I'd Do Anything

  When I woke up, I didn't feel the warmth that I did last night. I felt around and the particular pegasus mare was missing from that spot. My eyes opened and I sat up and looked around. Mom wasn't by my side, nor was she in her own bed. I threw my blankets off and shot out of bed and ran around the house calling for Mom. Frustration built and I started slipping into my shoes. As soon as I got to the door and placed my hand on the knob I saw a piece of paper on the door.

  Hey kiddo, I'm pretty sure the only reason why you're standing here and reading this is because you woke up and thought I was missing. So take off your shoes and relax. Unless you actually wanna go out somewhere, but that doesn't matter. I'm out with the girls right now, so you don't have to worry about that anymore. Since you're alone, you get to have the day to yourself. You can do whatever you want. You can sit around, you can go out somewhere with with the Crusaders (I don't know why they still call themselves that, they have their Cutie Marks), and I'm going to allow this, you can invite Applebloom over. You need to hurry up and confess. Welp I'll see you later today.

Have fun Red,

Mom

  Wow. I feel like she purposely didn't wake me up just so she could make this letter. Oh well. I backed away with a sigh and slipped out of my shoes. I plopped down on the couch and pondered at what I was going to do. Actually, I didn't. I was pretty much going to do everything she said I could do in the letter. But... should I invite Applebloom over? Fuck it. I'll invite her over after we hang out with the Crusaders. I stood up and went into the bedroom. I threw on a new set of clothes and slipped into my shoes again before heading out and grabbing the Crusaders.

"So, where will we be going?" Sweetie asked.

"Well, I was thinking about jumping on the train to Canterlot, wander around for a bit." I replied.

"Are you sure we're aloud to go to Canterlot? We're not exactly, the upper-class kind of ponies." Scootaloo said.

"Well we'll be considered upper-class with me around." Sweetie chimed.

"That's my line." I said.

We all laughed as we walked towards the station.

"Being a different species as well as being friends with Twilight has its perks." I assured.

"Are you fuckin' kidding me." I muttered.

  I guess what I said was a lie when the guards stopped us when we hopped off. The girls were stopped as well because they were with me, which I was of course pissed about. And among the guards was Flash Sentry. God I wanted to punch him in the mouth when I first met him. Same with Blueblood. It wasn't long before Celestia of all ponies came down herself to solve the problem.

"Sorry for the inconvenience Tia." I sighed.

"No need to worry Ca-" Celestia stopped as I shot her a dead glare before she could finish my full name. Being an Ailcorn, she knew a lot of things about me most people shouldn't. Same with her sister Luna.

"Excuse me. Red." She corrected herself.

"It's fine." I smiled.

"Sentry, stand down." Celestia ordered.

Flash nodded and the guards stepped back.

"Tell me, why are you here in Canterlot Red?" Celestia asked.

"Mom was out with the rest of the Elements, and I didn't know anywhere else to go apart from Canterlot. This place seemed more lively. Plus we're doing a bit of window shopping." I answered.

"Oh, well feel free to stop by the palace at any time." Celestia smiled.

  The girls and I replied with our own smiles and Tia flew back to the palace. After she was gone my smile faded and I shot a glare at Flash. He sighed and averted his eyes as I walked by. As I passed by, I clenched my fist, making my knuckles pop audibly. I let out a sigh as we entered the actual city. The time we spent at Canterlot was pretty magical. Even though there wasn't anything I could window shop for, the girls made it all the more lively. I knew it'd make them happy bringing them here. The whole time we were there I didn't see a single moment when they weren't smiling. Scoots and Sweetie were off in another part along with Applebloom. I looked over at Applebloom and awkwardly shimmied over to her.

"Uhh, h-hey Bloom." I said.

"Oh, hey Red!" Bloom replied with a bright smile.

Adorable.

"Oh nothin'. Um, I was just wondering if... you wanted to come over to my place when we go back to Ponyville?" I offered.

A blush spread across Bloom's face and she looked away.

"Uh- um. Sure. I should still have some time to spare after this." She answered.

Mission accomplished... part one at least.

  The rest of the day we spent together, instead of off and about window shopping as I sat on a bench somewhere nearby. We all sat on a bench in front of a large fountain. I sat in the middle of the bench with Scoots on the left taking up all the space on the left side by laying down  and Sweetie and Bloom on my right. My legs ached from three hours of following and chasing the girls around. My head was leaned back and I caught a few Z's before Scoots woke me up with a few nudges.

