Purple Haze

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 (Part 1)
Chapter 4 (Part 2)
Chapter 5
Epilogue

Prologue

You were halfway to Manehattan, somewhere on the outskirts of Ponyville…

When the drugs began to take hold.

You start to slow down to a mild trot as your mind flickers in and out for a few moments. “I don’t feel so good,” you say as you motion to pull over “maybe you should pull the cart for a while.”

In all of a sudden, the sky grows dark and is filled with a terrible roar that sends a chill down your spine. Looking up, all you can see is what look like giant parasprites, swooping and screeching all around.

Somewhere in the distance, you can hear someone screaming: “DEAR CELESTIA, WHAT ARE THESE GODDAMN ANIMALS?!?”

You pick up the speed and swerve violently to avoid one of the parasprites coming in for a divebomb and just barely manage to avoid it. The sharp turn is enough to rouse your friend Tokey out of his sleep. He sighs haggardly as he sits up on his haunches.

“Whad’ya say?”

“Huh? Uh, nothing. Your turn to pull the cart.”

Stopping the cart, you unbuckle yourself quickly while swatting at the dark shapes just overhead. Jumping into the back of the cart, you throw the blanket over yourself, hoping they’ll go away if they don’t have a target.

Or at least go for Tokey… you think cynically.

The screeching starts to die down as Tokey gallops down the road, shaking the cart as he did so. The sound of glass knocking together causes you jump.

“TOKEY YOU MANIAC, SLOW DOWN! YOU’LL DESTROY THE STASH!”

Tokey looks over his shoulder at you and nods quickly before slowing down to a fast trot. You can’t help but shake your head at Tokey’s poor judgment and decide to take stock to make sure nothing was broken or contaminated.

Three bags of clover… Two sheets of Tokey’s blotter acid… A quart of vodka… Bottle of hard-cider… Ten pellets of mescaline…Wait. No, nine pellets.

“Tokey, how the hell did you talk me into doing that shit, anyway?”

He laughs aloud at your question. “Dude! You thought it was a jelly-bean, remember?”

“Oh,” you say plainly “well, anyone could make that mistake when they’re hungry.”

“Dude, you’ve been hungry for like the past hour and a half.”

“Fine! I stand corrected!” you yell “anyone can make that mistake when they’ve got the munchies!”

Tokey snickers aloud “Oh come on, Smokey. All you ever do is that clover of yours. It wouldn’t kill you to have a good time and try a little sunshine acid.”

“Tokey, your idea of a good time is a chemical coma. At least my clover doesn’t leave you feeling like you just came out of surgery,” you say as you root around for your rolling paper.

“You never want to have any fun,” he grumbles under his breath.

“I have fun, just not under your definition of it,” you say as you finish rolling your joint “I’m going to have fun at the Harvest Moon Music Festival the way I do every year: curled up in my chair with a good buzz, listening to great music.”

Tokey doesn’t say anything, leaving you to your own devices. You hold the joint in-between your lips as you pull out your Quick-Spark lighter and give it a good squeeze to get the flame going. Your paranoia starts to fade as the clover hits your system.

“Hey, did you just see that?” he asks excitedly.

“See what?” you cough out.

“We just passed this purple Unicorn. I’m gonna see if she wants a ride.”

Tokey stops the cart suddenly, making your eyes bug out of your head. “We can’t stop here!” you yell through clenched teeth “this is parasprite country!”

He doesn’t seem to hear you as he circles around and goes back the way you came, towards the alleged purple unicorn.

Sure enough, Tokey was right and walking up the road was a purple unicorn. She looked at you and Tokey quizzically as you slowly walk up to her. Remembering your manners, you extinguish the joint and tuck it in behind your ear, right under the arm of your glasses.

“Hey,” you say as the cart comes to a stop “heading our way?”

The purple mare stumbles across her words, as if she wasn’t expecting to see anyone out on this road. “Umm… Uh… What?”

“Where ya goin’?” Tokey asks plainly.

“Oh!” the mare exclaims “The uh... The Harvest Moon Festival.”

“Well, no shit!” you say with a chuckle “That’s where we’re going! Why don’t ya save yourself the walk and hop in?”

The unicorn puts on a strained smile and shakes her head. “Oh no, no. I couldn’t possibly impose on you two, I’ll just-”

“Walk the remaining ten miles to Manehattan?” you finish for her.

The purple mare blinks a few times, apparently just now realizing the trek she had ahead of her. “Well… My hooves are kinda sore… Sure, I don’t see any harm in it.”

You offer her a helping hoof as she makes her way to the back of the cart and hops in. “So, what’s your name?” you ask as she settles herself down.

“Twilight. Twilight Sparkle,” she says with an outstretched hoof.

“Pleasure to meet ya Twilight,” you say as you shake her hoof “You can call me Smokey, if you want. And the acid causality pulling the cart is Tokey.”

Twilight looks at both of you quizzically. “Smokey and… Tokey? Are you two brothers?”

“Nah, we ain’t. We just like to hang out and stuff,” Tokey says as he takes a hard right.

“Yeah, Smokey and Tokey are just sort of nicknames. Our buddies just sort of started calling us that and it stuck,” you say as you reach for your joint again “so, what brings you to the festival?”

“I’ve… I’ve been a little stressed lately and one of the books I was reading said that going to a large social gathering is supposed to be quite enjoyable and help lift spirits. With everything that’s been going on, I could really use it.”

Holding your joint in-between your lips again, you light it again and take a quick puff. “Why aren’t you going with any of your friends? Or don’t you have any?”

“I’ve got friends; they’re just all busy with…” Twilight sniffs the air as your joint begins to burn and furrows her brow as she gets a nose full of it “What’s that smell?”

“Clover,” you say plainly “want some?”

Twilight’s eyes widen at the word. “Clover? Isn’t that stuff illegal?” she asks nervously.

You wave it off. “Only in New Colt City, Canterlot, and awaiting approval in Manehattan, but it’s going to be turned down.”

“But… But what about all articles I’ve read? They say clover causes everything from lowered IQ, attention problems, sterility-”

“Whoa, just hold on there a minute,” you say as you hold up a hoof “you’ve been reading way too much Canterlot Examiner. Let me give you the real deal on clover.”

She looks at you, shocked. “How did you know I-”

“You see, Hearst is the one who writes the Canterlot Examiner and he’s just got a real vendetta against anyone who smokes clover. I have no idea why, but he just hates us,” you say before taking a long drag on your joint. “So, he comes up with all sorts of outrageous claims, like how ponies are getting stupider on clover and it’s even killing them. Now Twilight, how long do you think I’ve been smoking? Take a wild guess.”

“Umm… A year? Maybe two?” she asks, unsure of herself.

Tokey laughs aloud. “Nah girl, he’s been smoking for close to a decade now! When did you start, dude? Elementary school?”

You shake your head. “My dad started in elementary school. I started in Middle school.”

“And you were what? A C student?” she asks bluntly.

“For your information, Miss Sparkle, I graduated with honors,”

You smirk as she stares at you with wide eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it and looks away bashfully. “I’m sorry, that was pretty rude. I didn’t-”

“Don’t worry about it,” you say as you take the joint out of your mouth. “Looks can be deceiving. Now, I was serious about that offer; do you want a hit or can I finish it?”

“I don’t know…” Twilight says as she eyes the joint cautiously “What happens when the plant enters your system?”

You don’t even skip a beat. You knew all there was to know about clover. “It’s not the plant itself; it’s the active ingredient, tetrahydroclovinol that causes the ‘high’. It can cause all sorts of things to happen to ponies and it’s usually unique to them alone. Personally, I get pretty calm and metaphysical.”

Twilight blinks a few times, “It sounds like you know what you’re talking about... and you definitely don’t sound like the stereotypical stoner that the Canterlot Examiner described…” she rationalizes as she slowly takes the joint. “And you’re sure there are no side-effects?”

You give her the joint and nod “Totally. Well, except for craving for an entire bag of kettle chips.”

Twilight scrutinizes every inch of the joint before looking back up at you. “So… I just put my lips on it and inhale?”

“That’s about it,” Tokey chimes in “Just hold it for like five seconds.”

“Just be careful,” you say as she tokes on it sharply “You don’t wanna-”

Too late. Twilight’s eyes widen and she’s soon thrown into a coughing fit. Grabbing the bottle of hard cider, you pull the cork off and hand it to her.

“Take a little swig, you’ll be fine,” Tokey says as he tries to watch what was going on and the road at the same time.

Twilight brings her lips to the bottle and drinks quickly and almost chokes again. “T-Thanks,” she manages to sputter out “I-” she stops and blinks a few times “I feel a little light-headed…”

“Why don’t you lie down for while?” you say as you re-cork the bottle.

“Yeah… Yeah I’ll do that,” she says as she sprawls out on her back. She coughs a few more times before looking over to you. “Does clover always leave your mouth so dry?”

You can’t help but laugh aloud. “It does that, sometimes. Want some vodka? Or more hard-cider?”

Twilight nods. “Yeah... Cider would be nice.”

You go to grab the hard cider, when Tokey cranes his head around and looks to you. “Hey bro, can you pour me some of that rot-gut? I’m feeling a little tired.”

“Sure thing,” you say as you unscrew the top to the bottle. Moving to the front of the cart, you expertly tip the bottle and pout a good amount into Tokey’s mouth. With an audible gulp, he cringes before shaking his head from side to side.

“WOO! GOOD TO GO!” he says with renewed vigor.

You toss Twilight the bottle of hard cider, which she just barely catches. “Where did you get this?” she asks as she eyes the bottle.

“Sweet Apple Acres.”

“I knew it tasted familiar,” she says rather happily. “My friend Applejack runs the whole place with her family. I haven’t had any in quite a while, actually.”

“Well don’t get hammered, just yet!” Tokey warns “We’re like, halfway there, so save it for the party!”

“Will there be a lot of drinking there?” Twilight asks as she tries to get the cork back on the bottle.

“Usually. I’m not much of a drinker myself, but I imbibe every now and again.”

“Hey Twi’, when we get to the party, up for a body shot?” Tokey asks sarcastically.

Twilight cocks her head to the side. “What’s a body shot?”

You can’t help but laugh aloud. “Twilight, he’s asking if he can drink tequila out of your belly-button.”

She begins blushing heavily. “I... Uh.... I don’t know. Is that something that happens at the festival normally?”

“Only when the music dies down and the real party starts,” you say as you tuck away the drinks for later.

Tokey shoots Twilight a playful look. “What’s wrong Twi’? Do you wanna do a body-shot off of me, instead?”

Her face goes even redder and you can’t help but nudge her playfully. “He’s messing with you, so relax. You gotta learn to take a joke.”

You hoped she wasn’t too sore about the teasing, but you begin to notice her eyes beginning to glass over as she stares up at the orange sky. The stars were just starting to shine as the sun set.

“The north star looks so bright…” she says as she holds a hoof out above her head. You venture a guess and assume that something was about to take hold. Twilight slumps down and rolls over onto her back. You lie down beside her and look up at the sky.

“Does look kinda bright, doesn’t it?”

Twilight doesn’t say anything for a while, so you look over to her and find that she was beginning to nod off. “I’ll wake ya up when we get there, okay?”

“Okay…” she mumbles as she finally drifts off to sleep.

Looking back up, you can’t help but smile. “Twilight’s first star… Tokey?”

“Yeah bro?”

“Wake me up when you get tired, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

Chapter 1

The cart jostles slightly, stirring you from your deep and wonderful slumber. You let out a content sigh as your eyes flutter open.

I’ve never felt so rested in my life… you think with a smile.

You think about drifting back to sleep, but stop when you finally notice you had a hoof wrapped around Twilight’s midsection and had cuddled up to her in your sleep; you were practically spooning.

The content smile on her face makes her heart go aflutter. When the hell did this happen?

You feel your entire face go flush as you feel her try to wiggle herself closer to you. As much as you loved the feeling of having her so close, you had a hunch she wasn’t going to be as happy if she wakes up and to find a stallion she just met spooning her.

Oh dear Celestia, don’t let her wake up, don’t let her wake up you think as you slowly move away from her I don’t want her to think I’m some sort of pervert…

Thankfully, you manage to break the impromptu cuddle without her even stirring a bit. You move to the opposite side of the cart and sit down on your haunches just as the cart hits another bump, waking Twilight from her deep slumber. Slowly, she sits up and yawns before looking at you with a goofy smile.

“Sleep well?” you ask nonchalantly.

Twilight brings her fore-legs over her head stretches each one out with a content sigh.

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe!” she exclaims “I haven’t slept like that in years! And I had the most wonderful dream.”

You shoot her a curious look. “Oh? About what?”

"It was so weird… I was all wrapped up in something, so warm and soft… like waves of fluff rolling around me... And something holding me! Like a…a…”

She continues to stumble over her words as she kept reaching for the right descriptor.

“…a…giant… teddy bear! Yeah! It was all warm and soft and cuddly and I felt so safe and happy..." she says rather dreamily as she wraps her hooves around her waist; exactly where you were holding her just a few minutes ago.

“W-Well… It was just a dream,” you say awkwardly “you shouldn’t look too much into it…”

“But it was so vivid!” Twilight asserts “I still feel its warmth on my coat…”

You do your best to steer the conversation in another direction before she asks you why your face was so red. “U-Uh, well… Tokey? How long until we hit Manehattan?”

Tokey cranes his head back and gives you a funny look. “Dude, are you blind? We’re like right on the outskirts.”

You look around dumbly and finally notice the street lamps to your side and how the road was changing from dirt to cobblestone. In the distance, Manehattan was just coming into view, illuminating the night sky with its thousands of lights.

Twilight’s grimaces as she looks to the sky and then to the city. “How are we supposed to see the moon and the stars with all that light pollution?”

“No problem, little spoon. The city officials order all unnecessary lights to be extinguished once the sun aaaaand there it goes! See?”

All three of you watch on as one by one, the lights of Manehattan slowly dim, making it a shadow of its former self. The stars blink into existence as soon as the lights were gone, making it feel as if the city had somehow borrowed its shine for just a little while.

It’s not like we need them… you think as you look up at the large, red moon Luna’s light show is all we need tonight.

“Hey bro, you mind pulling the cart to the hotel?” Tokey asks as he pulls over to the side of the road “My hooves are pretty sore.”

Jumping out of the side of the cart, you help Tokey get the harness off. “Sure, I don’t mind.”

Just as you get the straps on, you hear Twilight speak, sounding rather worried. “Uh…Hotel? You guys never said anything about a hotel…”

“Well, we all kinda need a place to sleep tonight,” Tokey says as he pulls himself into the back of the cart.

“Yeah, when the party winds down and we’re all tuckered out, neither of us want to really pull a cart home,” you explain as you strap yourself in “Why? Is there a problem?”

Twilight shifts nervously in her seat. “Well… I was kinda expecting to just go to the party and go home… I’ve got some spending money, but I doubt I have enough for a hotel room.”

“Well… Why don’t you bunk with one of us?” you say as you begin to pull the cart.

“You’re gonna have to put up with her bro. Remember when I took that bad acid? I’ve had night terrors ever since.”

Twilight blinks a few times at this revelation. “Uhh...Okay then… I guess I’ll sleep with you, if you’re okay with it, that is.”

“Uh, sure. That’s fine,” you say rather puzzled “Hey Tokey? Can you come here for a second? I got ask you something.”

Tokey moves to the front of the cart and leans forward enough so only you and him could hear what was being said.

“What are you talking about? You don’t get night terrors.”

Tokey simply shrugs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, big spoon.”

“And what is with that? You called Twilight little spoon and now I’m bi-”

It slowly dawns on you that Tokey knew a little more than he was letting on. “Uh… D… Did you see us when… when we…”

Tokey holds up a hoof and smiles. “I won’t tell, scout’s honor.”

“Well, um… Thanks.” You say with a smile. Tokey smiles back and lays himself down in the cart, opposite of Twilight.

“Nice to see my buddy is still somewhere in that chemistry set you call a head…” you say under your breath.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You lead Twilight and Tokey down the hall of the Celestial Hooves Hotel, looking out for your rooms.

“211…213…215… Ah here we go Tokey. You’re in room 217,” you say as you give him his key “and Twilight and I are across the hall in room 218.”

“Awesome! I am going to order SO much room service!” Tokey exclaims as he barrels into his room.

“Don’t forget; we meet in the lobby in like an hour, okay?” you say as he closes the door behind him. You can only hope he heard you.

Turning to your own room, you open the door for Twilight and follow her in.

“You know, getting something to eat doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I’d be more than willing to pay my share.” Twilight says as she walks over to the room phone.

“No, that’s okay;” you say as you throw your bags on the bed “save your money for some nifty souvenirs you can show your friends. I got this.”

Taking the phone out of Twilight’s hoof, you find the number for room service listed on a card next to the phone.

“Oh, do you want to look at the menu?” Twilight asks as she holds up a printed card.

You shake your head. “Nah, I’ll figure something out.”

Dialing the number, you let it ring a few times before putting a hoof over the receiver and turning to Twilight. “Anything in particular you got a craving for?”

“Umm… Let’s see…” she says as she looks over the card “I haven’t had Esperian food in a while… Can I get the pasta primavera?”

Just as she asks, the phone finally stops ringing. “Room service, how may I help?” a mare asks on the other end.

“Yeah, can we get pasta primavera, some spaghetti, and a basket of garlic bread delivered to room 218?”

“Certainly sir, will that be everything?”

You think for a moment before speaking up again. “How about a banana split for dessert? Enough for two?”

“And what did you want on that banana split?”

You turn to Twilight as you start naming off the toppings. “Let’s see… How about hot fudge, whip cream, sprinkles, aaaaand… a cherry on top.”

Her eyes started to gleam at ‘hot fudge’.

“Alright, your dinner will be up in twenty minutes and your dessert will follow fifteen minutes later. We don’t want you to have melted ice-cream,” the mare says with a chuckle.

“That’s great, thank you.”

You hang up the phone and turn back to Twilight, who was looking quite pensive. “Why are you being so nice to me? Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered, it’s just strikes me as a little… weird.”

“What can I say? I’m a nice guy. Besides, if I got a banana split for just one pony, you’d probably fight me for it,” you say with a grin “and win.”

Twilight giggles under her breath. “Well, thanks. For everything. I’ve been so stressed; it feels like I’m being twisted into knots.”

You cock an eyebrow at her. “You said that before, but you really haven’t said anything about what is stressing you out. Care to share?” you as you take a seat on the bed.

“Um… I really don’t think it would be fair to make you listen to all of my woes-”

“No, come on,” you say as you motion her to take a seat “Talk to me, Twi.”

Twilight looks at you for a few seconds before letting out a heavy sigh and sitting by your side. “Alright… Well, it’s been my friends that have me worried. First, my friend Rainbow Dash got into a really bad accident and ended up in the hospital not too long ago. She’s better now, but she had us all worried. There was a time when I actually thought she wouldn’t fly again.”

“How is she now?”

“She’s better,” Twilight says with a smile. “Fully healed and actually engaged to be married.”

“Well you see? Things work out.”

Her smile slowly starts to fade. “Well, I can only hope so. My other friend Rarity is now in therapy and it scares me so much. She started spending all of her time inside, avoiding us, and driving away her customers. I keep feeling how I did when Dash was hurt. Like I’m going to lose them…”

Twilight looks to the ground, obviously hurt. You feel bad for dragging this out of her, so you put a hoof on her shoulder and do the best to comfort her.

“Well, I’m sure whatever happens, you’ll be there for them to lend a helping hoof.”

Her spirits seem to brighten up a bit “Well… I never thought of it that way. We’ve been through much worse and we made it out of it because we were there for each other,” she reasons.

“See? It’s okay to worry just a bit, but don’t let it twist into knots or you’ll turn into a pretzel,” you say jokingly. “At least you’d be a cute pretzel.”

Twilight laughs for a moment, but then blushes slightly. “C-Cute? You think I’m cute?” she asks awkwardly. Her tone changes rapidly before you can respond, taking you aback. “This isn’t another joke, like the body-shot thing, is it?” she asks curtly.

You hold your hooves up defensively. “No! Of course not! You’re cute. Really.”

Twilight’s seems to soften a bit. “Oh… W-Well, thank you. I’ve never been called ‘cute’ before…”

“Seriously?” you ask, half shocked “You haven’t had any coltfriends tell you you’re beautiful?”

“Umm… I… I haven’t had a coltfriend…” she says bashfully “I’ve been on a few dates, but they all ended badly. I either drove them away with my obsessive behavior or made them feel stupid.”

Letting out a sigh, you shake your head. “I’ve been there.” you sympathetically. “Last girlfriend I had was a total ditz. I wanted someone to connect with, but all she wanted was to be high. Talking to her was almost impossible, you know?

Twilight shakes her head.

“Oh, well… It’s kinda like talking to a magic eight ball; Pretty one sided conversation. Everything she said was either yes, no, maybe or I don’t know.”

“Why was she like that?” Twilight asks.

“You try holding a conversation when you’re higher than a kite.”

She giggles and nudges your side. “Have you ever been in that position?”

“What? Higher than a kite? Not usually. I only tend to when I’m either really stressed out, I want to relax after a long day, or just have a great dinner.”

You’re hit with a sudden realization and turn to your bag. “Oh wow, I totally forgot about those!”

Twilight watches as you reach for your bag and begin to root around the contents. “What are you looking for?” she asks.

“I thought I packed them… Where are-Aha!” you exclaim “Here!”

Pulling out the brown paper bag, you dump the contents into your hoof and smile. It was a large chunk of brownie.

“What’s so special about it?” Twilight asks as she sniffs at it. As soon as she gets a nose-full, she moves back and gives you an odd look. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Clover-Brownie. I used a three leaf clover for this one. I figure we’ve got some time to eat it before dinner arrives,” you say as you break her off a piece.

“We?”

“Oh don’t give me that. You were going on about how well you slept and the wonderful dreams you had,” you say before popping your half into your mouth.

“W-Well, I was curious. Don’t get me wrong, I still am, it’s just I’m unsure as to what this will do to me. I’d rather not put something into my body that could have an adverse affect.” She says defensively “What’s the difference between this and what I took in the cart?”

You swallow your brownie and clear your throat before speaking up. “Well, the stuff you smoked in the cart was two leaf. Not really that potent. The stuff here in the brownie is three leaf.”

“You mentioned that clover has different effects on different ponies… What does three leaf clover do to you?” Twilight asks as she gingerly takes the brownie.

“Well… I get pretty chilled out and hungry. I really don’t know what more to tell ya.” You say with a shrug.

Twilight looks you and then back to the clover confectionery in her hoof. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this…” she says as she shakes her head.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Blinking a few times, you realize you had spaced out and have been staring at the ceiling for a while now. Looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand, you figure you’ve been like that for around fifteen minutes.

“Hey Twi’, wasn’t our food supposed to be here by now?” you ask as you roll over onto your side.

Twilight doesn’t look at you and instead continues to stare at the wall as she traced a hoof in the air rapidly.

You give her a shove to get her attention. “Twi’?”

She snaps out of her trance and looks around. “Did you say something?”

“What were you doing?” you ask confusedly.

“I was just writing out some magic formulas in my head and tweaking them. I really wish I had some paper and a pen, though. I really want to get this all down…”

“What kind of formulas?” you ask idly.

“Ones I’ve pretty much mastered. I’m thinking there’s a way to make teleportation a little more instantaneous. There’s always a second delay followed by a bright flash. I’m sure there’s a way, but it keeps slipping away. It’s there, I just can’t-”

You hear a loud grumbling sound come from her, making her groan aloud in contempt.

“Think on an empty stomach?” you finish for her.

Twilight nods. “Yeah…”

As if on cue, a knock on the door makes both of you perk up.

“Great! I’m starving!” you yell ecstatically. Before you can get up, the door glows a light purple color and swings open, startling the blue mare with the cart behind it.

“Oh! Uh, hello. I’ve got your fo-”

Another purple aura shimmers around the cart of food and you watch as it wheels itself in and stops at the foot of the bed. You drag yourself over to the cart and pull off one of the silver domes, revealing the dish below.

“Ahh… Thanks. Hey Twi’, you mind giving her a tip? I’ll pay you back,” you say as you take your plate of spaghetti off the cart. From behind you, you hear the jingling of coins from your wallet and watch as three bits float through the air and into the waiting hoof the bellhop.

“Uh… Thanks. Enjoy your-”

Before she can finish, the door closes abruptly in her face. “You know Twi’, that was pretty rude.”

“Huh?” Twilight asks hazily. “I think I spaced out again. What was rude?”

“Slamming the door like tha… wait…” the fog slowly starts to clear from your mind as you try to figure out just what happened. “You mean you didn’t know you wheeled in the cart? Or tipped her? Or closed the door in her face?”

Twilight looks to you, next to the tray of food, then the door, and finally back to you. “No, not really. You mean I did all that stuff?”

You can’t help but laugh aloud. “Wow… You like, telekinesis’d all that stuff and you didn’t even think about it and you’re doing it again!”

“No I’m not.” Twilight says defensively.

“Twi’, you’re about to shove pasta into your mouth.”

Her eyes widen as she finally notices the telekinetically suspended fork hovering a few inches from her mouth.

“Woah… That’s freaky,” she says with a giggle “it’s like; I’m reaching out with my mind and doing stuff subconsciously.”

“Isn’t it always like that with unicorn magic?” you ask through a mouthful of spaghetti.

Twilight shakes her head. “No, not exactly. I have to at least focus on what I want moved and where. This is just happening.”

The fork drifts lazily over to Twilight’s plate again and picks up another bunch of pasta primavera.

“That is so groovy…” you say with a laugh.

Twilight laughs aloud, but not at what you think. “Groovy?” she asks mockingly “Who still says ‘groovy’ anymore?”

“My old man and me and others, I guess. He was part of Haystock and the hippie movement during that time. I’ve picked up words here and there they used back then.”

“Huh… What was your father like?” Twilight asks as she levitates a piece of garlic bread past your face.

“My father? Oh he was great!” you say with a forced smile “He… He…”

Twilight gives you an odd look as you begin to trip over your words.

Letting out a long sigh, you realize there was no way you could fool her. “Not gonna lie to you, Twi’, my dad was piece of work. I didn’t really matter that much to him. I came second on his list of things to do, right after partying.”

“You can’t be serious.” Twilight says in shock. “He’d never take you out for ice cream or play catch or other father-son activities?”

“Naw, nothing like that. I mean, he did get me into clover in middle school and I’m a little grateful for that, but he was still an ass. That’s why I left him.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asks as she inches closer to you.

“My-” you stop as you suddenly realize you were telling her things that you hadn’t told anyone before.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” You say as you turn away from her.

“No, come on.” She says as she puts a hoof on your shoulder.

You turn back to Twilight and open your mouth to tell her to drop it, but the words disappear as you find her staring at you with those big, soulful eyes.

“Talk to me?” she asks with a soft smile.

Sighing heavily, you break. “My dad wasn’t there for me. He wasn’t a father, just a strange stallion passed out on the couch who’d yell at me if I tried to wake him.” you say plainly. “He didn’t even try to be a good father. I was just getting into high school when he started really hitting the bottle.”

