What's the Worst He Can Say?

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Sugarcube Corner
Chapter 2 - Explanation
Chapter 3 - Expert Opinion
Chapter 4 - Physical Attractiveness
Chapter 5 - Reciprocity, Part 1
Chapter 6 - Convincing Arguments
Chapter 7 - Data Point 1
Chapter 8 - Two Blitzes (Clop present)

Chapter 1 - Sugarcube Corner

Rainbow Blitz was, as Elusive might put it, fashionably late.

The party at Bubble Berry’s was already underway by the time the cyan pegasus touched down on the dirt in front of Sugarcube Corner. Pink streamers covered the entirety of the lower level and lights shone so bright that the night sky was almost like day in a small radius around the building. Music – wubstep music, Blitz noted – was playing in the air, causing the windows to rattle and vibrate and in places threatened to break.

Typical Bubble Berry, Blitz thought to himself. Throws a giant party for something so small.

This time was the ‘Butterscotch actually attempted to ask Red Gala out’ party. Even Blitz knew that Red Gala had said no, but it was a big accomplishment for the shy pegasus so Blitz figured he should come even if he did accidentally miss the first half-hour due to watching that program on the history of the Wonderbolts when he realized it.

Blitz walked in to find that what he thought would be a relatively small affair was, of course, bolstered by the pink party pony himself. Not only were Butterscotch and Red Gala there, but also Gala’s brother Applejack, resident egghead Dusk Shine, and quite a few eligible mares from around Ponyville, but Elusive was nowhere to be seen (probably with the same excuse of being fashionably late, Blitz thought). Apparently the word that Butterscotch was now looking had sent a few mares fawning over the yellow pegasus, currently standing in the middle of a large crowd with Bubble Berry, shouting out complements about the Pegasus.

“Hello there, Ponyville!” Bubble Berry’s voice rang out over the wubstep and the crowd. “That’s right, our very own Butterscotch managed to ask Red Gala out on a date! Now, Red Gala over there would like me to acknowledge she did say no, but this is a big achievement for our little shy guy! And who knows, Butterscotch has now revealed to us he’s ready for the dating scene, so come on down and see if you can’t get him to open up yourself!”

“Oh, Berry, I… I think I’m okay,” Butterscotch whispered, barely above the noise. “Also, if I really wanted someone, I think I could tell them myself.”

“This isn’t about getting you a girlfriend, silly!” Berry laughed. “This is about you being brave enough to ask Red Gala out on a date! That’s a really big thing you’ve done.”

“I’ve been brave before,” Butterscotch pointed out. “I’ve faced a dragon, I helped defeat Discord, and I helped with the Crystal Empire.”

There was a chorus of oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Blitz, as bad as he felt for Butterscotch, just leaned up against a wall and struggled to suppress his laughter, letting out a tiny snicker just so it wasn’t going to come bursting out.

“Yes you have,” Berry said, patting Butterscotch on the chest, “and nopony has forgotten that. But let me tell you: if there’s one thing that requires more bravery than any of those things combined, it’s telling somepony you love them. Especially if they’re a mare.”

This time, Blitz was unable to contain his laughter. Thankfully for him, it was lost and drowned out in the group of ponies laughing with him.

“I didn’t have an interest in her until recently,” Butterscotch tried pointing out. “I didn’t think to ask until a few weeks after the Crystal Empire.”

“Sure…” Berry said.

Blitz laughed a little more before going over to where a rather small though bulky red mare with half a green apple for a cutie mark was sitting off to the side next to a punch bowl. Blitz poured himself a cup of the pink liquid and looked over to the mare.

“Hey there, Red Gala,” Blitz said. “How are you?”

“Alright, Blitz,” Red Gala said. “How about yourself?”

“Good.” Blitz sniffed the punch and found a strong scent hit his nose, causing him to recoil from the rather strong burn. “Alcoholic?”

“Eeyup,” Red Gala replied.

Blitz turned the cup around in his hoof, rethinking his choice of drink. “Anything else to drink here?”

Red Gala nodded. “There’s water and a jug of honey apple cider around here. If you’re lookin’ to give that drink up, you might want to give it to Applejack over there.” Red Gala motioned to a lone table off to the side where an orange earth pony stallion with three apples on his flank and a well-kept Stetson hat on his head was sitting at a table with five empty cups around him. A short distance away was Dusk Shine at another table, talking with a few of the other stallions from around Ponyville.

Blitz leaned over to Red Gala. “What’s up with him?” he whispered.

“Not quite sure. He got bored and asked to sit down, and before I knew it he was drinkin’ his fourth cup of the punch. He might need a little help gettin’ home tonight.”

Blitz sighed and balanced the punch on his wing. Carefully as he could, he walked over to the other table and poured himself a glass of ice water with lemon before walking over to where Applejack was sitting. He had one hoof barely supported his head and another hoof was around an empty plastic cup.

“Mister and Missus Cake aren’t gonna be too pleased that you’re wasting all their cups,” Blitz said as he walked over.

Applejack raised his head. Blitz could see he had bags under his bloodshot eyes and his entire face was almost as red as Red Gala. “Hey, Rainbow,” he said, sounding exhausted. “Whassat in your hoof?”

“Cup of the punch. Red Gala told me if I didn’t want it I could give it to you.”

Applejack lifted up his own cup and tried to drink from it, but soon realized nothing was inside it. He released the plastic cup and it fell onto the table and rolled off onto the floor. “I’d take it, if ya didn’t mind.”

“Not a bit,” Blitz said, setting down the punch in front of Applejack and taking the ice water from his wing. Blitz settled himself in at the table. “So, what’s got you over here? You’re normally pretty sociable. You’re no Bubble Berry, but normally you’re out there with everypony else.”

Applejack took a sip of the punch. “Don’t know,” he said. “Guess I’m just exhausted. Bubble Berry went from Red Gala to me then to Butterscotch. That whole… thing started only recently.”

“Why you drinking?”

“Can’t a stallion have a drink after a long day?” Applejack said. “I’ve had to deal with Berry and ‘Scotch and Gala all afternoon goin’ on ‘bout this here spiel. I just can’t wait until it’s over.”

“I hear ya, AJ,” Blitz said, clapping a hoof around the farmer’s back. “You should have been there for the Sonic Rainboom party.”

“I was there,” Applejack corrected. “You enjoyed it, though.”

“True.” He motioned to the empty cups. “Are those all punch?”

“Nah,” Applejack replied, taking another sip of his current cup. “That empty one you saw me with was number three.”

Blitz nodded. Not as bad as he thought, but enough to consider walking Applejack home. “Any idea why you’re drinking?”

Applejack shook his head.

“I bet you’re jealous,” Blitz said, elbowing Applejack in the side and causing some of the punch to spill over. “Your little sister is already getting asked out and you haven’t even gotten one yet. I betcha Applebuck is gonna get a girl before you!”

“Cut that out!” Applejack said, turning around and flailing his hoof at the pegasus. Blitz was too quick, though, and caught Applejack’s hoof before setting down on the table. Applejack fought Blitz’s grip but the alcohol had made him weak and he quickly settled down with a sigh. “It ain’t that.”

“Aw, come on!” Blitz pounded the table with a hoof, upsetting the last of his water out of the glass. “Why can’t you tell me? Heck, we know each other like the back of our hooves! We’ve been working together longer than Dusk Shine has been in Ponyville!”

Rainbow Blitz found himself on the receiving end of a glare from Applejack. The already bloodshot eyes made his normal green eyes look a sickly red, not to mention the fact that they burned from underneath the shadow of his Stetson. Applejack’s mouth was stretched into a ferocious snarl that showed pure white teeth underneath. “Don’t you dare mention Dusk to me,” he growled, just low enough that the purple unicorn at the other table couldn’t hear but with a rumble that caused Blitz to shake in his seat.

“Alright, alright!” Rainbow Blitz said, waving his hooves in front of his face. “It’s not jealousy. I give, Element of Honesty.”

For being quick to anger as he was, Applejack calmed down almost as quickly. He looked at the empty cup in his hoof, took the final swig, and tossed the cup down on the table with the others before giving a defeated sigh. “Ugh… I’m gonna have a massive hangover tomorrow…”

This gave Blitz an idea. The Element of Honesty couldn’t lie to save himself, and he was certainly at a vulnerable stage.

He is so gonna hate me for this…

“Hold on just a minute, AJ,” Blitz said. “I’ll be back with a glass of water for ya.”

Applejack nodded. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

Rainbow Blitz got up and got himself two glasses of water, balanced on each wing, and one more glass of the punch. Blitz walked back over to the table and set down the two glasses of water across the table from Applejack and put the glass of punch in front of the farmer pony.

“…this ain’t water,” Applejack said, head swaying from side to side.

“You said a stallion should have a drink after a long day of working,” Blitz smirked. “So, you can have your drink.”

“I don’t wanna get drink,” Applejack said.

That technically wasn’t a lie. Neither was the jealousy. “You already are. You’ve had four glasses of punch since I came here, you’re not focusing on me, and you’re slurring your words. You’re drunk. One more won’t hurt.”

Applejack looked over to Rainbow. “If I drink, you give the water?”

“Certainly.”

Applejack took the cup in his hoof and started drinking. Unlike the others, which he sipped, this glass went down in eight large gulps. Rainbow Blitz watched as the cup was drained, giving a rather gentle smile towards his friend though smirking inwardly at himself. Drinky, drinky, then you’ll tell Blitzy… he sung to himself.

After the drink, Applejack looked even redder than he did before and was swaying from side to side. Rainbow Blitz looked around to find Dusk Shine up from the table and speaking with Red Gala, then noticed Applejack following his head.

“Whaddaya want?” Applejack slurred.

“There’s gotta be a reason you are over here drinking alone,” Blitz said. “So… tell me? Please?”

Applejack pointed a hoof in Blitz’s general direction, though it kept pointing past him with how much he was swaying. “You promise me give water.”

Very slowly, he made his eyes get bigger and his mouth turn into a pout. This trick always worked on him when Bubble Berry wanted him to join in on some pranks or Elusive when he needed to try a new suit outfit. “Please?”

Applejack’s hoof flopped on the table with a thud that nearly cracked it in half. “You cheatin’ bastard,” he said. “Alright. You see, I was tryin’ to find someone myself, you see? I was just try—tryin’ to find somepony myself. Now, you… you can ask Butterscotch about this and he wouldn’t tell you a thing, but I tells you it’s true. I made a bet with him that I could ask someone out first. He won. I owe him twenty bits. Now gimme water…”

Applejack reached across the table and nearly would have grabbed the glass if Blitz hadn’t pushed the water glass away. “Hold on. You made a bet and didn’t involve me? You know what you gotta do.”

“Blitzy…” Applejack whined, face falling on the table with his hooves unable to support it. “You promised me…”

“No water until you tell me the bet.”

“I told you already…”

“Further.”

Applejack sighed. “Al-alright. I’ll tell ya, I’ll tell ya. Well, you see, Butterscotch been having eyes on my sis for a while now. A-and he told me so. So I told him there was some’n’ I had my eye on. A friend of ours. One that my heart skipped a beat ever since I first saw… Anyway, Butters won. End of story.”

“No that is not, AJ! Who is this that you’ve been wanting to tell?”

Even drunk, Applejack had some sense. “Bubble Berry promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Applejack nodded. “Dusk,” he whispered. But he whispered it so loudly that he may as well have been talking with the noise he made.

Blitz was a little quieter. “Dusk? Seriously? What is it about him?”

“Can’t rightly tell ya. I… I just think he’s cute, you know? I mean, ever take a good, long look at him, Blitzy?” Aplejack managed to bring a hoof up around Blitz’s shoulders to hold him up and another one pointed at Dusk Shine. “E-ever take a real good, long look at him? Son of a bitch has got it all.”

“Not quite sure what you’re getting at there, Casanova,” Blitz said, leaning a bit away; Applejack was heavier than he realized.

“Let’s start from the top. Those eyes. I mean, those eyes. They just look like the clouds at sunset from top the orchard. So, there’s the top. Let’s work our way down, down to that… that… butt. I’ve stared at his butt sometimes, Blitz. The way that violet just goes down the curves. Long and hard.”

“That probably wasn’t the only thing…” Blitz mumbled under his breath.

“But I ain’t interested in just that,” Applejack suddenly shouted, so loud that Blitz had to pull himself away to avoid getting blown out, before just as quickly quieting down. “I’m interested in that mind o’ his. He’s… he’s smart. Smart. Canterlot smart. Smarter than a farm pony like me ain't ever gonna come to. But he don’t brag about it, you know? You know what I mean? He’s just… cool. Cool about the whole thing. There for ya when you need him. ‘Cept for hugs. Son of bitch has never offered me a hug.”

“Alright,” Blitz said before Applejack could embarrass him too much further. He pushed the water glass over and Applejack drank heartily from it. “Drink your water then I’m taking you home. You clearly overdid it.” I clearly overdid it.

