Break Your Heart

by LoZLttP13

Rating: teen
Tags: Narcotics, Sad, Romance, Drama, Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Sex, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 51772

Fluttershy is in love with Rainbow Dash. And so are Scootaloo, Gilda, and Pinkie Pie...

Fluttershy has been best friends with Rainbow Dash since Flight Camp. It's quite a strange friendship, as no two ponies could be more different. However, what began their friendship is one very, very big thing they have in common: they're both fillyfoolers.
Of course, they're not girlfriends or anything. After all, Rainbow Dash is too adventurous and AWESOME to be tied down or any other mushy gunk like that. I mean, sure they had a sort-of friends-with-benefits thing going on when they lived in Cloudsdale, but that was because they were sort of... well, lonely. By all means the cute, awesome Rainbow Dash should have had tons of friends, but Pegasi aren't terribly tolerant of fillyfoolers, so naturally Fluttershy and Gilda were her only friends, and she theirs. Where else were any of them supposed to get any flank, or for that matter any sort of affection at all?
Of course, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped sleeping together when they moved to Ponyville to escape all that; nobody knows they're fillyfoolers and they have more friends here, so they're not soul-crushingly lonely anymore. However, Fluttershy continues to long for Rainbow, and not just for the occasional fun night; she's in love with Rainbow, and ever since they were fillies she's wanted to be her full-fledged girlfriend.
However, Fluttershy knows Rainbow isn't interested in anything like that and so hasn't told her the way she feels. However, Rainbow decides to come out to their other friends, and at that moment she's up for grabs; Fluttershy finds herself rivaling Scootaloo, Gilda, and Pinkie Pie for Rainbow's affections. Will Fluttershy find the courage to confess her feelings to Rainbow before it's too late?

Now with a TVTropes page!

The cover art was provided by my wonderful and talented friend, PastelDemon.

Published 2015-11-11 14:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-19 18:54:03 UTC

Fall Leaves

The leaves rustled in the wind, falling one by one into the sweetly aromatic breeze. Autumn had come early this year, as the Pegasi had decided that Ponyville would need to have more time to clean up Winter in a few months. Not that anyone was complaining; it was pleasantly cool and gorgeous out today, and most everyone was out enjoying the vibrant reds and oranges of the great trees' leaves.

Young fillies and colts were leaping into piles of fallen leaves, squealing in delight at the satisfying crunches they produced. There were more than a few young couples out and about, walking closely together or sitting on one of several hills, leaning on each other as they watched Celestia's beautiful sun begin to set. There was sweet, romantic bliss in the air everywhere. It was the most perfect Hearts and Hooves day one could hope for.

Except for one pony.

Fluttershy was slowly plodding through the little dirt road, hanging her head and drooping her ears. It was a little strange to see this young Pegasus Mare so dejected and alone today; her custard coat, butterfly Cutie Mark, long, silky pink mane, and sweet blue eyes had turned more than a few heads, especially during her short-lived career as a model. With a little make-up and grooming she was considered more stunning than every other Mare in Ponyville- even Rarity, one of her best friends and the usual belle of the town.

But the fact remained: Fluttershy was alone. She was also painfully aware of it. As she walked over the path with two saddlebags draped over her torso, she tried as hard as she could to avoid looking at those mockingly affectionate couples. They only made it hurt more.

She attempted to hide her gaze behind her mane and look squarely at her hooves, focusing only on bringing her groceries home. However, something caught her attention at the corner of her eye, and she looked. She saw the mint unicorn Lyra and the blue-and-pink-maned Earth pony Bon-Bon walking toward her, smiling as their heads pressed together.

Fluttershy's eyes began to sting as she felt a sob building within her. This hurt the most. Almost all the others were more "traditional" couples; pairs of one Stallion and one Mare, as was standard and acceptable. But here- here was one of those "unorthodox" pairs of two Mares. Not only did they have the enormous courage necessary to confess their feelings to one another, but they also had the even greater bravery to show their... unusual love to the rest of the world. Bravery that Fluttershy didn't have.

Fluttershy sobbed and began galloping towards her home. She didn't even care that the was weeping for all the world to see anymore; there was too much pain. Too much pain.

She ran into her cottage and slammed the door behind her, then curled up on the floor and began sobbing more loudly. After a few moments she felt a small paw begin stroking her mane and looked up from behind her forelegs. It was her bunny Angel, as she thought. He could be fussy and he could be demanding, but this was why Fluttershy loved him so much; he was always there when she needed him the most.

Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around her sympathetically smiling pet and continued sobbing into his soft, white fur. "Oh Angel..." she whispered. "It hurts so much. It hurts so much."

Fluttershy hated this. More than heights. More than humiliation. More than dragons. She hated being in love. She had never felt more pain, or fear, than she felt now. She could think of nothing more horrible than being so completely in love.

Fluttershy hated Hearts and Hooves day. To her it was nothing more than a bitter reminder of all she would never have. She would have liked to have curled up with Angel, a good book, and a nice cup of hot cocoa today, and never venture out from her house. Shut out all of the reminders, all of the pain. She would have, too, except that when she had gotten up that morning and gone to her pantry to retrieve a box of animal feed for her little friends, she found an all-but-empty box.

"Feather," she had muttered, mentally berating herself. She had forgotten to go shopping yesterday so she wouldn't have to go today. What a stupid, stupid mistake to make.

Fluttershy had sighed and slipped on her saddlebags. If she had to shop, she would get it over with as quickly as possible, preferably before many of the couples were out and about. "I'm going to the market!" she called to her animal friends as she was leaving. "I'll be back soon!"

For the first part of Fluttershy's trip, things were going well. It was early enough that few other ponies were out, and it was a lovely morning. She was significantly more cheerful than she had feared she would be when she left. She had a small spring to her step as she entered the market and began shopping.

However, as she was just finishing buying some lettuce, she heard a friendly, western voice drawl "Hey there, Fluttershy!" and turned to see Applejack, another one of her friends.

Applejack was the very image of old-fashioned, neighborly, country sweetness. Like most other Apples, her fur was red and yellow; her orange coat and blonde, unruly mane, respectively. She kept her mane in a loose ponytail and sported an old, brown leather cowgirl hat. Under this hat were emerald-green eyes and a light spray of yellow freckles. The Cutie Mark upon her flank was three apples, again resembling those of most of her relatives.

Fluttershy returned Applejack's smile. "Hello, Applejack," she said.

"You doin' some shoppin' there, 'Shy?" Applejack asked.

"Oh yes," Fluttershy replied. "My little animal friends have run out of food, so I'm getting some more for them."

"Ah was actually goin' to go to your cottage. We're havin' a luncheon out at Sweet Apple Acres, and Ah was wonderin' if you wanted to come."

Fluttershy flinched. She began to hide behind her mane and dig at the ground as she replied, "Well... um... you see-"

"Did ya have other plans?" Applejack asked a little surprisedly.

"Um, no," Fluttershy said. "I... I just..."

"Are ya worried about seein' couples there? Don't worry, Fluttershy; none of us have dates, either. Ah actually set up the luncheon so we could all enjoy today, even without Special Someponies."

Fluttershy felt a pang of heartache at these words. She wanted to ask Applejack to please not talk about that, but she knew that taking the conversation in that direction would probably lead to the subject of who it was that held Fluttershy's affections. She wished to avoid that at all costs; with just a little pressuring Fluttershy would likely break down and spill it, and her friendship with the disapproving Applejack would then fall under strain. So instead she swallowed her pain, smiled, and said, "That's very thoughtful, Applejack."

"So, do ya wanna come?"

"Who else will be there?"

"Ah was just goin' to ask Pinkie, then ya'll. If ya both come, it'll be everypony."

Oh no, Fluttershy thought. She'll be there. Fluttershy couldn't see her; not today. Even thinking about her now made Fluttershy begin to ache. She tried to think up an excuse why she couldn't go, but after a few moments of glazed-over stillness Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face and said, "Ya alright, Fluttershy?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy exclaimed, her trance broken. "Yes. I'm sorry, Applejack."

It would be rude not to go, and Fluttershy was a terrible liar. She decided that she would go to the luncheon, visit her friends, leave as soon as was politely possible, then return home and go back to her original plan of reading until today slipped away. She put on a smiling mask and said, "That would be lovely. I would love to go."

Applejack smiled back. "Great! We just have to ask Pinkie, and then we can go."

They walked to Sugar Cube Corner in silence, which suited Fluttershy fine; the less they spoke, the less chance there was of the subject of the object of Fluttershy's affections coming up. Fluttershy was glad they were going to see Pinkie Pie; though her energetic eccentricity could be bothersome at times, she could always distract you from your problems and always knew how to make you smile. They didn't have to walk long; the shop was in the middle of town.

Sugar Cube Corner was like a cross between a house and a pink cake, with brown shingled roofs and a candled cupcake-like spire jutting out of the top of it. They approached it and Applejack rapped smartly on the hot pink front doors.

"I'll get it!" they heard a high, excited voice sing, and after a few moments they heard a rapid clopping followed by the doors being pushed open, revealing the completely pink, curly-maned Pinkie Pie. With enthusiasm befitting her cutie mark of three balloons, Pinkie ecstatically smiled and bounced upon seeing her friends. "Hi, Fluttershy! Hi, Applejack! It's so great to see you here today! Why are you here? Do you not have dates? 'Cause if you don't, that's okay; I don't have one either! Unless, of course, you're both each other's dates, which is also great!"

Applejack looked affronted. Her eyes narrowed and she said quite irritably, "No, Pinkie, Fluttershy ain't my date! Why would ya'll think that?!"

A still-bouncing, unfazed Pinkie replied, "It's Hearts and Hooves day, silly! Everypony has a date today!"

Fluttershy quietly asked, "Do you have a date, Pinkie?"

Pinkie's bouncing abruptly stopped. "Umm... Well, no."

Pinkie looked down and lightly dug at the ground, and Fluttershy was a little stunned to see that she looked dejected. It was incredibly bizarre to see Pinkie Pie show any sign of sadness. It caused Fluttershy to wonder, was Pinkie lonely too?

Applejack sighed, smiled, and said, "Well, Fluttershy and Ah were goin' to my farm to have a luncheon with our other friends. We were wonderin' if ya'll wanted to come."

Pinkie perked back up. "Who else will be there?" she asked excitedly.

Applejack was a bit taken aback, having heard that question asked by Fluttershy only a few minutes earlier, but she said, "If you're there, it'll be everypony."

Pinkie Pie leapt straight into the air, gasping dramatically, then she happily shouted, "ARE YOU KIDDING?! YES, I WANT TO COME! THIS'LL BE GREAT!!"

Some confetti popped into the air above Pinkie, and she pulled out a noisemaker and loudly blew into it. She darted back into the shop and Applejack and Fluttershy heard her call, "Mr. and Mrs. Caaaaake, I'm going to Sweet Apple Acres to have lunch with Applejack and Fluttershy! I'll be back soon!"

She then skipped back out, humming cheerfully. "Well, alright, then," Applejack said, a little rattled. She turned back around. "Let's all get goin', then."

Pinkie Pie continued humming and bouncing as they trotted down the path to Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy was trying to think of how she was going to cope with her there, and how she was too cowardly to tell her-

Fluttershy let out a little whimper, then shook her head. No, she would not allow her mind to go down that path. She didn't need any questions, and especially not now.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and began engaging in one of her most common coping techniques: she let her mind begin slipping into a fantasy about Rarity. A small smile and blush began to creep onto Fluttershy's face as she let out a sigh. All of her other closest friends were frequent subjects of her imaginings, but Rarity was her go-to retreat at times like these for several reasons: firstly, she really was astonishingly gorgeous. Secondly, fantasies about her were comparatively more plausible than the others, and therefore easier to believe could happen; Rarity was the only one who was aware of Fluttershy's attraction to her (as a result, of course, of Fluttershy's inability to resist admiring her on their spa trips). Though Rarity didn't respond with anything beyond flattery, she was thankfully progressive enough to accept her and sympathetic enough to keep it secret. But thirdly and most importantly, though Rarity wasn't Fluttershy's favorite subject, the one who really was was of course the one who caused her need to cope in the first place; therefore Rarity, being her second favorite, was the one she usually used instead.

Fluttershy played her favorite scene: a scenario taking place in the spa. It began with the two of them going to get massages, but this time Rarity forwent her own, volunteering to instead provide Fluttershy's herself. Fluttershy protested, saying she didn't have to, but Rarity insisted.

Rarity began gently working Fluttershy's back with her hooves and Fluttershy let herself fall into a satisfied bliss. After some time of enjoying Rarity's skillful touch they went into one of the luxury saunas, where Lotus Blossom and Aloe steamed the room by pouring spoonfuls of perfumed water onto glowing embers piled in a hearth in the room's center. Rarity closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she began to relax, but Fluttershy took the opportunity to drink in her glistening, delightfully curvaceous white body. After a few moments, however, Rarity opened an eye to look at her, and caught Fluttershy gazing down at her form.

"Ahem," she said delicately, and Fluttershy gasped, blushed madly, and hid behind her mane. "Oh, Rarity! I... I didn't..."

Rarity turned to Lotus and Aloe. "That'll be all, thank you," she said. The twins politely bowed and exited the sauna, closing the doors behind them. Rarity and Fluttershy were alone now.

Rarity turned back to Fluttershy, a coyly suggestive glint in her eye. "You like what you see, Fluttershy?" she purred.

Fluttershy's blush deepened and her eyes darted around frantically. "I... I was-"

"Perhaps you'd like to do more than look?" Rarity said, slowly crawling toward her. Fluttershy stammered, attempting to say something in response, but she couldn't decide exactly what to say; she wasn't sure if she wanted to stop whatever Rarity was doing, or let her do it...

Rarity reached Fluttershy and gently pushed her down to the ground. She kissed Fluttershy's neck, causing her to cry out in ecstasy.

Rarity softly bit Fluttershy's ear, running a hoof down her leg-

"Fluttershy?" she heard the voice of Applejack say.

"Huh?" Fluttershy said, returning to reality.

"You alright?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy blushed again. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry, I was having a little daydream."

"What about?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

Fluttershy flinched, caught off-guard by the question. After a moment she responded, "A relaxing spa trip."

It was a complete enough truth that Fluttershy had little trouble using it as her answer, and Pinkie Pie smiled, satisfied. "Okie Dokie! That sounds fun! Were you having a nice, hot bubble bath in it?"

"I didn't get to that part yet," Fluttershy said. How unfortunate, too. That was one of her favorite parts; Twilight got involved then.

"Well, we're here," Applejack said. Indeed, they were standing at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres.

This was one of Fluttershy's favorite places. Everything about it was brimming with natural, country charm, from the quaint farm buildings to the sprawling apple orchards around them. The best part was that all of these were filled with animals, which Fluttershy always loved visiting. Fluttershy and Applejack walked while Pinkie Pie bounced the remainder of the distance between them and the farmhouse.

When they opened the front door, Applejack called out, "Hey, everypony! We're here!"

From upstairs, Fluttershy heard the sudden rapid clopping of small hooves sound across the second-floor hall and down the staircase until Applejack's little sister Apple Bloom emerged. She was a cream-coated, redheaded little filly with peach eyes, a large pink bow, and who hadn't yet gotten her Cutie Mark. Nonetheless, she was always almost as energetic as Pinkie Pie, and she and her also-markless friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle quite fervently dedicated their energy into discovering their hidden talents as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Fluttershy smiled; Apple Bloom and her friends were the sweetest, most adorable fillies you could meet.

"Hi, Pinkie! Hi, Fluttershy!" Apple Bloom said. "Are ya here for lunch?"

"We sure are!" Pinkie said delightedly.

"Hey there, girls," Fluttershy heard another voice say. They all turned to see the green, elderly Granny Smith hobbling out of the kitchen. The huge, cherry-red Big Macintosh was right behind her. "It's sure swell to see the two o' ya here," Granny continued.

"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.

"Where's everypony else?" Pinkie asked.

"They'll be here soon," Applejack replied. Indeed, just after she spoke they heard a cheerful "Hi, girls!" behind them, and they turned around to see the lavender, star-marked Twilight and purple-maned, diamond-marked Rarity entering the gate together.

"Oh good, you're here too!" Applejack said, and all of them entered the house before Apple Bloom shut the door behind them.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked, to which Twilight rolled her eyes. "Late as usual," she said.

"She has no sense of punctuality," Rarity added disapprovingly. "Of course a lady needs her beauty sleep, but Rainbow takes her naps a little too far."

Pinkie's smile got a little smaller. "Will she come?"

"Of course," Twilight said, setting down her saddle bags. "She'd never turn down a free meal."

"All righty then," Granny Smith said. "There's no tellin' when she'll show up, so let's get started."

Fluttershy set down her bags as well before she and the rest of her friends followed Granny Smith back into the kitchen.

They all helped set the table, and Twilight volunteered to serve the food. She levitated in a huge iron pot of bubbling apple stew, which she spooned into everyone's bowls. When Twilight had served herself and set the pot in the center of the table, Pinkie shouted "DIG IN!!" and began wolfing down her meal.

Rarity and Twilight telikenetically lifted up spoons to eat, but everyone else patiently blew into their stew to cool it before drinking it directly from the bowls. As usual, Fluttershy loved it. "Who made this?" she asked.

"Why, little old me and there Applejack!" Granny Smith replied.

"It's delicious!" Twilight said.

"Thank ya kindly, Twi," said Applejack.

"It really is!" Pinkie added, slightly muffled through a full mouth.

"I agree," Fluttershy said.

"Aww, you're all so sweet," Applejack said.

They all continued eating for a while before Applejack said to Rarity, "So, ya got any orders lately?"

Rarity smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have. Just yesterday, I got a letter from Hoity Toi-"

At that moment there was a loud knocking on the door. Applejack sighed. "I'll get it," she said. She hopped down from her chair, trotted down the hall, and opened the door.

Immediately a blue blur darted inside and hovered over the table. "Hey, guys. You all started without me?" said Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy's heart pounded and her mouth fell open, her lips forming a small "o." As she stared at Rainbow she felt her blush begin to return. Rainbow was confident and athletic, with a cyan coat and messy, rainbow-colored mane. Her large, powerful wings were surely the fastest in all of Equestria, as signified by the lightning bolt flashing from a cloud on her flank. Fluttershy felt weak and lightheaded in her presence, and she began to swoon as she watched Rainbow descend until she stood upon the table.

"Hi, Rainbow!" Pinkie cried, standing on her chair and placing both of her hooves on the table. Rainbow turned and smiled back. "Hi, Pinkie."

"Both of ya'll, get off," Applejack said exasperatedly, returning to the table. Rainbow smirked as she hopped down, but Pinkie simply grinned as she sat back down and said, "Okay!"

Fluttershy heard a soft voice say her name, and she blinked and looked at Twilight, whose head was tilted curiously. "Huh?" Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, wha-"

But Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie, who was bouncing up and down and asking, "Where were you, Dashie? Were you doing stunts? Or sleeping? Or maybe you were on a date?"

Rainbow's eyes widened in surprise, but she smirked and shook her head. "Nah. Nopony's cool enough to go out with me. I'm flying solo."

Rainbow stuck a pose as she said this and Pinkie grinned. "That's okay, Dashie! I don't either!"

As Rainbow sat down, Apple Bloom turned to the rest of the table. "What about the rest of ya'll?" She grinned and her eyes narrowed mischievously. "Do any o' ya girls have a Special Somepony?"

Applejack shot a dirty look at Apple Bloom, but Rarity chuckled daintily and replied, "Not at the moment, dear. It's rather nice to be free, and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

Apple Bloom groaned a little disappointedly, but she quickly moved on to Twilight. "What about you, Twi?"

"Now, Apple Bloom-" Applejack began, but Twilight interrupted with "It's alright, Applejack. No, not right now, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom immediately turned to Fluttershy. "How about you, Fluttershy?"

A familiar pang of ache coursed through Fluttershy's body. She began to blush and hide behind her mane. "Umm, no..."

"What?" Apple Bloom said. "You don't have one? But why not? You're so pretty!"

Tears began welling in Fluttershy's eyes and Rarity and Rainbow Dash both awkwardly said, "Uhh..."

"Apple Bloom, stop," Applejack said firmly, but Apple Bloom only gave her a puzzled look. "But it doesn't make sense! Fluttershy's one of the sweetest, prettiest Mares I know, but she still doesn't have a Special Somepony!"

Fluttershy sobbed, and the entire table fell silent. After a few moments of weeping she tremblingly whispered, "Thank you for lunch, Applejack. I'd better go." She pushed away from the table, walked to the front hall, put on her saddlebags, and left the Apples' house.

Fluttershy went back to the market, finished her shopping, and now was back in her cottage, crying while holding Angel Bunny as twilight fell upon them.

When she had wept until no tears were left, Fluttershy stood, wiped her nose and bloodshot eyes, and went to her pantry. She was originally going to have hot chocolate today, but that wouldn't suffice anymore. Now she needed something very expensive and fruit-based.

Fluttershy opened one of her high cupboards and pulled down a black, corked bottle. She checked the label. "Beaux Vin Rouge de Joseph Race Pure, Terrasse, la Prance, 871." This would do.

Fluttershy was going to another cupboard to retrieve a corkscrew when she heard a knocking on her door. She sighed, set the bottle down, and went to answer it. When she opened the door, she was greeted by Twilight's assistant Spike, a little purple baby dragon. "Hi, Fluttershy!" he said. Upon seeing her puffy eyes he asked concernedly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Spike," Fluttershy replied, sniffing and wiping her eyes again. "Is there something you need?"

"Yeah. Twilight was wondering if you could come over to the library to talk."

Fluttershy sighed again, but smiled softly and said, "Yes, I can come."

It was beginning to grow dark as the two of them approached the library. While they walked Spike asked, "Did something happen?"

"I would like to not talk about it, if you don't mind," Fluttershy said.

Spike shrugged. "Alright."

A small, real smile formed on Fluttershy's lips. This was why she liked Spike; he didn't pry. It only took a few minutes for them to reach the library, and once they did Fluttershy saw that the great tree's many windows were glowing yellow with light.

Spike knocked on the door, and Twilight immediately answered. She smiled at them. "Hi, Fluttershy. Please, come in."

Fluttershy did, and after Spike followed her in he closed the door. "Would you like some hot chocolate?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded gratefully. "Oh yes, that would be lovely."

Twilight turned to Spike. "Time for bed," she said.

"What?!" Spike yelled incredulously. "But it's only seven!"

"Spike," Twilight said gently, "Fluttershy and I need to be alone right now. Please go to bed."

Spike sighed in exasperation. "Fine," he grumbled, trudging up the steps to the little bed that sat beside Twilight's.

Twilight dimmed the lights before she grabbed a small saucepan, retrieved a bottle of milk from her icebox, and heated some over the fireplace. When it began to boil Twilight poured it into two mugs, stirred some hot cocoa mix into them, and brought them to the table. When Fluttershy trotted over to sit across from her they could hear Spike gently snoring above them, so after sliding one of the mugs over to Fluttershy Twilight quietly asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright," Fluttershy whispered back, gently blowing into her cup.

As Fluttershy took a sip, Twilight's pet owl Owlowiscious hooted from his perch. "Applejack had a talk with Apple Bloom," Twilight said. "She wanted to tell you that she was really sorry and that she didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"It's okay," Fluttershy said, though there was a slight tremor to her voice.

Twilight took a sip from her own mug before saying, "Can I ask you something, Fluttershy?"

"Of course," Fluttershy replied.

Twilight took another sip. "I promise I won't repeat how you answer." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again, then softly asked, "Are you in love with Rainbow Dash?"

Fluttershy flinched, staying absolutely still. They were both silent for a moment before Twilight kindly added, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Fluttershy opened her mouth a few times before stammering, "H-h-how... how d-did you know?"

"The way you looked at her," Twilight said, smiling sympathetically. "How long?"

Fluttershy's entire face burned as she hid behind her mane. "Since we were fillies. Do... do you hate me now?"

Twilight sat up, stunned. "Hate you? What for?"

Tears began welling in Fluttershy's eyes again. "For... for being a fillyfooler..."

"What was that you said? 'For being a fillyfooler?'"

Fluttershy let out a tiny little squeak of "Mm-Hmm."

Twilight shook her head. "No, of course not. Believe me, I'm the last pony who'd harshly judge you."

Fluttershy looked up astonishedly. "What? Why not? Are... are you a fillyfooler, too?"

"Yeah. Well, technically, I'm bisexual, but that's neither here nor there right now."

Fluttershy stared at Twilight, stunned. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.

Twilight shrugged. "It's not been important until now. It's not a big deal to me, but I'm not afraid to tell anyone who asks. Anyway, so you're in love with Rainbow Dash. Have you told her?"

Fluttershy looked away again. "Umm, no..."

Twilight smiled. "Maybe you should."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I can't."

Twilight tilted her head. "Why not? Who knows, she might like you too!"

Fluttershy's eyes darted around. "Well, umm, I... I already know she's attracted to me..."

Twilight's eyes widened again. Fluttershy suddenly realized her mistake, gasped, and covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oh my gosh... I... I just..." She then reached forward, placed her hooves over Twilight's, and pleaded, "Please don't tell anyone! Dashie doesn't want anyone to know about her, either..."

Twilight patted Fluttershy's hoof reassuringly. "Don't worry; I won't tell anyone."

Fluttershy sighed relievedly and slid back into her chair.

Twilight continued, "But how do you already know she likes you?"

Fluttershy kneaded the table with her hooves. "The same way I know I can't tell her how I feel."

"How's that?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got plenty of time," Twilight said, smiling.

Fluttershy stared at her for a few moments before she sighed and said, "Okay. Well, it began when I moved to Cloudsdale when I was just a little filly..."

Storm Clouds

"When my parents died, the government decided to send me to the orphanage in Cloudsdale. After all, it's a Pegasus city, and it had a nice orphanage, so it made sense. But while I was living with my parents we lived alone in a little house in the middle of a wide, empty stretch of sky. I was homeschooled, and we only occasionally went to a nearby cloud town to do some shopping, so I didn't meet other ponies very often. So of course when I was moved to Cloudsdale, I didn't make very many friends. I was too shy.

"But over time, I slowly got used to it and was able to settle into my new life. The other kids were pretty nice, and our supervisor Ms. Snowpeak was very kind, so I was able to be pretty okay.

"But then, I made a mistake. I've known I was gay my whole life, but didn't yet know about how other Pegasi felt about it. While I was in school I met another filly named Holly Wreath. She was really pretty; she had a strawberry-red mane and a beautiful white coat. Soon I began to get a huge crush on her. I didn't know what to do about it, so I went to Ms. Snowpeak and asked her.

"'Ms. Snowpeak,' I said, 'I have a question.'

"'Oh?' Ms. Snowpeak said. 'What is it, Fluttershy?'

"'Well, um,' I said, 'there's this pony I know, and I really like her. What should I do?'

"I don't think she understood the question. She thought I meant liking her as a friend, but I was so shy I don't think she could tell the difference. If she did, I think she would have told me that letting Holly know was a... bad idea. Instead, Ms. Snowpeak smiled at me and said, 'I think you should ask her to do something fun with you. You like ice cream; why don't you ask her if she'd like to get some with you?'

"I knew what a date was, and I thought she was suggesting I ask Holly on one. 'You really think I should?' I said.

"Ms. Snowpeak chuckled. 'Of course! I think you could really use a friend, Fluttershy.'

"I was too excited then to realize that she'd said 'friend,' not 'girlfriend.' I squealed happily and went to bed too excited to go to sleep.

"The next day, after school was over, I found Holly talking to some of her friends and went over to her. 'Hi, Holly,' I whispered, and she and her friends looked at me. 'Hi, Fluttershy,' she said. 'What's up?'

"I dug at the ground and hid behind my mane. 'Umm, I was wondering,' I said.

"'Yes?' Holly said.

"'I was wondering, um... if you'd like to... to get some ice cream with me.'

"Holly smiled. 'Yeah! That'd be awesome!'

"I blushed and squealed delightedly. When Holly saw that I was blushing, she stopped smiling. 'Wait, do you mean, like, on a date?'

"I was confused. 'Huh?'

"'Do you want to get ice cream with me for a date?'

"I was even more confused. 'Uh... yes,' I said.

"Holly and her friends looked scared and backed away from me. 'You... you mean you're a fillyfooler?" One of her friends asked.

"I was a little worried. 'Why are you walking away?' I asked.

"'Are you a fillyfooler?' Holly asked.

"'What is that?' I said.

"'IT MEANS THAT YOU LIKE GIRLS!' Holly's friend shouted at me.

"She scared me, and I stopped walking toward them. 'Umm... yes...?' I said, not knowing what was going on.

"The other fillies gasped, and they started to back away from me even faster. I started to walk towards them again, but Holly's other friend shouted at me, 'GET AWAY, FREAK!' and they all galloped away.

"I sat there, stunned. I was so scared, and I had no idea what was going on. I started crying and ran back to the orphanage.

"When I got there I ran to Ms. Snowpeak, who was busy cooking dinner for us then. She looked at me and said, 'Fluttershy, what's wro-'

"I buried my face in her legs before she could finish.

"She let me cry for a while, then she asked, 'What happened, Fluttershy?'

"I said in between my sobs, 'I asked Holly to get some ice cream with me, and she and her friends called me a freak and ran away from me...'

"Ms. Snowpeak was quiet for a while, then said, 'Why did they run away? What else did they say to you?'

"'They said I was a fillyfooler, and when I asked what that was they said it means I like girls.'

"She was quiet again, then she said, 'Do you like girls, Fluttershy?'

"'Yes,' I said. I got scared then. 'Do you think I'm a freak too?'

"'Oh, no,' Ms. Snowpeak said, stroking my mane. 'No, it's perfectly okay that you like girls. I just wish you clearly told me before you told Holly. A lot of the other kids... aren't going to like it.'

"I was even more scared and confused. 'Why not?'

"She had to think a bit before she said, 'Because most fillies aren't like that. There's nothing wrong with it, but there are a lot of ponies who think there is, I'm afraid. It's like if a filly or colt is from another country or they have two different-colored eyes. Other kids will bully and make fun of them because they're different, and that scares them.'

"I was terrified at that point. 'Other kids are going to bully me?!' I said.

"She looked very sad and she took a deep breath. 'Yes,' she said. 'Other kids are going to bully you.'

"I started crying again, but she knelt down and brushed my mane behind my ear. 'But I'm going to stop as much of it as I can. If anyone does or says something mean to you, come and tell me and I'll try and make sure whoever did it doesn't do it again.'

"I sniffed and nodded. It didn't help much, but it helped a little.

"I went to my room. Ms. Snowpeak said, 'Do you want to have some dinner, Fluttershy?'

"I said, 'No, thank you,' and went to bed.

"Word spread quickly. When I went to school the next day, all the other kids were whispering and staring at me. I sat at my desk and hid behind my mane, but one of the fillies next to me poked me and said, 'Hey, Fluttershy, it it true that you're a fillyfooler?'

"I only squeaked in fear and put my hooves over my head. She asked again, 'Well, are you?'

"I started crying as I whispered, "Yes."

"My entire classroom gasped, and the filly next to me yelled, 'Eww! Stay away from me!' and jumped from her desk and shied away from me. The other kids started running away from me, too, and they started shouting things like, 'Go away, freak!'

"I was bawling my eyes out until our teacher, Mrs. Sandstone entered and said, 'What's all this commotion about?!'

"One of the colts pointed at me and shouted, 'She's a fillyfooler! Fluttershy's a fillyfooler!'

"'What?' Mrs. Sandstone said. 'Why do you think that?'

"Another kid said, 'She asked Holly out yesterday, and she told us all just now!'

"'Yeah!' all the other kids said, and they all started talking over each other while Mrs. Sandstone just sat there, not knowing what to do. After a while she just said, 'Well, um... just... get back to your seats, everyone.'

"'What?!' one of the other fillies said. 'I don't wanna sit next to her!'

"Mrs. Sandstone said angrily to her, 'Go back to your seat right now, Top Spin.'

"All the other kids went back to their seats, but the ones next to me leaned away the whole time. I cried a little more.

"The other kids bullied me viciously. I was tripped, pushed to the ground, made fun of, run away from, and called a freak all the time. Of course the kids didn't do anything to me when the teachers were watching, and Ms. Snowpeak tried to talk to the principal and get him to put a stop to it, but the principal wasn't a good Stallion. He said that my being gay was 'unnatural' and 'disgusting,' and that he hoped the other kids would beat it out of me. When Ms. Snowpeak tried to report him to the school board, he played innocent and said that all kids teased each other, and that it would be good for me and would toughen me up. Since the members of the school board were also Pegasi, they agreed with him.

"Ms. Snowpeak tried to get me a tutor, but most refused and the rest were too expensive. She tried to convince the government to transfer me to a Unicorn or Earth pony orphanage, but they said I needed to be around other Pegasi. She tried to get me adopted by a nice couple who would love me, but the ones who wouldn't because I was gay wouldn't because I was too shy and frightened."

A few tears rolled down Fluttershy's cheeks at this point. Twilight patiently let her take a few moments to let it out and dry her eyes before she continued.

"Ms. Snowpeak was amazing. I'm so grateful I had her- she was the only pony who was nice to me. She was my only friend.

"But I was still so, so very lonely. I always played by myself. Ms. Snowpeak didn't let any of the other orphans be mean to me, but they always ignored me and avoided me. They would never talk to me. It was horrible. I would cry myself to sleep nearly every night.

