Waking Up

Chapter 12: Lessons

By: Calamity Jay

"Cool, so I get to learn how do to magic? Always wanted to do that. Oh and the learning about friendship thing too..."

You and Applejack headed downstairs to the living room and then took a turn into the kitchen. On the way down you could smell the sweet smell of breakfast being made. To your surprise it smelled like apples, but you remembered, you were being taken in by the Apple family. Who farmed nothing but apples. Nevertheless, you still liked apples. Always did.

"Mornin' there Applejack, Leroy," Granny Smith greeted as you walked into the kitchen. The old mare was standing at the stove cooking breakfast for everyone. Big Mac had his head in the fridge, pulling out a carton of milk with his mouth and trotting over to the table. Apple Bloom sat at the table on a chair working on a coloring book. It was strange when you saw that she was holding the crayon in her mouth to draw. Of course you remembered you lived in a world full of ponies... With hooves... No fingers there buddy. However, you wagered that Unicorns found it easier to write and draw seeing as they could use their magic to levitate things. So you figured that some things were easier for others in Equestria.

"Hey sis, hey Leroy," Apple Bloom chirped from the table, putting down the crayon in her mouth. "Why were y'all takin' so long in the bathroom?"

"Uh well-" You started but Applejack nudged you with her hip.

"Apple Bloom, you don't need to know exactly what we were doing," Applejack told her sister, seeming a little embarrassed.

"Oh wait so you guys were uh, ya know?" She made some kind of gesture with her little hooves, one that looked like it meant something lewd as she slowly tapped on hoof on the other. Your face could not have gotten anymore red.

"Apple Bloom! That is none of your business, now just get back to your drawing will ya?" AJ said as she trotted to a chair and took a seat. You followed and did the same as she did, sitting down next to her. Big Mac came with the jug of milk, set it down on the table and then sat down on the chair across from you, leaving the chair at the other end of the table open for Granny Smith.

"Applejack, would ya be a dear and come over to help me set the table?" Granny called from the table.

"Be right there granny," She was about to rise off her seat, but you reached out a hand and you stopped her.

"How about you let me help set up the table, eh? You all let me stay here, I'd feel pretty terrible for not helping out," You offered, giving a soft smile.

"Alright then, go right ahead,"

You walked over to where Granny stood, flipping pancakes with her mouth onto several plates. You half expected there to be maybe eggs or bacon, but then you remembered. Ponies. Herbivores. No bacon here.

"Wow, Granny these look and smell amazing," You say, picking up other plates.

"Ah, glad ya think so, ol' family recipe right there," She replies, smiling backup at you.

"No problem, I look forward to eating these very soon," You then go over to the counter to pick up plates. Pausing, you think over on how you can show these ponies just how good hands are, just to make this morning a little bit more entertaining. At first you thought about using your new magic abilities to pick up all the plates, but then again you were not terribly adept with your abilities; throwing the plates at your new friends or against the wall is a good way to ruin the morning and take the awkwardness to a whole new level. So, like the intelligent individual you are, you place two plates on your forearms and pick up another two plates with your hands. "Hey guys check me out, I'm like a circus act over here!" You then start humming the circus tune while walking over to the table. Meanwhile, Applejack and Apple Bloom start giggling at your antics.

"Hey, can you stand on one leg while doing that?" Applejack asks, still laughing.

"Yeah can ya?" Apple Bloom asks as well, looking up at you expectantly.

Putting down the plates, you stop the circus act. "Sorry, but I'm afraid if I did that, breakfast would be a little shorter than we'd like," You chuckle, going back to pick up the last plate for Granny. After setting the table, you take your seat next to Applejack and prepare to dig into the meal.

"C'mon Granny, you're makin' us wait on empty stomachs," Applejack calls over to her.

"Alright, hol' on there young'un, Ah'm comin'," She shakily trots over to the table and slowly takes her seat at the head of the table. "Okay Ah'm here, go ahead and dig in everypony,"

The others begin to heartily dig in to their piles of apple pancakes, but something felt off to you. You were always used to eating with utensils, using a knife and fork when necessary to eat your food. First thing you noticed was that there were none of those here that your could use, so of course you felt awkward without a fork and knife to eat. Looks like adjusting here to life in Equestria would be harder than you thought; including adjustments like this.

"Somethin' wrong, Leroy," Applejack asks, swallowing a bite of pancake.

"Uh no, just thinking," You reply, picking up one of your pancakes to take a bite. "No need to worry," You then take a bite and immediately your taste buds and stomach shout out in glee as you chew the morsel a few times and swallow it. "Wow, Jesus, these are good,"

"Ah'm glad ya think so. Hear that Granny? Leroy likes your pancakes!" She calls over to the old mare who is slowly eating her breakfast, but pays no mind to her granddaughter. "Hey Granny!"

