mind, waiting their turn. She breathed deeply for a moment, and leaned up to kiss her gently on the cheek, followed by a long, thoughtful nuzzle. "There's tons today."

"Well, like what?"

"Like, you know, the Elements. Applejack. You being alright, which is pretty awesome," she added with a smile. Pinkie was warm against her, and was moving her hoof just a little against Twilight's side, with a round and silky word like 'stroke' or 'caress'... perhaps it was a good time now. "I... I wanted to ask about something you might not remember."

"Shoot."

The memory was small, and fuzzy, but it was still rather heavy on her mind. "You know - you know you're really close to me."

"Hey, come on," Pinkie said with a giggle. "Give me some credit."

"I'm just putting that out there, okay? You might not remember this at all, but, um, when you were having that problem with the malentro, you said, um," she continued for a moment, trailing off into nothing.

"I'm in total suspense," she said dryly, and broke into a giggle.

Twilight glanced over at her, and she was looking down at the river, a small smile on her face. There was no way she remembered. Perhaps it wasn't a good time. "... Nothing."

"Twilight -"

"Nothing. I'll talk about it later, okay?"

Pinkie leaned back, her eyes darting towards her from the river. "Is it embarrassing?"

Twilight looked away, with some sudden urge to avoid eye contact. "No, it's - not really."

"Then tell me. I wanna know now that you've made a big deal out of it." Pinkie pulled her a bit closer, moving her chin from her shoulder to the top of her head.

Twilight opened her mouth, hesitant. "Are you sure -?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Just say it."

"It's kind of heavy stuff."

Pinkie sighed. "If you really don't want to say it, don't. I don't mind."

"Well," she said, fussing over her words for a moment. "Yeah, I want to save it for later. Or maybe just never. I mean, you were out of it, and I can see why it would be kinda weird to bring it up." She paused. "You really have no idea what I'm talking about?"

"Nope. I don't remember a lot of this morning."

There was a quiet moment, as Twilight laid back and brought Pinkie down gently with her. "... Do you want to know something interesting?"

"Does it have to do with science and math stuff?" Pinkie asked, with a proud little grin at her segue.

Twilight laughed, and rolled over against Pinkie's side, throwing a foreleg across her chest. "No. I was just thinking, and I looked up something earlier today for no particular reason. Apparently," she continued, "you set me off."

"I don't understand wh-"

"I'm not done yet, I don't expect you to understand." She smiled, putting a hoof lazily over her mouth. "Shush. Basically, some ponies aren't driven romantically or sexually or anything in those terms. But then every once in a while some event occurs and some of those ponies find their way onto the spectrum of sexuality."

Pinkie was silent for a moment, then started a chesty chuckle, slow and increasing - a good, hearty one. "So you're -" she began, and cut herself off with more laughter. Twilight followed suit, pulling away and sitting up. "You're saying that I did that? To you?"

"I don't know. I guess," Twilight replied, with a cough finding its way through her smile. The only reason she was laughing anymore at all is because Pinkie was, and Pinkie's laugh was the flu. "Maybe."

"It's rich!" Pinkie shouted into the sky. "I mean, you're the first mare I ever asked out. And it worked for some odd reason."

"It seems like the probability for it happening to begin with was pretty low," Twilight replied, her voice low. It was an odd thought, and for some misplaced reason it hit hard.

"I think it's ironic."

"Absolutely dripping with irony."

Pinkie snorted, and sat up. "Just paint me a picture with your words," she returned, her voice laden with false pretense.

"As I gaze up at the inky black sky," she began rhetorically, adapting a caricature of a regal voice and throwing her hoof above her.

"The sky is blue," Pinkie interjected, pointing at her and sitting up beside her.

Twilight glanced at her, and back at the sky. "... What are you, colorblind?"

"No-no-no, it's blue. It's still blue. Just dark blue," she continued, her giggle breaking her sentence apart. "A very dark blue," she added, imitating Twilight's regal voice.

"It is that which is so monstrous ordinarily," Twilight finished. "Is there any place that is better? Is there any place that has so much stretched out?"

"Don't, with the weird voice," Pinkie managed. "I'm gonna die."

"I'm gonna get hiccups," Twilight replied, holding a hoof to her chest in an attempt to calm herself. She was able to slow her breathing - moderately - and looked over at Pinkie, whose laughter was beginning to fade as well.

It wouldn't ever stop feeling amazing to kiss her. It was only once or twice before then that Twilight had held her tightly just above the hips and brought her forwards, and it was probably her favorite way to get lips from point A to point B - every time she did that, Pinkie would always be surprised just for a moment and then lean into it, not quite taking control. This time, she framed Twilight with her forelegs, resting one across her shoulder and tenderly smoothing down the back of her mane and reaching the other around her, pulling her forwards.

"Wow," Twilight said as well as she could without pulling away. "You've gotten really good."

"I know it's your - it's your favorite - " Pinkie replied, her voice quickly falling to a hoarse whisper. In a moment, she'd pulled away, retracting her hooves a little.

Twilight gave her a questioning smile. "Well, yeah, so keep going."

Pinkie tried to return the smile, but it fell away again. "Y- yeah, sorry, one - one second," she murmured, staring at her with her big, bright blue eyes.

Twilight felt a heat rush through her, its reason shifting midway. First, she just wanted Pinkie's embrace back, a primal sort of desire. And then she saw Pinkie's eyes. They weren't loving, they weren't soft. They were wet and they were scared. "... Pinkie?"

Her mouth opened as though she was going to respond, but after a second she closed it again, biting her lip and looking away.

"Pinkie, is that problem back, because I need to know if -"

"No, it - Twilight, I -" she stammered, putting a hoof over her face. "I love you. I love you so much." She leaned forwards again, suddenly, but instead of a kiss, she buried her muzzle into Twilight's shoulder and wrapped her forelegs around her even tighter. It wasn't firm, it was tight, with no gentleness at all.

"Pinkie - are you alright?" Maybe the malentro did have a lasting effect. How long would it last? Had it stopped being random and just weakened her emotional stability? Please, just let it be over. She hugged back.

"I'm sorry," Pinkie whispered muffled into her shoulder. "I don't know how it happened."

"How what happened?" Twilight asked, softly, stroking her back.

Pinkie's hooves found their way to almost their original positions, and she held Twilight's head close to her own. "I - I can't tell you," she began, interrupting herself with a quiet sob.

"Wh - Pinkie, don't, um, don't cry," she started, suddenly losing her words. What was happening? Where did the laughter go? "You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't -"

"Tell me what happened," Twilight interrupted her, trying to pull away and look at her but held tight.

"I can't," Pinkie whispered, with another sob. "I couldn't."

"Tell m-"

"You'll hate me, I know you will," Pinkie said, her breath quickly getting more shallow. "I can't tell you."

That was it. Twilight magicked Pinkie apart from her, and sat her up. Her mane was already a mess, her cheeks were matted with tears. She covered her face with her foreleg. "I'm sorry," she repeated, rubbing at her eyes and sobbing again.

"How - how dare you say that. I can't hate you, Pinkie. I wouldn't ever," Twilight replied with a scowl, a bit of an edge in her voice. "Tell me what happened." She lingered on each word. Pinkie turned away, her foreleg still over her face. A sudden frustration welled in her, and she forced it away magically, to a gasp from Pinkie.

She looked up, partially in shock, and shrunk away from Twilight's expression. "I... d-don't get mad at me," she stammered. "I'm begging you. I couldn't - I couldn't bear it. Celestia, I come all this way and th-this happens," she murmured, wiping at her eyes again.

"Pinkie. I..." She paused, and laid a hoof on her marefriend's. It seemed natural at the moment; she didn't realize she was doing it. "I don't know what happened, yet, so I might get mad at you. But I won't hate you."

Pinkie looked down at their hooves, and nodded. "I feel so awful," she said, her voice only barely audible. "I didn't mean to, but I - I have to let you know. I should have let you know earlier. I was scared - distracted. I'm sorry."

"Pinkie."

She inhaled. "I wasn't at the Cakes'."

Twilight waited for a moment. "Is that -"

"No - it - I just don't want to say it." She shook her head. "I met - I met Trixie along the way. To Sugarcube Corner."

Twilight stared at her, the light from the stars above beginning to dim the longer she did. It wasn't difficult from there to put two and two together. "... You..."

"I didn't mean to. I didn't," Pinkie said, her head whipping back up. Her eyes were visibly red, even in the night.

Perhaps she was in shock. That was probably it. "Did you..."

Pinkie shook her head quickly. "No! No, no, no, no, no. We - she -" She stopped herself. "We kissed. M-" She paused, again, and swallowed. "More than once. I feel awful."

