“I still can’t believe after Jorge saved his life, he still hasn’t thanked him.” Dash grumbled.

“That’s Ish for you.” Shadow shrugged. “He can be a decent friend when you need him to be. But almost all the time he’s just… Ishtaba.”

“Why are you guys friends with him, then?” Dash raised an eyebrow.

“I… don’t know.” Shadow shook his head. “We kinda just got together, and the next thing we knew we were all cool with each other.”

“Was he always that obnoxious, though?” Dash looked at the human next to her.

“Not always. It kinda just… happened randomly and no one seemed to care.”

“I wouldn’t have minded so much if he saved you.” Dash thought aloud. “But… Ishtaba is something else entirely.”

“I’m pretty sure this is just a phase of his.” Shadow attempted to reassure her. “Maybe this is his way of coping of being stuck here…”

“Yeah, well, he better get used to it.” Dash huffed. “I’m not sure how much more I can take.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“I hope so…” Dash sighed. As they both continued their walk, she turned her head, seeing the remnants of the Golden Oak Library still in its place.

“That reminds me…” She spoke up suddenly. “I heard you saved her spellbook. How did that turn out?”

“Pretty well. I guess.”

“What happened?”

“She hugged me…” Shadow blinked. “She looked at the book, and as I was cheering her up, she pulled me into a hug…”

“Really?” Dash tilted her head to the side. “Did you ask her out yet?”

“N-No... Not yet...”

“Now’s probably the best time to do it.” Dash nudged him. “From the sound of it, you’ve softened her up a lot.”

“How so?”

“Well. Let’s just say every time someone said your name.” Dash cleared her throat softly. “A smile would appear on her face.”

“W-What… R-Really…?”

Dash silently nodded in response. “The girls and I were talking to Twilight about her whole ‘castle’ situation.”

“Castle situation?”

“She’s been… avoiding it.”

“So that’s why she didn’t show up at all last night…”

“Yeah. Well, we all had breakfast earlier today in the castle. And I noticed her spellbook not too far away from the table.” Dash explained. “I asked if she had a backup copy or something, and then she just smiles and tells us you saved the book.”

“Y-Yeah. It wasn’t a big deal, though…”

“To her, it was.” Dash chuckled softly. “We all had a small conversation about you, and every time somepony said your name, she was hiding it, but I could see her smile every time.”

Shadow went wide-eyed. “O-Oh…”

Dash immediately stopped in her tracks. “I have an idea!” She smirked at the oblivious Canadian.

“Eh?” Shadow stopped walking, and turned around to face the mare. “What do you mean you have a plan?”

“Okay. So. We all told Twilight we’d help redecorate the castle to make it feel more like home.”

“Is that why she’s been avoiding it?” Shadow cocked his head. “She told me that it doesn’t exactly scream home earlier, but…”

“Yeah.” Dash nodded. “Anyway, that’s not the point.” She looked at the spa, not too far away from the hospital. “We sent her and Spike to go to the spa to give us some time to surprise her.”

“And?”

“Well, I bailed for a little bit so I could go visit Jorge.” Dash nudged her head towards the hospital. “But I think we’re gonna need to buy a little more time. When I left, things got a little… messy.”

“Oh geez…” Shadow scratched the back of his neck. “So then, what do you want me to do?”

“You know exactly what I want you to do.” Dash’s smirk returned as she finished her sentence.

Shadow thought for a moment on what she was implying. Seconds later, it hit him right in the face, as his eyes widened far beyond than they’ve ever widened before. “You’re not asking me to…”

“I am.”

Shadow gulped. “I was gonna wait a little while longer before I asked Twilight on a date, why now?”

“This is the perfect time to ask her out, Shadow!” Dash groaned. “If you keep on waiting, you’ll never get a shot like this!”

“B-But…!”

“No buts!” Dash interrupted. “You wanna win the bet, don’t you!?”

“This is more than just the bet, isn’t i—”

“Don’t you!?”

“Alright, alright! Of course! I’m not losing a bet to Jorge!”

“Then you’re gonna go to that spa. And you’re going to take that mare out on a date!”

“...Can I at least visit Jorge, first?” Shadow hesitantly spoke.

“No, Jorge can wait.”

Shadow sighed in defeat. “Fine.” He looked at the spa off in the distance. “That’s the spa, right?”

