Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

by BlackM

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Other, Romance, Big Macintosh, Slice of Life
Length: 81732

Title says it all. How bad can it get?

It's a few weeks before summer, and Ponyville is at it's calmest. That is, until Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash announce that they are dating. No big deal though, it's just some mildly shocking news. How will their friends and family react? How will the whole town react? One thing's for certain, nothing bad will come of this at all, in any shape or form. That is guaranteed.

...Right?

AN: Official sequel to Fun. It is not necessary to have read that story before this one.

Published 2012-07-18 19:34:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-24 11:37:14 UTC

A particularly loud day

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

A particularly loud day

--

The pegasus zoomed freely over the air of Ponyville. She felt so relieved. Finally, after months of sneaking around and keeping quiet, it felt good to have the secret off of her chest and out in the open. And the best part was, Applejack was totally ok with it! Now that she knew, she could start seeing Macintosh regularly, and they could fool around all they wanted without having to hide.

Well, actually, they still had to hide. That’s what they called privacy. And they couldn’t do it whenever they wanted to, both of them still had jobs. And in between family and friends, they’d be too occupied to make it a daily sort of thing.

“…”

Whatever. The fact that the secret was out meant more windows of opportunity opened up. Now that their friends would know, they would understand when they wanted to sneak away and buck. They’d understand, right? Not like she’d leave in the middle of a picnic because she was a different kind of hungry, except for that one time where she kept her distance away from the blanket to keep her-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she nearly blindsided a pegasus during flight.

“Oh my gosh! I’m really sorry, Derpy!” she apologized as the pony regained her flight.

While the pony was rather known by the other name Ditzy Doo, she was only called Derpy by close friends like Rainbow Dash. It wasn’t exactly okay for others to call her the same name, since the pony was self conscious about her condition. Only those that liked her and acknowledged her past her disability were allowed to call her Derpy.

The pony shook her head and turned to her friend, “No worries, Rainbow Dash!” she said with a salute, “It’s usually my own fumbles that get the worst of me.”

As she spoke, a scroll slid out of her mailbag and fell. It had a wooden spine to hold it in place while rolled up, so the pony it hit below sounded out an understandable cry of pain.

“Ow! Watch it!”

“Sorry!” Derpy apologized as she flew down to retrieve the scroll.

As Rainbow Dash watched, a thought came to her head. No doubt Applejack would relay the news to the others in order to share the confusion; Applejack still had trouble processing their relationship even after she left. After all, Rainbow Dash was the kind of pony to be rather modest of their relationship, yet at the same time very gloatful. Her pride was telling her to spread the word around, to see the look on their faces twist in sheer confusion at the news.

She decided to go with her gut. What harm could it do?

“Hey Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said as Derpy floated back up.

“Huh?” she responded.

“I want to tell you something, some good news that I’d like for you to spread around,” she said as she wrapped an arm around the gray pony.

“Uhh, yeah?” Derpy cautiously said. Rainbow Dash was a good friend, but she rarely approached her for things other than helping out with stunts. She had good reason to be afraid; to this day she still didn’t trust hummingbirds.

She looked back and forth, making sure no pony was eavesdropping, then silently whispered the news into her ear. Derpy’s expression changed from one of curiosity to one of shock.

“No way!” she jumped back, “You and him?!”

“Eeyup,” she confirmed in her best attempt to imitate the farmer, “For a week now, too.”

She figured going by what they told Applejack was the best option. Anything different, and the news will spread and conflict with each other, creating some…undesirable friction she’d rather not imagine. Ponyville was a small town, and was known to react wildly to exciteable news.

“Wow, that’s so awesome,” Derpy said in childish fascination, “How big is he?”

Rainbow Dash turned embarrassed, surprised that Derpy would ask such a question out loud, and in public, “Uhh, ahahah, really Derpy?” she dismissed her with a wave of her hoof while laughing nervously, “That’s only for me to know and…well, me and any other pony he had before me but as it stands, just me.”

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized then turned happy, “I’m gonna go tell all my friends!”

Before she could take off, Rainbow Dash stopped her, “Whoa wait. Hold on there.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“Don’t tell some ponies. I wanna tell them myself,” the look on their faces when she tells the ‘big’ news was too much to pass up.

“Oh, really? Who?”

Rainbow Dash smirked. She was going to milk this as much as she could.

And so, the news begins to spread...

Pinkie Pie was humming to herself a happy tune as she trotted freely around the bakery. She had a lot to do before the party tonight, but work was always worth it if there was something worth celebrating. She brought the balloons and used streamers out from the closet and loaded into the party cannon, ready for some heavy decorating.

“Um, Pinkie?” a voice called out from the kitchen, “I’d hate to interrupt your decorating, but didn’t we already have a party yesterday?”

Pinkie looked to see a concerned Mrs. Cake around the corner, just as she was loading the table cloth into her party cannon.

“Oh yeah, we did, didn’t we?” Pinkie joyously recalled as she continued loading the cannon, “It was our second ‘Congratulations on losing your third baby tooth’ party. I still can’t believe two foals had to share the same party!”

“Pinkie, firstly, it was your idea to let them play the piñata at the same time,” Mrs. Cake reminded in a rare moment of sass, “And secondly, our store can’t sustain consecutive parties in a week. We’ve yet to get the couch washed out after the one from Thursday.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who let the sickly foal spin their head around the baseball bat. That’s supposed to be done outside,” Pinkie pointed out, then took a moment to observe the still messy abode of the room, “…but, you do have a point.”

Mrs. Cake sighed, “Glad to see you understand.”

“But Mrs. Cake,” Pinkie said as she began to blindly fill the party cannon with things nearest to her, “I need to throw this party to commemorate some amazing news concerning my friends!”

“Please, Pinkie. How special could it be?” Mrs. Cake pleaded as she attempted to understand the party pony’s reason.

She rolled her eyes and spoke, “My best friend Rainbow Dash is dating Big Macintosh!”

“Really, that’s- Wait what?!” even she seemed amazed at the news, “You mean, the tall, well built brother of Applejack?”

“Yeah! The one with the leash! And…” she snuck up to Mrs. Cake and whispered sneakily into her ear, “They’re totally doing it too.”

A deep blush appeared over the baker’s face as an image appeared in her head.

“So, do you realize how important this party is?” Pinkie beckoned.

Mrs. Cake shook her head to regain her bearings, “Uh, yes. I get it now. Although it still isn’t anything worth going through the trouble of celebrating… I mean, it does bring us good business, but we still spend money for the pricey repairs and the cleaning…”

“I told you, I’ll do all the baking for it,” Pinkie further begged the baker, “Just, please lemme do this! Just for tonight!”

Mrs. Cake hummed in thought, and, for a second, she seemed to be considering letting the party slide.

“No.”

Pinkie’s smile fell to the floor.

“Unless,” she continued, “See if you can’t just throw the party over at Sweet Apple Acres. I’m sure they can spare some farm for the party.”

Pinkie picked up her lips from the floor and reattached them to her face, allowing her to gasp at the idea, “That’s a great idea! I’ll bring my party cannon just in case!”

As Pinkie went back to stuffing her party cannon, Mrs. Cake returned back to the kitchen, relieved that they won’t have to suffer another one of Pinkie’s wild parties. She was still amazed at the thought of Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh dating, thinking what circumstances would have been needed to allow such a thing to be. It almost reminded her of herself and her husband Mr. Cake, from their old days as young energetic ponies to the chances they took to become the married couple they were. She was happy for them, no doubt, and knew they’d be in for an eventful time together, if it stays that way, not to mention.

A little projector in the back of her head began displaying idle thoughts of the two of them getting it on, mirroring her own past sex life with Mr. Cake. Oh he had been so rugged back then, very tall and lean, and she was quite the looker too, so curvy and plump, brimming with beauty…

The dough she was kneading slowed down to a trance as she suddenly found it difficult to focus on baking. As she did, she could hear Pinkie Pie towing her party cannon outside. The furnace within her was already burning, and it needed to burn some more.

“Oh. Pinkie!” she called out, “Would you mind if you flipped the open sign outside to closed? We, uh, need some time for the rolls to cook properly!”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie called out in a singsong voice. She knew she was lying, because she had been reading the entire story, but she let it slide this time, and made a note to drown her brain in sugar to recover.

With the party pony gone, Mrs. Cake left the dough and exited the kitchen. From beyond the corner, the surprised cry of Mr. Cake resounded, followed by the falling of clanging pots.

We...didn't need to see that...

Ponyville was already seeing some activity, despite it being only nine in the morning. It was a small town, after all, and the locals knew each other well enough to know when stores were open and when ponies were free for time. It was almost clockwork. Customers would arrive just as shops were opening and ponies were meeting up at the exact same time in the usual location, or a different, planned, one. It was hard to believe Ponyville was anything more than stale.

Actually, the residents would prefer staleness to the every day heart attack inducing events that plagued the town. It had seen parapsrite swarms, minotaurs, ursa minors, raging dragons, and even a Cerberus once. A closer look at the houses and buildings would reveal scars from those incidents. The citizens were so used to these things, however, that they had become jaded to unanticipated shocks and recover within an hour’s time.

Which was why the town and its citizens were enjoying life and living it up, not letting the boredom of repetitiveness take them before the next big surprise.

Ponies were greeting each other, passing by open shops and stands, it was simply a beautiful day.

Something seemed to be eating a particular unicorn though.

“I still don’t get it,” Twilight murmured, “Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh, what’s the connection?”

She had come into town from Sweet Apples Acres looking for the pegasus in question, except she hadn’t bothered to look into the sky, believing the ground was a better place to look.

“She’s a flyer. She likes action. She can’t sit still for the life of her, and when she does, she’s sleeping,” she listed, “How is Macintosh interested in any of that? It doesn’t make sense…”

She took a moment to sit down and think it over. She looked odd the way she did, in the middle of the road on her rump. Twilight hardly spent much time outside of her library at all, so the sight of her idly wasting her time out in the open was a rare event.

“Twilight? Is something the matter?”

The unicorn turned to see the mayor, creatively named Mayor Mare, looking at her.

“Oh, miss Mayor, hi,” she said, getting up, “I just had a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Oh, good,” the mayor breathed, “I was concerned something was bothering you. I’d hate for you to be stressed out over questionable subjects.”

Twilight watched bashfully as the mayor continued her way with her business, “Really? That’s so caring of you.”

Mayor Mare turned back with a blank face, “Actually, I just don’t want you casting another spell on any toys again.”

The unicorn blushed and retreated into her shoulders, “Oh…you remember that.”

“Don’t misjudge me now,” Mayor Mare said, walking on and Twilight following her, “You’ve done a great deal of good for our town. Why, remember you had everything in town checked and fool-proofed for some great disaster you averted? You got the entire town working, and that saved me a lot on tax payer’s money.”

Twilight chuckled modestly. She never did tell them what the great disaster was, mostly because she was too embarrassed to reveal that her own compulsiveness caused a paradox in the flow of time itself.

“W-Well, better safe than sorry,” the unicorn said with a small smile.

“I agree,” the mayor said before walking off back to her own business, “You take care now!”

And like that, Twilight was alone to her thoughts again. She still hadn’t figured out the chemistry between Macintosh and Rainbow Dash, she hardly even knew the pegasus had time for a stallion. Then again, there weren’t that many stallions in Ponyville. With what there was available, she could believe that Big Macintosh was the most obvious choice. But there had to be other eligible ponies in town. Right?

And then, there was an opportunity.

“Wait! Mayor Mare!” Twilight called out, hurrying to catch up with her.

The mayor looked back just as the unicorn had arrived, “Oh? What is it, Twilight?”

She panted a bit before asking, with a straight face, “Do you have a list of every single stallion living in Ponyville in your documents?”

The initial reaction was humor. Mayor Mare laughed to herself, finding it hard to believe that Twilight was having stallion problems. Laughter turned to fear, though, as she realized just what it meant. If Twilight was looking for a stallion, there was a chance of something catastrophic happening. Chances like that were slim, however, but if she had learned anything from governing the town for the past fifteen years, it was to not take chances.

“B-Bachelor stallions, right?” Mayor Mare asked, Twilight nodded, “Well, I don’t have an immediate list ready…”

“You don’t?” the unicorn’s ears drooped.

She had to continue, “B-But we have a list of all the residents living here in Ponyville. You might find the time to organize them and sort them out for a nice mate.”

“Really?” she beamed, then realized what the mayor had said, then gasped, “N-No! I’m not looking for a coltfriend!”

Mayor Mare blinked and twisted her head, “You’re not?”

“No. I just needed to look at the list for something,” Twilight explained.

The mayor breathed a sigh of relief, “Phew, I thought something had come up. Like, the princess had invited you to a couple’s ball or something…”

“Hey, what’s with all the apprehensiveness?” the unicorn asked.

“Twilight, nothing’s just a small problem with you,” Mayor Mare explained bluntly.

The unicorn scowled, “That’s not true!”

“Is it?” the mayor retorted.

Twilight was about to reply, but found herself short of evidence to support her. She did have a habit of inflating problems and blowing them out of proportion, just like back in Canterlot when she accused Cadence of evil. She was right, though, but it was still a terrible moment for her.

Thankfully, Twilight’s stomach growled loudly, averting the subject. She hadn’t had breakfast yet, which was why she went to the farm for something to eat. How different would her morning have been had she gone somewhere else?

“Oops, uhh, haven’t eaten yet,” the unicorn said sheepishly.

The mayor chuckled, “I was just returning from breakfast. Perhaps you should go and get something to eat, if this list can wait.”

“Uhh, yes it can,” she answered.

Mayor Mare smiled, “Very well then. I’ll see you before lunch. Think you can schedule for then?”

“Of course!” Twilight replied, making a mental note to rewrite her entire schedule tomorrow.

“Good. See you then,” the mayor said, this time leaving for town hall for certain.

The unicorn waved, even though the mare wasn’t looking. It didn’t matter though. She was one step closer to understanding the relationship between Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash. How it was that two completely opposite ponies were able to put aside their differences and sleep in the same bed would soon be revealed to her.

‘…or I could just ask Rainbow Dash,’ she thought.

Her stomach growled again.

“Breakfast first.”

And with that, she trotted on in search of something to eat.

Everything is still fine and dandy...

“So, what’s the special occasion?” Rarity said with interest as she scanned the ruler tape.

The customer giggled lightly as she stood still, “Well, I’m having dinner with Ponet, an artist from Canterlot,” she said with a slight carefree giggle.

“Ooh, an artist?” Rarity cooed while she accurately stuck a pin under the cloth Carrot Top wore, “He sounds familiar.”

The Carousel Boutique was having another slow day. Ponyville wasn’t known for its nicely dressed civilians, so there was hardly a niche for a tailor and a designer in the town. The owner, Rarity, spent most of her time designing and making clothes, and had been supporting herself off of the earnings she got from the clothes she sold to Hoity Toity. The orders had boomed recently, since her name had grown in Canterlot thanks to Fancypants, but just yesterday all the orders had been filled, and it looked like there’d be another drought for a while.

Her most recent customer, Carrot Top, had stopped by and requested a dress to be made. Rarity was grateful that there’d be something to keep her occupied in the meantime.

“He actually moved from Ponyville after he earned enough money selling his paintings,” Carrot Top continued, “We met once at one of Fancypants parties.”

“Oh, I’ve been there!” Rarity said with glee, “Can’t believe I missed you there!”

“Hehe, I didn’t. Really, you were the best part of the party,” she commented as Rarity continued her work, “And guess what? He came back to Ponyville just to take me out to dinner!”

“Ahh, now I see why you came to me for this order,” Rarity said as she drew a few lines on the cloth, “Well, in that case, this sale should benefit the both of us. Therefore, I’ll make your dress absolutely free.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Carrot Top said in amazement as she turned to face her, only to have a pin prick her in the rump, “Ow!”

“Oh dear, please hold still,” Rarity said as Carrot Top rubbed her sensitive area.