Less shock. "... Why Trixie? How?" she asked, trying to naturalize her voice.

"No, don't ask. Please don't ask."

"I want to know."

With a quiet, labored sigh, she looked back down at the ground. "She came up to me near the Corner, and she started talking about how glad she was to see me and that I was safe, and then she opened the door. The Cakes weren't home, they were still out at a lunch meeting. We sat down for a while to talk..." She trailed off.

She was a wreck, with more tears falling to the ground every moment. There wasn't anypony she cared more about at that moment than Twilight, and Twilight knew it. At that realization, her shock fell away. It wasn't enough to be upset about. She leaned forwards and hugged her again, silently.

"I - I don't know what happened," she said, not returning the embrace. "She was just s-so happy I was there, and she made a move, and I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything for a couple - for - for a couple seconds. I don't know what happened," she stammered, and sniffled.

"It's okay. Breathe," Twilight whispered. "It's okay, I promise."

"I - I stopped her after a little and I said that I'm with somepony and I couldn't," Pinkie continued, that fear and anxiety showing its face again. "But I didn't stop her right away. I don't know what happened."

"It's nothing to get worked up over," Twilight replied, and sighed quietly against her neck. "It was probably just a leftover part of the effect."

"But I'm scared that - that it wasn't," Pinkie whispered. "She - she's my friend, and I couldn't - I felt that I couldn't just refuse her," Pinkie managed, her voice breaking. "I should have. I - Celestia, Twilight, I cheated on you and I love you."

"You didn't," Twilight interjected. "Don't try to convince yourself of that. It wasn't you - I mean, it doesn't at all sound like the Pinkie I know," Twilight replied firmly, her embrace tightening. "I can guarantee it was something else." Whatever that something was... well, that needed some more research.

"I don't want to do it again. I don't love her."

"I know. Take a deep breath."

She did, and pulled away, still not looking at her. "I didn't mean to."

"Look, Pinkie," Twilight said finally, lifting her chin. "I'm not angry at you. I don't consider it cheating, okay? And it's my take on it that matters here, correct?"

"I... guess," she admitted, and closed her eyes.

"I know you didn't mean to. Don't keep saying it."

"... Okay."

"Will you look at me?"

Pinkie's bottom lip quivered, and she opened her eyes. They were glistening, some lingering wetness still fresh.

Despite herself, and despite the situation, and despite how terrible Pinkie had made quite clear she was feeling, Twilight giggled. A little.

"Wh - what?"

"What can I do to make you feel better?"

Pinkie got the humour as quickly as Twilight expected her to, and the start of a small, sad smile tugged at her lips. "I should be asking what I could do to make it up to you."

"What if you pay for dinner and we call it even?" Twilight suggested, moving her hoof to Pinkie's cheek and down her neck.

Pinkie'd smile broke on the sides, pushed and distorted by some new emotion. "I... I don't deserve you," she said under her breath, nuzzling against her hoof.

It wasn't often, but every once in a while Pinkie was vulnerable. Very vulnerable. And Twilight had never seen that to such an extent. So what else was there to do but kiss her? Just one more time? It wasn't the soft, passive, warm kiss as it usually was. It was forceful, wrapped around strained, stressed lips. It was trying its best to communicate don't worry I love you. "What other pony would be honest about all that?" Twilight asked gently, breaking away only enough to speak.

She was too close to see it, but she felt the smile, full and genuine.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Their position didn't change much once they made their way into the small family restaurant near the centre of Ponyville. It was warmer inside, so they weren't as close, but Pinkie was still leaning lamely against Twilight and Twilight's foreleg was wrapped steadily around Pinkie. As they were waiting for the waiter, they'd fallen back from the mild lightheartedness they'd lapsed into to the quiet embrace from the riverfront.

They were quiet for the longest time, and silent about the issue of the moment. All that really surfaced was a mixture of quips and soft, loving little phrases. Twilight wasn't going along because it was necessarily natural for her, she was going along because it seemed to make Pinkie comfortable. Whatever had happened had set something off in her, and Twilight intended to find out what that was.

"Pinkie," she said during a low point in the conversation.

"Hm?"

"Whenever you're ready," she began, choosing her words carefully, "I'd like to know the whole story."

Pinkie didn't reply for a second. "... I really told you everything."

"It's fine if you don't want to. You don't have to," Twilight responded, unconsciously pressing her lips against the top of her head.

Pinkie frowned, gazing off into the dimly-lit part of the room near the kitchen in the back. The lights above were bright white and almost clinical, making the fluffy, velvety embrace that much stronger in contrast. She inhaled. "We... we went into the back, and we had some hot chocolate, and we must have talked for an hour. And, eventually - and I know I should have seen it coming from how she was talking - she leaned over..." Pinkie paused. "And I remember what she said. She said, 'Let's talk about this like adults', and then she leaned over and kissed me." Her voice rose in pitch a bit. "I didn't know what to do - I mean, I had no idea, so I just let her - and..."

Twilight kissed her cheek, longer than a cheek kiss usually lasts. "I don't want you to think it's a really big deal," she reassured her. "In the end, it doesn't even matter. The more I think about it, the less I mind. On your part."

Pinkie lifted her head to look at her. "Don't blame Trixie," she said, nearly in a question or a whine. "She's, you know, she's in a tough place right now, and - and I don't think she was thinking right." She trailed off as though she had more to say, then closed her mouth.

"Here's what we'll do," Twilight began, her voice level. "Tomorrow, we'll go talk to her. Together."

"Twilight -"

"And we'll tell her nicely to forget about it, and we can all go on with our lives."

At this, Pinkie stared down at her glass, and nodded.

Twilight rubbed her back. "So we have everything all wrapped up?"

She nodded again.

Twilight smiled. "So we can go back to a nice night out."

Pinkie glanced over at her, for a second, and back at the glass. "I didn't mean to ruin tonight."

Twilight giggled, again despite herself. "Pinkie. Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie," she said, stepping down the syllables like stairs. "I'm just glad to be out."

She gave a stunted little smile in return.

In the restaurant around them, there were a couple small gatherings of ponies, from couples to social groups to loners out for a cup of coffee before bed. They were all wrapped up in their own worlds, like Twilight was in theirs. Her vision panned left, across the darkened, reflective street windows and out into the street-lamplit town. "You remember our first kiss?" she asked quietly.

Pinkie chuckled lowly. "I couldn't forget it."

Twilight leaned back against the booth seat. "For the life of me, I couldn't recount how I'd planned that out, or why I did what I did. I expected a huge scene in my head, with the lake and a kiss and some kind of deep meaning to it all, but it turned out to just be a kiss."

"Funny how it became your thing," Pinkie replied, rolling her glass on its base.

She didn't try to hide the grin. "I don't even like the word. 'Kiss'. It's too squeaky and hissy."

"Hm? What?"

"The word. It's weird to say."

Pinkie leaned back as well. "Huh. Kiss. Kissss. I guess I can see where you're going with that," she responded, readjusting her hooves and pulling Twilight closer.

She looked over at Pinkie, who was staring back, her irises even larger than normal in the fluorescent lights. The words found their way out before she'd measured them. "You said you wanted to marry me."

Pinkie sputtered on air, and shook her head. "I'm sorry -?"

"That was the thing I was talking about. This morning, you were out of it, and you said that."

"W - Twi - I don't - it - you can't expect - I was -" she stuttered, tripping over each syllable.

She giggled. "No, I know. I just think that, if you came up with that when you weren't quite right in the head, you - well, it's sweet," she finished concisely.

Pinkie simply stared. Twilight could feel it on the side of her head, but didn't return it, and let the words sink in. Don't worry I love you. It took a few seconds before she giggled again, more real this time, and pushed her face away jokingly. "Don't."

"I..." She trailed off. "I can't - I can't say anything, Twi."

Her giggle fell to a grin, and she shook her head at the corniness. "Do you want me to stay over tonight?"

Pinkie returned with a giggle of her own, infectious as it was. "I don't know. Not tonight, I don't think. I'll probably cry and it'll just be awkward."

"You cried the first time, and I didn't think it was awkward."

"Well, trust me," Pinkie replied simply, and folded her forelegs across her chest. "Where's the waiter?"

"Come on. I'm asking."

Pinkie's smile grew back to normal proportions for the first time in an hour. "... I mean, if you insist," she said, and accepted her quick kiss. But a sudden hoof on her cheek kept her from pulling too far away, and they remained face-to-face for a good few seconds, the blue in Pinkie's eyes stunning her a bit. "... I want you to know how sorry I am."