“Did you hear that everypony!?” Applejack suddenly shouted. “Blitzy’s gonna take me home!” As Blitz hoisted Applejack up as much as he could before walking, the farmer pony’s voice got lower and lower. “He’s gonna take me home and tuck me in and do things to me that nopony’s done before!”

“You got the wrong pony in mind,” Blitz said quietly. “That’d be Berry.”

“You’re a freaking rainbow!” Applejack whined as they stumbled out of Sugarcube Corner. “You’re the poster for the thing!”

“And you’re heavier than Elusive and the Wonderbolts combined,” Rainbow Blitz said. “Come on; you’re drunk, not asleep.”

“I would be asleep if you left me alone,” Applejack said. “Sorry.”

“ ‘S okay. Just one thing.”

“What?”

“Remind me never to get you drunk again.”

“…can’t exactly hold you to that, sugarcube.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Right. ‘Cause you’re not a sugarcube. That’d be Dusk. And Elusive's a marshmallow.”

Rainbow Blitz slapped his forehead with a hoof.

Chapter 2 - Explanation

The next afternoon, there was nothing to suggest that a certain farm pony had been drunk the previous night. Bubble Berry was spending the time cleaning up Sugarcube Corner, but that in itself was pretty much standard. The skies were clear and the sun was shining bright, and it put Rainbow Blitz in a decent mood as he flew across Ponyville back home to Cloudsdale.

As he passed over Sweet Apple Acres, he saw the shade of the trees and thought to himself how good it would be to take a nap in the shade of the branches, almost completely hidden and cool. As he flew down for a closer look, he saw apples in reds and greens and golds, and he thought of how good it might be to take a bite out of one and just let the juice sink in to his teeth and hear the crunch of the crisp flesh.

And as he flew down with thoughts of picking one, he saw Applejack.

The stallion was bucking apples like he usually did, kicking with only one foot lest the tree be split in half. Despite the seemingly powerful kick with the hind leg, Applejack was rather gentle with the tree, barely tapping it enough so that the ripe apples would fall down and into the wooden buckets placed carefully at the base of the tree. Over all the acres were hundreds of similar trees, some with the buckets full and a young red mare picking them up and putting them in a cart, while others were still empty.

Blitz came in and gently landed near to Applejack. “Hey there, AJ,” he called as he came closer. “How’s the applebucking going?”

Applejack shook his head before turning to Rainbow Blitz. He still seemed tired, the bags under his eyes were more pronounced and there was some red in his eyes, but he looked alert and wasn’t slurring anymore. “Hey there, Rainbow. I’ve been doin’ better since this mornin’. Woke up with a mightly powerful headache and had to take myself a bit of Grandpa Smith’s old home remedy. Worked like a charm. I’ll probably hit the hay early tonight, though.”

“Good. Um… do you remember anything about last night?”

“Why are you askin’ me that? Course I do!” Applejack tapped a tree with a hoof. “I was workin’ all day to help Bubble Berry with that danged party for Butterscotch and my sister Red Gala. That night I stayed at the party, had a few drinks, then headed home.”

Rainbow Blitz nodded. “Do you remember anything between the drinks and heading home?”

“I remember you came over and talked to me for a bit. I remember Dusk Shine speakin’ with my sister. And I remember… hmm… well, to be honest with you, I don’t remember much else.”

Applejack walked over to the next tree. Blitz followed him. “Yeah, well, I should admit to something myself.”

“Hm? And what might that be?” Applejack positioned his hoof ready to kick the next tree.

“I might have gotten you drunk, and I might have learned a thing or two from you.”

Applejack’s hoof slammed backwards so hard and fast that the tree nearly uprooted. “What in the hay are you meanin’ to tell me, Rainbow Blitz!?”

“I tried to figure out why you were drinking… by getting you to drink more so that your tongue would loosen.”

Once again, Rainbow Blitz found himself on the receiving end of a death glare from Applejack. The eyes sunk in and turned red again, shining out from under the shade of the farmer’s Stetson. “What the hay did I tell you about, and you better not have told anypony about it or I’ll be buckin’ you so hard you’d fly through the clouds at Cloudsdale!”

“You actually made me Berry Promise not to before you told me,” Blitz said. “And, just so we’re clear on this, I’ve kept that part.”

“Alright,” Appejack said, his glare lessening. “You look like you’re tellin’ the truth. So, why don’t you keep on doin’ so?”

Rainbow Blitz gulped. “You were telling me you were in a contest with Butterscotch to see who could ask their crush about going out on a date first. Butterscotch won by asking out Red Gala before you could ask out, of all the ponies in this town – notably including the females – Dusk Shine.”

It was Applejack’s turn to be worried. “Please tell me Dusk Shine didn’t hear any of it.”

“I passed by him to let him know the weather report for today. He said it’d be good for the science experiment he was planning on doing. He said thank you for the report and asked if I’d been able to speak with Butterscotch this morning. I told him no and we went our separate ways.”

Applejack sighed. “Good. I was afraid I might have been too loud.”

“You were loud,” Blitz replied, “but most of it was directed at my ear, and not at Dusk Shine.”

“Almost fair enough punishment, then, blowin’ out your eardrum.”

“Almost,” Rainbow Blitz agreed. “Matter of fact, that’s one of the reasons I stopped while I was passing over. I wanted to apologize and say that if you needed me to help you with work in exchange for getting you drunk I would.”

Applejack nodded. “I’ll think of somethin’. But first, I guess I’d better tell you the whole thing.”

“You don’t have to,” Blitz started.

“No, no. It’ll actually play a part in how I plan to get back at you. Come on; we’ll head back to the farm house. Grandpa Smith’s usually asleep in his chair and Applebuck’s at school, so we have the time.”

“What about Red Gala?” Blitz said, taking to the air and flapping alongside Applejack.

“She’s the only one that knows. The whole crush on Dusk Shine thing’s been a secret. You, Butterscotch, and Red Gala are the only ones that know about it, but only Red Gala knows what I’m about to show you.”

Applejack led Rainbow Blitz back to the farmhouse, passing a clothesline that had a sheet and a blanket on it. Blitz paid no attention as Applejack led him into the farmhouse and up the stairs before heading down a short hallway to a door at the end of the corridor. Applejack opened up the door on the far right and had Blitz enter before shutting and locking the door behind them.

“Looks like a fairly normal bedroom to me,” Blitz commented.

“It’s supposed to,” Applejack said.

The cowpony threw the hat on the stark bed, which Rainbow Blitz noticed had nothing on it except for a single pillow and the mattress, and walked over to the nightstand on the opposite side. Applejack opened the top drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a worn picture frame. Blitz took it to see a picture of Applejack and Dusk Shine standing out in the orchard. Dusk Shine had his hoof around Applejack’s shoulders.

“That’s the moment it first hit me,” Applejack said. “The moment I felt that Dusk Shine really cared for me. Remember when I got so tired from buckin’ the orchard on my own that I started messin’ up stuff around Ponyville? Well, Dusk Shine was the one who cared enough to help me out of that whole mess, the one who kept trying to tell me I needed help.”

“Elusive could have told you about getting your beauty sleep,” Blitz shrugged. “Heck, he still tells me that every time I go over to his shop.”

“But that’s not the whole thing. Dusk Shine actually referred Prince Artemis to me when the prince came to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, saying that I was one of the kindest ponies around. He stuck up for me when those crooked sisters came to town with their weird cider machine, saying that he was honorary family member. And not to mention it was his idea to come and get me when I thought about runnin’ away from home.”

“Hey!” Blitz indignantly exclaimed, stomping a hoof on the floor. “I was part of that idea, too!”

“Yeah, Rainbow, but let’s face it, we fight more often than not. Dusk Shine, though…” Applejack sighed.

Blitz kicked a free hoof absentmindedly at the wood floor. “So, what exactly is it about Dusk Shine that attracted you to him?”

“Well,” Applejack said, fidgeting as he sat himself down on the stark bed. “He’s smart but doesn’t parade it around. He knows a lot more than anypony here, but still appreciates the value of hard work. He’s come around to help with the orchard a few times, ya know; bucked you out of a tree one day, if I remember correctly. He’s reliable, too. Magic or no, it always seems like he has a solution when somethin’ is goin’ wrong.”

“Fair point. Now, you mentioned something about his… well, his butt.”

Applejack’s face went bright red and he grabbed and fiddled with his Stetson, carefully maneuvering it over his hips. “Oh dear… I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

“Not too much,” Blitz said. “But go on.”

Applejack nodded. “Well, I find myself often starin’ at his flank whenever he’s around. Admit it: the first time you saw that, it looked like it could have belonged to a mare.”

“I think you’re getting confused,” Blitz said. “Dusk’s not exactly a delicate stallion, shall we say.”

“No, I don’t mean it like that. I mean I saw that thing and I don’t know where my mind went. It was just like I couldn’t tear my eyes off it. The way the violet accentuated it, the way his tail kept swayin’ back and forth…”

“You did that with a rope that one time that fake magician came into town.”

“Oh, would you shut up about that already? I know I’ll easily get blinders put on me, but I don’t sit and stare at ropes all day long. I will, however, sometimes come in here when I’m goin’ to bed, pull out that picture of Dusk and I ya have there in your hoof, and stare at it until suddenly I blink and it’s mornin’ again.”

It was then Blitz noticed something about the texture of the frame. “It’s all sticky…”

Applejack nodded. “For the same reason the sheet and blanket are hanging on the clothesline out there.”

It took a minute for Rainbow to process it. When he did, Blitz had himself backed into a high corner of the room and the picture frame was on the floor of the room in front of Applejack.

“I don’t blame ya,” Applejack said, still keeping his Stetson between his legs as he went down to pick up the frame and place it carefully on the bed next to him. Blitz noted he treated that thing as though it was worth as much as the farm itself. “I ain’t none too proud of it, either. But that’s the reaction I have.”

“You don’t have that reaction in public!” Blitz nearly screamed, looking at a tiny wet spot appearing on the top of the Stetson.

“I keep it under control in public!” Applejack nearly growled back. “It’s called ‘decency’, somethin’ you could stand to have every once in a while.”

Blitz realized he might have overreacted and settled himself back on the floor, though feeling that the wood floor was like walking through a minefield. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that this is a lot of information to process, and...” He waved a hoof over in the direction of the Stetson.

Applejack looked down. “Oh, Solaris be damned… I’ll make it quick. I’ve found out a way you could pay me back for getting’ me drunk last night.”

“What is it?”

“Firstly, I need you to pay Butterscotch my price for the bet. It’s not much; just twenty bits. Tell him I sent you over with it and he’ll take it without arguin’.”

“Alright. But what’s the second part?”

“I want you to hook up me and Dusk Shine.”

Blitz blinked. “You want me to hook you up with Dusk Shine?”

“You saw how much it took for me to tell you!” Applejack exclaimed. “Five drinks and a heck of a lot of persuasion!”

“But you’re the Element of Honesty!” Blitz exclaimed right back. “As soon as you started the sentence, the rest of it would just flow right out of your mouth!”

“It ain’t that easy, Rainbow Blitz,” Applejack said sternly. “I could tell him a white lie, somethin’ that has only a grain of truth in it. I could tell him I liked him, but never that I loved him. I could tell him I was thinkin’ about him recently, when it happens almost all the time. You get what I’m tellin’ you, Blitz?”

“I think so.”

“So I can’t exactly spit it out quite yet. I need more time with him. I need to be able to speak with him in a setting where we could have things be personal and intimate.”

“… ya mean like a date?”

“Exactly!”

Blitz’s mouth turned into a smile. “Oh, that’ll be easy! All you have to do is ask Dusk Shine if he wants to go to a simple restaurant, just as friends. Heck, I’ll even go with you to make things even more like normal. Once we get there, you pop the question of if he wants to take things to the next level, as they say.”

Applejack didn’t look so convinced. “Are you sure it’s that easy?”

“Of course!” Blitz said. “I mean, what’s the worst he can say? ‘No’? Then you just keep low for a while and come back without trying again and you’re back to being friends soon enough. All things are put aside, all things are back in place, and you don’t have to go around showing it to anypony anymore.”

Applejack nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try.” He got up and pulled Blitz closer to him in a hug. “Thank you, Rainbow Blitz.”

Rainbow was not so comfortable. “That better be your Stetson touching me…”

Applejack quickly let go. “Sorry about that. I’ll… I’ll let you go now. Thanks a lot. And remember: Butterscotch is expecting twenty bits.”

“Got it. And, uh… try warm water. It’s supposed to make it easier to clean.”

“Oh, shut up or I’m gonna buck you.”

Blitz snickered as he left.