"I was so relieved when my first summer vacation there began; I was out of school, and nopony was bullying me. They just ignored me. I was still lonely, but I was able to read and play by myself without anyone bothering me. I was absolutely terrified to go back to school, since I knew the bullying would start right back up again. I couldn't sleep the night before school started- when I went the next morning, I was very tired but so anxious that I was startled by the smallest noise. When I got there, I was ready for the worst.

"But nopony bothered me that day. I waited and waited for somepony to push me to the ground or say something horrible to me, but nothing happened.

"I wondered why, and I noticed that all the other kids were whispering to each other. I wondered what they were talking about, so I found a group who were whispering together and listened to what they were saying.

"'Hey,' a filly said to the others, 'Have you seen the new girl?'

"'What new girl?' a colt asked.

"'Rainbow Dash, you dummy,' said another colt.

"'That's her,' the filly said.

"'She's the daughter of Rainbow Blaze, isn't she? Didn't he just retire?' said the second colt.

"The first colt replied, 'The Rainbow Blaze?! Like, the Captain of the Wonderbolts Rainbow Blaze?!'

"'He's not the Captain anymore, Strike! You're such an idiot!' said the other colt. 'But yeah, she's his daughter.'

"'What's she like?' said Strike.

"The other colt smirked. 'She's actually kinda cute. And they say she was one of the best fliers at her old school in Canterlot, or even the best. She's way cool.'

"'Really?!' Strike said. 'I wanna meet her!'

"The filly's face reddened and she said, 'Yeah, I hate to burst your bubble, you two, but Rainbow Dash is a fillyfooler.'

"The boys' jaws dropped. 'She's a fillyfooler?' Strike said. 'Like Fluttershy?'

"'Yeah,' the filly said. 'And they say she's a really big flirt, too. I heard that she's said that she's made out with all the prettiest girls in her old school, even the STRAIGHT ones.'

"The other colt smirked again. 'I hope she's not just all talk. That would be SO hot if she could really do that.'

"The filly gagged. 'Eww, you're gross!' she said.

"'Hey,' Strike said. He pointed at me. 'Fluttershy's there!'

"The filly gasped and jumped back. 'Eww, get away from me, you freak!' she cried.

"The other colt made a creepy smile at me and said, 'So you heard there's another freak here. It's a waste you two babes are queers, but you should at least make out and let us watch.'

"He laughed, Strike laughed with him, the filly huffed at me, and they all left.

"I was honestly too stunned to be hurt by what they said then. There was another fillyfooler at our school? A cute one who other kids liked? I really wanted to meet her. I was even a little excited at the idea of her being so charming she could kiss any girl she wanted, but then I realized that she seemed to only like the prettiest, most popular girls, and... decided she wouldn't be interested in me. I didn't think anypony would be interested in me. I was too shy, and too nervous. But I still wanted to meet her; maybe she would be my friend.

"I looked for this new girl for the rest of the day, but I never saw her. When school ended and we all went outside, I started walking to the orphanage, thinking I'd try to find her again the next day. But then I felt somepony touch my shoulder, and I squeaked and looked to see who it was. It was Rainbow Dash.

"For some reason I thought she'd be my age, but she was actually two years younger than me. But the other kids were right; she was really pretty. I could sit and stare into those big magenta eyes all day. I didn't realize I was staring at her then, and she said, 'Hey? Hey!'

"'Huh?' I said.

"'You're Fluttershy, right?' she said.

"'Oh,' I said, and I hid behind my mane. 'Y... yes...' I said.

"Rainbow grinned. 'Hey, you're cute, Fluttershy,' she said. She held up her hoof. 'I'm Rainbow Dash,' she said.

"I only squeaked back.

"Rainbow Dash looked a little worried. 'What's wrong?' she said.

"Some of the other kids noticed that Rainbow Dash was talking to me then. Some boys whistled at us. 'Oh, look, Fluttershy's blushing!' one of them said. Then they started chanting, 'Hey, freaks! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!'

"Rainbow walked towards them. 'I just might,' she said. 'She's pretty cute.' Then she got up in their faces and held up a fist. 'But if you call us "freaks" again, I'm gonna feed you your teeth!'

"Most of the colts were older than me, and they were all bigger than Rainbow. But when she threatened them, they all looked like she scared them. Only one boy wasn't, and he stepped forward. 'Yeah, right, ya little shrimp,' he said.

"The other boys backed away, saying, 'Dude, don't,' but Rainbow smiled and said, 'Oh, so you want a taste of this, do you?'

"The colt started laughing, then Rainbow gave him a mean right hook that sent him flat on his side. When he got up, he had a bloody nose. Rainbow said to the others, 'Anypony else?'

"They all ran away, and Rainbow smirked and said, 'Thought so.'

"I was gaping at her, and when she turned to me she said, 'Don't listen to them. They're idiots.'

"'You...' I said. 'You just...'

"'What?'

"'You just... made them all run away!'

"Rainbow scoffed. 'Those guys were wusses. I could've taken any of 'em, easy.'

"I was still stunned. 'You... oh no, you're gonna get in trouble! He's going to tell his parents!'

"Rainbow smirked again. 'Yeah, he's gonna tell his folks he got beat up by a filly who's way younger than him. Nah, he's not gonna bother me again.' She looked out after the other colts. 'None of 'em are.'

"I gasped. 'You mean... they're really not going to call you a "freak" anymore?!'

"Rainbow laughed. 'Are you kidding? In my last school, other Pegasi called me a freak all the time. My dad told me to pound 'em, then they wouldn't ever call me a freak again. He was right. I did, and they didn't.'

"She grinned at me. 'So, you really are a fillyfooler too, huh?'

"I blushed again. 'Um... yes,' I said.

"'You're really hot when you blush,' Rainbow said. She got close to my face. 'So, do you wanna make out?'

"I was so surprised I looked right into her eyes. She was giving me a seductive look, and I could tell she really had kissed a lot of other girls. I had no idea what to do. 'Umm... I...' I said.

"Rainbow chuckled. 'You haven't been kissed before, huh?' She leaned in closer. 'You're lucky then. I'm really good.'

"Before I could say anything, Rainbow pressed her lips against mine. I squealed in protest at first, but it was so wonderful I just started to kiss her back. After a while she opened her mouth and slid her tongue into mine, and she wasn't lying. She was really good.

"When she pulled back, she kept smiling at me. 'Want me to walk you home?' she said.

"I smiled back and nodded enthusiastically. 'That would be wonderful,' I said. She walked me home, and I was grinning like a fool for the rest of the evening. I was still smiling when I went to bed.

"Rainbow became my best friend very quickly. I felt safe around her in a way I never had since I'd moved to Cloudsdale; a couple of other kids tripped me and pushed me after I'd met her, but then Rainbow floored them and after that nopony bothered me anymore. Although it's not enough to redeem him, there's one good thing I can say about our principal: when the kids Rainbow beat up told him, he told them to buck up and stop being sissies, so Rainbow never got in trouble.

"Rainbow and I were together all the time. We didn't have much in common- Rainbow was thrill-seeking and athletic, and I was calm and unadventurous. But she walked me home every day, and we would visit each other in our homes almost every day. We started playing board games like checkers and battleclouds and reading comics because we both liked them, and we would tell each other stories about our lives before living in Cloudsdale.

"We also kept making out sometimes. But we weren't girlfriends- I wasn't the only girl Rainbow would make out with. She wasn't quite as good a pick-up artist as I'd heard, but she was close, and she was every bit the heartbreaker they made her out to be.

"She told me that there were a lot of other fillyfoolers in our school, and she would point them out to me. When she found an especially pretty one, Rainbow would declare that she would have her wrapped around her hoof by the end of the day. She almost always succeeded; I could tell because they would guiltily look away from Rainbow when she smirked at them the next day.

"I was stunned, especially since some of the girls Rainbow targeted had called me a freak and tripped me like the others had. When I asked Rainbow how she knew they were gay too, she said, 'It's a skill you learn. If you want to get girls, you have to be able to tell if you even can.'

"'But...' I said, 'some of them were some of the kids who bullied me. Why would they, if they're fillyfoolers too?"

"Rainbow scoffed haughtily. 'They're chickens,' she said. 'They don't have guts, like we do. They did it because they don't want anypony thinking they're the same. Hay, some do it because they don't want to believe they are.'

"I looked away ashamedly. 'I don't have guts, either,' I said. 'When I told the other kids I'm a fillyfooler, I didn't know they would hate me.'

"Rainbow didn't say anything back. I knew it's because she didn't know what to say.

"To be honest, it really hurt that Rainbow was kissing other girls. I already really liked her, and wanted to be her exclusive girlfriend. But I was perfectly happy to have a little heartache to have Rainbow's friendship and affection; after all, before her, I had none. I had no one.

"Rainbow's dad and Ms. Snowpeak both knew about the... nature of our relationship. Ms. Snowpeak was pretty concerned for me, but she just told me to be careful but otherwise didn't interfere. I think she let us do it because even though she knew I was hurting a little, she also knew how starved we were for any kind of affection, which hurt more.

"Rainbow's dad more than approved- he cheered Rainbow on, telling her how awesome she was for being able to get so many pretty fillies. In fact, he must be where Rainbow got it from; when I visited their home, I would often see him with a Mare, and every time he had a different one. When I asked Rainbow about her mom, she said that her parents had a nasty divorce when she was a baby because her dad couldn't keep his hooves off of other Mares. Rainbow didn't know anything else about her mom, since her dad didn't like talking about her.

"When Rainbow Dash went to flight camp, I went with her. Even though I hated flying, I couldn't bear the thought of spending the whole summer without her. She kept protecting me and cheering me on, and my crush on her kept getting stronger. But the tipping point, I think, was when those colts were making fun of my flying ability and Rainbow raced them to defend me. After I fell, met my new animal friends, saw her rainboom, and got my cutie mark, I flew back up and told her that I got it, and she told me that she got hers, too. I realized that we'd helped each other get our cutie marks, and that she made me meet my animal friends. That's when I fell completely in love with her, I think.

"We met Gilda while we were in flight camp. Like us, Gilda liked other girls, and like Pegasi, Gryphons aren't tolerant of that. But Gilda got it even worse than I did; while I'd been pushed, tripped, and called names, Gilda had been outright beaten. Eventually she couldn't stand it anymore and she ran away, which was when we met her. She was even more scared and shy than I was, but Rainbow befriended her and protected her from the bullies who were mean to her, too.

"Rainbow's relationship with Gilda was like the one we had. This hurt more than Rainbow kissing other fillies because she started spending less time with me. After all, Gilda had much more in common with her, so Rainbow started spending more time with her. But I was still her best friend, along with Gilda, and I also had my animal friends then, so I was still okay.

Fluttershy paused and took a deep breath before she continued. "When I was beginning to become a teenager, I started... I started to get curious about... about sex." Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane as she pressed forward. "I... I started to find... dirty pictures in books, and... and I felt a little guilty to see them, but... but I started to steal them, and hide them in my room..." Fluttershy squealed anxiously, her entire face burning bright red. She sat silent for a few moments, recollecting herself. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's alright," Twilight said, her tone gentle and understanding. "Take your time."

After a few more moments, Fluttershy inhaled deeply and kept going. "After a while, I started to fantasize about doing those things with other girls. Rainbow especially. I spent so many nights thinking about it, wanting to do it with her, but... I was scared to. I also thought that... Rainbow Dash would think I was too... um... 'innocent' for her, and she'd laugh at me for asking. So for a little more than a year, I kept it to myself.

"But then, just before Rainbow was a teenager, during one of my visits to her house, she nervously asked me to come to her room. While we were going upstairs her dad said, 'Good luck, Dash! Have fun!' and I wondered what he was talking about. But I followed Rainbow to her room anyway.

"When we were in, she shut the door, which I've never seen her do before. I was wondering what was going on while she sat down across from me. I sat down too, and she just kind of looked down and played with her hooves a little. I was getting a little nervous, so I said, 'What is it, Rainbow?'

"She started blushing and she said, 'Umm, well...'

"After some awkward silence, she looked up at me and said, 'Hey, uh... Fluttershy. Do you... do you wanna... um... do it?'

"She flinched a little after she said that, and I was a little confused. 'Huh?' I said. 'Do what?'

"Rainbow looked even more nervous. 'Um, you know...' She nodded at the bed. 'Sleep with me.'

"I said, 'Sleep wi-' then I gasped, realizing what she meant. I stuttered, 'You... y-you mean...'

"Rainbow smiled anxiously. 'Yeah,' she said.

"We both sat there without saying anything for a while, then Rainbow said, 'You don't have to if you don't want to.'

"I could only say, 'W... w-why?'

"Rainbow looked up surprisedly. '"Why?" What do you mean, "why"?!'

"I backed up a little. 'Um... why... why would you want to... to sleep with me?' I said.

"Rainbow stared at me. 'You're joking, right?' she said.

"I stared back at her, then shook my head. Rainbow scoffed. 'Are you kidding? Because you're really hot.'

"I sadly looked away. 'It's alright, Rainbow,' I said. 'You don't have to say that. You don't have to do this. I'm okay with just being your friend.'

"'I mean it,' Rainbow said. She walked up to me, put her hoof on my shoulder, and looked me straight in the eyes. 'You really are, Fluttershy. You're the hottest Mare I know.'

"I said, 'You don't have to-'

"'I'm serious. I wouldn't make out with you if you weren't. Rainbow Dash is way too awesome for girls who aren't in her league.' She grinned. 'You're really fun to make out with, Flutters. I think it'd be even more fun if we took it to the next level. I really do want to.'

"She stepped back, looked away, and rubbed her foreleg. 'Do... do you want to, though?'

"I thought about it for a moment, then answered her by smiling, walking over to her bed, hopping onto it, and beckoning her on. She was surprised at first, but then she grinned excitedly and jumped on, then stood over me and kissed me. When she stopped, she blushed embarrassedly and said, 'I'm sorry if I'm not very good. I... haven't really done this before...'

"I was a little surprised. I thought that since Rainbow had kissed so many girls, she must have already slept with someone before. But I was very honored to be her first. I stroked her face and said, 'It's okay. I don't mind.'

"Rainbow smiled and kissed me again."

Fluttershy closed her eyes, smiled, and hummed softly to herself, fondly remembering that night. After a moment, Twilight cleared her throat, and Fluttershy opened her eyes. "Oh," she said, blushing. "Sorry."

"Anyway, after that we spent most nights together. We usually used her room, since I bunked with other girls in the orphanage, but sometimes we would camp on the ground or rent a hotel room for a celebration, like on one of our birthdays or Hearth's Warming Eve." Fluttershy giggled. "A few times we even used small clouds in the middle of empty skies. We would watch the stars together afterward. It was the most romantic, wonderful thing ever.

"Not long after our first time Rainbow of course started sleeping with Gilda, too. Of course, this made the pain even worse, but my nights with Rainbow were the best of my life, so I put up with it. Gilda started being antagonistic towards me, and I could tell she was jealous of me, too. But she never went all the way and pressured me to stop, since she knew that would cost her her friendship with Rainbow. So I was able to enjoy myself, but there was always tension between Gilda and me. Rainbow also started having one-night stands with other girls, so between that and her relationship with Gilda I also endured a lot of heartache.

"But there was always the ever-looming fact that all three of us were still soul-crushingly lonely. Rainbow and I desperately tried to fulfill all of our emotional needs with each other, but we never could. We needed more acceptance. We needed more friends.

"One night, while I was lying on a cloud under the stars with Rainbow, and we were about to go to sleep, she said, 'Hey, Flutters.'

"'Yes, Rainbow?' I said.

"'Are you... still lonely?'

"I snuggled against her. 'Not now,' I said.

"'Yeah,' Rainbow said, 'but... don't you wish other ponies didn't avoid us all the time? Don't you wish you had other friends besides me and Ms. Snowpeak?'

"I frowned sadly. 'Yes,' I said. 'I wish for that every day.'

"Rainbow ran her hoof through my mane, thinking. 'Let's get out of here,' she at last said.

"I looked up. 'What?'

"'You, me, and Gilda,' Rainbow said. 'Let's ditch this place and go somewhere else. Somewhere nopony knows about us, where we can have other friends. I'm sick of being stuck here. Let's leave tomorrow.'

"I was a little worried. 'Are you sure, Rainbow?' I said. 'You love Cloudsdale.'

"Rainbow cringed. 'Yeah. But... I just can't take it anymore, Fluttershy.'

"'But where will we go?'

"Rainbow thought for a second, then smiled. 'Ponyville. It's not far from Canterlot, so I'll be able to watch the Wonderbolts. It's little, so houses should be cheap, and it's not even close to as bad as it is here. If anypony there finds out about us, I'm sure at least some of any friends we'd make would stay our friends.'

"She pulled me in closer. 'What do you say, Flutters? Wanna go to Ponyville tomorrow?'

"I thought about it a little, then nodded and smiled at her. 'Yes. Let's do it.'

"The next morning, we both went to our homes, packed up our belongings, and got our savings of bits. Rainbow said goodbye to her dad, and told him she would visit him often. At the same time I said goodbye to Ms. Snowpeak. I thought she would be worried, but as it turned out she was quite happy for me. She said she hoped I would make lots of new friends in Ponyville, and that she knew I would be able to make it on my own. I started crying, gave her one last hug, and then went to Gilda's to meet Rainbow.

"When I got to Gilda's, Rainbow was sitting on the steps all by herself. She looked really sad. When I asked her what happened, she said that when she asked Gilda to come with us Gilda called her a spineless weasel for leaving Cloudsdale. Her friendship with Gilda was very damaged. When we left, Rainbow was trying really hard not to cry.

"When we got to Ponyville, the first pony we met was Pinkie Pie. As you know, she makes it her personal duty to welcome and befriend every new resident of Ponyville, and we were no exception. She threw a huge party for us, and made us feel welcome in a way we never had before. She helped us move in and wanted to know everything about us. When she asked why we were moving to Ponyville, we told her it was because we were lonely in Cloudsdale, and had only each other as friends. At that instant, Pinkie declared that she would be the best friend we ever had. And she was.

"When we first came, we started by renting one of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's rooms. We lived there together for a while, but we made it perfectly clear to everyone that we weren't girlfriends; it was just for financial reasons. But we were still... erm, 'friends with benefits' while Rainbow looked for a job and I established myself as a vet. Rainbow got an offer to be a weather-Pegasus, and ponies started to bring their pets to me. When we got enough money, we both got our own houses and moved into them.

"We kept sleeping together for a while, but Pinkie started including us in her circle of other best friends, and then we started to do it less and less. It made sense, I suppose; we weren't so lonely anymore. I think Rarity and Applejack are wonderful friends, and I feel so lucky to have them. Rarity especially; when I started going to the spa with her, she noticed that I would stare at her. I thought she might be mad, but she was just flattered. She also promised to keep it secret that I'm gay and like all of you-"

Fluttershy blushed, squeaked, and placed her hooves over her mouth. She anxiously watched Twilight, anticipating some sort of negative reaction, but Twilight only smiled and said, "It's alright, Fluttershy. I'm flattered and think you're very pretty, too."

Fluttershy sighed in relief, then said, "I must be more careful about what I say. Well, anyway, so eventually Rainbow and I drifted apart and stopped sleeping together. She's better friends with Applejack and Pinkie than she is with me now, so that makes sense too. I'm sure she still likes having fun sometimes, but she probably just picks up other Mares in bars like she did in Cloudsdale. It still hurts, though. I want to spend more nights with her, but I want us to be serious. I love her, Twilight, but she doesn't want what I want. I'm fine with just being her friend, and nothing more. If I tell her I love her and want to be more, maybe she won't want to be my friend anymore. I'm not going to risk that."

Twilight and Fluttershy sat silently. After a few moments Twilight said, "Wow. That's... some story."

Fluttershy tiredly nodded.

Owlowiscious hooted again, and Twilight sighed. "Fluttershy, you need to tell her."

Fluttershy looked up in shock. "What?"

"You need to tell Rainbow Dash how you feel."

Fluttershy gaped at Twilight. "But... but-"

"I know you're worried you'll lose her friendship, but bottling your feelings in like this is only going to keep hurting you. You have to tell Rainbow, or it's only going to keep getting worse."

Fluttershy started crying. "But... what if she really doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

Twilight frowned sternly. "Then she's an awful friend and doesn't deserve you. After all, she hasn't exactly been careful with your emotions. She should deal with the consequences of her irresponsibility."

"Irresponsibility? But I agreed to sleep with her! It's not her fault!"

Twilight groaned. "Having sex wasn't exactly very smart of either of you. But Rainbow was very, very reckless. She had a physical relationship with you and Gilda, all while having one-night stands with other girls. It was frankly stupid of her to not see that she was hurting both of you."

Twilight gave a very serious look to Fluttershy. "You need to tell Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy. Not just so she knows how you really feel about her, but she also needs to know what she's done to you. She can't keep doing this. She's going to just keep hurting more girls unless somepony shows her why she needs to stop."

Fluttershy stared at Twilight a while longer, then closed her eyes and started crying again.

Twilight sighed and looked at the clock. Eleven thirty-eight. She levitated her and Fluttershy's now-empty mugs over to the sink, then said, "Don't worry, though. Your secret's safe with me. But I'm going to talk to Rainbow Dash tomorrow."

Fluttershy's eyes shot open. "What? No! You can't!"

"I'm not going to tell her about you," Twilight said. "I'm just going to see if I can do anything about her. Maybe I'll also be able to find out if you confessing to her will really jeopardize your friendship."

Twilight scaled the stairs to her bed, climbed in, and called down, "If you like, you can sleep on the couch tonight. Good night, Fluttershy." Twilight magically extinguished the library's lights, then she immediately fell asleep.

Fluttershy stared up at Twilight for a while. Then she sighed, trotted over to the couch, climbed on, and fell asleep as well.

Sour Apples

Fluttershy heard the gentle sizzling of oil and smelled the mouth-watering aroma of baking pastries. When her eyes fluttered open, she saw Spike turning over some grass pancakes on a grill over the library's fireplace.

Fluttershy looked around for Twilight and found her at one of the shelves, taking inventory of the library's books. Fluttershy yawned, prompting Twilight to turn to her. Twilight smiled and said, "Good morning, Fluttershy! How did you sleep?"

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes and replied, "I slept fine, thank you." After yawning again, she asked, "What time is it?"

Fluttershy looked at the clock, then gasped. It was ten twenty-two. "Oh no!" Fluttershy shouted. "I've forgotten to feed my animal friends!"

Fluttershy started to gallop for the door, but Twilight giggled and said, "It's alright, Fluttershy; I went and fed them while you were sleeping."

Fluttershy stopped at the door, sighed relievedly, and smiled at Twilight. "Thank you," she said.

Spike flipped a pancake over and asked, "So, what did you two talk about last night?"

"It's none of your business, Spike," Twilight said firmly. Spike shrugged and said, "Oh well. I'm sure it's not very exciting anyway."

Spike pulled the cakes from the grill and placed them on an already-tall stack he'd balanced on a plate on the ground beside him. He then carefully picked up the plate and steadily carried it to the table, where he placed it in the center. He then ran to the cupboards, where he picked up three sets of dishes, glasses, and silverware, which he then arranged on the table as well.

As Spike retrieved some orange juice from the ice box, Twilight seated herself at the table and patted the stool beside her own. "Come have breakfast with us, Fluttershy," she said pleasantly.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane. "Oh, umm... well... I wouldn't want to impose..."

"Hey, I already made the cakes," Spike said annoyedly as he gathered the syrup and sapphires. "They're not eating themselves, you know."

"Oh, okay then," Fluttershy said, obediently sitting beside Twilight.

Their meal was pleasant and quiet. There was a barely audible crunching noise as Spike chewed the sapphires he had sprinkled over his own cakes, but otherwise it was a quick, silent, tasty little meal. After Fluttershy had finished her cakes and dabbed her lips with a napkin, she cleared her dishes and said, "Thank you for breakfast, Spike. It was delicious." She then walked out the door and began walking back to her home, calling back "Goodbye," to Twilight and Spike.

"Goodbye, Fluttershy," they sang back to her.

As Fluttershy closed the door behind her, she let out a satisfied sigh. She was glad she came; she felt as though a little weight were lifted off her chest, now that she had shared all of her secrets with somepony else. Now she'd have a friend to talk to about it if she ever needed it. She was also glad she could trust Twilight so much; if Twilight could keep this, her biggest secret, she could be trusted with anything.

After Twilight had finished her own breakfast, she put her dishes in the sink as she said to Spike, "Can you hold down the library for a while, Spike? I need to go see Rainbow Dash."

Spike raised an eyebrow as he stuffed more sapphire-sprinkled pancakes into his mouth. "Dith you doo dalk afou' Raifo lath nigh'?" he said through his filled cheeks.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Twilight said admonishingly. "And yes, we did."

"Dith zhe do thomthing wrong?" Spike asked.

"Ooh, yes," Twilight replied ill-temperedly.

Spike swallowed then asked, "What did she do?"

"Again, it's none of your business, Spike," Twilight replied annoyedly. She opened the door as she said, "I'll be right back," then exited, closing the door behind her.

Spike was a little more curious now. When he'd visited Fluttershy yesterday, she had clearly just been crying. And whatever had happened, Twilight was more than a little angry now. What could Rainbow Dash have done that was so awful?

* * *

Rainbow Dash was busy enjoying her mid-day nap when she was awakened by the loud ringing of her doorbell. After moaning, rolling over, and yelling a muffled "Go away!" into her cushion of clouds, the doorbell incessantly continued to reverberate through her house. After a few moments of this Rainbow finally groaned, yelled, "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" and groggily walked over to her door. When she pulled it open, she found that the rather somber-looking Twilight stood beyond the threshold.

"Oh, hi, Twilight," Rainbow said, rubbing her eyes.

"Hello, Rainbow," Twilight said politely.

"Did ya need something?" Rainbow asked, not quite as politely.

"I need to talk to you," Twilight replied.

Rainbow shrugged, then turned around and gestured forward. "Come in," she said.

Twilight walked in and sat on a large, plush cloud while Rainbow returned to her usual bed-cloud. "So, how have ya been?" Rainbow asked idly.

"Fine, thanks," Twilight said. "I'll get right to the point. First of all, I know you're gay, Rainbow."

Rainbow flinched with great shock. She stuttered incoherently for a moment before saying, "H-h-how did you- who told you?!"

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "One of your many conquests."

Rainbow's gaze darted around; she looked simultaneously embarrassed, annoyed, and a little angry. "Let me guess- you're here to tell me that I'm 'unnatural' and 'disgusting,' right?"

Twilight shook her head. "Of course not. I like girls, too."

Rainbow immediately darted her gaze back to Twilight. She was caught completely off-guard. Another time, she would have immediately begun to hit on Twilight, but at the moment Rainbow could see by Twilight's serious expression that now wasn't the time. "So..." Rainbow said, awkwardly shuffling her hooves, "what did you want to talk about?"

"The fact that you have many conquests who could have told me," Twilight replied.

Rainbow tilted her head confusedly. "Huh?"

Twilight sighed. "Your swinging," she clarified.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. "What about it?" she said.

Twilight took a deep breath. "It's irresponsible, Rainbow."

Rainbow glared indignantly at Twilight. "What are you talking about?!" she said. "Oh, is that what you're here to lecture me about? So you're one of those prudes who thinks that ponies should wait until marriage? Yeah, well, good luck!" Rainbow pounded her chest. "Nopony's gonna tie me down!"

Twilight shook her head. "No, I wasn't saying that either."

Rainbow was completely confused at this point. "So what are you saying?"

Twilight gave Rainbow an imploring look. "I'm saying you should have been more careful. From what I hear, you regularly have one-night stands and had physical, nonromantic relationships with some of your friends, all at the same time."

Rainbow gave Twilight an affronted look. "Yeah, so?" she said.

"So you've hurt other girls, Rainbow."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Hurt them?!" Rainbow asked. "What are you talking about? I haven't hurt anypony! Well, not unless they've talked smack about me or Fluttershy or Gi-"

Rainbow gasped with realization and slapped her hooves over her mouth. Twilight looked mildly surprised, so at least Rainbow could count them out as the potential snitch.

After Rainbow put her hooves back down she said, "You can't tell anyone, Twi! Nopony's supposed to know!"

Twilight recited, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," while making the obligatory motions. She continued, "Anyway, that's not what I meant. I meant you've hurt them emotionally."

Now Rainbow looked a little worried. "How'd I do that?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Twilight continued gently, "Maybe you don't know this, Rainbow, but ponies tend to develop attachments to who they sleep with. You might not have been able to see this, but I guarantee some girls have fallen for you and been crushed when you casually left them for somepony else."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she said.

"Absolutely," Twilight replied.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she demanded, "So how come I haven't fallen for anypony? At this point, I should be in love with like a ton of girls, right?"

"It's because you have a different idea of what it means than everypony else. You just regard it as a way to enjoy yourself, but for most everypony else it means more than that. For most of everypony else, it's a very intimate and vulnerable thing to do. They naturally develop feelings for you, hoping that you'll return them. Naturally, since you don't, they're heartbroken."

Rainbow sat in silence, not knowing what to think. Was Twilight right? Had so many girls really fallen in love with her? Of course, Rainbow knew she was very hot and very cool, but...

Rainbow was honestly a bit surprised at the prospect. She now realized that perhaps one of the reasons she hadn't thought anypony would fall for her was that she thought she wasn't the type ponies would fall for. She was hot, famous, and good in bed, yes, but what more did she have to offer than that? For an actual relationship, ponies wanted someone who was dependable, understanding, and kind. With a sinking heart Rainbow suddenly realized she didn't think she was any of those things.

Rainbow's ears flattened against her head. "Wow," she said. "I... I did all that, huh?"

Rainbow fought against her tears. "Some friend I am," she said. She never felt less true to her Element than now. A loyal friend didn't hurt her friends like this. "Who have I hurt?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight shook her head. "It's not my place to tell you." She smiled at Rainbow. "But just know- I'm here for you. If you ever need somepony to talk about anything, you can always talk to me."

Twilight trotted over to Rainbow and lifted her chin up, looking right into her eyes. "And Rainbow," she said, "you're a wonderful friend. The fact that you feel guilty about any damage you've caused makes me know that you would never do it on purpose. You just... didn't know, that's all."

Twilight hugged Rainbow. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You have a good heart. I can see why you'd be so easy to fall in love with."

With a last, sympathetic smile, Twilight walked back to the door and waved at Rainbow, saying, "Bye!" She then exited, closing the door behind her.

Rainbow sat alone on her cloud, thinking over what she'd just heard. She had broken some hearts. Who was in love with her? Rainbow closed her eyes and rubbed her head. Could Fluttershy or Gilda be in love with her? Rainbow chuckled. "Nah," she said. "Gilda didn't have any trouble with crushing our friendship when she visited, and Flutters has been doing just fine without me." Rainbow cringed. "In fact... I've been pretty awful to her since we came here."

Rainbow bitterly remembered some of the times they'd been together since they'd moved here. The trip up to kick the dragon out of his cave stuck out particularly vividly in her mind. She'd callously told the others that Fluttershy would just be dead weight and berated Fluttershy for her anxiety over it all.

Rainbow started tearing up again. Even if Fluttershy wasn't in love with her, Rainbow had still treated her like a disposable toy. Rainbow began whimpering as she felt tears begin rolling down her cheeks. Fluttershy was one of her best friends, and she had still treated her like garbage. Even after Fluttershy had spent so many nights alleviating her loneliness.

Rainbow had never felt so guilty. How could she even tell who she had to make amends to? She couldn't even remember some of the girls she'd seduced. Who had she led on? Was she still leading anyone on? How could she let them down easy? What could she do to make it up to them?

Rainbow began sobbing into her cloud cushions, despairingly coming up with no answers. She cried for a good long while before she at last sat up, sniffed, wiped her nose, and sighed. She might not be able to clean up all of her mistakes, but she was still going to at least try to atone for some of them.

Where should she start? Rainbow laid on her fore hooves, thinking about it for a moment. First, she needed to apologize to Fluttershy. She also needed to right anything wrong she'd done to her. Or at least make up for it. But how?

Rainbow groaned and rolled over. "I don't have anything she'd want," Rainbow said. "And a stupid little apology isn't gonna be enough. What can I do for her?"

Rainbow closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Come on... come on..." she muttered. At last the answer struck her.

Apple Bloom asking Fluttershy about why she didn't have a special somepony had brought her to tears. Maybe Fluttershy wanted a girlfriend, but was just unable to get one because... well, look at how her last attempt to do that turned out. When she'd tried last time, the entire world turned against her. Maybe the reason it upset Fluttershy so much was because she really wanted to have a special somepony, but to do that she'd have to come out, and she was afraid all of her friends would abandon her if she did.

Rainbow sat up. "I know what I'll do for Fluttershy," she said resolutely. "I'm going to break the ground for her."

Rainbow was going to come out to their friends and thereby test how accepting they would be to Fluttershy. Rainbow flinched, realizing that she was risking the abandonment of her friends as well, but then she shook her head. "No," Rainbow growled. "I'm done running away. If my friends ditch me, let 'em. I deserve it anyway."

Rainbow smiled, remembering something. "Well, at least Twilight will be on my side."

Rainbow chuckled to herself. Twilight was a fillyfooler too. "That's weird," Rainbow reflected. "I'm usually able to tell." Rainbow hadn't seen Twilight check anypony else out. Maybe Twilight was just married to her work. She was completely devoted to her mission of mailing her friendship lessons to Celestia-

Rainbow's eyes widened, then she grinned. "Ahh," she said. Yes, Twilight was completely devoted to Celestia. Obsessively. Sure, Twilight was a pretty nutty egghead of a student. But when she'd gone completely off the deep end only a couple months ago, while she'd been pretty upset over the idea of failing, what she was really upset over was the idea of disappointing Celestia.