"I understand, Pinkie," Twilight replied gently. In a moment, finally, her brain found what it thought was a good solution to the conversation. "I forgive you."

It worked. Pinkie smiled again, and spent the rest of the evening rubbing every once in a while at her eyes.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was magic.

The sounds of the room and the world outside of the room had died to nothing. All she could feel was the lips, like fire, on her own, and the breath against her face. It was visceral, electric. And to her great surprise, she didn't seem to be pulling away.

She felt herself move away, and back, each touch building another wall between her and reality. But, of course, reality came crashing back like a wrecking ball, crushing the dream she'd been weaving. She felt forceful hooves on her shoulders, pushing her backwards, away. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked up at Pinkie, whose breath was short and who was backed up against the arm of the couch, her mouth open noiselessly.

She couldn't find anything to say. There wasn't anything to say, except what was on her mind, and eventually its filter to her mouth broke. "... Just say you don't love me."

Pinkie's mouth moved, finally, but her eyes were growing more anxious by the second.

She gritted her teeth, a frustration she'd never felt before welling up inside her. What could have possibly prevented this whole thing from happening? It was her luck, her awful luck. The words spilled out. "Just tell me you don't love me so I don't have to hope."

Pinkie looked down, and back up at her, shaking. "I - I don't. I can't."

The words hurt. They impacted her one at a time, cannonball after cannonball. She doesn't, and she couldn't. She felt the tears in her eyes, pushing against her skull. But she refused to let them out.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Pinkie said quietly, still kind even in such a circumstance. "Y-you know I'm with Twilight." She paused, relaxing a little bit as Trixie tensed more. "I may always be."

"I..." She began, language failing her. Memory of the kiss returned, followed by the ghost of the hooves on her shoulders. "I - l-love you." The words were odd, sweet and sudden, flowery and curtain-call dramatic. And she thought it may have been true, if she hoped it wasn't.

Pinkie slid off the couch and stood. "Thanks for the hot chocolate," she said gently, and dragged a hoof along the ground for a moment, apparently at as much of a loss for words as Trixie was. "W - we can talk about it later."

Trixie let her leave, so she could break a mug (just for the noise) and think. The tears had escaped her.

They had returned, a shell of the original feeling, as Trixie stood in the cold outside of the library. One or two, nothing important. She blinked them away, keeping an eye down each path. After everything they'd done, Pinkie meant something to her. Something real, something personal. Something Trixie hadn't really experienced before. And, even though she wasn't over-the-top attracted to her, she felt maddeningly close in the worst possible way.

So she and Twilight were going to have a good heart-to-heart.

Author's Note

Yes, Part 2 is planned out. No, there won't be a Part 3, but this arc will be part of the rest of the story, to some extent.

Part One - Recognition

Act I

It wasn't at all a regular day in Ponyville. It was too... perfect. The lilac unicorn mused about this as she sat comfortably on the side of her bed, looking contentedly out of the portcullis-like window in front of her. The musky scent of ancient books, combined with the gentle summer breeze floating in through the aperture, played with her senses.

She sighed, perfectly content. Nothing at all could ruin this mood. Her horn agreed, and sent a shower of sparks out of its end. She gasped, and shook her head, checking to make sure there hadn't been anypony around to witness that. It could have been quite embarrassing.

Her eyes darted back to the grimoire that lay open in front of her, returning to their focus: the research of magic itself. Now, as an honoured student of Princess Celestia, she had been over the idea of magic in the past, but... today, the actual nature of magic seemed to pique her interest.

'Magic has always been a part of the unicorn race, always been a part of our mindset and a part of our personal impetus to learn and to live. In fact, magic has become one of the most reliable and relied-on things by unicorns in all of Equestria. Magic stems from the heart, and from belief, and from pure emotion. Love, anger, pain, and joy are where the heart and home of magic truly lies.'

The eloquence of this made Twilight shudder ever so slightly. She closed her eyes, letting still-retained phrases roll around in her mind. '...stems from the heart, and from belief, and from pure emotion...' '...love, anger, pain, and joy..' Each syllable seemed custom-made for her personal enjoyment. Perhaps she should start writing poetry. How do words rhyme again? -

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The pink mare awoke to the darkness, cool and crisp. She awoke slowly, but breathlessly; as though the dream had pressed the air from her lungs. There was little to think about as her drowsiness deteriorated. She'd been having these dreams, on and off, for a good four months now.

The dreams weren't... nightmares; they weren't particularly frightening. What was truly frightening, though, was the perspective. These dreams of hers had always taken place from Twilight's perspective, and Pinkie experienced the same excitement towards literature and the same drawn-out thoughts that Twilight would have. Or that she assumed Twilight would have.

Bibliophilia wasn't high at all on Pinkie's entertainment list, and she had never been as thoughtful or intelligent as Twilight. She admired that about Twilight - her ability to actually grasp concepts, both abstract and realistic. Math, science, language, magic, psychology, theoretical physics - it was all contained in a mind the same size of Pinkie's.

But, although it may put off anypony else, Pinkie took comfort in the idea that another mare her age could amass so much knowledge and discernment. She'd tried her best in the past to be calm, nonchalant, focused, knowledgeable - but it had never worked out well for her.

Twilight was Pinkie's sturdy ground. Pinkie knew that somepony else could easily ignore her, or disown her, or, if they were as intelligent as Twilight, rub their knowledge in her face. But that seemed impossible for Twilight; she'd never been rude or insulting to Pinkie. It was just in her nature to be a kind soul. And Pinkie loved it.

Pinkie leaned forward in her bed, stretching out so as to wake herself more. She always got up before the sun... it was just part of her character to be active all day round. And before that could happen, she had to stop being sleepy.

In the darkness of her room, she debated with herself whether or not to wake up at all today. She had nothing to do anyways... she was off from work, she had no appointments set up, and it wasn't even enough of a holiday to throw a party.

She sighed, and laid across her bed on her stomach. Sleep no longer came easily to her; she wasn't tired anymore.

With a few groans, she slid herself out of the bed and landed unsteadily on her hooves, shaking her head back and forth to keep her mane out of her eyes. She walked slowly to the bathroom, her eyes half-lidded.

Pinkie knew she would think of something eventually, even if it was just walking around town. Maybe she could organize enough ponies to play a game of soccer or something (sports had always been one of Pinkie's few skills).

It was hard to wake herself up in the mornings, recently... the temptation of sleep often overwhelmed her. But not today. After a few moment's consideration, she decided she could go over to Twilight's that afternoon. After all, not even Twilight could study all day, right? That means she had to have free time.

Pinkie was standing at the sink, trying with difficulty to curl the back of her mane - it straightened out overnight. Suddenly, an odd, confusing thought popped into the back of her mind. Why am I thinking about Twilight so much?

Just like every other strange thought to enter her head, she was prepared to laugh at it and shake it off, but... she couldn't. Not with this one. Because, as she thought about it, she began to realize it was true. She was hanging out with her more, trying to talk to her more, and she'd even begun dreaming about her.

Maybe she just liked being around her. No... it was more than that. She loved being around Twilight; she loved doing everything with her. She loved her ideas, her wittiness, her skill at magic, her... voice, her eyes...

Pinkie shook her head again, trying to ignore it - but there wasn't much to ignore. Just one little thought in the back of her head.

The pink mare sighed and closed her eyes. She walked back over to her bed and sat down, her mind feeling as though it was closing in on itself. Why did she have to think about this so early in the morning? If it were later in the day, she may have been able to understand it more easily, or be more comfortable with it, or at least handle it more adequately. But now, she felt disturbed and frightened by the idea.

Could she... how would she... so many thoughts and ideas flew into her head at that moment that she couldn't do much except attempt to clear her mind. How would she be able to work through it? It. It. It was something, wasn't it? She refused to allow the word into her mind. It was silly. It probably wasn't true. It wouldn't work anyways.

She sighed once more and fell back onto her bed. Thinking into the future wasn't one of her strong suits.

I guess I'll just figure this whole thing out when I visit the library this afternoon, she thought, rolling over on the soft, still-warm bed. For now, I'm just gonna relax.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

She left the townhouse smelling like cupcakes and carrying a full covered basket in her mouth. She hoped the cupcakes would make up for her not making plans in advance.

The sun was bright and warm, and the onset of fall was negated for a moment or two, and she smiled, skipping cheerfully down the centre road of Ponyville. Even though all the shops were closed for the holidays, most of the other residents of Ponyville were out and about, having a walk down the cobble stone just because it was such a nice day.