Author's Note

Yep, I'm definitely not turning this down from Mature now. [sarcasm]Ladies and gentlemen, Revenant Wings has written a mature story. Prepare for the apocalypse, but I'd still like to be able to try and finish this before that happens.[/sarcasm]

Chapter 3 - Expert Opinion

Rainbow Blitz did not immediately go home after he left. The idea of Applejack falling in love with Dusk Shine had brought up a few questions for him that he didn’t quite understand. Despite Dusk Shine knowing almost everything about almost everything, Blitz had to go to a second opinion, one he didn’t know if it was entirely lucrative to this exploration.

Blitz knew, settling himself down on the ground in the middle of Ponyville, that he would have to tread carefully. He didn’t want to upset Applejack any further, but there were questions he absolutely needed answers to before he attempted anything. Trotting through Ponyville towards a large multi-tiered building in colors of blue and pink and gold with the emblem of a mannequin hanging over the door, Blitz hoped both that the owner would be home and that his usual tendency to gossip could hopefully be staved off for the time being.

Thankfully for Blitz, a sign next to the door flashed “OPEN” in bright neon colors, seemingly every color except green. A small bell tinkled overhead as Blitz trotted into the building and closed the door behind him. Stands with mannequins wearing vests of varying sizes, colors, fits, and patterns were neatly arranged around the edges, except for a break where three mirrors stood around a small platform. Luscious, deep purple drapes adorned the closed windows, creating a rather eerie light in the room.

“I’ll be right down, dear!” came a voice from above Blitz. “Take a seat on the couch; I was beginning to think I wouldn’t have any customers today.”

Blitz did not respond. Instead, he walked over to the available fainting couch and sat down on it, staring around at the mannequins around him. In the dim lighting they almost looked alive and created long shadows cast on the walls. All were striking mildly alluring poses, meant to show off the vests they were wearing but creating something of an odd sensation in Blitz.

Thankfully, when the owner of the shop came down, the lights were turned on and the sensation left him as it went to the normal look of a tailor’s. The owner of the shop was a rather dashing-looking white stallion with a finely-cut purple mane and three diamonds as a cutie mark, in addition to a long string of measuring tape hanging around his neck. He looked around a little while before spotting Rainbow Blitz on the couch.

“Oh, Rainbow Blitz!” Elusive exclaimed, getting starry-eyed at the sight of the cyan pegasus. “Has my dream finally come true? Are you in here to willingly get yourself fitted for me? Oh, the things I could do with your color and form in the pursuit of art!”

Rainbow Blitz laughed nervously. “Uh, no, Elusive, that’s not why I’m here.”

Elusive turned around with a pout. “Oh, poo. I thought I finally would get a chance. So, I suppose you’ll need me to do a favor for you.”

Rainbow Blitz rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “I, uh, actually have a few questions I wanted to ask you to see if you knew anything about them.”

“Unless they’re about fashion, I’m afraid I can’t help you much,” Elusive said, almost sounding irritated as he frowned in Blitz’s general direction. “Why don’t you go talk to Dusk Shine? I’m sure that he would be able to answer your inquiries much better than I could.” He began to walk out of the room. Rather slowly and with much emphasis on his placement, Blitz thought.

“That’s the thing,” Blitz said, as Elusive started walking away. “This is a rather sensitive subject. Let’s just say that Dusk Shine might be ignorant about the whole thing.”

Elusive stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around. “Rather gutsy of you to call Dusk Shine ignorant.”

“I hope that underlines the uniqueness of the situation if even I don’t go to the egghead for advice.”

Elusive turned around, letting his curled tail flick and sway behind him. “I guess I could put my services and ear to use. However, I shall have to attempt to answer you quickly, as I have an order I need done for Canterlot.”

“Thank you, Elusive. You see… the question I have is about love.”

Elusive’s eyes went wide and a rather large smile appeared on his face. “Oh, so it’s a question of love, is it? Come with me, Blitz, dear, and I shall try to answer your question to the best of my ability.”

Rainbow Blitz hesitantly got off the couch and followed Elusive out of the main showroom and up the stairs.

“Now, might I ask what the situation is?” Elusive asked, trotting gaily ahead. “Have you found yourself a mare to settle down with?”

“That’s actually the question I had. Is it possible for a stallion to fall in love with… well, someone that reminds him of himself?”

“That statement could be taken many different ways, dear,” Elusive replied.

Elusive led Blitz to a large open parlor on the second floor of the boutique with the drapes drawn back, letting in a large amount of sunlight. Two chairs were set up on either side of a small table that had a tea tray on it, complete with teapot, a single cup, and a small set of cookies and sandwiches. Elusive went over to a nearby cabinet and opened up the glass doors, perusing a number of similar teacups.

“I know it isn’t your thing, but would you take tea with me at this hour, Blitz?” Elusive asked, pulling out an extra cup.

Blitz nodded and flapped his wings a few times as he settled into the large plush armchair opposite Elusive. “I am feeling a little thirsty.”

Elusive rather daintily settled himself into the armchair’s twin before pouring himself and Blitz a cup of tea. Blitz took a plate and put on it half a sandwich and a few cookies as Elusive handed him a teacup. It smelled of mint and honey and tasted like it, too, but with a slightly bitter undertone.

“So, Blitz, my dear,” Elusive said as he bit into a cookie. “You were asking me about love and if it was okay for a stallion to love someone that reminded him of himself. I’m afraid before we go any further, I must need some clarification.”

“Well,” Blitz began again, “what I mean is that… if it was okay for a stallion to find another stallion attractive.”

“You mean if a stallion can fall in love with another stallion?”

“Yes.”

Elusive nodded and took a rather thoughtful sip of his tea. “How to begin… well, let us begin with the normal, shall we? Why does a stallion fall in love with a mare?”

Rainbow Blitz shrugged. “Because she looks attractive?”

“Well, that’s one reason. One must be physically attracted to somepony else before an attempt at love can even be made. But there are other reasons, some of which can even be more important than attractiveness. One of which is respect. Let me give an example for you: say that I was to ask you if you respect me. Do you?”

“Well, yes. You are the pre-eminent suit-maker in Ponyville and have been recognized by Canterlot nobility. Even if I don’t care as much for fashion, I do have to respect that.”

Elusive nodded, a small smile on his face. “Good. Respect is one of the reasons ponies fall in love with each other. And you’ve brought up another one: acknowledging another’s talent. This falls hoof in hoof with respect, as acknowledging what makes another pony special is another thing that can help on the road towards love.”

“Alright. So there’s respect, and there’s acknowledging a talent. What else is there?”

“There is companionship. A pony who is always there for another pony is likely going to have some form of love that keeps them coming back, or that allows for them to be around when things are going wrong. We are not meant to be individual creatures, Rainbow Blitz, and you need to keep that in mind. Not only that, but companionship also means time has been spent on a relationship, and thus it can blossom into love.”

“So that’s three things. What’s the fourth?”

“The fourth is trust. Not only does a companionship require a certain level of time spent together, but there must also be a sense of trust. Trust is the ability to rely on another for their companionship – that is, the relationship is stable – and the ability to confide in another without them feeling like you’ll either use it against them or that you won’t hide things from someone else.”

Rainbow Blitz began to feel bad about himself then. To hide his own embarrassment, he took a bite of his sandwich and didn’t speak despite the fact that his blushing face and the fact that he was averting his eyes from Elusive at every moment might as well have said what he didn’t vocalize.

Elusive, however, didn’t respond to it. “There is another thing. A set of ponies can have all those four things – respect, acknowledging talent, companionship, and trust – but not be in love. Do you have any idea what possibly might connect those four things together?”

Rainbow Blitz shrugged.

“Reciprocity.”

Blitz tilted his head in confusion. “What was that term?”

“Reciprocity. It means that whatever is done is exchanged for mutual benefit of others. Let us examine this with each thing beforehand. One can respect somepony else, but if the other looks down on the first, there is no reciprocity and thus no true love. One can acknowledge somepony’s talents, but if they refuse to recognize them themselves, there is no reciprocity in the relationship. If one enjoys the companionship of others but others don’t enjoy the companionship of him, then the feeling is not reciprocated. If one puts their trust is somepony but there is no reciprocity, somepony ends up being betrayed.”

“So, when all those things are reciprocated between two or more ponies, there is love?”

Elusive nodded, taking a sip of his tea.

“That sounds a lot more like friendship than love to me.”

Elusive smile widened a bit. “You’re beginning to catch on, dear,” he said, voice becoming softer and strangely tender. “And it does sound like friendship, but another name for a friendship is ‘platonic love’. It is not love as most would think of it, but it is love nonetheless. And what is love in the common sense – that of romantic love, the love between ponies who want to spend their lives together as partners – but merely an increased amount of platonic love and reciprocity?”

“But that doesn’t answer the question I gave you at the beginning. Is it possible for a guy to fall in love with another guy?”

“Look at Mandolin and Sucre*. They’ve been together as partners, I’ve heard, for nearly eleven years now. This is telling considering the average length of a marriage in Equestria is nine years, and has been for decades if not centuries.”

“So… where do you stand on the issue?”

“If a stallion chooses to fall in love with a mare, they have followed the natural order of things and I am not one to complain about it. But neither am I to complain about it if a stallion falls in love with another stallion. It simply means that their relationship has broken the barriers of platonic love and they are willing to go to the next level of their relationship. If they are willing to do so with full and honest intent and both are willing to reciprocate these affections, who am I to stop them?”

Rainbow Blitz nodded, setting down his empty plate and cup. “I think I see where you’re going with this. And I must admit it makes sense.”

“Before you leave, since I can tell you’re thinking of it, let me provide one more example.”

Blitz settled himself back into the chair.

“We’ve already clarified you respect me and acknowledge my talent. But what about the other two?”

“Well, I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time with you lately, though I think we should if only to maintain connections between us Elements of Harmony. And I came to you to confide in this issue, so I suppose that would mean I trust you enough to tell you this information without you making fun of me.”

Elusive nodded. “Well, I should say I respect your talent for being one of the few weather ponies that makes adjusting a cloud look like an art, not to mention the Sonic Rainboom is fantastic no matter how many times I see it. And I agree that we should spend more time together to increase our connections and maintain friends as the Elements of Harmony are wont to do. And Rainbow Blitz, darling, if I were to have made fun of you on this issue, I would have ushered you out the door as soon as you told me what you were questioning.”

Blitz smiled. It was a little strange the way Elusive had presented it, but it made sense.

Elusive looked at the golden sky outside. “I’m afraid I kept you rather late. I suppose I must have lost track of time, though I hope you found our little chat enlightening.”

Rainbow Blitz nodded, hopping off the chair. “I did. It was very helpful. Thank you so much, Elusive.”

“Any time, dear,” the stallion nodded as he led Blitz back down the stairs to the main showroom. “I would love to have you stay for dinner and a drink, but unfortunately Silver Bell had planned a sleepover here tonight with his friends and I can’t tell him no now. But don’t be a stranger, you hear?”

Rainbow Blitz nodded. “Thank you again, Elusive. I’ll attempt to come around sometime soon.” And he took off into the sky with Elusive waving at him as he left.

It wasn’t until he had gotten back home that Blitz realized Elusive’s actions were trying to tell him something, but he’d been stupid enough to ignore them.

Author's Note

*Lyra and Bon Bon rule 63'd names. At least, the best ones I've heard.

Also, a decidely non-mature chapter that is much more of what I'm used to writing.

Chapter 4 - Physical Attractiveness

It wasn’t for a few days that Rainbow Blitz even decided on the first stage of his plan to help Applejack. After a few days of rather uncomfortable weather, Blitz chose a day where the sun was shining and headed out to Sweet Apple Acres. The wind under his wings felt cool and pleasant as he glided along over Ponyville until he came to the expanse of apple trees, angling himself downward until he was gliding just above the dirt path that led to the main farmhouse.

Blitz touched down at the front door and knocked. For a moment, the Acres were quiet with afternoon heat and the low buzzing of bees investigating the flowers. A pony in a beekeeper’s suit watched them, but he did no more than stare and chew at a piece of straw, occasionally spraying the tree the bees were on with a tiny amount of smoke. After a few minutes of watching this, there came a careful stepping of hooves on the wood floor. The door creaked to show a smaller though strongly-build red mare at the door. She smiled at Blitz.

“Hey there, Rainbow,” Red Gala said.

“Red Gala.” Blitz bowed his head respectfully. “Is Applejack home at all?”

“He’s in his room. Do you need to speak with him?”

“Tell him it’s about our arrangement. He’ll understand.”

Red Gala laughed sweetly. “Of course. Come in and sit down.”

Rainbow Blitz nodded and walked inside the Apple family house. He entered into a living room with a small, hoofmade bookshelf and chairs, plus a small sofa. He sat down on one of the chairs as Gala shut the door quietly.

“Grandpa Smith’s in his room for his afternoon nap,” Red Gala said. “Just keep quiet so as not to wake him up and I’ll go get Applejack for you.”

