Apple Bloom's POV

I ain't never seen a carriage so fancy! It's got snacks, beverages, and all the darn trimmings I hear movie ponies get! Rarity, Apple Jack, and all the other elements paid for us to be able to rent this. It was real sweet of Fluttershy and Twilight especially, because they ain't got relation to any one of us!

"Are y'all excited?" Big Mac asked, halfheartedly from his seat.

"Excited?!" Scootaloo chimed in. "Are you kidding? This is pure torture! Rainbow Dash hasn't stopped badgering me since I woke up this morning!" With the way she was dressed to the nine, I wasn't surprised! I'd never seen Scootaloo in a dress! Well, at least not teenage Scootaloo: who is practically a different pony.

"Aw, come on Scootaloo! Get in the prom spirit! We're only able to do this once ya know!" I reminded. "Just look at Sweetie! She's excited," I laughed. All the heads of the car turned to the only couple in the carriage. Sweetie's cheeks turned a dim shade of rosy pink, and Shadow continued to shamelessly hold her hand. I would never go near another filly's coltfriend- especially not my best friend's- but man that boy looks nice in a tux. Plus that Manehattan accent could drive any mare wild. Not to mention that charming way his lip curls when he says something snarky. He's a bad boy with a kind heart: every filly's dream! ...He's also my best friend's coltfriend.

"Yeah, she's fitting in the prom spirit alright," Scootaloo scoffed. "Prom night dumpster foals, anyone?" Sweetie's pink cheeks intensified into bright tomatoes and her head turned like she might cry. Just before I could slap the fire out of Scootaloo, Shadow took care of it.

"I bet if two mares could have foals you'd be all over that too," he defended. I couldn't help but laugh, feeling a little alone since Big Mac sat with an emotionless expression.

"Shadow!" Sweetie gasped. To be totally fair: Scootaloo is a lesbian, and she DID deserve that. Sweetie's too kind ta admit anything rude is true, but I know she has ta appreciate Shadow defending her. She ain't the kind of mare ta be snoozing in the hay at her age.

"Alright," Big Mac started. "Didn't realize this chaperonin' would start in the cart, but sit down everypony! I don't wanna hear another word till we get there: understand?"

"Yes, sergeant," I remarked with an eye roll. That earned a deserving parental glare. Sitting next to Big Mac when he's angry reminds me of what it must be like to sit next to a guard stallion. I wish he wasn't so serious all the time! Sometimes I wish he would just have a little fun and realize I'm almost a grown mare!

Rarity's POV

"And did you SEE the way he looked at her? "Oh I've got your corsage! It's sea foam to match your perfect eyes!"" Like he knows ANYTHING about color coordination! I mean, Sweetie's eyes would pop the MOST with a beautiful rose quartz to contrast! Perhaps even a daring amber sunglow...Now this is going to bother me. I won't be able to sleep until I know for certain." I began to wander to my fabric splotches, when Spike intervened.

"That was the worst Manehattan impression I've ever heard."

"Is that really the only thing you've got to say about this situation?"

"Come on princess, you're so much better than this. We both know that Sweetie Belle has a good head on her shoulders."

"Oh, don't try to sound so profound!" I insisted. "Sweetie Belle is my sister and-"

"My sister-in-law! I'll knock Shadow's strings loose if he steps out of line." Spike is so adorable when he's threatening. Although, he's not the adorable little dragon he used to be. Now, he towers a foot over me and could burn down all of Ponyville if he so chose to do so.

"Darling, do you think it's Shadow...or me?" I asked. "On second thought, don't answer that. Of course it's Shadow! I mean, what sister would I be if I was OK with Sweetie dating a mannerless, brute with an untouched mane, and a careless attitude?"

"It's you," Spike suggested, with no remorse or pre-thinking. I gasped in shock at his remark.

"It is not me!" I demanded.

"Rarity: it's you," he repeated. In an attempt to leave the conversation, he laid in our bed and covered himself with our blanket. In a vengeful tantrum, I ripped the blanket off of his body.

"It is NOT me!" I insisted. Spike didn't bother to turn around: the coward!

"Rarity, baby, I love you. I really do, but I want to go to sleep and I don't feel like fighting about how far in denial you really are. Is that ok?"

"NO! No it is not "ok!" You're trying to tell me that I have a problem! That I'm crazy or something to that effect! How dare you tell me I'm too protective of my sister? Too concerned about the stallions she brings home!"

"Yep, glad that's settled, good night!

"URGH! You are impossible! I don't understand why I would pick a husband that wouldn't even support me! Spike, don't you have the slightest bit of empathy?"

"Don't you?" he asked.

"Oh, yes. I am SO sorry that your wife is talking your ear off. How dare she berate you for acting so FOOLISHLY and implying she's insane!"

"I have NEVER said that to your face!" Spike bantered.

"Oh, enjoy your rest!" I sighed with a hoof-stomp. "I'll go make sure our offspring is sleeping properly, and not growing to be anything like her father."

"Love you," Spike laughed. I was too frustrated to respond, but I suppose that Spike's silliness is really something that keeps me levelheaded. He only says idiotic things for my own good. He really is such a sweet husband...