“Sorry ‘bout that. But really, for free?” Carrot Top repeated.

“Of course, it’ll benefit the both of us if you’re having dinner with a stallion like Ponet,” she said with her usual flair of sophistication, “…that is, you’re having dinner in Canterlot, right?”

“Uh, I hope so. Wouldn’t want something this fancy go to waste,” Carrot Top said as she observed the lines that would be the beauty of her dress.

As Rarity resumed her work, she spoke openly, “Just so you know, I dated Ponet before.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Mhm,” The unicorn confirmed with a nod, “Before his call to fame. We had fun while it lasted, but sooner or later he had to get serious with his career. He did teach me a thing or two about colors.”

“Huh. I suppose he did more than teach you from the sounds of it,” she said teasingly.

Rarity chuckled haughtily, “Ohohoho, honestly Carrot Top. Such things do not leave the bedroom door,” she shot back.

Then came to mind the other news she heard earlier that day. And since Carrot Top owned the farm near Sweet Apple Acres, it might have some relevance to the mare.

“Say, Carrot Top, have you noticed any…increased activity over at the Apple Farm?” Rarity started.

“Huh? Oh, you mean like Rainbow Dash being around there more often?” she noted.

“Yes, something like that,” she answered. Figures how Rainbow Dash’s presence in Ponyville went missed when she spent more of her time at the farm than in the town.

“Yeah, I have. I sometimes catch her while out in the garden and I don’t see her around as much in Ponyville,” Carrot Top thought, “Guess you were right, though.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” she asked.

“About her and Applejack,” she said, “It was, like, way back then. You said something like that at one of Pinkie’s parties.”

“Oh, did I now?” she replied as beads of sweat began to form. She was suddenly having second thoughts about this. If the mares confronted her about conflicting gossip, somepony could get hurt, and she’d get the brunt of it for starting the whole thing. Oh how much she hated yet loved gossip.

No! Can’t think like that. She needed to nip this in the bud before it got too out of control. She had to clear her name now before the news of her and Big Macintosh went local.

“Well, I guess it’s only natural. You put two hard heads in one room and friction occurs, if you know what I mean,” Carrot Top said with a sultry gesture.

Rarity laughed nervously. She knew exactly what she meant, but she felt guilty about being responsible for a majority of the town thinking like that of her and Applejack. Of course, no one minded, it was personal business and it didn’t concern them, but it’d all come back to her if she didn’t correct them.

“Actually, Carrot Top, some new developments have come to light concerning Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said as casually as she could.

“Oh, really? Like what?” she asked.

“As it turns out, Rainbow Dash did come out to dating an apple pony,” Rarity decided to be subtle, “only, it’s not Applejack.”

“Huh. Really? If not her then…” Carrot Top’s face slowly shifted from one of confusion to one of shock, “No way.”

“I’m afraid it is,” Rarity nodded delightfully.

“No kidding.”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it.”

“Apple Bloom?!”

“Ye- What?!” Rarity questioned aloud.

“Isn’t she still in Elementary?” Carrot Top asked.

The initial shock had worn off and the unicorn shook her head, “N-No that’s not it. Really Carrot Top, she’s much too young for that,” followed by an afterthought, “…and she’s a filly.”

“So then…” Carrot Top hummed, “Gran-”

“Not even close.”

So if it wasn’t either of them, then it had to be…

“Her, and…and, Big Macintosh?!”

Rarity sighed contently, glad she figured it out, “Why so surprised?”

“Because, I don’t know, I didn’t expect her to be into that,” Carrot Top’s confused face lingered as she thought, “I never thought he’d be able to handle her, either.”

“Well, they’ve been able to manage for all this time,” the fashionista said as she took her measurements to the drawing board.

“How long have they been going out?” Carrot Top asked.

The desire to feed gossip was too much to resist for the unicorn.

“Hm, could’ve been for a month or two for all I know,” Rarity shrugged as she walked over and removed the cloth on Carrot Top, “And, according to Pinkie Pie, they’ve been doing plenty of rutting around as well.”

Carrot Top hummed to herself as the last of the cloth was removed from her. She was still skeptical of the whole thing and wouldn’t believe it until she saw it herself. Not like she’d need to watch them do it or anything, though she wouldn’t mind. Truth is, she was a little jealous of Rainbow Dash for managing to bed Big Macintosh several times. She’s had her eye on him for quite a while, and the only reason she hadn’t gone to ask him out was because she was more into unicorns.

“There’s got to be something more to it,” Carrot Top told herself, “I just can’t see Rainbow Dash being patient enough to deal with Mac, unless they’re only in it for the sex.”

Rarity groaned a little hearing this. It was such a naïve reason to believe two ponies couldn’t possibly have a relationship without sex playing a part of it. Then again, she couldn’t say the same for herself, but those dates only lasted a week or two before splitting off for fresh prey.

“Or maybe she’s using him as a cover up,” Carrot Top began to wildly speculate, “Yeah. And maybe he’s using her to mask his relationship status so that others can stop hitting on him. It’s genius!”

“It’s absurd,” Rarity intervened, “I cannot believe that you would come to such a conclusion, assuming the worst of my friends.”

The farmer winced at these words, despite the soft tone Rarity was using, “Well, have you even seen them do it?”

“Carrot Top! Such a thing is an invasion of priva-”

“I mean, like kissing or holding hooves,” the orange mare decided to turn around her implications in favor of mocking the fashionista.

It worked.

“Uh, I mean. Yes, I knew that,” Rarity’s coat turned red around her face, “B-but such a thing is still an invasion of privacy.”

“So, you haven’t seen them making out?”

That wasn’t an unusual question at all.

“…no?” the unicorn answered worriedly.

“Alright then. Thanks for the measurements,” Carrot Top said as she hopped off the mirrored stage.

And just like that, the awkward tension disappeared, to Rarity’s delight.

“It was my pleasure. Your dress will be ready in three days,” Rarity said as Carrot Top walked out of her boutique, albeit quietly.

When she closed the door, Rarity couldn’t help but feel an ominous chill in the air, like something bad was about to happen. The unicorn, however, chalked it up to a contagion of Pinkie Sense.

“I need to stop hanging around Pinkie Pie,” she said to herself as she began work on the dress.

An old rumor? That doesn't sound too good...

Big Macintosh heaved the squash onto the cart with a satisfied sigh. He was by his lonesome in the third field from Sweet Apple Acres, where they grew their other produce. After all, they didn’t eat apples all the time, contrary to popular belief. They needed to get their energy and vitamins from elsewhere, and hearty veggies like squash and corn supplied them well, and tasted surprisingly good in an apple broth.

He looked back to the bare squash field. It’d need to be plowed and planted again so that they could harvest by summer’s end. He wouldn’t be doing it alone, except that Rainbow Dash needed to go into town to check the weather for the week, to see if the squash season would go uninterrupted. She was taking a bit of time, but he wasn’t concerned. She had friends too, and any side business in town he could excuse since she was still a free spirit, and he’d hate to constrict her time.

He sighed blissfully and stretched out his back. Ever since telling Applejack the truth, or what little they decided to tell, it felt like a great weight was lifted from his shoulders, and it wasn’t from the squash he just hauled in. With Rainbow Dash as her openly admitted fillyfriend, he could let loose his romantic side and no longer fear her sister walking over the fields and seeing them nuzzle each other, and not anything sensual beyond that since that was confidential business.

He hoped Rainbow Dash would come back soon, though. Work wasn’t as interesting anymore without somepony to flirt with. Oh well, time to haul the squash away and…

“Big Macintosh! You have some explainin’ to do!”

He looked towards the hill to see Applejack glaring at him from above. She trotted downward in a rather disgruntled pace as Mac patiently waited for her to come within earshot of him.

“Well, hey there,” he nonchalantly said, “Set up the bug repellant like you said you would?”

“A few months? Seriously?” she ignored her question, “Pinkie Pie told me everything.”

That’s when Macintosh lost his calm façade and became nervous.

“Whu…what’d she tell you?” he hoped, no, pray it wasn’t what he thought it was, “Whatever it was, it isn’t wise to trust the words of a kooky pony.”

“Ah can accept that you’d keep you and Dash a secret, but a few months?!” Applejack ignored him again, “You think Ah can’t handle you buckin’ my best friend behind my back?!”

He winced. Yep, she told her everything.

“Uhh…yes?”

“Well shame on you!” she huffed angrily, “Ah am not a little filly anymore. Ah’m an adult and Ah can handle things like that.”

Macintosh sighed, though more at himself, “But she’s yer best friend, and Ah didn’t want to make you upset.”

“She’s an adult too!” Applejack pointed out, “And Ah’m already upset that Ah had to find out what it is you and her’s been doin’ and for how long! You think Ah’m not grown up enough to handle the truth?”

Macintosh blinked.

“But…yer havin’ a fit now.”

“Wha? No Ah ain’t.”

“Yes you is.”

“Ah said, no Ah ain’t.”

“Yes you is. Yer face’s steamin’ like a hot potato.”

“Well, only because SOMEPONY’S BEEN BUCKIN’ MY BEST FRIEND FOR THE LAST COUPLE O’ MONTHS!”

Mac took a moment to look around to see if anypony was watching, even though they were on a private section of the farm close to Whitetail Woods. It was just for a mental break from facing Applejack’s wrath, however fruitless it may be.

“See? Upset?”

Applejack was about to shout again before she decided to take a quick deep breath.

“It’s not that you and Rainbow Dash have an intimate relationship that bothers me. Really, Ah’m happy for you two,” she was calming down, “But what hurts me is that you had to hide it from me. Ah am not some precious filly with tender feelin’s. Ah’m a grown mare too, and Ah can understand what two ponies can have. Ah mean, Ah didn’t think Rainbow Dash was the type to go for farmers. Ah mean, Ah had my suspicions but it wasn’t you. I actually thought…”

Mac raised an eyebrow as she trailed off.

“Well, let’s just say that rumor Rarity started holds no ground anymore,” she waved her hoof for emphasis, “Now, Ah want you to apologize.”

“For what?” Applejack glared, “Ohh. Uh, Ah’m sorry Ah kept it a secret from you.”

“There. That’s all ya had to do,” Applejack replied, pleased.

“Because Ah thought you’d be freakin’ out over us an' everythin’.”

“Oh, Ah already did.”

“And that you might’ve been jealous of us.”

“Well that’s- What’d you say?”

“N-nothin’!” He didn’t want to start another Applejack tirade, “Nothin’ at all.”

“Yeah that’s what Ah thought,” she said as she walked away, “Get to work on the trees on the border of the farm. You can plow this field when Rainbow Dash comes back. And there’d better not be any funny business while Ah’m watchin’.”

Pinkie Pie came to mind. How was it that she knew what he and Dash had been doing for the past months? Was she watching? That was a disturbing thought. No more doing it in the open.

“Ah wouldn’t dream of it,” he said with a slight shiver.

Well, that argument went down calmer than expected...

“Now where could she be?” she asked out loud as she trotted through town.

Having had a good breakfast, Twilight Sparkle had set out to find her pegasus friend Rainbow Dash. She had taken her time eating and it was now just about ten, so she was slightly worried that she wouldn’t find her in town at this time. Weather management wasn’t exactly time consuming, especially for a pony as quick as Rainbow Dash, so she was either here, or back at the farm with…Macintosh.

Luckily, however, Twilight didn’t have to go far. She caught her rainbow trail, thinning out the number of clouds for the summer. She could already feel the heat waves creeping in, so having a discussion in the open sun wasn’t an appealing thought. They’d have to have their conversation somwhere private.

“Rainbow Dash!” the unicorn called out.

The pegasus quickly noticed, but took the time to obliterate two more before descending down to meet her friend.

“Hey Twilight, good morning and all that,” Rainbow Dash greeted.

“Hey, good morning,” she put on her best smile, but it was clearly strained. The flyer didn’t seem to notice, “Umm, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh really? What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, closing her wings.

Twilight started, but found the light of the sun and its heat bothersome, “Can we speak in private? It’s kind of important.”

“Oh, sure. The library?” her wings opened up, ready to take flight.

“No, I wanna settle th- I mean, discuss it now,” she replied, trotting towards the nearest alley.

She beckoned for her to follow, and Rainbow Dash complied, though not unnerved at the thought of being pulled into a cramped alley for a ‘talk’, whatever it was.

“Soooo, what’s up? And can we make this quick?” she asked, not liking the dark and closed space.

Twilight wanted to get straight to the point, but she feared of being misunderstoond. Plus, Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly bright.

“Well, the thing is,” the unicorn started, “I heard the news, about you and Big Macintosh.”

Her feathers ruffled a bit before responding, “You did? Wow, news travels fast in this town.”

She had only just told Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser half an hour ago, and Derpy too. She knew Twilight would have heard, but not so soon, considering how often she spent indoors.

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, and quite frankly, I’m a bit surprised. You and him, so very different yet so much alike…”

The pegasus rubbed the back of her head, “Well, not that much alike. I mean, he’s strong but he’s no athlete. Don’t get me wrong, though. He more than makes up for his lack of speed, if you know what I mean,” she said with a raised shoulder and elbow and a sideways turned wink.

Twilight winced, but otherwise managed to give a somewhat convincing chuckle in response, “Ahem, well. I suppose you aren’t too worried about a lack of common interests then,” she gave her a wishful smile, “I don’t suppose Mac is into sports or anything?”

Rainbow Dash sat down and placed her chin on her wrist in thought, “I think he played a bit of hoofball way back in high school, but nothing major,” she shrugged, “Although, I don’t mind that we don’t share a lot of interests. Not like we need that stuff to be happ-”

“Of course you do!” Twilight suddenly blurted out, “How do you two expect to share any form of delight without something that intruiges you both?!”

The pegasus had leaned back as far as she could from the unicorn, knowing how familiar this was. After the unicorn realized what she had just said, she reeled back, cleared her throat, and allowed the pegasus to sit upright in order to reply.

“Uhhh, we don’t really…” she tried to explain, “Have a lot of interests. I mean, I’m into the Wonderbolts. I like flying, and racing. That’s about it. And Mac’s all like, humbleness, apples, family, apples, and more apples.”

Twilight blinked in realization. Of course, the reason she couldn’t think of any interests they shared was because they had so little. Technically, having a lack of interest was a trait they both shared, so they were easy to blend together. And plus, the two of them were open minded, so they were likely to find more interests that they could share, moreso given how different they were.

Too different. How could this have started, still?

“Sooo, what is it you two do together, then?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, “I don’t think you need to know that.”

‘I knew it.’

“Really?” she inched closer, “Sounds to me like some risky business goes on behind closed doors with you two.”

Suddenly, the pegasus felt her presence was violated, “Uhh, my business is always risky. I’m a daredevil, remember?”

The sound of a hoof hitting it’s owner in the face was heard in the alley.

“That’s not what I meant,” Twilight said as she removed her hoof from her face, “I mean, like, things that only two ponies can do, that they don’t want others to see.”

Rainbow Dash took a moment to try to figure out what she was trying to convey.

“Is it that one thing where one pony saws the other one in half in a magic box?” she asked.

Twilight used two hooves this time.

“Sex! I’m talking about sex!” she nearly shouted, though that did not stop the words from echoing all over the alley, “Intercouse! Mounting! Rutting the hay!”

The pegasus settled her hooves down from her ears, “Geez, a little loud there, don’cha think?”

Twilight breathed a bit, “Sorry about that,” then she cleared her throat, “But seriously, have you really been only bucking around this whole time?”

Rainbow Dash raised a brow at her friend, “Isn’t that a bit personal, Twilight? My sex life is my personal business.”

That was true, she had to admit, “Okay, sorry for asking,” she replied, looking away with her ears and head down.

“I think I understand, though,” the pegasus said, surprisingly.

“Wait, you do?” could it be that Rainbow Dash had caught on to her concern? She was keener than she gave her credit for.

