Fluttershy and Alexander

So here it was, the day of reckoning… not really, Alexander was just meeting Fluttershy’s friends, but it had a weight to it he wasn’t expecting. He had to admit to himself that it was stressing him out a little. He didn’t want to make a bad first impression, but he wasn’t exactly the warmest pony around, so he had no idea how this would go…

Rarity heard a knock at her door. “Oh, that must be them,” she said, giving herself a once-over in the mirror before trotting to the door.

She opened the door and took in the sight of the two ponies on the other side. There was Fluttershy, looking a little nervous, and next to her must be…

“Alexander, I presume?” she said. He was a somewhat tall earth pony stallion with a white coat and black mane, wearing a silver vest and tie to match his silver hooves. It wasn’t the doctor clothes she was expecting. Oh, and his glasses, he wore round silver mirrored glasses. Overall, he had a distinguished, almost imposing presence.

“Indeed. It is nice to finally meet you,” he said, bowing his head to her.

Hmm, polite, if a bit stiff. At least he’s not hard on the eyes, Rarity thought.

“Well it is nice to finally meet you. Come in, come in. We can talk better inside,” she said. She was a bit excited, this was Fluttershy’s coltfriend after all, the stallion that had swept her off of her hooves. She was so curious to find out more about him.

They made their way to a fancy table in the back room, and after sitting down, Rarity asked “Care for some tea?”

“If it is no trouble, thank you,” he replied, Fluttershy nodding yes in kind.

“No trouble at all!” Rarity said. She went to her little kitchen to retrieve the tea she had prepared for their little gathering.

While Rarity was getting the tea, Alexander asked a question while he still could, “So, I’ve heard stories about your friends, and not just from you. But level with me, what should I really be expecting?”

“Umm, well, Rarity is classy, dramatic, and a bit sensitive,” Fluttershy said, trying her best to give a clear answer. Rarity was a hard pony to summarize. “...And she is going to want to dress you up if she likes you.”

His eye twitched a little. “Of course.”

She laughed awkwardly. “It’ll be fine.”

After Rarity returned with the tea, and all were served and comfortable, she decided to get the conversation going. “So, where to start? I can’t say I’ve heard much about you.”

“I tend to keep to myself, so that is no surprise to me,” he said.

“Really? But you went out to court Fluttershy it seems,” she said. If he prefers to keep to himself, then why would he break that habit for Fluttershy?

“Well, you got me there. It’s not something I usually do, but… I guess this was a special case,” he said.

Rarity’s eyes lit up, she was imagining a fanciful scenario in her mind, and couldn’t help but blurt it out. “Did you fall in love at first sight?”

Fluttershy blushed, she never really thought about that. Is that the reason he’d pursued her in the beginning?

“I’m… not sure,” he said. I guess that would make sense though, he thought. “All I know is, there was something compelling about her when we first met, and I couldn’t get her out of my mind since.”

Rarity was almost giddy now. “You did fall in love at first sight! That is simply adorable!”

Alexander chuckled a little. “If you say so,” he said. I thought I was being silly, asking a mare I barely knew out. Still think it was crazy…

He was pensive. She seemed to care more about the romanticism of their relationship than the reality of it. How was he supposed to deal with this? It was getting silly.

He looked sideways out of his glasses at Fluttershy without turning his head, hoping she’d notice and Rarity wouldn’t. Thankfully, Fluttershy did notice.

“Uh Rarity, are we getting a little off track?” she said.

“Where are my manners? Sometimes I get carried away,” she said. This wasn’t a fairy tale after all.

“It’s OK, you just want to know why I’m here is all, with Fluttershy I mean,” he said, turning to her as he said her name.

“Yes, I suppose I do, so how about a different sort of question? What do you think of fashion?” she said.

“Huh?” he said, his attention snapping back to Rarity. What… does that have to do with anything? he thought. “I’m… not sure what to say about that subject. I’m rather practical-minded, sorry to say.” He knew Rarity loved fashion, it was her calling after all, but it was just confusing to him.

“Oh? But your vest and tie, it matches you well, stylish without being showy, a simple but effective fashion statement if you ask me,” she said. You could learn a lot about somepony by the way they dressed.

“This…” he said, bringing one of his hooves up to touch at his clothes. “...I just thought it made me look professional is all, I didn’t think it was fancy or anything like that.”