Rainbow snickered. Well, if she ever wanted to get her hooves on Twilight, Rainbow knew now that she'd just have to dye her coat white, dye her mane in nebula colors, paint a sun on her flanks, and get a tiara and some golden shoes. Then all she'd have to do is give Twilight a little "test," then offer her a reward for acing it...

Rainbow shook her head. No, she couldn't do that anymore. If she was going to have Twilight, she was going to win her over honestly. She was going to be serious. No more cheap, easy conquests. Rainbow wasn't going to hurt anypony else.

* * *

Spike grumbled as he put plates on the table. Yesterday and today had been very weird and very busy, and he'd never been given a break. Twilight was cooking some hayburgers and hay fries for their friends, who Rainbow was inviting over at that moment. "What is this for, Twilight?" Spike asked irritatedly. "I was gonna read some comics."

"Rainbow's gonna tell something very important to all our friends," Twilight replied. Spike sighed as he went to gather some glasses of water. "Is this about Fluttershy and Rainbow?"

"Yes," Twilight said. Spike was extremely confused now. What in Celestia's name could be going on? Spike sighed and said, "I suppose you're still not gonna tell me about it?"

"It's not mine to say," Twilight said.

Spike shrugged. "Oh well. At least I'll hear about it from Rainbow."

Right then Rainbow darted back into the library, panting slightly. Owlowiscious hooted in surprise as Rainbow said, "Everypony's coming."

"Great," Twilight said. She nodded over toward Spike. "Help set the table, please."

"Sure thing," Rainbow said, then she walked over to help Spike carry the glasses.

After they had set up the table and Twilight had finished cooking dinner, they waited at the table for twenty minutes before their guests started arriving. While they waited Rainbow said to Twilight, "Hey, thanks for doing this."

"No problem," Twilight said cheerfully. "If you ever need my help, I'm right here."

Rainbow smiled. "Thanks."

After a long silence, the first to arrive was Pinkie Pie. She bounced cheerfully into the room, saying, "Hi, everypony! Hi, Dashie! Where's the surprise you told me about?"

Rainbow chuckled nervously. "Actually, the surprise isn't a thing; it's a secret."

Pinkie gasped. "A secret? I love secrets! They're so mysterious and secretive! So what is it, Dashie? Huh? Huh?"

Rainbow gave Pinkie an anxious smile. "I'll tell you when everypony else is here. It's... not gonna be easy to say."

Pinkie tilted her head quizzically, then closed her eyes and grinned. "Okay!"

Pinkie bounced around the library for the next few minutes. "Ooh, I can't wait to hear the secret! I wonder what it is? Oh, I hope the others come soon!"

"Settle down, Pinkie," Twilight said. "Everypony should be here any minute."

Right after she'd said it, the door opened and they all turned to see Rarity and Fluttershy entering together. "Good evening!" Rarity greeted them jovially.

Twilight said, "How are you doing, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy smiled. "I'm doing very well. Rarity took me to the spa, and now I feel a lot better."

"That's good," Twilight said. As Rarity and Fluttershy took their seats, Applejack entered close behind them. "Sorry I'm late, ya'll," she said, taking off her hat and wiping some sweat from her forehead. "One of our barrels broke, and we had a right mess to clean up."

"It's alright," Twilight said. Once everyone was seated, Pinkie shouted, "So, are you gonna tell us the secret now, Dashie?"

Applejack and Rarity raised their eyebrows. "'Secret'?" Rarity said. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

Rainbow chuckled anxiously and shuffled her hooves. "Yeah," she said. "But... if it's all the same to you, would you all mind if we ate first? It might... uh... upset the rest of the evening."

They all replied that they wouldn't mind, then Pinkie cried, "Dig in!!" and they began eating.

There was little conversation, and the meal was over quickly. Once they'd all put their dishes away, they all sat back at the table and Pinkie asked eagerly, "So, can you tell us the secret now, Dashie?"

Rainbow shuffled her hooves for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked over at Twilight. Twilight smiled and nodded, reassuring her.

Rainbow exhaled and said, "Alright. First, you all have to promise you won't tell anypony."

Everyone recited, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Rainbow took another breath, then said, "Alright. Here it goes."

Rainbow shuffled her hooves, darted her eyes around, and began blushing. As she gathered her courage Pinkie leaned forward, her eyes wide with excited anticipation.

Rainbow licked her lips. "Alright. So, I'm a... a..."

Rainbow tightly shut her eyes. She finally blurted out, "I'mafillyfooler."

Applejack's eyes widened with shock and she said, "Wha-" but she was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who leapt straight into the air with an extremely high, long, dramatic gasp, then shot out of the library, leaving the door lightly creaking as it swayed behind her.

Everyone stared after her, stunned. After a few moments Rainbow sank down, her ears flat against her head. "Well, that went well," she said sulkily. Twilight reached over and patted her shoulder sympathetically.

Everyone turned back to Rainbow. "You... you're really a fillyfooler?" Applejack asked, her shock still evident.

Spike scratched his head. "Uhh... what's a fillyfooler?"

"It means I like Mares," Rainbow said flatly. Spike's eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "You like Mares...?" His eyes then shot open, and he said, "You mean, like, you like like Mares?!"

Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah."

Spike slumped against his chair. "Wow. That's... weird."

"No it isn't, Spikey-wikey," Rarity said. "There are actually many ponies like that. There's nothing weird about it- it's just a little uncommon, that's all."

Rainbow perked back up. Rarity was on her side?

Applejack huffed. "Ah disagree," she said, frowning. "It's more than just weird- it's downright wrong."

Rarity and Twilight turned angrily to Applejack. "Why do you say that?" Twilight asked.

"It just ain't natural," Applejack replied. "A Mare oughta be with a Stallion, and a Stallion oughta be with a Mare. That's the nature of things."

"And why, pray tell, do you make that declaration?" Rarity asked.

Applejack glared at her. "You can't make a foal with two Mares or two Stallions. If it were meant to be that way, they could. But they can't. And the line has to be drawn somewhere- say it's alright for a Mare to be with another Mare or a Stallion to be with another Stallion, next thing ya know they'll say it's alright for a pony to be with lotsa other ponies, or for me to be with Big Mac, or Winona."

Twilight seemed especially incensed, but before she could respond Rarity said, "Now Applejack, you have no basis for that claim. Ponies are already allowed to be with their own gender, and nopony except crazy ponies are trying to marry their pets or their siblings. Ponies also said that it wasn't right for Unicorns to marry Pegasi or Earth ponies."

Applejack stood up. "Ah don't care what ya say. It ain't right- Ah don't want my friends oglin' me without my knowledge, and ah don't want nothin' to do with this."

Twilight placed her hoof on the table. "I'll have you know, Applejack, that I'm bisexual. I like girls too. So if you don't want to be Rainbow's friend anymore, you're not my friend anymore either."

Applejack's eyes widened with shock, then she glared at Twilight. "That's alright by me. Ah don't want friends who keep secrets like that anyway. Goodbye."

Applejack trotted briskly out the door, then slammed it behind her.

Everyone was silent for a while, then Rainbow sank back down, tears welling in her eyes. "Well, great," she said, her voice cracking. "I've lost two of my best friends tonight. Things couldn't be better."

Rarity shook her head. "Of course not, darling." She walked over and comfortingly stroked Rainbow's mane. "You still have me and Twilight." Rarity turned to Fluttershy. "And you too, right, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy was hiding almost completely out of view, trembling behind the table, only her eyes peeking over the edge. Rainbow blinked upon seeing her; she'd completely forgotten that she was there.

"Umm... yes," Fluttershy whispered, rising back up. She was trembling. "Oh dear... Applejack... and Pinkie..."

Tears began welling in Fluttershy's eyes, as well, and then she broke down and began sobbing loudly. "I... I can't believe..."

Rarity trotted over to Fluttershy and embraced her. "Shh, shh..." she whispered soothingly. "It'll be alright."

Rainbow sighed, put her chin on the table, and allowed tears to fall silently from her eyes. "This didn't go nearly as well as I'd hoped..." she muttered.

Rarity turned back to Rainbow, still holding Fluttershy. "Applejack's being ridiculous," she said. "So what if you or Twilight might be attracted to her? It's no different than Spikey's crush on me. He's doing no harm, and we can still be friends."

Rainbow smiled softly. "Well, honestly, I think you're all really hot."

Rarity smiled back. "Well, I'm flattered, just as I said. No harm's been done, and we're still friends."

"And I'll still be your friend," Spike said, standing.

Rainbow smiled at Spike, her tears flowing more quickly. "Thanks."

Spike turned to Twilight. "So, you're a... um, 'fillyfooler' too?"

Twilight smiled. "Yup."

Spike scratched his head. "Wow. So two of my friends are fillyfoolers?"

"Three," Fluttershy whispered, and they all turned back to her. Fluttershy gave them a small smile as she wiped her nose. "I'm a fillyfooler too."

"Wha-" Spike said, growing more stunned by the second. He turned to Rarity. "Are you one too?"

Rarity chuckled. "Oh, no, dear. Although I will admit the very occasional attraction to the odd Mare, by and large only Stallions satisfy my tastes."

They all shared a laugh, and they all felt a little better. Rainbow stood up and said wearily, "I guess I'd better get going now. See ya tomorrow, everypony."

"Just one more thing," Rarity said, standing. "Rainbow, can I tell Sweetie and let her tell her friends?"

Rainbow raised a brow. "Why?"

Rarity smiled enigmatically. "I think they'll benefit from knowing. I'll make sure they don't tell anypony. Trust me."

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, then smiled, shook her head, and shrugged. "Alright. I guess you can. Good night, everypony."

Precocious Crusaders

Rainbow plodded slowly back to the field beneath her home. It was dusk, and the last lights of day were dying behind the distant mountains.

Rainbow's head was drooped low as she treaded through the park. It would take her longer to get home by going this way, but she always liked seeing the small hills and reddening trees here. She thought it might perhaps lift her spirits.

Rainbow thought she could hear the faint sound of distant shouting, but she couldn't make out any words. She stopped and her ear twitched a little at it, but then she shrugged and kept walking, ignoring it.

She then heard a second voice shout behind her, "Oh, Rainbow!"

Rainbow looked behind herself to find Rarity cheerfully trotting up to her. A small smile formed on Rainbow's lips. "Hey, Rare. What's up?" she said, not entirely melancholically.

"Oh, I was just walking home when I saw you," Rarity replied.

Rarity stopped before Rainbow. "Your house isn't this way," she observed.

Rainbow shrugged. "I thought I'd walk through the park."

Rarity smiled. "Well, if you're going home now, my shop's on the way. Would you like for me to walk with you for a bit?"

Rainbow nodded gratefully. "Yeah. That'd be nice."

Rainbow appreciated the company, though Rarity accompanied her silently. She'd just lost Applejack and Pinkie... wow. Those two were probably her best best friends. And now she didn't have them anymore.

The realization made Rainbow feel a little ill. First Gilda, and now Applejack and Pinkie. The friends she had most in common with were of course the friends she'd lost.

Rainbow sighed. Well, at least she and Twilight had their shared love of Daring Do. Maybe she'd go to Twilight for another book recommendation, then they could start discussing that too. And there was always Fluttershy. It was always nice enough just to sit and read a comic with her, or walk with her, or lie with her under the stars...

Rainbow felt herself smiling and lightly blushing at those memories. Then a pang of guilt shot through her, breaking it. No, you had your chance, Rainbow thought. You had Fluttershy. Then you just ditched her the second you weren't lonely anymore. You used her. You don't deserve her.

Rainbow raised a brow at this last thought. "Deserve her"? Where did that come from?

Rainbow's brow furrowed in deep thought. Twilight's talk with her was making her rethink everything.

Now that Rainbow thought about it, she wasn't just attracted to Fluttershy. She liked Fluttershy. A lot. Rainbow felt stupid for not realizing it, but she had had an enormous crush on Fluttershy ever since they first met. Even though Rainbow made out and slept with lots of other girls, she loved and spent more time doing it with Fluttershy than anyone else.

Of course, Fluttershy was so gorgeous that she used to be a supermodel, but that wasn't the only reason; Rainbow had lost her virginity to her. Rainbow asked Fluttershy first, even though she risked rejection and forever having to tell the story of how she, Rainbow Dash, had struck out the first time she asked a girl into bed. She could have asked Gilda first; after all, there was never any chance of Gilda saying no. But even though Rainbow had more in common with Gilda, Rainbow found that she just couldn't measure up to how awesome it was to be with Fluttershy. There was just something about the cute way she blushed, her adorable little voice, and those sweet, stunning blue eyes...

"WHOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Rainbow was pulled suddenly out of her introspection by a loud, elated whoop. It was from the same voice that carried the distant cries from before, but it was much closer now. Now that Rainbow could hear it more clearly, she recognized whose voice it was: Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow and Rarity stopped and astonishedly looked toward the source of the shouting. They could see Pinkie bouncing, flipping, and cartwheeling over the hills, crying, "YEAH!! WHOO-HOO!! ALRIGHT!!" at the top of her lungs.

After Rarity and Rainbow stared open-mouthed at this for a few moments, Rainbow shook her head and shouted, "Hey! Pinkie!"

Pinkie froze halfway through a flip, turned to Rainbow Dash, and squealed excitedly. In an instant she bolted to a standstill before Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow blinked at the enormously smiling face inches away from hers. She stammered, "Uh... what... what are ya doing, Pinkie?"

Pinkie started bouncing and squealing happily. "You're a fillyfooler! It's so great! This is the best surprise ever!"

Confetti spontaneously appeared over their heads as Pinkie continued to laugh and cartwheel in circles around them. Rainbow and Rarity silently stared at Pinkie for a few more moments. Rainbow confusedly said, "You... you're not angry?"

Pinkie suddenly stopped and tilted her head. "Angry? Why would I be angry?"

Pinkie grinned and started bouncing again. She sang, "You're a fillyfooleeeeeeer!"

Rainbow anxiously shushed at her. "Not so loud, Pinkie! It's a secret, remember?!"

Pinkie gasped and dropped to the ground, blushing and covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Dashie!" she said.

Rainbow sighed. "It's alright, Pinkie. Just... be more careful, okay?"

Rarity cleared her throat. "So, do you like Mares too, Pinkie?"

Pinkie leapt back to her feet and nodded vigorously. "Mm-Hmm! I like Stallions, too! Stud Stallions, magnificent Mares, I like 'em all!"

"Four," Rarity said.

Pinkie stopped moving and she and Rainbow turned perplexedly to Rarity. "Huh?" they said together.

"I'm going to have to tell Spike that four of his friends are fillyfoolers," Rarity elaborated.

Pinkie made another long, dramatic gasp. She crouched down in anticipation. "Our other friends, too? Which ones?! Which ones?!"

Rarity chuckled lightly. "Twilight and Fluttershy are, too."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Applejack's definitely not," she muttered coldly.

Pinkie stood back up. "Huh?"

Rarity sighed sadly. "Applejack... didn't take it well," she said gently.

Pinkie gasped distressedly. "Why not?" she whispered.

Rarity placed her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Applejack's... an old-fashioned pony. With old-fashioned values. She just... doesn't quite understand it."

Pinkie was utterly distressed and confused. "But why not? Does she think there's something wrong with it? What is it?"

Rarity looked to the side, formulating an answer. "Well, firstly, her family is very strictly traditional. For the Apple family, it's expected for a foal to grow up on the farm, marry another Earth pony of the opposite gender, have children, raise them on the farm, and repeat the cycle. It makes some sense; they have to get more help since most ponies don't want to work on farms, and only Earth ponies are suitable for bucking apples from the trees."

Pinkie's eyes widened in shock. "So they don't even let their children marry Pegasi or Unicorns?"

Rarity groaned lightly. "Well... no, that's not it. They... um... let their children marry Pegasi and Unicorns, but they strongly pressure their children not to. When one of them marries a non-Earth pony, an Earth pony who doesn't want to farm, or another pony of the same gender, the rest of the Apple family will shun them until they die or they leave."

Pinkie gasped. "But that's... that's..."

"Bucking backwards?" Rainbow suggested.

"Eh... I wouldn't put it that strongly," Rarity said. "I'd say more misguided."

Pinkie stomped her hoof. "But that's wrong! Ponies shouldn't abandon their family members like that!"

Rarity sighed. "I agree."

Pinkie turned towards Sweet Apple Acres. "I'm gonna go talk some sense into that cowgirl!" she declared fiercely.

Rarity shook her head. "I'm afraid you can't," she said sadly. Pinkie turned back to her. "Why not? Maybe if we just told her-"

"No. It doesn't work that way. Applejack's too stubborn to change her mind. At least not without something rather... drastic."

"Like what?" Pinkie asked.

"Well," Rarity replied, "probably the simplest way would be if she's repressing an attraction to Mares herself, and something forced her to confront it. She'd almost certainly repress it deeper and grow worse, or come to some kind of acceptance of it and get better."

Pinkie smiled and bounced. "Do you think that would work?"

"No, because I don't think Applejack is attracted to Mares."

"How can you tell?"

"By observing her. Applejack is uncomfortable and cold towards Stallions, but completely comfortable around other Mares. At least as long as she doesn't think she's being sexualized by them. Anything having anything to do with sexuality makes Applejack uncomfortable, but she's perfectly comfortable around Mares; therefore she doesn't associate Mares with sexuality, and therefore we can reasonably deduce that she's not attracted to them."

Rainbow rubbed her head. "So, uh... what else could make her get it?"

Rarity sighed wearily. "Well, since I'm on your side and Pinkie turned out to be a fillyfooler too, Applejack's more or less lost all of her friends. Maybe that alone will do it. If it doesn't... well, then there's a chance that she'll never understand it, and she'll never be our friend again. There are a few things more traumatic than losing all of your friends, but not many."

The three of them sat silently together. There was an air of depression hanging over all of them. After a while Rainbow smiled and said, "Well, at least we still have you," looking at Pinkie.

Pinkie tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you hated me too," Rainbow said. "When you left, I thought you'd run away from me."

Pinkie gasped again. "You did? Oh, I'm so sorry, Dashie! I didn't mean to!"

Rarity smiled. "All's well that ends well, right?"

Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah. All's not well, though. We still don't have Applejack back."

"We still might get her back," Rarity replied comfortingly.

Rarity and Rainbow bid Pinkie farewell, then Pinkie walked back to Sugarcube Corner, her head low and ears drooping. "Today I got a great surprise, and now I've got a terrible surprise too," she muttered miserably.

Rainbow and Rarity walked the remaining distance to the Carousel Boutique together in silence. Once Rarity bid Rainbow farewell, Rainbow flew back to her house, immediately went to bed, and took a much-needed rest.

* * *

Though Rarity still had some lingering melancholy from yesterday, she was able to rather cheerfully return to her usual daily schedule. She made herself some breakfast, opened her shop, sold some dresses, and when it was six o' clock she closed it back up and worked on sewing another dress for an hour. It was Friday, which meant that Sweetie Belle was coming over for dinner. Rarity sighed at this; the last few meals she'd had with others had ended rather disastrously, and she wished she could have even one day of eating alone in silence and tranquility.

However, there was one consolation: though Sweetie didn't know about homosexuality yet, their parents were completely accepting of gay ponies and Rarity had no reason to believe Sweetie Belle wouldn't be. It was extremely unlikely that this social meal would end in tears like the last two did.

Rarity groaned. Of course, things were much more uncertain about the aftermath of this meal. Rarity hoped that her conversation with Sweetie Belle wouldn't lead to even more heartache than everypony was already having, especially since she was going to give Sweetie permission to tell the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. She needed to do it, of course; Sweetie's gay friends would need all the support they could get. But the real wild card was Apple Bloom...

After Rarity had finished her dress, she mounted it on one of her mannequins. Once she had made finishing touches to it, she prepared dinner. It was nothing more than a simple salad, but Rarity had several dressings that could make it taste like a delicacy. When she had chosen one, she set the table and began drawing up another design as she awaited her sister.

Thirteen minutes later, her bell rang and she heard Sweetie's high voice call, "Hi, Rarity! You won't believe what me and the other crusaders did today!"

Rarity smiled and turned to her sister, looking from behind her red reading-glasses. "Hello, Sweetie. Well, why don't you tell me all about it during dinner? Just let me finish up here."

Rarity's white, curly-maned sister grinned. "Okay!" she squealed, and she trotted over to the table.

After Rarity added a few more lines, she folded up her glasses and sat at the table with Sweetie.

Rarity listened attentively as her sister recounted her day of wagon-riding, butterfly catching, and synchronized swimming to her. As Rarity expected, each of these endeavors had ended disastrously, and she chuckled at Sweetie's descriptions of each of her spectacular failures.

"... and then we had to get a ladder to get Scootaloo down from the tree! After we got her down, I came here!"

"Sounds like an exciting day, Sweetie." Rarity took a sip of her water. Rarity sat in silence for a while, prompting Sweetie to say, "Hey, is something wrong?"

Rarity shook her head. "No, I'm alright." She took another sip, sighed, and said, "Sweetie, I have some important things to tell you."

Sweetie frowned anxiously. "Is it bad?"

"Ah, some of it is. But not... enormously bad."

Sweetie Belle nodded apprehensively. "Okay..." she said uncertainly.

Rarity took one more sip. "First of all, do you know what 'gay' means?"

Sweetie shook her head.

Rarity sighed. "Alright. Well, 'gay' is just another way of saying 'homosexual.' What that means is to be attracted to other ponies of the same gender. For instance, a gay Mare would have another Mare for her Special Somepony, and by the same token a gay Stallion would have another Stallion for his Special Somepony."

Sweetie Belle looked a little confused. "You mean... like, dating and kissing and stuff?"

"Yes. And such a couple is called a 'gay couple' or a 'homosexual couple'."

"So... are Lyra and Bonbon a gay couple?"

Rarity smiled. "Why, yes, they are. You're very observant, Sweetie."

Sweetie began looking anxious again. "But... that's weird. Why would Mares have other Mares for Special Someponies?"

"Because they like other Mares. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just how they are. Most ponies aren't that way, but some are. I can almost guarantee that you're friends with at least one gay pony."

Sweetie's eyes widened. "Really? Who?"

"Really, it could be any of your friends. Some ponies don't know who they're attracted to until they get a bit older, so some of your friends might be gay but not realize it yet. There's even a chance that you might be."

Sweetie gasped. "What? But I'm not! I like colts!"

Rarity smiled and said gently, "I'm not saying you are, but you might be. There's also a chance that you like colts and fillies, which would make you bisexual. That just means that you like both."

"I don't think I like fillies."

"That's perfectly alright, too. It's really little more than a matter of taste."

"Alright."

"I have another thing to tell you. But first you have to promise not to tell anypony unless I give you permission."

Sweetie nodded. "I promise."

Rarity sighed. "Alright. So, secondly, most of my best friends friends are gay. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are gay, and Twilight and Pinkie Pie are bisexual. Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie all told me just today, but I've known Fluttershy is for a while."

Sweetie's mouth fell open. "They are?!" she asked, stunned.

Rarity nodded. "Yes."

"But... why can't I tell anyone?"

Rarity took a deep breath before answering, "Because there are a lot of ponies that don't think it's okay."

"Why not?"

"Because they're different from most ponies, and that scares them. Remember how everypony used to be afraid of Zecora? It's the same thing. It can actually be dangerous for gay ponies to let other ponies know. They often get bullied for it, and sometimes even get hurt for it."

Sweetie looked horrified. "Ponies will hurt gay ponies?"

"Sometimes. Thankfully it's somewhat rare, since Celestia is very strict in her forbiddance of it; to do so is called a 'hate crime,' and you can go to prison for it."

Rarity looked out of the window, smiling. "Ponyville's actually a popular home for gay ponies because it's considered very safe. Canterlot is virtually free of hate violence since Celestia personally oversees it, and Ponyville enjoys those benefits as well since it's so close. Canterlot is essentially the go-to destination for gay ponies who want to live in a city, and Ponyville for those who can't afford it or who want to live in a small town."

Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves. "Do some hate crimes happen here anyway?"

"Almost never. But there are still some intolerant ponies here."

"Like who?"

Rarity grimaced. "Like Applejack."

Sweetie gasped. "Applejack? She... she-"

"Oh, don't worry; Applejack doesn't hurt anypony. She's a good pony. But... ah, how to put this... she's been raised to believe that Stallions should only be with Mares, and vice versa. She believes that being gay is wrong."

"But... but doesn't she know your friends are gay now? What's she gonna do?"

"Well, she's broken up with us. It's unfortunate, and I'm really quite sad about it. But I must respect her and her beliefs, and hope she eventually understands."

"Applejack... Applejack isn't your friend anymore? But..."

Sweetie Belle started tearing up. "Does that mean I... I can't be friends with Apple Bloom anymore?"

Rarity shook her head. "I doubt it. Applejack might not want to associate with us now, and she might not even want Apple Bloom to associate with any of us, but one good thing about the Apples is they don't believe in interfering in others' business. Even if Applejack doesn't want Apple Bloom to be your friend anymore, I don't think she'll stop her."

Sweetie Belle sighed relievedly and wiped her eyes.

Rarity continued, "You're allowed to tell Scootaloo and Apple Bloom that my friends are fillyfoolers. But if you do, you must promise to make them promise to not tell anypony else."

Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow. "What's a fillyfooler? Does that mean a gay Mare?"

"Yes."

"Ah." Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes. "Why am I allowed to tell the other Crusaders?"

"It's not my place to tell you. All you need to know is I think it would do them good to know."

Sweetie Belle stared quizzically at Rarity before she said, "Alright..."

Rarity stood up. "It's time for you to go home. Say hi to mother and father for me."

Sweetie Belle gave Rarity a small smile. "Alright."

Sweetie Belle left the Boutique, waving at Rarity. "Good night, sis!"

"Good night," Rarity called back as the door closed.

Rarity sighed relievedly and stretched luxuriously across her couch. She prayed that she hadn't just made a huge mistake. She also hoped that Scootaloo wouldn't feel so alone now...

* * *

The clamor of ponies going about their business in Ponyville was the first sound that Scootaloo heard every morning. As the day began and the familiar sound of the bustling streets filled Scootaloo's ears, she blearily fluttered her eyes open. She yawned and stretched, causing her quilt to fall from her sleeping-bag. After she had sat up and brushed her short, hot pink mane out of her eyes, she unzipped her tent's flap and looked outside. The alley and the exterior of her tent were slightly damp from last night's rain. It was a bit cloudy out today, but not too chilly. She could probably leave her scarf behind today.

Scootaloo went back into her tent, dug up her toothbrush and toothpaste, and brushed her teeth. After she had rinsed her mouth and brush and disposed of the waste water in the alley's gutter, she looked towards the distant clocktower for the time. It was six eleven. Scootaloo smiled. She'd have plenty of time to get breakfast before school today.

Scootaloo put on her helmet, exited her tent, mounted her scooter, and rapidly beat her small wings to propel her as she rode to Sugarcube Corner. Upon arriving there, she opened the door and rang the shop's bell. She was immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie, who rushed to the door and said, "Hi, Scootaloo! Do you want some muffins?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said.

Pinkie grinned. "What kind?"

"Blueberry, please," Scootaloo replied. Pinkie winked at her. "Coming right up!"

As Pinkie bounced back into the shop, Mrs. Cake peeked her head in from the kitchen. "Hello, Scootaloo!" she said cheerfully.

"Hi, Mrs. Cake!" Scootaloo called back. "When's the baby coming?"

Mrs. Cake smiled and walked into the room. She was a middle aged, pleasantly plump blue mare with swirling pink hair. She had three cupcakes for her cutie mark and was wearing a white apron over her prominent belly. As she gently stroked it she answered, "Very soon now. We actually had my baby shower only a few days ago. Pinkie planned it, of course; I don't think I've ever been to a better one!"

Scootaloo grinned. She was very excited to meet the cakes' new baby. She was even more excited to watch it as it grew up; with an older sister like Pinkie, how could it grow to be anything but awesome?

Pinkie soon game back with a small tray bearing three golden, steaming, wonderful-smelling blueberry cupcakes. Once she set it down on the ground before Scootaloo, the orange Pegasus filly immediately wolfed them down. As usual, they were excellent; nothing could beat the Cakes' baking.

As Scootaloo was finishing her last muffin, she saw Pinkie merrily mixing more batter, grinning and humming to herself. She seemed like she was in an especially good mood. After Scootaloo swallowed the bite she was currently chewing, she asked, "What's up, Pinkie?"

"Nothing," Pinkie replied, almost singing. Scootaloo wasn't fooled. Pinkie was the very image of every fairy tale's depiction of a maiden so in love she was drunk on it.

Scootaloo smirked. "Are you thinking about somepony, Pinkie?"

"Mm-Hmm," Pinkie said, almost absentmindedly.

Scootaloo giggled, then called, "Well, I'd better get ready for school. See ya all later!"

"Bye!" The Cakes and Pinkie called back.

As Scootaloo rode back to her tent, she wondered who it was that held Pinkie's affections. Did they go on a date on Hearts and Hooves day? Would she start seeing Pinkie with a new Special Somepony soon?

Thinking about it reminded Scootaloo of what- or rather, who- she'd thought about all Hearts and Hooves day. As she watched all the couples go about their romantic outings, she had blissfully imagined herself and the object of her own affections in their place. She and her idol, the Mare of her dreams: Rainbow Dash.

In Scootaloo's eyes, Rainbow Dash was perfect. In many ways, she embodied what Scootaloo wished she was; she was confident, she was strong, she was fast, and she was beautiful. Scootaloo had admired and adored Rainbow ever since she'd met her when she had first moved to Ponyville.

One of Scootaloo's greatest ambitions was to be able to fly. Her other great dream was to be loved by Rainbow; for Rainbow to be her lover, and hold and touch and comfort her, and also be her mentor, and push and train and support her until she could finally defy gravity. If that were to happen, Scootaloo would be in pure bliss; she'd touch the sky and share a romance with the greatest flyer and most amazing pony of all time. She'd be in heaven in the embrace of an angel.

Of course, Scootaloo knew it could never be more than a dream. It could only be hers; if it ever touched Rainbow's ears, Scootaloo was sure she'd lose all she had with Rainbow; Scootaloo knew all too well what other Pegasi thought of her.

Between Scootaloo's small, flightless wings and her homosexuality, she'd been at the very bottom of the heap in Cloudsdale. The other kids were ruthless to her, and she was the first choice for everypony's cruel pranks and the butt of everypony's cruel jokes. Nopony wanted to adopt her (of course), so one day Scootaloo decided she'd run away, inspired the story Ms. Snowpeak told her to comfort her of two fillyfooler Pegasi who'd moved to Ponyville together.

Scootaloo first decided that she would run to Ponyville; firstly because she knew it had a reputation of being more welcoming to ponies like her than other towns, and secondly because she hoped she'd be able to meet those two fillyfoolers Ms. Snowpeak told her about (Ms. Snowpeak refused to tell Scootaloo their names). Once she'd decided that, she listed the things she'd need to survive: a shelter, warm bedding, toiletries, and transportation. Once she'd determined these, she began scourging around for fallen money around cloudsdale. Scootaloo was patient and vigilant, and through the slow collection of bits (which she kept in a shoebox she hid under her low bunk) she was slowly able to collect the necessary funds to purchase what she needed.

It took a while, but not as long as Scootaloo would have thought; she had planned rather frugally, and she found herself surprised at how much money ponies accidentally dropped. Within a relatively short time Scootaloo was able to purchase a small tent, a sleeping bag, a large, plush pillow, a warm quilt, and a backpack. When she had all of her supplies and had stolen her toothbrush and some toothpaste, she wrote a note telling Ms. Snowpeak that she was running away and not to worry. On that night she left the note on her bed, packed her supplies, and snuck out of the orphanage.

After Scootaloo was out she ran to the edge of Cloudsdale, where she broke a small chunk of cloud off of the city's floor and carefully balanced on it as it floated down to the wide, sparse woods below. When she reached the ground, she ran deeper into the woods. She ran for a very long time, ensuring that nopony would find her. When she was satisfied that she was sufficiently hidden, she set up camp and went to sleep.

It was quite exciting for Scootaloo to be a runaway. As she traveled the long road to Ponyville she camped every night and ate meals of fruit that she took from the trees and filled her backpack with.

In just a few days, she arrived at Ponyville. What they said was right; Ponyville was a million times nicer than Cloudsdale, since it was way less competitive and aggressive than the hierarchical Pegasus city.

Scootaloo settled in and made herself at home in the alleys. She immediately registered herself at the school and made herself known around the town. The residents were at first a bit concerned, since she was a runaway child vagrant. Nonetheless, eventually they grew used to it, since the town was safe and Scootaloo was happy and didn't cause trouble.

Scootaloo was warmly welcomed by Ms. Cheerilee and quickly became friends with the other students (except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, of course). She had no trouble living comfortably; her tent and sleeping bag were always very warm and cosy, and Apple Bloom told her that she was welcome to pick apples from the orchard whenever she felt like it. She was also always able to get free muffins from Pinkie Pie and the Cakes, and the Apples were always happy to have her eat with them, so Scootaloo never went hungry.

As for entertainment, Scootaloo had no trouble being able to join the other fillies and colts in whatever activities they might have been occupied with. Hardly anypony cared that she couldn't fly, and for those who did the "cool" points she lost for it were balanced out by the ones she gained by being a runaway. As for entertaining herself, Scootaloo continued to forage for loose coins on the streets and saved these up to buy herself everything else she wanted; comics, toys, games, and since Rainbow had introduced her to Daring Do, books. She also always set aside a portion of the bits she collected towards purchasing herself a house someday. All in all, Scootaloo's life was pretty awesome.