Reliving your crumby childhood made your buzz disappear and has left you feeling depressed. Falling backwards into the bed, you run your hooves down your face.

“The liquor loosened his tongue one night and he just started digging into me, saying I was a burden to him and a waste of money. I’ve heard it all before, but he said something that night that just plain cruel…”

“What? What did he say?” Twilight asks as she cuddles up next to you.

“He… He said I was a mistake. An accident. He told me I’m ‘what happens when the condom breaks’.”

Twilight puts her hooves up to her mouth in horror. “Oh my gosh, how could anyone say that to their own child?!?”

“I have no idea. All I know is that I was tired of all the abuse. I ran and didn’t look back.”

“But… what did you do after? Did you go back home?” Twilight asks as she puts a hoof around your shoulder.

“No, not at first. I stayed with some friends for a while and did my best to avoid home. After a few days, I got the nerve, found the right words and went to go face my dad. But do you know what the funny thing? He was gone.”

“What do you mean?”

Putting a hoof around Twilight’s shoulder you draw her in a little closer.

“I mean, he was gone. Like, completely. All of his stuff was missing and there wasn’t a trace of him anywhere. He just… left.”

Twilight’s face scrunches up in anger. “You mean he just abandoned you? Just like that?”

“Yeah, but I managed to look after myself. I learned real quick that I had to cut back on everything, from electricity and heat and learn to pinch my pennies. Hell, I even got a job while I was still in school.”

“Where did you work?”

“Oh, just a little bakery in town. I’d come in during the night and clean up the place. Good work and the pink filly living there was cute, so I couldn’t complain.”

“I bet you were the little charmer as a kid,” Twilight says with a playful nudge “Did you ask her out?”

“I… I was too embarrassed to…” you say bashfully “She didn’t seem interested and she was out of my league.”

“Oh, now how can you be so bashful when we’re-”

Twilight stops and looks at you with an ever-growing blush. That’s when you finally noticed the position you were in. You and Twilight had managed to cuddle up to each other again; but this time, you were both awake.

Both of you break the cuddle and move to the other side of the bed, awkwardly trying to play it off as nothing.

“L-Listen,” you begin “I was feeling pretty bummed out and well…”

“And I just wanted to support you,” Twilight says as she squirms in her seat “since you were reliving such a traumatic experience and…”

You both go quiet and let an awkward silence fill the air before you both speak up again.

“I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry.”

In all of a sudden, you both start laughing at the awkward display you both put on. “Oh wow, look at us,” you say as you get off of the bed “tip-toeing around each other like we’re both made of glass or something.”

“Yes, it is pretty ridiculous. I mean, we’re both adults here.”

A thought crosses your mind and you inch a little closer. “Yeah…Hey-”

Before you can get any farther, a knock on the door startles both of you.

“Who is it?” you ask as you approach the door.

“I’ve got your dessert here.” A familiar voice says through the door. Opening it slowly, you find the blue mare from before, standing there uneasily. “I’m sorry if I offended you before in anyway-”

“No, not at all! I’m sorry for before, I was just out of it. Uhm… Tired and all from the long trip. I didn’t even know what I was doing.” Twilight says as she takes the second cart from her.

“Oh! Thank goodness, I was afraid I did something wrong…” she says with a nervous chuckle “Well, enjoy your split!”

With that, she leaves you and Twilight with the dish you had completely forgotten about it. Taking the silver dome off, you feel your mouth water at the sight. But the clock was counting down.

“We’ve got like five minutes to eat this…” you say slightly depressed.

“Well, we better hurry then.” Twilight says as she levitates a spoon in front of your face.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You grimace as you walk out of the hotel room. “Worst. Idea. Ever.” You say as you stumble towards the elevator. You thought it was pretty clever of you to eat a good chunk of your portion in one bite, but you completely forgot about the damage an ice-cream headache can inflict.

“I ate too much ice cream…” Twilight mutters as she follows you. Her idea wasn’t as smart as yours, either. Not content with letting any of it go to waste, she elected to eat not only her share, but the rest of yours after you collapsed on the ground with what felt like a vice around your skull.

Neither of you felt like going out after that, but there was no chance you’d miss the Harvest Moon Festival.

“Why did we even do that?” Twilight asks as she follows you into the elevator.

“Because we’re adults,” you say as you hit the button for the lobby “and we can do stuff like that.”

“You gotta point.” She says with a half-smirk.

The thought from the hotel room starts to claw its way to the front of your mind again. Steeling yourself, you decide to go for it. “Hey, uhm… While we’re still acting like adults? I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date?”

Twilight’s entire face goes red at the question. “A-A date? Like a date-date? Like right now? Like-”

“No! No, not right now. I was thinking after the Harvest Moon Festival. Maybe you and I can get together for some drinks and maybe dinner, a movie?”

“Oh, I see…” she says, settling down a bit “Well… Before I say anything, may I ask why? I... I want to know what you see in me.”

“You want to know why?” you ask, befuddled “Well… You’re cute, funny, smart, and attractive. Essentially, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl and I want to get to know you better.”

Twilight smiles sheepishly as she kicks at the ground before mumbling under her breath.

“Pardon?”

“I said I’d love to.” she says more confidently.

You can’t help but grin from ear to ear. “Great.”

The elevator doors open to the lobby and you watch as Tokey runs up to you. “Come on ya slowpokes! We gotta hurry if we’re gonna get a good spot!”

“Well come on, we don’t wanna miss the show, do we?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Twilight levitates the blanket out on the grass and neatly smoothes it out neatly. “There we go, all set!”

“Niiiiice…” Tokey says as he settles himself down.

You were lucky enough to get one of the best seats in the house; right under the old oak tree on top of a small hill overlooking it all. From here, you had a great view of the stage and the crowd gathering for the show.

“So, who’s on first?” you ask as you lie down.

Without missing a beat, Twilight pulls out the program she got earlier and begins looking through it.

“Hmm…. Ah! Here we go. Some pony by the name of… Rick Roll?”

At the mere mention of the name, Tokey groans aloud in anguish. “Oh dear Celestia, no!”

You, on the other hoof, can’t start to snicker uncontrollably.

Twilight gives both of you an odd look. “What? What am I missing here?”

“Ugh! I just can’t stand his music after Mr. Super Troll over here got me over thirty times.” Tokey says as he points a hoof over in your direction.

“Oh come on, getting Rick Roll’d isn’t that bad.” You say with a laugh.

“It is after the dozenth time!”

Twilight shakes her head in confusion at the banter. “Okay, fill me in. What’s a ‘Rick Roll’?”

“You see,” Tokey begins “Back in the day, Rick Roll released a single called ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Some liked it, some hated it, but it never got popular. That is, until the Rick Roll was created.”

“Basically, you remove the sticker on one album and put it on a copy of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. When someone goes to play a song, they instead get ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. It’s a harmless prank.” You say as you begin to root around in your pack.

“Yeah, harmless. Not physically anyway. This asshole got me thirty times!” Tokey yells “He even rigged appliances to play the song! How the hell did you even get the showerhead to play it?!?”

“Lots of free time and power tools.” You say plainly as you pack some clover into your pipe.

“Oh wait!” Twilight exclaims “I remember now! I’ve heard that song before! How does it go again?” she asks “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never-”

Tokey puts his hooves up to his ears as soon as she starts to sing. “AHHH! DEAR PRINCESSES, NOT AGAIN!”

Stifling a laugh, you get to your hooves and motion to the bottom of the hill.

“Seconded. If they do it again this year, let’s go take a walk or something.” Looking at your glass pipe, you hold it out to Twilight.

“No thanks,” she says as she pushes the pipe back towards you “I’m still feeling pretty hazy from before. Maybe later?”

“Sure. I’m gonna go grab some drinks before the next band starts. You guys want anything?” You ask as you get to your hooves.

“See if they have any margaritas.” Tokey says flatly as he digs at his ears “I’m gonna see if I can get this song out of my head.”

“Umm… Nothing too strong, alright?” Twilight asks “I don’t really have a high tolerance for alcohol.”

“Got it.” You say with a nod.

With both requests in mind, you make your way to the bottom of the hill and look around for anypony who might be selling liquor. Sure enough, there was what looked like an impromptu bar constructed out of an old tent and a few tables not too far away. Walking up to the bartender, you glance over the stock quickly.

“You serve margaritas?”

The bartender shakes his head. “Nah, sorry. We’ve got hard cider, vodka, draft beer-”

“Got any orange juice?”

“Hmm… Yeah, I do. Why?”

“Mix me up three screwdrivers, my good pony.” You tell him as you place a few bits down on the table.

“Coming right up.”

You turn your back to the bar and find yourself looking over the crowd and what they were wearing: Some wore tattered t-shirts and ripped jeans, while others were dressed in what looked like gray and brown military uniforms, and some had their manes and coats died neon colors.

Wow, and I thought I was weird you think idly.

The clang of glassware and metal snaps you out of your trance. “Here ya go, buddy.” On the tray sat three large glasses, each filled with to the brim and topped off with an orange wedge garnish.

Taking your leave of the bar scene, you make your way back to your friends with drinks in tow.

“Screwdrivers, anyone?”

Tokey and Twilight look to you with a look of disappointment and curiosity, respectively.

“No margaritas?” Tokey asks sadly.

“Sorry, broski. He said he didn’t and I wasn’t going to push it,” you tell him as you give him his drink.

“What is it?” Twilight asks as she looks at the contents of the glass.

“Just orange juice and vodka. They’re pretty good,” you say before dipping the orange slice into the drink and popping it in your mouth.

You can’t help but laugh aloud as Tokey begins to relive the time he spent as your room-mate in college. “Okay Twi’ give it a rest before he gouges his ears o-”

The roar of the crowd begins to die down, turning your attention to the stage. Slowly, a ginger unicorn walks towards the microphone with a guitar on his back. Following him was a pegasus pushing a piano out and an earth pony climbing onto the drum set. Rick Roll turns to the two and gives them a quick nod before levitating his guitar into the air.

Tokey grits his teeth slightly as the ponies get ready. “I swear to heaven above, if he Rick Rolls us, I’ll-”

Before he can finish, the music starts, surprising all of you.

[On the empty streets of this nowhere town
The melting shadows fade
And the dark is creeping up on me again
In between these sheets were
I laid you down I tried to find some rest
So I reach out for the switch but why pretend?

'Cause I can't turn the lights out now
I see your face
No, I can't turn the lights out now
My heart will break
'Cause everything I see will end up killing me
All over, all over again
So I can't turn the lights out](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgUrqGFxV3Q)

He hasn’t lost his gift you think with a grin. Rick Roll was around when you were a kid, and even back then, he was good.

Looking over to Twilight, you smile as you finally notice how engrossed in the music she was.

Rick Roll starts to put his heart into the music and you feel yourself grin ear to ear. All at once, groups of ponies hold up lighters, making Rick Roll smile as he sings the next part. You feel like joining in and grab your own quick-spark lighter, waving the flickering flame above your head.

“Why are you doing that?” Twilight asks.

You give her a shrug. “Why not? Let’s show him he doesn’t need to turn the lights out.”

A flash of inspiration goes across Twilight’s face. “Ooh! I got an idea!” she cries. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes tightly and her horn becomes to grow brightly. The only thing that out shined it was the lights that flickered in the crowd as they started grow brighter and brighter, illuminating the whole night. Rick Roll’s jaw drops at the display, but he doesn’t falter. He starts singing with more spirit than before.

I can't turn the lights out now
I'll see your face
I can't turn the lights out now
My heart will break
'Cause everything I see will end up killing me
All over, all over again
So I can't turn the lights out
Turn the lights out

So I can't turn the lights out
Turn the lights out

As quickly as the lights shone, they begin to die down and the ponies turn them off and watch on as the stage lights follow suit, leaving it pitch black. The crowds of ponies remain silent until the stage lights flicker back on and cheer aloud for Rick Roll, who looked completely overwhelmed by the amount of praise.

“Holy… Twilight! That was awesome!”

Twilight takes a deep breath and wipes the sweat off of her brow. “T-Thanks. I didn’t mean for it to get that bright, but they aren’t complaining,” she says as she nods to the crowd, who was still cheering.

“I gotta say, this almost makes up for Never Gonna Give you up,” Tokey says

“Yeah, he’s aged pretty well. I mean, he was performing when I was in elementary school.” You say before lighting up your pipe.

Taking a deep breath in, you hold it for a few moments before holding the pipe out to Twilight.

“No thanks,” she says as she pushes the pipe back towards you “I’m still feeling pretty hazy from before. Maybe later?”

“Oh sweet!” Tokey yells aloud. “Manehattan City Soundtrack is on next!”

Both you and Twilight give him an odd look.

“Who are they?” Twilight asks.

Tokey looks to Twilight and stares at her, as if she was speaking some sort of foreign language. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’ve never heard of them.”

“Ditto.” You add.

“You two have no taste in music,” he says sounding hurt “Manehattan City Soundtrack is… Well… You’ll see.” He says as he turns his attention to the stage. Looking to the stage yourself, you watch as a large group of ponies walk onto the stage. Four of them were carrying instruments in and getting set up while three others just stood around and talked. They tried to offer help, but the ponies on the drums and bass guitar stopped them and pointed two of them to a box over in the corner.

“What are they doing?” you ask aloud.

“If I had to guess? They pulled a couple of groupies to help them with their song.” Tokey explains.

To cement this point home, the two of them dig out a tambourine and what looked like a small bell. The third pony, a pegasus gives the band a shrug and says something, but you can’t make it out over the roar of the crowd. The unicorn with a disheveled black mane moves away from the microphone and faces the pegasus. He says something to her and stomps his front hooves down quickly, getting the attention of the crowd as they start to wonder what’s going on. The pegasus gives him an odd look before stomping her own front hooves down in rapid succession.

“Yeah! Like that!” he exclaims.

The crowd quiets down completely as the band takes their place. The unicorn on the microphone gives the pegasus a quick nod, signaling her to start stamping her hooves down again. Stepping up to the microphone, the unicorn takes a deep breath and starts.

If I stand too close
I might fall in
But if I'm too far gone
I'll never win
And if you believe in me
I might just wanna spend some time with you again

The beat of the music catches on and you find yourself bobbing along with the tune and tapping your hoof in time with the pegasus on stage.

I'm afraid I tend to disappear
Into an anxious state
When you draw near
There is no reasoning
It's quite a silly thing
But it's the way I've been for years

Tokey starts stomping his hooves in beat with the pegasus on stage and turns to you and Twilight with a smile. “Come on!”

Turning to Twilight, you give her a shrug and start stomping your own hooves to the beat. Twilight follows and much to your surprise, so does most of the crowd, slowly but surely. The lead singer starts to smile as more and more ponies join in.

If I stand too close
I might fall in
But if I'm too far gone
I'll never win
If you believe in me
I might just wanna spend some time with you again…

With a finishing flourish, the song ends and you can’t help but clap loudly for them. “Wow that was good! Nice and upbeat with a catchy tune.”

“Yeah, but it felt kinda sad, too…” Twilight says as she watched the band leave the stage “Like he wanted to get closer to someone, but was stuck in this ‘in-between’ state.”

“You’re both right,” Tokey says before taking a sip of his drink “MCS’s songs can be sad and happy, quiet and angry, or funny and deep. It’s really cool.”

“Think I can borrow a record of some of their stuff?” you ask as you pack some more clover into your pipe.

“Sure!” Tokey exclaims happily “I’ve got ‘Broken Heart’, ‘Even if it Kills Me’, and ‘Commit this to Memory’.”

“Great, thanks bro.” You say before bring your clover pipe to your lips. Just as you do, Twilight reaches out and stops you.

“Umm… Can I try first?” she asks shyly.

You’re a little stunned by her initiative, but you don’t complain. “Sure, just don’t choke on it this time.” You say teasingly.

“Thanks for bringing that up.” she says sarcastically “Care to show me how not to choke on this stuff?”

“Sure,” you say as you scoot yourself behind Twilight. “First, hold the pipe in-between your lips and make a tight seal. Ya got it?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay, I’m going to bring the lighter over and get it going. Once it’s lit, you’re going to breathe in. Don’t breathe out until you take the pipe out of your mouth, understand? Your first response will be to breathe in again, but you don’t want to. You’ll get a lung full of smoke and start choking again.”

Lighting the quick spark lighter, you hover it over the pipe and look to her. “Ready?”

She nods quickly. Touching the lighter to the pipe, you hold it to the clover. “Okay, go.”

With eyes shut tight, she inhales slowly until she reaches her peak, signaling you to take the lighter off and the pipe out of her mouth.

“Okay, now exhale slowly.”

Twilight obeys and lets out the smoke in one, slow breath. When she finishes, she turns to you with a goofy grin. “Did I do good?”

“I’ll give you an A for the hit and a C for the grammar.” You say jokingly.

Instead of a witty comeback, she simply sticks her tongue out at you before giggling.

“So, who’s up next?” Tokey asks as roots around in the pack for something.

“Hmm… I don’t know,” she says as she looks over the program “It just says… ‘Mystery Guests’.”

Letting out a lung full of smoke, you motion for her to give you the program. “Huh…” you say as you look it over “Who do you think they got this year?

He gives you a shrug. “No idea. I just hope they don’t get another one of those teen pop-stars. I swear, every year they bring out another teen pop-star singing ‘Baby’.”

“Ugh, I hate that song!” Twilight says with a look of disgust “These kids over at the elementary school sing it every day, like they’re trying to get to me.”

“Seconded. If they do it again this year, let’s go take a walk or something.”

The only sign that they were coming was when three ponies came out carrying a large turntable. You ventured a guess that it was meant for the both of the mystery guest and thank your lucky stars you didn’t have to sit through another rendition of ‘Baby’ this year.

After a few minutes and an empty pipe between you and Twilight, you wonder if these ‘mystery guests’ were ever going to show up. As if to just disprove you, the stage lights brighten a bit and two ponies walk onto the stage. One you recognized and one new.

“Whoa! Vinyl Scratch is one of the mystery guests?” you ask with pleasant surprise.

“I guess so, but who’s the stallion with her?” Twilight asks.

The stallion that Twilight was referring to was almost midnight black and was wearing a red helmet, shaped like a dragon with X’s in its eyes.

“Wait a minute, that’s Dead Dragon!” Tokey yells in surprise.

“Ya know him, Tokey?” you ask.

“I saw him play before at a night club,” Tokey explains “He disappeared for a while, but I guess he’s back now! And playing with DJ-PON3!”

Wasting no time, the two set to work, taking their place on opposite ends of the turntable. They look at each other once and nod before placing their hooves on the controls. All at once, the air is filled with a fast, yet heavy beat. It works its way into your hooves and you find yourself wanting to do nothing more than dance. Looking to the crowd, you see the song has had the same effect on everyone else and an impromptu rave has formed. Getting to your hooves, you grab a hold of Twilight as she takes a sip of her screwdriver. “Come on guys, let’s dance!”

“Sure!” Twilight says happily “Let’s dance the night away!”

Tokey, on the other hoof, wriggles out of your grip. “Nah dude, it’s cool. You two have fun.”

You decide not to pressure him and simply shrug. “Suit yourself. Come on Twi’, I’ll race ya!”

“Oh, you’re on!”

Like a shot, you both run down the hill and into the crowd of ponies, who were dancing in time with the beat, which had now turned into something with more of a heavy, repeating beat mixed with distorted sounds. However, you can make out a pony’s voice in the background.

Kick. Step. Kick. Step. Kick.

Shrugging, you decide your best option is to follow the DJ’s advice. Making sure not to hit anyone in the face, you rear up on your front hooves and buck them into the air before pushing on your front hooves and pushing yourself into the air, where you land expertly on your back.

“Whoa! Where’d you learn to do that?” Twilight yells over the crowd.

“No idea! Just going with the flow!”

“Going with the flow…” she mimics “Oh! Lemme try!”

Twilight rears up on her back hooves and she soon finds herself balancing on them. With her front hooves free, she starts waving them in time with the beat as she jumped on her back hooves to keep balance.

Not to be outdone, you mimic her moves and start balancing on your back hooves, albeit with more stomping.

Just as the music speeds up, the crowd of ponies closes in on you and Twilight, causing her to fall into your open hooves. Twilight cranes her head back and stares at you, her face a mix of confusion and embarrassment as her body presses close to you.

“Um… I-”

Before you can say anymore, she leans forward and places a quick kiss on your cheek. You feel your entire face go bright red, just as bright as Twilight’s.

“Listen… I gotta say this now. Twilight, I-”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A dull thud from the inside of your head wakes you from your deep sleep. Your eyes flicker open slowly, but you immediately shut them when you realize it was way too bright.

Uhh…What happened? It feels like I just came out of surgery.

Your eyes shoot up again as images from last night pour back into your head.

Tokey.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You and Twilight get to the top of the hill, rejoining Tokey after the DJ’s final spin.

“Oh my gosh, that was incredible!” Twilight exclaims.

“Yeah! Who knew we could bust a move like that?” you reply happily.

“Have fun I take it?” Tokey asks hazily.

“You know it!” Twilight said as she levitated her drink into the air. You were both sweaty and thirsty after all the dancing and you both felt like a nice, long drink. Looking around for yours, you find it tipped over in the grass.

“Oh hayseed, I must have knocked it over when we ran down the hill…” you say sadly. “Twi’ baby, can I have a sip of your screwdriver?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” She says as she passes you her glass. You tilt your head back and pour some of the drink into your mouth and make sure not to touch it with your lips before passing it back to her.

“What’s the matter? Do I have germs?” She asks, half insulted.

“I don’t know about you, but my body isn’t exactly a temple and I didn’t know if you mind backwash.”

“Oh, it’s alright.” Twilight says as she takes a sip “The pony body has many lines of defense against infection. If you wanted a sip after eating out of dumpster, then we’d have to talk.” she says with a chuckle.

You laugh back, but stop as a splitting headache develops. “AH! What the hell… Twi’, I don’t feel so hot…”

Looking to her, your eyes widen in fear as the whole world twists and turns. You can make out Twilight, but she looked just as twisted as she backed up quickly yelling “Snakes! Snakes! Snakes!”

Your breathing goes shallow as you start to piece together what was happening. But to be 100% sure, you stumble forward and pick up the glass you and Twilight just shared. Squinting, you stare at the contents of the glass as you swish it around. That’s when you see it.

A fine powder that had yet to be dissolved sat at the bottom of the glass. Whipping your head around, you bare your teeth at your poisoner.

“TOKEY!”

He doesn’t seem to hear you in what you reasoned was his own drug haze. Running towards him, you grab and shake him violently. “What the hell did you give us?!?” you cry.

Tokey looks at you with a grin. “I saw you two getting all lovey-dovey and I thought I’d spice things up with a special brew.” He says with a laugh “No need to thank me.”

You open your mouth to scream at him, but stop as the whole world starts spinning again.

No time. No time. Gotta… Gotta get to the hotel room. Ride out the trip, then kick Tokey’s ass.

“Come on Twi’! We gotta go!”

Twilight looks to you with a look of terror. “What’s going on?!?” she yells through tear filled eyes “What’s wrong with me?!?”

“I’ll explain later!” you say as you grab a hold of her “We gotta hurry!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Throwing open the hotel room door, you storm across the hall and start pounding on Tokey’s door.

“Open the door you asshole! I know you’re in there!”

Reaching for the knob, you turn it-

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

-and run inside.

“Lock the door lock the door!” you yell to Twilight as she slams it shut.

Your heart was beating out of your chest. The trip through the lobby was something out of a nightmare. You shuddered again at the mere thought.

“What’s happening?!?” Twilight screams “I’m so confused!”

Reaching out, you grab a hold of Twilight’s face and look her in the eye. “Just calm down, just calm down. We’re safe. Just get on the bed and lie down. I’ll-”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“-kill you for this, you bastard! Now wake up!”

Tokey didn’t hear your threats; he was in his own little world.

“You gave us something and I have no idea where Twilight is! She could be passed out in an alleyway for all I know, yelling about snakes and reptile-ponies! Now wake up or-”

It was no use. Tokey was completely out of it and didn’t hear a single word you were saying. Sighing heavily, you let go of him and let his limp body fall to the ground with a thud.

“I’m done.” You say aloud. Moving to the dresser, you root around in it until you find a piece of paper and a pen.

Hastily scrawling your note, you think for a moment on where to put it so he finds it when he wakes up.

In his mouth? No… If he vomits, he’ll choke to death. Wait. Wasn’t there a maintenance cart outside?

Looking back out into the hall, you spy your target and rush towards it. Luckily, the janitor was nowhere around.

“Come on… Every good handycolt has-AHA!”

Holding up your grey trophy, you run back into Tokey’s room and stretch out a piece of duct tape and put the note right on his forehead.

Dear S.O.B,

This is the final straw. I’ve put up with a lot of shit, but this takes the cake. I don’t want to hear or see from you ever again. If I do, expect to get kicked in the face. I’ve had it. This is goodbye.

Signed,

Your Ex-Best Friend

To make sure your point was hammered home, you stretch out another piece of duct tape and stick in right on his flank, making sure it’s on there good.

It didn’t make you happy, however. Making your way out of Tokey’s room, you head down the stairs, wondering just what happened last night. It was like there was a giant wall in your memory, obscuring the events of last night.

Your only hope was the receptionist. Running up to her, you do your best to maintain your composure.

“Listen, I know this is going to sound odd, but did you see a purple unicorn check out at all? She has pink highlights in her hair?”

The receptionist blinks a few times before nodding. “Actually yes. About an hour ago, I did see a mare like that come by. She hailed a cab and pretty much shouted at the driver to get her out of there and get her home.”

You didn’t know whether to feel relieved or depressed.

At least she’s okay… you reason.

“Thanks. I’ll be leaving now.”

Making your way out of the lobby and into the streets of Manehattan, you flag down a cab and climb in.

“Where to buddy?”

Your head was still pounding, so you slump down on the seat as the driver starts to trot down the street. “Home.”

He turns back to you as he shakes his head. “Listen buddy, home may be where the heart is, but I’m gonna need better directions then that.”

“Oh.” You say plainly “In that case, take me to Ponyville. I just wanna curl up in bed and get some sleep.”

Chapter 2

One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways

I still love you girl
I really love you girl
And if he ever hurts you
True love won't desert you

“That was Separate Ways, Worlds Apart by Journey and if you’re just joining us, you’re listening to ninety six nine, your source for all your favorite tunes. This is DJ S-”

Reaching a hoof out, you fumble with the radio alarm clock until you finally find the ‘off’ button.

You groan aloud as you roll out of bed and onto your hooves, only to stumble as soon as you touch down on solid ground. “Still feels like I came out of surgery…” you mumble aloud.

The fact that you still felt horrible bothered you. It was already a few days after the festival and whatever Tokey slipped you still had its grip on you.

At least I’m not tripping balls… you think with a shrug.

But your current state didn’t’ bother you as much as the fact that Twilight could be feeling the same way.

Stopping midstride, you sigh aloud before running a hoof down your face. “Great. Here we go again…”

Already, you could feel the hole in your heart growing just a little bit larger at the thought of what you had and lost that night at the festival, besides your memory.

“She was amazing, talented, smart, funny, cute, and… and I miss her…” you say glumly “Why didn’t I ask where she lived, or at least her number?!?”