She nodded, “I had a feeling, but it’s nothing to throw a fit about,” Rainbow Dash wrapped an arm around her friend, “But if you ever need tips on how to please a stallion, all you had to do was-”

“Wait, what?!” she exclaimed, breaking from the pegasi’s grip, “I wasn’t asking about sex tips!”

“You weren’t?” her friend replied, “But you wanted to talk in private and all.”

“Yes, I did. But not for that!” Twilight defended herself.

Rainbow Dash nonchalantly folded both hooves behind her head, “You’ve got a point. An egghead like you would have turned to books first for that kind of stuff. I mean, you don’t really get out much, so you’d really need that kind of advice.”

The unicorn was trying to decide between shouting obscenities at her friend for such underwhelming thoughts of her and aggressively stating just how easy it would be for her to get a stallion to date. However, because Mayor Mare had assumed the same thing earlier, it was a bit difficult to go with either one.

“Why does everypony think I need to get mounted?!” she shouted.

“Probably because-” the pegasus tried to explain, but the unicorn interrupted her.

“Don’t answer that!” she had heard of it too many times from her family and friends, but clearly such issues she could not escape from even in Ponyville.

After a moment of silence, Rainbow Dash grew restless, “Sooo, are we done here?”

Twilight snapped out of her vengeful thoughts, “No, wait. I needed to ask you something else about Big Macintosh.”

“Wait, you’re dating Big Macintosh?”

The two ponies realized that they were not alone. A quick look around revealed that both exits had been blocked off by a sudden crowd of mares.

“Whoa, how long have they been there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We just heard somepony shouting SEX and we had to come and see,” a green unicorn with a lyre mark casually answered.

An orange pony with carrots for a cutie mark approached them, “So, are you really dating Big Macintosh?”

“Of course!” the pegasus proclaimed proudly, chest puffed and wings flared, “Ponyville’s fastest flyer dating the strongest stallion! How’s that for a headline?”

“Rainbow Dash, humility,” Twilight sternly reminded her, hoping that she didn’t forget Mare-Do-Well yet.

It seemed to work, as the pegasus’s wings dropped and her head lowered a bit. However, that didn’t stop the crowd from asking questions.

“How long have you two been dating?” Carrot Top asked.

Once again, Rainbow Dash decided to go with what they told Applejack that morning, “For about a week now.”

“And is Applejack totally ok with that?” another pony asked.

“Sure is!” she answered, “Hah! You should’ve seen the look on her face. It’s like her brain stopped working,” she said with a laugh.

“Actually, Applejack looked pretty upset this morning when I saw her,” Twilight brought up, “And she said you two have been dating for much longer than that.”

Rainbow Dash turned nervous as the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves.

“Err, yeah. The thing is-,” she tried to explain, but another pony interrupted.

“Rarity said the same thing when I was at her shop,” Carrot Top brought up, “She said it’s been for a month or two.”

The crowd talked louder at this.

“A month? You lied about the time?” Twilight pressured the pegasus.

“Uhh, aheheh, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rainbow Dash tried to explain, “It really has been a week, I swear!”

The unicorn continued, “Applejack heard it from Pinkie Pie, and there’s no reason she’d lie about something like that.”

The pegasus continued to try and defend herself, “Wha, seriously? Pinkie’s crazy!”

It didn’t seem like any pony believed her, though. Carrot Top spoke again, loud enough to be heard over the crowd, “Rarity said she heard it from Pinkie too! And that you two have been doing some naughty things in private.”

At this, the crowd began to close in, each one asking questions. Rainbow Dash found herself being swarmed by ponies, all asking things too private for them to know.

“Ahah! So you two have been bucking around! Why hide it from-” Twilight tried to ask, but the other ponies were butting in, each asking their own question.

“What does that make you? Mare number fourteen?” a pony with a cherry cutie mark asked.

“Wha- Fourteen?!” the pegasus returned, but another pony cut in before she could clarify.

“Does he keep that thing on?” another purple unicorn asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Rainbow Dash retorted, but another mare spoke up.

“Hey, does he really taste like apples?”

“What the? Is that all you mares think about?” she replied.

And before she could answer that one, another mare intervened.

“What does he eat?”

“What kind of soap does he use?”

“What’s his favorite ice cream flavor?”

Soon enough, the questions were starting to mix until they couldn’t be told apart from the askers.

“What his favorite TV show?” “His favorite drink?” “Can he dance?” “What does he listen to?” “His favorite book?” “Does he shave?” “Favorite rock star?” “Is he really smart?” “Does he have a talking disorder?” “Is that a yoke or a neckbrace?” “How long?” “Does he shower?” “Like, is it glued on or something?” “Is he a natural red?” “What’s his favorite ask blog?” “Does he go ‘taste the rainbow’ everytime he-”

“ENOUGH!” Twilight shouted, and every pony instantly backed off in fear of being caught in some magical energy, “Nopony badgers my friends with bothersome questions but me!”

The unicorn then turned to Rainbow Dash, who had curled into a fetal position on her back during the onslaught of questions.

Her horn sparked wildly, fueled by emotion as she spoke, “Because friendship is magic!”

Everypony was silent as Twilight’s magic began to calm down. The sparks dwindled to a hum as the veil of magic disappeared.

“Now, we’re going to get some answers from you,” the unicorn pressured her, “Why keep such a thing secret? Why lie to us about the time? And why lie to your friends about it?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and came back to reality, “I…I didn’t…”

She then recalled that it was Pinkie Pie that revealed the time to her friends and, inadvertently, the entire town. That pony knew just about everything that went on in the town, even the most elusive gossip didn’t escape her. But how was it that Pinkie Pie knew about them and for how long they had been seeing each other? Could it be that Pinkie had been spying on them this entire time? That meant she knew everything the entire time, but why reveal it to her friends now?

Oh yeah, they had just announced that they were officially dating.

This was not good.

“Sooo, what is it? A week, or a month?” the orange mare asked.

“And why all the secrecy?” Twilight pressed.

Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to do. Right now it seemed like their little white lie had just inflated into something out of control and the entire town seemed to be against her. She thought a harmless little lie would keep Applejack from blowing her top off completely about the news, but it had only spurred a different kind of problem altogether, an unexpected one.

There was only one pony she knew who would know how to fix this problem.

“Umm, I’ll get back to you on that, Twilight. Gotta dash!” she said quickly before rocketing out of the alleyway.

The crowd and Twilight watched her trail disappear in the sky. It looked like Twilight’s suspicions were true. The way she tried to cover up her lies, going so far as to call out Pinkie’s delusional nature as a way of convincing them she was telling the truth. Not that Twilight wouldn’t believe her; she was one kooky pony. But that didn’t deviate from the fact that she had been lying about her relationship with Big Macintosh. What made her want to hide it from her friends so badly?

“She’s hiding something, alright,” Twilight said, the other ponies nodding in agreement.

That one chapter with the meeting

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

---

That one chapter with the meeting
---
--
-

Having been on the farm before, and skilled at memorizing information, it wasn’t hard for Cheerilee to work her way around Sweet Apple Acres. Given that the farm was very large, finding the big red stallion would feasibly be a problem. However, the sounds of an axe at work made finding the pony simply a matter of locating the sound. As Cheerilee followed the noise, so, too, did the fillies follow Cheerilee.

From bush to bush, and apple tree to apple tree, the Cutie Mark Crusaders tagged their teacher while remaining undetected. One would think that stealth was at least one of the fillies’ special talents, but not really. Stealth and sneaking around was a natural skill of any troublesome foal, and being troublesome was another attribute of being a foal, much less a Cutie Mark Crusader.

Soon enough, Cheerilee found Big Macintosh at the border of their farm with Whitetail Woods very nearby. The stallion had a large empty cart nearby and held a small axe in his mouth. Some of the trees had unfinished axe marks on them while there were a handful of stumps nearby. It took Big Macintosh a few seconds to realize he had company, with three others still unnoticed.

“So, what are we supposed to be lookin’ for again?” Apple Bloom whispered.

The three fillies had stopped following and were nestled in a nearby bush, very much like the last time they had spied on their teacher and Big Macintosh. Only this time, they were here to make sure that the two ponies did not end up together, because one was already taken. Under the assumption that Cheerilee was out on a mission to win back Big Mac’s heart that she never had, the three fillies were on the lookout for any signs of jealousy, whatever they may be.

“The exfillyfriend always shows discomfort when she hears anything to do with her ex dating another pony,” Sweetie Belle explained, “If Cheerilee looks a little bit upset, she’s envious.”

“She’s smiling! She’s masking her feelings!” Scootaloo exclaimed, as loudly as she could through whispering.

“Good afternoon, Big Macintosh,” Cheerilee greeted, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Scootaloo retched and quietly sneered, “She’s so faking it, it hurts.”

“Eeyup,” he replied through his teeth, setting the axe down so that he could speak clearly, “Howya been?”

“Rather fine, thanks for asking,” she stated, “Although, your sister Apple Bloom and her friends have been getting into trouble at school.

Apple Bloom gulped.

“That so? What’d they do this time?” he took the axe back into his mouth and walked over to another tree.

“The janitor’s floor buffer. They thought they’d be able to fly with it,” Cheerilee recalled as she could feel her migraine returning, “They actually did, at the expense of the school’s floors.”

Big Macintosh left the axe from where it struck the tree and turned to the teacher, “Property damage. You come to discuss a fine?”

“Actually, our school is covered by it by Mayor Mare’s new Reckless Youth Actions policy,” Cheerilee rubbed her head, “It still surprises me that, after Ursa Minors and a Cerberus, our own town has to defend itself from foals too.”

Big Macintosh chuckled, “Since Apple Bloom’s wit’ the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it only figures that Applejack signed us up for that.”

“Brutal honesty if I’ve ever seen it,” Cheerilee said as Macintosh resumed work, “But, that’s not why I came here.”

“It’s not?” he asked before he swung the axe.

“No. I actually heard from a…friend of mine that you seem to have a new fillyfriend now.”

Sweetie Belle paid careful attention to her teacher’s facial expressions, even though she didn’t have her sister’s eye for detail. All she knew of facial expressions that displayed intent were from her own friends when they came up with a plan. And that was often.

“Oh, that. Yer wonderin’ too, huh?” he said through his teeth again before swinging the axe into the tree.

“Yes. And I was wondering if you could confirm it for me,” she asked.

“She’s tilting her head slightly,” Scootaloo whispered, “What could that mean?”

“Coaxing the male with a cute gesture,” Sweetie Belle explained, “She’s leaving bread crumbs for him.”

“But mah brother ain’t a pigeon,” Apple Bloom spoke up.

“What’s the big deal?” Big Macintosh spoke up before the fillies could argue, “Is it a crime t’ be datin’ somepony?”

“Well, I’m sorta worried some ponies may make it seem that way,” Cheerilee said, thinking back to that meeting Berry was going to, “However, if any pony’s going to be the reasonable adult here, it should be me. So I came simply to ask.”

“She’s bein’ rather formal, isn’t she?” Apple Bloom noted.

“She’s trying to be a good sport about it by demonstrating sensibility,” Sweetie Belle said, “A façade to entice the male into opening up more about confidential information, which she’ll use for malicious purposes.”

“…are you still speaking English?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh. Glad you’re one of those mares,” Big Macintosh said, earning a bashful shrug from Cheerilee, “Well, yes. Ah am datin’ Rainbow Dash. Sure as shoeshine.”

“Aha! Shoeshine!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed with a confident smile, which soon fell as she realized what little relevance it had, “…wait, shouldn’t it be called horseshoeshine?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, however, didn’t hear her, as they were awestruck at what they had just heard, “Ah can’t believe it,” the apple filly said in disbelief, “Right from the horse’s mouth!”

“So, Rainbow Dash really is dating your brother?” Scootaloo said in thought, “That means…Apple Bloom’s going to be the sister-in-law of the most awesomest pony in Equestria!”

“Well, congratulations,” Cheerilee said, “I certainly hope it works out with her, better than you and me.”

Macintosh chuckled, “You don’t have to worry ‘bout that. Me an’ Dash have been hittin’ it off well.”

“Sweetie Belle, did you see that?” Apple Bloom said suddenly, “Look at her eyes.”

Sweetie Belle analyzed Cheerilee’s face and eyes but couldn’t see anything distinctive, “What about them?” the unicorn filly asked.

“Her brow’s all low, almost sad,” the earth pony filly pointed out, “What does that mean?”

“Oh. It could just be that she’s sad, disheartened, upset, or embarrassed,” Sweetie Belle explained, not yet realizing the relevance of what she was relaying, “Or jealous.”

“Just like that thing you said some time back then,” Scootaloo punctuated.

“That’s good to hear,” “Oh she’s totally masking it,” “Although, I am rather curious as to how you two manage to hit it off so well given…you know.”

Big Macintosh chuckled, “You ain’t the first pony to ask me that. AJ was jus’ plain confused when we told her. Ah guess it’s because she’s everythin’ Ah ain’t, and Ah like her for it.”

“Aww, that’s sweet,” “Could she be any more obvious?” “So, how long have you two been dating?”

The stallion hummed before settling on telling the truth, “Well, Ah find it hard to lie, so, ‘bout two months.”

“Two months?” “You can see her heart shatter into tiny little pieces,” “Why would you need to hide it?”

“We were worried AJ wouldn’t approve,” Macintosh put away the axe, at last, “After all, she’s her best friend too, and we thought she wouldn’t react positively to us.”

“I see,” “Hey! She’s got that same spark in her eye like you do when you get an idea, Scootaloo,” “So, what am I supposed to tell the others, then?”

“Might as well be the truth,” Mac said as he walked towards the first tree he started working on, “Pinkie’s throwin’ a party for us tonight at the farm. Might as well get it out sooner than later.”

The red stallion took a deep breath before pulling in his hind legs and delivering a mighty buck to the apple tree behind him. With a sharp sound like that of an explosion, the tree started to give way easily thanks to the earlier axe marks. The tree split from the trunk until it fell, leaving behind a splintery stump.

“Whoa,” was all Cheerilee and the Cutie Mark Crusaders managed to say before Macintosh went to the next tree.

“W-well then. That’s all I needed to know,” she said as Macintosh destroyed another tree, “G-good luck with Rainbow Dash. I’ll be sure to be there for the party.”

“Eeyup. Pleasure talkin’ with ya,” Mac said before defeating another tree.

With the deafening boom of another defeated tree, the cutie mark crusaders snapped back to reality.

“Sweetie Belle, did Cheerilee really look like a jealous ex?” Apple Bloom asked, “I still didn’t see anythin’ that meant she was bad.”

“You mean incriminating,” Sweetie Belle corrected, “And I don’t know what you’re talking about. She looked totally jealous.”

“So, what do we do now?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle took a moment and reviewed every overdone cliché in all the romance novels and soap operas she’s seen that were relevant to the situation. Of course, her misguided mind misread and misinterpreted every one of these clichés and warped it into an obscure imagery of the romance genre. Not to mention, such works of fiction aren’t reliable depictions of real life, either.

“She’s going to be at the party, right?” the two fillies nodded, “She must be planning to conspire their relationship, maybe try and kiss Mac in front of Rainbow Dash!”

“Would Cheerilee really do that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Seems a little much,” Scootaloo agreed.

“The exfillyfriend is always the enemy in these kinds of situations,” Sweetie Belle explained further, “We should expect and prepare for the worst!”

“So, do we go track down Ms. Cheerilee and tie her down or something?” the pegasus filly asked.

“I’ll go get mah sister’s rope,” Apple Bloom spoke up.

“Ok, good. First, we have to-”

Sweetie Belle was cut off, however, as Big Macintosh had broken another tree. And to their dismay, they were in the path of the falling branches and leaves.

“AHHHHHH-!”

And then the fillies died.

…

Hah, not really. They got knocked out.

...please maintain consistent narration for the story, thank you...

“I still don’t see why I had to go.”

“Blues, really. I know you better than anypony, and I know that you had nothing better to do.”