Red Gala tiptoed quietly up the stairs as Rainbow Blitz said and waited. He pulled out a nearby book on apple trees and read the weather part to pass the time. The inside of the house became as quiet as the outside, with the only sound being Blitz’s occasional turning of a page.

Suddenly, there came the sounds of shouting from upstairs. Rainbow Blitz only heard one voice and knew from the louder tone who it was. This was followed a few seconds later by a rather loud scrambling of hooves and the sound of rushing water. Rainbow Blitz looked up and closed the book, putting it down on the coffee table as the sound of water became muffled by the slam of a door before Red Gala slowly made her way back down the stairs.

“I’m sorry about that,” she said. “I caught him in the middle of some private time. He’ll be down in a minute. He just needs to clean up.”

Rainbow Blitz nodded.

Red Gala came down the stairs and trotted over to Rainbow Blitz. “Do you need anythin’ to drink?”

“Just a glass of water, if you don’t mind. Gotta keep myself hydrated to help fly and regulate temperature.”

Gala laughed. “Sure thing. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Blitz didn’t pick the book back up as Red Gala trotted behind him into the kitchen. There was the shuffling of cups and the sound of running water before Red Gala came back with a small glass of water. Rainbow Blitz took it in his hooves and sipped it, finding it to be ice cold without any actual ice in it.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.” Red Gala sat down on the couch. “So, what are you and Applejack supposed to be doing this afternoon?”

Blitz sipped his water. “I’m taking him over to Elusive’s.”

“Oh? Jackie never was one for suits or vests. He wears nothin’ but his Stetson for shade and occasionally a bandana to keep the sweat off his neck. Why would he need one?”

“I’m trying to help him impress Dusk Shine.” Blitz sipped his water, and when Red Gala didn’t respond, he added “You know about his crush, don’t you?”

Red Gala nodded. “He talked about Dusk all the first day he was ever here, the day you all became friends and vanquished Nightmare Moon. He keeps mentionin’ all the things that Dusk Shine’s ever done for him, and how he tried but just can’t spit it out.”

Blitz took a rather large gulp of water. “Do you think it could work?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’m just curious what your thoughts on the whole thing are.”

Red Gala lay out on the couch, head towards where Blitz was sitting. “It isn’t usual for an Apple to fall in love with the same gender,” she admitted. “But he’s my little brother. I don’t care who he likes; I’ll support him all the way.” She motioned with a hoof to the closed door behind her. “Grandpa Smith would, though, if he ever found out early.”

“By early, what do you mean?”

“If he knew about it at this stage, he’d attempt to stamp it out before it got any farther. If they fell in love, then I don’t think he’d have any problems if he saw it when they’ve dated for a while.”

Blitz finished his water and fiddled with the empty glass in his hooves.

“What about you?”

Blitz looked up at Red Gala. “Hmm?”

“What do you think?”

Blitz sighed and went back to staring at the empty glass. “I’m dubious. I don’t get how a stallion can fall in love with another stallion. And, given what I know of Dusk Shine – which isn’t much more than anypony else in this town, I might add – I don’t know if he’d be receptive to it.”

“Then why are you doin’ it?”

Blitz stopped fiddling with the glass. The sound of running water from above stopped. “I… I don’t know. I mean, I know why. It’s payback for making him drunk and spilling his secret about it to me. I just don’t know why I agreed to go through with that instead of making him change it to something else.”

Red Gala chuckled. “Element of Loyalty, indeed. Don’t even know why you’re doin’ it but you’re still helpin’ him.”

Blitz smiled. “I guess so.”

Red Gala smiled at Blitz. “He’s always been a little shy about his feelings,” she said warmly. “Just make sure you take things slow. One step at a time is all he needs before you know the whole story. Maybe that will be what Dusk Shine takes to notice.”

Blitz didn’t respond.

Red Gala got up from the couch and walked over to Blitz. “I’ll take that off your hooves,” she said, motioning to the glass. “I’m sure he’ll be down in a minute. For now, I have to start setting buckets around the trees for later.”

Blitz gave Red Gala the empty glass. “Thanks.”

“No problem, sugarcube.” She waved at him then walked away.

Blitz was silent for a few moments longer as he waited for Applejack to come down the stairs. When he finally arrived at the top of the stairs, his mane and tail were still damp and his Stetson looked almost brand new. He came down the stairs panting.

“I am so sorry about that, Blitz!” he said. “I got your letter about you comin’ over but when you didn’t come here on time I decided I’d have a little time to myself and I must have not heard or seen you comin’, I am so sorry if you heard any of that.”

Blitz shook his head. “I didn’t hear a thing. And I’ll pretend I didn’t know.”

Applejack nodded. “Mighty thankful of ya. Now, you said you had a way to start getting’ myself ready for Dusk?”

“Yes. Are you… opposed to getting a suit?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Did you tell Elusive about this?”

“Not a word, I promise. I told him I wished to get it for you as a gift for an upcoming formal event that I was thinking of bringing you to.”

“And he fell for that?”

“Apparently so. He said he’d come up with three simple designs by today.”

Applejack didn’t look convinced yet again. “How is this gonna help get Dusk Shine to notice me?”

“Remember the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“…yes…”

“Did you ever note how, whenever we got together either to prepare to go or getting ready to leave, that Dusk Shine was always looking at you?”

“Now that you mention it, yes.”

“It’s likely he thinks you look good cleaned up. I mean, I’m sure he appreciates you for the hard-working farmpony that you are, but cleaning yourself up a little might make you look more attractive to Dusk Shine.”

Applejack put a hoof to his chin. “It ain’t gonna be anything fancy, is it?”

“One of the designs Elusive made was a simple black collared-coat with white hoofcuffs and gold fabric buttons. Very simple. You could save it and use it another time in case we get called to Canterlot.”

“Well, I do appreciate some sort of function…”

“You enlisted me to help attract Dusk Shine’s attention. I don’t know if it’s a surefire way, but we’ve at least got to try it. And besides, I’m doing most of the grunt work for all this.”

“Alright, alright, no need to get fired up. I suppose it is worth a shot.”

“Alright, then. Shall we?”

* * *

A short while later found Rainbow Blitz and Applejack inside the main showroom of Elusive’s boutique. The unicorn was currently holding a measuring tape in his blue aura, lining it up along parts of Applejack’s body and staring at it intently before scrawling down numbers on a small sheet of paper nearby. Neither Applejack nor Rainbow Blitz knew what the numbers meant, but Applejack sat patiently and Blitz watched as Elusive did his work.

“Hmm…” Elusive muttered thoughtfully. “I’m going to have to make a few adjustments to the original designs to accommodate your muscle, but otherwise I shouldn’t have a problem. I’m figuring two days tops.”

“I thought you told Rainbow Blitz the designs were simple?” Applejack commented.

“A little bit of modern, minimalist touches here and there,” Elusive said, still examining the farmpony with the tape. “Nothing too complicated, I assure you. There is still the need of checking the fabric, making sure I have enough, drawing out the right pattern, cutting the pattern without mistake, deciding on the right stitch, and making sure that all the pieces come together without excess fabric or distracting placement. We need the suit to complement your figure, not to cover it.”

“But six suits for the Grand Galloping Gala took you maybe two days at most,” Blitz put in. “How come one suit is going to take you two days?”

Elusive sighed dramatically. “My schedule is not the same now as it was back then. On top of a few other orders, I also have Silver Bell to deal with. Competent colt, but I can’t control his sometimes excessive energy and enthusiasm. It’s as though he’s been taking lessons from Bubble Berry.”

“How dreadful,” Blitz said in monotone as Elusive pulled away from Applejack a final time.

“Exactly!” Elusive agreed, not quite paying attention to the sarcasm as he examined the numbers. “I mean, having Berry around isn’t entirely horrible, but one must learn self-restraint.”

“Let’s hope you have some o’ that self-restraint in ya makin’ that suit,” Applejack said.

“I assure you I won’t overdo it. We can’t have you looking over dressed, now can we? But we also mustn’t have you underdressed either. Form must fit function in your case, after all.”

Applejack nodded.

“Now, the designs I have laid out will need a few minor adjustments for your measurements,” Elusive said as he wandered off into an adjacent room, “but I have no doubt that they’ll be to your satisfaction.” He wandered back into the room with three sheets of paper with him.

Applejack and Rainbow Blitz perused the designs. The first was the simple black coat with hoofcuffs that Blitz had mentioned earlier. A second design had longer coat-tails but didn’t include the cuffs and was going to be a more earthen brown. A third design didn’t even reach his flank but had a much more prominent collar and was supposed to be in a dark red.

“Well, first of all, what do you think?” Elusive asked. “Are they appropriate?”

Applejack looked over. “They are not too fancy, I’ll give you that.”

“Canterlot worthy, Ponyville approved,” Elusive said proudly. “Designed to flatter or stun any who look at your dapper figure yet you won’t stand out in a crowd.”

Applejack gave Elusive a long, hard stare before slowly returning to the suit ideas. “I think I’ll take this one but in black,” Applejack said as he pushed the second drawing towards Elusive.

“I had thought of brown to fit with your ranch and western lineage,” Elusive said. “However, black is a modest color and will still fit.”

“Alright. How much am I payin’ you?”

“Not a bit. Rainbow Blitz agreed to pay for it beforehand, if I remember correctly.”

Applejack nodded. “Fair enough.” He held out a hoof.

Elusive shook hooves with Applejack, though Blitz noted he was remarkably calm. “Good luck with your little soiree. I wish I had been invited, but little Blitzy here decided not to.”

“Don’t call me ‘Blitzy’,” Rainbow Blitz said quickly. “I don’t allow anyone to call me Blitzy unless you’re Berry, and that’s only because I can’t stop him from doing so.”

“Fine,” Elusive said, dramatically irritated. “If you insist, I shan’t call you that anymore.” He turned back to Applejack. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Thank you again, Elusive. Blitz, you want to come back to the farmhouse?”

“I can’t,” Blitz said. “I have to do a little more groundwork here in Ponyville for the weather team, so I’ll meet up with you later.”

“Alright. I’ll see you two later.” Applejack waved and walked out of the boutique.

Blitz watched Applejack walk down the road from inside the boutique until he was out of sight. As soon as he was gone, Blitz heaved a sigh of relief as he turned back to Elusive. “Thank you so much.”

“It really is no trouble at all, dear,” Elusive said. “Also, I might have lied to him.”

Blitz cocked his head. “About what?”

“About other orders. I believe you are the only one on my list besides him. He didn’t catch it because of the grain of truth.”

“I feel bad though,” Rainbow Blitz said as he walked up onto the podium and Elusive pulled out the tape again and began circling it gently around his neck. “I mean, I don’t like going through all this hiding your involvement in it.”

“Darling,” Elusive said softly in his ear, moving the tape down to cover the length of his neck. “I promised you I would help you out with this and not tell Applejack a thing. I mean to keep that promise. Much like you I don’t want to betray his trust either, but if it means helping a friend, I am more than willing.”

“Thank you, Elusive.”

“It’s no trouble at all, dear. Now just relax and hold still for me, would you? Good boy.”

Elusive’s voice was still rather quiet for them being alone, but Blitz figured it was just him being focused as he normally was. And the gentle prodding and poking from Elusive as the tape moved all over his body with the sound of skritching of quill on paper was quite relaxing.

“Elusive?”

Blitz was treated to a rather quick response from the designer. “Hmm?”

“If it’s not too much to ask, can I please not have you come to the dinner with Applejack and Dusk Shine?”

Elusive’s voice was patient, as opposed to irritated or accusing. “I thought you wished it to be a friendly event. A simple meeting, nothing more.”

“It would cue in to Applejack that you know,” Blitz said. “So please, if only for the once?”

Blitz could see Elusive nod out of the corner of his eye. “I shall. For you.”

Blitz waited a few moments longer before Elusive spoke again. “Alright, darling, I’ve finished with the measurements. I have an hour or two before Silver Bell comes home, so would you like to join me for tea again while we discuss designs?”

Blitz turned but didn’t speak. He was staring at a near-profile view of Elusive except for the fact that the unicorn’s head was pointed towards him. Blitz wanted to speak but he couldn’t; he wanted to stop staring, but he couldn’t do that either.

He was too busy looking at Elusive’s eyes, a deep and glittering blue that reminded him of the open sky. From there, his eyes trailed down the soft white coat of the unicorn, following the curls of his deep purple mane down his neck and along his back, noticing the way the stallion had seemingly positioned his body to look like he was flowing yet completely natural. And finally he moved down to the spiraling tail, lightly swaying to the point he barely noticed it.

Wha… why can’t I stop?

“Are you alright, darling?” Elusive asked, sounding concerned.

Blitz shook his head to clear his thoughts, then nodded. “I suppose that couldn’t hurt.”

Elusive nodded with a soft smile and motioned to the staircase. “I believe you know the way…”

Author's Note

I think Elusive's kind of hot...