“It does make you look professional, but I think it also makes you look quite dashing. You have good taste, even if you don’t realize it,” she said.

“...Thank you,” he said. He was a bit lost. Was this going well? She had complimented him, but he had no idea if that meant he was doing well or if she was just being polite.

He doesn’t seem very relaxed about this. “Hmm… could you do me a favor, Alexander?” she said.

“What kind of favor?” he said.

“I have a stallion outfit for a private line I have been thinking of creating, and I could use a good model to test with. Would you be so kind as to help me out?” she said.

Alexander recalled what Fluttershy had said about Rarity wanting to dress him up if she liked him, which means he was doing well. So better not blow it now. “Sure,” he said.

“Wonderful! Fluttershy, you go out front and wait so we can walk him out, and Alexander, follow me to the dressing room so I can get you fitted,” she said.

“O-oh, okay,” Fluttershy said. She looked at Alexander. “I’m sure she has something interesting for you, do your best!”

“Thanks,” he said, getting up to follow Rarity, who was already up and waving him over to the dressing room.

As he entered the darker room Rarity set to work getting him ready, taking off his vest and tie with her magic. Something he awkwardly went along with.

As she continued setting up, doing measurements and such, she said, “So, how do you think your relationship together is going?” she said, still working without missing a beat. Like this she could ask him a more serious question without Fluttershy present. Maybe he would be more relaxed, and maybe, more open.

Should’ve saw this coming… “It’s going well so far,” he said.

“Are you sure?” she said.

“What? Do you want me to say it is going poorly?” he said. Blunt, but that seemed to be what she wanted.

“No, of course not, we just care about her, is all. We know she is strong, especially when she needs to be, but that will never stop us from worrying about our precious friend. You understand?” she said.

“...Yeah, I get it,” he said, pausing to collect his thoughts. His voice became quiet, and almost sentimental. “I can’t say we will be perfect, that we won’t ever fight or argue, but I want to try and have a good life with her. That make sense?”

Rarity stopped for a moment, and turned to look at him. “That was very sincere, thank you. And yes, that makes sense. I’m sure as long as you try, you’ll be fine together,” she said.

“Now hold still while I put this on you,” she said.

Fluttershy waited in front of Rarity’s miniature modeling platform, wondering what they were doing. Is she dressing him in something his doesn’t like? Is he arguing with her?

Before she got too deep into her worries, Rarity pranced out of the back and joined her.

“Ready?” Rarity said.

“Ready for what?” Fluttershy said.

“You can come out!” she said, calling Alexander out of the dressing room.

He walked out onto the platform, causing Fluttershy to blush at the sight of him.

He was wearing a tight black outfit, with straps stretched across bare coat that emphasized his body, his muscles in particular… it was basically a stallion stripper outfit.

“What am I even wearing? Is this demeaning?” he said, trying to gauge the looks they were giving him.

“No darling, you look great! Right Fluttershy?” she said, giving her friend a sidelong glance.

“You look-” don’t say sexy, don’t say sexy, don’t say sexy- “se-stylish! Very… exotic, heh heh…” she said.

Alexander knew something was up, not just from the awkward answer, but the fact that he could sense Fluttershy’s body was heating up. Even Rarity seemed to be getting a kick out of this, so whatever he was wearing, it was a real turn on apparently. I’m wearing something ridiculous aren't I… Fuck it, not worth making a scene over.

“I’ll take your word for it, I really don’t get fashion if this is the norm though,” he said.

With a giggle Rarity said, “It’s okay dear, everypony’s tastes are different. You can head back now.”

“Right…” he said, making his way back into the dressing room.

With him out of sight Rarity put a foreleg around Fluttershy’s shoulders and pulled her close.

“Darling…” she said.

“Y-yes Rarity?” she said.

“That one's a keeper, a bit rigid, but a keeper nonetheless. Good job,” she said.

“Thanks… I think,” she said.

After Alexander got his proper clothes back on, and they said their final words, Rarity wished them well on the rest of their day… oh, and she gave Fluttershy the outfit Alexander had worn as a gift.

“What was the gift about?” Alexander asked.

“Oh, nothing important. So onto our next stop?” she said, trying to change the subject.

“Sweet Apple Acres?” he said.

~ ~ ~

“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack shouted, greeting the ponies at the front gate.

“...Thanks. Nice to finally meet you,” he said, extending a foreleg to shake hooves.