The library wasn't too far from Pinkie's apartment (recently acquired and broken in with an excellent party), so she arrived at the heavy wooden door of the treehouse soon after she left. She knocked twice on it, expecting Spike to answer as he always did.

However, Pinkie was greeted only by silence. Since it was, of course, a public library, the door was left slightly open. Pinkie nudged through the crack and walked slowly into the main room, that faintly-familiar smell reaching her instantly. She walked over to the desk, covered in scrolls and papers and thick books (some in languages she couldn't even recognize), with a little brass bell and a well-written sign reading "Ring For Assistance" in lavender ink.

Whenever Pinkie was in the library, which, granted, was not often, she felt comfortable, like she was at home. It was warm, friendly, lived-in, and... something else she couldn't place. She assumed that Twilight kept the place neat, which was true, but now she began to wonder whether the feeling of comfort was something more than just the atmosphere.

Right then, though, Pinkie wasn't feeling comfortable at all. She hadn't felt comfortable the entire day, ever since that little thought went off in the back of her mind. But, as Pinkie Pie, she had instituted a name for herself, and refused to go against it. She had to give off an aura of comfort and joy. It was her shining characteristic.

The library was silent; but, of course, she was only in the lower level. She walked slowly up the mahogany flight of stairs, pausing to regain her self-control. If the idea she'd had that morning was correct... she didn't want to think about it. In fact, perhaps today wasn't a good day to drop by the treehouse. Perhaps she should just turn back and make plans instead of just showing up. Halfway down the stairs, she felt the basket in her mouth and scowled at herself. You're just being nice, Pinkie. Follow through. What's the matter with you?

With this, she turned back and trotted up the steps.

Twilight had been re-shelving books since Spike had left earlier for ink. The walnut ink had gone bad, and since they'd found it out, Twilight had looked through twelve instructional and informative books on ink, but still didn't really understand why or how. That dropped her morale slightly.

When she heard the door open, she didn't have the patience to turn her head around to greet the visitor; besides, she assumed it would be Spike.

"You're back early, Spike," Twilight said, still not looking at the visitor. "I thought it would take you l-" She turned. "Oh. Uh, hi, Pinkie."

"Heya, Twilight!" Pinkie said, dropping the basket. "I brought cupcakes!" she said triumphantly, motioning with her hoof to the wicker basket.

"That's great, Pinkie," Twilight replied in an almost-convincing voice. "Not to be rude, but, uh, what brings you around? What's, um, what's up?"

Pinkie smiled. "No reason! Just 'cause there wasn't anything else to do!"

Twilight smiled politely in return. "Well, as long as you're here, can you help me restock these books? I've been trying to organize them for the past few minutes."

"Sure!" Pinkie replied, and the pair set to work on the small pile of old books sitting in front of Twilight.

Pinkie tried to keep up chatter (and therefore keep up appearances), but noticed the stumbles she made. She could feel that she was nervous. She tried not to say anything about it, or let it show. Until, of course, she felt the warmth of a blush spread across her face, and looked quickly away, glad that Twilight didn't seem to notice.

Eventually, though, a temptation got to Pinkie. The silence was heavy, pressing on her like she was at the bottom of a lake. She began to feel a rush in her head and her chest, and glanced over at Twilight. This didn't happen the last time they saw each other, last Friday. Or did it? She couldn't remember. She didn't care.

In the relative silence of the library, she could hear her friend's breathing, and she could feel her heartbeat. Just the pulse of motion from her. She could see her out of the corner of her eye, moving individual books to their places with her magic. Her body was lean, but not particularly thin; near perfection. Especially when you came to her mane... it was just so smooth-looking, so silky, and the color of midnight itself - while Pinkie's wasn't the color of anything natural. Nothing natural matched the bright pink in her mane. It was just bubblegum, while Twilight's was...

There was definitely a respect for Twilight, but there was also something more. There was something that Pinkie herself couldn't really describe.

"Twilight."

"Yeah, Pinkie?"

"... When's Spike gonna be back?"

"Maybe ten minutes, at the rate he's going. Why?"

She dragged a hoof along the rug beneath her, scene after scene wildly running through her mind. And she became suddenly and frighteningly un-Pinkie.

"Oh. I - I have to go," Pinkie stuttered, making her way out of the room. "You can keep the basket -" she said before disappearing behind the light purple door of the library's second floor. Twilight cocked her head confusedly to the left, and shook her head. She'd seen enough of Pinkie to understand by now that she... just did stuff like that.

Once out of the room, Pinkie's stomach finally unclenched itself, but her heart rate was far from returning to normal. Why was she so nervous around her friend? It just became too much, she thought painedly. She paused at the bottom of the stairs, a sudden desire hitting her. There was nothing she wanted more than to run upstairs and just shout and cry and hug Twilight so hard she would pop and Celestia her head hurt. What was going on?

The word floated into her mind silently. Then the fear set in and she trotted for the door.

Author's Note

[Edited]

Part Four - Confessions

"But, but Applejack, I'm not..."

Pinkie was standing shakily in front of Applejack, surrounded by thousands of apple trees. Pinkie had decided earlier to gather advice from everypony who could help, and Sweet Apple Acres was closest to her apartment. She'd been talking everything over with Applejack for the past half an hour.

She shifted her view to the ground beneath her. "I'm not really that brave."

"Right," Applejack snorted. She was leaning against one of the numerous apple trees surrounding them, facing Pinkie. "Ah've always known ya to be outright. As far as ah can remember, ya haven't been any measure of shy or even kept a secret before. Why would ya start when it counts?"

"Because this really matters to me! This is really... important to me." She paced a little bit, forwards and backwards, trying to configure her words before she said anything stupid. "It would be hard for me to just come out and say it. I'd make myself look like an idiot. Like I always do."

"Even if there's so much ridin' on this, it doesn't mean ya can't take a chance. It takes a gamble to win the pot. That's what mah daddy always told me, and it works just as well in this situation."

"I'm still not sure whether I can just say it like that. What if I mess up?"

Applejack sighed, and walked towards the still-pacing pink mare. "Ah don't think that the way ya say it'll make much of a difference, Pinkie," she said, placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "If it'll work out, it'll work out. If it ain't, it ain't. And I doubt Twilight'll hate ya fer anything; but ya just gotta trust in fate."

Pinkie shook her head, and bit her bottom lip again. She could now clearly see the obstacle that she was meant to scale, looming over her like the great mountain range always looking down on the town below. It wasn't the actual asking that frightened her the most, or even the rejection, it was how Twilight would take it. Pinkie had no idea how somepony like Twilight would react to that kind of thing.

Suddenly, she wasn't sure whether she was up to it. "Maybe I'll tell her later," she thought aloud.

Applejack was quick to remedy this. "No, no, no, ya should definitely do it as soon as possible. Today. Puttin' it off'll make doin' it harder and harder until ya'll just give up. Ya can't give up, Pinkie. Ya told me how important it is to ya. Ya gotta do it."

Pinkie let the impact of what Applejack said sink in slowly, before she nodded twice. "You're right. I need to. But," she added, "I should ask Fluttershy what to do first. Maybe she could help...?"

"Fluttershy knows?"

"Yeah."

"...Is she okay with it?"

Pinkie didn't want to reveal anything about Fluttershy before she had the chance to announce it. "Yeah, she's fine with it."

At this, Pinkie thanked Applejack for her help quietly and made her way to the front of the farm. Next stop - Fluttershy's.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Fluttershy?"

The mention of her name made the light yellow pegasus stop pacing. The voice was recognizably Pinkie's. Fluttershy stood for a second, facing the door, head cocked, and took two steps towards it.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie called for a second time, and knocked twice. She needed desperately to speak to Fluttershy; she'd almost made her decision, but she felt as though Fluttershy would give her the most helpful advice. "Are you there?"

Fluttershy nodded, then, realizing a door was separating them both, called out, "It's open." She continued her nervous pacing, returning to the little circle she'd mentally mapped out on the kitchen floor.

Pinkie quietly entered the house, not interrupting Fluttershy's concentration. As Pinkie watched, Fluttershy stopped, looked to the ceiling, and looked to Pinkie, muttering something anxiously under her breath. She blinked a few times, not tearing her gaze from Pinkie, and shook her head a bit to clear her thoughts.

She smiled warmly, her mood changing as though she'd just come out if a trance. "Hello, Pinkie, I'm so glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you about something. Oh," she said, realizing how rude she'd been. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be so blunt. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I guess - I mean, I wanted to talk to you about something, too. Can we -" she said, motioning to the living room.