"Uh whaaat? Who called me?" She asks, looking confused.

"Granny, Ah said Leroy likes your pancakes,"

"Oh he does? Aww aren't ya just the sweetest thing? Ah am glad ya like 'em," She says, her wrinkled lips curling into a smile.

"They really are good, thank you," You take another bite out of the soft, warm, pancake.

"Mah pleasure" She goes back to eating her own food.

As you all eat your breakfasts, you have idle conversation about the plans later for today. Since it was the weekend, everyone had a day off from working the farm. So that left you some free time to hang out with Applejack. Apple Bloom was talking about how she was going to go off and play with her friends and to figure out how to get their cutie marks. You had asked why and she happily explained to you the goal of being a Cutie Mark Crusader. Their main goal was to work together and find their cutie marks. Remembering what Twilight had said, you were about to explain to her that they could not possibly get their cutie marks at the same time; let alone having the same one. However, as you started explaining, Applejack had nudged you in the ribs. You wanted ask why and she gave you a look that obviously told you 'let her figure it out on her own'. Eventually, everyone had finished their breakfast. Applejack was about to go and was the dishes, but once again you insisted to do the work yourself. It was the good thing to do after all, they did let you into their house.

"So, what's the plan for today?" You ask, finishing off the last plate, washing the syrup off the ceramic dish. Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny had all left the kitchen to go about their activities. So that just left you and Applejack alone. In the kitchen. Not that you could do anything sexual in here. Right?

"Well, Ah believe we could go off into town, see what there is to do. Maybe stop by Sugarcube Corner and have some sweets. Or..." She looks at you with her eyebrow arched. "We could probably," She trots up behind you and you turn to face her. "Just stay home all day," You back up against the sink and place your hands against the counter as she rears up and places her legs on your shoulders. "And get to know each other a little better," She nuzzles you, burying her face in your neck. "And Ah know how much ya like it when Ah do this," You feel her warm, wet tongue go up the side of your face, stopping just below your earlobe. She giggles when she feels you shudder and you let out a soft groan.

"Yeah? Well I know how much you like it when I do this," You run your hands up all the way to her shoulders and down close to her flanks. Then you crane your neck to bite down on the tip of her ear, gently nibbling on it. Immediately, she lets out a deep, but silent moan caused by your sensual ministrations.

"N-not fair," She gasps out as you continue caressing her. You start to kiss her neck softly and making your way up to her cheek. Eventually you both meet in the middle for a soft kiss which quickly escalates when you shoot your tongue into her mouth, dancing with hers.

You lose yourself in the kiss, passionately caressing her lips with yours, running your hands down along her barrel, feeling the soft fibers of her coat. At this moment it was just the two of you there in the kitchen, but it might as well been the two of you alone in the whole world. Just you and Applejack. It felt like hours had passed and before it could escalate any further, a series of loud knocks came from the front door of the farmhouse. At first you ignore the person knocking at the door, still kissing your mare.

That was until a certain Princess' voice called from the porch.

"Applejack! Leroy! Are you guys here? Its me Twilight!"

You pull your lips away from Applejack's. "Damn, well, I guess we could continue this some other time."

"Yeah, maybe we could. Let's go and see what Twilight needs," The two of walk over to the screen door where Twilight is waiting.

You open the door for her. "Hey there, Twilight," You greet cheerfully, smiling down at the young Princess.

"Howdy, Twilight, care to come in?" Applejack offered.

"Actually I can't really, I came here for Leroy," She said, pointing at you.

"Really? What do you need me for?" You ask, arching an eyebrow. Most likely Twilight has come to fulfill her promise of teaching you magic.

"Remember at the party how I said I was gonna train you in the arcane arts?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, here I am. You wanna get started? I also have this book here as well that will help you get started," She floats out a book titled "Learning the Arcane Arts: Beginner's Edition" out of her saddlebags. "If you're busy then maybe we can do this some other time?"

You look down at Applejack, wordlessly asking her if you were going to be busy. She gives a little shrug of her shoulders. There you have it. "Alright, I don't think we have anything on our schedule for today, so I think we should go and get started."

"Good, well I think we should practice in an open area, knowing you, you'd probably blow up my castle or something," She giggles, earning her a scowl from you. "Well, just in case. Better safe than sorry right?" She grins at you sheepishly.

"Yeah yeah I got you, Twilight," You huff out a laugh. "So AJ? Wanna come along? Watch me try and do magic stuff?"

"Much as Ah'd like to, 'fraid Ah can't sugarcube," She says, pursing her lips. "Ah think you need to focus on that kind of stuff and well, Ah'd hate to distract ya."