Walking into the kitchen, you slump in the chair and grab a hoof full of stale kettle chips. The day was already going bad and your impromptu breakfast wasn’t making things better, so you decide to make the best of it and make your way back to your bedroom.

I think it’s time for a wake and bake… you think with a half smile.

Opening your nightstand drawer, you fish around for your rolling paper, only to come up with three empty zig-zag containers.

You curse under your breath at your luck. “Damn it… Oh well, I’ll just grab one of my-”

Stopping midstride, you groan aloud and slap your forehead for being so absentminded. “Great! I’m out of paper and I forgot I decided to wash my pipes last night…”

Turning to the kitchen sink, all you can do is frown at the sight: all of your bongs, hookahs, pipes, and other glassware soaking in a bright green brine. Grabbing one of the bongs out of the sink, you empty the cleaner out of it, only to retch at the smell.

Why the hell did I wash all of them? You think as you set the pipe back into the sink before pulling the plug. Putting all things aside, you wonder aloud just what to do given the situation.

“The glass is going to take at least an hour to air dry, maybe more…. And I could really use a hit…” you reason. With a final shrug, you make your way to the door. “Looks like I’m going to Parchment and Things.”

* * * * * * * * *

You had hoped the walk to the paper store would help clear your mind, but it did little to help the million questions in your head and the ache in your heart. If anything, it made it worse. Everything, from the book store to the mares passing you by reminded you of Twilight and made you wonder how she was doing or where she was.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over her… you think with a heavy sigh as you walk into Parchment and Things. The bell above the door rings aloud, getting the attention of the grey stallion behind the counter who was ringing up a customer.

“Oh, hey Smokey!” he says happily as he tosses the bits into the cash register “I just got some new rolling papers in. They’re supposed to make the smoke taste like mint. Want me to grab them for you?”

You give Tinder a half smile. “Sure, that’d be great.”

“They’re in the back, gimmie a second.”

You start to walk towards the counter when you stop dead in your tracks and meet eyes with the mare at the counter.

With Twilight.

You almost couldn’t believe it. In the wide world of Equestria, you had almost given up hope of ever seeing her again, and yet here she was, standing in front of you, looking just as shocked as you.

After a few seconds of silence, you grin from ear to ear and break the silence. “Twi’!” you cry aloud “It’s really you!”

Instead of saying anything back, Twilight continues to stand there with a look of utter shock on her face.

“I mean, I never thought… It’s just great to see you again!” you say as you take a few steps forward.

In response, Twilight takes a few steps back to maintain the distance between you and her. To top at all off, she was shaking so much, the parchment she was carrying on her back was beginning to fall off.

“Twi’ baby?” you ask as you take another step forward “What’s wrong?”

In all of a sudden, her face contorts into a look of pure hate.

“YOU!” she yells aloud. Without any warning, her horn begins to glow brightly and you find yourself enveloped in a shimmering, purple aura that lifts you off of the ground.

“What’s going on?!? What are you doing?!?” you cry out in panic. It didn’t matter if she didn’t hear or didn’t care; you were out the door and along for the ride, with Twilight hot on your heels.

Tumbling through the air, you flail around for anything solid to grab onto, but it was all for not. The only indication that Twilight knew what she was doing was the occasional look of scorn you caught as you somersaulted through the air towards the center of town.

After a few minutes of flying, you felt sick to your stomach and wondered what you did to deserve this fate. The only thing you could hope for was answers once this ride was over.

Which was coming very soon.

Flying towards the closed door of the Ponyville library, you stick your hooves out and frantically cry out in desperation. “Door, door, DOOR!”

Instead of stopping, you barrel through the solid oak doors and feel the magic supporting you let go, dropping you onto the library floor in a heap of curses and bruised ribs.

A few seconds after you hit the ground, you hear Twilight gallop in behind you.

“Twi’, what’s going on?” you ask as you shakily get to your hooves.

“Shut up!” she cries aloud. Her horn glows for a second time and you half expect to go for another ride, but instead, all the doors and windows slam shut and all the curtains are closed. Her horn grows a bit brighter as she grits her teeth and you watch as a purple sphere extends out and passes through, you her, and most of the library before disappearing.

“Wha-” was about as far as you got before Twilight runs up and glares at you, eye to eye.

“The library is soundproofed now, so you listen here, buster! You’re lucky I’m the merciful type or I would have turned you into the police then and there. So this is what you’re gonna do:” she says as she stamps her hoof down “You’re gonna tell me just why you did what you did, sincerely apologize, and I might just drop some of the charges!”

You blink a few times in confusion. “A…Apologize? Apologize for what?!? I didn’t do anything!”

“Don’t give me that!” Twilight screams “How could you?!? I knew there were bad ponies in the world, but not that bad!”

“What are you talking about?!?”

Twilight glares daggers at you as she steps forward. “That. Night. After we danced you drugged me with… with something. Then you took me to your hotel room and then you-”

“You don’t understand!” you cry out in desperation “Tokey dosed us both! I grabbed a hold of him while you were screaming about snakes and he straight up admitted to drugging us, saying it’d help us ‘loosen up’ or something.”

Twilight’s eyes begin to grow wide as you explain. “Wait, you mean you were drugged too?” she asks sounding half skeptical.

“Yeah and it sucks. My head feels like it’s full of concrete and I’m still missing parts from that night. Last thing I remember was taking you into the hotel room so we could ride out the effects until we sobered up.”

“I… I can’t remember as well… I thought you had dosed me with something like rohypnol or GHB. But I...I don’t know if I can believe you,” she says as her eyes narrow “How do I know you’re not trying to cover your butt?”

“What do you want from me, Twi’?! Want me to take a lie detector test?”

Twilight opens her mouth to retort, but instead closes it and grins smugly. “Actually… Yes. I do want you to take a polygraph.”

* * * * * * * * *

Surrounded by all the beakers, test tubes, electrical, and mechanical equipment, all you could do was stand there with your jaw slack.

“Whoa… This is… So cool.”

Twilight cocks her head slightly at your musings. “Cool? First time anypony has called my lab ‘cool’…”

“So, you’ve got a polygraph down here?” you ask as you jingle the test tubes in their rack.

“Yes. Well, sort of,” she says as she leads you to large, green paneled machine. “It was originally meant to read brain wave activity, but I can modify it to act as a makeshift polygraph.”

“That is so awesome!” you gush “Wow, this feels like something out of a sci-fi book…”

Twilight blushes for a second before shaking her head violently. “Yes, well, please. Stand over there until I finish and don’t touch anything.”

“You remind me of my old science teacher,” you say with a tease.

“Oh? Is that a bad thing?” she asks curtly.

“No, she was great. And cute, too.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see her blush slightly before shaking it away and readopting her stern expression.

“Just don’t touch anything.” She says before ducking her head into the machine.

Sitting down on your haunches, you look around the lab, marveling at all the machinery. After a few minutes, you clear your throat and try your best at small talk.

“Big place you have here…” you say idly.

Twilight’s tail flicks back and forth as she continues to mess with the machine. “Mhm.”

“How did you pay for all of this?”

“Grants.” She replies plainly.

Sighing heavily, you finally bring yourself to ask the big question. “Twi’… Why are you mad at me? What did I do?”

The moment you ask this question, Twilight jerks violently and bangs her head on something inside the machine.

“OW! OW! OW!” she yells aloud.

“Are you alright?” you ask worriedly as you get to your hooves.

“Yeah… Yeah… I’m-I’m fine…” she says before hissing through her teeth. “Oooh… That’s gonna leave a mark…” she mumbles.

“Oh. Okay…”

“You… You really don’t know?” she asks timidly.

“No…” you say grimly “What did I do? D-Did I hurt you or-”

“No! No… At least, I don’t think so… I… I think you…”

Twilight goes very quiet.

“Twi’?” you ask as you take a tentative step forward.

“I… I had thought you… Well… Had yo-your way with me.”

You cock your head to the side in bewilderment “Had your wa-”

Your breath catches in your throat as you piece together what she meant. “No, no, no! No!” you yell “No! I couldn’t! I would never!”

“Well something happened that night!” Twilight cries as she pulls her head out of the machine “I’m-”

She lowers her voice as her eyes meet yours. “…I’m…not a virgin anymore…”

You felt your stomach sink into your hooves. Twilight’s reaction made a little more sense now. “I’m… I’m sorry.” You say above a whisper.

Twilight turns away and sticks her head back into the machine and returns to work, leaving you to stew with your own thoughts.

After a while of awkward silence, you speak up again.

“If it’s any consolation, I’m not either.”

“Not what?” Twilight asks idly.

“Not a virgin anymore.”

Once again, a loud bang rings out of the machine, followed by a string of curses coming from Twilight. “SON OF A-AHHH! I cut my head open this time!” she yells angrily.

Looking around the lab, you spot a white box with a red cross on it and go for it. “Hold on, I’ll grab the first-aid kit!”

Ripping the box off the wall, you run towards the doubled over mare who was holding her bloody head in her hooves.

Opening the first-aid kit, you find a small gauze pad and gingerly place it on Twilight’s forehead, next to her horn. “Hold still, it’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Am I going to need stitches?” she asks as you pull out a roll of tape.

“No, it’s just a small cut. You’ll be fine.”

Setting to work, you do your best to affix the bandage so it won’t slip off, but it wouldn’t be too tight.

“Were you telling the truth?” Twilight asks as you affix the last of the tape.

“About not being a virgin?”

She nods meekly.

“Well, yeah. Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight says with a shrug “You came off as a pretty suave guy. I thought you got that way from…experience…”

“Me? Suave? Experienced?” you ask with a bashful laugh “No, no… The girls I was with tried to start something, but I stopped them.”

“Why?

“Well, I wanted my first time to be special, you know? I wanted it to mean something, not-”

Looking to Twilight, you feel your heart sink as she looks at you with an almost hurt expression on her face. It was now just dawning on you were preaching to the choir. Turning away, you could feel your eyes begin to tear up.

“Let’s get this test over with, Twi’” you say with a sniffle as you get to your hooves “If it means anything, I’m sorry for whatever-”

In one smooth motion, Twilight grabs onto your shoulders and brings you back to the ground. She stares in the eyes intently. Finally, after a few minutes, she sighs heavily.

“I believe you.” She finally says “About everything. I panicked when I woke up. I figured I slept with some random guy without remembering and I was so ashamed of myself and didn’t want to face you, so I cleaned myself up and left. But on the way home, I started to get angry.” She says bitterly “At me, at my recklessness, and at you. That’s when I started to focus on you. I started to picture you as this con-artist who picked up mares, showed them the time of their lives, and threw them away without so much a care in the world.” She says as she throws her hooves up in disgust “But then I got down here with you and you threw my misconceptions right out the window.”

“What changed your mind?”

“No one like that would be so clueless, or caring, or-”

“A virgin?” you ask with a snicker.

“Well, yeah. That too.” She says with a giggle “Listen, I’m s-”

“Twilight, no. You don’t have to apologize. I have to. You didn’t anything wrong. I should have known something was up when I saw Tokey was stoned.”

“Yeah, but I made the situation all the more complicated.” She says as she shakes her head “If I had just stayed with you, we could have gotten this all sorted out.”

“I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry.”

You and Twilight stare at each other for a few seconds before laughing aloud.

“Oh wow, déjà vu…” you say with a chuckle.

“Yeah…” Twilight says with a sigh “So… Where do we go from here?”

Thinking it over for a second, you realize there was still one matter left that needed to be attended to.

“I think we have to go to the doctor…” you say glumly.

“Why?” Twilight asks as she pokes her bandage “I thought you said I didn’t need stitches.”

You do your best to guide her to the issue at hoof without being so blunt. “No Twi’, the bigger problem.”

“You mean our memory and the effects of the drug on our system?”

“No. I mean that too, but…” Sighing aloud, you run a hoof down your face with frustration. “Twi’, are you telling me you didn’t think about this? At all?”

“About what?”

Taking a deep breath you try to hint at the problem. “What do mares your age go through around this time?”

“Well, the estrus cycle,” she says plainly “But I don’t see-”

Twilight’s breath catches in her throat as she suddenly understands what you were getting at.

“No, no, no!” she cries “This is bad! This is real bad! I can’t be pregnant!”

She got it…

“I’m not ready to be a mother yet! I have trouble taking care of myself! I forget to eat sometimes, how am I supposed to take care of a baby?!?” she screams.

“Twilight! Calm down!”

“What about the scandal?!? I’m not even married! How am I going to tell my parent’s I’m knocked u-”

Grabbing a hold of the panicking mare, you shake her firmly. “TWILIGHT! CALM. DOWN.”

By this point, she was hyperventilating and borderline in tears. “But but but but-”

“Listen. You may feel in over your head, but you’re not alone. I’m in this mess with you, for better or for worse. I’m not going to leave you, I promise. I’m pretty confident that you’re not pregnant, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. ”

Taking a deep breath, Twilight does the best to calm herself. “But what if I do have a baby? I don’t know the first thing about child care!”

Taking her hoof in yours, you look her square in the eyes. “If it comes to that, you’ll learn, and then you’ll teach me. I told I’m not going to leave you. I’m here for you because I… I love you.”

Leaning in slowly, you give her a quick kiss on the cheek before smiling at her.

“T-Thanks,” Twilight says with a bashful smile “I needed that.”

“Anytime.”

“So, should we go?” Twilight asks as she helps you up.

“Yeah. Let’s.”

* * * * * * * * *

“The doctor will see you now,” Nurse Redheart says as she opens the door for you.

Twilight gives the nurse a little nod.

“Thanks.” You say before shutting the door behind you.

The white stallion smiles as he sees Twilight walk in and extends a hoof. “Ms. Sparkle, great to see you again! Oh! That’s right. Dash wanted me to pass on a message if I saw you…” he said as he levitated a notebook up in front of him “Ah, here we are! Applejack is coming home from vacation in a few days and Pinkie is helping Granny Smith get a welcome home dinner planned. You’ll be attending, right?” he asked as he looked away from the book.

Twilight nods happily. “Of course, that’d be great.” She says as she takes a seat.

The doctor eyes Twilight’s bandage curiously as she sits down. “How’d you get that?”

“Oh, you know, just clumsy me.” She says as she waves it off.

“Ah... Well, what brings you by? Come to keep me company?” he asks with a chuckle.

“This isn’t a social visit. We kinda need your help.”

“Oh?” he asks curiously “What seems to be the problem?”

Sitting next to Twilight, you watch her squirm bashfully under the doctor’s scrutiny. “Umm… It’s kinda embarrassing, actually.”

With a small chuckle, the doctor takes off his glasses and places them on the table. “Twilight dear, I saw everything under the sun when I was doing my residency. There is nothing you can say to me that will surprise me.”

Even with his reassurance, she still looks away bashfully. “I… I don’t…”

With a heavy sigh, you speak up. “We were both drugged with something at the Harvest Moon Festival by an ex-associate of mine. We have no idea what he gave us and to make matters worse, we kinda… did things while under the influence.”

“And now I… I think I might be pregnant.” Twilight says with glowing blush.

For almost a minute, the doctor stares at you with a blank expression on his face. “Well now,” he finally says “First time for everything… Well… Let’s start with the effects of this drug. What happened?”

Twilight opens her mouth to say something, but you cut her off. “Really bad trip. Like, visual and auditory hallucinations. I think I saw my dead grandmother crawling up my leg with a knife in her teeth.” Just thinking of that hallucination made you visibly shudder.

“And memory loss. It’s like there’s a wall between me and my memories of what transpired.” Twilight adds.

The doctor nods as he scribbles something in a notepad. “Were you under the effects of anything else while subjected to this ‘mystery drug’?”

Twilight looks to you for guidance, so once again, you step forward. “We had a little hard cider, screwdrivers, and clover.”

Once again, the doctor gives you both a blank look. “Second time for everything, I guess. It’s possible that you had some bad clover. The growers in the area are known to use all sorts of growth chemicals and it’s possible-”

“It wasn’t bad clover,” you say assertively “I should know, I grew it myself.”

“You grew it?” the doctor asks with some level surprise “And you live here locally?”

You simply nod.

“Huh. Third time today…” he says under his breath. Reaching into his desk, the doctor pulls out a small white card with a telephone number on it. “Get a hold of me later; I think we might be able to work out a business deal, as long as it’s completely organic. I have a couple patients whose medicine is ruining their appetite and could use it.”

“Really? Uh, okay.” You say as you tuck the card underneath the arm of your glasses.

“Anyway, back to the matter before us… If it wasn’t the alcohol or clover, then everything you experienced was because of this unknown substance. Have you had any lingering side-effects?”

“Lapses in concentration, really.” Twilight says plainly.

“I’ve had this really bad headache for the last few days now, since the festival.”

The doctor simply nods again. “Okay… Well, it isn’t sounding like something I’ve heard of before. The only way a hallucinogen could cause memory lapse was if it was in a high dosage. Speaking of which, how did you receive it?”

“A drink we shared was spiked with it.” Twilight says.

“Definitely nothing I’ve heard of…” The doctor says as he shakes his head “I’m going to run a drug screening for both of you, but I have a feeling it’s going to come up negative so I’ll order some blood work, just to be safe.”

“What happens if the drug test comes back with nothing?”

“Then we’ll have to rely on the blood test, but that will take longer. We don’t have the proper equipment here, so we have to send it to Manehattan for testing and that takes weeks.” The doctor explains as he pulls out a stack of papers.

“And um… What about the other problem?” Twilight asks sheepishly.

With a heavy sigh, the doctor looks to the both of you. “To be honest, there’s really not much I can do at this point. If they all turn up negative during the next week, you’re most likely in the clear.”

“And what happens if one of the tests comes back positive?”

“Then… We’re going to have to start talking about prenatal care.”

Getting to your hooves, you reach across the table and grab the doctor’s hoof. “Thanks for everything, doc. You’re one of the better ones.”

“Anytime.”

“So, uh, do we have to pee in a cup today?” you ask with a chuckle “Or…”

“I’ll schedule your work up for tomorrow, how does that sound?” he asks as he takes out another note book “Does three o’clock work for you? We can get the sample and I might have something with to help with that memory problem.”

Looking to Twilight, you give her a shrug.

“Yes, that will work” she says with a nod “I can have Spike watch the library while I step out.”

“Speaking of, how is the little trouble maker?” The doc asks with a laugh.

“Oh, just fine. He spent the night over at the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse for a sleepover.”

“Well that’s good to hear. Tell the little rascal I said hi.”

“I will,” she says as she gets out of the chair “If that’s everything, then I guess we’ll be on our way.”

“Alright then, just stop by and see Nurse Redheart and ask for tests, she’ll know.”

Walking out of the office with Twilight, you wait until you’re out of earshot to start talking. “So, uh… What now? Do I have to follow you home and help you take the test?" you ask with a tease "Or do I go home or…”

Twilight looks at you quizzically. “Why would I need your help with a simple test?”

“Uh… Twi’? You do know how a pregnancy test works, right?”

“Of course. You just swab the inside of your mouth and-”

“No, Twilight, you pee on a stick. Didn’t they teach this stuff in biology?”

“Not the class I attended!” she says with growing blush “But… No, I don’t need your help right now. If you want, you can head home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you,” she says as steps a few inches closer. You watch as she blushes heavily before planting a quick kiss on your cheek before walking away.

“Good night.” She says as she turns down the hall.

“Good night…”

Chapter 3

With a heavy sigh, you lean on the adjacent wall and stare at the door.

“I was kidding yesterday when I asked if you needed help, but I had no idea you’d actually need it.”

“It’s not my fault I keep dropping the stupid thing in the toilet!” Twilight yells from the other side of the door.

“Why can’t you just levitate it while you p-”

“Because!” she hisses “I…I can’t focus on my magic and do…that…at the same time. It’s embarrassing.”

“Alright, alright…” you say as you begin to pace back and forth “But you really need to hurry up. We hafta leave in like ten minutes.”

“Don’t rush me! Doing this stupid test is embarrassing enough.”

“Oh come on… How are you embarrassed when you’re talking to me through the door?” you ask with a chuckle. From inside the bathroom, you hear a high pitched squeak, followed by a loud clatter.

“W-Why don’t you go find something else to do? I-I’m fine!”

With a heavy sigh, you run a hoof down your face. “Great. Now you decide to get stage fright… Fine, I’ll go be over there somewhere.”

Heading back down the hallway, you try to find something to keep yourself occupied. Nudging at one of the books on the shelves, you shake your head. “Don’t feel like reading…”

After wandering around the library for a few moments, you find your hooves taking you down the stairs and into the basement.

“Damn, I still can’t get over this set up…” you say aloud as you inspect the tables. “Alembics, flasks, test tu-Hey!”

Running over to one of the tables, you find yourself grinning ear to ear at the device before you. “No way! An audio-video projector!”

“She’s even got movies!” you exclaim as you grab the stack of tapes. Your excitement is dashed, however, when you find that most of the movies were documentaries or lectures by ponies you’ve never heard of.

“Wow Twi’, you’ve got something as awesome as this and you don’t even have-Hello!”

At the bottom of the pile, you find a movie entitled ‘The Cutie Marx Brothers: At the Circus’ with a folded note tapped to the back of it. Curious, you open and read it under your breath.

“To my most faithful student: may you enjoy this as much as I did. And remember, life isn’t just studying. Sometimes you need to laugh. Signed P.C.”

“Are you down there?” you hear Twilight call from the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, I’m here! Gimmie a second!” Putting the videos back the way you found them, you trot up the stairs towards Twilight.

“When were you going to tell me that you had an AV projector?” you ask as you get to the top.

Twilight gives you a tired look. “Oh, that old thing? Yeah, it was a gift, actually. But I don’t use it as much as I’d like,” she says as she leads you to the front door of the library. “Now come on, let’s get this appointment over with.”

Before she can go any further, you reach out and stop her. “Wh…What did the test say?” you ask nervously.

Twilight turns to face you with a soft smile on her face.

“Negative.” She says with a level of relief. “Come on, we need to hurry.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” You say as you follow her out the door.

As you make your way into the streets of Ponyville, the gears begin to turn as you think about the AV Projector again. “Hm… Maybe we should have a movie night or something.” You suggest aloud.

“Movie night?” Twilight mimics “Why would anyone want to watch one of my boring old documentaries on magical theory?” she asks with a sarcastic laugh.

“Well, maybe if they needed a sleep-aid,” you respond jokingly “but I was talking about that Cutie Marx Brothers video you’ve got.”

“Oh! I totally forgot about that! I’ve been meaning to watch it… But I don’t know. Are they any good?”

You gasp in surprise and stop in your tracks. “Are the Cutie Marx Brothers any good? That’s like asking if cupcakes are tasty or am I good looking. Of course they’re good; they’re the best comedians ever!”

Twilight snickers at your outburst. “Oh calm down. I believe you and now see the error of my ways. I’ll talk to the girls and see if we can something set up.”

Her eyes light up and a smile creeps across her face “We could have a date night!” she exclaims happily.

“Oh really? Who are you taking?” you ask nonchalantly “I think there’s a little unicorn at the café who has a crush on me, so I might ask her.”

Twilight’s jaw slacks a bit and she looks to you in confusion. “B…But I was going…To, you k-know, ask y-”

You can’t keep a straight face anymore and start snickering. “Oh, you’re cute when you’re like that.” You say teasingly.

Twilight gives you a strained look. “Don’t scare me like that…” she says under her breath. “Now come on, you’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one dropping the test in the toilet this morning.”

“S-Shut up!” Twilight says with increasing blush. Her tone lowers as she stares daggers at you “You try peeing on a stick and not drop it.”

“Done. I don’t have to sit down when I pee, so I can actually aim.” You say with no modesty.

Her blush grows slightly. “Quiet, you…”

You laugh aloud as Twilight grows more and more awkward by the second and decide it’s best if you keep quiet until she regains her composure.

* * * * * * * * *

You do your best to stifle a yawn as you gaze up at the clock on the wall.

It’s already been half an hour… What’s taking him so long?

Turning to Twilight, you watch as she flips idly through a fashion magazine.

“Looking for some sexy lingerie for a birthday occasion?” you ask with a grin. Twilight’s face goes blush and the magic she was using to hold the magazine up falters for a bit, causing it to drop a bit before she catches it.

“No I am not looking up lingerie. And besides, I doubt I would wear it for your birthday.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean my birthday, I meant yours,” you say with a sly grin. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to see me dance around in a speedo to ‘I’m too sexy’.”

Twilight’s cheeks go even redder as she buries her face into the magazine in a vain attempt to hide it.

“Come on, you know I’m just teasing,” you say as you scoot closer to her.

“What’s going on with you?” she asks as she brings her face out of the magazine. “I mean, before we were all awkward and dancing around each other and now you’re talking about lingerie and speedos and… and… It’s weird.”

You blink a few times and give her a puzzled look. “I’m sorry, it’s just I’m usually this playful. I’m just well… Awkward at first. It made things a whole lot easier when I said I loved you last night.”

Twilight’s face softens a bit and she leans into you. “M… Maybe I should say it, then. If we’re going to be a… a thing.”

You find yourself drawn in as well and getting closer and closer to her. You watch as she licks her lips in anticipation and opens her mouth to say those three little words.

“I-”

“Am I interrupting something?” a voice says from behind you.

Both you and Twilight jump in surprise and bashfully get to your hooves and face Nurse Redheart, who had a little blush in your cheeks. “I’m sorry for surprising you like that, it’s just there was a little accident and the doctor had to attend to some urgent matters.”

“What happened?” you ask curiously.

Nurse Redheart sighs heavily and shakes her head. “Rainbow Dash hit her head on a tree branch and needed a few stitches. It wasn’t anything serious, but it gave her husband quite the scare.”

“I hope she’s alright…” Twilight says nervously. “Is she here in the hospital?”

Nurse Redheart shakes her head as she leads you and Twilight into the long hallway. “No, the doctor took her home and put her to bed and should be back shortly. Until then, Twilight, I need you to go to room 112. It’s at the end of the hallway and all the way to the right. And you,” she says as she turns to face you “come with me to room 103. I’m going to need a urine sample.”

Sighing heavily, you follow Nurse Redheart and give Twilight a half smile. “See you in a bit…”

* * * * * * * * *

The motivational posters and clean, white atmosphere of the exam room did little to quell your fears. You could feel your stomach flip flop as you watched your blood go into the long glass tube connected to the needle in your arm. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath and count the seconds.

One… Two… Three…Fourhowlongisthisgoingtotake…Five…S-

“Aaaaand there we go. You’re done.” Nurse Redheart says as she pulls the needle out. “Lemme just put a bandage on this and you’re all set.”

Pushing the piece of cotton into your foreleg, she grabs a small bandage with her free hoof and sticks it down with little effort.

“Thanks…” you say as you rub at the brightly colored band-aid.

“The doctor and Twilight are waiting for you in his office, you shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Nurse Redheart says as she opens up the door for you.

“Alright, I will. Thanks again.”

Walking out into the hallway, you follow it to the office you and Twilight had visited yesterday. Walking up to the door, you knock on it quickly.

From behind the door, you hear a familiar voice. “Enter.”

Walking into the doctor’s office, you find Twilight and the white unicorn from yesterday staring at you expectantly. “Please, sit down.” He says as he opens the folder on his desk “And close the door.”