However, Scootaloo never found the fillyfoolers Ms. Snowpeak talked about. Scootaloo had hoped that if she could find them, they might become her mentor figures and be someone she could talk to. Alas, the only outed gay ponies Scootaloo could find were a few gay couples of Earth ponies and Unicorns- but never any Pegasi. Because of this Scootaloo still felt a little lonely, as she didn't have anyone she could totally confide in.

Nonetheless, though Scootaloo was still somewhat alone and having Rainbow Dash could only be a dream, it was still her dream. She would always love Rainbow and do anything for her, even if her feelings were never returned.

When Scootaloo returned to her tent, she gathered up her schoolbooks, packed them into her bag, and rode to school. She was early when she got there, so she greeted Cheerilee, unpacked her belongings, parked her scooter, and read Daring Do and the Philosopher's Stone as she waited for the rest of her classmates. When she heard Apple Bloom enter and say, "Hey, Scootaloo!" she marked her spot, closed her book, and turned smilingly to her. "Hey," Scootaloo replied.

Apple Bloom trotted over to the desk beside Scootaloo's and said, "Ah thought of somethin' we could do for Cutie Mark Crusadin' today! Since we love Darin' Do so much, Ah thought we could maybe try treasure huntin'!"

Scootaloo grinned. "Hey, maybe that really is my special talent! I'm really good at finding money on the streets; maybe I'll also be good at finding treasure!"

Sweetie Belle then entered and said, "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Sweetie!" the other Crusaders shouted back. Sweetie sat on the other side of Apple Bloom and said, "I have something to tell you guys."

"What is it?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Uh, I think we should wait until our meeting," Sweetie Belle replied. "It's actually a secret, and I'm not allowed to tell anypony else."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo groaned, but Scootaloo said, "Alright."

The Crusaders all fidgeted and restlessly checked the clock throughout the entire class. During recess their classmates noted how antsy they were, and the day seemed to drag more and more slowly the closer school came to being out.

At last, however, the end bell rang and the Crusaders galloped straight out of the schoolhouse toward their clubhouse. Once they were there, they exhaustedly panted for about a minute before Apple Bloom said, "So, Sweetie Belle... huff... huff... What did you want to tell us?"

Sweetie Belle panted for a moment more before she said, "Okay. Sit down, girls."

Once they all had, Sweetie said, "First, you all have to Pinkie Promise that you won't tell anypony."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo recited, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Once this was completed, Sweetie said, "Alright. Here it goes: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are all fillyfoolers."

Apple Bloom confusedly tilted her head and said, "Huh?" but she jumped when Scootaloo suddenly shouted with bulging eyes, "WHAT?!"

Sweetie Belle jumped, too, and both of them stared at Scootaloo. Scootaloo walked up to Sweetie Belle. "They are?!" she said. "They're really fillyfoolers?!"

"Uh... yeah," Sweetie Belle replied, still stunned.

"Um... what's a fillyfooler?" Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo immediately turned around and said, "It's a girl who likes other girls!"

Apple Bloom was still confused. "Other girls? Wait... you mean, like, like like?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied, sitting back down.

Apple Bloom was absolutely dumbfounded. "So... Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy all like other Mares?" she said.

Sweetie nodded. "Yep."

"How do you know?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Rarity told me," Sweetie Belle replied. "She told me that they told her."

"Why... why can't we tell?" Apple Bloom said.

"Rarity said it might be dangerous for them. She said she wanted us to know because she thought it'd be good for us for some reason..." Sweetie Belle trailed off as she and Apple Bloom turned to Scootaloo, who was obliviously smiling in absolute glee.

"Uh... Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom said.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said, breaking out of her trance.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom continued to stare at Scootaloo for a moment before Sweetie Belle said, "Hey Scootaloo, are you a fillyfooler?"

Scootaloo flinched and blushed intensely. "I... I..."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "Hey, I don't care if you are. I'll still be your friend. If you are, your secret's safe with me."

Apple Bloom blinked rapidly. "Wait. You... you like girls too, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo shrank to the floor, looking away. There was no escaping it now. "Don't tell anypony," she begged.

Sweetie shook her head. "I won't." She nudged Apple Bloom. "You won't either, right, Apple Bloom?"

"Ah... Ah guess," Apple Bloom muttered. Her face was still contorted with thought.

"How did you guess?" Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie grinned. "Rarity told me that it would be good for you two to know, and that she was sure I had gay friends. And you looked really happy about her friends being gay, too."

Scootaloo blushed harder.

Sweetie Belle turned to Apple Bloom, who was still thinking hard. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah..." Apple Bloom muttered. "It's just so... so..."

Sweetie Belle grinned. "I know it's a little weird. But we'll get used to it."

Sweetie leapt back up excitedly. "In the meantime, what should we do?"

The other Crusaders perked up, the previous topic forgotten. "How about we go treasure huntin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

The others enthusiastically agreed.

When the day was ending and the Crusaders all went home (as usual without any new cutie marks), Scootaloo went back to her tent with tremendous excitement. When she arrived, she anxiously skimmed through her comics until night fell, when it was safe.

When it had grown sufficiently dark and quiet, Scootaloo silently went outside and walked a few feet behind her tent. After counting thirty-six bricks from the edge of one of the buildings, she found a cluster of loose bricks in the wall. She pulled the bricks away, revealing two hidden cardboard boxes. The smaller one contained her savings of fallen bits. The other one held her pornography stash.

After accidentally finding a discarded erotica novel in the garbage some time ago, Scootaloo began to develop a taste for smut and other things that sexually excited her. She first sought out more books like it, then when she found an erotic illustration in one she began searching for pictures, as well.

Through the same dedicated searching she used to get her money, she combed through garbage cans and dumpsters, slowly developing a collection of porn magazines and books. She also hid these the same way and the same place she hid her money.

However, most of what Scootaloo found did not satisfy her, as most of what she found depicted heterosexual couples. She had absolutely no interest in the Stallions (even when they were attractive, which for the average Stallion model was most definitely not the case), but she was able to find a handful of publications which were dedicated solely to Mare-on-Mare action. When she learned their titles, she discreetly took a free magazine catalogue, rented a PO box at the post office, and ordered subscriptions to several of them. She ordered for them to come in large, unmarked envelopes, so she could take them back to her tent without anybody suspecting what they were. Scootaloo occupied herself for many nights with these, usually imagining herself and Rainbow in place of the models she saw.

Now, however, she wasn't selecting a magazine. She pulled her stash into her tent, then pulled the trashy magazines and novels out until she reached the bottom, where she found her most favored item: a poster of Rainbow Dash she'd ordered from a catalogue in a sports magazine.

Though this picture was Scootaloo's favorite, it was easily the tamest; Rainbow was only giving the camera a flirtatious smirk in a mildly suggestive pose. Nonetheless, it was of Rainbow Dash, and that's what made it special.

Scootaloo blushed as she gently ran her hoof over the image of Rainbow's face. "Rainbow..." she whispered.

Scootaloo couldn't believe it. Rainbow was a fillyfooler, too. She wondered if she was dreaming, but didn't slap herself for fear of ending it.

Scootaloo felt as though she could finally fly. Where she had only an unreachable fantasy before, she now had a real chance.

She cringed. Rainbow liked girls, true, but that gave Scootaloo no reason to believe that Rainbow would like her. After all, she was Rainbow Dash, the most awesome Pegasus to ever grace the skies. She could probably have any girl she wanted. Why would the best flier in the world want Scootaloo, one of the world's only flightless Pegasi?

Scootaloo suddenly realized one more thing: Rainbow was significantly older than her. That might be a problem; not only was there a chance that Rainbow wouldn't be attracted to her because of it, but Scootaloo was also well aware of the strict laws, both legally and socially, against adult ponies having sexual relationships with fillies and colts. This problem had occurred to her before; when she looked up what would happen if she and Rainbow were to be girlfriends and somepony were to find out, she learned that Rainbow would get thrown in prison for a long time. She wanted to know why, so she researched more and found out that it was because ponies thought that it was damaging and dangerous to the children involved. They thought that the children in such relationships were being exploited.

Scootaloo pounded the ground beside the poster. "No," she whispered. She wouldn't be getting exploited or damaged; she would initiate it, and she knew that Rainbow would never hurt her.

Scootaloo sat up, a fierce determination in her eyes. She was going to try with every ounce of her ability to win Rainbow's love. She would learn everything she could about Rainbow, then play her cards very carefully. If Rainbow simply didn't like her, it would hurt, but that would be okay. But Scootaloo would absolutely not let those stupid laws come between them. If Rainbow did like her, and did want to be with her, Scootaloo wouldn't let anything stop them. She'd convince Rainbow to become her girlfriend, then they'd carefully keep it a secret from the rest of the world. At least at first; when Scootaloo was in her late teens, they could openly date and pretend that they just started. Rainbow would teach her how to fly, and Scootaloo would be the most amazing, loyal, adoring lover Rainbow ever had in return.

Scootaloo longingly stared down at the poster. She would begin her quest to win Rainbow's heart tomorrow.

First Moves

When Scootaloo woke, her sleeping bag was drenched with sweat and her hoof was still on her poster of Rainbow Dash.

When she stirred, her body complained with ache. She groaned, then looked around her tent. The items of her stash still lay piled where she'd left them to reach the poster of Rainbow last night.

Scootaloo sighed with exasperation at herself. She should have put them all back in her hiding spot last night, but she'd exhausted herself so much that she fell right to sleep before she could. Now she'd have to leave them here until night and hope that no one would go into her tent and find them.

Scootaloo smacked her lips and crawled out of her bag. She stretched, then gathered her books and magazines back into her box. Before she closed the box she put two of her non-pornographic comics on top; that way, if anypony looked inside they'd just think the box was filled with them and leave it alone without investigating further.

Today was a Saturday, so Scootaloo had no school. Normally she would have taken the opportunity to find her friends and play outside, but there was now a far more interesting and important pursuit to devote her free day to. She needed to begin gathering information and plan out how she was going to play this game.

Scootaloo knew that there were a few things she needed to determine: first, why Rainbow had decided to come out now. There was a good chance that a desire for a romantic relationship influenced Rainbow's decision to do it, and Scootaloo fully intended to exploit that if it were so. That would most likely be the easiest thing for Scootaloo to draw out, so she decided she would learn this first.

Second, Scootaloo needed to learn about Rainbow's romantic history. The most ideal scenario was for Rainbow to have been involved with other girls before, but for none of those old flames to be in Rainbow's life now. The younger Rainbow and her partners were, the better.

Third, Scootaloo needed to learn if she had a chance with Rainbow. Unfortunately, as critical as this detail was, this would probably be the most difficult to determine; she'd probably completely lose any chance she had by outright asking Rainbow if she did, and she couldn't probe the others for information without exposing her interest in Rainbow. If she had any hope of becoming Rainbow's girlfriend, nopony could know anything about it. If even one pony became suspicious, everything would be ruined. Still, Scootaloo could probably learn one or two things by carefully observing Rainbow.

Fourth, if Scootaloo had any rivals, she needed to learn who they were and determine what to do about them. However, the only thing she could do about this now was wait and watch.

Lastly, Scootaloo needed to determine how she would woo Rainbow. However, as this would most likely be dependent on the previous items, she decided to concern herself with it later.

Once Scootaloo was satisfied with her basic plan, she decided that she needed a bath. She smiled. That would suit her perfectly anyway; Rarity and Fluttershy would be in the spa today, and Scootaloo could begin her search with them. After all, Sweetie Belle had learned about it from Rarity, so Rarity could almost certainly point her in the right direction.

Scootaloo reached into her sleeping bag and pulled out a small patchwork bag. This was her purse, which she always replenished at night after she'd used it so that it always held twenty bits. Once she had it, she looped it over her wings, put on her helmet, got on her scooter, and rode to Lotus and Aloe's spa.

Once she had reached the bathhouse, she parked her scooter and entered to the friendly greeting of the sisters. "'Ello, Scootaloo!" Lotus said. The blue, pink-maned Earth pony stepped out from behind the counter and asked, "How can we help you today?"

Scootaloo pulled her purse off of her wings. "I'd like a hot bath, please," she said.

Lotus smiled. "Of course!"

"How much will it cost?" Scootaloo asked.

Lotus laughed. "Oh, you don't need to pay, Scootaloo! You're free to have a bath on ze house today."

Scootaloo smiled thankfully. "Thanks. By the way, are Rarity and Fluttershy here today?"

"Zey are," Lotus replied.

"Where are they now?"

"Zey are getting hooficures at ze moment."

"Can you tell them that I'm here, and that when they're done they can come in with me?"

"Of course," Aloe replied cheerfully.

Once Scootaloo had picked her purse back up, she trotted into one of the bath rooms and submerged herself in the pleasantly hot water. She placed her purse to the side, sighed, and relaxed, allowing the tension in her muscles to wash away.

She had been lounging in the water for only a few minutes when Rarity and Fluttershy entered, wearing bath robes and holding their manes up in towels. They both smiled at her. "Hello, Scootaloo!" Rarity said. "What an unexpected pleasure!"

"Hi," Scootaloo called back.

Rarity and Fluttershy shed their robes and stepped into the water, as well. Once they were in, Rarity said, "Lotus tells me you wanted to see us?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied. She looked over at Fluttershy. "Sweetie Belle told me that you, Rainbow, Twilight, and Pinkie are all fillyfoolers. Is it true?"

Fluttershy blushed a little and looked down. "Yes," she said, a little quietly.

Scootaloo grinned and said, "Don't tell anyone, but I am too."

Fluttershy looked up in surprise, but Rarity smiled wittingly. "I beg your pardon, but I suspected that you were."

Scootaloo turned surprisedly to her. "Really? How?"

Rarity chuckled. "As it turns out, I've known about Fluttershy even before she came out to our other friends. I'm actually fairly good at guessing such things; between being friends with Stephen Magnet and Fluttershy and Lyra and Bon Bon and several other members of the non-heterosexual community, you could say I have a finely-tuned gaydar. I've actually suspected as much of Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie as well."

Scootaloo blushed and sank deeper into the water. "How can you tell?"

"Part of my talent is the ability to detect other ponies' tastes and wants. I learn by getting to know and observing them."

Scootaloo's blush deepened. This could potentially be a problem. "So... could you... could you tell, like... who I liked?"

Rarity smiled slyly at Scootaloo. "Perhaps. But rest assured that I don't spread other ponies' secrets. That would be in the very worst taste. Anything I think or learn stays with me."

Scootaloo sighed relievedly. However, she noticed that Fluttershy had begun blushing harder, as well. "What's up, Fluttershy?" Scootaloo asked.

Fluttershy looked up suddenly. "Oh, nothing."

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She'd have to keep Fluttershy in mind, just in case.

Scootaloo turned back to Rarity. "By the way, why did your other friends decide to come out?"

"Well, Rainbow was the first, and the rest sort of followed suit."

Scootaloo had to force herself from breaking into a huge grin. Rainbow did it first. This was going well so far. "Do you know why Rainbow decided to do it first?"

Rarity thought about it for a moment. "It seemed to me as though Twilight had something to do with it."

"She did," Fluttershy interjected. The others turned to her. She continued, "I've known that Rainbow is also gay since we were fillies. I talked to Twilight about it, and Twilight said she'd go talk to Rainbow about it."

"Fluttershy," Rarity said sternly, "did you tell Twilight one of Rainbow's secrets without her permission?"

"Oh no," Fluttershy reassured her quickly. "She guessed."

Scootaloo frowned. Thanks to Fluttershy, she'd gotten some good news and some bad news: the good news was that there was a greater chance that Rainbow had been in a romantic relationship with a filly before. The bad news was that that filly was possibly Fluttershy, who was still one of Rainbow's best friends. There was a significant chance that Fluttershy was a potential threat to Scootaloo, especially since the events that had led up to Rainbow's confession seemed to be directly tied to both of them.

Scootaloo closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She'd have to work quickly; this opportunity was more urgent than she'd thought.

* * *

Twilight was in the middle of writing an essay on Sunspot, a related plant to the Poison Joke, when she heard a knock on the door. She placed he quill to the side of her desk and called, "Come in!"

Rainbow Dash entered, wearing a weak smile. "Hi, Twilight," she said.

Twilight took off her glasses and gazed concernedly at her friend. "What's wrong?"

Rainbow looked down and dug at the ground. "Well, you said if I ever needed somepony to talk to..."

Rainbow was silent for a moment. "If you're busy, you don't have to..."

Twilight smiled and stood. "I can always talk with you, Rainbow. It's my pleasure."

Rainbow smiled gratefully.

Twilight turned and called to Spike, "I'm going on a walk with Rainbow, Spike! Can you watch the library while I'm gone?"

"No problem!" Spike called back from his little bed on the second floor, without looking away from his comic.

After Twilight had exited with Rainbow and they had begun walking down the path through Ponyville, Twilight said, "So, what did you want to talk about, Rainbow?"

Rainbow blushed a little. "Umm, I've been thinking about a lot of things..."

Twilight nodded expectantly. "Alright. What's the first one?"

"Well, have you heard about Pinkie Pie?"

"No. What about her?"

"Well, it turns out, she didn't run away from me the other day. She was just really excited because... well... she's a fillyfooler too."

Twilight's eyes widened. "She is?"

"Yeah. And... that's kinda one of the things that's been bothering me. You know how you said that you were sure that there were girls who were in love with me? I don't know if I can tell, but... do you think that maybe Pinkie is?"

Twilight stared at Rainbow in stunned silence.

Rainbow continued, "I mean, I know it might just be Pinkie, but... have you noticed how... clingy she is with me? I can't get away from her! But she always wants to be around me. And... she was really, really excited when she found out I like Mares. She was doing flips and cartwheels and cheering and stuff when Rarity and I saw her. I dunno... what do you think?"

Twilight was silent for a moment before answering. "You're right. I can't be sure, since Pinkie's a bit... unpredictable, but if I had to guess I'd say yes, she does like you."

Rainbow looked imploringly at Twilight. "So... what should I do?"

"That's for you to decide."

"I know. But... I've never had this happen before. I mean, if I knew Pinkie liked me a week ago I would've just tried to lure her into bed. But that doesn't feel right anymore. I don't want to hurt her, but I have no idea what to do."

Twilight looked up into the air. "Well, it all depends on how you feel. If you like her back, you could try asking her out. Or if you don't, you could tell her you just want to be friends."

"Honestly, I don't know what I feel. I... I've never thought anypony would be in love with me."

"Learn to live with it. I know at least two girls are in love with you."

Rainbow gaped in surprise. "Really? Who?!"

"It's not my place to say."

Rainbow stared silently at Twilight for a moment. "Are-"

"No. Nonetheless, you need to decide what you want, Rainbow. Weather it's Pinkie, me, or anyone else, if your heart tells you to pursue someone, go after them."

Twilight smiled and continued, "That's all the advise I can give you there. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Rainbow frowned. "Yeah. About Applejack-"

Rainbow abruptly stopped when she spotted Applejack herself exiting a shop a few yards in front of them. Rainbow trotted up to her, calling, "Hey, Applejack!"

Applejack turned to them, then frowned. "Hello, Rainbow. Twilight," she said coldly.

Once Rainbow had reached her, Applejack asked, "What do you want?"

"What gives, Applejack?" Rainbow asked indignantly. "I thought we were friends!"

"Anypony who keeps such awful secrets ain't no friend of mine."

"'Awful'?! What are you talking about?!"

Twilight interjected, "We're sorry we didn't tell you, Applejack. If I'd known you wanted to know, I would have told you sooner."

Applejack sniffed. "Fine."

Rainbow groaned irritably. "Alright. I'm sorry too. I was just afraid you would all hate me if you knew."

"Fine."

"But seriously, why do you hate me?! What, have I done anything to you?"

Applejack glared at Rainbow. "Ah don't want any of my friends oglin' me."

Rainbow glared back. "What, just because I'm gay it means I can't keep my eyes off of any Mare I come across?"

Applejack shot back, "So tell me you haven't ogled me!"

"I..." Rainbow looked away guiltily. "Okay, so maybe I have. But so what?! You're hot, and I check you out sometimes. What's the big deal?!"

Twilight added, "Applejack, Rainbow and I aren't going to do anything to you if you don't want us to. There's honestly no harm in being attracted to your friends. I wouldn't have any problem with it if you liked me."

"Why? You wanna get your hooves on me?"

"No. But even though I don't, I still wouldn't be offended or angry if you did."

"But seriously," Rainbow interjected, "What do you mean, 'awful'?! What's wrong with it?!"

"It just ain't natural," Applejack replied icily. "Ain't no reason for a Mare to wanna be with other Mares."

Rainbow scoffed disgustedly. "What, you think I decided to like Mares?! Do you have any idea what it was like to be a fillyfooler in Cloudsdale or Pegasus academies?! If I could've decided to just stop liking fillies and start liking colts instead, I would have!"

Twilight said, "Applejack, do you really not want to be our friend anymore?"

"No," Applejack replied flatly.

"But... what about Big Mac or Apple Bloom?" Rainbow asked. "If one of them told you they were gay, would you stop being their friend?" Rainbow started tearing up. "Would you abandon them, too?"

"My siblings would never decide to be somethin' like that," Applejack replied self-assuredly. She turned around. "Goodbye," she said, trotting away.

After Applejack had departed, Rainbow's tears flowed more quickly and began falling to the ground. She roared in rage and anguish and pounded the earth at her feet. "What the hay, Applejack?! Why?! Why..."

Rainbow closed her eyes and sobbed. Twilight stepped closer and wrapped her foreleg around her. Rainbow cried between her sobs, "What kind of friend is she?! You don't abandon your friends like that! Stupid, stupid Applejack!"

"I think she'll come back around," Twilight said softly.

Rainbow looked disbelievingly at her. "Why? She's made pretty bucking clear exactly what she thinks of us! She was my best friend, and she just threw that all away anyway!"

"Yes, Rainbow. Applejack is your best friend. And deep down, she must know that- after all, we are all bound together by the Elements. We've all faced worse than this; we've gone up against Nightmare Moon and Discord. If our friendship is powerful enough to overcome that, it's powerful enough to overcome anything."

Twilight nuzzled Rainbow comfortingly. "We all belong together. I'm sure Applejack will see that again."

Rainbow wept a little longer before she wiped her eyes, sniffed hard, and said, "This never happened."

Twilight smiled understandingly. "Of course."

They walked back to Twilight's home. When they entered, they found Scootaloo reading comics with Spike on some cushions on the ground.

"Scootaloo?" Rainbow said.

Scootaloo looked up, then grinned. "Hi, Rainbow!"

They stepped into the library as Twilight closed the door. "What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked.

Scootaloo jumped up excitedly. "I wanted to see you guys!"

Twilight smiled knowingly. "Any particular reason why?"

Scootaloo turned surprisedly to Twilight. "Wait- you know, too?"

"Know what?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight only smirked at her.

Understanding suddenly dawned upon Rainbow. "Wait- are you a fillyfooler too, Scootaloo?!"

Scootaloo grinned and nodded vigorously. "Yep! Hey, Rainbow- were you and Fluttershy the two fillyfoolers who came to Ponyville from Cloudsdale together?"

Rainbow gaped at Scootaloo. "How did you know?"

Scootaloo's wings buzzed excitedly. "Ms. Snowpeak told me about you! You're why I decided to come here, too!"

Scootaloo bit her lip and squealed. "I can't believe it! Even before I met her, Rainbow Dash was still my hero!"

"Five," said Spike. He held up both of his claws, demonstrating with his digits. "Five of my friends are fillyfoolers."

They all laughed at this, and at that moment Pinkie Pie burst in. She saw Rainbow, gasped, and cried, "Yay! I finally found you, Dashie! I looked for you everywhere else, but you weren't anywhere else! But then I found Fluttershy, and asked where you were, and she said she bet that you were with Twilight! So then I looked for you here, and you are here! So now I found you! Yay!"

She conjured her party cannon into the room and fired it. After the noisemakers had quieted and the confetti had descended to the ground, Rainbow asked, "So... something you wanted to see me for, Pinkie?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cried. Her expression grew puzzled as she tilted her head. "There was a teeny little thing bothering me ever since you told us all you're a fillyfooler the other day. I wondered, 'Why did Dashie decide to tell us she liked Mares now? Why not today, or yesterday, or last year, or when she came?' I thought about it and thought about it, but I couldn't think why you would. So I decided to find you and ask you myself! But when I went to your house, you weren't there, so I looked everywhere else but you weren't anywhere else-"

"We get it," Rainbow Dash interrupted her.

Pinkie grinned. "So, what is it, Dashie? Did you just wake up and say, 'I'm gonna come out'? Or did you just find out recently, and wanted to tell us all?"

Pinkie started bouncing. "Or did Hearts and Hooves Day make you want to get a girlfriend?"

Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a glance. There was no more doubt in their minds. Even though it was Pinkie Pie, they were still shocked at her complete lack of subtlety.

"Actually," Rainbow said, blushing a little, "I did it for Fluttershy. I thought that maybe she wanted to get a girlfriend, but she was too scared to tell anyone she was gay. So I decided to do it to... 'test the waters' for her."

Pinkie stopped bouncing. "So you don't want a girlfriend?"

Rainbow stared out the window. "I don't know. I've never even thought about having one until now."

She shrugged and made a small smile. "I might not mind having one, though."

Pinkie smiled and bounced again. "What would you want for one?"

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "I... I don't know. I mean, most of the girls I've been with have all just been casual. I mostly picked them when I thought they were really hot. I really don't know what kind of personality or anything I'd like." She smiled softly. "But I've always had a thing for pink manes..."

Rainbow flinched, then turned back to the others. Twilight was blushing slightly, Pinkie was grinning enormously, and Scootaloo was staring astonishedly at her. Rainbow cringed as her face flushed with deep burning. "Uh..."

She wanted to plunge her head into a hole. She silently begged Celestia for the sweet, sweet release of death. Spike was laughing hysterically.

* * *

Pinkie had never been in a better mood as she bounced and sang her entire trip back to Sugar Cube Corner. She felt like she was having a million birthdays all at once.

When she entered, she greeted both of her employers with big hugs. As she baked cupcakes, she absentmindedly frosted hundreds of them with hearts. When she realized what she had been doing, she giggled and wrote "PP + RD" in one of them.

It felt like a crime to have such an amazing thing happen on a day that wasn't her birthday. While she was serving her customers her happiness was so contagious that she was tipped far more generously than she ever was before. She closed the shop with enough bits to buy an amazing discounted wedding dress from Rarity. She squealed with delight at the thought.

When Mrs. Cake was cleaning up in the kitchen, she spotted the "PP + RD" cupcake alone on one of the counters; Pinkie had saved this one, having sold all the rest. She smiled and shouted to the still-humming Pinkie, "Are you thinking of somepony, Pinkie?"

"Yes," Pinkie replied, almost moaning.

"What's she like?"

"Daring. Stunning. Amazing."

"What color is she?"

"Blue. She matches the sky perfectly."

"And her mane?"

"Red. Orange. Yellow. The whole rainbow. She said she likes pink manes." Pinkie giggled and squealed. "She likes pink maaaaanes," she sang.

Mrs. Cake chuckled. "What are you going to do about it, Pinkie?"

Pinkie's smile disappeared, her trance broken. "Huh?"

"What are you going to do, Pinkie? Ask Rainbow Dash on a date, perhaps?"

Pinkie looked down, contemplating. She hadn't thought about that. Should she ask Rainbow on a date?

She grinned. Of course she should. She sang as she bounced up to her room.

When she entered, she picked up Gummy, her baby alligator. "Oh, Gummy!" she cried. "I'm going to ask Rainbow Dash on a date!"

Pinkie flinched as she suddenly realized something. She held Gummy close, nervously stroking him. "But... what if she doesn't want to? What if she says no?"

Gummy licked his eye. Pinkie held him level to her face, looking right at him. "But... she said she likes pink manes. She won't say no... right?"

She shook her head, then stood up, full of determination. "It doesn't matter! I'm gonna try, Gummy! And if Dashie says yes, I'll give her the most amazing, spectacular, funnerific, unbelievably romantic date she's ever had!"

Pinkie Pie rummaged through her drawers, sorting through her birthday journals. Each one contained the things her friends most wanted.

At last, she pulled out the one holding Rainbow Dash's entry. It was by far the largest one, as it had received the most updates. Pinkie had another one to add; she wrote at the end, "A girlfriend with a pink mane."

Pinkie smiled down at the words. "If you let me, I'll give you everything you want, Dashie."

* * *

Scootaloo lay awake on her sleeping bag, deep in thought.

Things couldn't be better and things couldn't be worse. Rainbow Dash seemed to want a girlfriend. There was a pretty good chance that not only had Rainbow dated fillies before, but she slept with them, too. She seemed to only like really pretty girls. She liked pink manes.

Scootaloo frowned. She had a pink mane. So did Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy. Pinkie was obviously completely infatuated with Rainbow, and Fluttershy now almost definitely had a history with her. Scootaloo couldn't count out Twilight, either.

Remaining calm and composed when Pinkie had asked Rainbow if she wanted a girlfriend was the most difficult thing Scootaloo had ever done. Scootaloo had almost spilled it all and ruined everything. When she had returned to her tent, one of the first things she thought was to sabotage Pinkie and ruin any chance she had with Dash.

But after Scootaloo's initial panic had subsided, she decided against it; Pinkie was still her friend. Besides, if things didn't work out with Rainbow, Scootaloo still wanted her to be happy.

As Scootaloo thought about it more, she realized that Pinkie could be useful to her. If Rainbow became Scootaloo's girlfriend, it would look very suspicious if they spent a lot of time together and Rainbow didn't see anyone else. Rainbow could date other Mares to conceal her secret romance with Scootaloo.

Come to think of it, Rainbow having another girlfriend while they were together wasn't such a terrible idea either. Especially if Scootaloo could get involved.

Scootaloo smiled. Twilight, Pinkie, and especially Fluttershy were all beautiful Mares. She didn't at all mind the idea of sharing Rainbow with them. Or a bed...

Scootaloo shook her head. Focus, she thought. Rainbow first.

Scootaloo knew one thing for certain: she had to move very, very fast. She had to get to Rainbow before anypony else could.

She decided that she'd have a date with Rainbow. Rainbow couldn't know, of course; the idea was for Rainbow to get comfortable being close to her. She'd sell the date as just being with Rainbow as a friend. After that, she'd set up another date. She'd inch ever so slowly closer, throwing a subtle tease here, flirting innocently a little there.

She'd continue to court Rainbow, growing more and more explicit about her intentions as she did. Eventually, when she was sure, she'd move in for the goal. As far as Scootaloo could tell, if she could kiss Rainbow and get her to kiss her back, victory was hers. It would be especially sound if she could entice Rainbow into bed.

Scootaloo closed her eyes, then rolled over. She would detail her strategy tomorrow.

* * *

Fluttershy heard a knock on her door. She placed her book down. "Coming!" she called.

She stood up from her sofa, walked to the door, and opened it. Twilight stood on the other side.

"Hello, Fluttershy," Twilight said.

Fluttershy smiled. "Hello, Twilight. Come in."

Twilight entered, and Fluttershy pointed at a cushion. "Please take a seat," she said.

Once Twilight and Fluttershy were seated, Twilight said, "Fluttershy, I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, concerned.

"Pinkie is really, really interested in Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied. "She's less subtle about it than Spike is about his crush on Rarity."

Fluttershy flinched. "She... she is?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "I'm not on your side any more than I'm on hers. But I know she's going to do something about it. As a good friend, it is my duty to urge you to as well. If you're going to tell Rainbow how you feel, you better do it now."

Twilight stood up. "This may be your last chance," she said. "If you really love Rainbow Dash, I suggest you take it."

Twilight exited, shutting the door behind her.

Deepening Intrigues

Pinkie Pie laid face down on her bed, reading one of her birthday journals. She was stroking Gummy's rough back as she poured over Rainbow Dash's entry. She was having a bit of difficulty deciding what to get or do for Rainbow; as it turned out, Rainbow was rather simple. Sleep, apple cider, flying, joining the Wonderbolts, Daring Do books, and a pretty girlfriend with a pink mane seemed to be what all of Rainbow's hopes and desires consisted of.

Pinkie sighed. "Oh, Gummy," she said, "What could I ever give her? I can't get her into the Wonderbolts, and she can probably get the other things all by herself..."

Pinkie had found that planning a date with Rainbow was surprisingly difficult. She might have taken Rainbow to an amusement park, except that she couldn't think of any attraction that would be satisfactorily enjoyable for a blindingly fast daredevil. She might have asked Rainbow to a picnic, except that Rainbow quickly grew bored or fell asleep whenever she had to sit still for too long. She could throw a party for her, but that would rather defeat the purpose of spending time alone with her.

Pinkie groaned and flopped backwards onto her pillows, holding the journal over her chest. "It's no use, Gummy," she said. "I can't think of anything."

Pinkie laid motionlessly over her mattress and blankets for several minutes, breathing slowly with her eyes closed. Wondering, wondering, but still coming up with no answers.

Eventually she opened up her eyes, held the journal over her face, and looked back at Rainbow's entry. "Maybe I can give her one of these..." Pinkie muttered. Of course Rainbow either had all of the listed items or could effortlessly get them, but some of the items such as apple cider could still be palatable as gifts; after all, Pinkie always appreciated a free gift of sweets or food, and why wouldn't Rainbow?

Still, the idea of a date solely based around apple cider seemed a bit underwhelming, so Pinkie considered the other items as well. Her attention was again drawn to the Daring Do Books bullet point. She considered it for a moment, then sighed. Rainbow had all of the books already, and only a select few ponies knew where the reclusive A.K. Yearling lived, so arranging for Rainbow to visit her was out of the question.