"Aww come on, you don't distract me. I mean, its not as if... I..." Your words leave you as you look at Applejack, who develops a half lidded expression, a look she gets whenever she is 'in the mood'. You continue to sputter out words, but you fail to form a coherent sentence. She then lets go of her look and returns to a normal expression. "Okay, maybe I do get distracted by you. Quite easily actually," You chuckle, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Alright, its settled then. Twilight, Ah will be seein' you later, teach him good for me will ya?"

"Of course I will," She replies, grinning at her friend.

Applejack looks up at you. "You take care now ya hear? Ah'd hate for anything to happen to ya," She reaches up and nuzzles you.

"Don't worry, you know I will," You lean in and kiss her on the cheek. "What are you going to do while I'm away?"

"Oh probably just help out Granny or see if Big Mac needs some help with somethin',"

"Alright then, I'll be back soon okay?"

You give her one last kiss on the lips and leave with Twilight to go and begin your lesson.

*Scene Break*

"So, you seem to know what you're doing, Leroy," Twilight complimented, as you were levitating a few rocks the size of your palm. You and Twilight had walked a little ways away from Sweet Apple Acres, practicing in an open grassy field, occupied by a lone tree where Twilight happily laid on her belly under, forelegs tucked in. A book being held by her magic grip. She had begun by once again scanning your body to see how it was reacting to the magic it was absorbing. To her surprise you had actually absorbed a substantial amount in only a day since she last scanned you. She theorized that the reason why you have advanced so quickly with your new abilities, is because of the amount of magic you have been absorbing. Even Unicorn foals who have barely coaxed a few sparks out of their horns would take a significant amount of practice and study to utilize the magical aura that surrounds Equestria.

Only a few unicorns in the history of Equestria were prodigies in the Arcane Arts. Where they were immediately masterful in magic with very little practice.

"Yeah its amazing really, I have no experience with magic whatsoever. And yet I'm doing this," You say as you levitate the rocks around you. "Its weird, I'd say almost extremely peculiar."

"I know it really is. Or maybe you are just another prodigy, but a magical prodigy that is not a Unicorn. This truly is strange indeed," She looks at the book and flips through a few pages. "Well, the entire book is just the basics of magic and you've pretty much got them all down. Which is why I think that we are done for today." She closes the book she had in her magic grip and placed it into her saddlebag. "Now, you'll continue magic training again another day, for now we will start on the next part of your lesson. Do you remember the reason why we are letting you stay in Equestria?" She asks, rising up off the ground.

"Uh because I came here only under circumstance and that I was pretty much on the verge of death?" You say flatly, it really was the honest truth, no matter how ridiculous it was.

"No," She giggles, "One reason is that we discovered a new world and you are a sentient being coming from the world that Princess Luna found, albeit by accident. Second reason is that we can learn so much about your kind. Cultures, social habits, everything. And the last reason we have you here is to help you, Leroy." She says walking up to you. "Leroy, we know about how much pain you have been in on your world. You told us about how you had a falling out with your parents and I feel that nopony should have to go through that. So that's why me and my friends will teach you about friendship. And I believe me and my friends as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony can teach about true friendship. I believe Pinkie has already showed you what Laughter can do as an Element."

You furrowed your brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've already learned a lesson in friendship," She says with a soft smile. "Remember the big party she threw for you, remember how you had a wonderful time?"

"Yeah I did, but what is that supposed to prove?"

"Let me teach you something, Laughter is versatile in it's uses; can be used for anti-depressants, medicine for the brokenhearted, spread cheer, a very important building block for parties, and other things as well. You have already experienced what Laughter can do. Tell me, you had fun at the party right? Then again it was a Pinkie Pie party so if you didn't have a good time, I'd say you're what Pinkie would call a  partypooper."

You thought about it for a moment. Thankfully  you were not completely shitfaced during the festivities so you were able to remember the fun parts of the party. After a moment of reflection you came to a conclusion: That was probably the best Goddamned party you have ever been to and you would gladly fucking do it again. But you were not about to tell a Princess you had a good time in such a manner. "Yeah, I actually had a wonderful time. Probably the best party I've ever been to," You say leaning back on your hands and looking up at the sunny sky. "In all honesty Twilight, I was very touched that Pinkie did all that work just to give me a heck of a party. It kinda made me realize that I can have a good time with friends, even though those friends are ponies who walk on four legs, but still friends." You chuckle, grinning at the young Princess.

"Right, well I'm glad you did learn something from that. Oh and speaking of learning, when you get a chance I want you to write a letter to Celestia detailing what you have learned so far about friendship. That way she can know of your progress."

"Why would she want to know that?"

"Because, the Princesses want to help you, Leroy. Including me and my friends,"

"Am I really that bad?"

"From you've told us, then yes your situation is pretty bad."