“Nice ta finally meet ya too,” she said, taking his hoof and shaking it vigorously.

She took the moment to size him up. Hmm, not bad. A little fancy, but he’s got some muscle and he has a firm hoofshake. “Okay, we’re good,” she said.

“...We’re good? What does that mean?” he said.

“It means we’re good. Look, ah trust Fluttershy’s judgement. If you’ve been dating fer months and you’re still around then she must see somethin’ worthwhile in you, so ah don’t see the point in pryin’ anymore than that. Sound good?” she said.

So no long awkward conversation? “Sounds good to me,” he said.

“Great! Now if ya want ta really impress me, then just don’t be a stranger and come say hi now and then, maybe even do some apple buckin’ to show me what ya got, you hear?” she said.

“That could be interesting, I’ll think about it,” he said.

“Good ta hear, now ah got ta get back to working. Always somethin’ needs doin’ around here, I’ll see you two around,” she said, waving goodbye as she walked off back to work.

“...That went well,” he said, almost in disbelief at the simplicity of it by comparison to the last meeting.

Fluttershy giggled. “Yeah, AJ’s earnest like that. You kind of remind me of her sometimes.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment then. So where to next?” he said.

“That would be…”

~ ~ ~

“Rainbow Dash! We’re here!” she called out, trying to get her friend’s attention.

“Guess she can’t hear me? I hope she didn’t forget,” she said, turning to Alexander. “Let me go up and check if she’s home.”

“OK, take your time. We’re ahead of schedule anyway,” he said.

She smiled and flapped her wings to lift off, making her way up to Dash’s cloud home.

As she entered Dash’s house she called out again, “Dash! Are you home?” I hope she didn’t leave her house unlocked… again, she thought.

Suddenly, Dash raced past while saying, “Oh hey Fluttershy you’re here that’s great could you look after Tank he’s been acting funny and I’ll say hi to whatshisname thanks,” and closed the door behind her before she could answer back.

“...What?” Fluttershy said, beyond confused. Should I go down? But what about Tank? She couldn’t just leave an animal friend in need.

A rainbow-colored streak flew down at impressive speed and landed in front of Alexander.

“Okay you, what’s your angle?” Dash said, barely taking the time to look at the stallion before questioning him.

“Excuse me?” he said. He wasn’t sure how to take that, not even a hello before asking a rather rude question? He could already tell this wasn’t going to go well.

“Don’t play dumb! Your angle, your deal, what are you playing at with Fluttershy!” she said, getting up in the stallion’s face. He looked like a stuffy nopony to her.

For his part, he didn’t back down, but he also didn’t want to escalate this any further, despite how insulting her questions were getting.

“I think we’re getting off to a bad start, let’s try this again. Hello, my name is Alexander, nice to meet you,” he said, extending a foreleg for a hoofshake as he did his best to sound cordial.

“Uhg.” If he thinks I’m going to buy his nice guy act then he’s got another thing coming, she thought. “Fine. You want to talk? What’s up with that weird name?” she said.

...And I’m wasting my breath, he thought, lowering his hoof down, and with it, dropping all pretenses of being cordial. “You mean the name my Mother gave me? The name she was so fond of?”

Dash backed off a little, less because she didn’t want to press him for more information, more because he flipped from nice guy to stone cold in an instant, his face losing all expression, and his voice becoming flat without any inflection. It was a bit unnerving.

“W-whatever, you still haven’t answered my question. What’s your deal? What are you trying to do with Fluttershy?” she said.

He just glared at her through his glasses. He had an idea of why she was acting like this. She obviously wanted to protect her longtime friend. But that was no excuse, he had not an ounce of patience for such utter nonsense.

She was starting to get freaked out. He was staring at her like she was an insect, and he wasn’t saying a word. It didn’t look like he was even breathing, just putting everything he had into that look…

“Hey! You going to say something or what?” she said. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.

After some more silence, “Pointless. You don’t want an actual conversation, you’re just looking for somepony to antagonize. Don’t waste my time,” he said, his voice cold and detached.

“Y-yeah? Well I don’t care! You’re not the first faker to try and get at her and I didn’t let it happen then and I won’t let it happen now!” she said, before launching back up to her house.

He stayed put, not moving a muscle. He probably could have handled that better… he didn’t particularly care though. If somepony was going to try and antagonize him that badly, then he would pull no punches in return…

Dash burst into her own house shouting, “Fluttershy! We gotta talk!” She found Fluttershy with Tank. “There you are, we need to talk. That-” she began.