The blue pony groaned as he trailed his brown friend up the trail of Sweet Apple Acres. Several minutes ago, they were in town square, minding their own business, when suddenly, Twilight Sparkle herself came up to them and asked for their help. She wanted them to look for Pinkie Pie and bring her to the library while she prepared for something. His friend, Caramel, was eager to help out, given that he had a not too secret crush on Twilight for a while now, but he still didn’t know why he had to get dragged into it.

The sound of trees exploding in the distance caught their attention. After a while, Caramel dismissed it.

“Huh. Sounds like Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are ‘bucking trees’,” he joked.

Blues groaned, “Real mature, Caramel. Real mature.”

He blew a raspberry in response, “But really. What do you make of it?”

“A flavorless joke.”

“No, I mean, Mac and Dash dating?” Caramel said, “The Cakes said Pinkie was setting up a party for it. Must’ve been really important for her to skip work. Those two looked really exhausted.”

“Oh, well,” he never gave relationships much thought, since he had been missing out on them to his chagrin, “I think it’s good for them. I wonder how it’s like for an earth pony to date a pegasus.”

“I dated a pegasus once,” Caramel noted, “It’s like hugging a squishy ponyquine, only they’re more full of muscle than they look.”

“So, how’s the romance?” he asked.

Caramel took a moment to recollect his time spent with his past flying fillyfriends, and he had a lot of them. It wasn’t that Caramel had the magnetism of, well, a magnet. More like, he leapt from mare to mare like a frog in a pool of lily pads. The instant he got dumped, he’d get another one just as soon. And he’s been at it since his teens.

“Hum, they’re easy to bore, but they’re also easy to get excited,” he answered, “I guess pegasi prefer an active relationship.”

“In that case, I’ll stick with earth ponies, thank you very much,” Blues said dismissively.

“Don’t you mean, Pinkie Pie?” Caramel jabbed.

His throat clenched at the mention of his crush. It wasn’t well known that Blues really liked that pink pony, but to the few ponies that knew him, it was blatantly obvious.

“You know what, I should let you do the talking when we get there,” Caramel teased.

Blues groaned again, “What are you trying to pull?”

“I dunno. Let’s say a bug gets stuck in my throat just as we get there and you have to give her Twilight’s message?” he prodded further.

“Well, if it does happen, I hope it stays like that for a week,” Blues joked back.

Caramel scoffed, “Yeah, well. With your kind of luck, that’s not going to-”

Caramel had stopped talking, however, as a random blob of cake mix and confetti had rocketed into his face and buried him into the ground.

“Huh? Caramel!”

Blues knelt down and swept away the cake from his mouth, allowing him to breathe. As he picked the pony up by the shoulders and shook him, he wondered where the attack came from, given that they were close to the barn. The stallion gave no response, and Blues fears were confirmed.

He was knocked out. And he’d have to do the talking.

“Oh, dammit Caramel. You know better than to test my luck,” he said as he buckled down and picked the unconscious pony onto his back, “Sigh, maybe we can get you to the hospital before I have to talk to-”

“Omigosh! Did I hurt somepony?!”

To his dismay, a pink pony galloped out of the barn they were approaching. Caramel’s situational premonition had come true, albeit at the cost of his wellbeing.

“P-P-Pinkie Pie,” was all Blues was able to say as the pink pony went around and inspected the unconscious stallion.

“Omigosh, I’m so sorry,” she said as she faced Blues, who was focusing less on the unconscious friend on his back, “I was fixing up my party cannon and I tried to test it but it went out of control again and began to fire all over the place and some of the ammo fired out the door.”

Blues attempted to speak, but his words fizzled like soda spilling from the can, “Uh, gyuh, mrh, mHMM! I mean, so that explains it.”

Pinkie faced the blue pony as worried as she could be, “Is he going to be okay? Does he need a doctor?”

This was Blues big break, “Uh, yeah I mean,” but then he remembered he still had Twilight’s message to give, “No, I mean,” and now he was conflicted. On one hoof, he could ditch the pink pony and go the hospital without holding a conversation with her, on the other hoof, Caramel, and Twilight especially, would be upset that a forgetful pony never gave Pinkie the message.

A second to mull over the lesser of two evils, and he made his choice.

The hospital visit would probably cost money anyways.

“Uhh, okay,” the pony struggled to properly form a sentence, “I-I mean, it’s okay. I mean, he’ll, be okay. He’s an earth pony. He can handle it.”

Caramel groaned hazily, confirming he was still alive.

“Are you sure?” she asked, “If it was Applejack or somepony else, I’d believe it, but…”

“Oh, I think he works here sometimes…” Blues said, trying to keep out of direct eye contact with her.

“Huh, okay then,” she hesitantly returned to her happy vigor, “So! What brings you two here?”

Blues gulped again, suddenly forgetting everything for half a second, “Uhhh, we were actually looking for you, Pinkie.”

“Oh? Is it to host a party?” she gave a wide smile, “But I’m still busy setting up this one and I can’t host two parties at the same time but maybe I can hurry up here and go over there to set up a party oh but then I can’t be at both parties although I could do what Rarity did back in Sweet and Elite and go back and forth between the two parties but that really depends on how far away they are and Rarity got quickly tired and even though I have a lot of energy I don’t think I can do the same thing again but what if I combine the two parties we can be celebrating two special occasions on the same day oh but that depends on what the other party is like a foal’s party or an anniversary or actually tell me what kind of…” Noticing she was still talking, she paused, “You can stop me anytime, you know.”

Blues shook his head, snapping out of his trance, “Uhhh, right. Sorry.”

Pinkie blinked. This normally didn’t happen when she talked to ponies.

“Sooo, what kind of party is it?” she resumed.

Blues coughed, “Actually, Twilight wanted us…to bring you to the library for something. She didn’t say why.”

“The library?” she asked, “What is it?”

Blues rolled his eyes involuntarily, “A big building with lots of books in it. But that’s not important right now.”

“Hah. Airplanes,” she giggled, “Do I have to go right now?” the pink pony asked.

Blues shrugged, “I guess so. She was in a hurry after Mr. Sleepyhead back here agreed.”

And then, unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie started convulsing all over.

“Whoa, Pinkie, do you need a doctor or something?” Blues asked worriedly.

“N-n-n-n-noooooo,” Pinkie tried to speak before stopping, “I mean, no, I’m fine. That’s just my pinkie sense acting up.”

“Oh right, that thing you do,” the blue pony said, “So, what is it this time?”

“Oh, some unexpected doozey, that’s all,” Pinkie said happily before shaking again, “Thissss hassss beeeen haaaapeniiiiing allllll dayyyyyy.”

“A…a doozey? Like what?” Blues asked, worried again.

Pinkie managed to speak a little more clearly this time, “Iiii donnn’t knnnoww,” she stopped jittering again, “But the last time it happened, me and my friends were attacked by a hydra.”

Blues was unfazed by this, “…oh.”

“Actually, it was Twilight believing in my Pinkie Sense,” she recalled, “But who knows! It could be anything! That sorta makes it exciting, eeeeheehee!” she shook again but this time not because of her Pinkie Sense.

“Well, do you know when it will be?” he asked, “I’m not exactly comfortable knowing that a surprise is coming. Although, doom is more like it.”

“Oh, it should be right here at the farm,” she said before shaking violently for a brief moment, “Don’t know when, though!”

“Right. We’ll then…” Blues said awkwardly, “I guess we’ll be on our way.”

“You’ll be here for the party, right?” she asked behind.

He was about to say no until he turned back and saw her pleading eyes boring right into him. Blues found it suddenly very hard to deny her of anything. If she had asked for his saxophone…well, he’d still say no, but it’d be the closest yes he’d ever give. For this request, it was a guaranteed yes.

“Y-yeah. I’ll be here,” he said.

“Yay! Party starts at seven, so don’t be late!” was all she said before she zipped off into town, jittering halfway there and leaving a blurry, zigzagging trail behind.

With a tired sigh, Blues walked down the path back to town where they came from. That talk went better than expected, although he wasn’t sure if it meant anything, just idle chatter. He enjoyed it still, though he wondered if she caught anything from it; nothing ever got past Pinkie Pie. If she did, oh well. He’d be coming around for the party, which he’d normally be reluctant to do, but a part of him was hoping for some development between their friendship, in the direction of something more.

Any impending disaster he’ll just take in stride. He just hoped it didn’t hurt as much.

“So, you’re going to the party?” Caramel mumbled on his back.

“Yeah. I might as wel-” he paused, “Wait, have you been awake this whole time?”

“No, I just regained consciousness…” he explained, “…after you picked me up on your back.”

“Wha, why didn’t you say anything?” Blues asked.

“And let you miss out on the chance of talking to Pinkie? Psh,” Caramel teased, “I expected you to be the jittering one though, not her.”

Annoyed, Blues promptly let Caramel fall off his back, resulting in a short cry of pain.

“Ow.”

“What about you?” Blues ignored his yelp and asked.

“Well, I landed on a pebble on a really sensitive-”

“No, I mean, the party,” Blues interrupted, “I can’t be the only one to suffer alone.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Caramel confirmed, getting up, “I mean, all of their friends will be there. And that’s a lot of beautiful mares in one setting.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said as he rolled his eyes, “Hopefully it doesn’t end like that time you double dated Carrot Top and that background pony on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“Oh please, what do you take me for, Blues?” he asked, pretending to be offended, “I got enough sweet filling to share with all the pretty ponies.”

“We’re done talking about this.”

A doozey? At the farm? Oh dear...

The library had never seen so many visitors before. In fact, the only time the place had been packed was when Pinkie Pie threw a surprise party for Twilight when she moved into town. In an odd twist, Twilight was the one hosting this meeting instead, and the only ponies that were prompted to be here were those concerned with the number of stallion bachelors left in town; namely, all of the mares.

It was difficult to imagine so many mares packed into one room, yet the library inexplicably seemed big enough to hold the number. The population had definitely grown since Twilight had come around, yet, even the newcomers were worried about the status of stallions within Ponyville that were left for them. Ordinarily, meetings like this were arranged once a year, when the headcount of single stallions had changed. This time, however, it was too important to wait.

Big Macintosh was in a relationship now, and with Rainbow Dash, of all ponies.

Finally, after minutes of waiting, Twilight Sparkle emerged from the second floor bedroom. Even though it was just a normal meeting to look over the bachelor ponies left available in Ponyville, she had come out dressed in a black bowtie and suit. Her owl pet humorously wore a fedora hat and a miniature tie, making her appearance overall more comical than ominous.

“I’m glad you were all able to make it here on such short notice,” she said as she descended down the stairs, hearing and brushing off slight snickers in the crowd, “As you all know, something unexpected has developed in our humble little town. Something big.”

“He’s big alright!” Berry Punch shouted from the crowd, followed by lonely cheering.

“Umm, okay,” Twilight said as she made it to the foot of the stairs, “Ahem, anyway. As you all have probably heard, there is news going around town that Big Macintosh is dating somepony.”

The crowd resounded in hushed gossip and chatter as Twilight made her way to the front of the crowd.

“Well, prior to this meeting, I managed to interview the ‘culprit’ responsible for this mystery, Rainbow Dash,” she said, to the surprise of the crowd, “And for those of you still in the dark, I can confirm that, yes, he is dating Big Macintosh.”

As the crowd talked amongst themselves a little louder, a light blue mare with a linked horseshoe cutie mark leaned up, “Did you figure out how long they’ve been dating?”

At this point, Twilight had regretted not bringing a bubble pipe for her to casually blow as she gathered her thoughts. The position of briefing newfound information to her peers and the feeling of superiority, it totally called for it. She’d have to shop at the gag shop for one as soon as possible. But for now, she’d have to settle with a less effective substitute.

“Why yes, yes I did,” she confirmed as her eyes scanned the area until it fell on the table. With her magic, she levitated a toothpick into her mouth and continued, looking as thoughtful as ever, “Contrary to what she’s told everypony else, I’m afraid to tell you all that she hasn’t been dating Macintosh for a week, but rather, a few months.”

At this, the audience gasped and whispered amongst themselves, while a few remained quiet.

“Now, as to why she would lie about something like this, I wasn’t able to learn,” she explained, chewing on her toothpick, “She had to leave with Rarity before I could finish our talk.”

“It seems far too suspicious for my liking,” a pony said as she walked out of the crowd. The ponies identified her silvery green hair, pink bow, and flies cutie mark as Cloudchaser’s sister, “In fact, wasn’t there a certain rumor floating around in town before?”

“Do you think Rainbow Dash found out and decided to start dating Mac as a cover up?” Lyra said as she raised her hoof.

“No, not likely,” Twilight spoke up, “That contradicts with the info that she and Mac have been dating for a few months. If she wanted to cover it up, why lie about the time?”

“But everypony and their grandma thought the rumors were true,” a purple unicorn with gems for a cutie mark spoke up, “You’d think she wouldn’t have known and done something about it?”

“Hmm, I still don’t see it,” Twilight said, “The word of Rainbow Dash versus the word of gossip doesn’t seem like a fair match.”

“Hey, Rarity was the one who started the rumor,” Carrot Top spoke up, “Let’s think about that. They’re close friends and Rarity is one of the first to speak of new gossip. Could it be that they’re in on it together?”

Twilight looked at the orange mare oddly and blinked, “I…don’t think so. I mean, she talked about wanting to marry a prince before, so that rules out-”

“No, I mean,” she interrupted, “Do you think there’s a possibility that the two of them made the whole thing up to cover for her?”

At this, the mares began to whisper among themselves at the possibility of lies begetting more lies.

“Ok, first of all, that’s absurd,” Twilight said abruptly, “Secondly, a scheme that big requires a lot of careful and delicate planning. And not to mention, Big Macintosh would have to be in on it too, and I doubt that an Apple pony could agree to such a grand fabrication.”

“But doesn’t that seem like something she would do?” Flitter pointed out, “A friend of yours turns out to have started that one rumor about you and they want to fix it. What better way than to have some solid cover up?”

A few of the mares nodded in agreement.

“That’s a bit of a stretch. I don’t see why they can’t just tell the truth,” Twilight explained.

Flitter dismissed her words with a wave of her hoof, “Oh please. She’s been in Ponyville for a few years now. We’ve all come to accept that the rumors were most likely true, what with her being at Sweet Apple Acres a lot. Do you think you could change the mind of an entire town by yourself?”

If there was one thing that could be said about Ponyville, it was how adamant gossip was. It would stick like caked mud in the cracks of horseshoes, and harder to get rid of. To debunk such rumors in town, it would indeed take quite a bit of planning and forming to undo. Perhaps it was quite likely that there was a conspiracy going on.

Or they were all overthinking it.

Nah, that’s not likely.

“Uhh, I hate to admit it, but you have a good point,” she said as she rubbed her chin, “Well, glad to know I don’t have rumors spread around town about me, right?”

Some of the mares avoided eye contact with her while others nervously nodded.

“So now we’ve accepted the possibility that it’s all a cover up,” Flitter stated as she took a spot near Twilight, in front of the crowd, “Question is, how do we expose it?”

“Excuse me, but who’s running the meeting here?” Twilight said as she reared her head out of view behind Flitter.

“Why are you running the meeting anyway?” she shot back.

Twilight stepped into view from behind Flitter, “Because, like the rest of you, I am just as suspicious of Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh dating and I called for this to gather information of everything concerning the two. And, thanks to you and your deliriously warped perception, you’ve opened up one window of insight to such a possibility of it all being a big white lie.”

“Oh yeah! Well…” Flitter wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be insulted or congratulated, “…you’re welcome!”

Just then, the door to the library opened, and in walked a purple and green dragon holding a large scroll.

“I’m back, Twilight!” Spike called out, careful to maneuver the giant paper roll, “I got you that SLIP list you wanted…”

As the young dragon shifted the scroll around, he was surprised to see a room full of mares staring back at him.

“Whoa. Is it some stallion’s bachelor party?” a few mares glared at him, “What? That’s supposed to be a compliment!”

Twilight motioned to him from behind the crowd, “Spike, over here.”