"Oh. Huh, man that's depressing," You grimace and hang your head. It was true what she said. Your situation back home was not a good one. Separating yourself from your parents and living a life like the way you were was not a good thing. No matter what, you had to change your ways. The best thing you could do right now is listen to the young Alicorn. She trots over to where you are sitting under the tree and sits back on her haunches. She then places a comforting foreleg on your shoulder.

"Leroy, I promise you, me and my friends will help you change," She nuzzles your neck, causing you to flinch. You make it a point to ask Twilight about how social habits work here. "And when you go back to your own world, you will reunite with your parents and fix things with them because no one should have to be separated from their own parents."

You hook your shoulder around her back and give her a friendly squeeze. "Thanks Twilight, I appreciate all the things you are doing for me. I'm sure I'll find some way to repay you, AJ and everyone else," You release her from your grasp.

Now came the time where you had some questions of your own. "Hey Twilight, could I ask you some questions? There are things that I'm kinda confused about."

"Okay sure, ask away," She replies with a grin.

"Alright, well first things first. I know you've seen AJ nuzzle me. Actually she nuzzles me quite a bit," You rub the back of your neck. "That's something that only couples do here right?"

"Well not really, I've seen mares and stallions who aren't couples nuzzle each other sometimes. Even mares nuzzle each other, like sometimes I nuzzle my friends. Like I also do with my brother, Shining Armor, I nuzzle him on the rare occasions I see him," Whoa, she has a brother? It shocked you a bit now that you know she has a brother.

"You have a brother? Wow, I was not aware of that, please fill me in. I don't mean to stray off the topic, but it'd be great if you told me about your brother."

"Oh well, he is my big brother best friend forever as I like to call him. He's always been there for me whenever I needed his help. Of course there were times where we did not always see eye to eye, but then again what normal siblings don't disagree from time to time?" She lets out a giggle and you huff out a laugh as well. "Anyways, he joined the Royal Guard when I was a filly, around the time I got accepted to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and then he went off to training. After a few months he came back as a Private and of course my parents and I were elated to see him return. The years went by and due to his excellent work in the Canterlot Police Force, he was selected to be a candidate for the Princess' Guard, which is where only the best guards can be placed. So of course he passed the trials, they were very impressed with his aptitude for magical shielding and armor spells, he was chosen as a Guard for Celestia herself. Years went by and the time came to choose a new Captain of the Guard. He was nominated as candidate along with three other lieutenants for the position. And well, Celestia entrusted the leadership of the Guard to Shiny and made him the Captain."

"Wow, I didn't know I was friends with a Captain's sister," You say letting out a laugh.

"Well, he's not Captain anymore. After he married Princess Cadance, he became her Prince and they went off to rule the Crystal Empire together." Whoa looks like being a royal figure runs in the family.

"Huh, so you're a Princess and he's a Prince. I gotta say Twilight your family seems to be quite prestigious."

"Well, not really," She says shaking her head slightly. "Ahem, anyways we can talk about that later. Going back to your question, nuzzling somepony does not necessarily mean that they're a couple or in a herd. Its really just a display of affection between friends and lovers. Like hugs, but you only really nuzzle somepony you know quite a bit. I mean it'd be kinda awkward if you nuzzled a mare or stallion you don't know," This seems to make sense to you. These ponies certainly were more open about physical contact.

"Why do you ask this all of a sudden? That doesn't bother you does it?" She arches a brow at you. You never were that sensitive when someone touched you; of course if someone touched you inappropriately then maybe you would have a problem with it.

"Its not that I have a problem with the concept of physical contact. Just the fact that I'm not used to it all the time. Humans on Earth considered things such as nuzzling and cuddling with good friends a social taboo. And if let's say you were with someone and they saw you hugging, nuzzling, kissing, or just plain touching anyone else... its not exactly a good thing to do."

"Right, so your species is uptight about the whole touching thing. I hate to say it Leroy, but your species seems to be full of well... and excuse my rudeness, but it seems to me that humans are prudish. Almost as prudish as Canterlot nobles."

"Well you can thank thousands of years of evolution for that," You purse your lips and cross your arms, leaning back against the tree you were sitting in front of. Another thought comes to your mind. "Twilight, can I ask another question?"

"Of course, you can ask me anything you wish," She says, grinning at you cheerfully. The next question you had in mind would definitely help in clearing up a few things about your budding relationship with Applejack.

"Okay, I'm going to be kind of blunt here, but me and AJ have had sex at least twice ever since we met in the hospital. I know you won't really understand what I'm trying to say, but the thing is I'm confused here. How do relationships work here in Equestria?"

"Ah, the big question about how relationships work. I was hoping you would ask this," You were hoping that she would be able to clear your head about this whole thing. "The thing with relationships here in Equestria is that most ponies are very open with their relationships. Take this as a lesson in friendship, love is something that helps bring Equestria together. We see love as something that has no boundaries, by that I mean that a mare can get with another mare, a stallion with a stallion, a group of mares to a stallion, or a whole group of mares and stallions together. Us ponies don't judge each other on who they court or with how many. Its what brings peace and harmony to Equestria." She flips her mane over her shoulder. "Of course within limits though; for example if a stallion who was courting a mare and courts another mare behind her back then that's where problems occur. As long as one mare is okay with the other and don't mind sharing a stallion then that's how herds start."