"Oh, yes, of course," Fluttershy replied. "Go on ahead; um, would you like anything to drink? I mean, I have lemonade, iced tea, wh-"

"No, I'm fine. I hope I won't take long." Pinkie had already been rather worried about Fluttershy since she saw her pacing, but now that she was so uncharacteristically talkative, she decided that it would be best to leave her to whatever she was doing.

"So," Fluttershy said, sitting down on the soft white couch in the living room, "you go first."

Pinkie sat across from her friend in a comfortable yellow armchair. She no longer felt any aversion to speaking openly to Fluttershy; she merely focused herself and began. "Fluttershy, I'm thinking about telling Twilight."

At this, Fluttershy grew visibly concerned. "What?" Pinkie asked. "What's wrong? Should I not?"

"No, no, no," Fluttershy assured her. "Nothing's wrong with it. I was just... surprised." Seeing no reaction from Pinkie, Fluttershy continued. "I'm thinking of... telling Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie suddenly felt guilty inside. She felt as though she caused Fluttershy to want to reveal her secret. This would have been great in another context - they could do it together; but it made Pinkie feel guilty (and, truthfully, nauseous) because she was almost certain that Dash wasn't a - was - that she wasn't like them.

Pinkie couldn't bear to stand by and let Fluttershy get hurt, especially by somepony she obviously cared for. But she had no idea how to tell Fluttershy. She assumed it wouldn't happen to her; after all, Twilight had never even begun to reveal her sexuality to anypony. But that meant anything could happen.

"Fluttershy," Pinkie said, "are you sure you want Rainbow Dash to know so soon?"

"Soon?" Fluttershy asked. "We've known each other for years." She blushed. "I've always considered her... you know; I mean... um..."

"B-but I'm not sure whether -" Pinkie stopped herself. She looked up at Fluttershy. "Well, what if... we found out together?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean, like, we tell them together, I mean we do it at the same time and meet up afterwards." She bit her bottom lip for a second or two. "For better or for worse."

Fluttershy thought for a second. "If..." she began, and stopped for a moment, thinking out what she would say. "If something goes wrong, what do you think'll happen?" Fluttershy had lost her abnormal pep, and had reverted to speaking in a near-whisper.

Pinkie looked up at Fluttershy, with a terribly serious demeanor. "I don't know, Fluttershy." She turned away. "I love her. I don't know what I would do if anything went bad." A few tears rolled down her cheeks, alarming Fluttershy slightly. "What if she'll hate me?"

Fluttershy leaned over and hugged her friend. "I don't know how she'll respond to anything, but if there's anything I know about Twilight, it's that she'll never disown one of her friends." Pinkie hugged back, her sudden emotions dying down.

Pinkie stood and approached Fluttershy, sitting next to her. The two sat in silence for a minute or two, each remembering that short time a few days ago, each feeling almost the same way.

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"I've been wanting to ask this for a while, but I didn't know how, 'cause I didn't want to insult you. Will you please not be insulted?" Fluttershy nodded slowly, and Pinkie continued. "Is your crush on Rainbow Dash, like, um... what's a good word for it?"

"... physical?"

"Yeah."

Fluttershy flushed a light red. "I'm not really sure. I didn't start thinking about that type of thing until a while after I understood it. I didn't consider it being a reason until I started thinking about it... what I think is that it's mainly emotional, but... there's something."

Pinkie remembered when that started happening for her. "That happened to me, too, actually," she said, rather surprised. A sudden thought made Pinkie remember why she was there. "How are we gonna tell them?"

Fluttershy sighed. "I don't know. I was confused at first when I realized you were... like me. I thought I was the only one in Ponyville, if not Equestria." She was visibly upset now. "I never thought it was meant to be, but you gave me some hope that maybe Dash was a... was like me, too."

Just hearing Fluttershy made Pinkie's problems feel lighter. It seemed as though Fluttershy'd never even been exposed to this kind of thing before, at all. She could tell, just by the hollowness in her voice, that she was struggling more with who she was than Pinkie, and, despite the small relief she felt at this, it was still a bitterly depressing sight.

Pinkie stood, staring out the bay window in front of them. The bright greens and blues settled her mind. "Why don't we do it now?"

Fluttershy looked up at Pinkie, and shook her head nervously. "I wouldn't know how."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It had been almost ten minutes after Pinkie arrived at the library door. She'd taken a few extra minutes rehearsing in her head before she actually went ahead with it. The plan was... well, it wasn't as fleshed out as she would've liked. She decided that she would just try her best. Applejack had been right; if it'll work out, it'll work out.

Collecting herself, she opened the door slowly and took a few steps into the library. She looked to her left and right, as though expecting somepony to come out to meet her.

Hearing nothing, though, she stepped further into the room. "Twilight?" she called out, half-hoping that she wasn't there so she would be granted another day of planning.

"Pinkie?" Twilight responded from the second floor. "I'll be right down, gimme a second!"

Pinkie sighed. Twilight was home, and she realized every possible scenario that she'd come up with could happen. Today. Her heart fell into her stomach as she steeled herself, drawing a deep breath. She knew it would have to happen eventually, and it was now or never.

The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Twilight skipped rather quickly down the stairs. "Hi, Pinkie! I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Yeah, I kinda need to talk to you, too." Her voice was weak and far too quiet for her to be comfortable with it. She cleared her throat, hoping Twilight wouldn't notice.

She walked towards Pinkie a bit. "You know, I've been wondering about something."

There was a tension in the silence of the library. Pinkie's pulse began to quicken, and she grew more and more nervous. "Wondering?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could muster.

"Well, you kinda seem like you're avoiding me. What did I do wrong?" Twilight stopped walking towards Pinkie and turned to walk towards the bookshelf.

"What did - what?" Pinkie said in return, genuinely confused.

"Look. I've been reading up on what you've been doing, and everything points to one thing..."

Pinkie swallowed. "One - one thing?"

"Yeah... some kind of loss of friendship." She pulled a book down from the shelf, its gold-emblazoned title reading 'Basic Pony Psychology: Interpersonal Relationships'. She flipped it open and levitated it over to Pinkie. "That's probably not a good thing, for the Elements or, you know, just for being friends. What did I do wrong?"

"A loss of -" Pinkie stopped herself, relieved. She pushed the book away with her muzzle; now would be as good of a time as ever. "No, wait, Twilight, I didn't - you didn't do anything wrong."

"But, but, see, you're quieter around me, and you're avoiding me, and you talk to me less, and..."

"Twilight, wait. Stop." Twilight quickly became silent. "I... uh, Twilight..." She turned her head away from Twilight and blushed deeply. "Twilight, I - rrgh." She stomped her hoof, now a shade of maroon.

"You what?"

"Gimme a second!" She sighed again, and glanced briefly into Twilight's eyes. She squeaked awkwardly, like Fluttershy may have - oh. She remembered the conversation she and Fluttershy had had that afternoon. She concentrated on her friend, who was somewhere out there right now experiencing exactly what she was. If Fluttershy could, she could.

"Twilight, I think I love you."

Twilight took no time at all to respond. "Well, I love you too, Pinkie; I mean, we are best friends, after all -"

"No, no, no, no, wait! Please, listen to me! It's... not that. I think I'm in love with you."

Twilight opened her mouth as though to speak, but her tongue refused to form words. She stood stock-still, staring at Pinkie, who was still looking at the ground, turned away from her

"Wait a second..." Twilight grinned. "Is this like that one prank that you said you played in school with the -"

Oh Celestia, it's happening again. I should never have done that. "How do you even know about -" she interrupted her, and paused, closing her eyes. Deliver. "Twilight..." she interrupted, softly but firmly. "I think I'm in love with you."

Twilight blushed almost as hard as Pinkie had, if not harder. Pinkie was staring at her dead in the eyes, no expression on her face. There was no way Pinkie was lying to her. Twilight found it rather hard to breathe; one of her best friends just admitted an actual attraction. To her. It was strangely flattering, but it was also really uncomfortable.

"Pinkie, nopony's ever said they... loved me before," Twilight said shyly. "Especially not my friend... especially not a mare. I didn't even know..."

"Neither did I. But it wasn't long ago when I realized it was... you. It really is only you. I dated colts in school, and even kinda recently, but nothing's ever worked out." She had locked her gaze on Twilight, not turning away from her since. "Now I realize why."

"I don't think I'm a lesbian, though, Pinkie," Twilight said, still slightly shying away from the pink mare.

"Look," Pinkie sighed, playing everything out in her head. "I'm not trying to insult you or - or anything, but I -"

"I'm not - it's not an insult, it's just - I mean..." she responded, trailing off into murmurs.