The dragon obeyed and delivered the thick scroll to her. She received it with her magic and scanned it over, measuring to see how much info it would have.

“Wait, what’s with your dad’s business suit?” Spike asked, “And, why is Owlowiscious wearing a hat and my tie?”

“Thank you, my faithful assistant,” she ignored him as she turned him around, “Now go back outside. We have business to take care of.”

“Whoa, Twilight, you never give me this much free time,” Spike mentioned as Twilight began to push him out of impatience.

“Yeah well, stuff came up and you wouldn’t care about this kind of stuff,” she said , pushing him closer to the door.

“B-but wait! Can’t I go back to my bed and just sleep in?” he nearly begged, “I promise, I won’t interfere with anything downstairs!”

“Yeah, well somepony might need your help out there still. Why don’t you go see if Cheerilee or Rarity needs your help?” she finished just as she led him to the outside of the library.

“W-wait,” he turned around, “Can I at least have some bits for lu-” The door shut.

“Now that all distractions are out of the way,” Twilight said as she returned to the front of the group, “We can now look over the list of Stallions living in Ponyville, or SLIP for short.”

“Don’t we have some more important things to do?” Flitter asked.

“I agree, but we have to go over this list first,” Twilight explained, unrolling it in the air, “It’s the only reason Mayor Mare let me host the meeting this time. Afterwards, we can tie up any ‘loose ends’.”

As the scroll unrolled out into the library, the mares gave it a quick look over. Seeing as how Macintosh was taken, they needed to see which stallion was left over that could hold a candle to his undeniably charming finesse.

“Oooh, this one’s cute,”, “Is that one still dating that pegasus?”, “Does anypony have a marker?”, “Lot’s of tasty lookin’ earth ponies here,”, “What are you, a pony eater?”, “Well, when you put it that way…”, “I think I’ll ask that one out,”, “Hey, can we blacklist Mr. Steroids over here already?”, “Hey, do horns hurt?”, “Hey wait a minute, where’s that other apple pony?”

At this, the mares stopped glancing over the list and started scanning it more carefully. No mare could have forgotten an apple pony, not after the legacy of Big Macintosh. Like a gift from the heavens, another apple pony, Braeburn specifically, had arrived in Ponyville just as the news came to light. There was just one problem. He was already taken. Or was he?

“What other apple pony?” Twilight asked as she set down the unrolled list.

“Lean, blonde, and delicious, wears a cowboy hat,” Lyra started explaining.

“…Applejack?” she tilted her head.

“No! Well, that can be applied to her as well,” Lyra mentioned, “But there was another pony who came by the farm, before the meeting. He wore a vest and his name started with a b. Brow…burn…brony?”

“Oh! You mean Braeburn?” the unicorn remembered Applejack’s cousin from her last visit to Appleloosa.

“Yeah! That guy!” Lyra made a swooning motion, “It’s like Applejack became a boy and embraced his bachelor status.”

“Well, he ain’t a bachelor anymore,” a unicorn mare spoke up, “Darn pegasi just swooped down and took him before the rest of us got a chance to approach him.”

“Another pegasi?” Carrot Top thought out loud, “Wow. What’s with these apple ponies and wings? It’s like a family fetish or something.”

“Hey, don’t knock until you’ve tried it,” Flitter defended.

“We’re getting off topic, everypony,” Twilight shot up, “We didn’t come here to talk about stallions. We came here to talk about a stallion and his mare!”

The room went silent as every pony stared at the purple unicorn.

“What’s wrong with you? You a virgin or something?” Rose said bluntly. The other mares around her nodded in agreement.

At this, Twilight began to fume fervently. She had forged this meeting for an honest purpose, and yet, everypony that got involved with her intentions assumed it was because of some juvenile jealousy. She was better than that, she knew at least, yet it seemed like some ponies found it hard to reason that it wasn’t because of sexual frustration. Her father, her mother, her brother slash BBBFF, her friends, even her pet owl that one night, all seem to firmly hold onto the idea that she needs to get laid, and soon.

Thankfully, Owlowiscious, who had been roosted on her back during the entire meeting, noticed her tension and sought out a way to resume the meeting. The owl scanned the nearest bookshelf for something to snap Twilight out of her anger and then took off. He took a book in both talons and carried it in front of the unicorn, the very action brought her attention back to the meeting. She took it with her magic and read the title as Owlowiscious landed on her back. The book read ‘The Science of Love: Secrets Behind Closed and Opened Doors’.

And then, inspiration.

“I apologize for that little hiccup, everypony. I merely lost my focus,” Twilight said as she rearranged the toothpick in her mouth, “I believe the real reason we’re gathered here is the surrounding mystery behind Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh dating. If I recall, you were all just as surprised as I was when you heard the news.”

The crowd responded with nods and yeses.

“You see, the real reason I wanted to host this meeting was to attain a host of information from the town ponies, who, obviously, know more about town gossip than I do,” she said as she opened her book, “This book tells all about how ponies psychologically react to love, internal, external, third party, crush, memories, etc. But what baffles me the most is how two ponies like Macintosh and Dash could ever become an item. One’s an introvert, the other’s the supreme example of extroversion.”

Rose raised her hoof, “Wait a minute, what about consulting the list of bachelor stallions?” the mares agreed.

The unicorn sighed, “I would go over that list, but Pinkie Pie’s supposed to point out which stallions are taken or not, and she’s not here yet. Besides, I already started the suspicions subject, so it’ll have to wait un-”

“Oh? You were waiting for me?”

All heads turned to a pink pony walking out of the kitchen, with a spoon in her mouth and a bowl of banana pudding on her back.

Pinkie took the spoon out of her mouth to speak, “I’ve been waiting here since the meeting started and you never called for me. And I got hungry so I decided to fix myself a little snack and-”

“Well then, later, Pinkie!” Twilight intervened, “I’ll call for you when you’re needed. I just want to finish this other thing first!”

Pinkie Pie blinked a few times, took the bowl of pudding from her back, all the while maintaining eye contact with Twilight while she stirred the bowl with a spoon, took a large dollop of pudding, and shucked it into her mouth.

“Mmm, okay!” she finished with a slightly full mouth, then bounced back into the kitchen.

The unicorn took a deep breathe before continuing, “Anyhoo. I’ve already started, so afterwards we can have Pinkie look over the list of available stallions for you all. Now, as I was saying, introverts and extroverts don’t mix.”

“Wait, what’s an extrovert?” Carrot Top spoke up.

Twilight was quick to deliver an answer, “I’m glad you asked that. An extrovert is a pony that is more comfortable around other ponies than they are by themselves, and practically get their energy from others. Isn’t that right, Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie responded by manifesting in the crowd, pulling two mares into a tight hug, “Yes, sir! Ma’am, sir sir!” then vanished the way she came.

“An introvert is the opposite,” Twilight continued to explain, shifting her toothpick to make sure it didn’t fall, “They prefer the solace of being alone and like to keep it that way. They won’t object to being around others but only on their own will. Their energy is spent on socializing and they have to recharge themselves in the comfort of aloneness, so to speak.”

“Hey, that’s sorta like you, Twilight!” Pinkie pointed out as she zipped next to the unicorn, who had expected her appearance and did not flinch.

“Exactly,” she said as her owl kept a close eye on the other pony, “Now, naturally, these two types conflict with each other. One tries to push the other away,” Twilight said and demonstrated as she placed a hoof on Pinkie’s face and pushed, “And the other resists and attempts to move forward,” Pinkie responded by pressing forward. The two of them volleyed back and forth like this for the group to observe. “You see, there’s no way these two types of ponies can ever be intricate lovers.”

Lyra leaned up from the crowd, “But, what about you and Pinkie?”

Twilight was about to answer until she caught on to what she was implying. Before she could react, though, she focused her words rather than acting on the first thoughts that came to her, “No no, I said, lovers, not friends. I mean, it’s not uncommon for the two opposites to become friends and all, and even then, I can barely tolerate Pinkie Pie most of the time. Right, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie muffled an agreement from under Twilight’s hoof.

“But like I said,” Twilight continued, not noticing Pinkie’s growing need for air, “Rainbow Dash is an extrovert, the very peak of extroversion. And Big Macintosh is an introvert, the quietest of the quiet. How two polar opposites could ever be a couple is beyond me.”

“Oooh, now I understand,” Linky spoke up, “All those times I hit on him in town makes sense, because I was so forward.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t hit him so hard,” Berry Punch said.

“Is that what drives him off? Extroversion?” another mare asked.

“I just learned something, in a library!” a screwy eyed pegasus said.

“So now do you see?” Twilight said, taking her hoof off of Pinkie Pie’s face, who sucked in some much needed air, “Two ponies like Macintosh and Dash can’t possibly be dating. I would’ve expected Rainbow to find a nice colt in a Wonderbolt or something and Macintosh to be with…” she scanned the group of mares giving her a hopeful look in their eyes, “…Fluttershy! So there has to be something fishy going on in this relationship.”

“But Twilight,” Pinkie Pie spoke up, but the unicorn merely shushed her.

“I’m going to forward my original idea that he’s using her as a cover up so that the other mares can stop hitting on him,” Carrot Top said with a raised hoof, “Because really. He might not say much, but even I know I’d be tired of something like that.”

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Carrot Top,” Flitter shot, “Just because you’ve been dating so many stallions doesn’t mean you can speak for somepony who’s been around.”

“Oh, no you didn’t,” the earth pony sneered back.

“I accept that theory!” Twilight exclaimed, hoping to avert a fight. It worked, “It’s not hard to believe that such a pony like Macintosh would get tired of mares tailing him whenever he’s in town. I’d know he’d be tired of ponies spying on him from around the corners, or stealing looks at his behind, or even trying to sneak peeks at his underside.”

“Twilight, you’re implying anypony here actually does that,” Rose pointed out.

“And you’re implying any mare wouldn’t,” Twilight stared back, “Are you? Be honest with yourself.”

Every mare in the room averted their eyes and kicked the floor.

“Thought so. So, now that we know one possible theory that it’s a sham and that Mac’s using Rainbow to protect him from other mares,” Twilight said, putting the book she was holding away, “Question is, what would Rainbow get out of it?”

This time, Flitter raised her hand, “I strongly believe that Rainbow Dash is truly a fillyfooler and is using Mac as a beard. I mean, come on. She goes to Sweet Apple Acres all the time. If it were me, I’d be going there for Applejack instead.”

“Uhh, well, I guess it’s a possible theory,” Twilight thought aloud.

“Actually, Twilight,” Pinkie spoke up again, but the crowd continued their discussion and the unicorn ignored her.

“Don’t you think she’d have another reason to agree to such a ploy?” another mare asked, “I mean, what about free apple food? That stuff’s amazingly good.”

“Oh! What about Wonderbolt tickets!” a mare with a cherry cutie mark brought up, “She’d do anything for those. And the apples have a lot of money, so why not?”

“But what if *hic* she owes them a debt or something?” Berry Punch pointed out, “You all know how reckless the rainbow one can be.”

“Would she really agree to being his fillyfriend to pay off a debt?” another mare asked.

“Hey, *hic* I know what it’s like to break something and owe a pony a lot of money. You think he wouldn’t take advantage of that?”

“But would she really ask him something so complicated?”

“Like I said, *hic* she breaks a lot of stuff. I mean, she practices her tricks over there. Is it so farfetched that she *hic* owes them a few trees, or an orchard or two?” Berry Punch explained.

“Berry, have you been drinking again?” Twilight asked.

“Maybe a little,” she hiccupped.

“Okay, well…all of those are very good theories, but none of us have proof,” Twilight continued, “Which brings me to my next subject. An organized scouting mission, involving all of Ponyville.”

At this, the room gasped in surprise. Not just at the concept of pulling them all into a mission to gather intelligence, but the fact that Twilight was arranging it, and setting it up on one of her friends.

“Hold on, Twilight,” Pinkie tried to intervene, but the unicorn simply dismissed her with a glance and a wave of her hoof. Sighing, she figured to let them talk it out even though she knew that Mac and Dash were doing it. Although, if she brought it up, she’d be asked for proof and nopony would believe her. Unless, she could just return home, get on her computer, and print out the story. But that would make things extremely awkward on this side of the wall and she’d likely be asked for copies. Perhaps it was better if she stayed quiet this time. Might as well enjoy the show with a hearty bowl of banana pudding.

“When you all leave today,” Twilight continued, “I’m tasking everypony here to gather information on Rainbow Dash, figure out exactly why she’s dating Big Macintosh. The instant you hear something of value, report back to me. No passing it on to other ponies. Only tell me and tell me exactly how you heard it. There’s no room for mixed words or anything, got it?”

“I’m all for it!” Lyra said, leaping with irrational exuberance. The other mares around her seemed to be catching her energy as they decided to get excited at the idea of being part of something big.

“He’s big alright! Wooooo!” Berry cheered.

“Hey! That’s my schtick!” Pinkie cried.

“We are going to settle this once and for all, everypony,” Twilight said, ignoring the two ponies bickering, “Now, let’s settle and end this meeting so we can get on with the mission, before we all get back our minds!”

The crowd of ponies cheered as the list was looked over one last time, with Pinkie supervising.

Nopony questioned why she was jittering so much.

Why are they putting so much importance on this?

They didn’t know how long they had been knocked out. All they knew was that it was like falling asleep, and you wake up just as soon, only without the fun dreams. Instead of the sun or the clear blue sky above, they awoke to a wooden ceiling and a carpet instead of grass. Apple Bloom groaned as she leaned upward, her two friends stirring beside her.

“What…happened?” she asked aloud.

“Ah could ask y’all the same thing,” said a familiar voice.

The fillies shot up at the tone of voice that haunted their minds since a long while ago. The three of them turned to find Big Macintosh seated on the living room couch, a slice of pie in one hoof and another on a nearby plate. The crumbs indicated a third one was missing.

“Mr. Macintosh!” Scootaloo fumbled to get back onto her hooves, “Wha…how, what happened?”

The stallion shrugged and swallowed, “Ah dunno. All Ah know is three unconscious little fillies were loungin’ around in places they shouldn’t be,” he took another bite of his pie and swallowed before continuing, “Care ta explain?”

Apple Bloom suddenly tensed up, “Wh-What? Ah have no idea what yer talkin’ about!” she said with a scrunched up lip.

“We were just spying on you for no specific reason! That’s all!” Sweetie Belle tried to cover up as much as possible, to the dismay of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

“You sure now?” he said before finishing the pie, “Y’all sure picked an all too familiar time to be spyin’ on me.”

“H-Hey! Cheerilee came by without us knowing!” Scootaloo defended.

“Ah didn’t mention Cheerilee,” he swallowed. The fillies froze, “Ah was just choppin’ down trees.”

The girls were sweating fiercely from their foreheads, “We were just…watchin’ you work. We’ve never seen you do work like that before…” Apple Bloom defended.

“Y-Yeah. Bustin’ up a tree like that,” Scootaloo followed along, “No wonder,” and then euphoria struck, “No wonder Rainbow Dash is dating you!”

“Pardon?” Mac said before he could bite into his next slice.

“Oh yeah! We heard about the news, brother!” Apple Bloom spoke up, “Ah never thought you and Rainbow Dash would be goin’ out!”

Mac knew they were just trying to change the subject, but he didn’t see any harm in toying with them for a bit, “What’s that supposed to mean? Ah’m not Rainbow Dash material?”

“Are you kidding?!” Scootaloo intervened before Apple Bloom could respond, “You annili…annalit…annaltiated…”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “Annihilated.”

“Yeah, that!” she continued, “You annalitated those trees! If Rainbow Dash would be dating anypony, it’d be you!”

Macintosh received complements all the time from mares, but hearing it from a filly brought out the bashful in him, “Well, I dunno. She could do better…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, now don’t you go an’ start doubtin’ yourself there,” Apple Bloom said as she walked up to her older brother, “You’re one of the strongest, kindest, smartest ponies Ah know. And Rainbow Dash is the luckiest mare in all of Equestria to have a pony like you. And she ain’t no ordinary pony either!”