Chapter 5 - Reciprocity, Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

“You’re late, Blitz,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Applejack laughed politely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Applejack gulped. “I was drunk.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Um, Dusk?”

“Yeah, AJ?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I… I like you. A lot.”

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

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

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

“Would you join me on a date?”

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

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

Dusk Shine looked flabbergasted. “I…”

Applejack looked expectantly at Dusk Shine.

“…I don’t know.”

That’s not ‘no’… “What?”

“I said I don’t know.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“‘Other things’?”

“I’d rather not say at this point.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Have you had another reaction like that before?”

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

“And you thought it’d be the same?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And if he doesn’t?”

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

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blitz nodded. “Something like that.”

Elusive suddenly backed off.

“What is it?”

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

“I’m stressed.”

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

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

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

“I don’t quite follow you, but okay.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“So, what do you plan to do?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And then he felt it.

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

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

“You’re touching me…” Blitz whimpered.

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

“Not there you f— dolt!”

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

“This isn’t supposed to be happening!”

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

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

“How do you feel about it now?”

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

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

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

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

Author's Note

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

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

Chapter 6 - Convincing Arguments

One week ago, Rainbow Blitz didn’t think he’d be doing this. At all.

One week ago, Blitz was simply a normal stallion. He did his work, he hung out with his friends, and occasionally tried to check out the local mares, of which he noted there weren’t many. A doctor’s visit had decreed him a normal, healthy stallion. While Blitz didn’t exactly see himself as normal – I mean, who else can do a Sonic Rainboom? he thought proudly and often – he got what the doctor meant; aside from his super speed, he wasn’t exactly that much different physically from the other pegasi.

He was pretty sure that watching as Elusive took off his robe in front of him and him watching with a sort of perverse interest had thrown normal out the window.

One week ago, Blitz hadn’t exactly paid much attention to Elusive. But, given the situation he was in helping Applejack win over Dusk Shine, the romantically-minded stallion was Blitz’ only option instead of his usual impulsive self.

Of course, impulse is what allowed Elusive to currently stand with bedroom eyes in front of Blitz, walking towards him in a rather measured sultry gait. Blitz noticed each hoof was placed in the exact right position that allowed the pure white unicorn’s body to sway with just the right amount to keep his eyes glued on him. Not to mention the pure white ass in the back and the luscious purple tail behind him.

I shouldn’t be liking this, Blitz thought to himself, though he didn’t move from the four-poster bed he was sitting on. I really shouldn’t be liking this, Blitz thought again, but all he could do was watch as Elusive bent down and positioned himself between Blitz’s back legs.

“Elusive…”

“Yes, Blitzy?”

“…I don’t know if I can do this.”

Elusive got up from his position and stroked Blitz’s cheek with a hoof. “What’s wrong, Blitz?”

“This. It all just feels so wrong.”

“What feels so wrong about it?” Elusive gently put a hoof around Blitz’s shoulders and spoke in a quiet, calm voice. “You seemed to enjoy it enough from two days ago to come back for seconds. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Blitz didn’t feel relaxed. “It just feels so strange. I mean, am I really about to go through with it?”

“Well, if you don’t want to go through with it, we can stop right here if you’d like.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t want you to stop.”

Elusive sighed and shook his head, though he had a smile on his face and chuckled lightly. “Think of it as experimentation. It’s common for stallions to go through an experimentation stage, even at your age. It’s just the once and then we can be done. You don’t even have to do it again if you don’t want to.”

“I’m afraid, though. What if… what if I do it, and I like it? What if I keep coming back to it? It’s… it’s not normal. It’s not what I’m used to, but what if I get a sort of thrill from it? Is it… is it possible I won’t be able to…” Blitz trailed off, both hesitant to say it to Elusive and hesitant to admit it to himself.

Elusive smiled warmly at him. “If it bothers you that much, I won’t do it.”

“But I want to.”

“But you’re afraid of it.”

“Elusive… I don’t know how to put this. I do but I don’t. I want to but I don’t. I’m afraid but I can’t stop myself.”

“Try laying back. You won’t see a thing. Heck, you could imagine me as a mare. Odd, certainly, but try it. See if it works.”

Blitz, for the first time that day, averted his eyes from Elusive’s. He looked down towards his dick but not directly at it, trying to ignore the fact that it was quickly becoming hard.

“Do you trust me, Blitzy?”

Elusive’s question hardly registered to Blitz. He hadn’t even been focusing on the other stallion when he said it. He looked across and tried to ignore Elusive’s own dick staring at him. He lifted his eyes up to look at Elusive, deep blue eyes questioning him again.

Blitz nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Alright, then. Lay back.”

Blitz adjusted himself on the bed and lay flat on his back, spreading his wings so they didn’t get crumpled underneath him. Of course, now that he was flat on his back, it was probably more difficult to get over the tension of knowing what was about to happen rather than the tension of wondering if it was right or not.

Waiting for it to happen, Blitz closed his eyes and tried to think of what Elusive would look like if he were a mare. Probably he’d have a rounder face and muzzle. Heck, might even have a rounder ass, too, though overall probably daintier. The mane would probably be longer, and maybe end in a bit of a curl. And the eyes would probably be framed by long lashes. Continuing to think about it, Blitz figured a female Elusive would probably suit him qui—

“Ngh!” Blitz flinched as something wet surrounded his dick and started sucking on it. Blitz grabbed onto the bed with his hooves as much as he could, writhing around as his eyes rolled back in ecstasy. He didn’t dare look down at Elusive, afraid that he’d smack him across the face if he saw what he was doing, but Blitz didn’t think he could; his back was arched so much he felt some of it leave the bed and his eyes refused to even look down from the white lace pillows lying on the bed behind him.

It’s not that much different from a mare, to be honest, Blitz thought as Elusive’s tongue started to gently lap at and curl around his dick, still inside the unicorn’s mouth. I just can’t think about it as much.

Blitz tried to shut his eyes and think about a mare version of Elusive again, but the stallion was teasing him. Though his eyes stayed firmly rolled towards the top of his vision he couldn’t shut them. Blitz felt Elusive’s teeth gently tapping on either side of his dick and nearly screamed.

“E-Elusive…” he moaned. “Ngh… no…”

Blitz felt as though he was either drunk or galloping as hard as he could; his heart was racing so much it pounded in his ears and he could hear himself panting as Elusive’s lips started to pull off and he couldn’t see much or feel much other than the stallion, but there was a strange happiness inside him. Not quite content, but it certainly reached that as he felt the stallion finally leave him.

Blitz finally managed to lay back flat on the bed, still panting though his heart had calmed down. A white blur came over him and laid down on top of him, his vision refocusing to find Elusive was lying down with the unicorn’s head on his chest, smiling at him.

“There, Blitzy,” Elusive said. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

Blitz just lay on the bed for a minute. He could feel something dripping from him, but he didn’t want to look down.

“Well, what do you think?”

Blitz smiled and laughed. “Applejack is so gonna hurt me when he realizes I got this before he did.”

Elusive inched forwards along Blitz’s chest, dragging the stallion’s dick with him. Blitz’s laugh was cut off by gasping and moaning as the unicorn’s soft white coat slowly tickled his member. And that was stopped a few seconds later by Elusive gently slapping his cheek, not even enough to leave a mark. “You’re not going to tell him though.”

“Can’t. I can’t let him know. I don’t want anyone to know about this for now.”

“I promise you, my lips are sealed. Unless you want them again.” Elusive winked.

Blitz shook his head. “I’ve had enough of that for one day.”

Elusive rested his head against Blitz’s chest. Blitz noted the stallion was almost like a warm blanket. Now that the sensations were dying down, he actually found himself relaxing and enjoying Elusive currently lying on top of him. Elusive let out a sigh and closed his eyes as Blitz put a hoof on his back. “When do you meet with Dusk Shine?”

“A few days from now I have to return a Daring Do book. I’ll talk to him then.”

“Will he listen to you?”

“He didn’t seem to be angry with me at the restaurant. I’m sure I could at least have a few attempts to get him to listen.”

“How convinced are you that it’ll work out between them?”

“It may be difficult. I don’t even know if it will if Dusk Shine continues acting like he does. I can’t force anything, though.”

Elusive opened his eyes again but kept them half lidded as he stared straight at Blitz, lips forming into a pout. “What about us?”

Blitz initially started laughing, but stopped soon after he saw Elusive’s pouting. He just looked so pitiful. I can’t tell him ‘no’, not with that face and not with how that felt… “Let’s just see where it goes, shall we?”

Elusive broke his pout and chuckled, placing his hooves on the bed and dragging himself upward, causing Blitz to gasp again as Elusive’s coat trickled across him again. “You’re such a tease, Blitzy…”

* * *

A few days later, Blitz took his saddlebags, put the Daring Do book in them, and took off from his home in Cloudsdale. He glided along without flapping his wings, finding currents of wind to lift him up and giving speed, letting the cool air run through his feathers. It was a rather peaceful sensation, something he needed before confronting Dusk Shine and after his ‘experimentation’ with Elusive.

Blitz had to admit he was starting to see how Applejack could fall for someone like Dusk Shine, though admitted Applejack probably wasn’t thinking about a mare version of Dusk Shine when he was thinking about getting a blow job.

Blitz hadn’t seen Applejack since the day at the restaurant. He’d flown over Sweet Apple Acres once while he was on weather duty, but he only saw Red Gala and Applebuck in the orchards and Grandpa Smith in a rocking chair on the porch. He had thought about flying down and at least asking Red Gala about how Applejack was feeling, but he figured it was probably best to leave him alone, and so he had.

After all, he did tell Applejack he didn’t have to speak with Dusk Shine just yet. “Leave it to me,” he had told Applejack just after Dusk Shine had left the restaurant.

Blitz was beginning to wish he hadn’t. Damn the element of Loyalty… he thought. Can’t say no to Applejack, can’t say no to Elusive… Solaris be damned, get out of my head, Elusive!

That had happened more frequently than Blitz would have liked to admit over the past few days. He hadn’t seen Elusive for the past few days either, though this time he was actively avoiding the stallion. Elusive had once come up to him in Sugarcube Corner where he was ordering a donut. Elusive started talking to him and Blitz, afraid of being caught with a hard-on or staring almost exclusively at Elusive’s ass, had paid for his donut and left before even Bubble Berry had realized what was going on.

What worried Blitz the most was the fact that it wasn’t a mare he was having these thoughts about now, but a stallion. Probably why Applejack didn’t want to tell anypony but Butterscotch at first…

It wasn’t much longer before Blitz had arrived in Ponyville. He gently spiraled down with the currents until he was circling above the upper levels of the Golden Oaks Library. Blitz came down and trotted to a stop on the road in front of the library before turning around and knocking on the door. Blitz waited patiently for a minute before Dusk Shine came and opened the door.

“Oh, hey, Rainbow Blitz,” he said cheerfully. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

“I thought you would have,” Blitz said, “since I have a copy of Daring Do due today.” As though to prove it, he pulled the book out of his saddlebags and presented it to Dusk.

Blitz could almost see the lightbulb go off in Dusk’s head. “Oh, I almost forgot! I’ve just been so caught up in my thoughts I’ve been forgetting to do things lately.” Dusk Shine took the book in his magic and went over to a clipboard on the wall near the door. After a flipping a few pages, Dusk Shine marked clipboard with a check and went over to place the book back in the shelf.

Dusk Shine turned back to Blitz. “Now, is there anything else you need? Maybe some help organizing your schedule? Or how about a little discussion about your finances? Ooh! Perhaps you want to check out another book!?” Dusk smiled wide at Blitz, who was trying his hardest to smile back.

“Um, yeah. I was wondering if you had the latest Daring Do book in. You know, ‘Daring Do and the Temple of the Summer Sun’?”

Dusk Shine shook his head. “I have it, but not a library copy to check out. I could let you borrow it, though.”

“That would work out perfectly.”

Dusk Shine nodded. “I’ll be right back. It’s probably on my nightstand; I was in the middle of reading it a third time last night and I managed to finish it before falling asleep.” And he left Blitz alone in the library as he trotted upstairs.

It wasn’t long before Dusk Shine soon returned with the book in his magic. Blitz opened his saddlebag with a wing and let Dusk Shine gently put the book in them before Dusk released the book from his aura and Blitz let the saddlebag snap shut on its own. “Take as long as you need, Blitz,” Dusk Shine said. “You could read it multiple times if you wanted; it’s fast-paced and really engrossing.”

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to remember that.”

Dusk tilted his head and looked at Blitz worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

“Well… it’s about that time at the restaurant a few days ago.”

Dusk Shine frowned. “Look, Blitz, if you want to apologize, you don’t need to; I understand you’ve done nothing wrong and were just there observing the whole thing. It’s Applejack who needs to apologize. And let me tell you, I would accept an apology from him, but the whole situation really does make me uncomfortable.”