There was already too much silence. Why did she think it was a good idea to come into her home and make her so uncomfortable? She pushed these thoughts away and smiled to the best of her ability. "Can you give me a chance?" She held out her hoof to Twilight.

Twilight's brow furrowed in confusion. Embarrassment and confusion swirled around hazily in her mind, filling her to the brim with questions.

Light footsteps echoed throughout the now dead-silent library. Twilight gasped again, this time along with Pinkie, as her reptilian assistant walked through the doorway from the den, carrying a glass of chocolate milk. It was odd how oblivious he seemed to the drama.

He walked between the pair, to their total shock. "Hey, Twi. Hi, Pinkie," he said, continuing on his way to the kitchen.

Twilight stopped him with a hoof. "Hey, Spike," she began, noticing with worry that her voice cracked. "Can you run out and pick up some ice cream for dessert tonight?"

Spike turned around, confused. "You don't keep ice cream in the house anymore. You said it melted too fast and it wasn't safe -"

"We can eat it all tonight. That way it won't melt."

Spike's eyes narrowed, and the silence in the library was overpowering. "...Alrighty then," he said, finished his milk, and walked out the door, throwing a suspicious glance behind him.

Both mares watched Spike leave, and when the door shut, Twilight sighed in relief. She turned back to Pinkie, and laughed nervously.

She sighed again, her blush returning as she was pushed back into the awkward situation. "H-How? Why me?"

"I guess... I just admire you. I don't know how you can be so nice and accepting when I'm acting like... well, like Pinkie Pie. I love the way you always find time to spend with each of your friends, including me." She could feel an embarrassed tickle in her chest. "I don't feel good about avoiding you, but I didn't wanna let anything slip out before I could tell you."

"But you've been avoiding me for almost two weeks..."

"...Yeah."

Twilight didn't know how to respond to any of this. Yes, she liked Pinkie, but she never liked her any more than any of her other friends. But she could see the hope in Pinkie's eyes; she was torn between keeping a friendship intact and advancing it.

"Pinkie, I... I have to say no."

Pinkie blinked a few times and put her hoof down. Her mouth suddenly went dry.

"It's not you, Pinkie, really; I know it's a cliche but it's not you at all. I just don't think I'm ready for anything like that... I mean, I haven't even figured anything out about myself yet." She sighed. "I don't want to ruin what we already have with something so tentative. That's why I hope you can forgive me. Can we stay friends?"

Pinkie's eyes began to burn, but no tears came to them. That was fine with her; she'd rather not have let Twilight see her cry. However, she did have one feeling she couldn't explain to herself: she felt completely calm. Not at all as upset about it as she would've thought. In fact, she looked back up to Twilight, and nodded. "I understand."

Twilight hesitantly gave a small smile. "Thank you."

"I'll just... we'll just pretend that this didn't happen. It would help everypony, including me. We should just forget about it."

"That's... great! Um... I mean, I thought you would've been more broken up. I'm glad to see that I didn't hurt you. You know that I wouldn't ever have tried to do that." She held out her hoof. "Friends?"

Pinkie smiled back, and took her hoof. "Friends."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The sun was starting to set as she left the library silently. She didn't look back. A brilliant purple glow was cast over the clouds above and the ground below as Princess Luna began the night.

Pinkie walked slowly, as she had been the past week. She felt no hurry to go anywhere the past week; she didn't really have a schedule. Everything was focused on Twilight. But now that that was over, she had enough time to get back to her usual schedule.

Over.

This final, ending word gave Pinkie a sense of sadness over the death of a first real romance, but a sense of renewal in that it was finished. Her life was now open to so much more now that the abnormal drama was over.

She hadn't forgotten the plan she'd made with Fluttershy; she made her way to the corner cafe where they planned to meet. She saw her friend sitting at one of the tables alone, with a small smoothie she'd ordered beforehand.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie called cheerfully, and skipped over to give her friend a hug. "How'd it go for you? You tell me first."

"Hi, Pinkie." Fluttershy seemed relatively normal; maybe not as talkative as that afternoon, but nonetheless normal.

Pinkie took a seat across from Fluttershy. "So?" she prodded. "How'd it go?"

"I-I-I failed," she stuttered lowly. She was totally stoic, without any hint of emotion, and was staring intently at the ground. "It took me almost half an hour to asks her. And w-w-when I did, she almost shouted at me and said that she wasn't a lesbian. We were alone, she wouldn't do that in public, but it still scared me."

She couldn't really comprehend it. She just naturally assumed that Fluttershy would have everything go right for her - she was Fluttershy, she basically deserved it. It was silent as she moved over to her and put her hoof over her, but the silence broke as she began sobbing quietly.

"Don't cry, Shy, come on," she said quickly, her own voice breaking. "I don't believe that Rainbow Dash would do that," Pinkie said softly to her friend.

"She said she was sorry," Fluttershy said quietly, her cheeks still wet with tears, "and I could tell she meant it. And she seemed exasperated. And then she hugged me. But it - it s-still hurt."

"Well, I mean, there are other ponies, you know, in the..." she trailed off, wiping away a tear of her own. "...I guess I messed up too," she murmured. "She said no. Fate just didn't... didn't want us to be together." She held Fluttershy's head to her chest, and the two of them sat together, each alone in their own personal disappointment. By the time the tears stopped, it'd already become dark.

Nonetheless, they sat in each other's company at the cafe table for quite a while. She felt comfortable just sitting there with her. She felt like she could rely on her.

Pinkie suddenly felt more than she'd thought; the death of a first real romance would've been enough to shatter her, if it hadn't have been for Fluttershy. By then, just because of that, she felt like they were practically inseparable. When each finally decided to go home, Pinkie finally understood that Twilight wasn't a lost cause; it wasn't over; and there was still enough love for her in Pinkie's heart for her to persevere.

Although it was cliched, Pinkie knew that she would always have a place for Twilight somewhere in her heart. It wouldn't be impossible, for her or for Fluttershy; love always comes around in the end. But she would have to wait. Right?

Part Twenty - Research

Had anypony decided to drop in on Pinkie that morning, they would have opened the apartment door to a viable hurricane of pink fur and frantic babbling. Pinkie had received the hoofwritten invitation at nine-thirty, and switched into 'high' mode when she read 'at 10 AM' on the bottom of the card.

Rainbow Dash had taken it upon herself to draw up invitations for a picnic she was planning. For obvious reasons, that surprised Pinkie a little more than the fact that she only had half an hour to prepare. Dash was setting up a picnic? One thing was certain - it wasn't just a trivial little get-together. There was something odd about it. Beyond that, her left leg had been twitching all morning: that was usually some kind of shock sometime during the day.

She fought briefly with herself over what to bring, before the small voice of reason popped up in the back of her head: The invitation didn't even suggest that you had to bring something... But, of course, as with every other voice of reason, it was soon crushed by all her other thoughts. Lemon drop or shortbread? Why even cookies? Can I come up with a shortbread cupcake?

She decided on shortbread cookies (the quickest of the bunch) and before long, she was out on the street with a saddlebag filled with bags of cookies. What with the high she was feeling from baking so much in so little time, she barely felt the weight. She looked left and right down the street for a reason even she hadn't decided on, and trotted off to the valleys to the east.

Along the way, though, she stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of Mane Street when she heard a voice alongside her. "Hey, Pinkie. You going to the valley, too?"

She whipped her head to her left, still panting from the trip. Twilight was trotting calmly alongside her, levitating an invitation in front of herself and smiling brightly at her. "Twilight!" she shouted, shaking her mane. "Grab onto me!"

Twilight's ears pricked up. "What? What are you -" She was cut off and flipped onto Pinkie's back. Without further warning, Pinkie galloped away as fast as her hooves would carry her, trying to ignore the yelps of protest coming from behind her. She could almost feel the seconds pass by, and wished desperately that she'd be able to arrive just in time for whatever odd event was making her Pinkie Sense go crazy.

Finally, she reached the eastern border of town. When she saw a blanket with spots of blue, orange, and yellow in the distance, she sighed and collapsed onto the hill, sending both her and Twilight (with another shrill little scream) tumbling down the hill.

Both of them hit the bottom with a final tumble and a smack! Pinkie sat up, coughing and shaking dirt from her mane, before looking over at Twilight, who was doing about the same. She stared at her for a second or two and burst into laughter.

Twilight looked up at her, still spitting dirt. "That'th not funny, Pinkie."

"Yes, it - yes, it is!" Pinkie replied, dissolving into frenzied giggles. She felt excellent. Golden. Nothing could touch her. Just like normal. She sighed briefly when Twilight didn't show even a hint of a smile. "Oh, come on. Look around you! It's a great day and I brought cookies! Everything's good!"