“Yep!”

“Great…”

“Don’t worry.” Dash patted his back. “You’ll do fine. I’ll tell Jorge you said ‘hi’.”

“Wha—”

Shadow looked to his side, no longer seeing Rainbow Dash there. He looked at the hospital, saw her open the doors in front of her.

“This is gonna suck…”

Dash slowly walked into the room, finding a sleeping Jorge in the hospital bed, connected to a heartrate monitor. Her heart broke at the sight of her injured boyfriend.

As she sat down on a chair directly next to the bed. Jorge slowly turned his head, waking up from his slumber. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the worried mare in the chair.

“Hey there, Dashie…” He smiled softly.

“Hey, babe…” Dash smiled back. “How’re you holding up?”

“Fine, I guess.” Jorge answered. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Dash shrugged. “The house is lonely without you, y’know.”

Jorge frowned. “I’m sorry, Dashie.” He slowly reached out his good arm, and began caressing the prismatic mare. “Look on the bright side, though. In a day or so, I’ll be out of here, and back home with you.”

“Yeah…” Dash closed her eyes, reveling in the little attention he gave her, despite his injuries. “I just wish Ish would’ve thanked you or something…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Jorge smiled evilly. “Ish owes me a favor from back home. He’s gonna get what’s coming to him.”

Dash laughed at his evil grin, she could only imagine what her boyfriend had in store for that annoying Asian.

“So, I got Shadow to go ask Twilight out.” She pointed out.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I needed somepony to stall her until we got the castle redecorated.” Dash explained. “And ever since Shadow gave Twilight back her book, every time someone says his name, she just smiles.” She giggled softly. “So I figured now was the best time, if any, for him to ask her out.”

“That’s a pretty good plan.” Jorge commented as his hand slowly went from caressing her to cupping her cheek.

Dash smiled warmly at the human’s actions, she softly placed her hoof on top of his hand, and sat there.

“Well, Jorge. I don’t have a whole lot of time to waste.” Dash sighed. “As much as I’d love to spend more time with you, I need to go help the girls decorate the castle, and all that.”

“Could I at least have a kiss, first?” Jorge murmured. “Yesterday ended on such a sour note and I—” All of a sudden, he found himself unable to speak, as his marefriend pressed her lips against his. Not wanting to miss out, he slowly closed his eyes, and kissed back.

Shortly afterwards, Dash pulled back, and slowly kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back, don’t worry.”

“I know you will.” Jorge muttered, his eyes slowly starting to close as he began to fall asleep. “I love you, Dashie…”

“Love you too…” Dash softly smiled, staying in the human’s view until he fell asleep.

“Can’t wait until you’re better…”

Shadow stood against the wall of the spa, waiting for the alicorn mare to walk out.

Surely enough, something purple quickly entered his field of view. He turned his head to see what it was, only to realize it was simply Spike, who was walking up to the impatient human.

“Shadow?” Spike spoke. “What are you doing here?”

"Waiting to talk to Twilight, something important. But it can wait until her spa visit is done."

“It’s gonna take her a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes. You sure you can wait?”

"Yeah Spike, that's alright." Shadow replied, "If your spa is done, then head up to the castle. Me and Twilight will be there... Eventually..."

“I was actually about to head there right now, and see how the girls were doing on redecorating.” Spike shrugged.

"Right, so you do know. Well, they need more time so... Guess who got put on distraction duty. Even though I was needing to talk to her regardless."

“Lucky you, I guess.” Spike chuckled. “Did they say how much time they needed?”

“Not really. I’m just gonna stall for as long as I can, really.” Shadow answered.

“Alright.” Spike nodded. “I’ll leave it up to you, then.” He gave Shadow a thumbs up, and walked out of the spa.

Shadow sighed, and grabbed a nearby magazine, killing time until Twilight returned.

After some time had passed, he heard someone call out his name. He looked towards the source of the sound, seeing Twilight calling out to him. He stood up and walked over to the purple alicorn.

"Oh, hey Twilight. You're done, I see. How was your trip to the spa?" Shadow queried.

"Shadow?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to grab you after you were done. Something I want to show you.”

“Uh. Actually, could it wait?” Twilight sheepishly smiled. “I was able to head back to the castle and see how the girls were doing on redecorating it.”