Taking a seat down next to Twilight, you clear your throat. “Did the drug test come up with anything?”

“Well… Yes and no.” he says as he looks to the open folder on his desk. “There was LSD in both of your systems, but it wouldn’t cause the memory loss or the blackout you experienced” He says as he flips through the files “So I’m thinking you’re quote unquote ‘friend’, slipped you a cocktail of sorts.”

Sighing heavily, you run a hoof down your face. “Figures. And there’s no telling what he mixed up with that chemistry set of his…”

“Yes, well, I figured we’d run into something like this, so that blood we drew from earlier will be sent to a lab in Manehattan. And by Twilight’s request, under a false name.”

“Wh-”

“I… I really don’t want to turn this into a scandal, I’m sorry.” Twilight says as you begin to question her motives “I… I didn’t want my teacher to find out what happened and I’d rather she never find out. I hope you’re not mad.”

You shrug. “No, not really. What names did you use, anyway?”

“Dusk and Dawn Shine.” He says with a half smirk.

“Oh, alright then. But hey, next time you need a fake ID, lemme dig up my old one.” You say jokingly “I’m sure Rusty Shackleherd wouldn’t mind a few more drug tests.”

The doctor coughs into his hoof at your joke. “Well, yes… Moving on, there’s the matter of the memory loss.”

“Didn’t you say you had something to help with that?”

“Yes, Twilight and I were just discussing that,” the doctor says as he turns to the bookshelf behind him. “Memory spells can be a bit tricky, but I’m sure she can pull it off.”

“In theory, it should give us bits and pieces of what we lost over time.” She adds.

“Why can’t we just get it all back at once and be done?” you ask curiously.

“Not advisable.” The doc says as he pulls books out of the shelf “Memory spells reconnect neurons to form those lost memories and if too many neurons are reconnected at once, it could cause brain damage.”

You gulp audibly at the words ‘brain damage’.

Oh dear Celestia, what did I get myself into? You think with increasing worry.

“I know the prospect of brain damage can be scary, but it’s a one in a million chance to cause any permanent damage.” He says as he starts pulling out books faster “Oh come on, I just had it he-Aha! Here we are.” He exclaims as he pulls out a large, purple book.

As he puts it on the table, you glance at the title. “Memory Magic: An In-depth Look”

“Now, Twilight, it’s best if you try the smaller spells in that book first. It won’t be as precise as the more advanced spells, but you need to pace something like this.”

“Of course doctor,” Twilight says as she picks up the book. “Is there anything else we should know?”

“Nope, not that I can think of,” he says as he shakes his head. “Just keep testing yourself and avoid anything that could hurt the potential fetus. Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, the like.”

Mental note, make sure not to smoke around Twilight if I want to win father if the year…

“Then if it’s alright with you, I think we should we head back to the library and get right to work.” Twilight says as she gets up from the chair.

“Yeah, we’ll see you later doc.” You saw as you follow her out the door. As soon as you’re out of earshot, you give Twilight an odd look. “We? How am I supposed to help with this memory spell…thingy?”

“Oh don’t worry, I can think of some things for you to do.” Twilight says with a soft smile.

“Uh… Twi? Last time I checked, I don’t have a horn or magic wand. Well I do, but last time I tried to cast a spell with it, I got arrested for flashing,” you say jokingly.

Twilight does her best to stifle her laughter, but it comes out as a snort, making her laugh even harder. “You can’t be serious…” she says as she tries to catch her breath.

You give her a playful nudge. “Of course not, but you get the point. What am I supposed to do? Round up supplies and books? Isn’t that Spike’s job?”

At the mention of his name, Twilight sighs heavily. “It’s supposed to be, but he’s been shirking his duties lately. He’s been raiding the fridge every afternoon and disappearing to Celestia knows where. Not like he’d tell me.” She explains with a haggard sigh. “All he says is ‘guy stuff’ and runs off.”

You can’t help but laugh aloud. “It sounds like he’s turning into a teenager. Just wait until he starts bringing home strange girls.”

Twilight turns to you in wide eyed horror. “Don’t even joke about that. There’s no way I could deal with the emotional equivalence of a teenager and a possible infant at the same time.”

“Hey, I was just kidding,” you say with a comforting smile. “I can talk to him, if you want. He might open up to another guy.”

“Yeah… That could work…” She says with a nod. “But maybe I’m over reacting. I mean, he’s getting older. He doesn’t need me holding his hand the entire time.”

“Whatever you think is right, Twi’. You know what’s best.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she says with a self satisfied grin.

“Better not get too smug or that big head of yours will have trouble fitting through the door,” you say teasingly.

“It’s not from being smug,” Twilight says as she bats you with her tail. “It’s from being so much smarter.”

“Well, if you’re so smart, then we should have no problem getting our memories of that night back.” you say as you open the front door to the library.

“None at all,” she says calmly.

Holding the door open, you wait for Twilight to go through first. “After you.”

“Now, let’s get to work.” You say as you close the door behind you.

“Yeah, let’s get our memories back!” Twilight exclaims happily.

“What do we need to make this happen?”

Twilight levitates the book in front of her and flips through it before starring at a page in confusion. “Eww…”

You walk up to her side and give her a funny look. “Eww? Eww what?”

“Well… Most of these spells require a poultice as a material foci and the ingredients sound… well… Disgusting.”

“Oh come on, it can’t be that bad,” you says as you glance over the ingredients. Immediately, you feel yourself gag at the mere thought of smelling a concoction like that, let alone drinking it. Taking a deep breath, you turn to Twilight and force a smile. “I’ll start rounding up the chicken feathers and snake eggs if you start boiling the vinegar.”

At the mere mention of snakes, Twilight visibly shudders. “…Deal,” she says as she extends a hoof, which you quickly shake.

“Any idea where to start looking?” you ask as you motion for the door.

Twilight thinks for a second and then smiles. “Fluttershy might be able to help you in that department. She has a cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville where she takes care of all sorts of creatures.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll be back in a bit!” you call out as you make your way into the streets and towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

* * * * * * * * *

You gingerly take the bag from the yellow pegasus and give her a smile once you place it safely around your neck. “Thanks again for getting these, Fluttershy. You have no idea how much this help.”

“Umm… Well, you’re kind of right… I don’t know how much this helps. Why do you need this? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.” She says sheepishly.

“Uh, well… I hate keeping secrets, but once we get things sorted out, I’m sure Twilight and I will be more than happy to-”

Fluttershy’s eyes go wide at the mention of her friend’s name. “Twilight? What’s wrong with Twilight? Is it something bad?” she asks worriedly.

You put your hooves up in defense. “No! No! It’s just… complicated right now. Once we get all of our ducks in a row-”

Fluttershy gasps aloud and puts her hooves to her mouth in shock.“Oh no, the baby ducks!” she cries “I was so busy helping you I forgot to pick them up at the pond! Oh, their mother is probably so worried! I gotta go!”

“Wait! How much do I owe you?!?” you shout as she begins to take off.

“Don’t worry about it!”

Without another word, she flies off, leaving you with a couple of unfertilized snake eggs and enough chicken feathers to make a pillow.

“I really hope this memory spell works…” you think aloud. With a worried sigh, you start walking back towards the library and hope that Twilight had finished her part of the potion.

* * * * * * * * *

“Okay, now just throw in the eggs.” Twilight orders as she reads over the instructions in the book.

You look at the eggs in your hooves, a little unsure of yourself. “Whole?”

Twilight pries herself from the book and nods. “Yes, whole. The poultice should dissolve them quickly.”

The fact that the brew you were supposed to drink could dissolve an egg, even a snake egg, ‘quickly’ made you quite nervous.

“We actually have to drink this?” you ask as you drop the eggs in unceremoniously.

“Actually, no. We just have to breathe in the vapors after I cast the spell on it. The fumes act as a medium for the spell and travel into the bloodstream, where it goes to the brain. It’s rather quite simple. Now wad up a ball of feathers and toss them in.”

Right. Simple. You think as you start to ball up a hoof-full of feathers.

Twilight watches your work as you do your best to clump the feathers together into something that resembled a ball. After a few failed attempts, you finally get it and set it in the red-ish brew and watch as they sink in and dissolve.

“Okay… Now what?”

Twilight didn’t answer. Instead, she closes her eyes tightly and you watch as her horn begins to light up. A trail of light coils off of her horn and into the potion before disappearing into it completely, as if the magic had been dissolved, along with the rest of the ingredients.

“Alright…” Twilight panted “We’re good. Now all we need is to take a deep breath of the poultice and we should remember the events from last night. Just focus on what’s missing and the spell will do the rest. Are you ready?”

You give her a shrug and scoot closer to the brew. “Sure, why not?”

“Okay. I gotta warn you, the book said that when you start to remember, it’ll feel like your reliving the entire event. Everything you said, tasted, and… felt.” She says, sounding rather embarrassed about that last part.

Looking at the brew again, you sigh heavily. “Let’s do this.”

Both you and Twilight lean forward and put your face just above the vile brew and take a deep breath of the vapors coming off from it.

Reeling back, you cough violently into your hoof and watch the walls melt around you and disappear as the events from last night trickle back into your mind.

* * * * * * * * *

“Okay!” you cry “We gotta… We gotta…”

You find yourself drawing a blank as you stare into Twilight’s eyes. Those giant, purple eyes seemed to stare into your very soul. “Y…You’re beautiful…” you say as you climb onto the bed with her.

“You too…” she says breathlessly.

In all of a sudden, you find her lips on yours, kissing you hungrily and desperately, as if it was the last thing she was ever going to do. You kiss her back and find your tongue moving on its own accord into her mouth, only to be greeted by her own.

Twilight pulls back from the kiss out of an urgent need to breath and takes a deep breath. “You’re wonderful…” she says with a dreamy smile.

Before you can get another word in, she tackles you and pins you to the bed with a sly grin on her face.

“Now.”

“Now wha-” Your eyes widen as you begin to understand what she was after. “Whoa, wait, whoa, whoa… Wait. I mean, do you really want-”

Twilight leans in and brings her face just a few inches from your own. “I need it.”

She buries her face in yours again for a passionate kiss and trails a hoof down your chest going lower and lower until…

The world goes dark.

* * * * * * * * *

You blink a few times as your vision returns and the world starts to make a little more sense. You realize that your face was bright red and there was lingering heat somewhere down below. Shifting on your haunches, you look to Twilight and hope she hasn’t noticed.

“Uh, you okay?”

She doesn’t even notice you as she stares off in space, panting ever so slightly as a blush crept up her face and she squirmed in her seat.

“Twi’?”

Finally, she snaps out of her trance and looks around the room slowly before turning to you and gasping aloud.

“SNACKS!” she cries out.

“W-What?” you ask, horribly confused.

“IF WE’RE GOING TO HAVE MOVIE NIGHT, WE’RE GOING TO NEED SNACKS!” she yells as she bolts for the basement. “I’LL GET THE PROJECTOR, YOU GET THE FOOD! MONEY IS IN THE COOKIE JAR ON THE FRIDGE!”

Getting to your hooves, you race to the stairs and call out to her. “Twi, are you okay?”

At the bottom of the stairs, she sticks her head around the corner and gives you a plastic fine. “YUP, RIGHT AS RAIN! COULDN’T BE BETTER! SO YOU CAN GO NOW, I’LL SEE YOU TONIGHT!”

“Uh… Okay… If I run into any of your friends, I’ll let know what’s going on,” you say as you make your way to the kitchen.

“GREAT! SEE YOU THEN!”

Entering the kitchen, you find two cookie jars on the fridge, one shaped to look like a cow and the other looking quite plain. Grabbing a nearby chair, you climb onto it and lifting the head off of the cow, making it moo aloud like a real cow. Looking into the jar, you don’t find money, only cookies.

“Huh.”

Turning to the other jar, you reach over to life the top off, but as you do, you hear the backdoor open and watch as a purple dragon walks in, carrying a plate of scraps that obscured his view.

“You better watch how many of those cookies you eat, Twilight or you’ll start to get a little pudgy,” he says with a chuckle. You remain silent as he takes the plates over to the sink and sets them in before running the water.

“Gee Twi, you don’t have to ignore me if you can’t take a joke…”

“Oh no, I thought it was funny. It’s just I’m not Twilight.”

As soon as you speak up, Spike jumps into the air and screams before turning to you in wide eyed horror.

“Who’re you?!?” he cries as he takes an aggressive stance.

You jump down from the chair as you realize that Twilight hadn’t introduced you to Spike yet and to him, you were an intruder in his home. “Easy, easy! I’m a friend of Twilight’s!”

He gives you an odd look before nodding. “Oh right… You’re Smokey. Twilight was talking about you all last night.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you say bashfully. “That’s me alright.”

“So, uh…. What’re you doing?” he asks curiously.

“Well, Twilight told me to get some money and buy some snacks for movie night.”

Spike’s eyes go wide at the word ‘movie’.

“Wait, Twilight’s digging out her old projector?!?” he asks ecstatically. “Oh wow, I haven’t seen those old movies forever!”

“Yeah, we’re thinking about watching The Cutie Marx Brothers and having a sort of date night for the ponies around here,” you explain as you grab a hoof-full of bits out of the right cookie jar this time. “You’re more than welcome to join us and bring that special someone.”

Spike’s smile disappears for a moment and shifts to a more perplexed look. “I don’t know… She doesn’t seem to get comedy. All of my jokes just sort of go right over her head.”

“Oh, give her time; I’m sure she’ll get them eventually. And you can’t go wrong with The Cutie Marx Brothers.”

“Yeah, ya got a point,” he says with a chuckle. “Alright! I’ll go ask her.”

“What’s her name?”

“What’s who’s name?” he asks as he makes his way towards the back door.

“The special lady you’re bringing.”

“Oh! Yeah, her name’s Ruby!” he says happily. “She’s a d-”

Spike gasps aloud as he brings his hands up to his face to stop himself from saying anymore. “YOU CAN’T TELL TWILIGHT!” he yells.

“Hey, calm down buddy. If it’s such a big secret, I won’t make you tell,” you say as you make your way out the door. “I won’t even ask anything else. Well, actually, no. I gotta ask you one thing.”

“…What?” he asks cautiously.

“Did you know you’re worrying Twilight?”

Spike’s face droops slightly at the revelation. “What?”

“She’s worried about you. Running off every afternoon, not telling her where; it’s no wonder she’s worried.”

“Well… She doesn’t need to be worried. I can take care of myself,” he says as he pushes pass you.

“She knows that.”

Your words stop Spike dead in his tracks.

“Just because she’s worried about you, doesn’t mean she thinks you can’t take care of yourself. She just doesn’t want to see you get hurt.”

Spike keeps his back to you for a few moments before walking off again, mumbling something under his breath.

He’ll come around… you think as you make your way into the streets of Ponyville and towards the supermarket.

* * * * * * * * *

Glancing over the items in your cart, you do a quick checklist for anything your missing. “Okay… Let’s see… Fruit punch, ginger ale, orange sherbert, malted milk balls, licorice… What am I missing?”

“Popcorn.”

You smack your forehead for almost forgetting the key part to any good movie. “Popcorn! Yes! Thanks.” Turning to the pony who had reminded you, you smile and extend a hoof. “Thanks! A movie isn’t right without popcorn.”

The rainbow colored pegasus with the bandage on her head smiled. “Totally.”

Something in your head clicks and you suddenly realize you were talking to one of Twilight’s friend; the one who hit her head. “Oh, you’re Rainbow Dash!” you say excitedly. “I was hoping to run into you.”

“Why? Do you want an autograph?” she asks shamelessly.

“Autograph? No, uh, there’s going to be a movie night over at the library and-”

“You wanted to know if I can make it?” she finishes for you.

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I just saw Twi’ not too long ago in the market. She was picking up big enough sheets for a backdrop and she told me all about it! I figured I’d stop by the store and grab some snacks to bring, but it looks like you got that covered,” she says with a nod towards your cart.

“Yeah… Well, actually, I could use a bottle of vodka, tomato juice, and some horseradish for the more adult drinks.”

Rainbow Dash tilts her head to the side as you name off the ingredients before shrugging. “I have no idea what you’d need tomato juice and horseradish for, but alright. Anything else?”

“Nah, I think I got it covered. But if you see anyone else who wants to come, just let ‘em know.”

“Oh, I will! I’m sure Fluttershy would be up for a movie with her new boyfriend. And I don’t think Cheerilee is doing anything tonight… Welp, I’ll see you then!” she says before trotting off.

“See ya!”

Turning back to your cart you grab it and start to drag it over to the aisle that you think has the popcorn and trot off.

“Hmm… I wonder if Twilight likes caramel on her popcorn.” You wonder aloud.

* * * * * * * * *

“Alright Dash, just splash a bit of that vodka in the punch while I get the sherbert out of the freezer.”

“On it!”

Reaching into the freezer, you pull out the container of orange flavored sherbert you bought earlier in the afternoon and grab the ice cream scoop you left out earlier.

“What do you call this concoction, anyway?” Dash asks as she pours in about a fourth of the vodka in the punch.

“I call it… fruit punch mixed with ginger-ale, sherbert, and vodka.”

“Really?” she asks as she stops pouring. “Nothing fancy like ‘Fizzy Drunk Time’ or something?”

You shrug. “Not really, it’s just something some friends and I used to mix together at parties.”

“Huh… What about that other bowl? Should I throw some vodka in that too?” she asks as she hovers over it with the bottle.

“Oh no! That’s the non-alcoholic version. I don’t think everyone wants to get drunk tonight…”

“Well that’s boring.” She says as she sets the bottle down. “Why wouldn’t someone want to drink? Well, unless they’re pregnant or something.” She says with a laugh. “And no one here’s pregnant.”

You chuckle nervously as you throw some sherbert into the other bowl. “Y-yeah… Hey Dash, why don’t you go see if Twilight and the doc need any help getting the projector set up? I got this.”

“Ya sure you don’t need any more help?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. All I gotta do us pop some popcorn and we’re golden.” You say as you grab the bag of ‘Easy-Pop’ popcorn.

“Alright, I’ll leave ya be. Just shout if anything starts to burn…” she says as she makes her way into the main foyer. “I’d rather not have another visit from the fire department.”

“No problem, I’ve only burned down like two kitchens,” you say jokingly.

“That’s one more than me,” Dash says as she takes her leave.

You turn to the microwave and wonder just how such a simple device could burn anything. Tossing in the bag, you set it to ‘popcorn’ and leave it cook. Walking out into the main foyer, you decide to check how things are going.

“Hmm… A little to your left Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she framed the backdrop with her hooves. “And just a little bit higher on your end, Rainbow.”

The two pegasi comply and follow Twilight’s directions, only to get a haggard sigh from the unicorn. “Now it’s too low on your end, Fluttershy. Maybe you-”

“Oh come on, it’s not like it’s gotta be perfect!” Dash protests,

“You don’t want the movie to be crooked, do you?” she asks.

“Uh, Twilight? The only way the movie will be crooked is if you tilt the projector around, not the backdrop.” You say with half smile.

Twilight gives you a puzzled look before turning to her friends. “Really? Oh. Well… I guess that’s okay then.”

Rainbow Dash lets out a sigh of relief before sticking the tack into the wall and landing in front of you. “Jeez, it was all ‘up, down, left, right, left, right’.”

“Heh, sorry…” Twilight says sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s alright, my little taskmaster,” you say before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

“Ooooh! What’s this now?!?” Dash yells out excitedly. “Did our little bookworm finally find herself a stallion?”

Twilight’s face starts to turn bright as she kicks at the ground bashfully. “…Yes…”

In one swift motion, Rainbow Dash grabs both you and Twilight in for a tight hug. “I’m happy for ya. It seems everypony is finding the love of their life. I mean, look at those two over there,” she says as she points to Fluttershy and her date.

“…I can’t see it, where is it?” the orange stallion asks aloud.

“It’s um… right there. On your nose.” Fluttershy says as she points to the glob of sherbert on the end of the stallion’s nose. Sticking his tongue out, he tries in vain to lick it off, only to have Fluttershy lean forward and get it in one lick. She swallows it silently before blushing heavily.

“Sorry…”

The stallion simply looks at Fluttershy with a growing smile before putting a hoof around her shoulder. “You are just too cute…”

“Huh, I guess you’re right…” you say as you watch the two curl up on the couch. A sudden knock on the door causes Rainbow Dash to let go of you and rush over to the door.

“I got it!” she yells as she flings the door open.

“Oh my!” the fuchsia colored mare cries as the door bangs against the wall.

“Hello Cheerilee,” Fluttershy says as she walks up to the startled earth pony. “Where’s...”

“Oh he’ll be around. He should be getting out of work soon.” she says as she steps into the library. “But in the meantime, is there anything I can do to help prepare for the movie?”

“Think you can make some Bloody Marys?” you ask with a smirk.

“She’s a school teacher,” Twilight says with a ragged sigh. “I don’t think-”

“Of course, no problem!” Cheerilee declares as she bounces off to the kitchen. “My sister Berry taught me how to mix drinks not too long ago.”

Twilight’s stunned face was enough to make you giggle. “Never judge a book by it’s cover, Twi’.”

“I know that,” she says defensively. “But I always figured Cheerilee for a pretty tame pony.”

“It’s in my experience that the ponies that enjoy drinking have to deal with children in one form or another,” you say jokingly.

In all of a sudden, there’s another knock, prompting everypony in the room to turn to the door. “I got it,” you say as you grab a hold of the doorknob.

Opening the door, you feel your heart skip a beat as you find yourself eye to eye with a pure white, armored stallion; one of the Princess’ very own royal guard.

“C-Can I help you?” you ask shakily.

“Good evening, I’ve received a complaint about the noise level and was wondering if you could keep it down,” he says as he eyes the inside of the building.

“Oh! Uh, so sorry, we had no idea we were being loud. We’ll make sure to be extra quiet from now on.” Just as you try to close the door, he keeps it open with one of his hooves.
“There’s one more thing.”

Oh crap...

“As part of a new initiative, we’re asking residents in the area to allow a routine search of the premises. This is just to ensure your safety of those within.”

“Is there, uh, anything you’re looking for specifically?” you ask with hint of nervousness.

“Fire hazards, gas leaks, prohibited substances, the like.” He explains as he lets himself in.

Oh crap oh crap...

The royal guard looks around the library as everypony in the room watches him in silence. It doesn’t take long for him to zero in on the pile of saddlebags lying in the corner of the room.

Please don’t look in mine, please don’t look in mine...

Of course, your pleas go unanswered and he starts rooting around in your saddlebag and finds what you were dreading.

“You do know this is an illegal substance?” he says as he holds up your bag of clover.

“Uh... Technically, not in Ponyville yet.”

“While it’s not illegal to have it, it is illegal to posses it with the intention to sell,” he says as he places the clover in his own bag. "I'm placing you under arrest for possession with intent to supply a class B substance,” he says as he closes in on you “as defined by the prohibited substances act.” In one swift motion, he produces a pair of manacles and places them around your hooves, causing your heart to race wildly. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law.” Turning to your friends, you watch as they look in horror as you’re read your rights. “You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.”

Grabbing a hold of the chain, the royal guard starts pulling it and dragging you out the door. “TWILIGHT! GO TO MY HOUSE! THERE’S A CARD ON THE TABLE WITH MY LAWYER’S NUMBER!” you scream “TELL HIM ALPHA SIGMA! ALPHA SIGMA!”

Just as all hope seemed lost, you watch as Cheerilee rushes up to the guard and grabs a hold of him. “Okay, now that’s going too far. You’re going to give the poor guy a heart attack!”

The royal guard stops dragging you and turns to Cheerilee with a wide grin. “Oh, I couldn’t help it!”

Chuckling to himself, the guard leans down and removes the chains from your forelegs. Glancing back, you now notice that Dash has fallen over laughing, holding her sides. Free again, you turn to Twilight, still confused whilst the clang of amour hitting floorboards is heard. You whip your head back in his direction, to see a different and incredibly familiar stallion kissing Cheerilee, one of her magenta hooves running through his cropped-short off-white mane.

“This... this is Cheerilee’s husband, Snapshot.” Twilight explains, “He’s a captain of Princess Celestia’s royal bodyguard.”

“No... no way, Snaps?”

“That’s right, Smokey, it’s me.” the rusty, tall and gruff looking stallion replies, “Still on the clover, I see?”

“Yeah, that I am.”

Turning to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and her date, you give them a weak smile. “You guys cool with that?”

Dash simply shrugs at the question. “Yeah, I’m cool.”

“Umm... I’m fine with it...”

“Ditto.”

“Alright, cool,” you say as you turn back to Snapshot. “Hey, you up for a quick toke?” you ask as you trot over to your saddlebag. “I got a few joints here, somewhere...”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Snapshot says as you pull out a silver container.

“Come on, let’s catch up. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Cheri, is that alright with you?”

“I don’t see why not, we can have a little girl talk in here whilst we finish setting up.” she says, making Fluttershy’s date squirm slightly where he stands.

Just as you and Snapshot depart, the door opens and a white unicorn walks in with a half smile. “I hope I’m not too late,” he says as he sets a plastic bag down at his feet. “I was running a little late at work and decided to pick up some cotton candy Dashie and I made last night.”

“Oh, hey doc!” you say as you walk past him. “Didn’t know you were coming. Well, Snappy and I were about to go out for a smoke. Wanna join us?”

“No thank you, I could never touch the stuff.” He says as he wipes his feet off on the rug. “But don’t let me stop you.”

“Alright then, the popcorn should be ready in a bit. Just mingle until then.”

Leaving the group, you take Snapshot outside, where he removes a pipe from his saddlebag. He brings out your bag of clover and tosses it back to you, after pouring a small amount of the fragrant herb into his pipe. Somehow, the earth pony lights the pipe, and sucks on it, thoughtfully, occasionally blowing the smoke out through his nose.

“Long time, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“So what have you been up to? You just kind of dropped off the grid one day, and nopony knew where you’d gone.”

“I joined the military. Started off in the castle guard, and now I’m a bodyguard for the Princesses.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome! What are they like?”

“The Princesses? I’m sure you’ll meet them one day. Luna’s still a little weird, but it’ll be a few more years before she’s back to whatever normal counts as for an immortal these days. Princess Celestia is a bit of a mischief maker though, we’ve got this initiation rite for the new guards that join the protectorate, that, well, I shouldn’t really talk about.”

“Wait, does Celestia know that you’re still on the four-leaf?”

“She knows, yes. I’ve been allowed to bend the rules a little.”

“Still got the memory thing, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” you say, raising an eyebrow, “So you knew Twi in Canterlot too?”

“Yeah, I’ve known her for years. Practically watched her grow up. She never really bothered with any of the guards aside of this one jackass who eventually left, named Shimmer,” Snapshot replies, sucking once more on his pipe before offering it to you, “His brother, Giggles, was a good friend of mine though... he was the father of Ditzy’s kid, Dinky.”

“No way, Ditzy’s in Ponyville too?”

“She sure is. She runs the post office; you two should catch up some time.”

“Definitely, I bet she’s an awesome mom.”

“What about you? Are you still in touch with Tokey? What’s he been up to recently?”