“It’s about to more so.”

Dusk Shine raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I was the one who set up that lunch date for the specific purpose of Applejack confessing he liked you.”

Any and all traces of emotion were wiped clean of Dusk’s face. Blitz watched as the color continued to drain. “You mean… you knew but didn’t tell me?”

“I wasn’t supposed to be the one to tell you.”

Blitz found himself grabbed around the neck by Dusk’s aura. It didn’t choke, but Blitz swiftly found he couldn’t move as Dusk swung him around and backed him against the wall. “How long have you known, Blitz?” he nearly growled.

“Since the party for Butterscotch attempting to ask Red Gala out,” Blitz panicked. “Applejack was sitting alone in a corner drinking. I went over to talk to him and he, in a drunken state, told me about what he thought of you.”

“Is there more?”

“I went over to Sweet Apple Acres and got the full story,” Blitz said quickly. “He… He’s been like that ever since you arrived in Ponyville but hasn’t had the gumption to actually say anything about it until I got him and you together at the restaurant.”

Dusk glared at Blitz for a while before releasing the aura around Blitz’s throat. Blitz collapsed on the floor of the library and rubbed his throat for a little while before standing back up to face Dusk.

“What did he say about me?”

“There were a few things in particular he mentioned,” Blitz said, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, “and I kind of have to agree with him on all those points. But I’ll give you the short version: you’re from Canterlot but you don’t lord that fact over us, you appreciate the value of hard work more than most other unicorns, and you’re one of the ponies in this town we can go to whenever we have problems.”

Dusk Shine trotted over to a nearby pouf and sat on it. “Why can’t we just be friends, though?”

Blitz sat down and tapped a hoof to his head. “How do I explain this… Applejack has probably spent the most time with you than any other of us Elements. We don’t interact the way with him that you do. I mean, you’ve helped him out three times regarding his orchard and applebucking; once we all worked on, but once you were the one who called it to our attention and once it was just you and him.”

“I still don’t see how that can extend beyond friendship,” Dusk said. “I mean, that’s just one incident, and as you yourself said, there was only once where it was just us two and the other times the rest of you helped out as well. What reason does he have?”

“There’s been a few incidents where you showed genuine care for him and his condition,” Blitz said. “There was the time when he was trying to buck the orchards alone and you were the one who went to talk to him about accepting our help. There was the time he thought about running away after the rodeo and you were the one who voted to go and get him back. When all of us were made to go all wonky and against our Element due to Eris, you went to Applejack first of all of us.”

Dusk Shine had to seriously think about that for a minute before responding. “For the time when Eris was here, Applejack was instrumental in helping to restrain the rest of you with his skill with a lasso. For the time we applebucked the orchard, the warning signs were quite obvious and had even momentarily incapacitated you. As for the rodeo… well…” But Dusk Shine trailed off and couldn’t finish the sentence and his counterargument.

“What’s the big deal about it?” Blitz said. “I mean, it’s not like he’s been staring at your ass the whole time.”

“Rainbow Blitz!” Dusk exclaimed, glaring at Blitz again. “What in the world would make you say that?”

“You’re thinking it, aren’t you? You’re thinking because he asked you about one date he might want to do it to you later, aren’t you?”

Dusk Shine’s face went bright red but he didn’t say anything.

“We both know Applejack as a practical and reasonable pony. What, in your right mind, would justify Applejack fucking you as practical or reasonable?”

The anger completely evaporated from Dusk Shine. Instead, he sighed and trailed a hoof around in circles on the floor.

“I don’t think I could do it.”

“Why not?”

“It just would feel so… wrong.”

“What’s so wrong about it? I mean, you and Applejack are really good friends already. There’s more stuff I could list besides those three little events. So what’s holding you back?”

“It’s not normal. Everywhere you look, the most common pairing is male with female. Stallion with mare. Heck, if you were to go to Canterlot and look around you wouldn’t even see two stallions holding hands or paired with another stallion. A stallion would be more likely to have a little group of females around him.”

“Dusk, let me clue you in on something: you’re not normal. Look at you! An accomplished unicorn scholar who was tutored under Solaris himself and now wields the Element of Magic. How many other unicorns do you know that can say that?”

“Well, Starswirl the Bearded was a very famous, accomplished unicorn scholar who was tutored under Solaris…”

Blitz smacked his own forehead with a hoof. “How many other unicorns do you know that can say that that are alive?”

Dusk didn’t even argue that point anymore. “What about if neither of us like it? What if we’re not compatible?”

“You could stop.”

“You talk about this like it’s so simple.”

“You do that on most issues and terminology. What’s the difference?”

“Difference?” Dusk Shine glared at Blitz. “There’s plenty of difference! I mean, science is proven through experimentation and terminology is certain in its definition.”

“The word ‘rail’ sounds the same in all its uses but differs in definition depending on context. And does the definition of ‘love’ ever take into account ‘stallion and mare only’?”

Dusk Shine was almost looking at Blitz with admiration. “Well, no.”

“And let’s take a look at experimentation. Think of this as a science experiment. Simple scientific formula has given us a question…”

“Could I really go through with this with Applejack?” Dusk Shine completed.

“And a hypothesis…” Blitz continued.

“No because we’re normally not supposed to be together,” Dusk Shine said.

“Time for some field research, then.”

Dusk Shine smiled. “I see you’ve managed to pick up on a thing or two from all the times we’ve been together.”

“I’ve learned how to speak with an egghead,” Blitz replied. “Now, are you going to give Applejack a chance?”

Dusk Shine nodded. “Once. We’ll see what the data says.”

Author's Note

It should be noted I have a man crush on Elusive.

Chapter 7 - Data Point 1

The grandfather clock in the Apple family living room ticked slowly and loudly in the silence of the room. The rocking chair had stopped creaking a long time ago and its inhabitant, a light green old stallion hardly even snoring, hung with his face forward and down and gave barely any signs that he was even still alive. A pair of birds twittered in the trees outside the window then flew off with a show of flapping their wings until they left and the house fell silent again.

Applejack was sitting in a single sitting chair, hat pointed down where it covered his eyes so that no one could see them. A single strand of hay hung out of his mouth and he chewed it as he slowly turned over to Rainbow Blitz sitting on the larger couch next to Red Gala.

“I thought you said Dusk was comin’,” Applejack said slowly.

“He is,” Blitz said without facing him. “I managed to convince him.”

Applejack slowly turned back to facing forward. “I notice you’ve been at Elusive’s lately.”

“I have a flying competition coming up,” Blitz said, simply and methodically as though he’d been planning it out for a long while. “I thought he could make me an outfit that would give it a little flair.”

Applejack chewed at the piece of straw. “You’re startin’ to sound like him, too.”

Blitz swung his hooves back and forth, slightly off the ground. “Perhaps,” Blitz said indifferently. “Similar aspirations and such. He has his suits and I have my flying. It’s performance, but in two different fields. I can no more explain a dress or suit than Elusive can explain how a pegasi maintains flight.”

Applejack pointed his piece of straw towards Blitz. “How many times have you had to repeat that in the last week since our date at the restaurant?”

Blitz shrugged, his eyes moving over to Applejack’s. He couldn’t see the farmer’s eyes under the brim of his Stetson, even though last time he checked they were open. His eyes meandered up to where he saw a little spot that was darker than the rest of the hat and shuddered a little bit.

“It’s nice you’ve been doing this for Applejack,” Red Gala said softly, causing Blitz to startle. “It might not look like it, but he’s been happier and more excited about this than he’s been in a while.”

Blitz shrugged and looked over to the red mare. “What are friends far, you know? I mean, Applejack’s always been a decent partner of mine and I intend to see this through.”

The mare laughed. “You really are the Element of Loyalty. I ain’t ever seen anyone as dedicated to it, even if you don’t quite understand why.”

Blitz laughed, then leaned in close. “I’ve had a little help,” he whispered. “Still isn’t exactly normal, but at least I know a little more.”

Red Gala looked at him for a while in confusion, but then smiled. “Love isn’t exactly you’re most skilled area, is it?” she asked.

“You could say that,” Blitz said, looking towards the ceiling. “I’ve never been able to hold a marefriend for long. I always had them run off on me.” Blitz smiled, and soon laughed. “Something about being too fast for them.”

Red Gala laughed. “So Blitz isn’t just your name?” she giggled.

“You could say that,” Blitz said. “But, yeah, I’ve had to look into some romantic advice.”

Applejack turned over towards Blitz, eyes still hidden under his Stetson.

Red Gala didn’t seem to notice. “You probably could consult Dusk Shine on something like that, couldn’t you? He seems to know everything.”

Blitz sighed. “That would be a good option if that wasn’t who your brother was trying to woo.”

Red Gala shrugged. “You could ask for yourself, then. ‘Hello, Dusk. Do you have any books on how to keep a mare’s interest?’ Simple as that.”

Blitz nodded and looked down at the floor. “True.”

The answer left no real room for a response so Red Gala fell quiet, which was exactly what Blitz wanted. The only sound left was the slow ticking of a grandfather clock and the sound of hooves coming down the dirt road. The three ponies all swiveled their ears towards door as the sound of hooves came closer, eventually tapping on the wood porch outside and falling silent.

There was a long pause. After what seemed like hours, there came the sound of three, slow, steady knocks on the front door in the hall just outside the living room.

The old stallion was startled awake with the sound of a snore cut off midway. He looked around the room before focusing on Applejack. “That must be the mail,” he said. “Get the mail, will you Applejack?” he asked.

Applejack pushed the brim of his hat back to reveal his eyes staring worriedly out into the room. “Yes, Grandpa Smith,” he said. He slowly got up in his chair then turned to face Blitz and Red Gala. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and began walking slowly out of the room.

Applejack stood in front of the door for a long time. He turned around to see that Grandpa Smith had gone back to sleep but Rainbow Blitz and Red Gala were looking at him expectantly. Applejack turned back to the door and sighed, gulping just a little bit before opening the door.

As he expected, it wasn’t the mail pony. It was Dusk Shine. He stood warily in the door and looked Applejack up and down, not saying a word.

“Dusk Shine,” Applejack choked out.

“Applejack,” he said.

Applejack exhaled loudly, unsure of what to think or say.

“Can I come in?” Dusk Shine asked.

Applejack nodded. “Yeah.” He stepped aside so that Dusk Shine could come in.

Dusk Shine stepped in and sat Red Gala and Rainbow Blitz sitting together on the couch. Red Gala had scooted a few inches closer and Blitz seemed to act casual as though their hooves weren’t anywhere near each other despite Red Gala being only an inch or two away. That’s what I’m used to, Dusk Shine thought to himself as he walked into the living room.

“Glad you could make it, Dusk,” Rainbow Blitz said.

Dusk Shine nodded absentmindedly. “I thought you had work,” he said.

“I have a bit more loyalty to my friend than I do to my position,” Blitz replied. “And it doesn’t take me that long anyways.”

Dusk Shine blew a piece of his mane out of his face before turning to Applejack. “Is everything ready?”

“Nearly,” the farmer replied. “I just have to pull the blanket out from the hall closet. I’ll be right back.” He motioned to a seat. “Sit, if you want.”

Dusk Shine shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

Applejack nodded and left the room.

Dusk Shine looked over to Red Gala and Rainbow Blitz. “So, do you two have any plans?”

“Weather patrol,” Blitz said. “Napping in a tree or on a cloud. My usual.”

“I need to pick up a loaf of bread from the bakery,” Red Gala said. “Afterwards, I have to sort out the apples from the harvest.”

Dusk Shine went red in the face. They aren’t… oh… “Well, sounds like a normal day.”

Blitz nodded. “Yep.”

Applejack came out from the hallway with a red and white checkered blanket. He went into the kitchen and picked up a small basket, which he put on his back on top of the blanket. He sighed and looked at Dusk Shine. “You ready?”

Dusk Shine bit his lip. “I don’t know if I ever will be,” he said.

For a moment, Dusk Shine could see a little shimmer appear in Applejack’s eye. But before he could tell if it was there or he was seeing things, Applejack blinked and it disappeared. He steeled himself and started towards the door. “Well, then, let’s go.”

“We’ll be heading out, too,” Red Gala said. “You know, make sure no one’s here to bug you. Blitz, you want to walk into Ponyville with me?”

Blitz nodded. “Sure. I probably should pick up lunch from Sugarcube Corner anyway.” He turned to Applejack and Dusk Shine. “Enjoy yourselves. For what it’s worth.”

Neither Applejack nor Dusk Shine replied. Rainbow Blitz started hovering in the air alongside Red Gala as they made their way along the road out of the ranch and towards Ponyville. Meanwhile, Applejack led Dusk Shine off the trail and into the orchards. They climbed out of the small valley where the farmhouse was situated and headed off until they reached a point where the orchards ended. Their entire journey was taken in silence.