“Tank’s fine,” Fluttershy said. Her face was deadpan and her voice unamused. Dash had lied to her about Tank to get her out of the way.

“Yeah that’s great, but-” she said.

“You went down to argue with him? Didn’t you?” Fluttershy said.

“What! No! I just asked him what his deal was… that’s all,” she said, slowly realizing Shy was not happy with her.

“How did you ask him? Exactly?” she said, channeling some of her assertiveness.

“Does that even matter? He wouldn’t even talk to me! Just glared at me like I did something wrong,” she said.

Fluttershy facehoofed, “It’s Discord all over again…” she muttered.

“Discord? What does he have to do with this?” she said.

Fluttershy snapped a little, “Discord doesn’t get along with him either! He acted just like you are acting now!”

“Uhh…” Dash stammered. I’m acting like Discord… what. She didn’t know how to respond to that.

“What do you think he’s going to do? Just use me? He agreed to meet you all because he actually cares about being a part of my life, do you really think he’d go that far if all he wanted was a good time?” she said, holding her head in her hooves after she stopped.

“...What if that is all he wants? I’m just trying to keep an eye out for you, you know?” she said. Shy didn’t seem to be buying it…

“...I just want my friends to get along with my coltfriend, I knew he might not like all of you, and vice-versa, but I never expected my oldest friend to be his biggest problem,” she said.

Shy looked really hurt by all of this. Maybe… I’m going too far with this? Would she be this upset if they didn’t care about each other? Dash thought.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and swallowed her pride. “Look, it doesn’t have to be that bad, we can… go back down there and I’ll… I’ll give him a chance this time, okay?”

“Okay…” she said. She was still frustrated, but maybe they could still get along?

They made their way out of the house, and back down to Alexander…

He was still there, not moving, staring out at nothing. He had put some of his body into stasis while he waited, but started switching everything back on when he noticed them coming down.

As they touched down, Fluttershy stood to their sides, watching them both. She looked a little haggard.

Dash gathered herself to speak… and apologize, she guessed. “Okay… so I might have gone overboard with you… sorry. Can we try again?” rubbing one of her forelegs with the other.

He considered this, and calculated his response. “...I won’t hold a grudge if you don’t. But for future reference, that kind of attitude does not fly with me,” he said. He wanted to be firm and set a precedent for what he was willing to put up with.

So it’s okay for you to backtalk me? she thought. “Wow, you really are uptight,” she said, earning herself a look from Fluttershy.

“Yes. Try to keep that in mind and we should be fine,” he said, extending a fore leg for that proper hoofshake they’d never gotten around to.

He… really is that uptight? Like, Ms. Harshwhinny uptight? she thought. This time Rainbow Dash decided to go with it and shake his hoof. “Right... water under the bridge I guess, just… be good to her okay? It’d… really rile me up to see anything bad happen to her, and if you are the one that does it…” she said, making sure he got the picture.

“I get it, I would probably think the same way in your position,” he said, ending the hoofshake.

“Sure, well, if that’s it… see ya Fluttershy!” she said, retreating to her house in a flash.

They looked up after her, Fluttershy in disbelief and Alexander stone-faced.

“Well… that was a mess,” he said.

Fluttershy sighed deeply. “At least Twilight can’t be any worse, right?” she said.

“Shhh, don’t jinx it. If it is worse I might end up getting blasted by an Alicorn, I’d rather not deal with that today,” he said, only half-joking.

~ ~ ~

Magical blasts rang out from Twilight’s castle.

Just outside, the two ponies stared up at the lights and sounds. Fluttershy was scrunching her muzzle, while Alexander had his usual blank expression. He was getting a lot of use out of that look today…

“Umm, I’m sure it’s fine…” she said as another blast rang out. “...Probably nothing to worry about, heh… heh.”

He wasn't listening. Should have brought more biomass, could have made a stronger war form… he thought, wondering if he would really have to fight for his life today.

The main door of the castle opened, and a small dragon stepped out to greet the ponies outside.

“Hey, you two just going to stand outside?” Spike said, trying to get the ponies’ attention.

“Oh! Spike, what’s going on?” Fluttershy said.

“Huh?” he said, taking a moment to realize what she meant. “Oh! That’s just Twilight and Glimmer doing their magic practice.”