“Oh boy... It’s a long story. One I’d rather not get into right now. All you need to know is that he pulled a dick move and we’re not friends anymore.”

“Sounds familiar. Pierce was arrested about a month ago.”

You gasp, dropping the half-joint into the wet grass and frantically trying to pick it up again.

“He gave Cheerilee’s sister a beating, and probably would have done worse if the landlord of this bar nearby hadn’t stepped in and put him on his plot.”

“Damn, poor Berry.”

“She’s got a kid too now, y’know? Little Ruby is the spitting image of her mo-”

“Wait, wait, Ruby?” you ask, thinking back to what Spike had said, “Say, have you noticed her hanging around with Spike a lot?”

“No. Cheri mentioned that Berry’s not much of a fan of the little guy, I don’t think she’d let her daughter anywhere near him.”

“Huh, must be a different Ruby.” Taking a glance inside, you notice everyone sitting down in front of the screen and getting ready to start the movie.

“Hey, come on, we’re gonna miss the show!” you say as you tug at Snappy.

“You’re right! Come on!”

Rushing inside, you and Snappy take a seat, you next to Twilight and Cheerilee next to him. “I thought you’d never get finish,” Twilight says as she takes a sip of punch.
“Sorry, we- Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“That’s... That’s non-alcoholic, right?” you ask, lowering your voice to a whisper.

Twilight’s eyes go wide and she looks to her cup. “I-I don’t know.”

“Here, let me taste.” Grabbing a hold of her cup, you take a sip and swish it around in your mouth before swallowing. “You’re good.”

Twilight lets out a sigh of relief. “Great. Now, let’s start the movie!” she says aloud as her horn grows brighter and the room grows dimmer. An audible click signals the start up of the projector and soon a beam of light shoots out of it and hits the screen. The light dims and turns black before the face of lion appears on the screen and roars loudly, startling not just you, but a few of the other viewers. Soon, a ring forms around the lion with the words ‘ars gratis artis’ above it and flanked on both sides with ‘trade mark’ and underneath ‘Metro Goldwyn Mare’.

“Oh, this is going to be good...” you say aloud as the lion disappears. Soon, the title screen appears with cartoonish versions of the Cutie Marx Brothers posed around the words ‘At the Circus’ on the side of an elephant.

“Pass the popcorn,” you hear somepony say behind you.

* * * * * * * * *

Ah, this meeting brings back memories... Childhood days, lemonade, romance! My life was wrapped around the circus... Her name was Lydia. Met her at The World’s Fair in 900 and walked out 940...

Ah Lydia....

She was the moooooost gloooooorious creature~

Under the sun...

“Hey Twi’, where’s the bathroom?”

Both you and Twilight turn to see Rainbow Dash with a strained look on her face.

“It’s where it usually is, Rainbow. Upstairs, second door on the right.” Twilight says as she turns back to the movie. “Now please, be quiet.”

“Thanks!” she says before bolting upstairs.

Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia? Lydia the Tattooooed Griffon~

She has eyes that folks adore so,

and a torso even more so,

Lydia oh Lydia, that enyclopedia, oh Lydia the Queen of Tattooooo~!

On her back is the battle of Poniloo,

Beside it the wreck of the Kesley Blue,

And proudly above stands Celesta too!

You can learn a lot from Lydia!

You hear Rainbow Dash thunder down the stairs and run up to you and Twilight with a determined look on her face. “Twilight. We need to talk.”

“Rainbow, can it wait? I’m really enjoying the movie.” Twilight says as she grabs a hoof-full of popcorn.

Your breath catches in your throat as Rainbow Dash shoves the box of pregnancy tests in Twilight’s face. “No. It can’t.”

Twilight’s mouth goes slack as she looks to the box and to her friend. “Rainbow-”

“Twilight. Now.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to take no for an answer and grabs a hold of Twilight before dragging her into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” you hear Cheerilee ask as you get to your hooves.

Oh this can’t be good... you think grimly.

By the time you maneuver through the rest of the ponies, Rainbow Dash was yelling in shock.

“Wait, what?!? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?”

You pick up the pace and make your way into the kitchen where you find a furious Rainbow and a skittish Twilight.

“Just calm down!” Twilight yells “There’s still the chance that I’m not!”

“It doesn’t matter!” she screams as she turns to face you. “YOU knocked her up! When the hell did this happen, anyway?!?”

Twilight looks to the ground bashfully. “Uhm... Well...”

“When we, uh... Met at the Harvest Moon Festival.” You say, rather embarrassed.

Rainbow’s jaw drops at the news. “So what? You guys got it on and bucked when you first met?!?

“Dashie, there’s more to it than that,” the doctor says as he walks up next to you. “There were... circumstances beyond their control.”

Rainbow’s eyes widen as she looks to him. “You knew about this? And you didn’t tell me?!?”

“Doctor-patient confidentiality!” he cries “And what was I supposed to say? Your best friend might be pregnant because of drug u-”

He puts his hooves up to his mouth as he realizes his folly and looks to Rainbow Dash, who’s face was a mix of horror and revulsion before turning back to you. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” she cries as she takes an aggressive stance. “I’LL-”

“You’ll what?” Snappy asks as he steps in-between you and Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know what’s going on, but if you start anything, those manacles will be coming back out, and I’LL finish it.”

“Oh come on! You’re gonna defend this guy? She’s pregnant and this clown could’ve drugged her and told her anything he wanted!”

“You have no proof!” he replies.

It was Cheerilee’s turn to get mixed in with all of this “Oh no, please don’t fight!”

“Please everyone, just calm down!” the doctor cries.

“DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Dash cries as she rears back. “How do you know this isn’t all a game to him he-”

“It isn’t!” You protest “It’s... It’s-”

“It’s what, huh? You don’t even know! What are you, some predator out there trolling bars for an easy score? Why would she even care for somepony like you-”

“QUIET!”

Everyone in the room turns to the source of cry and find Twilight shaking in fury. “I do care for him! I love him, damnit! I haven’t said it, but I do! That night was probably the best night of my life! I forced him into it and all the while, he kept asking if I was okay or how I felt while I was riding him like a mare in heat, screaming I love you, over and over and! And...”

Twilight goes very quiet as she notices that the entire room, including you, were starring at her in wide eyed shock.

“And... And.... Oh dear Celestia...” she said as she slumped down on her haunches. “I... I need a minute...”

Rainbow Dash looks on, her jaw slightly agape and cheeks a rosy shade of red at the outburst. “Whoa...”

Taking this opportunity, you take a deep breath and walk up to Rainbow. “Listen, I didn’t drug her, a former friend did. He pulled a dick move and spiked Twilight’s drink. I took a swig of the same stuff and we’re both still fuzzy on all the details of that night. Well... At least I’m fuzzy about the details,” you say as you feel your cheeks go warm.

Wow, is that really what happened? you think in disbelief.

“Oh...” Dash says meekly. “Listen, I’m sorry about the whole... you know. I lost my head, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t know.”

“Hey, guys?” Twilight finally says “Can... Can we do this another night? I kinda want to be alone.”

“Of course,” Snapshot says, awkwardly, his eyes trying to avoid looking at you or Twilight, “Smokey, do you have any of that four-leaf left?”

“Sorry, I think we got through it all...”

“I’ve got some at home, sweetheart,” Cheerilee replies, before looking at the others, “For... emergencies?”

You blink, and see the stallion already wearing his armour, once again white coated and blue-maned, still avoiding looking at Twilight.

Walking over to the door, you hold it open for everypony and watch them depart into the streets of Ponyville.

“ ‘Riding him like a mare in heat, screaming I love you.’ Brilliant, another memory and mental picture that I really, really don’t want to remember.” Snapshot grumbles as he makes his way out of the library. “I remember when she was just this sweet little kid...” Seeing him upset, Cheerilee nudges him and whispers into the armoured stallion’s ear; he stops, dead on the spot, and then leans in to kiss her, before the two of them dash off at a gallop into the night.

“Uhm, well, we’ll see you later Twilight...” Fluttershy says awkwardly as her face seems to grow redder.

“Yeah, later.”

“Hey, just in case I wasn’t clear the first time, I’m sorry, really.” Rainbow Dash says as she leaves with a rather down looking doctor.

“So much drama going on... I should have grabbed a drink when I could.”

“Hey, sorry for everything guys. We can watch the rest of the movie some other time.” As the last pony leaves, you look into the kitchen and call out to Twilight. “I guess I’ll be heading home, too.”

As you take your leave, you hear a heavy gallop behind you. “I didn’t mean you!” she calls out from the doorway.

Turning around, you walk back towards her. “Then what do you mean?”

Slowly, she moves closer to you before planting a short, but sweet kiss right on your lips. “I want you to stay.”

“Why?” you ask dumbly “Because of me, you’re in this whole mess. I feel like I’m the last person you want to see right now.”

Twilight laughs under her breath before grabbing a hold of you and leading you back inside. “You were right. It makes things a whole lot easier to say ‘I love you’.” she says as she leads you upstairs. “I was so embarrassed before about well... everything... but it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.”

Twilight leads you to her room and flings open the door before leading you straight into bed.

“Why?”

“Because no matter what happens or what the world throws at us, you love me and I love you and I’ll know everything’s all right with the world when I wake up next to you in the morning. Now get some sleep.”

You feel a goofy smile spread across your face as you wrap a hoof around Twilight and bring her in for a warm embrace. “Love ya.”

“Love you too.”

Chapter 4 (Part 1)

Panting heavily, you do your best to keep rhythm.

“Don’t stop! Please don’t stop!”

“Twi, I’m gonna... gonna…”

“Don’t you dare!” she cries “Not yet!”

“But-”

Pulling your face close to hers, she looks you straight in the eyes. “No. We do it together. Ready?”

Before you can say a single word, she locks lips with you and starts moving on her own, driving you over the edge and-

********

Your eyes slowly flutter open and you find your nose assailed by a familiar odor.

“Are those pancakes?” you ask dreamily.

Swinging out of bed, you feel yourself blush as last night’s dream comes rushing back.

Was that really a dream? Or was it a memory?

The smell of pancakes hits your nose again and makes your stomach growl aloud.

“Ponder later, pancakes now,” you say as you make a dash for the kitchen.

Trotting your way towards the smell, you find your way into the kitchen and watch as Twilight stands over the kitchen stove with a spatula and white apron.

“Oh, what did it say again?” she asks aloud as she turns to a book on a nearby counter. “Umm… ‘In one fluid motion, turn the pancake over as bubbles start to form on the surface’…”

Turning back to the pan, you watch as Twilight uneasily gets the spatula under the pancake, only to have it fall apart as soon as she tries to flip it.

“DAMNIT!” she cries out. “Not again!”

With a heavy sigh, she lets the pancake sit in the pan for a little while longer before taking it out and setting it on a pile of pancakes just as torn and ripped as the latest.

“Why do I have to keep messing up?” she asks with a sniffle. “I just want to do something special…”

Without a sound, you sneak up behind Twilight and wrap your hooves around her waist and add a tender kiss on the cheek for good measure. “Oh, but this is special, thank you. I’ve never had anyone cook breakfast for me before.”

Twilight squeaks out in surprise as you hold her a little tighter. “W-What are you doing up?!?” she asks nervously.

“I smelt the great breakfast you were cooking and had to take a peak.”

“More like awful breakfast…” Twilight groans. “I can’t get these stupid pancakes to stay together!”

“What are you talking about?” you say as you grab one of the pancakes off of the plate. “They’re fine.”

Taking a bite into it, you make a face as you realize that the center of the pancake was still gooey.

“A little undercooked, but they’re fine. Come on; pour some more batter in the pan.”

“Sure, just as soon as you let me go,” Twilight says with a chuckle. “I can’t really cook with you holding onto me like this.”

“Or can you?”

Grabbing a hold of her front legs, you guide her free hoof over to the bowl of pancake batter and help her take hold of the cup floating in it. “Okay… Now just pour it in the pan.”

Twilight giggles as you guide her hooves over the pan and start pouring. “This is so silly…”

“But it’s fun, right?”

“Yeah… It is.” Twilight says with a growing smile. Her smile quickly vanishes as she turns her attention back to the pan. “Oh! It’s starting to bubble!”

“Alright, now just get the spatula under the pancake…” you say as you help her into position.

“So now we flip it?” she asks as she shifts her grip on the spatula.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, we do it together. Ready?”

You feel yourself blush as Twilight’s words bring back memories of last night’s dream and realize how awkward this could be if you didn’t control yourself.

Baseball… Cold showers… The smell of rotten milk… That time I drank the bong water…

“Okay, I’m good.”

“What?”

“Oh, uh... I mean, we’re good. We can flip it now.”

In one fluid motion, you and Twilight flip the pancake over perfectly, eliciting a squeal of excitement from Twilight.

“We did it! We did it!”

“Yeah,” you say before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Now all we need are four, five more and we’re golden.”

“I think I’ve got it now,” Twilight says as she pulls away from you. “I wanted to have some fresh squeezed orange juice ready, but I never got to it. Would you-”

“Start squeezing some oranges?” you ask as you root around for the juicer. “No problem.”

“Great!” Twilight says as she flips the next pancake with more control this time. “You’re the best,” she says as she walks up behind you and kisses you on the cheek.

You feel yourself blush slightly at the attention. “So uh… What’s the plan for today?”

“Plan?” Twilight asks as she pours some more pancake batter into the pan.

“Yeah, like, what are we doing today? Got anything planned?”

Slowly, she shakes her head. “No… Not that I know of. Why?”

“Well…” you begin with a sheepish smile. “Remember the night of the Harvest Moon Festival?”

Twilight gives you an annoyed look. “Sort of.”

“Wrong choice of words,” you say with a sheepish smile. “Well, do you remember in the hotel room? When I asked you out on a date after the festival?”

“Well…Yeah,” she says as her expression softens. “What about it?”

“Do you want to go on a date tonight?”

“R…Really?” Twilight asks with a growing smile. “You want to go on a date with me?”

“No, I’m pulling your leg,” you say sarcastically as you give her a quick hug. “Of course I want to go on a date with you. You deserve a romantic night.”

Twilight cranes her head back and plants a quick kiss on your lips before smiling. “Thank you.”

Without a word, you smile back at her and lean in for another kiss, longer this time. You even manage to sneak your tongue into her mouth, eliciting a surprised gasp from the trembling form in your hooves. Finally, you pull away and give her a smile.

“I know this really good karaoke bar in town that makes a spinach and strawberry salad that’s to die for. What do you say? You, me, some non-alcoholic drinks, and off-key singing?”

Twilight giggles aloud as she makes her way over to the fridge. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

“And don’t you forget it,” you say with no modesty.

Without any warning, Twilight throws the bag of oranges, almost knocking the wind out of you in the process. “Stop being such a ham and squeeze those oranges.”

Pointing behind her, you bring attention to the column of smoke rising from the stove. “Only if you stop the pancakes from burning.”

“CRAP!” Twilight screams as she scrambles for the pan.

You can’t help but giggle as Twilight almost launches the pancake into the ceiling. Acting quickly, you grab the plate on the counter and catch the airborne pancake before it has a chance to hit the ground.

“Nice save!” Twilight says with a little clap.

“Thanks… Now let’s not have a visit from the fire department, m’kay?” you ask teasingly.

“Oh har har. Now less talking, more squeezing,” Twilight says she turns her back to you.

“Whatever you say.”

Sliding up behind her, you reach out and give her flank a quick squeeze.

Twilight gasps aloud before turning to you with a look of shock on her face.

“Oh, you meant the oranges…” you playfully.

“You… You…” she sputters out as she tries to keep a straight face. “You big pervert!” she giggles as she pushes you backwards.

You flail your hooves around frantically as you lose your balance. “Hey, easy!” you cry as you start to fall backwards.

Reaching a hoof out, Twilight grabs a hold of you, only to be dragged down to the ground with you. As you hit the kitchen floor, Twilight lands on top of you, face to face.

“Heh… Sorry.” Twilight says sheepishly.

“No, my fault. I got a little too... personal.”

“No! I mean… Sort of, but its okay,” she says as she helps you to your feet. “I… I actually like it when you pay attention to me like that.”

You blink a few times as you watch Twilight blush heavily. “Really?”

“Yeah…” she says with a nod. “It makes me feel… sexy.”

Laughing under your breath, you give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Well sexy, why don’t we cook ourselves breakfast before we keep fooling around?”

Twilight gives you a fast nod before turning back to the stove.

As you pull the first orange out of the back, you begin to smile. “Hey Twi’?”

“Yeah?”

“Love ya.”

“Love you too.”

*******

Taking another bite into your breakfast, you sigh aloud and just how good it was. “Good job with the pancakes, Twi’. Even that one you almost burned.”

“Bluch, how could you eat a pancake so crunchy?”

“The syrup helps,” you say before taking another bite.

“So, when do you want to go out tonight?”

“How does eight o’clock sound?” you say after swallowing your mouthful of pancake.

Twilight nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, that could work. I usually tuck Spike into bed around that time. Speaking of which, he should be home soon, so save him some pancakes.”

“Sure, I’m full anyway,” you say as you take your plate over to the sink. “Where is the little scamp, anyway?”

“Oh, he asked if he could go see how the girls were doing on their little trip and spend the night with them.” Joining your side, Twilight puts her dish in the sink and begins to wash it. “It’s so cute how he worries about Apple Bloom and her friends.”

“Huh… What kind of trip did they go on?”

“From what Rarity’s told me, it’s a summer camp. They’re supposed to be camped out in the clearing by the lake and learning about nature and survival. They actually left around the same time Applejack went on vacation, so everything’s been pretty quiet.” Twilight says with a content sigh. “The only exciting thing that’s happened to me so far was that little scene last night with Dash and Snapshot-”

Your breath catches in your throat at the mention of that name. “Oh crap, Snapshot! I almost forgot!”

“What? What’s going on?” Twilight asks worriedly.

“Oh, it’s nothing bad,” you say as you wash your dish quickly. “It’s just I wanted to make a little something for him and I almost forgot.”

“ ‘a little something’?” she asks with a heavy sigh. “You don’t mean…”

“Yeah, I was going to make him some clover brownies. I mean, if you’re okay with it, that is.”

Twilight gives you a tired look and shakes her head. “I’m fine with it, albeit I’m a little… well… envious.”

You blink a few times in surprise. “E…Envious? Twi’, you don’t mean-”

“I liked it, okay!?” she cries with growing blush. “I mean, I had the most beautiful dreams, I was so content and relaxed, and nothing really bugged me, you know? I was-”

“Calm, cool, collected?” you ask with a half smirk.

“Yeah. So… Maybe… Can I-”

“Absolutely not,” you say assertively. “You know what the doctor said. No drugs, no alcohol. No exceptions in my book.”

Twilight gives you an odd look before finally opening her mouth. “I was going to say ‘Can I have some with you once this whole pregnancy scare is behind us?’ You seriously think I’d-”

“No, no. Of course note, Twi’. I didn’t mean to upset you,” you say as you put your hooves around her again. “I’m just… worried. I mean, what if we end up becoming parents? I don’t know about you, but I don’t exactly have the know-how for child rearing…”

“Yeah… Me neither…” she says with a long nod. “But we’re in a library!” Twilight says with renewed vigor. “There has to be books on the subject! And remember what you said. I’ll learn, and then teach you.”

You can’t help but grin from ear to ear. “Gotch’ya. So, do you mind-”

Slowly, she kisses you once on the cheek and gives you a smile. “No, not at all. Go and do what you have to do and when you get back, we can hit the books.”

“I look forward to it,” you say as you begin to make your way towards the library door. Stopping midstride, you turn and face her. “You’re not going to spank me with a yard stick if I’m a bad student, are you?” you ask with a chuckle.

“Only if you want me to,” she says with a sly grin.

You feel yourself blush at Twilight’s words. “Oh, you’re a keeper Twi’.”

******

“Where the hell did I put that stuff?” you ask aloud with growing irritation. You had stashed some clover for special occasions, but now you couldn’t find it.

Your irritation turns to worry as you start emptying out dresser drawers, only to come up with nothing.

“Come on! I’ve seen it like a dozen times when I didn’t need it and now I can’t find it when I do. Wh-”

You’re struck by a sudden realization and slap your forehead for being so forgetful. “Spice rack!”

Running back to the kitchen, you rush over to the spice rack and begin to rifle through containers until you pull out the one labeled ‘Oregano’. Unscrewing the top, you’re immediately hit by the strong and almost overwhelming smell of clover, making you cough violently.

“DAMN!” you yell as you put the cap back on. “I forgot how dank that shit was.”

Grabbing a couple of buds, you throw them into your herb grinder and start to twist it. I hope Snappy appreciates this…

You keep grinding until the clover reaches a fine, almost dust like consistency. “Alright then, time to cook!”

Throwing the ground clover into the frying pan and oil, you look at it for a few moments before sighing heavily.

“This is going to take a while…” you say with heavy sigh. “Might as well get to work on the other batch.”

As you go to the cupboard and fetch the brownie mix, a thought crosses your mind.

“I can’t wait to lick the bowl!”

******

You do your best to keep a straight face as you walk down the streets of Ponyville, but it was hard to with all the brownie batter sitting in your stomach. With all the clover and sugar rushing through your system, you were torn between lounging around and going for a jog. As you walk by the Sugar Cube Corner, you see a familiar face and call out to her.

“Hey! Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash tears herself away from her magazine and gives you a sheepish smile. “O-Oh. Hey-”

“What’chya doing?” you interrupt as you saunter up to her. Looking over her shoulder, you begin to smile and poke her side.

“Wedding cakes, eh? Twi’ was telling me you were getting hitched.” Taking a seat across from her, you pick up the magazine and begin to flip through it. “Need any help?”

“Nah, that’s cool. I got Pinks helping me. Speaking of which, she should be back with our food anytime soon.”

As if on cue, Pinkie comes walking out of Sugar Cube Corner with a heavy sigh. “It’s a no-go, Dashie. The Cakes are busy and I couldn’t get anything out of the kitchen.”

Dash sighs aloud as well. “Darnit! I’m sooo hungry…” her eyes shift from the magazine and glance behind you. “What’s in the pack?”

“Pack?” you ask hazily. Getting to your hooves, you crane your head back and suddenly remember what you were doing out of the house in the first place.

“Oh yeah! Duh! I got some brownies for a friend of mine and some for Twi’ and me.”

“They smell good~” Pinkie says as she sniffs your backpack. “Can we have some? Just a teensy bit? We’re reeeeeeeally hungry!”

“Yeah! We haven’t eaten like, all day!” Dash adds with some urgency. “I feel like I’m gonna pass out!”

You give them both a shrug and put your pack on the ground. “I don’t see why not,” you say as you root around for the brownies. Pulling out two individually wrapped brownies, you hold them out to them with a smile. “Tell you what; you take these and you can join Twi’ and I for a date at the Off-Key Club tonight. Oh, and make sure to bring a date.”

“Thanks,” Dash says as she takes the brownie from you. “And sure, that’d be awesome.”

“Oh my gosh, these are incredible!” Pinkie says through a mouthful of brownie. “How did you make these?!?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. Just some regular ol’ brownie mix. Threw in a dollop of peanut butter and some chocolate chips for good measure. You like?”

“Mmm! Me like!” Pinkie says as she licks her lips clean.

“Well, I shouldn’t keep Twi’ waiting. See ya gals tonight? Around 8 o’clock?”

Pinkie nods quickly as she looks over the plastic wrap for any remaining crumbs. “Sure!”

“See ya then!” Dash says in-between bites. “This is really good…”

Leaving the girls to their snack, you make your way towards the library again with a kick in your step.

“Twi’s gonna love these…”

*****

Sticking your head into the library, you see Twilight in the corner with her nose buried in a book.

“Knock knock!”

Twilight looks up as you walk towards her and smile. “Hey, I was wondering when you’d get back.” Taking one look at you, she sighs under her breath. “Get a little lost along the way? Or distracted?”

“You can tell?”

“It’s in the way you move. And that smile on your face is a dead give away,” she says with a tired smile. “So, what took you so long?”

“Well first, I had to lick the bowl clean and that took a little while. Then I thought I should cut the brownies up and wrap them. And when I was walking here, I met Rainbow and Pinkie and they were hungry so I gave them some and then I invited them to go to the Off-Key Club with,” you say as you reach into your pack. “Then I went to go see Snappy and I gave him the brownies and he thought they were awesome and… and… what was I talking about?” you ask hazily.

Twilight giggles under her breath. “Oh yeah, you’re stoned.”

“Speaking of which, I’m hungry,” you say as you root around in your pack. “Want a brownie?”

“Sure, toss me one.”

Picking up one of the brownies in your hoof, you go to throw it when a knock at the door stops you. Looking to Twilight, you give her a puzzled look. “Expecting company?”

Twilight shakes her head. “No, not really,” she says as she gets to her hooves. “But this is a library. It’s rare, but I do have people coming by, looking for books.”

Craning your head out into the main foyer, you watch Twilight as she makes her way towards the front door.

“Oh, Mrs. Cake!” Twilight says as she opens the door. “What’s-”

Her expression seems to soften as she looks at the mare in the doorway. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Oh Twilight, I don’t know what’s going on…” Mrs. Cake says nervously. “There’s something wrong with Pinkie and Rainbow!

Getting to your hooves, you join Twilight’s side. “What do you mean?”

“They’re acting strange, you just have to see!”

“I’ll be right back,” she says with a stern look. “You-”

“-‘ll come with me because it’s the right thing to do,” you finish for her. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”

Twilight looks to you and nods. “Yeah.” Turning to Mrs. Cake again, Twilight takes a more serious tone. “Take us to them and tell me what’s going on along the way.”

Mrs. Cake nods quickly. “O-Okay.”

Twilight follows Mrs. Cake and you were right on her heels, listening intently to Mrs.Cake’s story. “I don’t know what happened! My husband and I were swamped with orders when Pinkie and Rainbow came in, giggling at nothing! It was like they just heard the funniest joke in Equestria and they couldn’t get over it.”

Twilight nods thoughtfully. “Go on.”

“I tried talking with them, but they just slipped right by us and helped themselves to everything that we were making. I’ve never seen a pony with that kind of appetite! They ate a whole wedding cake, a pan of muffins, a dozen cupcakes, and when we ran out of food, Pinkie ate a bowl of frosting and Rainbow drank all of our dipping chocolate!”

You can’t help but giggle aloud. “Wow, sounds to me like they had a serious case of the munchies.”

At that moment, both you and Twilight stop dead in your tracks and look to each other in shock.

“Oh no…”

“What did you do?” Twilight asks angrily.

“I don’t know! I’m… I’m pretty sure I gave them the regular brownies!” you say shakily.

“Then how do you explain this?” she asks with growing anger.

There was no denying what happened, no matter what you told yourself.

“I…I…” you feel yourself begin to panic. “Twi’, I screwed up! The clover in those brownies was really high grade! I mean, knock you off your ass and into the fifth dimension high grade! Twi’, I’m so sorry! I thought I was giving them the brownies I gave you, not the ones for Snappy!” you feel yourself begin to tear up. “Oh gods above, I’m so sorry, I-I-”

In one swift movement, Twilight grabs a hold of you with both hooves and looks you dead in the eyes. “It’s. Not. Your. Fault. I know that. There’s no way you would do this on purpose. We’ll get the girls and get this all sorted out. Okay?”