"Herds? Whole groups of mares to a single stallion? Sounds like polygamy at it's finest." You muse, letting out a soft laugh.

"I'm guessing that you humans aren't keen on the whole polygamy thing?" She asks curiously.

"Yep, polygamy is something that is frowned deeply upon. Of course there are a group of people in our world called Mormons who practice polygamy and have multiple wives or husbands. Let's just say they aren't well liked. On Earth, the most common rule about relationships is that if you have more than one lover at a time you are considered a cheater and unfaithful. Of course there are those who are real casual when it comes to sexual encounters," You see Twilight blush a little when you say this, ergo causing you to blush as well. "So yeah now you know how relationships work on Earth. And I guess I know how relationships in this world work as well. I appreciate your help Twilight." You reach over and ruffle her mane again.

She giggles when you ruffle her mane. "I'm glad you enjoyed our lesson. I hope you take what you learned to heart. Remember, love and tolerance are key elements to friendship. Accept others for who they are and never judge someone because of your differences. Whatever those differences may be." You do your best to make a mental note of Twilight's sage wisdom and make sure to remember that if you ever see your parents again.

"Thanks Twilight. Anything else we need to go over?"

"Nope that is all for today!" She goes over to her saddlebags and uses her magic to stash the books in them and straps them to her back. "We'll continue this some other time. Let's see today is the fifth day of the week, which means the weekend starts tomorrow, so how does the first day of next week sound?"

"Uh sure, but I'll have to make sure AJ doesn't need my help with something first," You say getting up and stretching out your back and legs.

"Of course and if you can't then maybe the day after. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great," Just then another question suddenly pops into your mind. Its a question that has to do with something that you would someday want to do. Something you want to share with a special someone...

"Hey Twilight?"

"Yes?" She replies.  You take a moment to prepare yourself.

"In Equestria... Ponies get married right? As in two ponies who swear to spend the rest of their lives with each other? Holy Matrimony? You know what I mean?"

She laughs softly. "Yes I know what you mean, Leroy. And yes ponies do get married or did, here in Equestria, but the only thing is is that mostly noble ponies get married. Like two families of nobility who want to ally themselves with each other. Unfortunately, a tradition like that has fallen out of style since, well, times change and so do traditions. Most ponies these days either just get together in a herd if they wish or just find a special pony and stick with them for the rest of their lives. Take Mr. and Mrs. Cake for example, they've been together for quite a while and they have even have a couple of foals to show for it. In a way they are married, only they didn't go through the whole ceremony."

"So its a choice whether or not ponies can be monogamous or polygamous?"

"Like I said, as long as one is okay with the other or others, everything is fine and we don't judge. Why did you want to know about our marriage customs anyways?" She asks arching an eyebrow.

"Well back on Earth, marriage is actually a common thing. If a man and a woman love each other, the man proposes to the woman, they plan the wedding, they go through the ceremony, and then figure out the rest of their lives together; maybe have a kid or two."

"Really? Is it that simple to humans? And the male proposing to the female? I mean in noble weddings the mare always chose her suitor and the stallion really didn't have a say in anything," She develops a curious look. "Is your society male-dominated by some chance?"

"Yeah it kinda is, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess, heh," She laughs and begins to walk back towards the trail to town. "Here let's walk and talk, we need to get going."

You follow her down the trail. "So since you're questioning who the dominant gender is in my world, I'm gonna go ahead and take a guess that Equestria is a matriarchal society?" You ask with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah it is actually. Usually mares here are the ones that do all the thinking and such. While stallions are basically the muscle. Not only that, the filly to colt ratio weighs in favor of the mares. So yeah, mares are the dominant gender," Ah the primordial table has been turned. Gender role switch...

"Wow, that's kind of shocking, almost absurd. All throughout history men have dominated women. In fact there still is a lot of controversy  about equality between men and women. And that's just one of the controversies in our world, next to homosexuality."

"Humans have a problem against that sort of thing?"

"Well some cool people don't, but then some overly religious people are extreme in their disliking against gay relationships and marriages. To the point where they go out into public places and protest with signs and stuff." You look over at Twilight who has scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips in concentration. "Twilight?"

"Hmm, let's see... Some humans practice polygamy, but others frown upon it... Some humans are homosexual, but others frown upon it... Females are considered inferior... Humans get married like its nopony's business... But you say that two humans of the same gender can't get married... Aha, I think I've come up with a conclusion!" She exclaims brightly.