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

“Right,” Alexander said. He still prepared himself for the worst, because if anything, what he just learned meant there were two powerful ponies in the castle instead of one.

“So this is the guy?” Spike said, looking up at the unfamiliar stallion. “Sweet shades.”

Alexander looked down at the small dragon, Twilight’s assistant. “Thanks.”

While he was looking at him, Alexander couldn’t help but use his senses to peer through Spike’s body, not every day you get a close look at a dragon after all. Tough scales, compact muscles, stout bones, and an impressive digestive system. Interesting.

“So you coming in?” Spike said.

“Yes Spike. Come on, we’re almost done,” she said, entering the castle door.

Alexander followed without a word.

With Spike’s help they found the room Twilight and Starlight were in… the very messy room they were in.

“Hey Twilight! Fluttershy and… what’s your name again?” he said, turning and pointing at the stallion.

“Alexander!” Twilight said, flying over to greet them. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you! New friends are always welcome.”

The stallion looked around at the mess before making eye contact with the princess. “Do you and your friends usually trash your own home?”

Spike burst out laughing, while Twilight blushed as she realized what she and Starlight had done to the room.

“Heh heh, one sec, we’ll fix this right up. Then we can talk,” she said.

“I’ve got it!” Starlight said, magically reorganizing everything in an instant. That done, Starlight left with Spike, while Twilight showed Fluttershy and Alexander to some seats.

“Sorry about that, Starlight and I like to practice our magic skills sometimes. It’s exciting… but a little destructive,” she said, laughing nervously.

“It’s certainly not what I expected, that’s for sure,” he said. He was expecting somepony more… regal? Twilight was Celestia’s protege. He’d thought she would be a lot more serious, but she was another young adult like the rest of Fluttershy’s friends.

“Sorry again. So, where to start. Oh, your name!” she said.

What was with the obsession with his name lately? “What about it?” he said.

“Do you know where it comes from? Why did your parents give you that name?” she said, genuinely curious.

“...Alexander Basileus, ancient pegasus warrior. My Mom liked the old stories about pony heroes like him, and she wanted me to have a strong, unique, name like one of them. Honestly, it got me more attention than I liked,” he said.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess such an old name would draw attention in this day and age. I hope it didn’t cause you any trouble,” she said.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, but thanks for the concern,” he said. He wasn’t sure about these questions. Twilight seemed more interested in who he was than his relationship with Fluttershy. If she starts asking the wrong questions this could get problematic…

“OK, how about a different question? You’re a doctor, right? What was med school like? What did you specialize in?” she said.

“That’s multiple questions,” he said, catching her off guard.

“Opps! Sorry, guess I’m still worked up. Let me try again,” she said, then did her breathing exercise to calm herself. “So you’re a doctor right?”

“Correct.”

“Did you specialize?” she said.

“Yes,” he said.

“In what?”

“Invasive surgery,” he said. His answer got some attention and for good reason…

“Wow, really? Not a lot of doctors take that specialization,” she said.

“I’m not surprised. It can be somewhat… gruesome at times. Not everypony can take it, more than a few of my classmates changed their specializations after the first live demonstration,” he said, lingering on live just long enough for the mares to get uneasy. It was funny to him; everypony always freaked out about blood and guts, but not him. Why would he? He had been able to literally see inside everypony’s bodies since he was young. It stopped being freaky after a while and just became mundane…

“I... I bet. It’s not an easy subject. I guess that’s why you can afford your own clinic?” she said, a little shaken. She knew all about anatomy and such, but that was from books… a live demo? She wasn’t sure she could handle that. That doesn’t sound like a fun job, but I guess somepony has to do it.

“Yes. I get payed well for my expertise, but my clinic is actually for follow-up therapy, not the actual surgeries,” he said.

“Really?” she said.

“Yes. I can do surgeries there if absolutely necessary, but I haven’t had to deal with that kind of emergency in a long time. Thankfully, all pony breeds are rather sturdy, so my skills aren’t needed often,” he said.

“I see,” she said. So he makes enough bits that he never has to worry about it, and he lives at his own private clinic where almost nopony ever bothers him? That’s kind of odd… though, I guess I would have to say the same thing about Fluttershy. So I can’t really judge him based on that.

“If you don’t mind me asking a personal question, how old are you? If you’ve been through med school then you must be in your 30s by now,” she said. The question was a bit rude, but it was so odd that he hadn't even told Fluttershy how old he is.

