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.