You nod quickly as you wipe the tears out of your eyes. “O…Okay it’s just-” noticing that Mrs. Cake was watching, you draw Twilight close and whisper. “I just don’t want to put anyone through what we went through.”

Twilight looks to you with a sad look in her eyes. Slowly she leans forward and kisses your forehead. “I know. Now come on, we’re making a scene.”

Looking around, you realize Mrs. Cake wasn’t the only one watching on as you wiped the tears out of your eyes. “Alright…” Taking a deep breath, you regain your composure and nod. “Let’s go.”

*****

“Listen, listen!” Mr. Cake yells aloud. “We don’t have your orders! We-”

“Why not?!?” a pony from the crowd yells.

“We uh… we… We got a bad shipment of sugar!” he says with a nervous smile. “Yeah… It was uh… confectionary sugar when we needed grain sugar. So if you give us some time to get the regular sugar, we’ll get right to work and get your orders by the end of the day. I promise!”

The crowd of ponies grumbles at Mr. Cake’s explanation, but disperses without further protest. As the last pony walks out the door, he lets out sigh of relief and collapses on the counter.

“Honey, I brought Twilight. Where are they?” Mrs. Cake asks as she steps out of the corner with you and Twilight at her heels.

Mr. Cake simply throws his hooves in the air. “I have no idea! After they finished off the last of the food, they just left, giggling something about going to the lake.”

You shake your head in disgust and walk up to Mr. Cake. “Listen, this is all my fault and I gotta make it up to you,” you say as you look back to Mrs. Cake and Twilight. “Just… Just send me the bill for what they ate and I’ll pay you in full, I promise.”

Mrs. Cake begins to protest. “No! You don’t have to do that! Besides, I don’t think you could afford-”

Reaching into your pack, you grab your checkbook and look to Twilight. “Listen, I can’t leave here in good conscience without doing something, so why don’t you go down to the lake and I’ll meet you there.”

Twilight nods slowly. “Alright, I understand. I’ll see you there.”

As soon as she’s out the door, you turn to both Mr. and Mrs. Cake and let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, how much do I owe you?”

Mr. Cake shakes his head. “No, no. You don’t have to-”

Standing your ground, you stomp your hoof down. “I want to.”

Mr. Cake shoots his wife a glance and gets a slow nod from her. Finally, he looks back to you and sighs. “For all the work and supplies that went into everything that was lost? You’re looking at around three-hundred and fifty bits.” Just saying the number seems to make him cringe.

“Oh, is that all?” you ask with a measure of relief. “When I heard they ate a wedding cake, I would have guessed that number would be in the five-hundred range.” Pulling the pen out of your checkbook, you scribble out the check quickly and give it to them with a smile. “I made it four-hundred even, I hope that’s fine.”

Mr. Cake scrutinizes the check from top to bottom. “It all looks legit,” he says with some level of surprise. “Wait a minute… I know this name. You’re that little night janitor we hired all those years back!”

“I thought you looked familiar!” Mrs. Cake says with a growing smile.

You feel yourself growing red from all the attention until all you can do is nod meekly. “Yeah, yeah… It’s me.”

“I still can’t believe the little cleaner we hired, who had a crush on Pinkie, managed to win the Equestria Powerball!”Mr. Cake says as a he pockets the check.

You feel your entire face go red as you realize the amount of trouble you were in. “Don’t tell Twilight! About anything!” you cry. “About Pinkie, about the lottery, the bubblegum explosion-”

“We won’t,” Mrs. Cake says with a giggle. “We-wait…” Her eyes narrow as she leans into you a bit. “I can understand not telling her about the crush and the bubblegum and even that little incident with baking chocolate… But why wouldn’t you want her to know about your money?”

Sighing heavily, you kick at the ground idly. “Ponies treat you differently when they know that you have money, or play in the stock market, or have a financial advisor. Twi’ thinks of me as a simple pony who likes clover and isn’t thick in the head. I don’t want that to change.”

“Oh come now,” Mrs. Cake says as she puts a comforting hoof on your shoulder. “She’s not going to think any different of you if you’re rich, or had a crush, or ate a pound of baking chocolate. You just have to trust and tell her.”

Mr. Cake nods slowly. “It’s not healthy to keep secrets, especially from someone you care about. We’re not going to tell Twilight about any of this. If she should hear it form anypony, it should be from you.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I really should go though. Twi’s probably got her hooves full with those two,” you say as you take a step towards the door. “I’ll see you around… And thanks.”

“Anytime,” Mrs. Cake says as she waves you off.

Mr. Cake joins in. “Now don’t be a stranger! Stop by anytime!”

“I will!” you say as you turn your attention towards the lake. “And thanks again!”

*****

Well, here it is… you think as you gaze out at the crystal clear lake. But where-

“Ah! No, don’t!” you hear a familiar voice cry out.

Looking around frantically, you call out to her. “Twilight?”

“Over he-ah! HURRY!” The urgency in her voice causes you to pick up the pace as you run towards the source of the cries.

“Oh come on, Twi’… It’ll be awesome!”

Noticing a shape behind a tree, you rush towards it. “Twi’, I’m here! What’s-”

You stop dead in your tracks and feel a powerful blush creep up your face at the scene: Rainbow Dash lying on top of Twilight, her hoof somewhere between her legs. Twilight’s face was equally red as she looked up at you, while Rainbow looked at you with a puzzled expression.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Twilight cries embarrassedly. “She-AH!”

Rainbow’s mouth starts to curl in a smile as Twilight let’s out another gasp. “Come on Twi’, let’s do it! It’ll be even more awesome now that your boy-toy is here!”

“Okay, that’s it!” you say as you feel yourself grow even hotter under the collar. “Rainbow, get off of her.”

Grabbing a hold of the scruff of her neck, you drag Rainbow off of Twilight, much to Rainbow’s protest.

“Oh come on! Let go! Let go! We coulda had a threesome! Maybe even a foursome!”

You drag a tired hoof across your face before helping Twilight to her feet. “No, you weren’t going to have a foursome. You’re going to be married; I doubt your husband would be okay with it.”

In one fluid motion, Rainbow moves to your side and gives you sly grin. “You’d be surprised.”

Ignoring Rainbow’s words, you turn to Twilight. “So… uh… How long was that-”

In unison, both Twilight and Rainbow answer.
“Too long” “Not long enough.”

Twilight shoots Rainbow a shocked look, while she simply smiles back.

“Umm, if you wanted some extra time, I can-”

Twilight turns to you and glares daggers. “Don’t you dare. I dread the idea of going through that again.”

“Oh really?” Rainbow says as she pokes Twilight’s side. “, you were making all these cute little noises and said-”

“Shut up!” Twilight yells as her face goes completely red. “You watch this horn dog while I go find Pinkie. I think she said something about going for a dive.”

“Did someone say my name?!?” Pinkie yells out from the center of the lake.

Looking to the pink shape out in the lake, you scratch your head in confusion. “Where the hell did she come from?”

“She was prolly hiding under the water. She can hold her breath for a looooong time,” Rainbow says with a giggle. “She says it drives her hubby crazy.”

“I’m learning so much more than I should be today…” you say with some level of embarrassment.

Twilight starts towards the lake, her cheeks still red with blush. “Join the club…”

Turning to Rainbow, you let out a haggard sigh. “What am I going to do with you?”

With a sly grin, Rainbow rolls onto her back and splays out. “I could think of a few things.”

Blushing heavily, you turn around and do your best to keep calm. “Please Rainbow, you’re married! Start acting like it.”

It sounds like you’ve gotten through to her, because she lets out a long sigh.

“The clouds look pretty today…” she says aloud.

Shaking your head from side to side, you turn around and find her in a less indecent position on her back, looking up to the sky. With a shrug, you walk over and slump down on your haunches, joining her. “Yeah, they do look pretty.”

You almost flinch when you feel Rainbow start to cuddle up to you, but stop when she starts to talk. “I gotta say something. Something important.”

She better not try to grope me… you think in the back of your mind. “I’m listening.”

“I’m really sorry for yelling at you like I did last night. Like, really really-”

“Rainbow,” you say with a heavy sigh “you don’t-”

“No!” she yells aloud. “No! You gotta listen!”

Closing your mouth, you give her a nod and let her continue.

“I blew up at you because I was scared,” she says bashfully. “I’m going to be married and we were talking about having kids and I was on board with it. I thought it would be cool to be a mom, you know?” she says with a smile. “Be one of those awesome moms that their kid brags about.” Her smile slowly starts to fade before she continues. “But then we got to thinking about it and I realized I wasn’t ready to be a mom. I don’t know where to begin to take care of a kid. I didn’t have any little brothers or sisters around to watch grow up. And then I got scared, thinking what would happen if they got really sick or hurt and I didn’t know what to do…”

Looking up to you, she does her best to blink back tears, but fails. “And it scared me so much to think that Twi’ might go through the same thing I could and I couldn’t do a single thing!” she cries.

Rainbow’s crying openly now. “I don’t know what to do! I don’t know what to do and it scares me SO much!”

Before you can react, she grabs a hold of your midsection and cries into your coat. You run a hoof through her mane in comfort as you feel your own eyes tear up. “It’s going to be okay, you just gotta trust your partner.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” you say as you wipe the tears out of your eyes. “You’re married to a doctor. He’ll know this stuff if it comes up and even if he doesn’t; he’ll learn and teach you. And when he’s stumped, you’ll come along and teach him,” you say with a smile. “Because that’s how relationships work. You help each other and get through everything life throws at you. You don’t have to be scared.”

Rainbow Dash looks at you with a wide smile. “Thank you…” she whispers as she settles down.

From behind, you hear another sniffle, coming from someone else. “That was beautiful…” Twilight says as she walks up next to you. Above her, a sleeping Pinkie levitated behind her. “Rainbow’s the bravest pony I know… I can’t believe she was so scared.”

“Everyone’s afraid of something.”

“What are you afraid of?” Twilight asks as she sets Pinkie down next to Rainbow, who was now fast asleep.

Scooting over next to her, you put a hoof around her shoulder and draw her in close. “As long as you’re here? Nothing.”

Twilight plants a tender kiss on your cheek before smiling. “Ditto.”

“Well, except for clowns,” you add.

“Seriously?” Twilight asks with a giggle.

“What?” you ask, half insulted. “They’re freaky…”

Chapter 4 (Part 2)

Bounding ahead of Twilight, you do your best to maintain your excitement. “You're going to love it here Twi'! They've got this great sound system with any kind of song you can think of and the lyrics right there if you don't know them off the top of your head! And even better, it's couple's duet night with a prize and everything!”

“It definitely sounds like it's-wait, couple's duet night?” Twilight asks. “You mean, like, we both get to sing?”

“That's what I said, sugar,” you say as you break into a little skip.

A small grin starts to creep across Twilight's mouth. “How long have you been planning this?” she asks with a giggle.

“Oh, not that long,” you say nonchalantly.

Twilight gives you a little smirk as you walk her up to the door of the club. “So, what song are we going to sing?”

Digging into your wallet, you give the large stallion blocking the door a few bits and a nod. “That's the fun part,” you say as he steps out of the way. “The song is chosen at random. It isn't about the song itself, but the harmony of the couple. The better the harmony, the higher the judges score you.”

“Huh... Sounds like fun,” Twilight says you lead her into the bar. “Oh! There's Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash!” she says as she points to a nearby table.

“Well there you are, you slowpokes!” Pinkie says as she almost splashes her drink. “We've been waiting for like, ever!”

“Yeah, what took you so long?” Rainbow asks as you and Twilight sit down.

“He had to stop by the bank real quick and get some spending money,” Twilight says as she nods in your direction.

“Oh, well, We ordered drinks for you already,” Rainbow says as she points to the two glasses of tomato juice in front of you.

“You mean I ordered drinks already,” the white unicorn says sullenly. “I had no idea things were so expensive here! I've already spent thirty some odd bits already on drinks and that doesn't even include what I had to pay the bouncer to get inside.”

“Oh hey, sorry about that,” you say as you reach for your wallet. “Let me pay you back and a little extra for the rest of the night.”

“No, you don't have to,” the white unicorn says in protest “I-”

Before he can finish you pull out a silvery bit and place them on the table in front of him. As soon as he sees them, he stops talking and simply looks at them in surprise. “That's a one hundred bit piece...” he says dumbly.

“No way, lemme see!” The brown stallion next to Pinkie says as he leans across the table. “Damn... Is it real?”

You watch as the white unicorn bites onto the edge of the bit, only to have his eyes go wide. “It is! Where did you get this?” he asks you in shock. “The only pony I've ever seen pull out a hundred bit piece was this old codger I had visit me in Manehattan who tried to hire me as his personal doctor.”

Realizing your folly, you do your best to cover your ass and explain it away. “Well you see, I-”

“Jumping jingling Jimmie-He's got like eight or nine more of those in here!” Pinkie says as she looks into your wallet.

Slowly, Twilight turns to you, her mouth slightly agape. “Nine hundred bits? That's spending money?” she asks in complete shock.

“What are you, loaded or something?” Rainbow asks as she starts to scrutinize the money.

Looking all around and realizing all eyes are on you now, you let out a heavy sigh and take a long sip of your tomato juice before leaning back in your chair. “Yeah... I know what you're thinking and you're right. I'm loaded. Filthy rich, even,” you say with no modesty. “I take it you aren't going to let this go until I tell you the whole story, right?”

“Well, I doubt I could forget about it,” the white unicorn says as he pockets the silver bit “So-”

“So spill the beans already! How'd you get all that money?” Rainbow finished for him.

With a heavy sigh, you jingle your wallet and drop it on the table. “This? This is the tip of the iceberg. In Ponyville Bank alone, I have enough money stashed away to keep me living comfortable for years and years to come.”

“Where'd you get all that money?” Twilight asks.

“Years back, when I was just a colt, I found a lottery ticket in the dumpster,” you say with a stupid grin. “Call it dumb luck or divine grace, but I checked the numbers and found myself with more money than what I knew what to do with.” Taking another sip of tomato juice, you let out a content sigh as you take a trip down memory lane. “I had hoped that this wasn't some sort of big cosmic joke, because I spent what little money I had left on a carriage to Canterlot to claim my prize. Luckily, the ticket was legit and I was the first kid to win the Equestrian Powerball. Twenty-five thousand bits.”

Everyone's jaw seems to drop at the number.

“Twenty five thousand...” Rainbow says above a whisper. “You must have bought so many toys with that kind of money!”

You almost choke on your tomato juice as you laugh aloud. “Oddly enough, no. I was living on my own at the time. With my dad gone, I had to take care of myself. Life was hard before I won the lottery, but with that kind of money, I realized I could actually have a nice home. So I started to make some renovations; fixed the leaky roof, remodeled the kitchen, got all new appliances, actually stocked up the fridge and pantries for the first time, and by the end of it all, I still had enough money to keep me well off.”

“Wait...” the white unicorn says with a puzzled look. “You said 'In Ponyville Bank alone'... What did you mean be that?”

Dear Celestia, I feel like such a big-shot mogul... Control your ego, you say as you mentally slap yourself.

“Well, after fixing up the house and buying a few... Luxury items, I was visited by a pony named Trump Card, he-”

“Isn't he that big shot business guy with the bad toupee?” Pinkie asks as she plays with her straw.

“Yeah, he is,” you say with a bit of a chuckle. “He actually came to my door and introduced himself as a financial advisor and said with his help, I'd had my own mansion, yachts, and butlers waiting on me hoof and foot.”

“What did you do?” Twilight asks.

“At first, I declined. I didn't want anypony I just met handling my money. But he was persistent and by the end of the day, I agreed to his terms and invested ten thousand bits in him. I didn't see anything for a year and I seriously thought he ran away with it to some beach resort on Summerset Keys.”

“But he came back, didn't he?” the brown stallion asks. “Otherwise you wouldn't be talking so fondly of him.”

“Well, yeah. He did come back a year later with a stack of papers, explaining I was now the major shareholder of EqTrak, invested in three inventors who created three best selling products, and had real estate in Canterlot that most ponies would pay a small fortune to have. When he showed me just how much I had made, I nearly lost it. After all those years of struggling to pay the bills and working long nights, I could move somewhere nice and live my life the way I wanted to. And I almost did.”

“Why didn't you?” Twilight asked with a puzzled expression.

“Because I was already happy,” you say with a content smile. “I got up early, had a nice breakfast, went to school, hung out with my friends, and came home, ready to start the next day. On weekends, we hung out, smoked a bowl or just had the times of out lives. What fun is there in have your own butler if he wasn't going to laugh or call you his buddy? I'd rather be surrounded by my friends than things.”

Pinkie holds up her glass in a toast. “Here-here!” she says with a smile. “To friends!”

“To friends.” everyone echoes as they toast.

Just as you finish your glass of tomato juice, Rainbow pokes at you to get your attention. “Hey, where did you work exactly when you were a kid? You never really went into that.”

“Oh, I worked at Sug-” You feel your breath catch in your throat as your eyes pass by Pinkie Pie, who was looking at you expectingly, waiting for you to finish your sentence. “I-I don't want to talk about it. It's embarrassing,” you say, hoping she'll drop it. Unfrotunately, Twi' buts in and lets the cat out of the bag.

“What do you mean 'embarrassing'? What's embarrassing about working as a janitor for that little bakery you were telling me about? The one owned by that nice couple?”

All at once, Pinkie's eyes go wide and she gasps aloud. “OH! MY! GOSH!” she cries. “I knew I recognized you from somewhere!” she says as she reaches out and grabs you before you can shrink away. She looks you over before smiling from ear to ear. “You're that little night cleaner the Cake's hired when I was just a little filly! It's been way too long!”

You feel yourself go completely red as she wraps her hooves around your neck and bring you in for a tight hug.

“You know him Pinks?” Rainbow asks with a giggle as you try to squirm out of her embrace.

“Uh-huh! We used to be good friends! He even had a crush on me and didn't even know I knew!” With that final statement, you feel your face go so blush, you thought you were going to pass out from embarrassment.

Both Twilight and the brown stallion looks to you and Pinkie before finally opening up there mouth. “What?” they asked in unison.

“Yeah! He really really liked me! I figured it out when he got all awkward and red around me one day and I waited, hoping he'd just come out and ask me out or something, but he never did! Which is too bad, because he was really cute back then and I probably would have said yes if he did, cause-”

In one swift movement, the brown stallion grabs a hold of Pinkie breaking the hug. “We need to talk,” he said as he began to drag her off to a corner of the bar.

You try not to look to Twilight, but you can already hear her open her mouth and you knew she was going to say the same exact thing. “You don't even have to say it,” you tell her as you get to your hooves. “Just lead the way.”

Without a word, Twilight gets up from the table and leads you across the club floor to one of the darker corners, where she sits down at one of the booths. As soon as you sit down, you open your mouth and start explaining as quickly as possible. “Twilight, you can't hold it against me. I was just a colt, for Celestia's sake! I didn't even know you back then and it was just a crush and even then, I-”

She holds up a hoof and you stop talking as she takes a deep breath and looks to you with those big, soulful eyes. “I'm not mad at you for having a crush on her. I know you don't feel anything for her anymore. You weren't trying to hide it because you liked her. You were hiding it because you didn't want things to get awkward.”

You nod quickly, surprised how easily she picked up on that. “Spot on, sugar,” you say with a chuckle. “I love it when you go all 'Detective Sparkle'.”

Twilight doesn't seem to react at your little quip and instead just keeps her eyes locked with yours. “I'm still mad at you.”

“Mad? Mad at what?” you ask nervously “I thought-”

“No, I thought you'd tell me these kind of things. I mean, I had my suspicions about the money thing, but you were also hiding that you knew Pinkie already and...” she says with growing irritation. “If you're hiding this much from me, then what else are you keeping a secret?”

“Nothing!” you cry defiantly. “I didn't want to tell you because I thought it'd muck up our relationship...”

“How so?” Twilight asks curiously.

“Last few girls I dated got all crazy and clingy when I told them what I told you guys. It wasn't about love anymore, it was about money. I've lost too many girlfriends AND friends because of that. And I didn't know how you'd react if I told you I had a crush on your best friend. I figured it was all water under the bridge and I didn't want to much up anything and... And... And I don't wanna lose you.”

A small smile starts to creep across Twilight's face before she puts a hoof around your shoulder and draws you in for a hug. “Oh you crazy colt, you. I don't care about that kind of stuff. And you're not going to lose me, I promise.”

A weight seems to have been lifted from your chest as you take a deep breath. “Oh thank Celestia...”

“But you can't hide stuff from me like that, okay?” she says strongly. “I'd tell you anything, you should do the same.”

“Alright... I promise...” you say as you wrap a hoof around Twilight and squeeze back. “We should really get back to the table... They're starting to stare.”

“Okay then,” she says before giving you a quick peck on the cheek. “Let's go enjoy ourselves.”

As you get to your hooves, something occurs to you. “Hey Twi'? What did you mean when you had your suspicions?”

Twilight simply smiles at you. “All the times we've been talking about a child, not once did you bring up how we were going to support them. Which meant either a, you already had that covered and it didn't even cross your mind or b, I seriously misjudged you.”

“Why didn't you think it was b?” you ask out of curiosity.

“Well, I had considered it, but I believed in you,” she says with a smile. “You're better than that.”

You feel yourself blush slightly. “Thanks.”

Sitting back down at the table, you notice Pinkie and the brown stallion smiling and acting better to each other than earlier. “Got everything sorted out?” Rainbow asks as you get yourself comfortable.

“Yup, we're good. What about you two?”

Pinkie looks to you with a smile. “Yeah, we're good, too. I just got a little lost on memory lane,” she says with a giggle. “Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no biggie,” you say as you reach for your glass. “Now come on, let's enjoy ourselves. I'm on my second glass of tomato juice and starting to get hungry. Let's order our food and you know what? It's on me. Order whatever you want.”

“Really? For reals-ie?” Pinkie asks with a twinkle in her eye. “Like, anything I want, really?”

You simply shrug as you get the attention of a nearby waitress. “Sure, go nuts.”

“Oh boy, you're going to regret saying that,” the brown stallion says with a stifled laugh. “She's going to eat you out of house and home.”

All you can do is laugh aloud. “Good luck.”

The brown stallion gives you a funny look before nodding. “Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking to.”

“Can I still order anything I want, right?” Pinkie asks with a hopeful smile.

A teal unicorn finally makes her way over to you and sets a stack of menus in the center of the table before she brushes a golden lock out of her hair. “Hi, I'm Jubilee and I'll be your waitress. What can I get you folks tonight?” she asks as she levitates a pad of paper and pen in front of her face.

Browsing the menu quickly, you opt for something different than your usual and pick something at random.

“How's the three cheese ziti tonight?” you ask Jubilee with a smile.

She smiles back and takes a step forward. “Fresh. Just saw one of the chefs pop it in the oven, love. Gonna be about thirty minutes, though.”

“Oh, not a problem dear. We were going to do some karaoke anyway, right gang?”

Twilight nods as she finishes off the last of her tomato juice. “Yeah... Hey, may I get a refill?” she asks as she holds up her empty glass.

Pinkie Pie holds up her empty glass and shakes it a bit. “Another bloody marry for me! Extra EXTRA vodka!”

With a shrug, you push your glass into the center. “I could go for a refill myself, sure.”

Jubilee gives you a smile before looking over to Twilight. “And what about you all? Need a moment?”

“I'll have the spinach and strawberry salad,” Twilight says as she puts the menu down.

“We'll split your coltpania pizza, if that's no trouble,” Rainbow Dash says with a smirk. “And a side of garlic bread,” the white unicorn adds.

Jubilee jots down the order quickly before turning to Pinkie Pie and the brown stallion. “And you two?”

“Well...” Pinkie says with a sly grin. “For an appetizer, I'd like a bowl of strawberries, the sliced banana, and a bowl of melted chocolate. For a main course, can I get the spinach and feta pasta with buttered noodles? Oh! Can't forget about desert either! I'd like the banana split in cherry sauce with extra whip cream! You got all that?”

Jubilee blinks a few times at Pinkie's order before looking back up at her. “You going to want a doggy bag when you're done there, sweetie?” she asks with a dry chuckle.

Pinkie shakes her head. “Nope, I plan on eating it all here!”

She doesn't press further and instead turns to the stallion beside Pinkie. “And what can I get you?”

“Oh, uh... How about spanakopita? Whatever that is...” He says with a little blush.

“That's the spinach and feta-cheese pie, topped with phyllo dough, then? Alright-y then. You folks just enjoy yourself and I'll be back with your drinks soon.”

As Jubilee makes her way back to the kitchen, she turns back and gives you a little wave. You wave back before turning back around and leaning on the table.

“Alright then... Who's singing first?”

Rainbow gives you a funny look. “Wait, you were serious about the singing thing?”

“Well of course, Rainbow,” Twilight says with a giggle. “This is a karaoke bar. Where's the fun in not singing?”

Both the white unicorn and Rainbow Dash shoot each other a look before turning back to you and Twilight. “We'd rather not.”

“Oh, how come Dashie?” Pinkie asks with a little pout.

“I-I just get all nervous when preforming in front of a crowd,” the white unicorn says bashfully.

“And I'm not that good of a singer, I don't think-”

“Oh come on Dashie,” you say teasingly. “It's a karaoke club! The majority of ponies here can't sing very well and are just as nervous as you!”

Rainbow wiggles nervously in her seat. “I don't-”

“What are ya, chicken, Dashie?” Pinkie asks teasingly.

In an instant, Dash leans forward and glares at Pinkie Pie. “What did you say?”

“You heard her Dashie, she said you're chicken!” you say egging her on even further, stretching out the word 'chicken'.

Dash turns bright red before grabbing a hold of the white unicorn and dragging him towards the stage. “Come on, we're doing this.”

“But I don't wanna!” he cries in protest.

With a final heave, Rainbow drags the white unicorn onto the stage and pushes him up to the microphone.

Just as Rainbow and the unicorn take their place, Jubilee comes back over with the refills and sets a glass of tomato juice with a celery stalk in. “Here ya go, hun.”

“Thank ya sugar,” you say as you go to take a sip. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Twilight stare at you with an odd look on her face. “What?”

“N...Nothing,” she says uneasily as she sips her drink.

In one smooth motion, you put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder and draw her a little closer. “What's wrong?”

Twilight shakes her head before inching away. “I said it's nothing,” she declares firmly.

Looking back up at the stage, you watch as Rainbow and the unicorn are given lyrics to the song by one of the passing waiters.

“Do you want to sing next?” you ask as you try to snuggle closer. “I bet you've got a singing voice like an angel.”

Twilight giggles at the compliment before moving a bit closer to you. “I don't want to brag, but I was the lead singer back in the College of Canterlot's music program.”

“So, is that a yes?” you ask as you bring your glass to your mouth.

Twilight gives you a quick peck on the cheek before giggling. “It's a yes.”

You nod dumbly as you take a rather large swig from your cup, only to cough heavily as it runs down your throat.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asks as she puts a comforting hoof on your back.

Shaking your head, you rub the tears out of your eyes as the juice hits your stomach. “Didn't think tomato juice was that strong...” you say in-between the coughs.