From there, Applejack led Dusk Shine up a small hill towards the shade of a few large oak trees. In between them was a nice, flat piece of ground where Applejack placed the blanket and set down the picnic basket. Dusk Shine started taking out their lunch, which happened to be a plate of finely-cut sandwiches, a few apples, a salad from fresh ingredients straight from the market, apple turnovers, and homemade potato chips. It was all rather neatly arranged and presented, Dusk Shine noticed as he pulled each one out and set them on the blanket.

The two sat down to eat, both facing away from the oak trees. The sun shone bright and warm though it was cool in the shade of the trees, where Dusk could hear a pair of cardinals whistling their mating calls. Down below, two rabbits frolicked in the shallows of a small creek, and even further beyond that Dusk could see the sights of Ponyville and its residents wandering around, in particular a cyan pegasus with a rainbow trail kicking at clouds and turning the sky clear and bright blue.

“Why did you agree?” Applejack asked.

Dusk Shine munched on a potato chip while he thought. “Blitz told me to think of it as data.”

“Are you goin’ to at least try to give this a chance?” Applejack asked.

Dusk Shine started to feel bad and guilty with himself. “It’s called ‘experimentation’ for a reason, I suppose.”

Applejack lazily took a bite of his sandwich. Despite having packed a decent-sized lunch for the both of them, Dusk Shine could tell that Applejack himself didn’t look that hungry.

“So this is just a science project,” Applejack said.

Dusk Shine shook his head. “Look, I felt really bad for you after just walking out at the restaurant. I wanted to try and make it up to you.”

“So it’s pity, then,” Applejack said, not even looking at Dusk Shine. “Look, if you don’t want to do it, then go ahead and go. I won’t stop ya.”

Dusk Shine found himself in a strange position. Applejack had just given him permission to leave. If he wanted to, Dusk could just get up, walk down the hill, and find himself back into Ponyville’s main square in about ten minutes. But whatever force had brought him there and made him accept Applejack’s offer in the first place made him stay. He grabbed an apple and took a bite of it.

“When was this one harvested?” Dusk Shine asked.

Applejack looked over at him curiously. “I bucked it off the tree a few days ago.”

The apples hadn’t even been made available in his stands quite yet. It tasted like it; crisp and fresh, juicier than any he’d ever tasted and bursting with flavor. Applejack had gone out of his way to make sure Dusk had the best. It was also apparent with what Applejack pulled out of the basket next: two bottles of cider; cider season wasn’t for weeks. Applejack gave one to Dusk, who looked at the bottle and felt something lurch inside of him.

“This isn’t even available yet,” Dusk Shine said with a slight awe as he took the bottle from Applejack and rolled it around in his hooves. “But… why?”

Applejack seemed surprised. “This is special. I wanted to do something special. I suppose one of them was makin’ sure the stuff I gave you wasn’t anythin’ less.”

Dusk Shine opened the bottle and took an experimental sip. The crisp flavor of apples contained a slight cinnamon spice and a sweet vanilla finish. He stared at the bottle in awe. “…this is the best cider I’ve ever tasted,” he said. “I mean, even out of you, it’s the best.”

Applejack allowed a small smile on his face and Dusk Shine could see his eyes brightening. “The cinnamon and vanilla is a new thing we’re tryin’ this year,” he said proudly. “Glad to know it already has a positive review.”

“It doesn’t even need any ice or extra cooling or anything.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ice?”

Dusk Shine grimaced. “Sorry about that. It’s a Canterlot thing; bitter ciders are placed in ice to mellow the flavor. This… this starts bitter, but it’s refreshing with a sweet finish.”

Applejack smiled even bigger. “Thank you. Seems odd that you’d put ice in a cider, though. The apples they were usin’ were probably too bitter to begin with.”

“What types do you use for the cider?”

“We typically invest our sweeter varieties like ambrosia or jazz, sometimes red delicious. But every once in a while, we’ll make one with braeburns. This batch was made with the braeburn cultivar.”

“Did you know that the first braeburn’s were made by an accidental crossing of a Granny Smith and a Lady Hamilton?”

“Yeah. My great-great-great grandmother was Lady Hamilton’s granddaughter. She was the one who discovered the braeburn.”

“Oh, wow! I bet that was a big breakthrough.”

“Kind of. My older cousin in Appleoosa – Braeburn; you met him when we brought him an apple tree – owns a whole orchard of them. They’re quite popular because they chill easily. But otherwise, they’re just another apple.”

Dusk found himself smiling. “Don’t say that.”

“You can’t tell a braeburn from an ambrosia,” Applejack said with a smile on his face. “Don’t tell me they’re not just another apple until you can tell me the difference next time at the stall.”

Dusk Shine went red in the face, but found himself laughing. It wasn’t long before Applejack was breaking down and laughing himself. Dusk Shine found himself rolling onto his back, and Applejack soon followed suit until they were both on their backs laughing. It wasn’t long before each of them was calming down and they were staring up at the leaves of the trees.

Dusk was the first to sit upright again. “It’s really pretty up here,” he said. “I mean, you can see the whole valley from here. It’s so clear I can see all the way to Canterlot.”

Applejack heaved himself upwards. “Yeah. This was ma and pa’s favorite spot. Their first date was when pa took ma up to this first spot.” There was a moment of silence. “I was told this is where I was conceived.”

Dusk Shine found the last piece of information a little awkward and blushed. Yet there was something else that kept him smiling. “That’s kind of sweet, you know.”

Applejack looked over to Dusk Shine. “Whaddaya mean?”

“It’s kind of romantic,” he said. “I mean, your parents had their first date up here, and this is probably your first date. And you brought it up here.”

Applejack smiled and looked down at Ponyville. “I suppose I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He chuckled a little. “Ma would be proud of me.”

The sandwiches and apples were finished off and the chips were nearly gone. Dusk Shine took a bowl of the salad and started to eat it; it was tossed with a cool, sweet balsamic dressing.

“Have you ever been on a date before?” Applejack asked.

Dusk Shine nodded. “Five times with the same mare.”

“Really? Who were they with?”

“Princess Blueblood.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “The same one that Elusive railed on?”

Dusk Shine smiled at the irony. “She wasn’t so bad, then. It was about a month before I left for here, matter of fact, when we had our last date. We walked through the gardens and she took me out to lunch before going to the theater.”

“How come you never followed through with it?”

“We went our separate ways. I became caught up in my studies, and I just couldn’t feel anything for her. She was actually rather sweet to me, even though she argued with nearly everyone else. Surprisingly, when we were there for my sister’s wedding, I talked with her and she seems to have mellowed out.”

“Did she try and go out on another date with you?”

“She apologized for what she did with Elusive first. She asked for forgiveness. That was it. I gave it to her, though. She seemed sad, though. Like she knew we’d never be together.”

Applejack nodded. “How did you feel about it?”

“Well… I’m glad she’s still my friend. But I don’t think I could become royalty. I’m more at home here unless I’m visiting with family or my old foalsitter.”

Applejack laughed a little. “City boy’s done gone and turned himself country, then?”

“I suppose so,” Dusk said. “Suppose I should get a Stetson like yours, then, huh?”

“My pa gave me this one,” Applejack said. “So unless your pa gives you a guard helmet or somethin’, you’re out of luck.” But he took it off and placed it on Dusk’s head, pretending to scrutinize it. “It does look cute on ya, though” – he cut off to a rather spot-on impersonation of Elusive – “but it doesn’t go with the pink at all, darling.”

Dusk Shine laughed harder than he meant to, but he didn’t hold back for one second. Not only had the joke actually been hilarious, but it was kind of cute to see Applejack loosen up from his usual serious, work-minded self. And, for some reason, Dusk liked seeing it from him.

Half an hour later, their lunch was finished and they walked past the farmhouse. Applejack had started telling Dusk Shine a story about how Applebuck had gone and gotten himself stuck in a tree.

“…and I swear he started mocking me!” Applejack was saying. “He started sayin’ he was a cat and started giving off these little mews. Well, he let me buck him out of the tree the minute I said I’d have to get Red Gala to come over with a ladder.”

Dusk Shine laughed. “You know, I’ve heard Prince Solaris muse once we’re like cats. Heck, you could probably dangle a ball of yarn in front of anyone and they’d bat at it at least once.”

“Applebuck did that with an apple on the floor of the kitchen when he was just learnin’ to speak. We have a picture of it in the album I should show you sometime. It’s actually pretty cute.”

Dusk Shine saw they were back at the house. “Maybe later,” he said. “I should try and see if there’s anything I have to send to Prince Solaris.”

Applejack nodded. “Thanks for comin’ along with, though.”

Dusk Shine sighed. “Yeah. It was better than I thought it was going to be.”

Applejack’s eyes seemed to lose a bit of the glimmer they had earlier. “Well, I suppose that’s it then?”

For a long time, Dusk Shine was silent. Finally, he shook his head. “We could… try this again sometime.”

Applejack was so surprised he bolted upright and his hat jumped slightly off his head from the jerk. “…really? You… you’d really do that again?”

Dusk Shine nodded. “Yeah. Maybe I kind of have to think of it like data, but good data needs multiple points, doesn’t it?”

Applejack found a smile growing on his face. “So… Sugarcube Corner next Friday?”

Author's Note

I don't know why I kept Braeburn a male. Or why I kept Blueblood's original name.

Chapter 8 - Two Blitzes (Clop present)

Dusk Shine bit his lip. “I don’t know if I ever will be,” he said.

For a moment, Rainbow Blitz could see a little shimmer appear in Applejack’s eye. But before he could tell if it was there or he was seeing things, Applejack blinked and it disappeared. He steeled himself and started towards the door. “Well, then, let’s go.”

“We’ll be heading out, too,” Red Gala said. “You know, make sure no one’s here to bug you. Blitz, you want to walk into Ponyville with me?”

Blitz nodded. “Sure. I probably should pick up lunch from Sugarcube Corner anyway.” He turned to Applejack and Dusk Shine. “Enjoy yourselves. For what it’s worth.”

Neither Applejack nor Dusk Shine replied.

Rainbow Blitz started hovering in the air alongside Red Gala as they made their way along the road out of the ranch and towards Ponyville. The slight breeze of his gently flapping wings felt comfortable and the smell of fresh apples tempted him to take just one from the trees as he and Red Gala went towards the exit of the ranch.

“Busy time for you this year?” Blitz asked Gala, trying to make polite conversation.

“Yeah,” Red Gala said. “It’s almost time for cider season, and we have to get the apples to market.”

“Is it just you and Applejack?”

“Applebuck helps where he can,” Red Gala said with a shrug. “But mostly it’s just me and Applejack.”

“Hard work?”

Red Gala nodded. “I like it, though. I’m not the biggest and strongest in our family for nothin’.”

Blitz couldn’t deny Red Gala was larger and stronger than most stallions in Ponyville, including her brother. “Certainly don’t show it very often, do you?”

“My strength is only reserved for apple trees or defendin’ the Acres,” Red Gala said as they exited Sweet Apple Acres and entered Ponyville’s main street. “I don’t ever think I could use it against another pony.”

Blitz nodded, then smirked. “Probably scare off the stallions, though.”

“They’re never exactly fans of mares stronger than them, yeah.”

“I don’t know why, though. You’ve always been rather sweet and kind to just about everypony.”

Red Gala smiled – blushed? – and even broke out in laughter. “Well, thanks, Blitz. I’m guessin’ that ain’t somethin’ you admit very often, is it?”

Blitz felt his own face get hot and a smile come on to his face. “Not really, no.”

Red Gala stepped over to Blitz and gently nuzzled his neck. Blitz felt a shiver go down his spine and just about fell out of the air. “You should do so more. You’re kinda sweet, too. But… like Macintosh apple sweet; a little tart on the outside but with a sweet finish.”

Blitz bit his lip. He… he wasn’t imagining Red Gala saying that, was he? “Uh, he he… I like to imagine myself as having an ‘awesome’ outside and a ‘cool’ inside.”

This only caused Red Gala to laugh harder than she had previously.

But… whereas some previous mares that Blitz had dated immediately went to derisive or mocking laughter when he said that (at which point he’d try and act like he had been trying to do that all along), Red Gala was genuinely amused by it. It was light, happy, as though Blitz had just told her a joke.

“How about we change that to a ‘cool’ outside and an ‘awesome’ inside?” Red Gala asked almost musically.

Blitz would have laughed along with if he wasn’t so confused. What… where was Red Gala going? What was she doing? And, furthermore, why was she doing it? Blitz usually knew his way enough around mares to tell how close they were to wanting sex, but Red Gala… had almost zero signs.

And yet here she was, laughing at him like he just told her a joke and looking at Blitz with a blush on her face and a strange twinkle in her eye. Blitz transitioned to looking at Red Gala’s cutie mark, half a green-colored apple on her flank, so that she couldn’t see the confusion.

“You… you want to have lunch with me?” Red Gala asked shyly as they approached Sugarcube Corner.