You raise your eyebrows at that. "Really? And what would that be?"

"From all the information I've gathered, I think I have one thing to say about the human species..."

"Yeah?"

"Seeing how your customs and social habits contradict each other and how humans act in general..."

"Can you just tell me what it is already?" You deadpan at her, wanting to hear the answer already.

"You really want to know, Leroy?" She says looking up at you with a sly smile.

"Yes, please professor I just want to hear your conclusion," You mutter in a flat tone.

"Okay, from everything I've learned, I'd say that..."

"Yes?"

"Humans..."

"Yes?"

"Are..."

"Uh huh?"

"CRAZY!" She shouted, almost breaking your eardrum in the process.

*Scene Break*

After you made it to a fork in the trail, you and Twilight decided to part ways after talking about many things during your lesson with her. Her lesson proved to be valuable considering the fact that you knew nothing about Equestrian society; with the new information she gave you, you knew more about how things worked here in this strange world. Albeit you would need to adjust a little bit more. As of right now you were on the trail heading back to Sweet Apple Acres, thinking about everything that's going on.

'Okay, so I got drunk, got hit by a car, teleported to another dimension, discovered this dimension was full of brightly colored cartoon ponies, befriended six of those cartoon ponies, had sex with one of them (multiple times), developed feelings for that certain mare, attended a party in my honor made by one of my new friends, gained magic powers... Jesus, where does it end?' You purse your lips and place your hands in your pockets, kicking a rock out of the way. 'And to think this all started with me getting drunk. I guess the only good thing about this is that my life has been made just a little more exhilarating,' You lip curls into a smirk and you let out a chuckle. 'Hah! And they said beer doesn't do things for you-'

Your thought was interrupted by a loud, shrill voice slowly growing in volume as it got closer.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!~" You look around to spot where it was coming from as to get out of the way of whoever or whatever was coming. However it was too late as a cyan blur hit you from your side and sent you sliding in the dirt for at least ten feet. Pain erupts from the right side of your body, mostly concentrated on your shoulder. But due to your magical augmentation, the pain subsided in seconds. Were the situation different you would have most likely broke a few bones. Or more. After you recovered from being stunned, your focus was drawn to a certain Pegasus lying on the right side of your body, struggling to get up. "Whoa, Leroy! You okay?" She looks down at you with her rose-colored irises. You can see the worry emanating from behind those wide eyes.

"Yeah I think so," You rub the back of your head and groan. "So any reason why you decided to use my body as a landing pad?"

She rises off you and sits next to you on her haunches, you doing the same sitting on your rear. "I was uh, working on a new trick and well i lost control so here I am."

"Hmph, here I was thinking that the awesome Rainbow Dash never crashed when trying a new trick," You chuckle, grinning at her. It was evident to you that the dare devil Pegasus did not appreciate you little quip at her flying capabilities by the way she glared at you.

"Hey! Even the greatest fliers in history crashed every once in awhile!"

"I'm sure they did, Dash," You roll your eyes at her.

"Oh shut up," She demands, blowing her colorful bangs out of her face. You take a careful look over at Rainbow, eyeing up her small form. You could clearly see how much of a good condition she was in, her toned muscles visible every time she moved her legs. She was toned, but she was not overly-muscled; just enough to make her look good. The toned muscles she had made her small petite form look as though she was just humming with strength. Another thing that caught your eye was her prismatic mane. You've never been this close to her before and you could see the very fibers of her hair; to you it looked so soft and silky, you wanted nothing more than to just run your hand through it. But the real gems, were her eyes... A beautiful rose color rimmed around her irises. Just looking at them gives you tunnel vision as you are hypnotized by them. "Uh, Leroy? You okay there big guy?"

You shake yourself out of stupor. "Uh yeah, just uh thinking about things," You sputter, flushing and looking off in another direction to  hide your blush. 'Yeah, thinking about how beautiful you look.'

"Hey, there's no hiding from me you know. I saw you checking me out." She said with a sly smile.

"Really? How could you tell?"

"Well for one thing you were making it pretty obvious, the way your eyes were moving up and down my body. You like what you see or what?" She purrs at you, waggling her eyebrows. Her confidence was obviously higher than you thought, the way she was calling you out on you gawking at her.

Back on Earth you would have just come up with some bullshit excuse to get yourself out of this situation, but after spending time with AJ, you decided to be an honest man. "Honestly, yes I do. I just couldn't help but look at you. The way your body is in good shape, your colorful mane, and your beautiful rose eyes. So there it is, I guess you can make fun of me now for being a dunce," You close your eyes and bow your head in shame, waiting for her wave of teasing and aphorisms.

After moments of waiting, you hear nothing. You hear no berating words or teasing coming from her mouth. Surprised, you look up and see that she is blushing and smiling sheepishly.