Then another idea occurred to Pinkie. She got up, closed her journal, and left it on her bed as she went to her bookshelf. She picked up the latest Daring volume, Daring Do and the Philosopher's Stone. She opened the cover and checked the publication date. "Daring Do and the Philosopher's Stone, First edition published May 1, 1002."

Pinkie returned the book to the shelf as she hummed thoughtfully to herself. Daring Do installments tended to be published every six months, and this one had been published four months ago. The next one should be announced and begin printing soon, so it should be theoretically be possible to get ahold of one before its official release.

Pinkie's eyes narrowed. But how could she get ahold of one? She didn't want to steal one, of course, but even if she did it would still be ridiculously difficult. Getting it legitimately might be next to impossible.

Her eyes widened with inspiration. She'd go ask Twilight; she knew everything about Daring, and if there was a way to get ahold of one of the copies before its release Twilight almost certainly knew about it.

After that, further inspiration came rapidly to Pinkie. She opened her journal back up and looked inside. Joining the Wonderbolts. Pinkie grinned; though she couldn't get Rainbow a position in their ranks, she knew that Rainbow always loved watching them. She could provide Rainbow that, if nothing else. At that moment she decided to take Rainbow to see a Wonderbolts flight show from first-class seats.

Pinkie soon also decided that she would take Rainbow to a fine restaurant with the finest sparkling cider and book her a room in a nice hotel where she could sleep like a foal.

At last, Pinkie decided upon how the date she'd ask Rainbow on would commence: she would take Rainbow on the train to Canterlot, they'd go to a fine restaurant Pinkie booked, then they'd go to the Wonderbolts show, then Pinkie would give Rainbow the Daring book, and then they would sleep in deluxe suites in one of Canterlot's best hotels. Assuming Rainbow wanted to fly a little while they were there and she and Pinkie ended up together, Pinkie would be able to give Rainbow nearly everything she wanted in one night.

Pinkie smiled and laughed euphorically. This was going to be the most amazing, spectacular, funnerific, unbelievably romantic date ever.

Then Pinkie remembered two things: first, this date was turning out to sound incredibly expensive, and second, there was the very real possibility of Rainbow saying no.

The latter fact made Pinkie's heart sink. Her ears drooped and she lowered her head. "What if she does say no?" she said softly to herself.

She shook her head. "If she says no, we'll just go back to being friends." She smiled. "And I'll have a whole lot of money!"

She giggled to herself, then raised a brow in puzzlement. "Seriously though, how will I get the money?"

After thinking about it for a moment without producing an answer, she shrugged. "I can figure that out later," she said. "First, I have to figure out how much all this is going to cost." With that in mind, she found a piece of scratch paper and wrote a list:

*The next Daring Do book
*First-class Wonderbolts show tickets
*Restaurant reservation
*Hotel Rooms

She wrote at the end: *Train tickets: 20 bits. This was because she already knew that a round trip for the both of them to Canterlot and back would cost that much. She wrote Total: at the bottom, then set out to search for the rest of the prices.

She first went to the Golden Oak Library to visit Twilight. When Twilight greeted her at the door, Pinkie said, "Is there any way I can get a copy of the next Daring Do before its release date?"

Twilight looked up, thinking. "Well, the publisher holds a raffle before every release where they give out ten signed copies for free. You could enter for that. If you loose (which you probably will), you'll almost definitely be able to buy one; there's always a pony who turns around and auctions it off when they get it. You'd be better off waiting, though; those copies always sell for five hundred bits at least."

Pinkie nodded. "What's the most they sell for?"

Twilight's eyes widened with surprise. "Really? You want one that badly?"

Pinkie nodded. "Uh-huh. How much is the most they sell for?"

Twilight was silent for a moment. "Is this for Rainbow Dash?"

Pinkie gasped. "How did you know?!"

Twilight smirked and looked to the side. "Lucky guess."

Pinkie started bouncing. "Come on, how much? How much?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Well, the most I see it going for is probably about three thousand bits."

"Okay! When's the next raffle?"

"... October fifteenth, at Inkblot's flagship bookstore in Canterlot."

Pinkie grinned. "Okie-dokie! Thanks, Twilight!"

Twilight gaped astonishedly at Pinkie as she began bouncing away. "Pinkie!" she called.

Pinkie darted back. "Yes, Twilight?"

"You're really willing to pay three thousand bits to get one?!"

Pinkie nodded cheerfully. "Mm-hmm! Well, if I can get three thousand bits, that is!"

She began bouncing away again. "See ya, Twilight!"

As Pinkie hummed and hopped down the road, Twilight rubbed her forehead and gazed with a stunned frown at the ground. "She really is in love with Rainbow Dash..." she muttered.

After Pinkie had found a traveling catalogue in the market and determined the prices of the rest of her items, she returned home and added them together to produce the resulting total of five thousand, six hundred thirty bits. She then calculated how much her savings would be if she didn't spend any of her surplus salary until October fifteenth, which came down to about a thousand five hundred bits: half of what she would need to bid for the book.

Pinkie groaned anxiously and scratched her mane. "I'll need more," she said. "Maybe I should ask for a raise from the Cakes?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No. They're about to have a baby; they're gonna need everything they have."

Pinkie lowered her face nearer to the paper. "So how do I get those other thousand five hundred bits?"

Pinkie ran downstairs. "Mrs. Cake!" she called. "Mrs. Cake!"

Mrs. Cake, who was giving change to a customer, turned to her. "Yes?"

"Mrs. Cake, can I go sell cakes in Canterlot for about a month?"

Mrs. Cake's eyes widened. "What?"

"See, I need three thousand bits to get a present for Rainbow Dash, but I'll only have a thousand five hundred when the next Daring Do raffle happens. I need another thousand five hundred, but I can't get that in time with my regular pay, so I want to go to Canterlot and sell cakes there for a month! I'll give you a percentage of the profits, if you like; just please let me do it!"

Mrs. Cake blinked for a few moments. "Exactly what present do you want to give Rainbow that would cost three thousand bits?"

"The next Daring Do book, silly!" Pinkie giggled. "Weren't you listening when I said I need it by the time the next Daring raffle happens?"

Mrs. Cake gaped at Pinkie in astonishment. "...Don't the Daring Do books cost about twenty bits?"

Pinkie nodded. "Mm-hmm! But I want to get this one early, and Twilight said I could get one for three thousand bits!"

She started bouncing. "So can I go? Huh? Huh?"

Mrs. Cake stared at Pinkie for a moment. "...Uh... How do you plan to sell the cakes, Pinkie?"

"I'll offer free samples in Canterlot's market! If somepony tastes one and likes it, I'll offer to bake them a whole cake!"

"Where are you going to live?"

"I'll rent an apartment! I'll stay in one with a kitchen so I can bake the cakes!"

Mrs. Cake gazed at Pinkie for a while before smiling. "Alright. This present sounds like it might be a little too opulent, but if you really want to you can go to Canterlot."

Pinkie cheered excitedly. "Yay! How much should I bring back?"

After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Cake replied, "Forty percent."

Pinkie gasped. "Forty percent? I get to keep most of it?"

Mrs. Cake nodded. "Consider it a bonus. You sound like you'll need as much as you can."

Pinkie hugged Mrs. Cake. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried.

* * *

Scootaloo zipped along the roads on her scooter, expertly weaving through the buildings and pedestrian ponies. Riding always helped her relax and think.

She was trying to think of how to go about wooing Rainbow Dash. She had first decided that she would have to ask Rainbow out as soon as possible, but then only grow more forward very gradually; though this was urgent, she couldn't be hasty, as this was very risky. It would be very dangerous for Rainbow to become Scootaloo's girlfriend, so Scootaloo would have to gradually ease her into the idea of it. She'd have to start gently, so as she made her intentions clearer Rainbow would remain comfortable enough that she wouldn't panic and run away.

Scootaloo initially worried that this would give her rivals too much time to make a proper move on Rainbow before she did, but then she realized another advantage her plan would provide her: if she was able to coax Rainbow into beginning to desire her, it would decrease the chances of Rainbow indulging the others' plays for her affection. It wouldn't completely negate the chances, of course, and they would only be reduced slightly at first, but still. Scootaloo was proud of the elegance of her plan; the longer she was able to enact it, the greater the odds were of it succeeding.

With that said, Scootaloo still had to decide what her first move would be. Firstly, she had to be sure that whatever the date was, Rainbow couldn't know it was a date; that meant it had to be very casual and have a plausible, non-romantic excuse. As Scootaloo thought about it, she came up with the perfect answer: she would ask Rainbow to walk and talk with her about Cloudsdale. It was brilliant; she could excuse it as simply bonding with someone else like her (especially since this was true), but not only that- it would give her more opportunity to learn about Rainbow.

With that decided, Scootaloo wondered how she should go about asking Rainbow. Of course, she knew she'd have to do it as casually as possible; if she was too formal, Rainbow (and, more importantly, the others) could be clued in that she intended it to be a date. But before she planned out what she would say, she had to decide: would she ask Rainbow alone, or around the others? Both had the risk of making things go wrong; if she asked in front of all the rest of them and wasn't completely composed and perfectly hiding her emotions, the others might be clued in. On the other hoof, asking Rainbow while they were alone could make Rainbow prematurely suspicious, and if that happened she might become too guarded to let Scootaloo in.

Eventually, Scootaloo decided on doing it in front of Rainbow's friends; she needed Rainbow to be relaxed, and at least Rarity was probably aware of her crush on Rainbow. She could probably get away with most or all of them knowing, so long as they were convinced that Rainbow wouldn't do anything about it.

Scootaloo exhaled deeply. She began planning and practicing her speech; everything depended on it going flawlessly. She'd also have to have complete control over herself; if she let anything slip or show, everything could fall apart.

As Scootaloo was pretending to casually suggest to Rainbow the idea of talking about their histories in Ms. Snowpeak's orphanage, her eye was caught by the real Rainbow, who was following a happily bouncing Pinkie along with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy down the road. She rode up to them and said, "Hey, guys! What's up?"

Sweetie turned to her. "Oh, hi, Scootaloo! Pinkie's going to Canterlot for a month, and she wanted to invite us to a little going-away party at Sugarcube Corner!"

Scootaloo wanted to grin; Pinkie being out of the way for a month was more than enough time to gat a sufficient start on Rainbow. However, she made a mildly sorrowful expression. "Really? What's she going for?"

Pinkie grinned. "I need to earn some money for a SURPRISE!"

"Okay. So where are you guys going?"

Sweetie Belle replied, "We're going to ask Apple Bloom to come!"

Scootaloo raised a brow. "Aren't you asking Applejack, too?"

Rarity groaned. "Applejack probably won't want to come."

"Why not?"

"Because she thinks being gay is unnatural," Rainbow growled.

Scootaloo gasped. "R-really?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said sadly.

Scootaloo's heart sank. Her wings ceased beating and she allowed her scooter to stop, placing her hoof on the ground. "But... I'm gay. What does she think about that? Is she okay with me being friends with Apple Bloom?"

"I don't think Applejack knows, dear," Rarity said. "It might be best if you keep that to yourself for now. I don't think you should have to, of course, but Applejack's a bit high-strung as it is. There's some chance that she won't let Apple Bloom come."

They continued traveling in silence, during which Scootaloo stared with shock at the ground as she rode along. Did Apple Bloom tell Applejack about her? Would Applejack not want to be her friend anymore? Would Applejack not let Apple Bloom be her friend anymore?

In what seemed to be no time they arrived at the Apple house. Before Rarity knocked she said to the others, "Be polite, and don't pick a fight with Applejack no matter what she says. We don't want things to get any more tense."

Rarity sighed, and knocked upon the door. She put on a polite smile as Applejack answered it. "Hello, Applejack," she said.

Applejack frowned at her. "Rarity."

Rarity cleared her throat. "Pinkie Pie is going to Canterlot tomorrow, and she is throwing a little party at Sugar Cube Corner. We came to invite Apple Bloom, but of course if you want to go-"

"Ah don't," Applejack replied bluntly. "Ah'll go get Apple Bloom."

She walked back in, they heard her call to her sister, and soon they saw Apple Bloom gallop out of the house. As she excitedly ran to join the other Crusaders, Applejack poked her head out. "Bring her back by eight, ya hear?"

Rarity nodded. "I shall."

Applejack sniffed. "Goodbye."

She closed the door, then they all began walking back down the road.

Once they retrieved Twilight and Spike, they went to Sugar Cube Corner and the party began. There were minimal decorations, though the Cakes surprised Pinkie with a three-layer strawberry cake with the words We'll Miss You, Pinkie written elegantly in white frosting over the top.

Everyone spent a good deal of time talking to Pinkie and wishing her luck on her trip. They spoke of the plays in Canterlot, and the high fashion there, and the delectable food, but eventually the topic came to the alternative sexualities most of them had.

Pinkie was, of course, shocked to learn that Scootaloo was a fillyfooler too. "You are, Scootaloo?! That's great! Hey, does anypony else notice that most of us are gay? I mean, what are the odds of that?"

"Actually, it's not too improbable," Twilight interjected. "Birds of a feather flock together."

Fluttershy added, "That's actually the reason Rainbow and I are friends, and why we moved to Ponyville. Pegasi don't tend to like gay ponies, so we were sort of pushed together and then out of Cloudsdale."

"Same here," Scootaloo said. "The other Pegasi were awful to me, too. Hearing about you and Rainbow is actually what inspired me to come here, Fluttershy."

Scootaloo smiled. Now was the perfect time. She turned to Rainbow. "Say, Rainbow, do you think we could maybe talk about that sometime? It's so awesome to know that there's someone else who knows what it's like."

Rainbow looked down at Scootaloo. There was enormous enthusiasm in her eyes, and Rainbow could see that Scootaloo wanted to talk to her about it alone. This made sense, Rainbow thought; this was something about Scootaloo nopony else would probably be able to understand the way she did.

Rainbow smirked. "Sure, squirt," she said, mussing up Scootaloo's mane. "How about you and I get some ice cream tomorrow, and I'll tell you what life was like for me and you can tell me what life was like for you."

Scootaloo grinned enormously, closing her eyes. "It'll be just like having a big sister!" she said ecstatically.

The rest of their friends giggled or went, "Aww," and Rainbow blushed while making a small smile. She laughed and messed up Scootaloo's mane again.

Scootaloo hummed merrily to herself as she rode back to her tent that evening. Everything was going splendidly.

She blushed and sighed euphorically. It was a stroke of genius to declare that Rainbow would be like her sister; not only should it stave off any suspicion the others might have had of romantic feelings between them, but Scootaloo had also been wishing to say those words to Rainbow for an unbearably long time.

Perhaps it came from being a runaway, but Scootaloo was filled with a particular thrill by the idea of doing dangerous or forbidden things. It was why she still lived in a tent in an alley, why she precariously weaved on her scooter through high traffic, and why she was filled with adrenaline whenever she secretly read her porn.

She, of course, would have loved Rainbow no matter what, but everything that kept Scootaloo from her only made her want Rainbow more; they were both girls, which was a bit edgy. Even better, Rainbow was a teenager, and so a romance with her would be even more rebellious and secretive.

Both of these things made her desire for Rainbow ever more powerful. Scootaloo only wished that Rainbow were her big sister, so that the danger and intrigue of it all would be as potent as it could possibly be. Incest had always been enormously exciting to her; the erotica and magazines that were, aside from her Rainbow poster, Scootaloo's most-used items were publications dedicated to secret, forbidden romances between cousins, sisters, or mothers and their daughters. Scootaloo got a similar kick out of teacher-student romances (which, of course, was a large part of the reason Scootaloo also wanted Rainbow to be her mentor so badly).

Scootaloo was absolutely blissful. Perhaps it wouldn't be too long before she would hear Rainbow whisper the words student, little sister, and most of all lover to her.

* * *

Apple Bloom had a lot on her mind.

Sweetie Belle telling her about fillyfoolers had kept her thinking nonstop for the last few days. It was utterly alien and baffling an idea to her- that Stallions could be with other Stallions, and that Mares could be with other Mares, in the same way that Mares were with Stallions.

And yet, it was also- simultaneously, surprisingly- perfectly natural to her, as well.

Apple Bloom had never noticed it before. She had had crushes on colts, yes, but when she looked back at it she had felt every bit as much admiration for her pretty filly classmates as her cute colt ones. She was able to say, without hesitation, that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were very cute, and so were their teacher Ms. Cheerilee and all of Applejack's friends.

Perhaps it was due purely to an assumption that fillies only pursued colts, but Apple Bloom had never considered the idea that she might like fillies, too.

Was that even possible, to like fillies and colts?

Apple Bloom shivered. And what if she did like fillies? According to Sweetie Belle, it could be dangerous to be a fillyfooler. What did that mean? Would the other kids hate her? Would they hurt her? Of course, she knew that Scootaloo and Sweetie wouldn't, but still...

Apple Bloom was brimming with anxiety her entire trip back home. She had so many questions. Was she a fillyfooler? Did she like colts, too? Maybe she didn't like either? What would happen if she told anypony? What would Ms. Cheerilee do? What would the other kids do?

As Apple Bloom approached Sweet Apple Acres, she smiled with realization. "Oh yeah," she said. "Ah can ask Applejack!"

Apple Bloom began galloping back to her home. She had decided; she would ask Applejack about all these things. She knew that Applejack would understand and know what to do.

Returns, Reconciliations

Apple Bloom opened the front door to her house and called out, "Ah'm home!"

Applejack trotted in from their parlor. "How was the party?" she asked.

"It was fun!" Apple Bloom replied.

"Ah'm glad. Well, it's your bedtime, missy. Go get brushed and Ah'll come tuck you in in a few minutes."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Okay!"

She galloped up to the second-floor bathroom, got a drink, brushed her teeth, then went to her room.

As Apple Bloom settled into her comfortable four-poster bed, Applejack entered the room. She smiled softly as she approached Apple Bloom. "G'night, sis," she said, kissing Apple Bloom's forehead.

As Applejack pulled back, Apple Bloom said, "Hey, sis?"

"Yeah?" Applejack replied.

"Can Ah tell ya somethin'?"

Applejack smiled. "Of course."

Apple Bloom squirmed uncomfortably. "Sis... ya know how Rainbow told ya'll and her other friends that she was a fillyfooler?"

Applejack frowned. "Yeah?"

Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves and looked down at them. "Well, since she did Ah've been thinkin'..."

Applejack said nothing. Apple Bloom continued, "Ah think some colts are cute, but Ah also think Ah think some Mares and fillies are, too. Ah think that Scootaloo and Sweetie and Cheerilee and Fluttershy are really pretty. Ah... Ah think Ah like them. Ah think Ah like girls."

Applejack was as silent and still as a stone. Apple Bloom said anxiously to her, "Sis? Are... Are ya alright?"

Applejack blinked. "Apple Bloom..."

She suddenly glared with great fury. "Did... did Twilight or Rainbow do somethin' to ya?! If they did, Ah'm gonna-"

Apple Bloom's eyes widened with panic. "N-no! No, they haven't done anythin' to me!"

Apple Bloom began trembling and tearing up. "Are ya angry at me, Applejack?"

Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom with great shock. She looked confused and terrified. "Ah..."

Apple Bloom began weeping. "What's wrong, sis?"

"Ah... Ah don't know," Applejack said. As she watched her sister cry, she began to feel remorse amongst her many other conflicting emotions.

Applejack went to the door and turned off the lights. "Good night, sis," she said, then she exited and closed the door behind her.

Apple Bloom rolled over and sobbed into her pillow. Applejack hated her now. She'd never felt so scared and alone.

* * *

Scootaloo was up at the crack of dawn. She cheered with excitement; today was her first date with Rainbow.

After she had spent a satisfactory amount of time celebrating this, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She began chanting to herself, "Remember, you're just going out as friends. Remember, you're just going out as friends. It's not a date. It's not a date..." She did this to put herself in the correct mindset; if she was going to be completely casual, she couldn't behave as though this were a date.

Still, it was difficult not to think of it. She had a date. With Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was grinning enormously as she packed up her schoolbooks and put on her helmet. How desperately she wished it wasn't a school day; every moment before she could be with Rainbow would no doubt be agonizingly long. Nonetheless, she was determined not to show her impatience; she could not let anyone know how much this meant to her.

She rode to school, where she found Sweetie Belle already sitting. Scootaloo took the desk next to her and said, "What's up?"

"Not much," Sweetie replied. "What's up with you?"

Scootaloo smiled. "I'm gonna get ice cream with Rainbow Dash today!"

Sweetie Belle smiled back. "Really? That's great!"

Scootaloo nodded. "Mm-hmm!"

Sweetie's eyes narrowed mischievously. "So, you excited for your first date?"

Scootaloo flinched. "W-what?"

Sweetie moved her face closer to Scootaloo's. "Your date. With Rainbow Dash. Are you excited for it?"

Scootaloo blushed. "It's... it's not a date! I'm just getting some ice cream with her, that's all!"

"Mm-hmm. So why are you blushing?"

Scootaloo lifted her hoof over her nose. "B-because it's embarrassing! Listen, Sweetie: I don't want to go out with Rainbow!"

Sweetie's smile widened. "Oh, really? Then why are you getting ice cream with her now? You were reeeealy happy when I told you and Apple Bloom that she was a fillyfooler."

Scootaloo glared at Sweetie. "It's because I thought none of my friends were like me! It was really hard growing up in Cloudsdale, and Rainbow knows what it's like! She understands me!"

Sweetie Belle sighed. "She understands you. How romantic."

"Shut up," Scootaloo said, and Sweetie giggled.

A few minutes later, the other kids started filing in. Scootaloo and Sweetie waited a long time for Apple Bloom, but she didn't show up. A minute before the bell rang, Sweetie said to Scootaloo, "Where do you think Apple Bloom is?"

Scootaloo shrugged. But at that moment, Apple Bloom entered, her ears drooping and her eyes bloodshot. She was the last to enter.

Ms. Cheerilee looked up at her. "Oh! Hello, Apple Bloom!"

"Hey, Ms. Cheerilee," Apple Bloom replied drearily.

Ms. Cheerilee's brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay, Apple Bloom?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. No one was fooled.

As Apple Bloom took the seat next to Scootaloo's, Scootaloo asked, "What's wrong, Apple Bloom?"

"Ah'll tell you later," Apple Bloom replied gloomily.

Though Scootaloo was very concerned for her friend, she was grateful for the distraction from her date with Rainbow.

When school was over, the Crusaders immediately went to their clubhouse. When they arrived, Sweetie said, "What's up, Apple Bloom?"

Apple Bloom dejectedly dug at the ground. "Ah like colts," she said, "but Ah think Ah like fillies, too."

Scootaloo smiled. "Really? That's great!"

"Did you tell Applejack?" Sweetie asked.

Apple Bloom nodded. Sweetie said, "What did she do?"

Apple Bloom began tearing up. "She hasn't really talked to me since Ah told her. When Ah did, she was... upset." Tears fell, and Apple Bloom began trembling as she closed her eyes. "Ah... Ah think she might not wanna be my sister anymore."

The other Crusaders stared at her, stunned. Sweetie Belle asked, "Did Applejack say she didn't?"

Apple Bloom sniffed and shook her head. "No. But she hasn't talked to me since last night. She only does that when she's really upset."

The Crusaders were silent. None knew what to say. Eventually Scootaloo walked up to Apple Bloom, put her foreleg around her shoulders, and said, "No matter what happens, we'll be here for you, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom smiled weakly, but she soon began crying again. "Ah... Ah don't..."

She wiped her nose. "What am Ah gonna do? What if Applejack doesn't want me anymore? Where will Ah go?"

Scootaloo smirked. "I've been able to live all by myself without any problems. Maybe you could come crash with me in my tent."

Apple Bloom smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Scoot."

Sweetie shook her head. "I don't think Applejack is gonna disown you, Bloom. All sisters have their rough times."

Apple Bloom sniffed. "Ah guess..."

Sweetie went to her and hugged her as well, so that they were sharing a group embrace. Apple Bloom smiled as tears continued falling from her eyes. "Thank ya'll," she said. "You're all the best friends ever."

* * *

Rainbow's alarm went off, and she sleepily hit it to make it snooze. She groaned; she would have liked to have woken up on a cloud in the sunlight, but she had to nap near her clock so she could get up in time. Rainbow stretched and held the clock over her face. Three-thirty. What was it she had to get up for again?

She bolted upright. "Oh, right!" She dashed through her door and began flying to the Crusaders' clubhouse. Rainbow couldn't believe she almost forgot that she was getting ice cream with Scootaloo.

As Rainbow glided through the sky, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She was going to a prearranged outing with Scootaloo where they'd eat and hang out together. And Scootaloo was gay, too. Is... is this supposed to be a date? Rainbow Dash wondered.

Rainbow's brow furrowed with concern. She might not have thought so before, but now she couldn't be so sure. It definitely wasn't a coincidence that Scootaloo asked Rainbow to get ice cream only after she'd come out. Rainbow was now also aware that at least a few girls were infatuated with her. Could Scootaloo be one of them?

Now that Rainbow considered it a bit, she concluded that Scootaloo almost definitely did have a crush on her. After all, Scootaloo worshiped her like she was a goddess or something. She was every bit as hungry for Rainbow's attention as Pinkie was. "Yeah," Rainbow said. "Scootaloo has it bad for me."

With that conclusion in mind, only one question remained to Rainbow: was this supposed to be a date? Of course, Rainbow knew it was, but did Scootaloo herself know it was, too?

Rainbow worriedly thought about this. If Scootaloo really was intending for this to be a date, how could Rainbow let her down easy? After all, Scootaloo probably had no idea how inappropriate it would be for the two of them to be dating. She was just a filly; she would just think that being girlfriends would just mean eating ice cream together and kissing and nothing more than that. After all, that's what being a couple meant for kids. How could Rainbow get Scootaloo to understand that adult relationships were more serious and that she wasn't ready for one?

Rainbow grew more panicky by the second. Could she even explain to Scootaloo the ultimate reason they couldn't be together? Rainbow knew that if Scootaloo was devastated and wanted to know why they couldn't, it would be her parents' job to tell her. But there was an obvious problem with that: Scootaloo didn't have any parents. Whose job was it then to explain it to Scootaloo?

As panic began to overtake Rainbow, she remembered something Scootaloo said the day before: "It'll be just like having a big sister!" With that, Rainbow sighed and chuckled relievedly. She realized her worries were unfounded; it wouldn't come to that. Scootaloo didn't even know she had a crush on her. After all, why would Scootaloo want to date her big sister?

Rainbow laughed softly to herself. She knew what it was like to be blissfully unaware of your own feelings. Still, Rainbow thought it was a pity that such a cute filly-

A thrill of horrific shock coursed through Rainbow's body. She abruptly stopped and hovered in the air. Except for her wings, she was absolutely still. Waves of even more potent panic pulsed through her like spreading poison. "What... the buck... was THAT?!" she shouted in terrified revulsion.

Rainbow's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she brought her hooves to her head and shook it violently. "Nonononononononono..." she muttered. "No. No. No. Not Scootaloo. Not Scootaloo." She wrapped her hooves around herself. She could absolutely not desire Scootaloo. She trembled. Was there something wrong with her? Was she a pervert?

Rainbow felt nauseous. What if she really was a pervert? What should she do then? Never allow herself to be around kids again? Would her friends wonder why? If she told them, would they all hate her? This wasn't like being gay; this was absolutely wrong. Rainbow smirked bitterly. Wouldn't it be just awesome if Applejack knew about this? she thought sarcastically to herself.

After taking a few deep breaths, Rainbow shook her head again. Did she find Scootaloo attractive? A little, maybe, but not as attractive as adult Mares such as her other friends. Maybe Rainbow wasn't a pervert; after all, she used to lust after other fillies when she was a filly. She just had to make sure she didn't allow herself to fall back into that. She was beginning to agree more and more with Twilight that her swinging then was a very bad idea, though...

Rainbow was still rather badly shaken, but her panic had subsided. She continued flying until she reached the Crusader clubhouse, where she found Scootaloo awaiting her. Scootaloo grinned as she saw Rainbow approach, and Rainbow made a painful smile back. As she landed before Scootaloo, Scootaloo frowned in concern. "Are you alright, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow gazed at Scootaloo for a moment. A little attraction, maybe, but no overwhelming lust. Rainbow decided that for the moment she could trust herself around Scootaloo. She nodded and said, "Yeah. Just... a lot on my mind, that's all."

Scootaloo nodded, then smiled. "Can we go then?"

Rainbow exhaled deeply, then grinned. "Sure, squirt." She mussed up Scootaloo's mane. "Come on."

Though worry remained in the back of Rainbow's mind, she was largely able to relax and enjoy her time with Scootaloo. She'd managed to calm herself a bit, and they were out in public, so Rainbow was able to stop panicking. Rainbow bought herself and Scootaloo some ice cream cones at Snowdrop's stand at the park, then they went to a bench to sit and eat.

As they consumed their treats, their faces grew messy and sticky. Scootaloo looked at the chocolaty, sugary cream smeared over Rainbow's lips and felt a powerful urge to offer to clean it off...

But she restrained herself, forcing herself to be patient. She couldn't frighten Rainbow. She had to keep it casual.

So instead, she talked to Rainbow about Cloudsdale. Rainbow had many fond memories of it, most of them having to do with her dad; Rainbow Blaze had taught his daughter how to fly, how to fight, and to punch ponies' lights out when they said smack about her. Scootaloo tactfully brought up Ms. Snowpeak's story of how Rainbow and another filly had left for Ponyville together, and asked if the other filly was Fluttershy. To Scootaloo's relief, Rainbow didn't catch on to her jealousy; she just casually confirmed that it was indeed Fluttershy who moved with her to Ponyville after they'd been bullied by other kids for a while.

As the painful subject of ostracism and shunning was brought up, Scootaloo's ears flattened melancholically. "Hey, Rainbow?" she said.

Rainbow turned to her. "Yeah?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow blinked. Could this be what she thought it was? She was a little worried again. Nonetheless, she recited, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Scootaloo nodded. "Alright. Well, Apple Bloom told Sweetie and me that she likes fillies today."

Rainbow blinked again. She definitely wasn't expecting that. "She does?"

"Mm-hmm."

"...Did she tell Applejack?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied.

Rainbow smirked smugly to herself. My siblings would never do anything like that, my flank, she thought to herself. But after silently gloating over it for a moment, the harsh reality of it began to sink in. She said concernedly, "What did Applejack do?"

"Apple Bloom said she hasn't really talked to her since last night."

Rainbow nodded. Well, Applejack could've taken it worse. Scootaloo asked, "What should I do?"

Rainbow was completely unprepared to answer this question. What should Scootaloo do?

After a moment, Rainbow shook her head. "I don't know what you should do. I guess being her friend and being there for her is all you can do. But..."

Rainbow looked to the side with fierce determination. "I'm gonna have another talk with Applejack," she said.

Scootaloo smiled. "Thanks, Rainbow," she said.

Rainbow smiled back and mussed up Scootaloo's mane. "You don't need to thank me. Somepony needs to do it."

Scootaloo hugged Rainbow, and Rainbow hugged her back. All in all, Rainbow was glad she did this with her.

Rainbow walked Scootaloo back to her tent, but when they got there they found Sweetie Belle waiting for them. "Rainbow! Scootaloo!" she shouted.

Scootaloo smiled surprisedly. "Hey, Sweetie. What's up?"

"Pinkie's back!" Sweetie excitedly shouted back. The Pegasi both gaped in surprise. "Pinkie's back?" Rainbow said astonishedly. "But she's only been gone for a day!"

"Didn't she say she'd be gone for a month?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, but she's come back early! She invited us all to Sugar Cube Corner for a welcome-back party, and Rarity sent me to get you guys!"

Rainbow smiled. "Alright. Let's go."

When they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie immediately gave all three of them big hugs. "I missed you guys soooo much!" she cried.

"We just saw you yesterday," Rainbow said.

Pinkie nodded. "And I didn't see you at all since then! Now I can! Yay!"

Pinkie sang and bounced around the room. Rainbow turned to the Cakes. "So... is she done?"

Mr. Cake nodded, smiling in surprise and amazement. "Apparently, our cakes sold like crazy in Canterlot. Pinkie made twelve thousand bits over there. It makes me think maybe we should send her there more often; we'll be able to retire early!"

Rainbow laughed, then went to talk to her friends.

They were having a great time, and it really was a great surprise that Pinkie came back so early. But twenty minutes after her and Scootaloo's arrival, the door's bell rang again. Everyone turned to see Apple Bloom gleefully gallop in. After she'd embraced her friends with a "Hey, guys!" Scootaloo asked, "What's going on, Apple Bloom?"

Scootaloo's question was answered by the entrance of another pony: Applejack, who entered with an embarrassed, remorseful smile.

Everyone fell silent. After a few moments, Applejack said, "Hey, ya'll."

Rainbow Dash frowned at her. "Applejack."

Applejack swallowed uncomfortably. She didn't say anything.

Rainbow said with dripping contempt, "What do you want?"

Applejack looked down at the floor. "Ah... Ah came to apologize," she said.

Rainbow and her friends stared at Applejack in shock. "What?" Rainbow said.

Applejack looked away and rubbed her foreleg. "Ah came to apologize to ya'll."

She looked up at her former friends. "Ah'm sorry," she said. "Ah'm sorry for everythin' Ah said, and for for not wantin' to be your friend anymore."

Applejack looked as though she were fighting against tears. "You have every right to be angry at me, and Ah'll understand if ya'll don't wanna be my friends anymore."