Scootaloo continued for Apple Bloom, having her own field of expertise with her idol, “Yeah! She’s the bravest, fastest, most loyalest of ponies! There’s so many things and tricks she can do that nopony else can, and she does all of it to help her friends. And if she’d pick a pony like you, you better understand that it’s not for nothing!”

“What they mean is,” Sweetie Belle decided to speak up, “You two have such a special bond together not just because of how unique you both are, but what you see in each other. If she can look past your outer shell and see what’s in your heart, and if you can see past her brash exterior and see what she’s really made of, then the two of you make a perfect and understanding couple. That’s what you two have, and that’s what makes the both of you special to each other.”

All three ponies stared at Sweetie Belle, unable to comprehend that such wise words came out of the little filly’s mouth. Understandably, the filly was confused as to why she was getting this kind of attention.

“…what?”

“W-Well then…” Mac started, but decided to stuff the rest of the pie into his mouth. He chewed over his thoughts for a bit while the three girls took a step back to give him his thinking space. Finally, he swallowed, “Well, thank y’all for the reassurance. Ah’d have expected you three to bug me endlessly with questions and such.”

“Actually-” Scootaloo started before Apple Bloom shoved a hoof in her mouth.

“Regardless, Ah’m very thankful the three of you are understandin’ of me an’ Rainbow Dash,” he got up from his seat, “It don’t sound like the town agrees, though.”

“What?” Apple Bloom asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Dunno. Rainbow Dash mentioned some mess in town earlier,” he said as he made his way to the door, “Can y’all do me a favor? Go an’ find Rainbow Dash an’ see if everythin’s alright?”

“Oh! Of course!” Sweetie Belle said instantly with a salute, “Anything else you want us to tell her?”

“Yeah. That Ah’m still waitin’,” he said before exiting the door, “She’ll know what it means. Ah gotta get back to work.”

“You can count on us!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, even though it wasn’t certain Big Macintosh heard them. As he left, the other two cutie mark crusaders turned to her.

“Wow, Sweetie Belle. We didn’t know you were such a softie for romantic things,” Scootaloo said.

The unicorn shrugged, “Hehe, some of Rarity’s stories can be good sometimes.”

“All the more reason we need to preserve their relationship!” Apple Bloom said with a triumphant stance, “Let’s go find Rainbow Dash an’ warn her that her relationship’s in danger!”

“I wanna see Rainbow Dash teach Cheerilee a lesson or two!” Scootaloo said with a raised hoof, “Actually, I’d love to see Rainbow Dash teach any pony a lesson. Or even me!”

“You’re weird, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle remarked, but then raised her hoof too, “But let’s do it! This bond between Macintosh and Dash is too sacred for us not to save it!”

The three fillies clapped their hooves in the air.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders ‘Ship Rescuers, yay!”

It's like they exist only to cause trouble...

*knock knock knock*

Fluttershy was nervous, and for a very good reason. She had spent the entire walk towards the pegasus’ house collecting her thoughts and thinking up how to confess her feelings to Rainbow Dash. For one, she was a childhood friend, since Flight School. She’d defend her when she’d embarrass herself trying to fly, or take back her lunch money from the school bullies. Ever since then, she had feelings for the girl and was too afraid to confront them, until recent developments had occurred.

She was too slow. And now Rainbow Dash was dating another pony, Big Macintosh. How could she ever compete with that?

Well, thanks to Angel, she was persuaded to go to Rainbow Dash and tell her her feelings, not in the hopes that she’d return them, but that she’d have closure. And as much as she’d like the fantasy of being in a polygamous relationship with the two of them, she knew Rainbow Dash wouldn’t go for it. She wasn’t the Element of Loyalty for no reason.

Finding that she wasn’t answering the door, Fluttershy knocked again. A little harder, and the door gave way a little, revealing that the pegasus had left it unlocked.

Worry filling the pegasus, she called out into the house, “R-Rainbow Dash?”

As she opened the door more, she noticed a green bowl slowly coming towards her. There was a propeller tied to it and a bean stalk poked out, wearing aviator goggles. She, of course, remembered the tortoise dearly.

“Tank!” she said as she fluttered towards the still crawling pet, “Oh, you’re here. Have you been alone all by yourself?”

Tank looked up to Fluttershy. He blinked slowly, but it was hard to tell through his foggy lens.

“Oh dear, you’re blind. Lemme get that for you,” she said as she removed his goggles, gave them a quick cleansing, and put them back onto his head, lens above his face as he was not flying yet.

Tank stared at Fluttershy for a moment.

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy replied, “Do you know where Rainbow Dash went?”

Tank stared again.

“O-Oh, uh, well,” Fluttershy said as she bashfully kicked her hooves, “See, I need to tell her something important. And, really soon. …it’s more for me than it is for her.”

Tank blinked slowly.

“N-no. I’ve been making my own assertive lessons and I’ve been practicing in a mirror for the past week,” Fluttershy responded, “I figure if I practice by myself, I wouldn’t have another bad moment.”

Tank stared once more.

“W-well, of course Angel helps. And I reward him with some food for his efforts. I actually seem to reward him all the time,” she responded.

And then Tank continued to stare.

“No! Don’t spoil it!” she interrupted, “I haven’t seen today’s episode yet. I was gonna go to Twilight’s tomorrow and ask her if we could watch it. I mean, ever since she time traveled, she’s been really into that British doctor show.”

And then Tank resumed staring.

“No, I haven’t heard. I’m usually out of the loop of celebrity gossip,” Fluttershy said.

Tank stared a little more positively.

“You think so? You think I can do a Fleur De Lis?” she said as she shyly brushed her mane, “I mean, it wouldn’t be the same without the horn…”

Tank then stared negatively.

“N-No, I know my own body shape,” Fluttershy said as she looked over herself, “I mean, I don’t work out or diet. Rarity tells me it’s my charm.”

Tank’s stare resumed it’s indiscernible look.

Fluttershy sighed, “I hardly believe William Hayspear had the future in mind when he made those. I mean, after all, he just wanted to tell us all an amusing story and we all remember him by such things. I think that’s what makes him so memorable, as he was a pony who is remembered for doing what he loved, not to make an impact.”

Tank’s stare did not change.

“Oh. You’re right. What were we talking about?” she asked aloud as she looked around.

Tank blinked slowly as Fluttershy scanned the living room for a sleeping Rainbow Dash or some indication that she was home.

“What?” Fluttershy snapped out of her gaze, “She left this morning and hasn’t returned? Well, where could she be?”

Tank blinked very slowly.

“Are you saying that she went to Sweet Apple Acres so that she could tell Applejack about the news, and that there is a large possibility that she’d have disapproved? And that she still had weather duties so she had to go to town to check on them? And that Applejack would likely pass on the news to her friends who would then pass it on to the others and the information would circle around as misperceived news and cause confusion among the town? And that a few mares would most likely be jealous of the two and start to plan against them? And that Rainbow Dash might be getting involved in some suspicious activity that she is not aware of because she can be very unperceptive because who are we kidding? And so there is the very likely scenario that all the buildup of plotting and misspoken information will come crashing down on them in a very grand and chaotic scenario if nopony intervenes?”

Tank finished blinking.

“I have to go to Sweet Apple Acres!” Fluttershy said as she hopped towards the door, “But wait. What do I tell her first? The warning or my feelings?”

Fluttershy began to pace as Tank slowly made his way to her.

“Okay, first, prioritize,” she started, “Your best friend slash secret crush is in danger of falling victim to things being blown out of proportion. That happens a lot. And because of it, you have to tell her the danger and get her out of Ponyville as soon as you can. What happens next?” she stopped, “Well, I suppose you could just, let it out naturally. Like taking a bath…”

Tank finished his step.

Fluttershy blushed in response, “N-No Tank, not like that! I mean, let the good feelings flow through you and-”

Tank stared in response.

“…please don’t tell Rainbow Dash.”

Tank continued to stare.

“…ok, yes. I do it in the tub. And the shower too.”

Tank finished staring.

“No, they’re not the same thing,” she responded, “Sigh. Thanks for your help anyway, Tank.”

Tank stared as she fluttered out the window. He blinked.

“I heard that!”

Tank is such a wisecracker for a turtle, I mean, tortoise

“Isn’t my normal mane style good enough?” she complained.

“Oh hush now, Rainbow. I hardly ever get this close to you with a comb and can of hairspray,” Rarity retorted, “I want to see you in different kind of hairstyles for future reference. It’s for your own good.”

Ever since they got to the boutique, the first thing Rarity did was flush out Rainbow Dash’s hair. At first, she had expected grease and dirt to be hidden and locked within her scalp, but as she brushed, she found that it was silky and smooth and plush as clouds themselves. It was easy to fold and tie compare to her own stubbornly long mane; it almost made her jealous. How she was able to maintain a pure spectrum pattern without strands mixing was beyond her.

“Why would I ever change my mane style?” Rainbow Dash asked as Rarity undid a roller.

“For important events that even you would want to look nice for,” Rarity answered, “Things like fancy parties, dances,” Rainbow Dash gagged, she ignored it, “Your own wedding…”

“W-Wedding?” that one caught her off guard.

“Why, you are going to be marrying Big Macintosh soon, aren’t you?” she questioned as she double checked a color.

“W-well, not saying that I wouldn’t. It’s just…” she couldn’t explain why, exactly. The reason was lost to her. Why wouldn’t she marry Big Macintosh? What was the harm?

“Ahh, I see,” Rarity spoke for her, “You’re still busy with your dreams, aren’t you? Trying out for the Wonderbolts and whatnot?”

“O-oh yeah! That. Of course I can’t marry him right away,” she said, embarrassed with herself. How could she forget such an important dream? She felt so silly.

“Well, don’t you worry,” the unicorn comforted, “Big Macintosh is a gentlecolt. He isn’t going anywhere and he’ll wait for you for as long as you need to get into the Wonderbolts.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, “I mean, I don’t doubt him or anything, but he’s been around…”

“Oh, don’t say that, Rainbow Dash,” she assured, “If Mac does anything less than loyal, then that’s his fault, not yours. I don’t see him as the two timing type, anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she relaxed, “I mean, he wouldn’t dare go behind my back after all he’s said and done.”

“That’s the spirit,” she said as she turned the pegasus around, “Now, wouldn’t you like to get married looking like this?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but gasp at herself in the mirror. Her colors in her mane were separated into their own bangs, curling at the end. The back of her mane also had similar work done, only it was curled in one direction whereas the bangs at the front were curled in different directions. Her coat was noticeably shinier than she remembered it being; it must’ve been that facial mask she applied earlier. That’s how she was able to see a faint blush on her cheeks. Pressing a hoof to her face, it wasn’t from the heat, she found. It might’ve been from that powder Rarity had applied before.

For a normal day, this look wouldn’t be acceptable, or even practical, to her. But otherwise, it was the perfect look for her to walk down the aisle, under a veil, with all of her friends around her and the stallion of her dreams waiting for her at the end. Such a fantasy brought a giggle to the pegasus.

“I…I don’t know what to say…” she said, stunned.

“You can say, thank you Rarity,” the unicorn teased.

“Yeah, that,” she poked one of her bangs, “I’d never be able to do this by myself.”

“It was hard enough for me,” Rarity commented, “Splitting each color and arranging them into the curler. Oh, it’d be such a chore to do everyday. And yet, your mane remains kempt and orderly. How do you do it?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged her wings as she smoothed over her hair, “I don’t do anything special to it. I just let the wind do the brushing, and I run it under hot water every day.”

“Oh, I am so jealous,” the unicorn replied, running a hoof over her own mane, “I succumb my mane to hairspray and ironing every day to keep its look. Yet you hardly do anything to give it an identity.”

The pegasus shrugged again, “I just have more important things to do, I guess.”

“Fair enough. So, what do you think?” Rarity said with an earnest smile.

Rainbow Dash gave a bashful shrug, “It’s definitely a timesaver, I can say that much. And I work the rainbow thing really well. Not like anypony else can, but-”

“I meant, your hair,” the unicorn interrupted, then pointed back to the mirror as she stood behind the pegasus, “Is this not the pony that wants to be married someday?”

“Oh. Oh yeah. I’m totally doing this,” she replied, flicking one of the bangs haughtily, “Oh, and if anypony else finds out about this, I’ll kill you.”

“And I’ll deserve it,” the unicorn replied as she pushed her off the chair, “Now come on. We gotta get you washed up too.”

“But, we’re just going to wash this look away?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“What? You want to go outside looking like that?” Rarity asked.

“Good point.”

“And we’re not just washing out your mane,” she stated, “We’re gonna give your entire coat a scrubbing down.”

“Wait, we?” she responded, confused.

“Now Rainbow Dash, it’s alright. It’s just two friends sharing a bath together,” Rarity stated as if it was a normal thing, “I mean, after all. We don’t wear clothes or anything. And, to be honest, I can’t trust you well enough to do a good job of cleaning yourself.”

“Wha, what do you take me for? Lazy?” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“In terms of hygiene, yes,” Rarity answered.

“What’s hygiene?” the pegasus asked curiously.

“I’ll answer your question with a question of my own,” she had stopped pushing so she could look her in the eyes, “Did you brush your teeth this morning?”

Rainbow Dash blinked for a second, “Wait. You’re supposed to do it in the morning too?”

The sound of a hoof hitting its owner’s face was heard in the store.

“Ok, so I don’t clean myself too well. Does it matter?” she shot.

“To you, maybe,” Rarity replied as she kept pushing, “But I cannot excuse it when you have such an important party to attend to later on today.”

The pegasus sighed in defeat, “Fine. Whatever. But I’m doing my underside with my own hoof, got it?”

“Of course,” Rarity agreed, “It’s not like you actually like that kind of stuff.”

“Wait, what?”

“NOTHING!” the unicorn suddenly shouted, as they entered the bathroom, “I mean, I can respect that you do not like being washed by other ponies, but I assure you, my delicate hoof will not cross any boundaries on your body as a respect to your wishes.”

Rainbow Dash let out a groan, “You’re lucky I’m only letting you do this for Mac’s sake,” and then a thought crossed her mind, “Wait, hoof?”

Meanwhile, outside of the Carousel Boutique, two ponies had just approached the front door. One of them was Berry Punch, her face a littler redder than usual. The other was Flitter, who seemed to be trying her best to keep her distance from the odd smelling mare.

“This is where Twilight said the haughty unicorn lives,” Flitter noted, “I wonder if Rainbow Dash is still here.”

“Well? Let’s get knockin’,” Berry Punch dizzily commented as she reached for the door.

Flitter stopped her though, “No. Not yet.”

“Huh? Why not?” she asked, turning to the two mares.

“My pink bow tells me something’s up,” Flitter said as she looked over the building, “…and that something sexy is happening.”

“Really? My pink bow always tells me I’m thirsty,” Berry Punch said, straightening herself up after almost losing her balance, “…wait, I don’t have a pink bow. Maybe I’m thinking of something else pink.”

“Shh. Do you hear that?” Flitter said.

Other than the distant chatter of town and birds chirping, the sound of running pipes were apparent as they listened to their surroundings. It sounded like somepony was having a shower. Rarity would never take a shower if somepony else was at her store. So either Rainbow Dash left or…

A perverted giggle escaped her lips.

“Stay here, Berry. And be quiet,” Flitter said as she floated towards the second floor windows.

“Berry quiet?” the delusional pony asked.

Flitter looked back and gave her a displeased look.

“Oh, okay,” she said as she stood there, leaning a bit to the right.

Back in the store, the two ponies had just rinsed their manes of shampoo and were letting the water run.

“I’ve been curious, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity spoke up as she levitated a bottle of conditioner to them, “But why are you so into Big Macintosh anyway? I would never have guessed he’d be the pony of your dreams, and that’s saying something.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, though not from the question but from the copious amount of conditioner the unicorn was applying to her head, “It’s because he’s strong and nice. You hardly see that in a stallion anymore.”