"Hey Red, we should probably get home now." She yawned.

"Agreed." Bloom and Sweetie chimed.

"Yeah, I hear ya. Come on, let's go before we miss the train." I yawned.

  We arrived at Ponyville, hopped off the train, said our goodbyes and parted ways. After we all left I felt the pattering of rain. As I walked home I saw Applebloom still to my side. I nearly forgot that she was coming over. Thankfully I didn't. She looked really nervous about this. I couldn't let her be this way before we got there and let out a sigh.

"There's nothing to worry about Bloom, we're just hanging out." I assured.

"Oh. Okay." She muttered.

Welp, that came off badly.

  I wanted to say something, but I feel like I'd worsen it. Once again I bumped into my front door face first from not paying attention. That's... six times now? Dunno, I think I'm losing count. I opened the door and let Bloom go first before following and shutting the door behind us. I let out a sigh and plopped down on the love seat, followed by a facepalm. Mom still wasn't home, and it was just me and Bloom. Alone. At my house... Alone...  My muscles tensed as Applebloom sat down next to me.

  Things felt awkward at the moment. Things were dark, cold, and the rain pattering against the windows was making me sleepy. My drowsiness was wiped away when Applebloom slowly scooted over and leaned against me. The warmth that I felt before was coming back, and my heart started beating faster.

"Hey, Red." Bloom said softly.

"Yeah?"

"D-do you mind, if I do this?"

"Do what?"

  My heart nearly stopped as I felt Bloom wrap her arms around me and nuzzle my shoulder as she did what I recognized...

as cuddling.

I'm cuddling.

My crush.

And I'm alone with her...

I gotta do it....

"Hey, uh Bloom?"

"Yeah."

We both looked at each other. Our faces reddened as we realized how close our faces were.

"U-uhm. I uh... I've wanted to say something for a while now but uh..."

"Yeah... same here..." Bloom said softly.

"Um... I uh..."

  I didn't notice it until now, but our faces were getting closer. I felt her breath on my lips. Her warmth was engulfing me entirely. It wasn't even warmth anymore, it was pure heat. My heart was jumping out of my chest and we both closed our eyes as our lips nearly touched...

"Alright! Come on in! Feel free to set your stuff down-"

  Mom gasped and stopped as she saw me and Bloom were sitting on opposite couches, as far away from each other as possible, trying to look as nonchalant as we could while hiding our blushes. My heart was jack-hammering and my face was burning. I couldn't stop my arms from shaking and I had drummer feet.

"Hey Bloom, what're you doin' here?" AJ asked.

"Oh nothin'! Red got me n' the girls and we all went to Canterlot. Then it started raining, and Red offered me some cover." Bloom replied.

"Oh... okay." AJ sighed.

  She looked over at me and saw the state I was in. I couldn't hide anything else but my erratic breathing. Applebloom was doing a surprisingly good job at hiding her nervousness. The only thing she couldn't hide was her slight blush.

  The rain didn't let up, and everyone spent the night. I offered my bed to Applebloom and then slept on the couch. AJ slept on the floor while Twilight and Rarity shared the love seat. And of course, Pinkie and Fluttershy decided to share the long couch with me. Pinkie's hair was all up in my face, and I was still shocked about earlier.

I didn't get any sleep that night...

  One by one, everyone woke up, grabbed their stuff and left. Pinkie was the first to leave, thankfully. It's not that I mind her cuddling me, it's just that her hair gets annoying sometimes. Twilight left second, then Rarity, then Flutters, and finally AJ. She grabbed her stuff and Applebloom was following close by. I watched as she walked out of the house. Before she closed the door, she stopped and turned around and gave me a bright smile. I smiled back with a blush and her eyes signaled towards my bag and she closed the door.

  My eyes fell to my bag that was on the floor near the door. I wonder why she pointed towards that. I couldn't figure out why because I was still thinking about last night.

"What's wrong hon?" Mom asked as she leaned against me.

  I didn't reply. I stood there, thinking. My mind couldn't get out of that moment. All of the feelings I felt in that moment and after were glued to me...

"Red?" Mom said.

"I almost did it..." I replied.