Rainbow gaped astonishedly at Applejack. "You... you're serious?"

Applejack nodded. "Apple Bloom there thinks she likes fillies," she said.

Apple Bloom nodded with a "Mm-hmm!"

"And..." Applejack continued, "and Ah knew Apple Bloom didn't just decide to like fillies. Ah guess Ah just can't understand it."

She shrugged. "Ah might not like it if my sister is with another filly, but Ah'm not gonna stop lovin' her or bein' her sister. And Ah realized that Ah shouldn't'a stopped bein' your friend."

Applejack sniffed, and looked as though she were fighting with every ounce of her might to not cry. "Ah get it if ya'll don't forgive me."

Rainbow grinned, rushed forward, and laughingly embraced Applejack. "You're right!" Rainbow said. "You were an idiot! What you did was awful! But you get it now!"

Rainbow squeezed harder. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't forgive you!"

"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked confusedly.

Rainbow chuckled. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

Twilight joined their embrace. "Of course you can be our friend, Applejack," she said, not at all holding back her tears.

The others soon joined them, until they were all weeping and laughing in one huge group hug.

As they all pulled back and were wiping their eyes, Pinkie bounced and cried, "Yay! This is the best welcome-back party EVER! I'm back home, and Applejack is our friend again!"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "You're right, Pinkie. You, Twi, Flutters, Scoots, Apple Bloom, and I are all out and we have all of our friends! This really is the best party ever!"

Applejack's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-what? Pinkie and Scootaloo and-"

"Uh-huh!" Pinkie cheerfully replied. "We're all fillyfoolers!"

Applejack made a small, puzzled smile and shook her head. "Ah never would've guessed..."

"Six!" Spike shouted. Everyone except for the Cakes and Applejack burst into laughter, to which the silent ones wondered aloud, "What's so funny?"

They all enjoyed each other's company for a while. However, it suddenly halted when Mrs. Cake cried in pain.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"I think the baby's coming!" Mrs. Cake cried.

What followed was chaos. Pinkie and the Crusaders were buzzing with excitement, the Cakes were panicking, Rarity was attempting to soothe them, Twilight was hurriedly jotting down a letter for the hospital, and Spike, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were left to stare in shock at each other.

When things had calmed down a little, Twilight ran to get a wheelchair for Mrs. Cake while Rarity escorted the (protestingly disappointed) children to their homes, promising that they'd get to see the baby the next day. Once Mrs. Cake had been settled into her vehicle and they were all traveling to the hospital, Pinkie shouted, "This is the. best. party. EVER!! A welcome-home party, a friends-again party, and a birthday party ALL IN ONE BIG PARTY!!"

Pinkie fired her party cannon, to which a sweating Mrs. Cake said, "Pinkie, do you think you could quiet down a little?"

"Okay!" Pinkie replied.

"Seriously," Rainbow said to Twilight, "We're gonna have to tell the baby the story of its birthday someday."

Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement.

Rainbow smiled contentedly. This was the best day she'd had in a long time.

Gentle Snows

Pinkie's alarm rang, to which she immediately sprang up and hit the clock. She merrily trotted to Gummy's tank, where she picked him up and nuzzled him against her cheek. "Today's the day, gummy!" she cried. "I'm gonna go and get Dashie's book today!"

After she had fed Gummy, Pinkie tied a scarf around her neck (it had been growing chilly lately) and hummed as she bounced down the stairs. "Good morning!" she said to the Cakes, who were busy feeding Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake.

Mr. Cake turned to Pinkie, smiling. "Good morning, Pinkie!" he said. Pumpkin finished her bottle, then let out a small burp. Mr. Cake then put the cream, orange-maned little unicorn over his shoulder and began gently patting her back. "So, you going to get that Daring book today?"

"Yep!" Pinkie cheerfully replied, approaching him. She walked up to Pumpkin and rubbed her nose with her own affectionately. "You're getting so big, Pumpkin!" she said. "I can't wait until I get to play with you!"

Mr. Cake chuckled nervously. "Just remember to be gentle with the babies, Pinkie."

Pinkie grinned. "I will!"

Pinkie located and donned her saddle-bags, which held her bits and an empty space for the book. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had given her the day off so that she could go to the Daring Do auction in Canterlot today. After she had gathered up her tickets, given Scootaloo her daily breakfast muffins, and had eaten a few herself, she said to Mrs. Cake (who was preparing a red velvet anniversary cake in the kitchen), "Make sure you feed Gummy, okay, Mrs. Cake?"

Mrs. Cake smiled back at Pinkie. "Don't worry, Pinkie. Gummy's going to be perfectly okay with us."

Once Pinkie reached the doorway, she cheerfully waved back to her employers. "Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" she called.

"Bye, Pinkie!" Mr. Cake called back.

Pinkie exited Sugar Cube Corner and bounced down the road as she hummed to herself. After a few moments, she realized that she was humming her favorite love songs. She stopped and allowed herself a small blush and giggle. Pinkie grinned enormously as she continued hopping towards the train station.

Pinkie had been on the train before, and this time was little different. However, the cashier who sold Pinkie her ticket, a Mare she accidentally bumped into, and all the ponies who ended up in the same car as her found themselves smiling at the highly contagious cheerfulness Pinkie carried. If anypony told her how pretty and adorable they thought she was with her love stricken smile and ecstatic aura, she would feel little self-consciousness when she asked Rainbow on a date later that evening.

Once the train stopped, Pinkie immediately bought a map of Canterlot from a stand in the station and located Inkblot's. She then went to it, where she found that it was an enormous, three-story corner store built of deep-green brick with great windows displaying a staggering assortment of books on every subject. Pinkie, who was herself stunned and excited by this marvelous sight, wondered how Twilight would react to coming here. Of course, Twilight probably had, considering that she used to live here in Canterlot, but nonetheless Pinkie still wanted to see what her reaction was the first time she came.

When Pinkie pushed in past the doors, she was greeted by the scent of coffee and pastries. She hummed with simple pleasure at the sensations as she trotted into the store. She didn't have to look for the raffle; there were several large signs, all with boxes at their feet, advertising the raffle and directing all participants to write their names on a slip of paper and insert it into the box. Pinkie did so; after all, there was no reason to not try to get for free what she came to buy. Once she had, she looked back at the sign. It declared that the raffle would be held at eight o'clock that evening.

Pinkie looked over at a clock on a nearby wall. It was six twenty-two. Pinkie groaned in frustration. "Come oooon!" she shouted. "I'll have to wait foreveeeeer!"

Several of the shop's customers and employees angrily turned and shushed at Pinkie, who embarrassedly crouched down. "Sorry!" she whispered.

With a sad sigh, Pinkie began perusing the shelves. She was able to occupy herself with children's picture books with some success, but she was never able to quite keep herself from glancing at the clock to see how much longer she had left. It was agonizingly long.

It really did feel like forever for the clock's big hand to circle up and then back around a second time. Pinkie almost felt like it was taunting her. As the seconds ticked by and her impatience built, Pinkie began growing red-faced and felt an increasingly powerful urge to scream. Tick-tick, tick-tick...

Pinkie paced around the shop, walked outside, walked back in, flipped rapidly through some books, pulled tufts of her mane straight only to let them spring back to curls, and continued to watch the clock. Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven...

Pinkie bought a donut, ate it in less then three seconds, went back outside to do some cartwheels, then came back inside to stare at the clock some more. Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one...

Pinkie nervously paced in place. Fifty-four, fifty five...

Pinkie nervously nibbled at her hooves. Fifty-seven, fifty-eight...

Pinkie bit her lip and trembled with anticipation. Fifty-nine...

When the big hand at last clicked into its perfectly vertical orientation, Pinkie leapt up with an enormous cheer of "HOORAY!!"

The other occupants of the shop again angrily shushed and yelled, "Shut up!" or "Quiet!" at Pinkie, and she again said (with some cheerfulness), "Sorry!"

A grey unicorn stallion with a microphone cutie mark stood in the center of the store. His horn lit up with a silvery-blue aura and projected his voice around the building.

"Inkblot's official raffle for Daring Do and the Fountain of Madness is about to begin! All who have entered, gather 'round! We will draw ten names, and all who hear their names called will receive a free, signed copy!"

The ponies in the shop cheered, and most gathered at the floor around the announcer Stallion as two other Unicorns, each magically levitating five copies of the book, walked to him and sat beside him.

After holding up one and displaying it for all to see, the announcer sent the other Unicorns to gather up the ballot boxes from around the store, then they dumped all of the papers together in a large cauldron. After using his magic to mix up the slips, he cast a spell that resulted in an audible poof resounding from the cauldron. He smirked knowingly at the audience. "Now everypony is entered only once," he said.

After a few audience members groaned, the announcer Unicorn pulled a slip from the cauldron and read the name it bore aloud. "Our first winner is... Black Jack!"

A small, coal-grey colt cheered excitedly cheered and ran forward to claim his prize. The announcer announced nine more winners and gave away nine more books, but Pinkie wasn't one of the winners.

When the raffle ended and the announcer wished all of the shoppers a wonderful evening, Pinkie shrugged and said, "Oh, well. That's what I brought my bits for."

One of the winner stallions held his copy up in the air, then exited the shop. Several other ponies followed him, causing Pinkie to deduce that he'd indicated an intention to auction it. Excitedly, Pinkie followed after them.

The winner Stallion led his makeshift crowd to a small, public garden near the town square, where he stood up on a stone bench. "Mares and gentle colts!" he announced. "I am offering this, a signed copy of A.K. Yearling's Daring Do and the Fountain of Madness for sale! It's not been released yet; this is an early copy! Let's begin the bidding at ten bits; do I hear ten bits?"

"Ten bits!" pinkie heard another Mare yell. "Twenty bits!" a Stallion yelled.

Pinkie shouted, "One hundred bits!"

The crowd around her oohed. The winner Stallion smiled. "Hey, this lovely Mare has offered one hundred bits! ...Do I hear a hundred and fifty?"

"Hundred fifty!" someone called.

"Two hundred!" Pinkie answered.

The winner Stallion chuckled. "She offers two hundred! Can anybody top that?"

"Three hundred!"

"Three fifty!"

"Five hundred!" Pinkie screamed.

"Six hundred!"

"Six fifty!"

"Six seventy-five!"

"Eight hundred!"

"One thousand!" Pinkie shrieked.

Some of the crowd gasped in unison. After a moment another Mare called, "Thousand fifty!"

"Thousand two hundred!"

"Thousand two hundred seventy-five!"

"Two thousand five hundred!" Pinkie cried.

The crowd began nervously glancing at one another. Pinkie was panting through fiercely bared teeth. They all wondered: exactly how far was she willing to go to get this book?

A wealthy-looking blue middle-aged Mare announced, "I bid two thousand six hundred!"

Pinkie turned to glare at her. "Two thousand eight hundred!"

"Two thousand eight fifty!" the wealthy Mare answered.

"Two thousand nine hundred!"

"Three thousand!"

"Three thousand five HUNDRED!!" Pinkie shrieked at the top of her lungs. There was a moment of stunned silence. The blue mare shook her head in resignation; she could see that Pinkie was deathly determined to get the book.

The winner Stallion nervously coughed and said, "...Are there any more bidders?"

When no one answered, he gave a Pinkie a large but still mildly concerned smile. "Congratulations, young lady! This is yours for three thousand five hundred bits!"

Pinkie cheered, "HOORAY!!" and blew a noisemaker as she rushed forward to get the book. She gave the Stallion several huge, bulging brown bags of bits and yelled, "Thanks!" before putting the book in her saddlebag and merrily trotting away.

The Stallion stared at the several huge bags of gold that laid before him. He wondered three things: one, how did Pinkie carry it all? Two, how did she know that the bags held exactly three thousand five hundred bits? And three... where did they come from?

Pinkie was brimming with excitement as she went back on the Friendship Express. She did it; she got the book!

Pinkie was a little tempted to sit down and start reading it; after all, she was as anxious for its release as the next pony!

But Pinkie shook her head determinedly. "Nope! This is Dashie's present. She gets to be the first pony to read it."

Pinkie was anxious for the train to arrive at Ponyville again, but not nearly so much as she was for the raffle; this was a relatively short ride, and she found it reasonably bearable to wait for it to stop.

When she reached to train station, Pinkie immediately darted out. In an astonishingly short time she was at the field below Rainbow's house. "Rainbow Dash!" She called up.

Soon Pinkie saw Rainbow poke her head out from behind one of the clouds. Rainbow smiled. "Hey, Pinkie!"

Rainbow hovered down to the ground before Pinkie. "What's up?" she asked.

Pinkie squealed excitedly, but she began to blush as her eyes darted around nervously. Her smile became anxious. "I..."

Pinkie giggled. "I was wondering... Would you..."

She closed her eyes and began nervously giggling again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why I'm so nervous..."

Rainbow chuckled. "It's alright, Pinkie. Go ahead."

Pinkie giggled a little more before she bowed her head, looking Rainbow straight in the eyes. "Would you... would you like to... um..."

She closed her eyes and blurted, "WouldyouliketogoseetheWonderboltsandhavedinnerinCanterlotwithmenextweek?"

Rainbow blinked. Pinkie had spoken so quickly she hadn't caught a word of what she said. "Huh?"

Pinkie cringed and repeated, "WouldyouliketogoseetheWonderboltsandhavedinnerinCanterlotwithmenextweek?"

Rainbow blinked again. She was listening carefully this time, and she thought she caught what Pinkie had said. "Uh... did you say, uh... watch the Wonderbolts and have dinner in Canterlot with you next week?"

Pinkie quietly squeaked, "Mm-hmm."

Rainbow blushed mildly and broke into a huge grin. "Yeah! That sounds awesome, Pinkie!"

Pinkie gasped elatedly and leapt straight into the air. "YYYYYEEEEESSSSS!!" she cried.

Pinkie caught Rainbow in a rib-cracking embrace. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou-!"

"P-Pinkie..." Rainbow wheezed.

Pinkie released Rainbow and squealed excitedly. "Ooooh, yes!"

She danced in place for a moment before darting off, crying, "The show's on Monday! I'll see you then, Rainbow!"

The first thing Pinkie did was rush to the market, where she ordered first-class Wonderbolts show tickets and reservations for a restaurant known as Countess Orange Sherbet's Palace through the mail. Once she had placed her orders, Pinkie counted her remaining bits and whimpered despairingly. "Three hundred twenty-six bits..." she muttered. She was hoping she'd be able to purchase a really nice, sexy evening dress for Rainbow's pleasure from Rarity, but with this much she'd barely be able to get a passable dress.

Pinkie sighed, then smiled sadly. "Ah, well," she said, "I guess I'll just see what Rarity can make me for this."

Pinkie placed her remaining bits back in her saddle-bags before setting of for the Carousel Boutique. However, after a few moments, she stopped. She pulled her copy of Daring Do and the Fountain of Madness from her bag and stared at it. Finally she smiled, placed it back into her bag, and changed her course towards Sugar Cube Corner. She decided she could use some cheering up before she bought her dress, and so she'd wrap Rainbow's present before seeing Rarity.

After Pinkie had returned to her home, she greeted the Cakes and their babies before going up to her bedroom to wrap Rainbow's present. She chose her favorite wrapping-paper, which was white and covered with vibrantly-colored polka dots of every size and color. She wrapped the book with great care, and after taping the folded paper down she tied a beautiful bow around it using a silk, rainbow ribbon.

After admiring her handiwork for a moment, Pinkie placed the present on her desk and walked back downstairs. She again told her employers that she'd be out and set off for Rarity's boutique.

When Pinkie Pie pushed open the boutique's purple door, she caused its bell to ring as she called out, "Hi, Rarity!"

Rarity was sitting at her drafting desk, bespectacled in her red glasses, sketching up concepts for a client. She turned to Pinkie, then smiled. "Ah, hello, Pinkie," she said. She levitated her glasses off of her nose, folded them, and set them aside. "What can I do for you?"

Pinkie smiled embarrassedly. She pulled her pouch of remaining bits from her saddlebag and set it on the ground. "I have three hundred twenty-six bits. Do you think you can make a decent dress for this?"

Rarity's eyes widened as she gazed at the pouch before her. "Pinkie, dear, I doubt I could make a half-decent dress for this much."

Pinkie sighed. "I thought so. Do you think you could try anyway?"

Rarity raised a brow. "What, exactly, is this dress for?"

"I'm going on a date with Dashie next Monday. I wanted to wear something nice for it."

Rarity smiled surprisedly. "Really, Pinkie? In that case, I'll make you a suitable dress free of charge."

Pinkie gasped. "Really, Rarity? But-"

Rarity held up her hoof, firmly frowning. "No 'buts,' Pinkie. You're one of my closest friends, and this is obviously a very important date for you. I feel that it is my obligation to help my friends in their romantic pursuits in any way I can."

Pinkie laughed delightedly and embraced Rarity. "Thank you so much!"

"Not at all," Rarity said nonchalantly. "But know this: if you get a second date with Rainbow and want to get a completely new dress for it, I will charge you for THAT one."

"That's okay!" Pinkie replied cheerfully.

Rarity trotted over to one of her platforms. "Stand here, please, so I can measure you," she said to Pinkie.

Pinkie happily complied, and as Rarity levitated measuring tape over to Pinkie and began wrapping it around her torso she asked, "I presume you wish to have an evening gown for your date?"

"Mm-hmm!" Pinkie replied.

Rarity smiled. "Well, you're quite an ideal model for one. You have a darling figure."

As Rarity began writing down Pinkie's measurements, she added, "You'll be stunning. Rainbow won't be able to look away from you the whole night."

Pinkie blushed and giggled. Rarity gazed at her for a moment before nodding and walking to her draft table. "I think I know what I'll do. You may leave now."

Pinkie hopped down from the platform. "Thanks, Rarity!" she said as she exited the shop.

Rarity hummed as she stroked her chin. "What color should I use, though...?"

* * *

Rainbow was very excited for her date with Pinkie. Not only did she expect it to be very fun (it was Pinkie, after all), but there was also a chance that they would become girlfriends as a result of this. There was actually some appeal in the idea for Rainbow; Pinkie was a very pretty girl. She also really, really liked Rainbow, and was devoted to her almost to the point of worship.

However, Rainbow knew she had to be careful; Pinkie was a little naive, and was so eager to please Rainbow that she'd probably be vulnerable to exploitation. With little effort, Rainbow could probably get Pinkie to do whatever she wanted.

But Rainbow was determined not to do that anymore. This was just a friendly date; nothing more. Before Rainbow tried anything with Pinkie, she had to be sure of how she felt. After all, Rainbow didn't want to jeopardize the overly emotional and hopeful Pinkie's well-being unless she was more sure that they wanted the same thing.

But did they want the same thing? Rainbow wasn't sure. She would have sex with Pinkie in an instant, but was that all Rainbow wanted?

Sure, they had things in common; they were both emotional, energetic, and passionate. They were both party animals with a taste for a good prank. They were both hot (Rainbow noted with a smirk). However, Rainbow wasn't certain she quite... felt it. She might, but she wasn't yet sure; for this reason, she was determined to keep her hooves off of Pinkie for this whole date. Only when she was more aware of exactly how she felt about Pinkie would she do anything about it.

However, Rainbow noted one more, somewhat minor benefit of this date with Pinkie; it would allow her to see exactly where her relationship with Scootaloo was.

Rainbow and Scootaloo had gotten much closer over the past few weeks. They had hung out several times, one of which was a camping trip with Applejack, Rarity, and their sisters Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Rainbow vividly remembered that one because Scootaloo had confided in her her deep fear of disappointing her, and Rainbow had offered to be her mentor. Scootaloo had then asked if she could sleep with Rainbow, to which Rainbow allowed Scootaloo to snuggle beside her and sleep under the protection of her wing.

Rainbow wasn't entirely sure how comfortable she was with this. Her fears of being sexually attracted to the pegasus filly had only increased the more time they spent together. Rainbow began finding more and more that some things Scootaloo said to her sounded surprisingly... suggestive. Rainbow at first wondered if Scootaloo was doing this deliberately, but then she remembered: Scootaloo considered her to be her sister. She was also a filly. Sure, Rainbow began being sexually active when she was a filly, but she was a bit older than Scootaloo when she did. She also had her dad, who wasn't exactly shy of his conquests nor sheltering of Rainbow from the world of vice and pleasure. Rainbow Blaze never showed the slightest inclination of forbidding his daughter from porn, nor was he anything more discouraging than a cheerleader towards her own conquests. Indeed, Rainbow Dash couldn't think of an environment more accommodating to an early sexual awakening than her own home, and that was most definitely not the environment Scootaloo had. Rainbow decided that Scootaloo would have to be a very early bloomer to already want a physical relationship with her.

So the nearly-inescapable conclusion was that Rainbow was twisting the naive little filly's innocent words into dangerous, lecherous invitations. This deeply worried Rainbow, as she began to wonder if she truly was a pedophile who should get away from Scootaloo before she put her in more danger. But Rainbow was also worried that if she did, Scootaloo would be crushed by being abandoned by her mentor and closest confidant. Which should she do; gamble Scootaloo's safety, or endanger Scootaloo's emotional well-being?

Rainbow had decided that this date could be used to determine some of these things; perhaps Scootaloo was coming onto her, and if that was the case she could see how Scootaloo reacted when she told her about her date with Pinkie. If Scootaloo panicked and exposed herself as having less-than-innocent intentions, Rainbow could relax a bit; that would mean that she wasn't just gutter-mindedly objectifying Scootaloo, since that was exactly Scootaloo's intention. Rainbow would then be able to gently let Scootaloo down, and then they could just be friends. If Scootaloo didn't act with panicky jealousy, Rainbow would possibly have to decide on another course of action.

Rainbow had one more comforting thought: perhaps she wasn't a pedophile, even if she was starting to strongly desire Scootaloo. After all, it had been some time since she last picked up a Mare for a one-night stand, and she found that she increasingly, frustratedly, torturously missed it. Rainbow found that she was more concupiscent than she'd ever been, which was one of the biggest reasons she was so worried about her date with Pinkie Pie. Perhaps she was just getting so desperate that even Scootaloo was beginning to seem appealing. Maybe she'd even start considering Stallions next.

"In other words," Rainbow smirked to herself, "maybe I just need to get laid." If this was the case, Rainbow was determined to get a girlfriend as soon as possible.

Rainbow was determined for her date with Pinkie to go well so that if she indeed would make a good girlfriend for her, there'd be as few things in the way of making that happen as possible. It was for this reason that Rainbow grudgingly decided to wear a dress, and so she dug through her closet for the flowing, classical-esque dress Rarity had provided her for the Grand Galloping Galla half a year ago. As she sorted through the towering piles of magazines and sports equipment, she wondered to herself: how many dates should she go on with Pinkie before she invited her into bed? Of course, Rainbow knew that there might not be a second date after this one, but she knew she had so set a concrete quota of some kind for herself to prevent herself from acting too hastily. Her closet was thoroughly chaotic and so she had plenty of time to deliberate this, and eventually she decided that she would require of herself to go on at least three dates with Pinkie before trying to have sex with her. She knew that it would probably be wise to wait longer, but she was also really, really horny, so she had to make a compromise that was more reasonable than "when we get to the hotel after the show" but was not so difficult it was impossible to obtain. Three dates. Fairly reasonable.

Rainbow pulled out her silk, technicolor dress and golden laurel wreath. She groaned a little at the imminent discomfort and restriction it would create, but sighed and put it on anyway. Once she had it on, she walked to a mirror in her bathroom to check herself out. When she saw her reflection, she smirked. As hot as ever. She wondered vaguely for a moment if she should have her hair done or wear some make-up, but she quickly dismissed the idea; not only would she rather make out with Granny Smith than prissy herself up, but she didn't want to risk being too hot and raise the odds of Pinkie making a move on her tonight.

As ready as she'd ever be, Rainbow flew to the train station, where she'd arranged to meet Pinkie. As she was approaching it, she saw Pinkie down below, balancing a small, box-like present on her back and ginning up at her. "Hi, Dashie!" she cried.

Rainbow's jaw dropped. As she landed before Pinkie, she stared in stunned amazement at her.

Pinkie was in a tight, scarlet silk evening gown. Its top was folded over itself, like an oriental robe, with a flaring, ruffled skirt that was slitted up her right thigh, showing off her cutie mark. She was wearing red lipstick that matched the dress, and her cheeks were powdered with light coral blush. Her blue eyes demanded attention through black mascara and night-blue eyeliner. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails of sweet-scented ringlets. This was, without a doubt, the sexiest Rainbow had ever seen Pinkie.

Rainbow blinked a couple times. "Wow," she said. "You look... amazing."

Pinkie giggled and began bouncing. "Thanks, Dashie! You look great too!"

Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. As seductive as Pinkie looked tonight, she was the same as ever.

Pinkie turned to the train and gestured for Rainbow to come forward. "Let's go, Dashie!" she said.

After they had gotten onto the train and Pinkie had given the conductor their tickets, they sat together at one of the train's booths, where Pinkie fidgeted and giggled excitedly. "This is gonna be so great, Dashie!"

"I have no doubt," Rainbow replied. They were rather silent for a while.

Eventually Pinkie broke the silence by asking, "How's Scootaloo?"

Rainbow flinched. "What?"

"How's Scootaloo? Is she doing well?"

Rainbow anxiously shrugged. "She's doing well, I guess." Please stop talking about Scootaloo, she thought.

"What's she been doing?"

"Oh, just trying to get her cutie mark and stuff."

Pinkie smiled. "Okie dokie!"

Rainbow let out a small, relieved sigh. Unfortunately, this date was starting out pretty awkwardly.

The awkward silence continued until the end of their train ride. When they disembarked at Canterlot's station, they went outside to find that it was lightly snowing.

"Hooray!" Pinkie cried, bouncing out into the street, opening her mouth at the sky. She laughed elatedly as she caught a snowflake on her tongue. Rainbow found herself smiling with amusement and fondness at Pinkie.

They went to Countess Orange Sherbet's, a palace-like fine restaurant that worked diligently at all times to remain in the Canterlotian upper-class vogue. When they were seated, Pinkie ordered a kiwi fruit salad and Rainbow ordered a large pea pie. When their waiter asked if they wanted drinks, Pinkie told Rainbow to order whatever she liked, so Rainbow ordered a glass of Royal Sparkling Cider, one of Canterlot's most premier vintages. When she drank it, she found for the first time since Flim and Flam a cider that could rival the Apples'.

As Pinkie and Rainbow ate, they idly spoke of their friendship studies and their recent lives and other such small things. Their conversation wasn't terribly exciting, but Rainbow liked it; it was relaxing. It was nice. When the waiter asked what they wanted for dessert, Pinkie requested a piece of fudge chocolate cake, and Rainbow requested the same. They finished their dessert soon after, and by then it was six thirty-three. Less than thirty minutes until the Wonderbolts show.

Pinkie and Rainbow walked to the arena, where Pinkie gave their tickets to a counter and they took a small, private box in the stadium's middle seats. Rainbow excitedly discussed some of the tricks the Wonderbolts were likely to perform with Pinkie for a few minutes before some trumpets sounded and an announcer heralded the beginning of the show.

It was spectacular; the Wonderbolts were in peak condition and the winds were minimal, so their tricks were executed flawlessly. As they performed their precarious corkscrews and daring dives, Rainbow cheered them on at the top of her lungs. As they performed their final trick, which consisted of flying in a close formation before darting in all directions in a "starburst," fireworks whistled, streaked, and exploded behind them, eliciting wondrous gasps and applause from the audience.

As Rainbow was staring wide-eyed at the colorful display against the stars, she felt a pressure on her shoulder. She turned to find that Pinkie was leaning on her shoulder, gently smiling. Rainbow blushed, gulped, and trembled mildly, but after a few moments she hesitantly wrapped her foreleg around Pinkie's shoulders. Pinkie giggled softly and snuggled closer to her.

When the show ended, they began walking again. Rainbow followed Pinkie to the Sol Hotel, yet another high-class establishment, where she relievedly found that Pinkie had booked them each their own rooms. When they had climbed up the stairs to the second floor and had reached their suites, Pinkie gave Rainbow her key and said, "Here you go."

Rainbow took it and smiled at Pinkie. "Thanks, Pinkie," she said. "Tonight was amazing." She then hugged Pinkie and turned to go into her room.

"Wait, Dashie!" Pinkie said, and Rainbow turned back to her. Pinkie continued, "There's just one more thing."

Pinkie produced the present Rainbow had seen earlier, then gave it to Rainbow. She stared at Rainbow eagerly, and with some nervousness Rainbow carefully untied the bow and unwrapped the paper.

When she saw what it was, her eyes widened enormously. "Daring Do and the Fountain of Madness?! This hasn't been released yet!"

Pinkie closed her eyes and grinned. "I got it early!" she sang.

Rainbow opened it to the title page. "Oh my gosh!" she cried. "It's signed by A.K. Yearling! Pinkie! This is the best present ever!"

Rainbow looked up at Pinkie to find her gently smiling and gazing at her with pure joy and affection. Rainbow blinked. "Wow..." she said. "Pinkie, I..."

"Mm-hmm?" Pinkie replied.

Rainbow was speechless. She was stunned at all Pinkie had done for her. As Rainbow looked into Pinkie's fawning eyes, she suddenly realized: Pinkie loved her. Really, truly loved her, with all of her heart. Rainbow felt utterly unworthy of it, and quite guilty that she'd given Pinkie nothing to earn it.

Rainbow began blushing. She really, really wanted to give something back to Pinkie. She could never give Pinkie anything to deserve all of this, but she knew of one thing that Pinkie must desperately want...

Rainbow closed her eyes. No, she thought. Not yet. She still didn't know how she felt, and the absolute worst thing she could do to Pinkie was crush her hopes.

However, Rainbow was beginning to grow desperate; not only did Pinkie want her, but Rainbow also quite wanted to give herself to her. Both Rainbow's desires and conscience were compelling her to do the same thing, and she had to sate them somehow.

However, Rainbow realized: she could thank Pinkie, give her something, even if she couldn't give her everything yet. With that, Rainbow opened her eyes, smiled, and said, "Thank you so much, Pinkie."

Rainbow leaned forward and kissed Pinkie. For the first time in a long time, Rainbow held back; this kiss was short, chaste, and sweet. When Rainbow pulled back, she felt some of Pinkie's lipstick still on her own lips. Strawberry. Rainbow's face burned as hotly as it was possible to.

Pinkie smiled euphorically before entering her room. Snowflakes drifted gently behind the windows.

Pinkie said softly to Rainbow, "Good night, Dashie," before closing the door.

New Players

Gilda glided through the air, squinting against the wind that pierced into her sharp yellow eyes. Her brown and white feathers and fur rustled in the air's currents as she streaked through the sky, holding her claws straight ahead of her face.

She had wondered weather to go at all. After all, there was little chance that Rainbow Dash was any less lame than when Gilda last saw her. On the other hand, maybe Gilda could handle Rainbow being a little lamer. Rainbow had also come out, and was entertaining the possibility of having a girlfriend, so perhaps Gilda could rekindle their old flame and convince her to return to Cloudsdale with her.

Gilda had learned about Rainbow's coming out and subsequent availability from her friend Trixie, an entertainer Unicorn. Gilda had met her on the Pie rock farm about a year ago, while she was casually exploring the skies. She had stopped near the farm to take a brief rest, and there her eye was caught by the blue, silver-maned Mare.

Gilda found her to be quite attractive, especially with the sweat running down her figure from exertion. Gilda had smirked, licked her beak, and approached Trixie. "Hey, good-lookin'," she said.

Trixie turned to her. She smiled vainly. "Why, hello. The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for the compliment."

Gilda narrowed her eyes. "Trixie, huh? Well, Trixie, you wanna get a drink or something? Say... my place?" she purred.

Trixie blankly gazed at Gilda for a moment before laughing. "I'm sorry, but Trixie only likes men," she said. "Trixie is flattered by your interest, however. Trixie doesn't believe she knows your name...?"

"Gilda," the Griffon replied. She began circling Trixie. "What's a hot babe like you doin' on a rock farm?" Gilda asked.

Trixie huffed. "What is the Great and Powerful Trixie doing on a rock farm, indeed! I'll tell you why she is: Trixie was a great entertainer once, before it was all taken away from her! Trixie is on a rock farm because of her humiliation at the hands of that little witch, Twilight Sparkle!"

Gilda flinched at the name. "Twilight Sparkle? You mean the lame-o purple Unicorn from Ponyville?"

Trixie gaped in surprise. "You know her?"

Gilda sneered. "Yeah. I used to be friends with one of her friends- a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash. But ever since Dash started living there, she's gotten so much lamer. She'd rather be with her stupid new friends than with me now."

Gilda felt deep pain at this last statement, but didn't show it. "Whatever. I didn't need her anyway."

Trixie sniffed. "Indeed. I know this Rainbow Dash as well. She thought fit to challenge the superiority of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie defeated her, of course, but when Trixie was run out of town that Pegasus spread word of her humiliation far and wide! Now Trixie can only work on a rock farm!"

Trixie and Gilda gazed at each other. At that moment a friendship was forged between them on the fire of their hatred for a common enemy.

Gilda idly sat and talked with Trixie about their lives. Trixie told Gilda about her travels on the many roads of Equestria, and her magic shows, and the exotic locales and intrigues she'd encountered while performing. Gilda told Trixie about Cloudsdale and her move there. Gilda soon decided that she liked Trixie, and said to her, "So, you said you were an entertainer?"

"Yes," Trixie replied.

"You wanna keep working on a rock farm, or you wanna 'nother job?"

Trixie's eyes narrowed. "You can get me one?"

