The next morning, Twilight realized she hadn't planned for the picnic. At all.

"Spike!" She cried frantically, waking him up. "Am I supposed to bring any food? Or should I leave that to him?" Spike turned over onto his side.

"Just bring stuff, Twilight. Don't have a freak out aria. Don't sing." Twilight stopped running frantically around.

"I won't sing a freak out aria," she said, equally to herself and to Spike. Twilight inhaled, then exhaled. "You're right, Spike. I won't freak out. I'll just bring along some food. Can you take a list?" Spike groaned.

"It's bad enough you woke me up right before I found out where the party was being held, do I have to help plan your wedding, too?" Twilight blushed.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it myself. You just go right back to your party. Or something."

As soon as Spike had begun to snore, Twilight trotted down to the library. For once, she didn't need a book to help her with a picnic; she had had enough of those with her friends.

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out some fruit- bananas, orange, and apples. Twilight found a woven basket and placed the fruits inside.

"Is that it?" She asked herself. "Or should I bring sandwiches?"

In the end, Twilight ended up bringing six apples, four oranges, seven bananas, two daffodil sandwiches, and a pitcher of water, magically enchanted so that not a single drop would spill.

As Twilight rechecked her food supply, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" She asked. The door swung open to reveal Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow exclaimed, doing a loop-de-loop as she sped inside. "Are you getting ready for that mushy gushy picnic?"

"It's not mushy gushy, Rainbow Dash," Rarity pointed out. "Twilight is simply eating lunch with Comet Tail." Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Are you excited, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked curiously. Twilight nodded.

"Are you nervous?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight shook her head.

"It the second... what would we call it, Rarity?"

"It's a date, Twilight. Not a meet up, or a brunch, but a date," Rarity confirmed.

"Yeah, so it's my second date," Twilight told Fluttershy. "So I'm not really nervous."

"We just came to help you get ready," Rainbow explained. "So, what can we do?" Twilight rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, you can look over my food choices. I'm assuming Comet Tail's bringing food too, so I only packed a little."

"Twilight, does he know you're allergic to pepper?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded in confirmation.

"Surprisingly enough, that came up in conversation yesterday." She giggled. "Funny choice of topic, isn't it?"

"Very," Rarity agreed. "Now, you're leaving when? Noon?"

"Yeah," Twilight replied. "And right now it's seven, so I have five hours." The three other mares exchanged glances.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Twi, I think you might've overslept," Rainbow said. Pointing at the clock on the wall, she added, "It's 10:30." Twilight gasped.

"I overslept? But that means Spike has no business being still asleep! I have to-" Twilight was stopped by Rainbow's teeth clamping firmly on her tail.

"Hold it, Twilight," she said. "Let him sleep."

"We'll wake him up," Fluttershy promised. Twilight nodded.

"Okay. Anything else we need to do?"

"No, dear," Rarity replied. "Everything is fine."

~

Cherry Berry stood just outside Golden Oaks, listening to everything the mares had said.

"Dang it!" She muttered. "That cheesy 'sleep powder' didn't work well enough! It only made her sleep in three hours!" She scuffed the ground with her hoof.

"Uh, Cherry Berry?" Shoeshine asked. "Why are we doing this? I mean, I think Comet Tail has made it pretty clear that he'd rather be with Twilight, sorry to say." Cherry Berry sighed nd beckoned Shoeshine farther away from the library.

"Because," she explained. "I'm the only pony good enough for Comet Tail. If I can't have him" -Cherry Berry narrowed her eyes- "then no one will!" Shoeshine smiled weakly.

"Now," Cherry Berry continued, "do you have any pepper spray?

~

Twilight could appreciate a day like today. The sun was shining, but birds weren't noisily chirping everywhere. She stood just outside of Sugarcube Corner, basket in tow, waiting for Comet Tail to show up.

"Hi, Twilight!" Comet Tail greeted her. Twilight was relieved to see he had brought food along too.

"Hi, Comet Tail!" Twilight replied. "So, where are we headed?"

"I know a spot," Comet Tail offered. "I pass it a lot during my runs."

"Sounds good, then," Twilight replied. "Lead the way!" She eagerly followed Comet Tail across town.

"Here it is!" Comet Tail announced. It was a small hill just outside of Sweet Apple Acres.

"It has a great view!" Twilight remarked when the reached the top.

"I know," Comet Tail agreed. "I always figured it would be a great place to watch a meteor shower."

"I bet it would," Twilight agreed, looking around. "So, what did you bring?" Comet Tail opened up his basket and pulled out some cupcakes, several sandwiches, and a watermelon. Twilight licked her lips.

"That watermelon looks delicious." Comet Tail laughed at the comment.

"Doesn't it?" He replied. "I'll let you have some after you show me your stuff."

"Fine." Twilight levitated her apples, oranges, bananas, and sandwiches out of the basket. "Nutritious and delicious!"

"Definitely," Comet Tail commented. "So, you want a slice of watermelon?"

"Yes, please!" Twilight answered. Comet Tail brought out a cutting knife. Twilight watched him slice the melon in half, then into smaller pieces. Twilight's favorite fruit of all time was watermelon. It was so sweet and juicy and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Twilight whipped around to see Shoeshine skittering towards them on roller blades. "HEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEE!" Twilight and Comet Tail immediately galloped after her. Twilight wasn't too surprised that Comet Tail easily outran her.