Pinkie bangs on the table excitedly as she motions towards the stage. “They're about to start!”

Clearing your throat for a final time, you turn your attention to the couple. “Guess they're finally ready,” you say with a final cough.

The lights dim slightly as Rainbow and the unicorn walk up to the microphones; in the back you hear a piano start to play a sad tune.

After a few moments, Rainbow Dash opens her mouth and glances at the lyric sheet before her voice carries a soulful melody.

“You don't bring me flowers, You don't sing me love songs...”

The white unicorn shifts nervously as he picks up the next part, his voice carrying the same soulful song.

“You hardly talk to me anymore, when I come through the door at the end of the day...”

Rainbow Dash's face softens a bit as she sings the next part before glancing over at the white unicorn.

“I remember when you couldn't wait to love me... Used to hate to leave me...Now after loving me late at night...”

The unicorn seems to calm down a bit as he actually starts to get into the song.

“When it's good for you, babe... And you're feeling all right...”

Dash's mouth hangs agape slightly before she continues the song with even more passion before.

“When you just roll over and turn out the light... And you don't bring me flowers anymore...”

Rainbow Dash and the unicorn keep going back and forth, their singing getting more confident and stronger as the song goes on until it reaches the crescendo. As soon as they finish, the crowd of ponies clap loudly for the couple as they make their way back to the table, rather solemnly.

“They don't look to happy...” you say aloud as you nurse your drink.

Taking her seat, Rainbow Dash sits rathes slowly. “So... Yeah... That was fun...” she says rather dryly.

“Yeah, fun...” The unicorn says idly as he stares off into space.

After a few moments of awkward silence, the unicorn gets to his feet and starts walking towards the exit.

“Where are you going?” Dash asks as she sits up abruptly.

“Don't worry, I'll be right back,” he says as he makes his way for the exit. “Just enjoy yourself.”

“I'll go with him,” the brown stallion says as he gets to his feet.

Pinkie watches as the brown stallion starts after the white unicorn. “Yeah, you better do that...”

You watch as Rainbow's face twists in agony as the white unicorn leaves the club with the brown stallion hot on his heels. “No no no no no...” she says as her eyes tear up.

“Hey, hey, hey,” you say as you get to your hooves. “What's with all the tears?”

Walking over to her, you put a hoof on Rainbow's back and comfort her as she starts to cry her eyes out. “He doesn't love me anymore, I just know it...” she says with a sniffle. “We haven't been as lovey-dovey as we've usually been and he's been acting distant and-and strange and-”

Grabbing a hold of Rainbow, you stop her and bring her face a few inches in front of yours. “Hey. Quit freakin' out.”

“But-”

“No buts. You... Are lucky,” you say as you out a hoof around her shoulder. “And you are an amazing mare. And that's not just because you're bi-curious,” you say with a chuckle.

Rainbow Dash blushes heavily before shrinking a bit in her seat.

“You're amazing because you two are in love and you love each other so much, you want to spend your entiiiiiiire life with him. And he wants to do the same. You understand now?”

Rainbow Dash nods meekly, still blushing from the 'bi-curious' statement.

“Then you have no reason to worry. He said to enjoy yourself, so enjoy yourself,” you say as you reach for your glass of tomato juice. “And if he said he's going to be back, then he's going to be back, so just chill.”

“Yeah... Yeah, you're right. I should just chill out. He's a straight forward guy, anyway. If something bugged him, he'd tell me,” Rainbow says with renewed confidence. “Yeah, I shouldn't worry.”

“Now you're getting it.” Throwing your head back, you finish off the last of your tomato juice and set on the table. “I don't know what they're putting in these, but it's good!”

Scooting over to Twilight, you put a hoof around her shoulder and draw her close. “Nothing's stronger than the force of love.”

Her eyes widen a bit before she pushes you back. “Except maybe your breath,” she says before waving a hoof in front of her face. “What is that smell?”

Putting a hoof in front of your face, you breath onto it before taking a whiff. “Whew!” you say as you shake your head. “I smell pickled.”

“Well that explains it!” Pinkie declares as she pushes her drink towards you. “I'm on my second one of these and I'm not even buzzed!”

Holding up a hoof, you get the attention of the waitress again and wave her over.

“What can I get you, hun? A refill?” she asks with a spring in her step.

“Lemme ask you something...” you say as you point to yourself and Pinkie. “What are we drinking?”

Thinking for a minute, she points to Pinkie's drink first. “She ordered the tomato juice and you had the bloody marry #3.”

“Nuh-uh,” Pinkie says as she holds up your glass. “I wanted one of these and he had the tomato juice.”

“Oh I'm so sorry!” Jubilee cries. “I could have sworn it was the other way around! I hope I didn't cause too much of a problem.”

“Well,” Twilight says as finishes the last of her tomato juice. “You did get my boyfriend rather drunk,” she says, putting emphasis on boyfriend. “And he's not really himself right now, so our night has been ruined, so we better-”

“Well hold on here,” you say as you butt into the conversation. “First off, I'm more tipsy then drunk. Second, it wasn't her fault, I should have noticed something at least and finally, our night isn't over yet, so nothing has been ruined.”

Reaching for your glass, you give it to Jubilee with a smirk. “Why don't you get me an actual tomato juice, this time love and we'll forget about this whole mess, right Twi'?”

Twilight folds her hooves into her chest before sighing heavily. “Fine, whatever.”

Jubilee lets out a sigh of relief as she collects yours and Pinkie's glass. “I am so sorry about that. These two will be on the house, kay honey?”

“Thank ya darling,” you say as Jubilee saunters back to the bar.

Looking over to the stage, you nudge at Twilight. “Hey, the stage is empty. Let's go have some fun, shall we?”

“...Alright, fine.” Twilight says with a tired look. Slowly, she gets up from her seat and you follow her all the way to the stage as you and her step up to the microphone. Within a few moments, a brown earth pony walks up to you with two pieces paper.

“You have five minutes to look over the lyrics to get yourself ready before the music starts,” he says rather plainly. “The song is 'I've got you babe'.”

Twilight lets out a squeal as a giant smile spreads across her face. “Oh my gosh, I love this song!” she says as she puts the lyric sheet down. “I know it by heart.”

You can't help but smile at Twilight's excitement. “Then we've got this in the bag.”

Glancing over the paper, you mouth the highlighted parts of the songs labeled 'Him'.

Seems simple enough... you say as go over your part for a final time.

Just as before, the lights of the club dim until only you and Twilight stand in the spotlight. All at once, the sound of a scratched record fills the air before an upbeat tune starts to fill the air.

With a smile, Twilight opens her mouth and sings into the microphone, her voice carrying with it a beautiful melody.

“They say we're young and we don't know... We won't find out until we grow...”

You stumble a bit with the words, but manage to carry on the next part of the song.

“Well I don't know if all that's true, 'Cause you got me, and b-baby I got you...Babe”

You new for the next part that you and Twilight had to sing, so you turn to her and sing the next part with her.

“I got you babe I got you babe.”

Twilight turns to you as well, but she wasn't smiling. She was wearing this almost annoyed look as she tried to carry on the song. And that's when you realized it.

Oh crap, how loud was I singing?

You lower your voice a few octaves and start singing again, but sure enough, you found yourself growing a little louder each line.

When the song finally ends, you get a few half-hearted claps from the audience.

“I-I'm sorry,” you say sheepishly as you step off from the stage. “I guess I'm not as good singer as you are.”

“I'm surprised you could hear me over yourself,” Twilight says sharply as she make her way to the table.

“Gee Twi', don't bite the guy's head off,” Pinkie says as she dips one of her strawberries in chocolate. “It wasn't all bad.”

Rainbow nods as she reaches for one of Pinkie's strawberries. “Yeah, you two were pretty cute up there.”

“...Thanks,” Twilight says as she takes her seat. “I was just hoping that it'd be just a little more...”

“Little more what?” you ask as you sit down beside her.

Twilight lets out a quiet sigh before smiling.”Nothing, it's nothing.”

Grabbing a hold of your drink, you take a quick swig before letting out a heavy sigh.

What else can go wrong?

Looking over to the kitchen your spirits lift a bit when you see Jubilee step out with plates of food that looked familiar.

“Foods here,” you say with a half smile.

“Sorry it took so long,” Jubilee says as she sets the platter down. “We have just been swamped with orders tonight.”

“Oh it's not a problem,” you say as you take the three cheese ziti from her. “How's the food?”

Rainbow looks soulfully down at her pizza. “Yeah... It's-”

She stops suddenly as a bouquet flowers are thrusted into her face. “Don't ever say I don't bring you flowers,” the white unicorn says with a grin.

With a wide smile, Rainbow wraps her hooves around his neck and hugs tightly. “Oh you... I love you.”

Sitting down next to Rainbow, the unicorn's smile drifts away before he takes a deep breath. “I have a lot to tell you tonight. Stuff I have to get off my chest that I haven't been telling you.”

Rainbow's face contorts a bit. “Is it bad?” she asks above a whisper.

He simply shakes his head. “No, nothing bad. Just stuff I haven't been telling you.”

As the brown stallion next to Pinkie, you give him a little smile as he sits down.

“What took you guys so long?”

“Do you know how many flower shops are open at nine at night?” he asks with a deep sigh. “Not a lot. We had to track down one of the owners to open up shop.”

“Sounds really dedicated,” you say as before taking a bite of your ziti. As it hits your stomach, you feel your head spin as your stomach does flip flops in protest.

Easy stomach... you think as you do your best to keep a straight face. I might have had a little too much to drink.

Grabbing a hold of your drink, you take a sip only to stop and take a deep breath. Putting the glass down, you run a hoof down your face before pushing it aside. Rotten.

“How is everything?” you ask before forcing another fork full of ziti down your throat.

“Really good!” Pinkie says through a mouthful of pasta. “And my bloody marry actually has the bloody part instead of just the marry!”

“This spanner-toka or whatever it's called is actually really good,” the brown stallion says with a smile. “I might just have to ask them for the recipe.

“Oh, this takes me back,” the white unicorn says as he wipes some cheese from his face before turning to Rainbow. “Remember when I brought home your first coltpania pizza and you burned yourself?”

Rainbow giggles before licking the sauce from her lips. “It smelt really good, I couldn't wait.”

Turning to Twilight you give her a smile as she inspects every inch of her dinner. “Oh come on Twi', stop interrogating it and actually taste it.”

“I will!” she says as a blush climbs up her face. “I'm just... Savoring the moment.”

Finally, she levitates a fork into the air and into the salad before guiding it into her mouth. You watch as a smile breaks across her face as she chews it. “Oh wow, you were right, this is really good! Here,” Twilight says as she gets another forkful “try some!”

You feel your stomach roll again and open your mouth to decline, but the look on Twilight's face stops you.

“Please?” she asks as she moves the fork a little closer to your mouth. That loving look on her face was all she needed.

“Oh alright,” you say as you open your mouth.

One more bite couldn't hurt...

You spit into the toilet before flushing it for a final time.

Ugh... There goes my thirty-bit meal... you think as you step out of the bathroom stall.

Walking over to the bathroom sink, you run the water for a few seconds before craning your neck down and taking in a mouthful of water and swishing it around.

You spit it out with a shudder as the acrid taste of vomit leaves your mouth.

This night has been horrible... you think as you step out of the stallion's room. You stop dead in your tracks as you almost run into your blond haired waitress.

“Oh, uh.... Jubilee was it?”

Jubilee nods nervously. “Y-Yeah... Listen, I just got word that the tomato juice I served you was left open all night and went bad and I wanted to apologize and I hope you aren't mad-”

Holding a hoof up, you stop her before worrying her self to pieces. “Calm down, dear. The night wasn't ideal, but it wasn't your fault.”

“I know, I just don't know if my manager knows that,” she says as her eyes begin to swell with tears. “I mean, this is a new job and I don't want to get fired-”

“Calm. Down,” you say as you grab her by the shoulders. “You aren't going to be fired.”

“But-”

“Gimmie that pen and paper you have,” you ask with an open hoof.

“Why-”

“Just do it.”

Slowly, Jubilee takes out her pen and her pad of paper and gives it to you with some measure of uncertainty.

You quickly scrawl your name and a series of numbers before giving it to her. “You call this number if you have any problems. The owner here owes me a few favors.”

Jubilee's spirit seem to lift as she looks over the number. “Oh thank you so much!” she cries as she wraps her hooves around your neck. “Oh! I'm sorry! What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Seriously, stop apologizing,” you say with a chuckle. “All I need is the check and I'll be happy.”

Jubilee blushes a bit before nodding. “Alright. I'll get it to you lickety split!”

And with that, you watch as she bounds towards the register with a kick in her step.

“Glad I could make someone happy,” you say as you make your way back to the table where Twilight sat by herself.

You cringe slightly as she fixes her gaze on you. “Feeling better?” she asks as you sit down.

“...A little.”

“Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick?” Twilight asks with a hint of anger.

“I didn't want to spoil the moment,” you say as you shift uncomfortably.

“Yeah, and almost puking in Rainbow Dash's lap is really romantic,” Twilight says sarcastically. “She's still freaking out about it!”

“I said I was sorry! It's not my fault-”

“No, it's that waitress' fault; the one you're defending!”

“It was an accident! I'm not going to make a big deal out of something as little as a mix up!”

“First she gave you Pinkie's bloody marry and then she gives you rotten drink,” Twilight says with a scoff. “Yeah, that totally doesn't sound like incompetence.”

“What is wrong with you?” you ask with a hint of worry. “I've never seen you act like this.”

“Well, I was hoping this night would be romantic. I didn't mind when you invited other people along. I didn't mind when you got tipsy. I didn't even mind when you messed up my favorite song!” she cries, making you visibly flinch.

“But I mind when you're all over my best friend, saying things to her, hugging random mares you've never met, flirting with them, and-”

“Uhm... Your check?” a stallion says as he butts in-between you and Twilight. As he puts it on the table, your heart sinks as your eyes reach the bottom of it.

“Twi', it's not what you think!” you yell as her eyes go as wide as dinner plates.

Thanks again for your help. I thought I'd give you my number in return.
-Jubilee
XOXO

Without a word, Twilight gets up and makes her way for the door.

“Twi', wait!” you yell as you chase after her. “Wait!”

Stopping mid stride, Twilight turns to you, her face twisted in rage. “How could you?” she asks sharply. “I'm right there and you're giving out your phone number to barroom floozies!”

“She isn't a floozy!” you cry “And more importantly, I wasn't hitting on her I was-”

“Really? It looked like you were hitting on her from my side! Calling her dear and. sugar... and...” and....” Twilight's eyes start to tear up as she starts to visibly shake.

“I thought you said you loved me!” she cries. “But you're hiding things from me! You're lying to me, you're doing things behind my back...”

“Twilight-”

“You really are your father's son!”

The words feel like a buck straight to the gut as you crumple to your knees.

Twilight's breath catches in her throat as she realizes what she just said. “I'm so-”

“No.” you firmly. “No you're not.”

Getting to your hooves, you do your best to hold back the tears as you walk towards her. “I tried to show you a good night and this is the thanks I get? I try to make you happy and this is the reward?”

You shake your head as you walk past her. “I take everything back.”

“Well so do I!” Twilight screams. “I thought you were special!”

You hold your ground as you make your way home as you feel your heart break every time Twilight lets out another sob.

You fumble with the keys for a moment until you finally find the right one and unlock your front door. As soon as you make your way in, you finally breakdown and let the tears free as you put your back to the door and slide down slowly until you hit the ground.

“I fucked up.”

Chapter 5

You take another swig of hard cider before grabbing the volume knob to your stereo and cranking it as far as it will go.

L.A. Filly...
L.A. Filly...
L.A. Filly, Sunday afternoon...
L.A. Filly, Sunday afternoon...
L.A. Filly, Sunday afternoon...
Ride through your suburbs,
Into your blues...
Into your blues, yeah...
Into your blue, blue, blues...
Into your blues...
Ohhh, yeah...

From the next house over, you can hear your neighbor scream your name for third time this night. Stumbling over to the window, you open it so you can actually hear what he has to say this time.

“IT'S TWO O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!” the gray stallion screamed. “Some of us have work in the morning, so turn that noise off you idiot!”

All you can do is laugh at him as the bottle of cider almost slips out of your hoof. “Hey you know? That's a good idea. But here's a better one: WHY DON'T YOU SIT ON MY DICK AND SPIN?”

Grabbing a hold of the window, you slam it as hard as you can before joining in with the song and sing at the top of your lungs.

“Mr. Mojo risin'... Mr. Mojo risin'... Mr. Mojo risin'. Mr. Mojo risin'. Got to keep on risin'. Mr. Mojo risin'! MR. MOJO RISIN'! MOJO RISIN'! GOTTA MOJO RISIN'! MR MOJO RISIN'! GOTTA KEEP ON RISIN'! RIDIN', RIDIN'! GONE RIDIN', RIDIN'!”

By now you're screaming and jumping up and down on your couch as you get into the song, spilling hard cider everywhere. “RIDIN'! GONE RIDIN', RIDIN'! I GOTTA RIDIN', RIDIN'! WELL, RIDIN' RIDIN'!”

Jumping from your couch, you soar across the living room and land on your recliner, knocking it over and hitting the floor with a heavy thud. “I GOTTA, WOO!” you cry as you climb onto the chair. “WHOA!”

You flail around helplessly for something to grab onto, but it's all for naught as you fall to the floor for a second time, bouncing your head off of the coffee table as you go down.

A black haze starts to overtake your vision as you try to continue signing. “Yeah...”

A dull pounding in your head stirs you from your sleep and intensifies as you try to open your eyes. “Fuuuuuck...” you say as you grab a hold of your aching head. Getting to your hooves, you shakily walk towards the kitchen.

“Thirsty...” you mutter aloud.

Opening the fridge, you pull out a pitcher of water and throw your head back as you drink heavily from it. You continue to drink until a knock at the door makes you stop. “Just leave the package by the door, I'll get it later!” you cry as you turn back to the pitcher.

“Sir, this is the third noise complaint we've had this week, we need to talk with you.”

You groan in irritation before putting the pitcher back in the fridge and making your way towards the front door. Another knock at the door makes you pick up the pace. “I'm coming! I'm coming... Keep your saddle on.”

As you fling open the door, you immediately recoil and put your hooves to your eyes. “Someone turn down the sun...” you say as you try to get a look at the two ponies standing before you. “Oh. You guys again.”

“Yes, us again,” the white stallion in the blue uniform says as he adjusts his belt. “I thought we were clear last time we were here.”

The brown stallion next to him nods in agreement as he pulls at his badge. “Yeah, we're really getting tired of getting called down here. We're going to have to ask you to pay-”

“Yeah, yeah, I'll pay the fine, just lemme get my checkbook,” you grumble as you turn back into your living room.

“Uh... Okay then,” the white stallions says as you stumble off. “Maybe this will teach you about playing music that loud at all hours of the night.”

“Now where did I... Oh, here it is,” you say as you fish your checkbook out of a pile of empty beer bottles. Walking back towards the front door, you flip open the checkbook. “One of ya got a pen I could use?”

The brown stallion reaches for his belt and holds out a pen for you. “The fine is-”

“Yeah, I know how much it is,” you say as you take the pen from him. “I've been through this song and dance before... Say, weren't you two at that Pancake Dinner thing a few months back? The one you threw to raise money for renovations to the police department?”

“We were,” the white stallion says with a nod. “I didn't see you there.”

“It's because I didn't stay long. Those pancakes were terrible,” you say with a shudder. “You reach the thousand bit mark to get the renovations?”

The brown stallion shakes his head. “Sadly, no. I honestly don't think we're gonna hit the goal until next year.”

Signing the check, you hold it up for both of them to see. “See this?” you ask as you point to the amount listed. Their eyes go as wide as dinner plates as they get a look at the number. “This is for the fine and a little more for the fine officers of the Ponyville Police Department.”

The white stallion takes the check slowly before looking up to you. “How can you afford this?” he asks as he gives it to his partner.

“Are you seriously going to look a gift-pony in the mouth? Just take the damned money,” you say as you turn back into your house. “The next pancake dinner better taste like two-thousand bits!” you yell through the door.

You hear the officers chatter outside your door for a few seconds, but it soon disappears, giving you some measure of relief. “Glad that's out of the way...”

You walk across the beer bottle strewn floor over to the phone that hung on the wall next to a series of post-it notes. Picking it up off the receiver, you scan through the post-it notes until you find the number you want. “352-” you say aloud as you dial “225-1378...”

The phone rings a few times before a gruff voice answers. “Trump Card financial advisement, where we-”

“I need you to wire five thousand bits into my account.”

For a while, there's no answer and you think he hung up this time until you hear a long sigh from the other end. “Again?”

“Yes, again.”

“Listen kid, I know you're not feeling well, but-”

“I'm feeling just fine, what are you talking about?” you ask in an upbeat tone. “I'm the best I've ever been! I just feel like spending money all of a sudden.”

“Who are you trying to convince, kid? I know you. Seriously, what's wrong?”

You laugh aloud in spite of yourself. “Nothing's wrong, it's just I've been saving away all of this money for a rainy day and now it's pouring, so I want to buy an umbrella.”

“...Alright kid, if that's what you want. Not like you can make a dent in your wallet that easily. You'll have it twenty four hours.”

“Thanks,” you say as you go to hang up the phone.

“Just take care of yourse-”

You groan aloud as you look around the room in vain for a bottle of beer that you haven't already emptied.

“I need more booze...”

You pick up the phone again and dial up the local pub; a number you've managed to memorize by now.

“This is The Painted Lilly, how may I-”

“Yeah, can I get a 30 pack of lager delivered to-”

“Again?”

You let out a heavy sigh and nod. “Yeah. Again.”

“...Alright sir, we'll send someone over in a moment.”

“Thanks.”

Hanging up the phone, you look around the place in irritation. “Great, now what do I do?”

Walking over to a nearby coffee table, you move a few magazines before grabbing one of them and sitting down on the couch. “Ah! Son of a-”

Sitting up slightly, you reach under your seat and grab what was making your couch so uncomfortable. “What the... Oh!” you say as you pull out the obstructing object. “So that's where I put my flask.”

Unscrewing the top of it, you take a sip of it before opening up the magazine entitled 'Better Homes and Stables', flipping through with no real interest. That is, until something catches your eye.

“Hmm... I should buy a pool.”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” you say with a bit of anger “but what about a hot tub? I've got enough room in my backyard, I can-”

“Sir, it's still impractical to build with such little space. If we-”

“I don't care if it's impractical, I want a hot tub! Now, either put me in touch with someone who can make this happen or I'll-”

A knock at the door interrupts you and you groan aloud in frustration. “This isn't over, not by a long shot. I'm getting a pool and this is going to happen. You'll hear back from me in a few minutes.”

Hanging up the phone in frustration, you walk up to the door and peer through the peep hole. “Well hello~” You say silently. A white unicorn with a purple mane stood on your doorstep, ready to knock again.

“Just a minute!” you say as you unlock the deadbolt. You run a hoof through your mane in an attempt to straighten it before opening the door with a smile.

The white unicorn’s smile disappears from her face as she lays on you, but takes a deep breath before clearing her throat.

“How do you do?” she asks with a little bow “I'm-”

“Those folks at the mail room are finally getting it and hiring more cute mail mares,” you say with a laugh. “You wouldn't believe the last one that came by to deliver my Vinyl Scratch Discography. She had this giant mole at the end of her nose and smelled like-”

“I'm sorry,” she says as she cuts you off. “But I am not a delivery mare. I came here to see you personally.”

“Oh?” you ask as you cock an eyebrow at her. “And what can I do for ya, sweetheart?”

“My name is Rarity and I'm an acquaintance of Twilight's and I-”

In one quick and fluid motion, you slam the door and dead bolt it before storming off. “Go away!”

“Well I never!” Rarity cries. “You open this door right now! I am NOT done with you!”

“Well I'm done with you!” you yell back as you sit down. “Just leave me alone!”

“Like hell I will!” she cries as she beats on the door. “You open this door right now or I’ll... I’ll....”

“Or you’ll what?” you ask before taking a sip from your flask.

“Or... I'll kick it down!”

You laugh a loud before finishing off the rest of the whiskey and screw the cap back on. “I'd like to see you try.”

“Have it your way.”

You shake your head as you set your flask down and kick your feet up. “I'm waiting!”

For a few moments, there's no answer. But then, you hear the sound of hoofbeats and not soon after, the front door is almost knocked off it's hinges as the white mare barrels through your living room.

“What the hell are you doing?!?” you yell. “Get the hell out!”

“Not in your life! I'm a mare on a mission and I'm not leaving until I've talked with you!”

“I don't wanna talk! I-”

“Now you listen here, mister,” Rarity says as she advances on you. “Ever since this little tiff you and Twilight have had, she's been crying her eyes out and has been a complete mess! I-”

“And you think I care?” you ask as you get to your hooves.

“Yes, you do care!” Rarity yells as she pushes you back down on the couch. “You wouldn't be cooped up in here, drowning your sorrows in cheap booze if you didn't care!”

“So what? I don't care anymore! I'm happy like this!”

Getting to your hooves, you turn your back on Rarity and make your way for your room. “I'm partying, I'm drinking, I've got great music and anything I could ever want is a phone call away. I'M FUCKING HAPPY!”

Before you can make your way to the stairs, Rarity darts in front of you and blocks them. “Just who are you trying to convince? Just look at yourself! Twilight's not the only one falling to pieces over this!”

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, TWILIGHT! THAT'S ALL YOU TALK ABOUT!” you yell as you make your way for the front door. Holding the busted door open for her, you point out into the streets. “Now... Would you kindly get the hell out of my house before I-”

“How does this make you better than him?” Rarity asks abruptly.

“Better than who?” you ask in irritation.

“Better than your father.” Rarity says as she walks towards you.

You feel your blood flare at the question. “What the hell do you know about my father?”

“I know what Twilight told me. Do you seriously think you're any better than him?” she asks with a scoff. “You're sitting here in your own filth, avoiding the problem at hoof and doing everything you can to stay far away from the one you love. You've abandoned her and-”

“WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?” you scream. “You come into my home, UNINVITED I MIGHT ADD, and accuse ME of abandoning HER? I gave Twilight everything! I gave her my heart, my love, and does she do? Stomp it into the dirt! And now what is she doing? I trusted her, told her everything, and she's betraying that trust!”

“If anything, I'm the one that's been abandoned! AGAIN! I'M FUCKING SICK OF IT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!” you scream as hot tears fall down your face. “I KEEP LOSING EVERYONE I LOVE AND I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE!”

“Do you really believe that?” Rarity asks calmly.

You try to keep a straight face, but it all just overwhelms you. “I LOVED SOMEONE AND THEY SAID THEY LOVED ME! AND I LOST THEM! AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY! WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO WRONG? I THOUGHT I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT! BUT-BUT...”

You stagger over to the couch before collapsing onto it in a heap. “But... I guess I'm just a fuck-up... A f-fucked up kid f-from a fucked up f-family who's g-gonna live a f-fucked up life...” you say with a sob.

“Just leave me alone...” you say as you feel Rarity take a seat next to you.

“Shhhh.... It's okay...” Rarity coos as she runs a hoof through your mane. “Just let it all out.”