Apple Bloom's POV

"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo laughed. "You gotta try this!" She handed me a sloshing drink with an unsteady hand.

"What tha heck IS this stuff?" I asked, shoving it out of my line-of-smell. It smelt like a sulfur pit or somethin'!

"It's vodka mixed with Red Dash and a bunch of other caffeine. It really pumps up the party!"

"Uh, more like pumps up your heart rate, no thanks. Unlike you, I actually wanna remember tonight!"

"Why's that? Do you like memories of being sad and alone?"

"No, that's you. I'm here with Sweetie, and all my other friends. I guess there's one less that I thought." I started to walk away, only to have a roaming eye stare at me. Man, Diamond's boyfriend gives me the creeps. The stallion looks like a dang drug dealer. I stood by the scrumptious looking cheesecake, waiting for some stallions to walk away so I could chow down without shame. In the corner of my eye I could still see that guy looking at me. I didn't see Diamond anywhere in sight, but maybe that's why he was staring. I decided I needed to be around some ponies I knew before he came towards me, and then I noticed that everypony I thought was here really wasn't. I started to walk away a little quicker, but he started to follow me. I knew he was starin' at me funny! As fast as I could, without making a scene I saw his shadow catch up with mine and grab my hoof.

"Apple Bloom, right? Nice to meet you," he smiled. Maybe he was just as lonely as I was...he didn't seem like he was trying to cause a problem. Come to think of it, if I came here with Diamond Tiara: I would be alone too. I started to talk back, but then he started to. "This prom is really getting bad. Everypony's either drunk, dancing, or going home."

"Y-yeah, I noticed that too."

"So, which one are you?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you drunk?"

"No! I'm not an idiot! Besides, it ain't worth goin' ta jail for."

"I agree," he laughed. "Well, you're not dancing: so you must be going home."

"I actually planned on staying a little longer..." I admitted.

"Really? Well, you know you could come home with me if you were up for a little more fun."

"Can I help you?!" I heard. My anxious heart was shaking my whole body. I turned to see my big brother standing with a threatening glare.

"Chill, dude," gasped the newly startled stallion. "What's your deal?"

"What's your name, son?" asked my brother, ignoring the younger stallion's questions.

"I'm Fancy Fedora, what's yours?" He asked sarcastically.

"I'm Apple Bloom's brother. Pleasure's all mine." He reached out a hoof to shake Fancy Fedora's and I felt like I could see the sweat drip off of his head.

"That's your name?" he scoffed.

"It is to a stallion I'll never have ta see again." His glare got worse before Fancy really got scared.

"I think I hear my girlfriend calling..." Fancy cowered.

"So do I," Big Mac agreed. "Have a great prom."

Sweetie's POV

"I swear that freak was gonna kill me!"

"Oh, stop being such a queen, Fancy." Diamond Tiara and her boyfriend passed Shadow and I while we were splitting a piece of cake.

"Do you think we're a better couple than the prom queen and queen?" Shadow laughed.

"Yeah," I giggled. "The queens are a handsome couple: but the love's not there."

"What about us?" he suggested. "I think there's a little too much going on between us. We might need a break to cool things down..."

"W-what?" I couldn't believe him...he can't be doing this now! He can't dump me at prom!

"The only way ta save us...is for you ta pass me a bite of that vanilla ice cream. Only way ta cool us down a little faster."

"Shadow!" I laughed. "You're such a jerk!" I took a scoop of the ice cream and smeared it on his face with my hoof.

"Hey!" he chuckled back. "Ya need ta trust me a little more a'ight? You're my girl. Best girl I could ever ask for." Shadow took off his hat, revealing his slicked back hair. His hair looks so good slicked back.

"You know I love you, don't you?" I asked. Shadow bit his lip and pressed his forehead to mine, laying a kiss on my lips.

"Follow me," he asked. Abandoning our desserts, I followed Shadow outside into the beautiful lights. The lit gazebo was radiating under the gorgeous stars, showering a few extra glimmers of the scenery upon Shadow and I. "Ya know, we got three weeks bafore graduation, and then our eighteenth birthdays, followed by our whole lives."

"Well that's a really depressing way to start off this conversation," I remarked.

"Not the way I see it," Shadow smiled. He led me into the gazebo and sat beside me. "Sweetie Belle, I know I ain't gonna get any better than I'm gonna get with you."

"Well I know you're the best I'll ever do," I giggled.

"Well then, since that's settled." Shadow stood up and waltzed around me. "Why don't we go through our lives tagether?"

"What?" I don't know what he's talking about...we're going to the same college. I thought that was the plan: to stay together.

"We're gonna be at the same place, same time, same torture: knowing one of us could get overwhelmed. I don't wanna give up on us, and I don't want you to either. So I'm makin' a proposition...will ya marry me?"

Author's Note

So as you can tell, this story is MUCH light hearted than Auntie Rarity XD However, this is about to get interesting in a WHOLE new way. I'm never at a loss for dramatics ;) Beware.