Twilight remained still, with a frown on her face, before Pinkie wrapped a foreleg around her and made her giggle. "Alright, alright, okay. Let's just get to the picnic - hopefully in one piece." Twilight stood, shaking her head and offering a hoof to Pinkie, who accepted it gladly. She swung her saddlebags from the ground to her back and walked briskly over to her friends, a wide grin still spread across her face.

"Hey, there, Pinkie!" Applejack called out, waving her over. "Yer 'bout ten minutes early. We're still waitin' on Rarity and Twi - oh," she stopped herself, noticing Twilight stumble out from behind Pinkie.

Twilight chuckled. "Um... hey, every-"

"I brought cookies!" Pinkie interrupted, bouncing around the blanket. "I didn't see anything on the invitation that said I had to, but I did anyway. They're, like, my favorites - shortbread!" She paused to dump the bags on the ground. "Here you go!"

Dash looked up at her. "Uh, thanks, Pinkie. I can't complain, really, but come on, you didn't have to."

"Yeah, I did." She winked.

"No, you didn't."

"Yuh-huh."

"Hey, uh, girls?" Applejack interjected, changing the topic hurriedly. "Rarity's here."

Rarity was making her way down the hill cautiously, taking care not to trip. Her face was hidden by a pair of bright blue sunglasses, and shaded by a large, flat-brimmed sun hat. She reached the bottom with a relieved sigh. "Oh, dear, all kinds of things could have gone wrong there," she muttered, before taking a seat next to Fluttershy. "Good morning, everypony," she said brightly.

Twilight smiled and sat across from her. "Hey, Rarity-" She was barely able to reply before Pinkie plopped down beside her with another short bounce.

"Are we gonna eat whatever you brought first or the cookies?" Pinkie asked.

"Don't you usually eat the meal before the dessert?" Rarity asked in response.

"We're all adults here," Pinkie retorted, giggling as she saw Rarity's face. "Calm down, Rare. What's in the basket, anyways?"

"It smells absolutely amazing already," Rarity commented. After the confused look Applejack shot her way, she added as nonchalantly as she could, "Well, I skipped breakfast this morning."

"Oh, uh, Fluttershy was kind enough to take over preparations when I, uh, didn't - didn't - well, it didn't work out too well for me," Dash said, rubbing the back of her neck. "So we have un-burnt clover-slash-dandelion sandwiches. With, uh, what was it?"

"It's a kind of bread that Pinkie and I made up a while back," Fluttershy replied with a hint of pride.

Pinkie snickered. "Oh yeah. We were messing around with Itailian bread and we just -"

"Hold on a sec', un-burnt clover-and-dandelion... sandwiches?" Applejack asked, badly concealing a grin. "How d'ya burn somethin' ya don't cook?"

Slowly flushing a bright red, Dash glanced over at Fluttershy, who had buried her face in a hoof to keep from laughing. "... None of your business, AJ."

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Twilight grinned as she finished off her sandwich. "Wow. I have to hand it to you, Shy. That was excellent." She turned to Dash. "And you're lucky. Your marefriend knows how to make something other than sweets."

"Don't pretend you don't love it, Twi."

"I do, but it's not healthy, like, at all."

Pinkie snorted and nudged Twilight with a hoof. "Then it's time for exercise, Twi! I recommend - hey, do you know why they call shortbread 'shortbread'?"

Twilight looked back at her, the hint of a smile on her face. "Did you just... interrupt yourself?"

Pinkie shrugged. "So do you know?"

"Ain't it somethin' about shortening?" Applejack chimed in.

Suddenly, Pinkie's back leg exploded into movement, drawing everypony's attention. Applejack's eyes widened. "Did ah say somethin' wrong?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, holding down her aberrant back hoof with her front one.. "Is it time?"

"Time for what, darling?" Rarity asked, backing up from Pinkie's spasms a little.

"It's - it kinda - remember that one time - I don't want to go over it again. It's pretty complicated," Pinkie replied, still holding her hoof down. "It's just - I - thpft. Sorry, can't talk today," she said quickly with a brief chuckle. "My Pinkie Sense has been going haywire ever since I got Rainbow's invitation. There's something ahoof."

"Ya know, ah did kinda think it a bit odd that Rainbow, of all ponies, was setting up a picnic," Applejack mentioned.

Pinkie smiled. "See, Applejack knows what I'm talking about."

She glanced over at Dash, who had begun blushing lightly. "Well, uh, you know, sometimes you just wanna - wanna have a picnic. Or something like that." Fluttershy giggled again.

"Does anypony else think we might have picnics... a bit often?" Twilight asked offhandedly.

Pinkie thought for a moment. "Nah. Not enough, I think." She stretched back a bit before finally settling down. She sat up, her ears perking and her eyes widening. "So what's the deal?"

Dash looked at Pinkie for a second and let out a brief little sigh. "Well, I guess now's as good a time as ever." She opened up the (now-empty) picnic basket and reached inside it, moving something around. There was a sliding, then clicking sound. Rainbow looked over at her marefriend as she pulled a small, long white box out from it.

Rarity gasped along with Fluttershy. "What? What's the deal?" Pinkie asked her in a loud whisper, before being silenced by a hoof to her lips. She turned her head to the pegasi again, her mind working slowly.

Dash chuckled nervously. "With, uh, with that introduction, nothing can possibly go wrong," she began quietly. She cleared her throat and opened the box quickly, revealing a thin, jeweled necklace with three small butterflies shining brilliantly in the middle.

Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof, looking up at Dash in shock.

"Will you... will you marry me?"

A silence descended on the group. Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight were stricken comatose except Rarity; a small smile was frozen on her face, her mouth opened slightly in shock.

Fluttershy looked up at Dash, then back at the necklace, then back at her. "I... I... I don't..." she stuttered.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Rarity spoke softly. "I was led to believe... you had only been together a few months, at best."

Dash looked down quickly, and nodded. "That's about right." She turned to Rarity. "But we've known each other forever. It seems like we..." she trailed off.

Fluttershy wiped at her eyes quickly. "Um... Dash?"

"Sorry?" Dash replied, turning back to Fluttershy.

"I - I would" - at this, Dash's ears perked up again - "but it... I mean, eventually. I will, eventually. I promise," she added, smiling.

Pinkie sat still for a moment in contemplation, before popping into the air and joining the building excitement. The empty picnic basket was knocked out of the way as she tackled the two, enveloping them in tight hug. "Oh my gosh I am so so so so happy for you guys! Can I be the best mare? Can I be the flower girl? Can I be both? Oh, this is so so so exciting! See, I knew I needed to bring something special! Come on, group hug!"

Soon, the two pegasi were covered in their friends - literally - and nearly struggling to breathe. Eventually, Dash got a line in in-between Rarity's squeals and Pinkie's babble: "Hey - uh - thanks, everypony, but, um, can you, like, let us go now? It's hard to think in here."

"Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Sorry, darling," Rarity said, pulling away with an awkward smile. "But - but, I mean, really, this is the kind of thing I was made for. Two of my best friends getting married? Oh, dear, I just want to make everything absolutely perfect!" she finished, looking off into the distance with a gleam in her eye. "... When you're ready, of course," she added quickly.

"Yeah, just... wow," Twilight said, sitting back down. "That's some powerful stuff. How long have you two known each other?"

"Oh, uh... I don't remember," Fluttershy answered quietly, her face still red and her mane still a little messy. "I guess I'm not, um, counting the minutes, right?"

"Come on, Shy," Dash said with a broad smile. "We grew up together! Our parents were old friends, all that stuff?"

"Well, whenever you two're ready, ah'll be there," Applejack said, tipping her hat and chuckling. "What a surprise, though. Ah'd never have expected that." She sighed, and checked the sun. "Ah should probably get back to work. We gotta nest of bats muckin' up the barn." She turned her head to Fluttershy. "Oh, forgot to ask. You wanna come help out?"

"Aw! Fruit bats? Of course!" she said. "I'll be there when I can!"

"Speaking of," Twilight said, standing and shaking her mane a bit, "I need to get back to the library. I have... you know... books to do stuff with. Congratulations, though, you guys, that's... wow!"

"I don't have to go, but it's not as fun if everypony's not here," Pinkie said, waving goodbye to Applejack, her smile falling. "Rarity, are you staying, at least?"

"No, no, no. I wish I could, really, just to start going over - everything about weddings in general, but I have an order I have to fill pretty soon." She sighed and stood, brushing some loose pieces of grass off her coat and levitating her sunglasses to her eyes. "I should be off. Good luck, you two!"