"Yeah. There's this... um, club up in Cloudsdale, and they've never had a Unicorn performer."

Trixie's eyes widened. "Is this a... burlesque club?"

"Yeah," Gilda replied, looking away embarrassedly. "Just a suggestion."

Trixie thought about it for a moment, then smiled and shrugged. "It might not be that... dignified, but honestly at this point Trixie has little dignity to lose. It'd definitely be a decided improvement over this place." She contemptuously kicked one of the rocks.

Gilda grinned. "Wanna crash at my place for a while?"

"Yes. Trixie thanks you most greatly," Trixie replied.

"Wait- how will you live up there? You can't walk on clouds!"

Trixie chuckled. "Trixie can enchant some flooring for her sleeping-quarters. When Trixie's awake, she can cast a spell allowing her to travel over clouds that she'll just have to renew every hour."

With that settled, Trixie immediately quit her job and went up with Gilda to get the one Gilda had offered.

At the club, Gilda gave the owner her endorsement of Trixie, and after a small display of her entertainment abilities she was immediately hired. Gilda then assisted Trixie in moving her things into her cloud-house. Trixie bought some wooden boards, brewed a potion with the consultation of a book, then smeared the boards with the potion. She was then able to construct a sturdy flooring in one of Gilda's extra rooms, upon which she placed her sleeping-roll.

Trixie quickly became one of the club's most popular entertainers. In addition to her looks, she was able to utilize her flashy magic to create a unique, memorable impression on the patrons. Gilda often entered to watch her perform, but was a little disappointed that all she could do was look.

Nonetheless, Gilda and Trixie got along quite well and began to form a very strong bond over the next few months. Eventually, Trixie discovered the existence of an ancient artifact known as the Alicorn Amulet, and as soon as she had enough bits to get it she did and returned to Ponyville to seek vengeance on Twilight.

However, when she came back, Gilda found that Trixie was on much better terms with Twilight. She soon began exchanging letters with Twilight, and they became friends. Gilda was greatly annoyed at this- but still, they were ponies. Making lame friends was something all ponies did.

Gilda had told Trixie about her relationship with Rainbow Dash, and how they were once best friends and sexually involved, if not romantically. Trixie had asked Gilda if she wanted to be more than friends with Rainbow, which Gilda reluctantly confirmed. When Trixie asked why she didn't pursue Rainbow romantically, Gilda pointed out that Rainbow seemed to have no intention to be exclusive with anyone; she had a similar relationship with Fluttershy, and on the side she would often pick up strangers. Gilda also reminded Trixie that her friendship with Rainbow was in shambles, and so all in all she had little to no chance of getting Rainbow back.

However, one day Trixie received a lengthly letter from Twilight, and after reading it she immediately went to her roommate.

"Gilda!" Trixie shouted, galloping into the Griffon's room.

Gilda had been sleeping at the time, and growled annoyedly as she looked up. "What?"

Trixie levitated the letter up, displaying it beside her head. "Twilight's just told me- Rainbow has come out to their friends, and she might become somepony's girlfriend soon!"

Gilda immediately bolted up. "What?!"

"According to Twilight, Rainbow has expressed some interest in having a girlfriend." Trixie grinned at Gilda. "Trixie suggests you take this chance before it disappears, Gilda."

Trixie left Gilda alone with her shock. Gilda sat still for several minutes, attempting to wrap her mind around this new development. Rainbow Dash, perhaps the most commitment-averse girl Gilda had ever encountered, wanting a girlfriend? It was almost unthinkable. What the hay happened? Gilda wondered. How did Twilight know? Gilda knew Fluttershy was every bit as infatuated with Rainbow as she was; would Fluttershy become Rainbow's girlfriend now?

Of course, Gilda wanted to immediately go to Ponyville and make a move on Rainbow, but she immediately hesitantly flinched at the thought; her last encounter with Rainbow had ended with Gilda insulting her and rudely storming out, crushing their friendship. Why would Rainbow want to see her again? What the hay made Gilda think she could just brazenly walk back to Rainbow and make as if nothing was wrong between them? Gilda shuddered at the thought of baring her soul like that to Rainbow and having it mercilessly rejected and ripped to shreds.

Of course, she could try apologizing to Rainbow, but that idea too made her gag in disgust. Like all Griffons, Gilda was tremendously proud and arrogant. Admitting any mistakes or weaknesses was one of the most painful, humiliating things she could do.

On the other claw, Gilda really, really wanted Rainbow back. Her two conflicting desires- her desire for Rainbow, and her desire to keep her own pride- battled in her head, and it was fought long and hard. However, eventually she made her decision: she wanted Rainbow more.

So Gilda had set off for Ponyville and Rainbow's house. On the way there, she tried to decide what she was going to say. Never before did she have a more difficult task; she'd never tried to speak to a former friend before. However, she was so immersed in attempting to decide her opening speech that she found that Rainbow's house came into view in, though it seemed to be minutes, was truly hours.

"Buck this," Gilda growled, though she kept flying. In a few moments she was at Rainbow's doorstep.

Gilda hesitated. She shifted uncomfortably before Rainbow's door, attempting to gather the courage necessary to knock. Every time she was about to, however, the thought of Rainbow slamming the door in her face flashed in her mind and she backed back down.

After several such attempts, Gilda glared and growled at the ground. "Come on, Gilda," she muttered. "Just do it!"

She reached her claw up to knock, but when she reached forward she pawed at the air; the door had opened, and Rainbow stood beyond.

Gilda stared at Rainbow, who was surprisedly staring back at her. After a few moments of silence, Gilda awkwardly smiled and quaveringly said, "Hey, Dash."

Rainbow frowned at her. "Hey, Gilda," she said coldly.

Gilda continued to shift her weight. After a few moments Rainbow asked, "What do you want?"

Gilda gulped. "Um... I, uh... I wanted to... um..."

Rainbow raised a brow. "Yeah?"

Gilda cringed. "I wanted to apologize," she growled through gritted teeth.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm sorry for blowing you off, alright? I'm not sayin' it again."

Rainbow stared at Gilda for a moment before sighing. "Okay. Apology accepted."

Gilda grunted.

They again stood silently for a moment before Rainbow suggested, "So, uh... you wanna come in or something?"

"Yeah."

Rainbow stepped aside, allowing the Griffon to enter. Once Gilda was inside, she sighed relievedly. Now that the lame part was over, she could go after what she actually wanted.

Once Rainbow had closed the door, Gilda turned with a sultry look to her. "So," she purred, "want me to... make it up to you?"

Rainbow turned surprisedly to Gilda. "Wait- you mean you wanna... do it?"

"Yeah."

Rainbow blinked a few times, then swallowed. However, she shook her head with a small smile. "Sorry, G, but I gotta say no."

Gilda frowned surprisedly. "Huh? Why not?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Just not doing that anymore."

Gilda leered at Rainbow. "What, you have a girlfriend now?"

"Not exactly..." Rainbow said, frowning and looking to the side.

"What?" Gilda pressed.

Rainbow swallowed again. "Um, I'm kinda sorta dating someone... I think. She might be my girlfriend. I dunno."

"Who is she?" Gilda said, visibly angered.

Rainbow glared at her. "What, Gilda? Are you upset that I found someone else? I didn't think I had to remind you- we were never girlfriends."

Gilda flinched in shock before embarrassedly looking away. "Yeah, but..."

"Wait- Wait, you... you wanted to be?"

Gilda snorted derisively. "N-no! Don't be stupid! I don't need anyone!"

Rainbow was silent for a moment, then she smirked. "Then why did you come here?"

"I-" Gilda said, but she was unable to continue. She sat, speechless, as Rainbow smiled triumphantly at her. Eventually Rainbow asked, "Who told you I was open to having a girlfriend?"

"T-Trixie," Gilda admitted reluctantly.

Rainbow softly laughed. "So Twilight told her." She closed her eyes. "Well, Pinkie and I have only been on one date, so I might be open to other offers."

Gilda blinked. "Wait- Pinkie?! Wasn't that the lame Earth pony who wouldn't leave me alone?!"

Rainbow glared at Gilda again. "That lame pony is my best friend," she growled. "And the way you treated my friends was completely uncool. If you want any hope of being my friend again, let alone my girlfriend, you have to apologize to them."

Gilda gaped at Rainbow in shocked anger. "What the hay, Dash?! Why do you gotta be such a buzzkill? Why do I-"

"You have to apologize to Pinky and Fluttershy especially," Rainbow interrupted her.

Gilda stared at Rainbow silently. Rainbow was demanding that she make amends to her enemies who competed for Rainbow's affections. Gilda thought she would have preferred it if Rainbow had demanded that she cut her wings off.

Gilda let out a low, barely audible growl.

"If you're not gonna apologize to my friends, you can go buck yourself," Rainbow said, her voice dripping with venom.

Gilda was struck by the utter sincerity of the vitriol behind Rainbow's words. Her choice was clear and inescapable: either do as Rainbow said or permanently lose her. Gilda groaned with anxious agony, but at last spat, "Fine. I'll apologize to your dumb friends. Happy?"

Rainbow shook her head. "No. But it's a start."

Rainbow stood. "Come on. Let's go to Pinkie and Fluttershy first, so you can get it over with."

Gilda groaned again, but stood as well. She followed as Rainbow opened the door and flew out.

* * *

Pinkie knew she couldn't be any happier than she was now. She was euphoric, still completely high on the excitement and joy of last night.

Rainbow had kissed her. Never in Pinkie's wildest dreams did she dare hope to get that from her. Pinkie had brushed, bathed, and gone to bed grinning and gently singing to herself in ecstasy. Rainbow had napped on the train ride back, and Pinkie had spent the entire trip gazing fondly at her.

When they arrived at Ponyville's train station, Pinkie gave Rainbow one last hug before saying goodbye and returning to Sugar Cube Corner. The Cakes didn't have to ask how it went; they could tell just by looking at her.

Pinkie was again singing to herself as she prepared the shop's muffins for the morning. When she heard the shop's bell ring, she sang, "Be right there!" as she skipped to the front door. There she saw Scootaloo, as usual.

Pinkie grinned. "Hi, Scootaloo!"

"Hi, Pinkie," Scootaloo softly replied.

As Pinkie looked at Scootaloo, her smile disappeared; she knew real smiles, and Scootaloo's was not real. Her smile was desperate; hopeless.

Pinkie grow quite concerned. "Are you okay, Scootaloo?" she asked, tilting her head.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Pinkie blinked a few times. "Do you... want your muffins?"

"Y-yeah."

Pinkie went to get Scootaloo her muffins, and as she did she wondered why Scootaloo looked so defeated. When Pinkie came back and gave the muffins to Scootaloo, she only nibbled at them. Pinkie stood for a moment, watching her. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "No," she said.

Scootaloo continued half-heartedly eating her breakfast for a moment before looking up and asking Pinkie, "How was your trip to Canterlot?"

Pinkie immediately smiled fondly at the memory. "It was wonderful," she said.

Scootaloo nodded. "Glad to hear." Her voice cracked a little as she said this.

Scootaloo placed the muffins on the counter before Pinkie. "I'm sorry; I'm not very hungry," she said. She walked back out, and Pinkie heard the buzzing of her wings as she rode off.

Pinkie looked at Scootaloo's muffins, worrying about the little filly. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door being opened again. When she looked up, she saw that it was Rainbow.

Pinkie's mouth immediately stretched into an enormous grin. "Hi, Dashie!" she sang.

"Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow replied pleasantly. "I've brought someone," she said, and she stepped aside to reveal Gilda.

Pinkie flinched in shock, then gasped. "G-Gilda?!" she shouted.

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "She came here to tell you something."

Rainbow nudged Gilda with her hoof, and Gilda looked away from Pinkie and angrily muttered something so low Pinkie couldn't hear.

"Huh?" Pinkie said.

"Louder," Rainbow commanded.

Gilda let out a low growl before saying through clenched teeth, "I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you."

Pinkie stood in stunned silence. "You... you are?" she gasped.

"You heard me," Gilda said, and Rainbow smiled and nodded in approval. "Good. Now on to Fluttershy."

After they had left, Pinkie broke into another grin and leapt into the air, cheering, "Hooray!"

Pinkie bounced around the shop. "This is so great! Gilda's not a mean meanypants anymore!" She began singing to herself, "I'm gonna make a new frieeeend, I'm gonna make a new frieeeend..."

* * *

After Rainbow had overseen Gilda apologize to Fluttershy, as well, she declared to Gilda that she was going to visit Twilight. Gilda said that she wanted to walk and fly alone for a while, so they agreed to meet back at Rainbow's house that evening. Rainbow set off for the library, and when she knocked on the door she was greeted with a smile by Twilight. "Hi, Rainbow!" she said cheerfully.

Rainbow smiled back. "Hey, Twi. Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all," Twilight replied, and she stepped aside to let Rainbow inside.

Rainbow found Scootaloo curled on the ground before the fire with a blanket over her little body, melancholically drinking a cup of hot chocolate while looking up at her. "Scoot?" Rainbow asked surprisedly.

"Hi, Rainbow," Scootaloo said, giving her a small, sad smile.

Rainbow's brow furrowed in concern. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Scootaloo looked away. "It's kinda personal. I don't wanna talk about it," she said.

Rainbow gazed at her with some suspicion, but nodded. "I get it," she said.

Twilight asked Rainbow, "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. That'd be nice."

"You want to go outside?"

"Why?" Rainbow asked confusedly.

Twilight nodded at Scootaloo. Rainbow looked at Scootaloo for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah. She can hear it."

Twilight was visibly slightly concerned, but said, "Alright..."

Twilight walked over to the fire, where a pot was hanging over the flames. "Want some hot chocolate?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow replied, and Twilight levitated two mugs to the pot, filled them with boiling water, then mixed cocoa into them before placing them on the table. Rainbow sat across from Twilight, ensuring that she had a good view of Scootaloo; Rainbow was deliberately having her hear what she was about to say to gauge her reaction.

"So," Twilight said, "How was your date?"

"It was nice," Rainbow said. She smiled. "After we ate and saw the Wonderbolts, she gave me a signed copy of Daring Do and the Fountain of Madness. It was so awesome and I wanted to thank Pinkie so much that I... um..." Rainbow began blushing, then cleared her throat. "I, uh, kissed her," she said.

Twilight's eyes widened with surprise and concern, and Rainbow's eyes darted around nervously. However, she used her embarrassment as an excuse to take a glimpse at Scootaloo and see if anything had changed. It hadn't; Scootaloo's ears were still flattened against her dejectedly bowing head.

"Did..." Twilight said. "Did you-"

"I didn't do anything else," Rainbow assured her. She leered down at her mug. "Not that I didn't want to."

Twilight blinked a few times, then frowned. "Rainbow, have you thought that you might be moving too fast?"

Rainbow scoffed. "Oh, I know I am. But I'm not moving as fast as I want to."

Twilight sighed, then Rainbow said, "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Twilight gave Rainbow a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"Gilda came and apologized to me today."

Twilight gasped. "Really?!"

"Yeah," Rainbow replied. "And, Twilight... she's one of the two girls you knew was in love with me, isn't she?"

After a moment, Twilight smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"So, Twi, I'm having a problem. Gilda wants to be my girlfriend-"

"But you're dating Pinkie," Twilight interrupted her.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. But, uh..."

"What?"

Rainbow took a deep breath. "I don't know, Twilight. I think Pinkie's hot, but I don't know if I like like her."

Twilight nodded. "I understand."

"But... I don't know if I like Gilda either. I mean, I've..."

Rainbow flinched, then looked at Scootaloo. Clearing her throat, she tactfully continued, "I mean, I've been involved with Gilda before, but... I dunno, I guess I don't know if I like her either."

Twilight tilted her head. "Is there any girl that you do like, Rainbow?"

Rainbow blushed and rubbed her head. "Well, yeah, there is one girl I know I like..." she said.

"Who is it?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow's face burned as she decided wether or not to tell Twilight, but ultimately she said, "It doesn't matter. I mean, she's totally fine without me. Why bring it up? Besides, she probably wouldn't want me anyway. She has lots of other friends, and they'd all be better for her than I am."

"Why do you think that?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow let out a small groan. "Honestly, I've been a terrible friend to her. She deserves way better than me."

When Rainbow looked back at Twilight, she saw that Twilight was gaping at her in surprise. Rainbow asked confusedly, "Uh... Twilight?"

"Rainbow... what did you do that makes you think you're a terrible friend to her?"

Rainbow suddenly realized that if she said any more she'd reveal the secret of who held her affections, so she turned away and said firmly, "I'm not telling you anymore. It's stupid, anyway. Like I said, she deserves better than me."

Twilight gazed concernedly at Rainbow for a moment before saying, "Rainbow, I think you should still try."

"Well, I'm not gonna."

Twilight sighed. "Well, if you're sure you aren't, maybe you could keep trying with Pinkie or Gilda. Who knows? Maybe you do like them, or maybe you'll start to like them."

Rainbow nodded. "...Yeah. I guess you're right."

Rainbow finished her beverage, stood up, and went to the door. "Thanks, Twilight. Bye," she said, and then she left.

Scootaloo took another sip of her chocolate. Her lips were spread in a deeply triumphant smile.

She'd thought that all hope had been lost when she'd heard from Sweetie that Rainbow was going to Canterlot with Pinkie. When she heard Rainbow say that she'd kissed Pinkie, Scootaloo was utterly convinced that it was all over.

However, it was not so. Rainbow didn't seem to return Pinkie's affection, and though Gilda had made a stake for Rainbow as well she didn't seem to have any better chance. Because she knew Rainbow might be watching for her reaction, she kept her ears flattened and her head bowed as though she was still depressed when she learned this. There was still hope.

But by far the best thing Scootaloo had heard was the last thing Rainbow said. She was infatuated with someone, someone who wasn't Pinkie or Gilda. Someone with other friends, friends who would be "better" for her than Rainbow was. Someone who Rainbow thought wouldn't want her, who Rainbow thought she'd been a terrible friend to.

Who else could Rainbow be referring to?

Scootaloo wanted to scream with joy, but remained silent. Once she was able to regain her composure and fake a sorrowful frown, she got up and said drearily to Twilight, "Thanks, Twilight. I'll be going home now."

"Are you going to be alright?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Good night."

Once Scootaloo had gone outside, put on her helmet, and ridden her scooter a good distance away, she loudly laughed and cheered, "YES, YES, YES!!" into the air.

It was time. Tomorrow, at long last, Scootaloo would confess her feelings to Rainbow.

Scootaloo smiled softly to herself. "Tomorrow night," she whispered, "I'll sleep in your embrace, Rainbow."

* * *

Gilda was fuming with fury as she walked through the town. She wanted desperately to break one of those stupid ponies' carts, but she was in enough hot water with Rainbow as it was.

Gilda growled and pounded the ground. Rainbow had forced her to apologize to Pinkie and Fluttershy!

Gilda hated both of them passionately, but of the two she hated Fluttershy more. Fluttershy had taken Rainbow to this lame little town in the first place, and even before then Rainbow obviously favored her over Gilda as an... intimate companion.

Gilda might've been fine with it if she'd gotten in on some of that action, too. After all, Fluttershy was really hot. Hotter than Rainbow, even. Gilda might have let their competition for Rainbow slide if she had gotten some of Fluttershy's flank, too. The idea was appealing enough that Gilda sometimes wanted to suggest to Rainbow that all of them have a threesome.

Of course, that timid little crybaby only had eyes for Rainbow, and so she could only ever be an enemy to Gilda.

Gilda angrily kicked a tree, causing a few leaves to slowly drift to the ground. As she was growling frustratedly at it, she heard a familiar, cheerful humming behind her. She turned to see Pinkie Pie happily bouncing toward her. "Hi, Gilda!" she said.

Gilda closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "What do you want?" she growled.

Once Pinkie was close to her, she said, "I wanna be your friend, silly!"

Gilda glared at her. "...What? You wanna be my friend?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheerfully replied. "And then I can throw you a 'new friends' party and we can pull pranks and make cup-"

"No," Gilda said firmly.

Pinkie stopped bouncing. "Huh?"

"I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Your. Friend," Gilda said with slow deliberation.

Pinkie frowned sadly. "Why not?"

"Leave me alone," Gilda said.

"Why don't you want to be my friend?" Pinkie asked incessantly.

"Buzz off," Gilda said, swearing to herself that if this obnoxious loser wouldn't go away-

"Why not? Why don't you want to be my friend? Why-"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE THE MOST ANNOYING THING I'VE EVER MET!!" Gilda roared.

Pinkie ducked, her eyes wide with terror. "What? I-" she whispered.

"You heard me," Gilda replied. "You're the most bucking annoying loser in the world! Celestia, can't you take a hint?!"

"But..." Pinkie said, beginning to tear up, "I..."

"Why would anyone want to be your friend?!" Gilda shouted. "You're so obnoxious I want to crush my head under a bolder every time you open your bucking mouth! I can't even imagine why Rainbow would go on a date with you! I bet she did it just so that you'd SHUT UP-"

"HEY!!" Gilda heard someone shout behind her. She froze, and slowly turned around. It was Rainbow, and her eyes aflame with fury.

Gilda's fur stood on end, and Pinkie sobbed. Rainbow stepped forward and said, "Pinkie, I-" but before she could continue Pinkie galloped away, sobbing.

Gilda chuckled nervously. "Uh... Hey, D-"

"Get out," Rainbow muttered.

"What?"

"Get out," Rainbow said, "and never come back."

Gilda stepped forward, but Rainbow raised a hoof at her. "Get out," she said. "Now."

Gilda took a step away from her. "C'mon, Dash, y-"

"You have ten seconds, Gilda, or I'm pasting your brains against the ground. One. Two. Three. FOUR!!"

Panicking, Gilda yelped in fright and took to the air. She flapped as fast as she could, but as she flew she looked back at Rainbow. There was nothing but pure, burning hatred in her eyes.

As Gilda flew and night fell, tears began to fill her eyes. She'd done it. She'd destroyed her friendship with Rainbow forever.

Gilda had been a fledgling the last time she wept.

Fatal Flaws

Fluttershy heard a knock on her door. She was busy tending to a young raccoon's wound, so she gently said to it, "Please sit still for a second." She went to the door and opened it, and saw that Twilight stood beyond. "Oh! Hello, Twilight," she said with a polite smile.

"May I come in?" Twilight asked.

"Of course," Fluttershy replied. Once Twilight had entered, Fluttershy said, "Please have a seat. I need to finish treating a wound."

"Go ahead," Twilight said, sitting on Fluttershy's sofa. Fluttershy went to the raccoon, finished binding bandages around its leg, and said, "There. Now don't run for a while; you need to rest and let it heal."

The raccoon squeaked gratefully and hopped into Fluttershy's forelegs. Fluttershy hovered to the raccoon's bed, where she gently laid it down. "Try to get some sleep," she whispered, and the raccoon yawned, curled up, and closed its eyes in slumber.

Fluttershy trotted to the sofa, where she sat next to Twilight. "Sorry about that," she said.

"It's alright," Twilight replied.

"So, did you want anything?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I have a question."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Fluttershy," Twilight said concernedly, "why haven't you told Rainbow how you feel yet?"

Fluttershy blinked for a moment, then hid behind her mane. "Well... um... she wouldn't... um, want me..."

"Why not? You know she's considering having a girlfriend now."

"Yes, but she wouldn't want me."

"Why wouldn't she want you? I don't understand. Why do you think that?"

Fluttershy felt the beginnings of tears welling in her eyes. "If she wanted me, she'd still be with me. But it's okay. She doesn't need me anymore."

"Fluttershy, I really, really think you should try telling her. Do you still think she'll stop being your friend? I don't know if you've noticed, but Rainbow has a lot of girls vying for her affection, and now she knows some of them are in love with her. She's also still willing to be their friend."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "R-really?! Who?!"

"I can't tell you unless they let me. The point is, Fluttershy, the worst that will happen is Rainbow will want to just be your friend." Twilight smiled. "I also think you have a much better chance with her than you think."

Fluttershy gasped. "Really?!"

"Yes. But, Fluttershy..."

Twilight frowned. "This might be your last chance. If you don't tell her now, you might never get to again. You could already be too late. So I'm begging you, please tell her. I really don't want you to wish you did this and regret not doing it for the rest of your life."

Twilight stood up. "Please tell her, Fluttershy."

Twilight went to the door. As she exited, she said, "Goodbye."

Fluttershy sat still, contemplating what Twilight had told her. "Rainbow... will still be my friend?" she whispered to herself. She laid down on the sofa, blushing. "I have a better chance than I think?"

Fluttershy squeaked in fright. "But... what if she doesn't want me?"

Fluttershy swallowed. "Then, at least, she'll still be my friend..."

Fluttershy had never felt so conflicted before. Up until now, confessing her feelings to Rainbow was never even an option. Even though Twilight had told her Rainbow didn't deserve her if she severed their relationship entirely, Fluttershy didn't want lose what few friends she had gained, no matter how much they didn't deserve her. Fluttershy knew that she should probably let go of such friends, but there was no way she was going to let go of Rainbow; no matter what she did, Fluttershy couldn't stop loving her. She couldn't lose her, no matter what.

But... according to Twilight, Fluttershy wouldn't lose Rainbow. Rainbow would always remain her friend. Fluttershy made a small smile and giggled. "She is the Element of Loyalty, after all..."

But still, Fluttershy feared the possibility of being rejected as Rainbow's potential lover. Fluttershy knew that she would endure pain beyond imagining if she was. She was torn between her torturous longing for Rainbow and the fear of the even greater torment of learning that she'd never have her.

However, Fluttershy came to realize: though being turned away by Rainbow would be terrible, Twilight was right. If she didn't tell Rainbow, she'd regret it for the rest of her life. The pain of never having Rainbow would be great, but not as great as never having her while never knowing if she could have. That she should have tried.

Fluttershy had to try. Fluttershy stood up, glaring at the ceiling. "I'm going to try," she said.

The moment she said this, panic overcame her. She whimpered and lowered back into a crouch. Now that she'd decided to actually do it, she was even more frightened than she'd been before.

Fluttershy would need more courage than she'd ever needed before to do this. Fluttershy sighed. Building that courage up would take a while...

* * *

After Rainbow had gone into an empty alleyway and quietly wept for a while, she cleaned her face back up and went to see Pinkie Pie. She entered Sugar Cube Corner and trotted up the stairs, where she heard Pinkie sobbing behind her bedroom's closed door. She gently knocked on it, but Pinkie only continued sobbing.

Rainbow opened the door and poked her head inside. Pinkie was curled up on her bed, weeping into her forelegs. "Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow said.

Pinkie looked up, frowning sorrowfully. "Hi, Dashie," she whispered.

Rainbow stepped inside. "Are you alright?"

Pinkie sniffed, tears welling in her eyes again. "No..."

Pinkie returned to sobbing into her blankets. "I... I'm a... a... a freak!" she cried.

Rainbow stepped closer to her. "What?"

Pinkie looked despairingly at her. "You don't like me, do you? You can't stand me, can you?"

Rainbow glared. "Pinkie, don't let Gilda get to-"

"It's true, though..." Pinkie muttered. She sniffed. "I'm just a sad, pathetic little clown. Everypony likes to laugh at me... but nopony really wants to be my friend..."

Pinkie sobbed again. "I'm just an annoying little nuisance. I'm just fun and games. I know I am. I know I am..."

Rainbow blinked. She could see now that Pinkie's pain went beyond what Gilda had said to her. Gilda had touched a deeper fear, a secret self-loathing that Pinkie had always hidden from her friends.

Pinkie continued, "I know... I know you went out with me just to be nice, Rainbow... I..."

"No," Rainbow said. She climbed up onto the bed and laid on her belly next to Pinkie. "I really do like you, Pinkie. That's why I went out with you."

Pinkie looked up at Rainbow hopefully. "Really?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "I mean, sometimes you can be a little annoying. But you're really awesome, Pinkie. You were the first one who welcomed me into Ponyville. You're the best friend ever. You-"

Rainbow was interrupted by Pinkie's lips being pressed against hers. After Pinkie had kissed her, she snuggled up against Rainbow, smiling. "Thanks, Dashie," she said.

Rainbow smiled, as well. "Anytime, Pinkie."

Rainbow placed her foreleg around Pinkie and held her. Her face burned as Pinkie leaned against her chest. It would be so easy. Rainbow so desperately wanted to show Pinkie that she really did want her, wanted to comfort her even more...

But Rainbow gritted her teeth and resisted determinedly. She would not take advantage of Pinkie in this vulnerable state. She couldn't go that far with Pinkie, not yet...

So Rainbow sat still, giving Pinkie nothing more than her presence. After a few minutes, Rainbow felt Pinkie begin breathing deeply, and when she looked at her she saw that Pinkie had fallen asleep.

Rainbow stood up, picked up a blanket, and draped it over Pinkie's form. She kissed her cheek, turned out the light, and exited her room.

Once Rainbow had closed Pinkie's door, she returned to her own house.

* * *

Rainbow was awakened by a knock upon her door. Her eyes fluttered open, and she groaned. She was in no condition to entertain company; she was drenched in sweat, her mane was a mess, and there was an issue of Naughty Teen Mares on the ground beside her.

There was another knock on her door. "I'm coming!" she called, and she grumblingly tossed her magazine back into her closet and went out of her back door, where she took a quick roll on the cloud to lightly rinse her body and mane. After she had made her mane somewhat presentable, she went back inside and opened the front door, where she saw Scootaloo smiling up at her. "Hi, Rainbow!" she said cheerfully.

Rainbow smiled back at her. "Hey, squirt," she said. "You look better."

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied, "I am.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said, blushing lightly. "I was wondering- do you think you could go to Apple Bloom's orchard with me after school today?"

Rainbow grinned. "Sure, squirt. What do you have in mind?"

Scootaloo grinned. "I wanted to play things like Hide and Seek and stuff like that!"

Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, I think I could use something like that. Alright, I'll meet you there."

Scootaloo squealed excitedly. "Alright! I'll see you later, Rainbow!"

"See ya, squirt."

Scootaloo broke a piece off of Rainbow's cloud and floated on it back to the ground. Once on the ground, she waved once more at Rainbow before hopping on her scooter and riding away.

Rainbow cleaned herself up properly, then took to the air and began her morning flying drills. After she had performed a few corkscrews, dives, and sharp turns, she descended to the ground and began walking.

Ordinarily, Rainbow would have found a comfortable cloud or tree to take a nap in at this point, but she knew she'd never be able to sleep. She was deeply troubled and torturously sexually frustrated. As much as she'd tried to relieve some of that tension, she found that she still desperately wanted somepony to warm her bed.

Rainbow first considered asking Pinkie, but she angrily reprimanded herself, "Three dates first, Rainbow. Three dates first, Rainbow." She then wondered if she should fly to Canterlot and find an escort there, but immediately discarded the idea when she remembered that she'd have to get tested for a certificate of health first.

Rainbow groaned. "Come on!" she cried. "It's been forever since I got laid! I... can't... bucking...take it anymore!!"

Rainbow furiously kicked a nearby tree, which caused several leaves to drift down from it. After panting for a few moments, an idea struck her. She began trotting to Sweet Apple Acres.

Rainbow found that the farm was busy; Big Mac was pulling hay into the barn, Granny Smith was napping on her rocking chair, and Applejack was bucking apples from trees. "Hey! Applejack!" Rainbow called.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Applejack called back. She kicked a tree, and the apples promptly fell into the buckets beneath it. "What can I do ya for?"

Rainbow approached Applejack. "Can I help you buck these trees?" she asked.

Applejack raised a brow. "Pardon?"

"I need to blow off some steam," Rainbow explained. "So, can I help you?"

After considering for a moment, Applejack shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I reckon you won't have much luck, though..."

Rainbow smirked. She stepped up to a tree, turned away from it, and kicked it with a mighty crack. The apples all fell right into the buckets.

Applejack gaped at Rainbow. "How... How-"

"Hey, you Earth ponies might've been born with more strength than us Pegasi," Rainbow said, smugly checking her right fore hoof, "but unlike you, I've been training."

Applejack smirked back. "I suppose you reckon you'll buck them apples as quick as me, then?"

"Try faster!" Rainbow laughed.

"Alright, you're on," Applejack replied.

So Rainbow and Applejack began bucking the apples in competition against each other.

Rainbow found that the activity took her mind off of things with some success. As the day went on and the sun rose and began to fall again, Rainbow grew sore and drenched with sweat. As she was taking a short break and panting lightly as beads of sweat rolled down her face, she heard Applejack say, "Woo-whee! I haven't worked this hard since Big Macintosh broke his ribs!"

As Applejack removed her hat and wiped some sweat from her forehead, Rainbow Dash found herself tracing her eyes over Applejack's smooth, toned, glistening orange form-

"Ahem," Applejack said.

Rainbow shook her head. "Huh?"

"Would ya'll kindly refrain from starin' at me?" Applejack said angrily.

"Oh," Rainbow said, looking away and embarrassedly blushing. "Sorry."

"Hmm," Applejack said, and she bucked another tree.

More than a little annoyed with herself, Rainbow resumed bucking the trees with renewed vigor. Rainbow was so frustrated she wanted to bite her tail; now she was shamelessly checking out Applejack, of all ponies. "I need some flank so bucking bad..." Rainbow groaned. A small smirk formed on her lips. "Who knows? Maybe Applejack's a little curious..."

Rainbow shook her head. "Wow. I'm going insane. Now I'm starting to think I can pick up straight Mares..."

But after considering it for a moment, Rainbow chuckled. "Nah, I could totally pick up straight Mares. Hey, maybe I will pick up Applejack if things don't work out with Pinkie."