Fluttershy winced. She was curious about that too, but she could never outright ask him, not like that.

For his part, Alexander wasn’t phased by the question, but it did set off some warning bells. Now why is she interested in that? “Well actually, if you count med school, getting enough funds together to build my own clinic, and the time I’ve already spent in Ponyville. Then I would be in my 40s,” he said.

“Oh right! You would’ve had to build the clinic first, I didn’t think of that. So you’re in your 40s?” she said. He didn’t actually answer the question…

“You don’t look that old,” Fluttershy said. He really didn’t… was it odd that she was dating an older stallion? Or vise versa for that matter.

He laughed. “Thanks,” he said, reaching out to grasp one of her forehooves with his own. “Guess I just age well, hopefully it sticks for a while.”

Fluttershy blushed, and Twilight lost her train of thought looking at them.

...They look happy, like my brother and Cadance. I guess I shouldn’t scrutinize him so much, she thought.

Twilight cleared her throat, getting their attention back on her, “I think I’ve asked enough questions. It’s my hope that you will open up to us a bit more in the future Alexander, but for now, you two seem happy with each other, so I can’t see a reason to complain,” she said, getting up from her seat and walking up to shake his hoof.

He took the hoof slowly, still a little on edge, as soon as he did he found himself being pulled into a hug. After getting over the initial shock of it, he slowly returned the gesture. Princess of Friendship all right…

“It’s been nice meeting you Alexander, and good luck, both of you,” she said. He seems nice enough, I hope they can make it work.

“Thanks, it means a lot,” he said. This was actually a really good outcome, all things considered.

“Thanks Twilight,” Fluttershy said, joining the hug.

They lingered in that hug with each other a little longer than he was comfortable with. The mares seemed to get a kick out of it though. So he didn’t dare say anything, not at this point.

They finally broke the hug and Twilight called Spike to escort them out before saying her goodbyes.

They walked into the hallway with Spike.

“Sooo, how’d it go?” Spike said.

“Well enough,” he said.

“Cool, cool…” Spike said, slowly leading them back out of the castle. “Uh, hey, you wouldn’t happen to be an… Ogres & Oubliettes fan, would you?”

He had heard the stories about this. “...Guys’ night?” he said. The little dragon shaking his head up and down in affirmation.

“No promises, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a try,” he said.

“Awesome! I can’t wait to tell Big Mac!” he said cheerfully, suddenly racing down the hall in his excitement.

Finally out of the castle, they said goodbye to Spike and headed on their way…

~ ~ ~

Over in Sugarcube Corner, as far away from the entrance as possible, Alexander sat, slumped over a table, exhausted. He was emotionally and psychologically drained, and questioning if this day had been worth it…

Fluttershy sat next to him, softly stroking his head and mane. She could see he was drained, and was trying to help him relax.

Pinkie Pie bounced over, carrying an oversized cupcake in her hoof.

“Long day?” she said, as she placed the cupcake down in front of him. Her tone was surprisingly quiet for the pink party pony.

He just grumbled in response.

“That bad, huh? Well, at least you got it out of the way. Smooooth sailing from now on, right?” she said.

He opened his eyes to try and look at her around the big cupcake. “...How do you do it?”

“Huh? Do what?” she said.

“Spend hours and hours around everypony, always so happy and cheerful. It doesn’t seem possible…” he said.

She couldn’t help but giggle. “Silly, not everypony can be a party pony.”

“...Not exactly what I meant.” Being around others almost always agitated him, the only ponies that didn’t bother him… well, two of them were right here. He couldn’t imagine ever loosening up like this around anypony else.

Pinkie dropped the hyperness for a moment to be as sincere as possible. “I’m always happy and cheerful because when other ponies see me in such a happy mood, it makes them happy, and when I see them happy, it makes me even happier. It’s my way of bringing ponies together, even if just a little. Does that make sense?”

He chuckled. He still didn’t get it, probably never would, but… She even sounds like Mom.

He dragged himself up to a proper sitting position, and picked up the cupcake. “Thanks…”

The mares smiled at him, glad he was feeling better. Pinkie Pie started bouncing in place again.

Alexander held up the cupcake, as if making a toast. “To smooth sailing from now on…” he said, then tried to eat the big cupcake in one bite. It almost worked.

They all started laughing, it was a nice way to end a hectic day out.