"Oh, uh, Rarity! I needed to talk to you about something," Twilight interjected, trotting alongside her up the hill, their conversation dissolving into whispers.

Pinkie look back at the hill until the two had disappeared, and then back at her remaining friends, and then down at the saddlebag full of shortbread. "Uh... keep the cookies, I guess," Pinkie said, rolling her eyes, before standing and skipping away.

"B - what about the saddlebag?" Dash called out to the quickly-retreating pink mare.

"Keep it! I have twenty more!" came the reply.

Dash sighed, and fell back against the still-dewey grass. She sighed as Fluttershy laid down next to her. "You know, that wasn't how I planned it at all."

Fluttershy smiled gently. "For what it's worth, I'll always remember it." She leaned over and kissed her softly, the events running through her mind like wildfire. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "Dash, I don't know what to say. ... Are you really... that serious about this?" Fluttershy asked quietly, laying a hoof across her marefriend.

Dash looked over at her, her eyes soft. "Shy... you know when you first said something to me?"

"... Yeah..."

"No, not recently. The FIRST time."

Fluttershy thought back - back to when the two were in flight school together, she was obsessed with the ground, and Dash was obsessed with speed (as ever). Suddenly, a memory hit her full-force, making her gasp. "You mean that one time when -"

"Yeah."

"But - but I wasn't really - I mean, I didn't -"

She was interrupted by a soft kiss. "Either way, I think that's when I started thinking about it. I didn't really consider whether I - you know, like liked you until when you were finally, courageously, might I add, forthright..." she trailed off. "I don't think I've ever loved anypony else, really."

Fluttershy felt a burning behind her eyes. "Dash..."

She was interrupted by a kiss once more before she closed her eyes and returned it. When they broke off momentarily, Dash moved her lips to her marefriend's cheek, then to her neck, then to her chest, traveling down her slowly and reaching a hoof around her shoulders. She sighed quietly as she reached the top of her stomach. "Hey, there's... nopony here but us, Shy."

Fluttershy looked around, already flushed maroon and breathing a bit heavily. "You're... right, but what are you -"

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Twilight was still going over what had just happened in her head. A brief lull in the conversation between the two unicorns allowed a moment of retrospection. "... I don't know, Rarity," she began again. "It just seems like... I'm not - trying or something."

Rarity clicked her tongue. "Oh, Twilight, don't think that way. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash aren't your parallels." She shook her mane and shot a smile at Twilight. "Take things your own pace. Stop worrying. ... Well, okay, that's a little hypocritical. But don't worry so much."

Twilight chuckled shortly, and looked down at her hooves. "Still. See, Pinkie..." she trailed off. "Pinkie by this point would go for anything. Anything I came up with, anything we tried, but I just feel odd pushing myself further than I am." She paused. "Does that make sense?

She followed Rarity up to the boutique and stood on the steps, waiting for the help she needed. Finally, Rarity turned around to face her. "You know... that kind of thing has happened to me before."

"R- really?" Twilight asked, mildly surprised.

"Back when I was a lot younger, still a filly, really, I went through a short phase." She giggled. "It wasn't anything particularly rememberable, but I dated another mare for a few months. Eventually, it didn't feel right to me, and I stopped before things went too far." She stopped, opening the wooden door and turning back around. "I'm not suggesting you and Pinkie 'aren't right', though. Maybe that was a bad analogy."

Twilight groaned. "I just don't know what step to take, Rarity! You're... experienced in this, you can help me, right?"

Rarity stood in the doorway, thinking for a moment. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I have an idea. Learn a new move and try it out. I've seen it work before."

Twilight felt her face light up. She looked left and right down the streets. "Uh... like..." her voice dropped to a whisper. "... sexual moves?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Partially. Maybe. Why do you ask?"

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"You mean never."

Twilight shook her head lightly, locking her eyes on her hooves.

Rarity tilted her head. "Not once?"

"Mm-mm."

She strained visibly to keep from smiling. "Have you ever dated?"

"No," Twilight squeaked. "Is that..."

"No, no, no, no, no, Twilight, I'm sorry. I don't mean to embarrass you." She let her smile show for a second before covering it with a hoof. When she saw her friend's blush deepen, she regretted it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just - I kind of saw you like that. ... Does that sound bad? No, no, no, no, I don't mean you're not attractive, dear, I mean you seem like you... I mean, what I mean to say... oh, dear. I'm sorry. I'll stop talking."

"No, you're - you're right," Twilight agreed, lifting her head a little. "It's true, I didn't attract too much attention. I was okay with that, though. I didn't have time for it. Now that I do, though, I don't know what I should do."

Rarity placed a hoof on her face. "I'm sorry. I can't communicate very well today." She returned her gaze to her friend, who was sitting demurely on her old fabrics trunk. "Would you like something to drink, darling?"

"N- no, I'm good. I have to get going soon anyways."

"Oh, in which case, I have tons of novels and books and pamphlets I can give you if you need them. You're quite a bit more adequate at studying than I am - I'm positive you can make good use of them."

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Over the next few days, Twilight had done her best to avoid Pinkie until she knew exactly what she was doing. It was more difficult than she thought - every once in a while, she had a compulsion to just go and have lunch or go swimming or go dancing (oddly enough) with her marefriend. But she held off as well as she could, even if she did sneak the occasional visit to Sugarcube Corner.

The Thursday after came a kind of revelation. She's squeezed all information out of the books Rarity lent her and was exhausted for answers. That Thursday, though, she was browsing Tom and Perry's, a local bookstore, for anything - at all - to distract her past the library's supply.

She loved the bookstore, as anypony would expect - she loved it with a passion. The smell of new books and old books clashing together harmoniously, the shady reading corners hidden all about the shelves and cases, and even the owner, a kind old mare who'd lived all her life there and knew every section by heart.

She'd scanned for a few minutes before deciding on a few psychology books that she'd seen before but hadn't quite had the chance to take notes on. However, while walking back to the counter, her eyes caught something she couldn't quite process.

There was a series of shelves with magazines, the bottom halves covered in aluminum wrapping and decorated with a bright red watermark. She tried to ignore these types of magazines, but just today, so much was on her mind that she felt like taking a closer look.

The far left magazines had bright, high-definition pictures of mares, mainly facing away from the cover, some smiling, others wearing a terribly... lusty expression. Their rumps were cut off from view by the thin sheet of silver. She choked on air for a moment. Across the other rows were the same, all emblazoned with covers such as 'Mare's Express', 'A Stallion's Guide to Everything', 'Love It', and the oddly compelling 'Reach'.

She glanced behind her, suddenly having a cold feeling some pony was watching her look over this reputation-ruining rubbish. She swallowed when she realized nopony was there and quickly levitated 'FillyFoolersFantasy' and 'Tips and Tricks' over to her and stuffing them in her largest textbook. She felt herself flush deeply when the aluminum crinkled, echoing dully in the nearly-empty aisle.

She walked as calmly as she could over to the self-checkout, wincing when she felt herself wobble even slightly. A shock ran through her when she saw the small, neat 'out-of-order' sign on the machine, and swallowed, looking at the old mare sitting in her office behind the register.

There was a moment of tense quiet as she debated with herself whether it was worth it. If it means I'll feel more comfortable with myself, then... but what do I say? 'Strictly studying material?' Yeah. Yeah, that's good.

Feeling more nervous than she'd felt in quite a while, she rang the small bell quietly. The old mare stood and approached the register with a genuine little smile. "Why, hello, Ms. Twilight," she greeted her. "What are we checking out today?"

She bit her lip. Tell her now. Tell her now. Tell her now. "Uh, nothing special." Damn.

The old mare happily scanned her books one by one. Twilight felt herself physically shrink as she heard "What's this?"

Strictly for studies. Strictly for studies. Strictly for studies. "Uh - um - it's not for me, it's for somepony I know." Damn!

"Dearie, you seem to have three items in one! No matter, this new little device I have here can scan six at a time," she replied proudly. As she began began them (quite deftly), she added in a whisper, "It's pretty helpful when somepony doesn't want me to see what they're checking out."

Twilight blushed and just barely kept herself from grinning out of a surge of nervousness. "Okay, you take - take care of yourself. Thank you, bye!" she added as she trotted out the open door.

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She arrived at the library emotionally exhausted, and rushed upstairs to avoid any questions from Spike. With a wave of her horn, she shut and locked the door behind her, and pulled a quill with a scroll out of her desk. With a moment of hesitation, she laid down on her bed, levitating the scroll above her and ripping a magazine open with a short sigh followed by a shorter gasp.

A shiver ran through her. Page 28 - 38 ways to please your mare. It was research time again.