Around this time, the two Mares heard the Crusaders call to them, "Hi, Applejack! Hi, Rainbow!"

Rainbow and Applejack stopped bucking and smiled at the three fillies. "Hey, guys!" Rainbow called back.

After Apple Bloom had opened the gate to let her friends in, Applejack said, "Shoot, well, Ah'm gonna go in and get supper goin'."

"And we'll go have our Crusaders meeting!" Sweetie Belle declared.

Rainbow yawned. "I'm gonna go take a nap. Call me when dinner's ready, yeah?"

"We will!" Scootaloo assured her.

With that, Rainbow flew up into the air and landed on a cloud directly above Sweet Apple Acres, where she curled up. What her mind wouldn't allow her to do, exhaustion did; she began sleeping.

It seemed to Rainbow as though she had barely closed her eyes when she heard Scootaloo call up to her, "Hey, Dash, dinner's ready!"

"Alright!" Rainbow yelled back. She hovered back to the ground, then accompanied Scootaloo into the Apples' home.

After they had eaten, Sweetie Belle returned home while Apple Bloom busied herself with milking the cows. Scootaloo said to Rainbow, "Shall we?"

Rainbow smirked. "After you."

Scootaloo led Rainbow outside into the apple orchard. Once they were rather deep in the trees, Scootaloo said, "Alright. I'll go first. Count to twenty, and I'll go find a hiding place."

"Alright," Rainbow replied, and she turned to a tree and leaned against it, covering her eyes with her foreleg. "One... two... three... four..."

As she counted, she heard Scootaloo scamper away. After she reached twenty, Rainbow called out, "Ready or not, here I come!"

Rainbow trotted in the direction she heard Scootaloo go, carefully observing the trees as she went past them. She found herself systematically weaving through the trees, eying them for any signs of the tomboyish filly.

After about fifteen minutes, Rainbow saw a tuft of pink fur peeking out from some leaves. With a smirk, she stepped up to the tree and bucked it, and with a yelp Scootaloo fell from the branches and landed with an "Oof!" over Rainbow's back.

Rainbow chuckled. "Gotcha," she said.

Scootaloo hopped down and shook her head. She was trembling slightly. "Come on, Rainbow! Not cool! That was-"

"Terrifying? Brilliant?" Rainbow asked with a smirk.

Scootaloo playfully punched Rainbow's shoulder. "Alright. Your turn now."

Rainbow grinned and started running. Once she had traveled a fair distance away from Scootaloo, she skidded to a halt and then began silently creeping in the opposite direction.

Rainbow slinked through the woods, carefully searching for a good spot to hide. Eventually she found one: a rather large log covered in orange moss. With a small chuckle she ducked behind it, closed her eyes, and lightly dozed as she kept her ears perked for Scootaloo.

After some time, Rainbow began to hear faint calls of "...bow? Rainbow? Where are you?"

Rainbow smiled and listened for Scootaloo to draw nearer.

"Rainbow? Are you here? Rainb-"

But then Scootaloo was suddenly silent. Rainbow's brow furrowed in confusion as she swiveled her ears for any sound. Several moments passed without so much as a mouse's squeak.

"Ha!" Scootaloo called, leaping onto Rainbow and wrapping her forelegs around her neck.

Rainbow jumped up, shouting "WAAAH!" Scootaloo began laughing, and Rainbow scoffed. "So you got me," she said.

"I sure did!" Scootaloo cried, tightening her grip. She remained there for a moment, and Rainbow began to feel distinctly uncomfortable. She wondered, was Scootaloo staying there a little too long?

Scootaloo released her and slid to the ground. "Alright! My turn!"

Rainbow sighed, shook her head, and smiled softly at Scootaloo. "Sure thing, squirt."

So they continued like this, playing and laughing together as they adventured through the wood of apples. However, Rainbow continued to grow uneasy. More than ever before she now asked herself weather it was wise to be around Scootaloo. Something seemed a little... different about her...

When twilight began to fall, Scootaloo said to Rainbow, "Come with me to the clubhouse! I wanna show you something!"

Rainbow gave her a small smile. "Alright..."

Just be careful, Rainbow thought. Probably nothing to worry about...

Scootaloo led her to the Crusaders' clubhouse. Rainbow stepped up the ramp to it, with Scootaloo following her. Once they were inside, Scootaloo shut the door behind them.

Rainbow noticed that there were three sleeping bags on the floor. "Hey, why are these here?" Rainbow asked.

Scootaloo smiled. "Oh, me and my friends had a sleepover last night!"

Rainbow nodded. Still, she only felt more uneasy...

"So," Rainbow said, clearing her throat, "What did you want to show me?"

Scootaloo trotted to one of the windows. "Look," she said, pointing out.

Rainbow sat beside Scootaloo and peered out.

Rainbow gasped. It was absolutely stunning. The oranges and reds of the leaves and apples seemed to be a reflection of the peach-colored sky above them, and Rainbow could see the stars faintly shine behind the purple inkiness above the sun's last lights.

"Wow," said Rainbow. "It's beautiful."

"Hey, Rainbow," Scootaloo said.

Rainbow turned to her. "Yeah?"

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Rainbow blinked a few times, but gave Scootaloo a small smile. "Sure."

Scootaloo beckoned Rainbow closer. Once Rainbow had lowered her head, Scootaloo stood and brought her lips nearer to Rainbow's ear.

"I love you," she whispered.

Before Rainbow could respond, she was silenced. Scootaloo was kissing her.

Rainbow was so completely shocked that she sat in complete paralyzed motionlessness. After a moment, however, Scootaloo began to slide her tongue into Rainbow's mouth, and at that instant Rainbow fearfully yelped and pulled back, taking a few steps away from Scootaloo.

Rainbow looked down at Scootaloo, and what she saw absolutely crushed her. Scootaloo was fearfully ducked down, her ears flattened against her head. "Oh," she said, like the whine of a puppy expecting to get kicked.

Rainbow said nothing for some time, largely because she was at a complete loss as to what to say. She was terrified, shocked, utterly confused, and woefully distressed. As she gazed at Scootaloo, she felt nothing but heartache at what she had to do. It was despairingly difficult for Rainbow to think of the words to say, let alone to muster the courage to speak them.

Rainbow swallowed, made a painful smile, and spoke as gently as she possibly could. "Um, Scootaloo," she said. "Uhh... well, um, I'm sorry, but... this... this can't..."

Rainbow began trembling, and she swallowed again. "I know that you... but..."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Scootaloo, I'm sorry, but... I can't... y'know, um..."

Tears were welling in Scootaloo's eyes. This was getting harder every second. Rainbow continued, "I can be... your friend, Scootaloo, but... I... I can't..."

"Why not?" Scootaloo whispered.

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but only said, "I... I..."

"Do you not like me?"

Rainbow shook her head. "No. It's not that. It's not that I don't like you. Its-"

Scootaloo was crying now. "Am I not pretty enough for you?"

"No, no... I... think you're pretty..." Rainbow cringed. That was not the right thing to say.

Scootaloo's eyes widened, then she glared at Rainbow. "Am I not good enough for you?"

Rainbow found herself again so shocked she was unable to speak. Scootaloo seemed very angry. "I..."

"Well? Am I not good enough for you?"

Rainbow blinked as Scootaloo wiped her tears away. "No, it's not that you're not good enough-"

Scootaloo pounded the ground. "Then why? Why can't you be with me?"

Rainbow felt completely trapped. "Well... Well, um-"

"Well?!"

Rainbow was silent for a few moments, then she took another breath and said, "Look, Scootaloo, there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that you're too young. That's all."

Scootaloo furiously gaped at Rainbow, as though she couldn't believe what she just said. "That's it?" Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow stared at Scootaloo. "...What do you mean?"

"That's why you can't be with me? It's because I'm too young?!"

Scootaloo pounded the ground again. "That's the stupidest bucking thing I've ever heard in my life!"

Scootaloo had just sworn at her. Every time Rainbow thought that Scootaloo couldn't surprise her anymore, she was again proven wrong. "Scootaloo, I know it might be hard to understand-"

"I'll understand just fine!" Scootaloo shouted. "Why does my being younger than you mean I can't be with you?!"

"Look, Scootaloo, I don't know if I should tell you-"

"Is it because you're not allowed to have sex with me?"

A powerful thrill coursed through Rainbow. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, her mouth slightly ajar. Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah, I know, Rainbow. I know more than you think. You're worried that you'll be 'exploiting' me, right?"

Rainbow stammered incoherently. How could she know...?

"They think if you're my girlfriend, you'll abuse me and scar me for life. But they're wrong, Rainbow. You're not asking me, I'm asking you. I know you'd never hurt me, Rainbow."

Scootaloo smiled seductively at Rainbow. "You can do whatever you want to me."

Rainbow stared astonishedly at Scootaloo. This sweet little filly knew exactly what she was doing. At that moment, Rainbow realized: Scootaloo was never innocent. All this time, she'd been attempting to seduce her. All those vaguely flirtatious little comments, every time Scootaloo had touched her, that moment Scootaloo first asked Rainbow out and declared that she would be her big sister- these were all part of a plan to bring the both of them to this place and moment.

They were alone, where no one could see them and no one would find them. The lighting was perfect, and the scenery was stunning. There was a bed prepared on the ground for them, Rainbow was growing desperate, and Scootaloo was openly offering herself to her and looking at her with what Rainbow could now recognize was pure adoration and longing. Rainbow had to give Scootaloo credit; she couldn't have created a more perfect scenario.

Rainbow felt herself begin to weep. Scootaloo really did love her. Nothing would ever break Rainbow's heart more than what she had to do now.

Rainbow smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, squirt, but it's not gonna happen. I know that you think it would be fine, but I still can't do it."

Scootaloo's smile faded. "But why? You'd never hurt me, Rainbow."

Rainbow laughed sadly. "To be honest, squirt, you make a good case. It's hard to argue with you. You might be right. You might be safe with me. But you're also right about another thing: I don't want to hurt you. And maybe I will. So I'm not gonna let that happen."

Scootaloo began weeping again. Rainbow sighed exhaustedly. "You're just too young. That's really all there is to it."

Scootaloo sniffed, and she looked up at Rainbow with a tiny smile of hope. "So... so when I'm older-"

"Maybe. But by then you or I might already be with somepony else. I wouldn't hold my breath."

The expression on Scootaloo's face was one of pure despair. "But I love you," she whispered.

A few tears streamed down Rainbow's face, and she embraced Scootaloo. "I love you too, Scoot. That's why I have to do this."

After a few moments, Scootaloo began sobbing into Rainbow's chest. Rainbow comfortingly stroked her back. "Man," she muttered, "this whole thing has been completely bucked up for everybody..."

Overdue Confessions

There was a knock at Twilight's door. Twilight looked up; she was busy writing some letters while Spike was sleeping, so she set down her pen, took off her glasses, and went to the door to answer it. It was Rainbow, who looked exhausted, miserable, and quite worried.

"Hi, Twilight," she said, making a brave attempt at a smile.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked concernedly.

Rainbow looked to the side. "I really don't know... look, Twilight, I really need to talk to you."

Twilight nodded. "Alright..."

Twilight led Rainbow to her sofa, where both of them sat down. "What is it, Rainbow?" she asked.

Rainbow swallowed. "Umm... about Scootaloo..."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Did something happen to Scootaloo? Is she okay?"

"Umm, yeah, she's okay, but... uh..."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Well... um... Scootaloo... she, uh..."

"Yes?" Twilight said.

Rainbow licked her lips. "She... um... kissed me."

Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. "She... kissed you?!"

"Yeah. And then she... um... asked me to have sex with her."

A look of pure horror formed on Twilight's face. Before she could reply, however, Rainbow quickly said, "Don't worry; I didn't. But... I'm worried, Twilight. I mean, I started having sex when I was a filly, but I was almost a teenager, and Scootaloo's still in elementary school. And she knows exactly what she was trying to do; when she brought me to the Crusader clubhouse, their sleeping bags were there. She's been planning this ever since I've come out, Twilight. She also knew that I'd go to prison if anyone knew I was sleeping with her, so she offered to keep it secret. She even suggested that I have another girlfriend to keep everypony from getting suspicious."

Twilight sat silently for a moment, sill utterly shocked and worried. "But... she said she wanted you to be her sister."

Rainbow smirked. "Yeah. As it turns out, she has a huge incest fetish. Teachers, too. That's why she wanted me to be her sister and mentor."

Rainbow turned to Twilight, and saw that she was intensely blushing. "Uhh..." Rainbow said.

Twilight gasped and she turned away, covering her face.

"Twilight?" Rainbow said. "What's going-"

Twilight loudly cleared her throat and said, "Did Scootaloo tell you all that?"

Rainbow blinked. "Yeah," she said, a little suspiciously. "She did."

Though Rainbow wanted to press further, she decided to let it go for the moment. "The point is, Twilight, Scootaloo knows way too much about this for someone her age. Do... do you think that... maybe, someone..."

Rainbow found herself unable to speak further, only looking desperately at Twilight. Twilight returned Rainbow's fearful gaze in understanding.

"Yes," Twilight said worriedly. "When a filly is so sexually precocious, it's usually an indicator of... of abuse. I'm... I'm going to have to... talk to her..."

Rainbow glared in fury. "If someone's done anything to that filly, when I find out who it was, they're gonna beg me to let them die."

At this point, Rainbow's face twisted further, showing even greater fear as well as deep shame. "There's one more thing, Twilight. When... when Scootaloo asked me to sleep with her, I... I..."

Rainbow swallowed and trembled. "I... well, I... I wanted to, a little. She told me that I wouldn't be exploiting her, since she asked me, and that she knew I wouldn't hurt her."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "She was really convincing, Twilight, and it was hard to say no. Do..."

Rainbow looked up at Twilight, whose expression was blank. Rainbow's ears flattened against her head. "Do you think that I... I..."

Tears welled in Rainbow's eyes. "Do you think I need to... stay away from her? That she's in danger with me?"

Twilight gazed at Rainbow for a moment before carefully saying, "Rainbow... exactly how much do you want to sleep with Scootaloo?"

Rainbow looked down. "I dunno. Uh... not that much, I don't think."

"Only a little? Are you being honest, Rainbow?"

Rainbow thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I am. I do, a little, but not as much as older Mares." Rainbow smirked. "To be honest, most of the reason I wanted to be with Scoot is because she's in love with me, and I wanted to make her happy. She's cute and all, but if I were to be her girlfriend I'd be way more excited for when she's all grown up. Also," she said as she laid on her hooves, "I think I might be getting a little desperate, 'cause I haven't had any flank in months."

Twilight gave Rainbow a cautious smile. "That's normal, Rainbow. As long as it's not frequent or powerful, you can be around her- as long as you absolutely do not let yourself do anything about it."

Rainbow looked surprisedly at Twilight. "Really?"

Twilight nodded. "Yep. Almost everypony is a little attracted to kids every once in a while. It's just that everyone's so scared of it that most don't acknowledge or talk about it. Just so long as you're aware of it and don't act on it, you can trust yourself around Scootaloo."

Rainbow smiled. "I'm glad. Scootaloo would've been destroyed if she couldn't have me around anymore."

Twilight's expression became serious. "But remember- you absolutely cannot do anything about it- even if she tells you you can."

Rainbow nodded. "I know." She looked down."She's not even the one I really have my eye on, anyway."

"Who is?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow flinched, then looked up at Twilight. Rainbow only saw sympathy and concern in Twilight's eyes, so she wearily said, "Don't tell anyone."

"I promise," Twilight replied.

Rainbow sighed. "It's Fluttershy."

Rainbow was silent, allowing her revelation to hang in the air for a while. Rainbow shrugged. "Thing is, Twilight, I think I've been in love with Flutters since we were fillies. It's why I lost my virginity to her."

Rainbow chuckled bitterly. "She's so sweet and kind and caring. She's so amazing. She's so beautiful. But I don't deserve her. You know how you said that you knew I was casually sleeping with some of my friends? Well, Fluttershy's one of 'em. But you probably already knew that, right? And if what you say is right, I hurt her. A lot. And not just because I treated her like dirt when we got new friends."

Tears welled in Rainbow's eyes. "She has Rarity and Applejack and Pinkie and you now. She has friends who love and care about her now, and not just for her body."

Rainbow silently sobbed. "We're just so different, Twi- I don't have anything in common with her. And I'm a terrible pony; I threw Fluttershy away as soon as I didn't need her anymore. And I'm a complete perverted slut; I actually considered having sex with a filly."

Tears streamed down Rainbow's cheeks. "I'm a horrible pony, Twilight. I have to be cool and awesome because I'll never be decent. Fluttershy's the Element of Kindness- and I'm just selfish and cruel. I don't deserve her. I never will."

Rainbow curled up in a ball and buried her head in her forelegs. She whispered, "She's better off without me."

Rainbow shook as she wept into Twilight's cushions. Rainbow felt Twilight wrap her hooves around her and hold her. Twilight said softly, "Rainbow, you're not a terrible pony. You're so brave and strong and kind and loyal and amazing. There's a reason Gilda and Pinkie and Scootaloo and Fluttershy are so in love with you."

Rainbow gasped, and she looked up. Twilight was smiling. "F-Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked astonishedly. "She loves me?!"

Twilight nodded. "She always has."

"But... but I treated her like a cheap toy! I was a terrible friend to her-"

"Rainbow, you were Fluttershy's only friend."

"But... But I hurt her!"

"And if you'd known that you were hurting her, wouldn't you have stopped?"

"I..." Rainbow looked down at her hooves, and after a moment she nodded. "Yeah, I would've."

"And you protected her and were there for her whenever she needed you. That's why you're the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow; you're always, always there for your friends, and you're always careful that you don't hurt them. After all, you want to sleep with Scootaloo and Pinkie, Right?"

"...Right...."

"So why haven't you?"

Rainbow smiled. "Yeah. I... guess you're right..."

"Go tell Fluttershy, Rainbow. I promise, nothing will make her happier."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. I... I will. Thanks, Twilight."

Rainbow wiped her eyes, climbed off the couch, and walked to the door. When she opened it, she felt the welcome sensation of the chill of the night's wind on her face. She exhaled, then turned to Twilight, who was still smiling. "Fluttershy's the one who told you about me, isn't she?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight nodded at her. Rainbow laughed, spread her wings, and took to the air.

* * *

Fluttershy had been completely restless all day. Ever since Twilight had visited her, she’d been moving around her cottage, attempting to steel herself up for her encounter with Rainbow. She had been pacing back and forth across the floor of her cottage all day, frequently moving towards her door, telling herself that she’d open it. But before she could turn the knob, she would squeak in fright, groan in frustration, then go back to her pacing.

When all three of her mealtimes came, she promised herself that she’d go to Rainbow once she’d eaten. But each time she cleared her dishes, she found that she could only stare at her door until she screamed in fury and went back to pacing.

Fluttershy had never been so terrified in her life. Every possible scenario of how things could go wrong flashed through her mind; she imagined Rainbow laughing at her, coldly dismissing her, or refusing to talk to her ever again. Even worse, she imagined Rainbow revealing to her that she was too late; Pinkie was her girlfriend now. Now she would never know if she would have had a chance.

Fluttershy groaned impatiently. “Come on, Fluttershy,” she muttered. “There’s no point putting it off anymore. You have to tell her.”

Fluttershy looked towards the clock tower in the distance. Nine forty-nine. Rainbow liked to stay up late, but after ten there would be a good chance she’d be asleep. It was now or never.

“Maybe I should go tomorrow,” Fluttershy muttered.

Fluttershy felt something small nudge her, and she looked down. Angel was gazing impatiently at her, crossing his arms and thumping his foot.

Fluttershy shook her head. “You’re right, Angel,” she said. “I need to do it now.”

Angel nodded and hopped away.

Fluttershy stared fiercely at her door for a moment before suddenly reaching forward and opening it. After squeaking in fear and crouching down for a moment, she slowly stood up and walked out.

It was a beautiful night. There were no clouds, so all the stars and nebulae in the sky were in full view. The moon was waxing into its gibbous phase, so Fluttershy’s way was brightly lit as she traveled over the path. She wasn’t a hundred feet from her home, however, when she heard a familiar voice from above her shout, “Hey, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy looked up and saw Rainbow descending before her. As Rainbow hovered to the ground, Fluttershy saw that Rainbow looked disheveled and exhausted. Fluttershy also distressedly noticed that Rainbow looked as though she'd been crying all day, yet she simultaneously also looked rather happy. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I am." Indeed, she sounded quite tired, but well nonetheless.

"Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's been a very, very long day," Rainbow replied with a weary sigh.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you another time. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something else."

"Really? Well, um... I... uh... I was actually going to see you to tell you something, too..."

"Really? What is it?"

"Um... you can say what you wanted to say first..."

Rainbow shook her head. "Nah. You go."

"Oh... um, okay..." Fluttershy replied, blushing and hiding behind her mane.

"So, what is it?" Rainbow said.

Fluttershy squeaked anxiously. "I... I..."

"Yeah?"

Fluttershy whispered, "I love you."

Rainbow blinked, closed her eyes, and chuckled. "So it's true."

Fluttershy turned surprisedly to Rainbow. "Huh?"

"Twilight told me you did," said Rainbow.

Fluttershy gasped. "She... did?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Fluttershy was silent for a moment, then turned away. "I didn't think you wanted me."

Rainbow laughed. "And here I thought it was you who didn't want me."

Fluttershy astonishedly turned back to her. "You... you did?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. You thought that I didn't need you anymore, right?"

Fluttershy teared up. "...Yes. You have Pinkie and Applejack and Scootaloo now. Why would you need me anymore?"

"Nothing could be farther from the truth," Rainbow replied, stepping closer to Fluttershy. "I've always liked you, Fluttershy. Why do you think I kissed you when we first met? Why do you think I lost my virginity to you? Why do you think I wanted to be with you all the time? It's because..."

Rainbow kissed Fluttershy. "I love you too."

Fluttershy smiled, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She kissed Rainbow back, and both of them moaned in ecstasy at the touch, taste, and smell of each other.

When they parted, both of them were panting and grinning euphorically. They went into Fluttershy's cottage together.

As soon as they were in, they climbed onto Fluttershy's couch and started making out again. It was a little strange to Rainbow that they weren't having sex yet, and yet she found that she was perfectly happy to take her time and just enjoy being with Fluttershy. Rainbow savored every sweet noise Fluttershy made when she kissed her neck or bit her ear, every touch they shared, every glimpse into each other's eyes.

Rainbow had never before had an experience like this- never before had she simply enjoyed being with the one she loved. It was the most amazing she'd ever felt; she never wanted the night to end.

Broken Hearts

The birds sang outside, awakening Rainbow. She tiredly opened her eyes. Upon seeing where she was, she bolted upright and gasped.

It was morning, and she was in Fluttershy's bed. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, and the sheets under Rainbow were still damp with tears and sweat. Her mane was very messy, and her eyes were sore from tiredness and crying.

From downstairs, Rainbow could faintly hear Fluttershy humming. Rainbow smiled; she sounded very happy.

Rainbow walked downstairs to find that Fluttershy was preparing blueberry crepes and hash browns. As she flew between her cupboards and stove, she had a blissful smile and was humming a sweet, romantic tune.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow said.

Fluttershy turned to Rainbow. "Oh! Hello, Dashie!" she said.

Fluttershy took some salt, shook a little into a bowl full of batter, and began mixing it. "I'm making us breakfast," she said.

Rainbow blushed. Neither she nor Fluttershy had ever made breakfast for each other; after all, that was something only couples did. "Yeah, um... thanks, Flutters," Rainbow said.

Fluttershy smiled affectionately at her, and Rainbow embarrassedly cleared her throat. "I'm, uh... can I use your shower?"

"Of course," Fluttershy replied.

"Thanks," Rainbow said, and she trotted to the bathroom to clean herself off.

As Rainbow stood below the seaming streams of water, she rinsed out her mildly-stinging eyes and washed out all of her sweat. After she had shampooed her mane, she relaxed and smiled at the memory of last night. "That," Rainbow muttered, "is now officially the best night of my life."

Rainbow couldn't help but wonder, however, what she was going to do next. Were she and Fluttershy a couple now? What would they do about it? When and how were they going to tell the others? How would they deal with the inevitable emotional breakdowns of Pinkie and Scootaloo?

Rainbow sighed wearily, turned the shower off, picked up a towel, and dried herself off.

When Rainbow returned, Fluttershy had set the table and was waiting for her. Rainbow smiled thankfully and gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the lips; she found herself blushing intensely over it, as she'd never done so before. Fluttershy giggled and also blushed a little.

"So," Rainbow said, "Are we, like... girlfriends now?"

"If you want to be," Fluttershy replied simply.

Rainbow grinned. "Yeah, I think I want to be."

As they served themselves their breakfast, Rainbow asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I suppose we do whatever feels right. After all, that's what we should have done in the first place."

Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, you're right. We totally should've."

After a few moments of silence, Fluttershy said, "Um, Dashie, can I... um, ask you something?"

"Sure you can," Rainbow replied.

"Well, um, it's just that... well... it's probably a bit... unpleasant, and... I don't want to spoil the mood..."

Rainbow considered it for a moment, then shrugged dismissively. "Meh. Go ahead. It can't be that bad."

"Oh, alright..." Fluttershy said.

After Fluttershy stared at her crepes for a moment, she said, "Why were you crying last night, Rainbow?"

Rainbow sighed. "Alright. This might take a while..."

Rainbow retold everything that had happened to her over the past two days, and at the end Fluttershy was staring at her with great distress. "S-Scootaloo tried to sleep with you?"

Rainbow nodded somberly. "Yeah."

Fluttershy covered her mouth. "Oh my goodness... Is she alright? Did something happen to her?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"And, is Pinkie alright? After what Gilda did..."

"I think she'll be okay. But speaking of Pinkie and Scootaloo..."

Rainbow frowned anxiously at Fluttershy. "When are we going to tell everypony? And what are we going to do about Pinkie and Scoots?"

Fluttershy swallowed. "Well, I... I think we should tell everypony soon, but... I just want to spend more time with you today."

Rainbow smiled. "Yeah. Alright, then- let's tell everypony tomorrow, and just relax and take it easy today."

Fluttershy smiled back and nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's."

Rainbow briefly flew out to check in a day of vacation time at the weather patrol, and then she returned to Fluttershy, and the two of them enjoyed a quiet, uneventful afternoon together. They read, ate, changed Fluttershy's bedding, and napped together on the bed. Rainbow had forgotten how much she loved just letting the hours slip away with Fluttershy.

The next day, they went to each of their friends' doors to announce their relationship to them. They began with Twilight; when they knocked at her door, she opened it, took a look at them, and smiled. "You two are together now?" she said.

Rainbow threw her foreleg around Fluttershy. "Obviously."

Twilight gave a hug to each of them, and Fluttershy said, "Thank you, Twilight," as she received hers.

As Twilight stood back from them, she said, "I'm glad you two seem to be happy. You've been through a lot."

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed.

Spike scampered to Twilight's side, and upon seeing Rainbow's foreleg draped around Fluttershy's shoulders he said, "Hey! Are you two Special Someponies now?"

"Guess so," Rainbow replied simply.

Spike grinned. "That's great! You guys make a great couple!"

Twilight nodded. "I think we should write to Celestia about this. Spike, I hope you're ready to write a looooong letter."

Spike folded his arms and grumbled, "Aw, come on... I was just about to go bowling..."

Twilight giggled and said to Rainbow and Fluttershy, "I'll see you two later."

Rainbow and Fluttershy bid Twilight farewell, then they went to see Rarity. She, too, responded by hugging both of them, expressing great happiness for them, and giving deep congratulations to them. When they told Applejack, she reacted exactly how they expected her to: she was disapproving, but tolerant.

When they went to tell Scootaloo, Rainbow said to Fluttershy, "Are you sure you want to be here? I mean, Scootaloo might get pissed at you..."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. I must face her sooner or later, and I want to help her as much as I can if she'll let me."

Rainbow nodded apprehensively.

When they arrived at Scootaloo's tent, Rainbow gently called, "Hey, Scootaloo?"

They heard some rustling from inside the tent, then the flap unzipped and Scootaloo poked her head out. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and she seemed depressed. "Hey, Rainbow," she said.

"Hey, Scoots. You alright?" Rainbow said.

"I'll get better," Scootaloo replied. She looked at Fluttershy. "So, are you Rainbow's girlfriend now?" she asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes."

Scootaloo sighed. Rainbow asked, "Are you upset?"

"Not that you have a girlfriend," Scootaloo said. "Just that I don't have you yet."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "'Yet'?"

Scootaloo smirked at her. "Yeah. I might not have Rainbow now, but mark my words: give me a few years, and she'll be mine!"

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow said. "What if I'm still with Fluttershy by then?"

"Then she'll be mine, too," Scootaloo replied.

Fluttershy blushed and Scootaloo laughed. "See you later, Dash," she said, and she went back into her tent.

As Rainbow and Fluttershy walked away, Rainbow chuckled and said, "We'll see, Scoots. We'll see..."

They then went to Sugar Cube Corner to see Pinkie. When they entered and the Cakes greeted them, Fluttershy said, "We need to see Pinkie."

Mrs. Cake nodded and said, "Just a second." She went upstairs to summon her employee, and after a few moments Pinkie came bounding down the stairs. "Hi, Dashie! Hi, Fluttershy!" She cried cheerfully.

"Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow replied. She said anxiously, "Um, Pinkie, we have something to tell you."

Pinkie nodded. "Okay! What is it, Dashie?"

Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy. "Well, Pinkie, Flutters and I... well, we're, um, together now."

Pinkie's smile disappeared. "You are?" she asked quietly.

Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded.

"Oh," Pinkie said.

Tears began welling in Pinkie's eyes. "I need to be alone," she said, and she sullenly plodded back upstairs.

Rainbow and Fluttershy gazed concernedly after Pinkie for a moment, then turned and left together.

Pinkie's friends didn't see her for several days. During that time, Twilight took Scootaloo to a child psychiatrist and then personally interviewed her. Both drew the same conclusion: Scootaloo hadn't been abused, but a lack of oversight or parenting had lead to her disturbingly early sexual precociousness.

When they hadn't seen Pinkie in four days, Rainbow grew worried and went to Sugar Cube Corner to see her. When she went to Pinkie's room, she found the pink Earth pony curled up under her blankets with several empty margarita bottles scattered around the floor. When Rainbow went to the bed and prodded Pinkie Pie, she poked her head out and turned to Rainbow. Her mane was straight and horrendously tangled, she smelled awful, and she was obviously deeply depressed.

"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked.

Pinkie smiled. "Of course I am. I'm doing great."

Rainbow glanced at the empty liquor bottles. "Uh, Pinkie, you've been drinking."

"Of course I've been!" Pinkie replied. "But I've only been drinking a little! You always have some cider when you're upset, Dashie!"

"Not this much," Rainbow replied. "And we haven't seen you in four days."

"Exactly! I'm doing really well! I'll be back out in about three more days!"

Rainbow stared astonishedly at Pinkie. "You know exactly when you'll stop being depressed?"

"Of course I do! Everypony does!" Pinkie replied exasperatedly.

After blinking a few times, Rainbow asked, "So how long would you hole up in here if you were doing badly?"

Pinkie looked up, thinking about it. "I'm not sure. I've never done badly before. But I imagine that I'd have to be in here for two or three months."

"...What would make it so that you were doing badly?" Rainbow asked.

"All of my friends or family dying in a train crash," Pinkie replied.

Rainbow shrugged. "Seems fair. So, you're really gonna be alright, Pinkie?"

"Not until three days, but yes. I'll be completely okay then."

"Are you angry at me or Fluttershy at all?"

Pinkie giggled. "Of course not! I'm happy for both of you, and Fluttershy's very lucky!" She frowned. "I only wish that it could've been me..."

Rainbow smiled sadly. "Yeah."

Rainbow hugged Pinkie, and then Pinkie cheerfully declared, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my moping. Bye, Dashie!"

She flashed Rainbow a smile, then reassumed her morose frown and returned to her fetal position beneath her blankets.

As Pinkie promised, after three days she was up and about again, as excitable and chipper as ever. Rainbow could tell that Pinkie was still in love with her, but they were able to go back to just being friends again, and Rainbow was deeply grateful for that. She wouldn't have wished for it any differently.

After talking with Fluttershy and Twilight about it for a while, Rainbow asked Scootaloo if she'd like to live in her house with her. Scootaloo eagerly accepted, and was able to move into one of Rainbow's empty rooms. After she did, Rainbow gave her her old collection of porn magazines, to which Scootaloo smirked and said, "Fluttershy making you get rid of 'em?"

"No," Rainbow replied. "I just don't need 'em anymore."

"Just give me a few years, and you're gonna be mine."

"Are you sure? You're really awesome, Scoot. What if you have tons of fillies falling at your feet before then?"

"None of 'em are half as amazing as you."

"You never know. Have you ever thought of trying with Apple Bloom? She's really cute; maybe you should ask her out sometime."

Scootaloo smirked. "Yeah. Maybe I will. But I promise: I'm still going to sweep you off your feet when I'm a teenager."

Rainbow smirked back. "We'll see."

Rainbow and Fluttershy's relationship wasn't always easy; they still lived in their own homes, and they still only had a few things in common. They sometimes wondered to each other if their relationship would last. Nonetheless, every time they asked they came to the same conclusion: even if it ultimately didn't work out, they would still always be best friends. After all, both of them were still able to be best friends with Pinkie. They speculated that if they broke up each of them might try with Pinkie or Twilight instead, but they would never regret that they tried with each other; at the moment, they were happy, and they were going to savor every moment of it that they had.