"So... You really think I'm beautiful?" She asks with a curious smile.

"Yes I do, I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

"Huh, wow. No pony has ever told me that I look beautiful. I mean nopony ever really says good things about how i look at all. They mostly just say 'Good work, Rainbow Dash!' or 'Wow, nice trick, Rainbow!'. You're actually the first one to ever straight up call me beautiful." She looks down at the ground.

"What?" You ask, astounded at the fact that a mare of her caliber is not complimented about her beauty on a daily basis! "There is no way that I am the first ever to call you beautiful. I'd like to think that everyone sees you as a desirable mare, I mean why wouldn't anyone want to be with you?"

"Because," She lets out a sigh. "Ponies have told me in the past that I'm not beautiful at all," She develops a morose expression. "Even when I was a filly I was always picked on about how I couldn't fly worth a damn and how dumb I was all the time." You have never really seen her fly, so all you could do was just listen to her. "After that I started training in my flying harder and harder, trying to improve myself. When I earned my cutie mark during a race, I thought that it meant nopony would pick on me anymore. Even then ponies called me a freak because of how I looked with my mane and how I was unusually fast and strong for a filly. Then they would always say how I'm over-muscled and looked like a colt. And event though I like colts they always called me a filly fooler and a mare licker. I'd always get into fights with other ponies and get in trouble."

"Fights? You fight?" You ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I did. And I won too, but I guess that never really worked out because that only made ponies not like me even more," Her ears droop and she looks down at the ground. You were astonished at what was happening before you. Here she was opening up to you, spilling out everything she had ever experienced onto your listening mind. All of this because you called her "beautiful".

"I dunno about that Rainbow, I think you're pretty likeable," You grab her chin and gently pull it upwards so she can make eye contact with her, wiping away a few tears in the process. "You are more than what other ponies think of you. You are brave, beautiful, daring, and loyal to the end. And don't ever think for a second that you are ugly, because you are not. You are the exact opposite of ugly. From what Twilight and the others have told me, you are beautiful in here," You tap her forehead with your finger. "And you are beautiful in here," You go down to her chest and lightly tap it as well. "People who are beautiful on the inside and out never let others bring them down."

Her mouth starts moving, her trying to find the right words to say. Finally she asked, "You really mean all that?

"Every word. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," You finish by lightly smacking your left eye.

"Oh wow, thats- I, I don't know what to-" She sputters trying to find the right words to say. "That's the sweetest thing that anypony has ever told me in my entire life!" She exclaims, throwing her hooves around your shoulders and pulling you into a hug. "Thank you," She whispers in your ear.

"Wasn't nothing, just speaking the honest truth," You whisper back, softly stroking her mane. After a few moments of embracing each other, she slowly pulls away and looks at you, her muzzle inches away from your face. Her rose-colored gaze burns into your soul as you look into each other's eyes; she looks as though she wants to say something, but can't quite find the words. That was before she places her hooves on your shoulders and pulls you in for a kiss. Your eyes shoot open wide from her bold move and you can feel her limps trembling. On instinct, you kiss back and immediately feel her relax and she let's out a sigh of relief.

You can feel her pull you closer to her body when you feel her hooves tighten around your shoulders. In return, you place your hands on her hips and pull her closer to yourself as well and you feel her smile as you embrace. After a few moments of this, she slowly pulls back and gazes at you with a half-lidded look in her eye. "Can we... Do that again?" She asks you breathlessly.

"Well, I uh, I dunno I mean- if you want-" You begin to stammer, but she silences you by pressing her lips against yours once again. This time she leans her weight against you and you fall back against the grass. She begins to really become more into the kiss as you feel her velvety tongue slide into your mouth and you feel it massage your own. At this point your heart is pounding and you begin to become more and more aroused from the dance that your tongues are performing together. You feel the rush of your arousal flow through you and you move your hands to her back and slowly run them down her back; you brush against one of her wings.

"Ah!" She gasps and pulls away from you.

"Rainbow, you okay? Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" She exclaims."Nothing at all, its just, my wings are... Well... Really sensitive. If you catch my drift."

"Oh well, I'm sorry if I hurt you," You say, reaching up and stroking her cheek.

"Its fine, really," She giggles, nuzzling your hand. "Besides, its not like I asked you to stop ya know?"

"Want for me to continue?" You ask arching an eyebrow. But she wordlessly answers your question by continuing her assault on your tongue by once again pressing her lips on yours. Again you run your hands up to her wings and you feel them unfurl with a light 'fwoof'. Slowly, you run your hand along the length of one of her wings, feeling her contentment pulsate from her moans into your mouth. Having had enough of her being on top, you decide to change things up by flipping her over onto her back as gently as possible so as to not hurt her fragile wings. She pulled you closer again, almost as if she was trying to her fuse herself with you so you and her could become one. Your heart was pumping a mile minute, feeling its rhythm pulse through your body with each beat; the heat of your passion and arousal fueling you to go further. Your hand moves down to unbuckle your belt and undo the button so you could truly become one.