“Oh come now, Rainbow Dash. I know your standards aren’t that typical,” Rarity said as she worked her hooves in the pegasus’ mane, “To be honest, I’d have expected you to have a one night stand with him.”

“Funny story, actually,” Rainbow Dash said as Rarity slowed down, eager to hear, “See, I always see him at the farm whenever I’m visiting AJ. She usually has something energy consuming for me to do.”

“I see,” Rarity said, “And that’s the only reason you go to see her, not for other things, especially not what others might think.”

“Yeahhh,” she said awkwardly, but continued, “Anyway, so I decided to try talking to him one day because I thought he looked tough enough to keep up with me. I’ve dated pegasus stallions before, and none of them have ever lasted long.”

“So you sought a ‘new flavor’, so to speak?” Rarity asked. She could sympathize with the pegasus right now.

“Heheh, yeah. At first, he was nice. He didn’t like talking a lot, so I just did a lot of talking for him,” she chuckled at this, “Then I started worrying if I was annoying him too much. I thought it was like how Pinkie Pie felt when she talked too much, except I doubt it crosses her mind.”

“She’d be surprised,” the unicorn muttered in a vengeful breath.

Unbeknownst to them, a shadow loomed outside the window. Whatever it could have seen behind the shower curtains, it didn’t hear much over the running water.

“Anyway, he actually thought I was entertaining,” she beamed, “I mean, I know I’m awesome and all, but he actually thought I was awesome by myself. I didn’t have to show him any tricks or anything for him to like me.”

“Oh? And this was revelational to you?” the unicorn asked.

“Well, yeah. Ponies only notice me for something amazing I did, or when I crash,” she mumbled the last part with a tone of embarrassment, “But he thought I was an amazing pony already. Probably because he heard of my achievements, but it was never brought up back then.”

Rarity took a moment to tilt Rainbow Dash’s head under the stream of hot water to wash out the conditioner. Afterwards, she got her special soap and began to rub it vigorously into the coat on her back.

“So, have you two been dating since then?” Rarity asked.

“Nah, it wasn’t anything official yet,” Rainbow Dash said, thinking back to the good old times. It was fun reliving the memory of her feelings, from the excitement she got from seeing him, to the realization that she was in love, “We just hung out a lot. We didn’t know what to call it back then.”

“Ohh, it sounds like such a romantic story,” the unicorn said out of envy, “How come I can’t find myself such a sweet and caring stallion? I’d love to meet a pony like him, engage him in endearing conversation, entertain the thought that he might be the one as we go on with our lives, getting used to one another before unable to live without each other.”

“Sheesh, you’re so sappy,” Rainbow Dash jabbed, snapping Rarity out of her fantasy, “Maybe the reason it hasn’t happened yet is because you keep expecting it to. I mean, I certainly didn’t.”

“…well, now that you mention it, that’d explain how Blueblood was such a disaster,” the unicorn said with an irritated tone as she began to rub harder into her coat.

Back outside the Carousel Boutique, Berry Punch had fallen asleep, standing up and leaning to the right, her knees were locked so that she wouldn’t fall over. Flitter had yet to return, so she decided to close her eyes for a bit, only to doze off. However, she wasn’t alone.

“Uhh, are you okay?” a concerned voice asked as she was poked by a claw.

And like that, Berry Punch awoke.

“AHHH! THE FISH TANK WAS LIKE THAT WHEN I GOT HERE!”

“Did you hear that?” Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up, “Sounds like somepony’s pleading not guilty.”

“Really?” Rarity took a moment to look outside the curtain, only to find nothing out of the ordinary that she could observe beyond the window, “How can you tell?”

“Pegasi can hear just about anything in loud noise,” Rainbow Dash said smugly as she pointed to her ears, “But that’s when they’re flying. This is a shower, so maybe I’m just hearing things.”

Berry Punch calmed down enough to realize she wasn’t in Cheerilee’s house. She looked around, trying to remember what she was doing here, when she was poked again.

“Umm, are you okay miss…?” the dragon asked.

The pony turned to the baby dragon, somewhat confused, “Huh? Oh, I must still be dreaming. Hah, there’s a little dragon talking to me.”

“No, it’s me, Spike,” he explained, “You saw me at the library, remember?”

“Nope, don’t remember,” Berry Punch said as she casually shook her head, then looked up, “Oh look, flying ponies.”

True to her word, there really was a flying, and angry, pegasus floating towards the two.

“What the hell was that!? I thought I told you to be quiet!” Flitter nearly shouted at them.

“Whoa, you ain’t exactly being quiet either,” Berry Punch retorted.

Flitter placed a hoof on her face, “Whatever. You wouldn’t believe what I saw in there!”

“Wait, were you spying on Rarity?” Spike said accusingly of the pegasus.

“And…who are you again?” Flitter shot back.

The dragon sighed and repeated, “I’m Spike, Twilight’s assistant? I work at the town library?”

“Never been there!” Berry Punch said jovially.

Flitter raised a brow at her, “Whoa Berry, are you feeling alright?”

“Nope, I feel like an earth pony,” she replied, tilting her head and smiling widely.

“…I think I liked you better when you were drunk,” Flitter uttered, “We have to go back to Twilight. This proves my theory!”

“Wait, what theory?” Spike asked. Unfortunately, it sparked a different thought in the pegasus.

“That’s right! I need some concrete evidence!” she rubbed her hooves maliciously, “And I think I know just the pony to do it.”

“But where are we going to get forty bags of concrete, Flitter?” Berry Punch asked.

The pony and the dragon stared at her.

“Just come with me, Berry,” Flitter said annoyingly, leaving a confused Spike by himself.

“Hmm, those ponies were doing some suspicious things,” the dragon said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “It might get dangerous for Rarity,” and then, a brilliant idea came to mind, “this could be my big break! I’ll protect Rarity from any evil plan those ponies have in mind. You have nothing to fear, Rarity!”

“Spike? Why are you shouting?” came a voice from the second floor window.

The dragon nearly fumbled in place when he realized he may have made a fool of himself in front of his crush. Again. He turned to the unicorn, not noticing she had taken a shower, and turned bashful.

“Uhh, just…thinking, out loud,” he answered.

“You…shout when you think?” she asked.

“…sometimes. Can I come in?” he asked.

“Well of course!” she obliged happily, “And while you’re in there, could you whip up some tea for us? Bags are in the pantry.”

“You can count on me!” Spike saluted proudly as the unicorn retreated to the bathroom. Rarity wanted to have tea, with him.

He knew that this was going to be a good thing.

And nothing sexual happened

A stirring afternoon

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

---

A stirring afternoon
---
--
-

Finally, the last of the trees had been torn down and collected, and Mac was on his way to deliver the load to the barn. It had been such a hard day of work, even more so as Rainbow Dash had yet to return since leaving for the library. Big Macintosh didn’t worry, though. He knew that she was probably busy helping her friends out or she was dealing with something that might’ve gone amiss between them. If there was a serious or lengthy problem, she’d have gone to him. So if she wasn’t back yet, she was either busy or still with her friends.

Although, he wished she would come back soon. If they were going to have this party tonight, the sooner she returned, the sooner they could finish work, and the sooner they could prepare for the party.

The trees had been dumped near the compost heap of the barn. It’d take some time for the leaves to wear away and fall so that the wood could be taken to the lumberyard for profit. It was too much hassle doing it manually, stripping every branch and tree of their leaves. They’d wait until the leaves’ hold on the trees weakened before shaking any loose ones away, then it’d all be swept up and dumped into the compost bin, where they would start over as feed for new apple trees.

Only one chore remained, one that Rainbow Dash was supposed to help with; scan the field for weeds and dry spots. Had the pegasus been there, she’d have it done in no time at all, and that’d have been an impressive feat considering how expansive the fields were. Too bad she hadn’t returned. Oh well, he thought. There was still the tanker to check on. If Rainbow Dash didn’t return before he was finished, he’d have to do the spot checks himself, and that would take forever, he feared.

Thinking back to his fillyfriend and the news, he wondered why no mares had yet to show up on their doorstep and accuse them of a criminal offense. Only a few times was it joked about how irresistible he was, with his good looks and charm, and Big Macintosh never took them seriously. But he knew a few ponies did, and the fact that nopony had yet attempted to ‘take him back’ worried him. If everypony in town knew already, then what was distracting them?

Spoke to soon.

“Oh! Um, h-hello Mr. Macintosh,” Fluttershy managed to utter.

“Evenin’, Ms. Fluttershy,” he gave her a nod before resuming his way to the tanker.

As he walked, he mentally prepared himself for the predictable onslaught of questions concerning his relationship with Rainbow Dash. The two ponies loved each other very much, but even he knew what a huge difference there was between him and Rainbow Dash. It wasn’t uncommon for polar opposites to become couples, but there was never any shortage of doubt, and this pairing was no exception either. He had gone over every possible reason why they liked each other and had an answer prepared for just about anything a jealous mare would ask him.

He was surprised that Fluttershy, of all ponies, would be the first to approach him, though.

After a few minutes of silence, Macintosh decided to get it over with, “Can Ah help you?”

Fluttershy had been hovering, trailing him from behind, having difficulty figuring out how to start. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen on her way here, and only her coltfriend knew where she might be. She was hesitant, though, as it was likely that Rainbow Dash would appear any minute.

“U-Umm,” she started, but found it difficult to continue, “…how’s…Rainbow Dash doing?”

She’s trying to be subtle, he thought.

“Doin’ fine,” he answered.

“O-oh, that’s good to hear,” she said, then fell silent.

A few more steps of silence, and she tried again.

“U-Um, is she well?” she asked.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied.

More silence.

‘She sure is draggin’ it on,’ the stallion thought.

“U-umm, she’s been helping around, yes?” she asked.

“Eeyup.”

Even more silence.

“…I ask because…well, she’s, uhh…” she trailed off into silence.

“Lazy?” the stallion finished.

“Err, yeah,” she confirmed, “She’s not a very hard worker…”

“Nah, she’s just efficient,” he stated.

If any bird or cricket was nearby, they didn’t make themselves known.

“…but I guess she’s very helpful, with her…uh, rain making…convenience,” Fluttershy said.

“Very,” he replied.

If a pin fell on the soft and lush grass, it would still be heard when it landed.

“…I don’t suppose…she’s watering any trees right now,” the yellow pegasus said thoughtfully.

“Nah she’s in town,” the stallion answered.

It was so silent, there was noise being borrowed from across the landscape. One could hear a very funny anecdote by a royal guard within the Canterlot castle if they listened hard enough. Something about a monkey…

When the guards ceased talking because a superior had called for their attention, Mac’s words finally registered to Fluttershy, “Wait, she’s not here?”

How weird. Her hesitance had disappeared altogether, Mac thought.

“Nnnope. Hasn’t returned since she left to Twilight’s,” he said, “Should be back soon, though.”

“O-Ohh,” she uttered in disappointment, “W-well then. How’s Winona doing?”

She wasn’t interested anymore in the original topic.

“Wit’ Applejack. She’s sheddin’ an awful lot, though,” he answered, the shed coming in close.

“Oh, that’s normal. It’s almost summer, after all,” she said, followed by a pause, “Well then…I’ll just leave you to your work then. Later!”

Big Macintosh looked back to see Fluttershy fluttering her way out of the farm and towards the library that could be seen in the distance. The stallion was confused; that conversation did not go exactly like he thought it would go in his head. He expected more flirting or more obviously voiced disdain. She only came for Rainbow Dash, though that was innocent enough.

He turned back to the barn shed’s door and unlocked it. The light poured within, revealing a wide array of tools that could have been mistaken for weaponry. Pitchforks, rakes, shovels, a machete, just in case, a mower, a tractor, a lawnmower, a wood chipper, a, broken, chainsaw, and, ultimately, the huge water tanker. It had only been used since the last Winter Wrap Up, but the dry season was coming, and it needed to be checked for leaks.

As he moved aside tools to give him space, he thought back to Fluttershy and how oddly she acted. She’s been friends with Rainbow Dash the longest of the others, that much he knew. And then she comes around asking for her after they break the news that they’re dating. She was surprised and disappointed when she realized Rainbow Dash wasn’t at the farm. While such activity wasn’t much to be suspicious of, the reason for Fluttershy’s odd behavior was pretty obvious.

“Hm. Never took Fluttershy for a fillyfooler,” he said before getting to work on the tanker.

Ponies sure are active today...

“Hmm? Pinkie Pie!”

On her way back to the farm, the pink pony suddenly heard her name being called out. It was a rare moment where she was the one being sought out, but a welcomed one. Pinkie Pie looked up to see Ditzy Doo flittering back and forth as she attempted to land, only to go face first into the dirt. However, her rear end tipped over and forward, bringing the pegasus upright and on her rump. A bit dizzy, the pegasus shook her head of any loose dirt as the pink pony greeted her.

“Good afternoon, Ditzy! You’ve been working on your landing, haven’t you?” Pinkie Pie congratulated.

Ditzy Doo spat out dirt from her mouth before talking, “Thanks! I knead to work on making it softer though so that I don’t hurt myself.”

“Well, you’re getting there!” she gave the pegasus a confident grin.

Ditzy Doo smiled too, the splotches of earth showing up on and in between her teeth, “So, listen. I was at Sugar Cube Corner after I finished my mourning shift.”

“Oh? Then what happened?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically.

“Well, the cakes were so busy baking, that they hardly had anything good left in stock!” Ditzy Doo said, waving her arms around in despair.

“That means two things,” the pink pony joked, then gasped expressively, “How terrible! Sugar Cube Corner should always be full of scrumptious snacks!”

“I asked the Cakes about it. They said you’ve all been busy lately,” the pegasus said with a hoof to her chin.

“Oh yeahhhh,” the pink pony said as if she realized something, “Mr. and Mrs. Cake have been busy tending to their foals, and I’ve been busy helping out my friends. We did save the town from that Diamond Dog biker gang last month,” Pinkie placed a hoof to her chin at the memory, “Ooh! And there was that time we fended off a swarm of wyverns last week. And after that we saved the town from an incoming volcano.”

“Yeah, it’s been a,” Ditzy Doo’s eyes straightened as they drew a circle, “cuh-RAAZY week for us, huh?” and her eyes reverted back to normal, “What a shame too. I wanted to pick up some of my favorite snacks. Like doughnuts, danishes, cookies, cupcakes, swirls, rolls, pastries, éclairs, tarts, macaroons, cannoli, cream horns, fig bars, strudels, turnovers, brownies, scones, wafers, and bear claws! Mmm.”

As Ditzy finished listing her favorite treats, Pinkie Pie had just finished eating a bag of cooked banana chips.

“Aww, I’d have that stuff stocked for you, but we’ve all been very busy!” Pinkie Pie continued, “School’s almost over, Rarity’s business is booming, the Apples are preparing for summer, Rainbow Dash has been helping them out, and I’m preparing a-”

It was then that Pinkie’s party meter spiked.

“GAAAASP!” she worded, then began to trot in place, “The party! I need to tell everypony about the party! Oh, but I’m still preparing it!” she turned to the confused pegasus, “Ditzy Doo! How convenient of you to be existing there!”

Suddenly, the mare’s arms stretched out to where the eyes could not follow and returned with a giant bag of letters.

“Ditzy Doo, can you help me pass out all of these letters to every pony in Ponyville?” she asked with an endearing smile, “It’s Big Mac and Rainbow Dash’s ‘Coming out with their relationship’ party! And I’d be able to get all of these letters out in time for me to finish setting up the party!”

“Whoa,” the fish eyed pegasus said as she marveled at the size of the bag with one eye, “But if you’re so busy, how did you have this bag of letters prepared?”

The pony shrugged, “It’s actually just copied and pasted from the other fic that has no continuity connected to this one,” she answered, then paused, “…just kidding! I have sacks of letters scattered all over Ponyville in case of a party emergency. They don’t have the actual time and locations, so when you spread these around, tell them it’s at Sweet Apple Acres at seven o’ clock on the dot, so don’t forget!”