You don't hold it back anymore. Burying your face into the couch, you cry openly for the first time in a long time. Tears flow freely as the facade breaks. “I MISS HER, OKAY?”

You stay like this for longest time before finally speaking up.

“What the h-hell happened?” you ask with a sob. “What did I do wrong? We were happy, we where la-laughing, and now we ain't...”

“That's what we're going to figure out,” Rarity says as she continues to comfort you. “I'm going to help you through this. But if we're going to get anywhere, you're going to have to have to let me help you.”

Looking up to Rarity, you try to rub the tears out of your eyes as you nod. “Yeah... Yeah, sure...”

“Why don't you clean yourself up?” Rarity asks as she looks to your bathroom. “And when you're ready, we'll talk.”

Getting to your hooves, you nod wordlessly before staggering towards the bathroom. As you walk in, you see yourself in the mirror and stop dead in your tracks.

Is...Is that really me? You ask as you touch your face.

Your coat was matted and dirty, your mane was tangled and partially caked with blood, and your eyes were completely bloodshot.

Turning on the water, you splash it over your face and watch as a chunk of dried blood falls from your head and into the sink.

What the hell happened last night?

Saving that question for later, you grab a hold of a nearby towel, you dry yourself off and take a deep breath. “Alright...”

Heading back into the living room, you look to the floor as you approach the couch. “Hey... Uh... Sorry. About... You know...”

Rarity simply waves a hoof. “It’s nothing. You’re hurt, confused, and angry. Anyone would scream in your position.”

“So, um... What now?” you ask as you sit down next to Rarity.

“We’re just going to talk. Nothing more,” she says with a reassuring smile. “So, why don’t you tell me what happened between you and Twilight? Give me your side of the story.”

“...I don’t know what happened. I mean, I know what happened, but I don’t know what started it all.”

“Then just start from the beginning. And take your time, dear,” Rarity says as she puts a hoof on your shoulder. “I’ve got nothing else to do today, so there’s no rush.”

Taking a deep breath, you think back to that night and nod. “Alright... Well, we were laughing and happy and I was a little tipsy.”

“So you were drinking?”

You shake your head. “No. Well, yes, but no. I was drinking, but I didn’t know it at the time. The waitress... Jubilee I think was her name, she got the drinks confused and I ended up with Pinkie’s super Bloody Mary. By the time I figured it out, I already finished it.”

Rarity crosses her legs before tapping her chin with her hoof. “And I take it Twilight didn’t approve?”

“Well, I don’t think so. I think she was more mad at the waitress, but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, so I stopped her.”

Rarity just looks at you for a few moments before nodding. “I take it this is the same waitress that you were hitting on?” she asks plainly. “The one that left you with her number.”

You shake your head as you get to your hooves in anger. “No, no, no!” you cry. “I WASN’T hitting on her! And the number was taking completely out of context! Twilight didn’t even give me a chance to explain before she blew up at me!”

“Then explain it to me, dear, because from what I heard, you were flirting with this waitress all night.”

Dragging a hoof down your face, you take a deep breath and calm yourself. “I gave her MY number first. She was worried about ruining our night and thought she was going to get fired for it. I didn’t want that and she seemed like a nice filly, so I gave her my number and told me to call me if she has any problems.”

“And how were you going to do that?” Rarity asks with a curious look.

“Well, if she got fired, I figure the least I could do is get her a new job. Gregorie Plat owes me a favor and-”

"Wait, Grego- How do you know the owner of the Grand Gourmet? Nevermind that, how does he owe you a favour?"

“Last stockholder’s meeting I went to for some random company, I forget which,” you say plainly. “I met him there and we hit it off. He invited me over to his restaurant for lunch, but it was way too busy and he was short hoofed, so I offered to help out. I did dishes, carried meals around, took orders, that sort of stuff.”

Rarity nods slowly. “I... See. Sorry, it’s just I didn’t expect-”

“Somepony like me rubbing elbows with the big ponies?” you deadpan.

“Well, um...” she says slowly, shifting nervously in her seat.

“It’s alright, I get that a lot.”

“Alright then...” Rarity says as she regains her composure. “Please, continue.”

“So, yeah... I gave her my number and she was really grateful and I guess she gave me her number, too.”

“Okay, I think see what’s going on here. But first, let me ask you something: Why were you saying all of those things to Jubilee? I mean, you just met her. Why were you flirting with her?”

You open your mouth to say something, but simply shake your head. “I really don’t know what you mean.”

Rarity gives you a tired look before talking a deep breath. “Okay, better example; why did you call me sweetheart at the door? What compelled you to flirt with me?”

“Listen, I don’t know what you mean! I wasn’t flirting!”

“Then what were you doing?” she asks as she leans forward a bit.

“I was just being nice,” you say plainly. “I’ve always been told that you should always be nice to a lady and call them nice things.”

Rarity furrows her brow before scooting a little closer to you. “Now who told you that? I mean, you’re not wrong, but I’m just curious.”

“My dad,” you say with a shrug. “He may have been a bastard at times, but he wasn’t all bad. Taught me a lot of things growing up. Like, ‘never piss in a forward wind’ and ‘always have a pitcher of water in the fridge if you go out drinking’ and “Never go anywhere without letting someone know where-”

“I get the idea,” Rarity cuts you off midsentence. “And I think I see what’s going on here.”

Getting to her hooves, she begins to pace across the floor in front of you. “The problem I see is that while you think you’re being nice, you’ve been damaging your relationship with Twilight. Let me ask you; how many times have you said things like that with Twilight around? And they were directed at her?”

You blink a few times as you think back. “Well... Maybe a few.”

“Now, follow me on this one,” Rarity says as she takes a step forward. “How would you feel if Twilight started calling a random stallion ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ or some other little quip?”

Shifting nervously in your seat, you see where this conversation was going. “Well...”

“You’d be pretty upset, wouldn’t you? She was supposed to save those words for you and she’s using them on someone neither of you know. You’d feel betrayed. Just like Twilight.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, you hang your head. “So you’re basically saying this is my fault.”

“Oh no, no, no!” Rarity says as she rushes forward. “Don’t blame yourself! You thought there was nothing wrong with it and it’s alright to say a nice thing here and there, but you went a little...”

“Overboard?”

Rarity nods thoughtfully. “Yes. You got a little flirty, but you didn’t even know it, so don’t blame yourself. This whole fight is just one big misunderstanding.”

“Then what do we do?” you ask desperately. “I don’t wanna be like this and I certainly don’t want a kid to grow up without a dad, like I did.”

“It’s not going to come to that, I assure you,” she says as she puts a hoof on your shoulder. “All you need to do is talk to her.”

You shake your head. “I don’t-”

“If you don’t you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Looking to Rarity, you see the sincerity in her eyes and nod slowly. “...Alright. I’ll talk with her.”

A smile forms on her face as she pats your shoulder. “See? We’re making progress here.”

You smile weakly as you get to your hooves. “Yeah... Hey, do you want anything to drink?”

Rarity shakes her head quickly. “Oh, no, it’s far too early for alco-”

“I meant like water, coffee, milk?”

“Oh. Well... Sure. Coffee would be nice, actually. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.”

You give Rarity a nod before making your way to the kitchen, feeling a little bit better as you scan the cabinet

“Hmm... Coffee... Coffee... Ah! Here we are!” you say as you grab the canister of coffee grinds. Pulling the top off, your nose fills with the smell of fresh ground coffee, bringing you back to the hotel room.

Whoa, check it out! The room has its own coffee pot and grinds! Want a cup, Twi’?

Yeah, sure... Coffee sounds AWESOME right now. Then maybe you and I can curl up with a good book.

Sounds like a plan, cuddle-butt.

Oh quiet you! Don’t make me come over there!

Don’t hide it, you love it! You’re blushing! You’re-

“Are you okay?”

You turn to Rarity in surprise. “What?”

“I asked if you were okay. You’re crying again.”

You wipe at your face before shaking your head. “No... No... It’s just that everything is-”

“Reminding you of her?” Rarity asks with a sigh. “That’s usually how heartbreak works... Why don’t you take your time? You don’t-”

“No, no. You’re right, I gotta talk with her. And the sooner the better.”

Making your way to the front door, you hear Rarity call out. “Wait dear! It would be wise to take your time!”

You ignore her and break into a full gallop as you set your sights on the large tree a certain purple unicorn called ‘home’.

I’m going to make this right.

Pounding on the door for the what feels like the eighth time, you start to think that she was either avoiding you, or not at home.

Rarity said she was home...

Circling around the house, you look around for any sort of sign that she was in there. That’s when you saw the curtain to what looked like Twilight’s room shut quickly.

“Twilight?”

There was no answer, so you called out louder.

“Twilight!? Come on, I just wanna talk!”

Slowly, the curtain opens just hair and you can make out an eye looking down at you.

“Twi’! Come on, please! Just lemme in! I wanna talk!”

Finally, a familiar voice speaks up.

“Go away!”

Your heart sinks a bit at the words. “Why!? All I wanna do is talk! I’m sorry!”

Twilight is silent for the longest time, but finally speaks up. “I’m busy! Come back later!”

You throw your hooves up in anger. “Why? I wanna do this now! I’m tired of lying around hoping for things to get better!”

“You’re just gonna have to wait!” Twilight cries as she sticks her head out the window. “I’m busy right now, so just go away!”

“No!” you yell in frustration. “I’m not leaving! I wanna make this right! And if-”

“Excuse me,” a timid voice said from behind, breaking your concentration.

Turning around, you found yourself face to face with a yellow pegasus who’s face hid behind a pink mane. “Um, maybe... Maybe-” she stops herself and takes a deep breath. “You should leave Twilight alone.”

“Hi... Fluttershy, right? Listen , I’m-”

“I remember you,” she says much more loudly this time. “You’re the one who made my friend cry.”

“Yes, I did, but-”

“And while it’s nice that you want to apologize, it sounds like Twilight isn’t interested.” She pauses, takes another deep breath, and her gaze hardens. “So I think you should leave.”

“Now wait a minute,” you say with growing irritation. “I haven’t even had a chance to talk to her since-”

“Since you broke her heart?” Her very words make you visibly flinch and your stomach sink into your hooves.

“...But I-I just-”

“Now you listen here, buster,” Fluttershy says as she glares down at you. “If you have any respect left for Twilight, you’re going to leave her alone.”

You could feel your eyes tear up again. “I just want to make things better,” you say above a whisper.

Fluttershy’s face softens a bit. “I know... But maybe Twilight doesn’t want to. I’m sorry.”

With a sniffle, you hang your head as you make your back home. “...Fine. If she doesn’t want to see me, then fine. At least I tried.”

You hear Fluttershy say something to you as you walk away, but you don’t hear it, nor do you care.

Fuck it. Just fuck it all. I’m going to bed.

You crawl into bed carefully, making sure the glass bong you carried in your mouth didn’t spill or break. Finally settling down, you cradle the bong in your lap. Making sure the clover was packed in tightly, you bring the lighter up to it as you put your lips to it. Taking a deep breath, you feel your lungs start to burn, but you hold it,

One... Two... Three.

On three, you take your lips off of the bong and exhale the smoke, leaving you light headed and slightly buzzed. Falling back onto the bed, you set the bong on the ground and lay flat on the bed as the clover starts to work on your system.

“All I need...” you say with a chuckle. “All I need...”

You start to close your eyes as everything goes hazy and it feels like you’re melting into the bed.

Your eyes slowly open and you smile widely as you get to your hooves. “Feel like a million-WHOA!”

You flail around helplessly as you slowly drift up into the air, only to settle back down on an alien landscape that looked like a completely flat desert that stretched on for miles and miles.

“Well... This is new,” you say aloud as you survey your surroundings. Kicking at the ground, you stir up a cloud of sand that floated about idly, only to have it settle back down to the desert floor.

“Now what?” you ask idly as you look up at the starless sky, devoid of anything, even the sun.

As if to answer your question, a shining light on the horizon beckons you, the only thing for miles.

“Well that’s nifty...” With a heavy sigh, you focus on the light, figuring that it had to be at least a couple miles away. “A wise pony once said that a journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step...”

Taking a step forward, you feel like your whole body was engulfed in molasses and stuck to you as you tried your best to move.

Gritting your teeth, you concentrate. “You... Put... One hoof in front... Of the other...” you grunt aloud as you start to move with more confidence. “And soon you’ll be walking across the floor... Put one hoof in front of the other...” You start to smile a bit as walking across this desert becomes easier and easier. “And soon you’ll be walking out the door!”

Slowly, with each step you take, it becomes easier as you make your way towards the light until you’re almost galloping towards it.

Why am I running? you ask yourself as your lungs start ache from running. Better question, where the hell am I? And a better question yet, why is everything turning purple?

You slow down a bit and look around as everything starts to gain a purple tint to it. You try to come to a halt, but you’re met with some unknown resistance and you soon find yourself tumbling through the air. Instead of face planting into the ground, you instead to start to tumble through the air, higher and higher.

“How the hell do I steer?!?” you cry as you flail around helplessly. You’re so turned around that you have no idea where up or down was, or even if you were about to hit the ground or floating towards the sky.

Amidst the confusion, you find yourself floating towards the light now, mere inches away from it; a giant floating ball of white light that was as bright as the sun, yet didn’t hurt to look into. As you pass by it, you see a face in the light look to you with a smile.

Reaching a hoof out, you try to touch the face in the light. “Twilight?”

As soon as your hoof makes contact with the ball of light, it bursts like a soap bubble and sends out a cascade of tiny little balls of light that dotted the landscape like stars that you could reach out and touch. One of the lights passes you by and you find yourself dumbstruck as you watch yourself and Twilight in the light snuggle in the hotel bed with big goofy grins on your faces. Again, another light passes you by and in it, you see yourself pushing Twilight up the stairs as she mouths the word “Snakes” over and over again.

“Aren’t you coming?” a familiar voice says from overhead.

Looking up, you find yourself face to face with Twilight Sparkle, giggling as you looked up at her with a stupid look on your face.

“What are you doing up there?” you finally ask.

“A better question would be ‘What are you doing down there?’, sweetheart.”

You don’t know what she means until you watch her move past you, swimming through the air as if it was water, towards what looked like a shining hole in the sky.

“Hey, wait up!” you cry as you flail around helplessly.

In a moment of clarity, you calm down and stop moving for a moment before mimicking Twilight’s swimming motion. It works surprisingly well and it’s then that it dawns on you.

I’m under water.

Shaking the revelation out of your head, you turn your attention back to Twilight, who was now floating idly up to the surface, her hooves splayed out, as if she was welcoming you for an embrace.

“Hold up Twi’!” you call out as you kick your hooves frantically. “Wait for me!”

Twilight doesn’t seem to hear you and continues to float up to the surface, spurring you to swim faster. You put everything into it and you’re a hair away from Twilight as she touches the sky-

Surface, you think as you reach out and grab her. The water’s surface.

You bring your face closer to hers as she starts to pass through sky, surface, whatever it was and touch her lips as you pass through it and-

You almost jump out of bed as something loud bangs against glass, followed by a loud cracking sound. Looking around, you take a deep breath as you get to your hooves.

“Freaky...”

Looking around, you hear your tell tale sound of a skipping record player, getting your attention. Walking over to your record player, you open it up and stop the spinning record before making your way towards your now cracked window.

As you inspect the window, your thoughts turn to back to the dream and chuckle a bit. “No more Hendrix in bed...”

Throwing up the sash and the grabbing a hold of the window, you stick your head out into the dark and look around, only to feel your heart jump into your throat.

“T-Twilight?” you ask hoarsely.

You start to smile, but it slowly starts to disappear as the events from earlier today start to flood back to your memory.

“What do you want?” you ask in irritation.

Twilight looks up to you in desperation. “I need to talk to you!”

You can’t help but burst out into laughter. “Oh, now you want to talk? What happened to ‘I’m busy’ and ‘Go away?’. I tried to talk to you and you turned away and then Fluttershy-”

“Fluttershy shouldn’t of said those things and I really need to talk to you! It’s important!”

You shake your head as you turn away from the window. “I tried and I’m done! I-”

“I had my last pregnancy test and I’m-”

Your eyes widen at the words ‘pregnancy test’ and rush back to the window.

“WhaAHH!”

As you run for the window, you trip on a beer bottle and stumble out of the window and grab the window sill.

“Crap crap crap!” you yell as you struggle to pull yourself back into the house.

“Don’t worry, I got you!” Twilight cries as a purple aura starts to envelop you. Slowly, it tries to pull you off of the window sill, much to your displeasure.

“DON’T! I DON’T WANNA-”

“STOP FLAILING AROUND!” Twilight yells from below. “YOU’RE GONNA-”

You feel the aura around you weaken and give away, leaving you to hit the ground from the second story.

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight cries as she rushes over to you. “Are you-”

Getting to your hooves, you grab a hold of Twilight and look her square in the eyes. “What did the test say? Are you pregnant? Oh dear Celestia and Luna above, you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

“I-”

“Oh gosh, oh gosh, I’m going to be a father,” you say with increasing worry. “Twi’, I know you don’t want you in my life, but please just let me do right by the kid!”

“But I-”

“I’ll make them breakfast and take them to school and we can watch them grow up and go to college-” your eyes widen at the word. “Oh gosh, I gotta set aside money for college! I gotta talk to Trump Card and get a trust fund set up! No son of mine is going to some cheap college, he’s going to the best school in Equestria!”

“That’s nice, but-”

“Wait, what if it’s a girl?” you ask as your heart starts to speed up. “Oh gosh, oh gosh... School dances, prom night, boyfriends- I swear if she brings home some punk with eighteen piercings and a mohawk, I’ll-”

“NOW JUST WAIT A MINUTE!” Twilight cries aloud, cutting you off. “I. AM NOT. PREGNANT.”

The words sink in and calm the storm of worries in your head. “W...What?” you ask dumbly.

“I had my last pregnancy test and it was negative,” she says plainly. “I’m not pregnant.”

You let go of Twilight and start to turn around as you make your way back to your house. “Oh... Well... I guess that’s it, then,” you say with a heavy sigh. “I guess now we just go our separate ways and-”

“Wait!” Twilight cries out.

Turning around, you find your breath catch in your throat as Twilight leans forward and kisses you slowly. As she pulls back, you see her smile, despite the fact she’s blinking back tears. “Please don’t go.”

“What-”

You watch as she plops herself down on the ground next to you, on the borderline of tears. “Don’t go, I want to say something,” she says as she motions for you to sit. You feel yourself compelled to sit down next to her and as soon as you get settled, she takes a deep breath. “I realized I didn’t have all the facts...”

With a heavy sigh, Twilight puts a hoof around you and hugs you tightly. “I was mad at you. I wanted to yell at you for everything that happened, but I couldn’t stand to face you after what I did, so the day after we b-b-” she stutters ever so slightly before she takes another deep breath. “Broke up. I went back to the club and confronted the waitress, Jubilee.”

“What did you do?”

“I was going to yell at her, I was going to do make a scene, but the minute she saw me, she just smiled and started going on about how nice you were and understanding despite it all and asked me to thank you for not getting her fired. She said she tried to call you and thank you, but you weren’t picking it up. So... I put two and two together and realized I blew something completely out of proportion. So I-”

“Holed yourself up and cried yourself to sleep?”

Twilight nods as you put a hoof on her shoulder. “I gotta admit, I was in the same spot. I tried to get you out of my head, but... It’s pretty hard when you lose someone as perfect as you. It didn’t help when Rarity helped me figure out I screwed up, too.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean, I’ve been a little... Flirty, I guess, and I didn’t even know it. When I realized what I did, I ran to go see you.”

“When I was in the bathroom,” Twilight says with a heavy blush.

You look to her in shock. “Wait, you were on the toilet?” you ask bashfully. “I thought that was your room.”

Twilight shakes her head. “No, no! That was the bathroom. And I was trying to do the test when you came by and-”

“You got stage fright with me around and got embarrassed,” you say as you slap your forehead.

“Not only that, I was going to see you after I was done, since Rarity convinced me to go talk to you. But when you stormed off and Fluttershy told me what she said, I just sort of freaked out. I started crying again, thinking you’d never want to see me again, but then I realized I’d never know unless I saw you.”

You laugh aloud as you give her a peck on the cheek. “We both dropped the ball this time...”

“You can say that again,” she says with a sigh.

You and Twilight remain quiet for the longest time, until you finally speak up with words you’ve been meaning to say.

“I'm sorry. I promise to save all of my flirting for you if you promise to not to jump to conclusions.”

Twilight nuzzles up to you and gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “Deal.”

You and Twilight go silent for a while as you look into the night sky.

“You know, I’m not even mad that you told Rarity about my father.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asks with a confused look. “I mean, sure she came by and talked, but I never said anything about your father.”

“W-Wait, but I-...She-...” Rarity’s words echo in your ear and you feel yourself laugh aloud.

I only know what she told me.

“Oh, she is good.”

“What?”

You shake your head as you hold Twilight a little bit closer. “Nothing important... Hey Twi’?”

“What?” she asks as she looks up to you.

“I love you. You know that, right?”

Twilight cranes her neck up and plants her lips on yours. “Yeah,” she says as she breaks the kiss. “And I love you too.”

A warm feeling starts to was over you as you sit there with a goofy smile on your face. The smile disappears, however, as your hoof moves down to your side.

“... Hey Twi’?”

“What now?”

“We gotta go to a hospital,” you say as you try get to your hooves.

“Why? I mean, we’re out of the woods pregnancy wise and the results of the blood test won’t be back for-”

“I think I broke a rib or two when I fell,” you say as you touch your side tenderly.

Twilight gets to her hooves quickly. “And you’re just finding this out now? We gotta go to a hospital, now!”

You flinch slightly as Twilight helps you up, grabbing a hold of what felt like a broken rib. “Great idea,” you grunt. “Wish I thought of it.”

“Oh my gosh, what if you need surgery? We gotta-”

“Hey, calm down,” you say with a chuckle. “After what we’ve been through, this is nothing. And as long as you’re here right by side, I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah... But just to be safe, let’s get you there quickly before you pass out,” Twilight says with teasing smile.

You chuckle a bit as she moves to your side, supporting you.

In more ways then one.

Epilogue

"Ah... Come on... You son of a... Twilight!" you yell out in frustration. "How do you put this damned thing on?!?"

"Oh come on!" she says as turns away from the mirror. "I just showed you how!"

You hold your tie out to her in desperation. "It just didn't click, I'm sorry. Please? We've got like an hour before we have to go to the wedding and I don't want to spend it tying knots."

Twilight lets out a haggard sigh as her horn starts to glow. "Just this once, now pay attention."

Your tie takes on a life of its own as it floats through the air and settles down on your neck. "Now see? You've got the pony," Twilight says as she holds up the smaller end of the tie. "And you've got the manticore." She punctuates this by holding up the wider end. "The manticore runs around the pony once... twice... and then pounces through the tree... then gets its tail stuck in the branches. And see? You've got a four in hoof knot."

You blink a few times and slowly nod. "...Yeah. I see."

"Great," Twilight says as she turns back to the mirror. "You look good in tie."

You shake your head as you join her side. "Bleh, I don't think so."

Twilight rolls her eyes, but turns her attention down to your side. "How are your ribs?"

You shrug a bit as you tug at the bandages. "It's alright. Haven't had to use the pain pills the doc gave me."

"Oh well that's good! Maybe you're recovering faster than he expected. We should ask him about getting those bandages off soon."

"Well, we can't exactly ask him at the altar," you say as you root around through Twilight's makeup drawer. "Where's your stash? I know you keep it in here."

"Drawer down," Twilight says idly as she runs a comb through her hair. "I figured you'd be after something, so there's a joint in there already made."

"Oh, you think of everything," you say as you find the joint she was talking about. You give Twilight a peck on the cheek before moving over to her bed and lying back on it. "You going to want a hit?" you ask as you fish out your lighter.

"Maybe in a bit, there's something I wanted to talk to you about that's been bugging me."

You let out a puff of smoke before setting the join down in the ashtray. "Oh? Something wrong?"

"Well, sort of," Twilight says as she walks over to the bed. "Remember a few days ago? When we got back together?"

"And I broke three ribs? Yeah, I think I remember that," you say sarcastically.

Twilight gives you a look before she takes a seat next to you. "Well, when you found out that I wasn't pregnant... You kinda looked... Sad. What was that about?"

You lay back in bed with a smile. "Twilight, remember when we were in the hospital and I said I'd love you and only you?"

Twilight nods as she lays down by your side.

"Well, I lied."

"What?" Twilight asks in disbelief. "What are you-"

You put a hoof to her lips and stop her from going any further. "Let me finish. You promised you wouldn't jump to conclusions."

Twilight looks to you for a moment before closing her mouth and looking at you intently.

"I'm going to love somebody else in the future," you say as you put a hoof around her shoulder. "It may be a colt, it may be a filly, I don't know. They-"

"What!?" Twilight yells as she sits up in confusion "What do you-"

"Let me finish!" you cry as you motion for her to lay back down. She reluctantly lays back down beside you and keeps her mouth closed as you continue.

"They're going to live with us for a long time and we're going to end up watching them grow up and they're going to love us with all their heart. And you know what the kicker is?"

"What?"

You draw her closer to you and wrap both of your hooves around her. "They're going to call you 'mom' and they're going to call me 'dad'."

Twilight's eyes seem to shine as she finally gets it. "Oh..."

"One day, I want to have a kid with you. I want that kid to have all the love a kid should have growing, the kind of love I didn't get. And to top it all off, I want to grow old with you, spending our days getting stoned as you read me The Metamorphosis and watch The Cutie Marx Brothers by a roaring fire."

Looking over to Twilight, you see her smile at you as her eyes start to tear up. "I really love you, you know that?" Slowly, she leans forward and presses her lips onto yours and kisses you deeply. You smile a bit halfway into the kiss, but gasp aloud and break the kiss.

"I REMEMBER!" you yell aloud.

"Remember what?" Twilight asks as she sits up. "I thought we remembered the entire night when-"

"HOTLIPS!"

Twilight looks at you for a moment, but her eyes go wide and a heavy blush starts to work up her face. "Oh come on!"

"What do you mean 'Oh come on'? What's wrong with being a good kisser, hot lips?" you ask teasingly.

"It sounds so embarrassing! How'd you even come up with that?"

"Oh you know how!" you cry as you wrap your hooves around her waist. "You were nearly shoving your tongue down my throat when-"

"Shut up shut up!" she yells with a heavy blush. "It's so embarrassing! I can't be-"

You nuzzle Twilight's neck, eliciting a giggle from her. "Don't be embarrassed. I think it's hot... But we kinda got off topic."

Her blush seems to go down a bit as she nods. "Yeah... But I honestly don't think we're ready for a child, yet."

"Well, yeah. I'm not saying I want to knock you up right now, I'm saying that one day, when you're ready and I'm ready, that a kid would be great idea"

"Yeah," Twilight says as she cuddles up to you. "It would be great."

You stay quiet for a little while and just soak it all in, until you turn to Twilight with the million dollar question. "Want to get married?"

Twilight nods as she lets out puff of smoke. "Yeah... That'd be awesome."

You can't help but laugh aloud. "I love you."

"Love ya too, sexy."