However, before you were able to get the belt undone, something that Twilight said popped into your mind.

"As long as one mare is okay with the other and don't mind sharing a stallion..."

Immediately, you stop and pull away from her. "What's wrong, Leroy? Is something wrong?" She asks breathlessly. "Did I... Do something wrong?"

"No! Trust me, there is no way in hell you did something wrong," You rise up off of her and sit on your rear. "Its just something is wrong, but its nothing you did."

"Then what is it?"

"You know that I'm, kinda courting Applejack right now... Right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I dunno if she would really be okay with this," You rub the back of your neck sheepishly. "I mean I'd hate to cause problems between you and your friends. That's the last thing I'd wanna do to you guys, you all are my friends."

"Yeah I know," She looks down at the ground in shame. " I guess I should've talked it over with AJ first before we did any of this,"

A few moments of awkward silence pass.

"Can I be honest with you, Leroy?" She asks, kicking at the dirt with her hoof.

"Sure, go ahead," You agree, making a gesture with your hand.

"I didn't really lose control when I crashed into you," She says, blushing and looking away.

"What? You serious?" You ask, surprised at her revelation.

"Yeah, I just kinda saw you down here walking, I decided to mess with you a bit, and well I kinda just did that because I-" She chokes on the last word obviously reluctant about what she wanted to say next.

"C'mon, Rainbow. Out with it,"

"I really like you..." She mutters, and you couldn't hear what she said.

"What was that?"

"I said I... Like you..." Again she mumbles the last words.

"Can you speak up please?"

"I said I really like you!" She shouts, closing her eyes in frustration. "There I said it! I like you! I think about you a lot! Ever since that first time I met you! Ever since then I could not stop thinking about you! I dunno what it is about you that I like, but whatever it is its driving me crazy! That's why I pulled this little stunt of mine! Okay?!" She looks at you, panting from all the shouting she did. After a few seconds she calms down and lets out a snort. You sit there simply dumbstruck at what Rainbow had just revealed to you.

"Rainbow... I... I didn't know that. I'm sorry," You apologize and reach over to hug her. She gladly accepts the gesture and falls into your grasp. "Wow, I honestly didn't know that you felt that way about me, Rainbow. I really didn't,"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry that I did what I did. I can get a little reckless when it comes to these types of things."

"So you 'accidentally' crash into ponies you like as a pick up method?" You arch a brow at her curiously.

"Well no," She giggles and smiles sheepishly. "No, by reckless I mean I just do things without thinking. I guess maybe that's why I've never been able to get my hooves on a stallion 'cause I scare them away." She looks down at the ground again in shame.

"Good thing I'm not easily scared then," You chuckle and she looks up at you in surprise. "I mean c'mon I've had a brush with death, it'd take a whole lot more than that to get me scared. Your method was a bit painful at least, but it's nothing that I would go screaming home to mama about and turn down a beautiful girl because she decided to be spontaneous."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes, I do actually," You take her hoof in your hand and kiss it gently, causing her to blush. "Tell you what, when I get a chance and I think its a good time, I'll tell Applejack about you and ask her if its okay with you and I. I'd hate to go behind her back,"

"Yeah yeah, I get ya, but if you don't mind, could I be the one to ask her?"

"Umm, sure if you want. Why though?"

"'Cause, I think it'd be easier if I was the one that asked her," You think about what she said for a moment before you agree to her proposition.

"Alright, if that's what you want, then go right ahead," A realization dawns on you as you look at the sun and see that it is setting. "Ah, Jesus, its getting late. I gotta get back to the farm already, I'd hate for Applejack to worry about me too much."

"Yeah, you're right," She gets up and stretches her wings; you do so as well and dust yourself off as best you could. For a moment you and Rainbow just simply look at each other, looking for words to say. Finally she speaks up, "So, I guess I'll be seeing you later?"

"Of course, definitely," You smile at her warmly and softly ruffle her mane. "Well, I guess I'll go now." You turn to leave, but before you could get anywhere, you hear her call at you.

"Hey, Leroy?"

You turn to face her. "Yeah? What's up?"

She trots up to you, rears up on her hindlegs and places her hooves on your shoulders. "I think you forgot something," She whispers.

"Really? Like what?" She leans forward and softly places her lips on yours. You kiss back and gently caress her lips with yours. After a few seconds she pulls away.

"Alright, so I'll see you around?" She asks, smiling at you as she prepares to take off. You simply smile and nod.

"Yeah, definitely," And you watch her leap into the air and fly off into the sunset, watching her prismatic flight trail fade as she flies further and further away from you and she disappears from sight.