"It's alright!" He shouted as he gained on Shoeshine, who was still shrieking. Twilight watched as Comet Tail put a hoof out to stop Shoeshine.

What am I doing?Twilight asked herself inside her head. She teleported herself over to Comet Tail's side.

"Are you alright, Shoeshine?" She asked. Shoeshine sniffed.

"I think so. I was trying out these roller blades- I guess I'm not very good." Shoeshine buried her head in her sky blue hooves.

"Don't worry, Shoeshine," Comet Tail told her. "You're safe now." Shoeshine nodded.

"Thanks, Twilight. Thanks, Comet Tail."

"Anytime," Twilight replied cheerfully. "Do you need any help getting those blades off?" When Shoeshine nodded, Twilight and Comet Tail used their magic to pull them off Shoeshine's hooves.

"Thanks, guys," she said, standing up. "See you around!" Without another word, she cantered off.

"That was nice," Twilight commented. Comet Tail nodded.

"Hey, wanna race?" He asked. Twilight nodded.

"You'll win, though," she admitted. Comet Tail snorted.

"Remind me to tell you my technique when we're finished. Ready?" Twilight nodded and crouched down next to Comet Tail.

"Set..." Twilight suddenly remembered the Running of the Leaves.

"Go!" Twilight shot forward, running as fast as she could and not bothering to pace herself. Almost immediately, Comet Tail was in front of her. Twilight pushed herself forward, feeling unusually competitive.

Of course, it didn't make a difference. Comet Tail still beat her.

"What was the technique you mentioned?" Twilight asked as she picked up her slice of watermelon.

"Oh yeah! So, when I'm not racing, I use my magic to boost my speed," Comet Tail explained. Twilight nodded l, encouraging him to go on, and took a bite of her watermelon slice.

Immediately, Twilight's throat closed. She couldn't breathe!

That was pepper! She thought frantically, trying to breathe.

"Twilight? Twilight!" Twilight heard Comet Tail calling her name. She felt numb and helpless. Twilight's vision began to darken. There was no one to help her...

~

When Twilight blinked her eyes open, nine worried faces stared at her.

"Twilight! You're awake!" Applejack exclaimed in relief. Twilight stared at the faces around her.

"What happened?" She asked, but it came out in a croak.

"You had a severe allergic reaction," Nurse Redheart explained. "Comet Tail got you to Applejack and her family. You're lucky to be alive." Twilight jerked her head. She had just realized that Comet Tail was standing next to Spike and Fluttershy.

"Was that some sort of sick joke?" She spat, then coughed. "What, you thought I was gonna just have a coughing fit? You thought it would be funny? You almost killed me!" Comet Tail flattened his ears.

"Twilight, I promise, I don't know how the pepper got onto my food," he said. "Please, believe me."

"Oh, like somepony else was trying to kill me!" Twilight retorted.

"Twilight, calm down," Fluttershy murmured. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

"Chill, Twi," Rainbow Dash added. "We'll get to the bottom of this." She shot daggers at Comet Tail.

~

"She's in the hospital, Cherry Berry," Shoeshine said gravely as she entered her best friend's house. Cherry Berry looked up from the book she was reading.

"Oh, really? Shame." She turned her attention back to the book. Shoeshine was disgusted.

"Thanks to you, Twilight Sparkle almost died! I, I can't believe I agreed to distract them! This is insane, Cherry Berry! And you don't even care!"

"Hey, I do care, Shoeshine," Cherry Berry snapped. "Tell her I said I pity her, okay?" Shoeshine stomped her hoof in disbelief and utter disgust.

"You are a despicable pony, Cherry Berry! Get over Comet Tail!" She stormed out and slammed the door.

~

"Twilight." Nurse Snowheart entered the room. "There's another pony here to see you."

"Who is it?" Twilight asked. She was shocked as Shoeshine entered the room. "Shoeshine? What do you need? What are you doing here?" Shoeshine looked down at her hooves.

"Twilight, I am so sorry!" She blurted out. "Cherry Berry was my best friend so I agreed to distract you and Comet Tail while she sprinkled pepper on Comet Tail's food so you'd think he was trying to hurt you, but she didn't realize how serious your allergy was and Comet Tail didn't do it and please forgive me!" She begged. Twilight, her friends, Spike, Nurse Redheart, and Comet Tail stared at her in shock.

"I forgive you, Shoeshine," Twilight said quietly. "I..."

"Cherry Berry is insane," Comet Tail snapped. "I cannot believe I ever dated that monster." Shoeshine hung her head.

"I hope you feel better, Twilight," she murmured before walking out. Twilight turned to Comet Tail.

"Comet, I'm sorry for blaming you," she said. "I shouldn't have assumed the worst. Please, forgive me?"

"Of course, Twilight," Comet Tail responded. The two of them nuzzled.

"So sweet!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Everypony giggled.

Author's Note

I hadn't planned on writing this chapter, but it seemed like a good idea.
Pinkie Pie gets one line. At the end. Seems legit.
I totally had no idea Twilight would end up in the hospital when I began to write this. The storyline changed a lot.