Blitz looked over to Red Gala, who was almost pouting. “I’d love to, but I’ve spent longer than I planned at your house already. I really should just buy a sandwich and get to kicking clouds.”

“Oh,” Red Gala said.

Blitz opened the door of Sugarcube Corner and let Red Gala go in first. She smiled and dipped her head politely at the gesture before approaching the counter and ordering a loaf of fresh honey-glazed wheat bread. Blitz ordered his sandwich and both left the store.

“Do you… I liked talking with you, Blitz,” Red Gala said.

“Yeah,” Blitz said. “You’re pretty cool, too. Applejack should bring you along whenever we meet up more often.”

Red Gala’s face went even redder. “I… I’d like that.”

“Hey… before I leave, what were you going to ask me earlier?”

“Hm… oh, it was nothing. Thanks for walking with me, Blitz.”

Red Gala nuzzled Blitz’s cheek once more before heading off down the road. Blitz stared at Red Gala, watching the red and green flank sway back and forth down the street for a while. It wasn’t until Blitz was sure that Red Gala wasn’t turning around that he rubbed his cheek where Red Gala had nuzzled it and took off towards the clouds.

Lunch and cloud-kicking didn’t take long. A simple kick or slice of the wing would cause a cloud to vanish in a puff, unlike in Cloudsdale where he had to make sure the cloud wouldn’t smack into the side of a building. It wasn’t long before Blitz finished with his duties and eating his sandwich and went to check at the local weather patrol.

The weather patrol cleared Blitz and told him he was done for the day. Blitz looked around to make sure no one was watching him as he left the weather patrol offices and bolted through the streets to Carousel Boutique. The sign on the door said ‘Open’ and Blitz quickly slipped inside before any pony could see him around the place.

Elusive was sitting at a ponnequin adorned with a simple black dress with white outlines. He held a needle and spool of black thread in his magic and was working at it with almost simple and determined strokes like a painter. Rainbow Blitz quietly sat down and watched Elusive as he took the needle and thread and sewed together various portions of the white bottom.

“There,” Elusive said quietly, almost to himself. “That should do it. Now, all that needs to be done is the white diamonds along the neckline…” He backed up, looking pleased with himself, walking once around the ponnequin and examining almost the entire thing over.

Blitz smiled as Elusive quietly went back into position and began working on smoothing out the neckline of the dress. Elusive’s ass was swaying ever so slightly from side to side and Blitz found he couldn’t help but follow the tailor’s gentle, precise movements.

“Blitzy, dear, can you get me my chest of diamonds?”

Blitz almost hit his head on the ceiling with how high he jumped.

“I’m aware you’ve been watching,” Elusive said, a slight purr coming through his voice. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Blitz nodded. He quietly went over to a small desk on which stood multiple boxes. Blitz opened a few of them, looking for the right one until he found one with a bunch of small, white, finely-cut diamonds with flat bottoms. He picked it up and brought it over to Elusive.

“Now, now,” Elusive said with a smirk on his face, “don’t get anything on the dress.”

Blitz cross his hooves over his growing arousal. “I can’t help it,” he said. “You’re teasing me.”

“Since you walked in the door,” Elusive replied cheekily. “But I do have to get this job done.”

Blitz set down the chest of diamonds and flew away a few feet; Elusive threw him an old towel and he wrapped the thing around his waist, hoping to not drop any pre on Elusive’s floor. He watched as Elusive regained his determined and focused expression and slowly started to fix each diamond individually with a tiny amount of a specialized glue and placed it on each diamond. His movements were smooth and flowing and Blitz found himself once more just steadily focused on Elusive’s movements and less on what he was doing.

“I’ve never seen you so interested before,” Elusive said.

“I’ve never seen you work like that before,” Blitz shot back.

Elusive smiled. “I can’t help it,” he said. “Not with you watching.”

“Try, at least,” Blitz said, feeling tortured yet extremely pleased. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold it.”

Elusive rolled his eyes, but increased his speed. After a few minutes, the neckline was littered with diamonds that sparkled in the light and momentarily dazzled Blitz.

“That is one thing I don’t understand about you,” Blitz said. “Why everything must be covered in jewels.”

Elusive took a few measured paces towards Blitz. “It’s…” He flicked his tail up so that it brushed lightly against Blitz’s cheek, and watched with an even more satisfied smirk as Blitz looked down at Elusive’s pure white flanks with the three diamonds in the side. “…eye-catching, to say the least.”

A spot on the towel became wet.

“Oh, dear,” Elusive said, giggling. “I believe I spent too long.”

Blitz felt his face go red hot for the second time that day. “You always take too long.”

“I don’t expect to be as fast as you,” Elusive said, turning around and bringing his face right next to Blitz’s. “But you could stand to have a little more elegance.”

Blitz smirked. “Ah, but sometimes being fast and spontaneous is the way to go.” And he kissed Elusive.

Elusive giggled. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that one. Just give me a second…” The white unicorn went and flipped over the sign in the window, presumably so that it read ‘Closed’. “Shall we… head upstairs?”

“Wouldn’t mind it,” Blitz said.

He kissed Elusive again, though this time it was slower and more deliberate, allowing his tongue to gently probe the outside of Elusive’s mouth. He felt Elusive’s mouth open as the stallion gently caressed his spiky mane, smoothing it down with even strokes. The touch was almost hypnotic, and Blitz relaxed into Elusive’s hooves as the white stallion’s tongue entered his own mouth.

It was Blitz who tried to release first, but Elusive brought him back in for a second. The warm touch of Elusive’s lips and the tender care and attention Elusive was giving him made Blitz almost dizzy with ecstasy and he didn’t resist as Elusive pulled him in for a third and a fourth before finally managing to work up the energy to push Elusive away.

“Not here,” Blitz panted. “Your… your room.”

“Oh, very well,” Elusive said, releasing Blitz and giving him a mock-pout. “I suppose I could last that long…”

“It’s only up the stairs and down the hall… And you’ll give me a break.”

“O-ho-ho, but where’s the fun in that?”

Blitz got himself up, tied the towel around his waist, and followed Elusive across the shop’s lobby and up the stairs. Elusive was once again placing extreme emphasis in his placement so that the white butt swayed just so in front of Blitz.

“Oh, I almost forgot to mention. How did the date go?”

“It… went off to a rocky start,” Blitz said, managing to tear his focus away from Elusive’s flanks.

“That’s not good. Did Dusk seem amicable to allowing Applejack to take him on a date?”

“Not… not really. The atmosphere seemed kind of chilly when I left. Applejack was going to take Dusk on a picnic in the hills.”

“Ah… something small, romantic, and intimate,” Elusive said with an almost longing sigh. “I’m sure even if Dusk doesn’t agree to more he’ll see that our dear Applejack is genuine in his affections. Certainly, that must count for something.”

“I… ngh!… would hope so,” Blitz said, trying to contain himself.

Elusive turned around as they approached the door to his bedroom and smiled playfully. “Can’t wait, can we?”

“It certainly is ha—” I won’t give him the satisfaction. “—difficult, I mean.”

Elusive licked Blitz’ nose. “Then let’s not wait any longer, darling.” He opened the door with a flourish and let Blitz walk in first before closing it.

By the time Blitz had taken off the towel, Elusive had come over with a bottle of a white liquid in his magic. He held a single hoof underneath it and let a tiny squirt of the liquid – more of a cream, really, Blitz noticed – into the hoof.

“I dare say you’re lubricated enough,” Elusive said teasingly, “but one can never be too careful.”

Think of a mare, Blitz said to himself. Just close your eyes, get this over with, and think of a mare…

Blitz’s eyes were clamped shut, but he could hear Elusive gently rubbing his hooves together. He braced himself, but it still wasn’t enough to contain the gasp of pleasure Blitz felt as Elusive’s hooves rubbed gently up and down his dick, gently massaging it and spreading the smooth cream all over his exposed skin.

Not so bad, Blitz thought. Not so bad… just don’t open your eyes… don’t look. Mares have done this to you before.

“There…” Elusive purred. “Now we’re ready.”

Blitz dared to open one eye. Elusive was on the bed, legs spread apart and waiting eagerly for Blitz. He motioned to Blitz slowly and rhythmically with a single white hoof, eyes half-lidded and a playful smirk across his face.

Blitz moved across to Elusive as though in a dream. He gently got onto the bed and stood over the stallion, settling himself down as he felt something soft and fleshy touch his skin. “You’re already excited?” he asked disbelievingly. And there goes my peaceful imagination of a mare…

“You’re not?” Elusive replied with almost the same tone, though Blitz still saw the smile on his face.

Before Blitz could respond, Elusive had taken his face in both of his hooves and pulled it towards him. Blitz only had a moment’s time to prepare before their lips touched and Blitz’s wings flared open. The cyan pegasus could hardly keep his disbelieving glare as Elusive gently teased him, putting his tongue along his lips and begging for entrance through his teeth.

Elusive’s hooves left Blitz’s face and the cyan pegasus felt his partner’s hooves begin to gently massage his back, though one went down and went between them and stroked just above his balls. As though it was a signal, Blitz let his mouth slacken and allowed Elusive entrance into his mouth. He could feel the other stallion’s tongue gently caressing his own as he wrapped his arms around the white unicorn’s neck. Elusive gave an involuntary buck, but that didn’t stop either of them from closing their eyes in ecstasy and Bitz began fighting Elusive’s tongue out of his mouth.

It wasn’t long before all of Blitz’ stresses had melted away into the softness of Elusive’s coat and bed and the warmth of his lover’s embrace. Elusive gave off another buck, then another, and Blitz soon felt his own member slowly sliding out and alongside Elusive’s, causing them both to groan and moan yet neither pulled away even as Elusive ejaculated and soon coated both of their stomachs in sticky white cum.

It wasn’t long before Blitz had backed off a few inches. His dick was already dripping with cum caused by Elusive’s skillful touch, and he slowly, carefully, inserted his member into the unicorn. Blitz gently placed his hoof to it and began to stroke it, feeling the smooth, soft texture as he felt more and more of his dick go up Elusive's asshole. It was only when his dick was completely inside the white stallion that he stopped touching Elusive and collapsed on him, already feeling exhausted.

"You're not done yet, are you, big boy?" Elusive said. Blitz looked up to find the stallion, face framed by his purple mane, smiling at him with a rather similar shit-eating grin that Applejack would give him if he was about to win a competition.

"No," Blitz said, panting with both exhaustion and lust. "I haven't started yet."

Elusive was about to respond, but Blitz pulled out just a little bit then bucked hard into Elusive. The stallion flinched momentarily before his eyes went wide open and he gasped. Elusive’s eyes rolled back in ecstasy as Blitz started to pull out just a little bit, taking his time and slowly backing up before swinging back forward. He repeated the motion again and again, allowing himself to move in a gentle, even, perfectly-timed swing. Elusive was trembling and writhing underneath him, each buck causing him more and more pleasure couple with a growing warmth that caused him to cum again.

After a while, Blitz slowly leaned backwards. He himself was trembling now and was quite pleased to see the unicorn looking as though he could barely see straight, eyes rolling around his head in pure joy. Ought to keep you from teasing me again… With one final swing he rammed hard into Elusive’s behind and came, causing himself to fall over trembling on Elusive as the stallion shivered and shook violently beneath him.

It wasn't long, however, before both had settled down in the darkening room and laid with their hooves around the other, basking in the soft glow of the evening sun. Elusive gently stroked Blitz’s mane and back with a hoof, and Blitz buried his head into a rather large patch of soft fluff on Elusive’s chest, neatly folding his wings against his sides.

“You… have no idea… how long I’ve been waiting for that,” Elusive said silkily.

“Waiting?” Blitz said, still not entirely out of his daze. “For what?”

“You,” Elusive said simply. “To be able to experience that feeling… it seems the mare’s around town were right.”

“What? That I suck?”

“No.” Elusive placed a gentle, tender kiss on Blitz’s forehead. “You’re amazing.”

“I suppose that works,” Blitz said. “I’d rather like to think I have an ‘awesome’ outside and a ‘cool’ inside. I suppose that’d be pretty amazing.”

Elusive gave off an almost musical giggle. “How about a ‘cool’ outside and an ‘awesome’ inside?” he said. “You’re sweeter and kinder than you give yourself credit for, Blitzy.”

That tone… it’s the same as Red Gala had earlier, when she… “You’re not the first to say that to me today.”

“Oh, I’m not? Well, that just proves my point, now does it? Who said it?”

The feel of Elusive gently nuzzling his forehead pushed the thoughts of Red Gala out of Blitz’s head. “Oh, nopony in particular,” he said, a small smile creeping onto his face as he drifted off in Elusive’s hooves.

Author's Note

I can't tell if Elusive's a manipulative bastard or not.

Also... REVIVED! Somewhat. I'm at least making progress on this again.

Consider this a sort of Christmas gift.