“Well… It’s kind of important…”

“On a scale of one to ten, how importa—”

“Four hundred and twenty.” Shadow interrupted.

“It’s that important?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“Yes…” Shadow droned. “I wouldn’t be bugging you if it wasn’t important.”

Twilight paused for a moment, deciding what was more important. Returning to her castle? Or kill a little time with whatever Shadow needed help with?

With a nod, Twilight came to a decision. “Alright, sure. What’s up?”

“Okay, Twilight. You can open your eyes now.”

“It’s about time…” Twilight sighed, opening her eyes to find a purple box.

“A… box?” She thought aloud. She slowly picked it up, and looked at the human in front of her before opening it. “...What’s so special about this box?”

“It’s a gift.” Shadow answered. “But. You’re not allowed to open it unless you answer my question correctly.”

“What question?”

“Well… I w-was wondering if… you would like to… go out for dinner or something… tonight…?”

Twilight jerked her head back, going wide-eyed. “A-Are you asking me out on a date?” She asked, as her face started to turn into a bright shade of lilac.

“Y-Yes… I am…” Shadow replied nervously, trying to not look down.

Twilight’s blush deepened, her face becoming more of a dark red. “I-I. Uh. A d-date? T-toni—... “ She stammered, then sighed in an attempt to relax. “Tonight? As in… right now tonight?”

“Well… considering the time… I guess right now tonight is right… Yeah…”

“W-Well… I… U-Uh…” Twilight looked down at the box in her grasp, then looked back to the nervous human.

Soon enough, she smiled, further assuring the human. “Where to?”

“Can I open the box now?” Twilight whined. “You told me I could open this darn thing if I answered your question correctly.”

“I know, but I thought I’d add some suspense into it.” Shadow shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t had a whole lot of time here in Equestria, but I’ve spent a lot of time and effort into this gift.”

“So can I open it, then?”

“Not yet!” Shadow shook his head, stealing the box from the impatient mare. “Not until we get back to the castle.”

“Fine…” Twilight huffed. At first she was angry about not being allowed to open the box, but then she slowly softened up, and got closer to the human. “...I had a great time, by the way…”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” Twilight hummed softly. “I don’t know how you paid for it all, but the food was amazing. And the little talks we had were enjoyable.”

“Glad you had a good time.” Shadow smiled.

Twilight nodded with a hum, “So, in a few days, I wanted to test the transformation spell. And since Rainbow Dash doesn’t want me using Jorge as a test subject anymore, I was wondering if yo—”

“I volunteer Ishtaba.”

Twilight chortled at Shadow’s interruption.

“If Ish gets no side effects, then I’ll do it. It feels… Odd being human in a world filled with Ponies.” Shadow added.

“Jorge and Rainbow Dash seem to be completely fine with it.” Twilight pointed out.

“This is Jorge we’re talking about. And this is Rainbow Dash we’re fuckin’ talking about.” Shadow countered. “I’m not like Jorge, where he abuses his hands… and, I don’t know… Did it um… Feel weird for you to go on a date with a human?”

“It was… interesting, to say the least.” Twilight shrugged. “Not a bad interesting, it was just… interesting.”

“Well, it seemed alright to me, I mean. Dash and Jorge are doing well.” Shadow admitted. “So… Didn’t seem weird like it would of a while ago.”

“Actually, between you and me…” Twilight looked at him. “Rainbow Dash has been asking me every now and then about that transformation spell you finished.”

“What’s she planning on doing with it?”

“It’s more of a ‘later’ plan that she has…” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure how it works in your world, but for ponies to have foals, we have an estrus cycle.”

“So, like, being on your period.”

“What?” Twilight jerked her head back, then quickly shook her head. “Nevermind. Uh, so, during the cycle, when two ponies… er… mate. Then they’re guaranteed to have a foal.”

“Unless he pulls out.”

“Anyways.” Twilight attempted to move on. “Any other time where the mare isn’t in estrus—”

“Basically in heat.”

“Let me finish!” Twilight nudged him softly, giggling at his latest remark. “Then it’s perfectly fine, we can’t get pregnant unless we’re ‘in heat’, to put it bluntly.”

“Wait, so, Dash wants to get pregnant?” Shadow widened his eyes.

“Not exactly.” Twilight shook her head. “It’s a ‘later plan’ of hers. If you haven’t figured it out, Jorge and Dash can’t conceive for… obvious reasons.”

“So you mean to tell me he nev—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Twilight interjected. “So, Dash had a plan, in case they ever wanted to start a family—Which I don’t think they would ever do—she’d have him already be a stallion by then.”

“So, do you think she’s trying to ease him into letting you use the spell on him?”

“Probably.” Twilight nodded. “The last time I mentioned this spell to him was when I first started working on it about a year ago.”

“How did that turn out?”

“I asked him—when the spell was done—if he wanted the spell to be used on him, so he wouldn’t be the only human in equestria, he’d be just like all of us.” Twilight explained. “He simply replied back with ‘No, I like my hands. Thank you very much.’”

“That’s Jorge for you…” Shadow sighed, stopping as they finally made it to their destination. Like a gentleman, he opened the door, allowing Twilight to go through.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Twilight asked hopingly. “I was hoping we could both see how the castle turned out together…”

“As much as I’d love to, I promised Jorge I’d go visit him today…” Shadow’s lips curled down, creating a small frown. “I know he’s getting out in a few days, but he still needs someone to keep him company.”

“What about Rainbow Dash?”

“Dash brings smooches and love. I bring the laughter and stupidity he needs.”

“Hm. Fair enough.” Twilight sighed. “Come back soon, though…” She took the box from his grasp, and slowly walked into her castle, but then quickly turned around as a thought appeared. “Oh, and… Shadow?”

“Yeah?” Shadow spoke, but quickly found his speech cut off as Twilight stood on her rear legs, and pecked his lips.

“Thanks… again…” In an instant, she ran back into the castle.

“Um...” Shadow softly uttered as he stood there in shock for a moment.

He quickly shook it off, and let go of the door. Wanting to get on with the rest of the day, he quickly made his way back to the hospital. As he made his way, he saw a familiar pegasus walk out of the hospital doors.

“Heya, Rainbow Dash.” Shadow spoke up. “Just visited Jorge?”

“Mhm.” Dash nodded. "So... You uh, ask out Twilight?”

"Nope."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘NOPE’!?’"

“Just kidding.” Shadow grinned wildly.

“Ha ha.” Dash rolled her eyes. “So, how did it go?”

“Pretty well.”

“So, then you actually went out on a date with her?”

“Well, if it went ‘pretty well’...” Shadow chuckled.

“Ah.” Dash uttered. “I’d ask you to tell me the details, but it’s late, and I’m tired…”

“Alright. See ya later, Dash.”

“Mhm. See you later…” Dash nodded with a yawn. Her wings spread open, and she took off, back home.

He walked closer to the door, but then was interrupted by Ishtaba opening the door in front of him.

“Ish?” He called out.

“What?”

“Were you visiting Jorge too?”

“Uh. Kinda. You see, I’m in a predicament….uh… I kinda had sex… with a pony…” Ish scratched the back of his head. “And… now she thinks I’m her boyfriend… and… shit. The worst part is… she’s fucking crazy...help...”

“Oh…” Shadow nodded, pretending he actually cared. “Well. I’ll just go inside and visit Jorge…”

“Yeah, yeah. I gotta figure out how to deal with this fucking shit, anyway.”

Shadow simply walked past him, and made his way to the hospital, and then to Jorge’s door. He slowly opened it, finding the injured human lying in bed.

“Hiya, Jorge…” He muttered.

Jorge turned his head, seeing the Canadian man. “Hiya, Shadow.” He smiled. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up.”

“Nah, man.” Shadow shook his head. “I’m not gonna leave you hanging like that.”

Jorge’s smile grew wider at his friend’s act of kindness. “So, how was your day, then? Cause mine was just lying down in this bed.”

“Well… I went on a date with Twilight.” Shadow sheepishly smiled.

“Oh? So that means I lose the bet.”

“Yeah, but Ish still owes you that favor, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m not too worried.” Jorge chuckled. “Well? C’mon! You gotta tell me how it went!”

“Well…”

Twilight calmly sat down, holding the box in her hooves. She slowly opened it, until she was able to see what was in the box.

“A… book?”

She opened the book, and slowly read through the first couple of pages.

“Oh, Shadow… You big dope...”

Author's Note

What's in the book, you ask?

...You can wait a couple of chapters to find out, can't you?