“Ohhh, gotcha!,” the pegasus said as she gave her a salute, “I’ll be happy to help, Pinkie Pie!”

“Yay! This is gonna be a great party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she handed Ditzy Doo around half of the letters from her bag.

And then Pinkie’s entire body began to shake rapidly and fiercely. All the letters in her hoof were thrown and scattered as her bag rustled wildly. Ditzy Doo was surprised by this and backed up, then watched as she convulsed for two and a half minutes straight. When she stopped, Pinkie Pie only smiled.

“See? That means it’ll be a party nopony forgets,” she said with a wide smile, the pegasus smiling in agreement.

Let's hope it's the good kind of memory...

“Um, knock knock?”

The shy pegasus peeked through the library door, worried that something was amiss as she found it half open, but mostly worried that Rainbow Dash was still here. No rainbow or worries, to her delight; it was just Twilight Sparkle there by herself, with her pet owl and broom sweeping up the library.

“Oh, good afternoon, Fluttershy,” the unicorn greeted, “Pardon the mess. I just had a meeting held here.”

“Oh, it’s fine. My place is usually messy too, sometimes worse,” Fluttershy said, shuddering at all the times she had to wash her hooves because of some of her careless animals, “I, um, came to see if Rainbow Dash was here.”

“Oh, she was here earlier,” she placed the broom aside, next to a roosted Owlowiscious, “But Rarity came by before I could tell her something.”

“Ohh,” Fluttershy said, sinking to hide her embarrassment, “Okay then.”

“What do you think, Fluttershy?” Twilight said as she walked up to her.

“Uhh,” that was a weird question to ask, “Umm, well, it’s really inconvenient for me because, well, I was looking for her, but… if she’s at Rarity’s-”

“Err, no, I mean,” Twilight interrupted, apologetically, “About Mac and Dash dating. What do you think?”

“Oh, umm…” the pegasus didn’t know what to say. She was sad, of course, heartbroken even, but she couldn’t say exactly why. She was hoping to confess it to Rainbow Dash, in private. But then it came to her, would she keep it a secret? Would she encourage her to tell the others? She was really afraid of being perceived differently because of her sexuality, and Rainbow Dash would want to tell the others for her own good, as she’d put it. She was starting to reconsider seeking out Rainbow Dash for this…

Before she could give an answer, somepony busted the door open, frightening the daylights out of the pegasus, “Twilight! We have evidence!”

Fluttershy zipped to hide behind Twilight. The unicorn was confused, but mostly upset that somepony would be insensitive enough to barge in without knocking. To her surprise, it was Flitter and a dizzy Berry Punch.

“Evidence? Evidence of what?” she asked.

“I still say we should have at least gotten some bricks,” Berry Punch commented out loud.

The room stared at her. Even Fluttershy peeked from her hiding position to silently judge the drunkard.

“Anyway,” Flitter resumed, “Rainbow Dash! She’s totally a fillyfooler!”

Both Twilight and Fluttershy responded at the same time, “What?!”

Even Owlowiscious, who had picked up the broom and was doing Twilight’s chore, dropped the broom in surprise and hooted, “Hoot?!”

Flitter nodded excessively, “I was right! I was soooo right! I saw everything!”

“Hold on, what did you see?” Twilight asked, “Because it sounds to me like you were spying on her. You were supposed to scout the town for information about her, and then report back to me your findings. Any reason you went and took your own initiatives?”

“Uhh…” Flitter tried to forge an excuse in her head, “I didn’t…because…I wanted to prove my theory right away and I could only do that by checking at the source.”

“And jeopardize everything?” Twilight said stressfully, “Rainbow doesn’t need to know about this, and this is supposed to be a scouting mission for information. We don’t need to involve her directly.”

“Wait, jeopardize what?” Berry Punch noted as she looked down from the ceiling, “Are we involving pumas too?”

Once again, the room stared at her. Even Owlowicious, who had picked the broom back up and continued sweeping, took the moment to give the pony a displeased stare.

“Berry. Please stay quiet for the remainder of the conversation, before you hurt my ideas,” Twilight demanded, then rubbed her head, “Or give me a hangover.”

Feeling all eyes on her, the nauseous pony sat on her rump and puffed her cheeks as the ponies continued to converse before her.

“Anyways,” Flitter resumed again, “What does it matter? You’re the one with the intent to break them up!”

Twilight was taken back, “I am not trying to break them up! I’m just trying to learn more about their relationship!”

“Yeah, by getting the whole female population of Ponyville in on your little game,” Flitter shot back, “How is it that what I’m planning is different than what you’re doing?”

“Wait, what plans?” Twilight asked, “Are you plotting something against my friend?”

Flitter froze in place, shocked that she let that one slip out.

“Did I…say that out loud?” she questioned herself.

Before Twilight could interrogate the pegasus more, a mailpony called at the open door, “Invitations!”

Without warning, four letters flew into the library like spinning stars of paper death. One got lodged into Berry Punch’s mane, one nicked Flitter’s cheek, causing her to bleed and some strands of hair to fall, Owlowiscious intercepted one aimed at Twilight by catching it with his beak, and one zipped in a circle before landing gently right in front of Fluttershy.

“I’m sorry if any of your pets got hurt,” Ditzy Doo cried from outside, “But I’m in a reel hurry! Party’s at Suite Apple Acres, seven in the morning!” and with that, the mailpony fluttered away, the sound of her having difficulty with a tree branch outside was heard afterward.

“In the morning?” Twilight said as she kindly took the letter from her pet’s mouth, “She probably meant in the night.”

Twilight opened the letter and read it as the rest did the same, excluding Berry, who was having difficulty removing hers from her mane. Eventually, she gave up and left it there, deciding to wait for the others to tell her about it. Owlowiscious flew away to some part of the house; the sound of cabinets opening could be heard.

“Huh, Pinkie’s throwing the party, no surprise,” Flitter said.

“Of course it’s not Surprise, it’s Pinkie,” Berry chimed, then quickly hushed herself before she could be scolded by the unicorn.

“Actually, Rainbow Dash did mention something like that earlier today,” Twilight said as her pet owl returned, with a box of band aids. She took one and gave it to Flitter, who applied it to her cheek as Owlowiscious put the rest away.

“Thanks,” Flitter said, then looked back to the invitation, “So, tonight, at seven, huh? That’s…almost too perfect…”

“Perfect for what?” Twilight asked accusingly, “For your plans?”

“What plans? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Flitter said with a shrug, feigning innocence.

“But wait,” Berry spoke, defying Twilight’s word, “Weren’t you just telling me about exposing Dash as a fillyfoo-”

The pony was quickly silenced as Flitter delivered a buck to the drunk’s face. Berry Punch didn’t seem hurt from the attack as she was giggling when she landed on the floor.

“Expose her? In front of the whole town?!” Twilight was disgusted, though not at the fact that Flitter had just given a pony a nasty horseshoe shaped bruise on their face, “I don’t know who you think you are, but something like that is NOT okay with me!”

“What, are you trying to call me out on this?” Flitter retorted, locking foreheads with the unicorn, “You’re the one who interrogated her against her will, who called the entire meeting together just because you’re jealous of her!”

“Me? Jealous of her? For what!” Twilight said as she started pushing against the pegasus.

“Come off it, Twilight. You’re like an open book,” Flitter pushed back, “And we all know you’re jealous of her and Big Macintosh!”

Twilight stepped back, Flitter losing her balance and falling to the floor, “What? No way! I’m just upset that the proven compatibilities between two ponies have been thrown out the window!”

“What proven compatibilities?” Flitter muffled from the floor.

“You know, like, the psychology of love,” the unicorn attempted to explain, “It’s like…okay look.”

Twilight turned around and looked down at Fluttershy, who had been silent during the whole conversation.

“Fluttershy, you like Big Macintosh, don’t you?” Twilight asked all of a sudden.

“Wh-what?” she responded.

“You’re both quiet, shy, gentle, you two are a perfect match for each other!” Twilight said a little too enthusiastically, “You like him, don’t you?”

“Not that I’m agreeing with you or anything,” Flitter spoke up as she lifted herself from the floor, “But everypony likes Big Macintosh. No big surprise.”

“So you do like him, don’t you?” Twilight said, giving Fluttershy an endearing look.

“Umm,” Fluttershy sank lower to the floor before she answered, “Actually…I…like somepony else…”

“Wh-What?!” Twilight said, shocked.

Flitter burst out laughing, “Ha! So much for proven compatibilities! Maybe love isn’t a sorting machine like you think, Twilight!”

Twilight looked back and forth between the two ponies in distress, “B-b-b-but Fluttershy. Don’t you find Big Macintosh in the least bit attractive? Isn’t his personality, which is an exact reflection of you in every shade of your personality, in any way appealing to you in the image of an ideal coltfriend?”

Fluttershy sank further into the floor, “Umm, that doesn’t necessarily mean I should like him…”

“Haaaaaaa!” Flitter hooted, “Look’s like the psychology of love is just a load of baloney!”

“B-b-but, if you had the chance, would you?” Twilight persisted, “If the situation was just right, would you, could you, see yourself being interested in Big Macintosh?”

“Sheesh Twilight, you look like the sky is falling,” the other pegasus in the room taunted.

“Wait, it is?” Berry Punch questioned, then looked out the window, “Scootaloo wasn’t lying?!”

If Fluttershy sunk further into the floor, she was either able to compress her size when necessary like an alien lifeform, or the floor was quicksand. Yet, that’s exactly what she did. She thought over her question a little carefully though. If the situation was just right, did that mean if she wasn’t a fillyfooler? She couldn’t see herself as being straight, but being a bisexual, she could imagine herself being curious. Could she imagine herself being curious for Big Macintosh?

“I…guess?” she shyly answered.

Twilight exploded in joy, “YES! That proves my point!” she said triumphantly.

“Hardly,” Flitter said with a deadpan expression.

“You be quiet!” Twilight said, pointing to the other pegasus, “I have factual evidence, and what do you have?”

“Oh yeah,” Flitter said to herself, remembering why she came here, “Evidence of Rainbow Dash being an actual fillyfooler.”

“Oh yeah? And where is this so called evidence of yours?” Twilight challenged, her face showing a bit of enjoyment.

“Well…no,” Flitter took a step back, but held it together, “But I will have some, and I’ll show you all at the party later tonight!”

“Oh yeah? Well, whatever you’re planning, I can’t let it bring harm to my friend,” Twilight said defiantly as she trotted to the door, “So, I’m going to make sure that you don’t get to that party!”

“Oh yeah? How?” Flitter asked, challengingly.

“Easy. I’m going to tell Pinkie Pie your plans, and she’s going to take your invitation away!” Twilight threatened.

At this, every pony in the room gasped with fright. Everypony except Flitter, who stared at the unicorn as if she was supposed to be taken seriously.

“T-Twilight! Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Fluttershy pleaded, sliding to meet her hooves.

“Flitter! Don’t do it!” Berry Punch warned, “You don’t want her to take your invitation away! You don’t know what you’re getting into!”

Flitter disregarded her, “Do what you want! But you’re gonna have to try better than that if you want to stop me, Twilight!”

“Then you’ve left me with no choice! I must go and find Pinkie at once. Then you’ll sorely regret it,” Twilight said, turning her chin upwards and away from the pegasus.

“Yeah, I think I can live with that,” Flitter said, “C’mon Berry, we’ve got evidence to find.”

“But, the world is falling apart!” Berry Punch said in dismay, “I’ve got to get everypony ready for the end!”

Flitter rolled her eyes, then proceeded to trot out the door, “Fine, whatever. I can do this by myself anyway.”

“Wait! Let me get you a helmet, at least!” Berry Punch yelled as she followed her.

Finally, the library was quiet again. Owlowiscious had just finished sweeping the library floor and roosted comfortably in his seat. Twilight watched as the pegasus and tipsy earth pony went their separate ways, one of which teetered a bit. With the tension receding, Fluttershy figured it’d be a good time to ask the unicorn an important question.

“Umm,” Fluttershy uttered as she stood up, “You said Rainbow Dash went with Rarity, right?”

“Oh! Good idea!” Twilight said, missing Fluttershy’s question, “You go find Rainbow Dash and warn her about Flitter’s evil plan. I’ll go find Pinkie Pie.”

Fluttershy would be upset that she was being ignored, again, but this time the situation was a bit more serious.

“But Twilight, don’t you know what happened to the last pony who got their invitation taken away?” Fluttershy pleaded again.

“No, I haven’t heard about it,” Twilight said.

“Exactly.”

Silence.

“Well, I’m gonna go find Pinkie then,” Twilight said, “Hopefully she doesn’t mess up Flitter too badly, whatever she does.”

“She doesn’t mess up anything,” Fluttershy tried to explain.

“Look, we don’t have a lot of time. Go find Rainbow Dash, quickly, before Flitter gets whatever evidence she thinks she has against her.”

“R-Right,” the pegasus said as she fluttered away.

“Owlowiscious,” the unicorn turned back to her pet, who was in the middle of grooming himself, “Guard the library while I’m gone. Think you can do that?”

Owlowiscious flew from the foyer and towards the kitchen. He then returned to his roost, with a long sharp kitchen knife in one talon.

“Good. Hopefully I won’t be out long,” Twilight said as she closed and locked the library door.

Meanwhile, as Fluttershy was slowly making her way to Rarity’s boutique, she thought to herself what she was going to say. Obviously, the news, but what else? If she had the chance to, would she confess to the pegasus? Could she? Maybe she really was a fillyfooler and that she was using Macintosh for cover up, but that was mostly wishful thinking. She wished she could just tell her already, but she also wanted to hide from her and never think about making her confession ever again. But Angel told her that she’d feel better afterward, and that there was nothing to lose.

However, according to Flitter, some ponies seemed to have it out for them. Out of jealousy? Most likely.

“Tank was right,” Fluttershy said to herself, “This is all going to fall apart very badly very quickly if nopony does anything about it. Okay, first things first. Find Rainbow Dash, then let the rest come out naturally.”

She gulped.

“Easier said than done…”

Something is going to go down, definitely...

“Still no sign of her?” Scootaloo asked wearily.

“No,” Apple Bloom answered, “Maybe we should try Sweet Apple Acres?”

The three fillies had been scooting around in the patented scootsmobile, which was really just a wagon tied to Scootaloo’s scooter, in search of the driver’s pegasus idol. They had searched everywhere where the pegasus would be, according to the winged filly, from the bike park and the gym to the open field park and the derby course. They even tried going back to the gym twice to see if she was there and they had just missed her. It was doubted, however, that Rainbow Dash would visit any of those places and, when questioned, Scootaloo merely shot back if they knew of any other places she regulated. Apple Bloom replied with Sweet Apple Acres. They were all quiet after that.

Scootaloo groaned, “That’ll take us all day. And besides, if she was there, we wouldn’t need to tell her what Big Macintosh wanted us to tell her.”

“Wait, how is that bad?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Because then we won’t get our messengers cutie marks!” the filly whined.

“I thought we were doing this for our Relationship Rescuers Cutie Marks?” the apple filly pointed out.

“I don’t think it’ll matter if we can’t find Rainbow Dash,” Sweetie Belle said, scanning the alleys and the house windows.

“Maybe we should ask around?” Apple Bloom suggested, “Ponyville’s big. Maybe somepony’s seen her.”

Scootaloo sighed, “Sure. Why not? We’re wasting our time anyway.”

The fillies looked around for the nearest pony that may have been affiliated with the rainbow pegasus as of recently. They were on the road by the edge of town, so only a few ponies had business around these parts. One mare in particular caught their eye, one that Apple Bloom recognized.

“Hey, let’s ask her!” the filly said, pointing to the orange maned mare.

The fillies rode their way towards the mare who was just leaving the flower shop. Scootaloo steered the scootsmobile to park parallel to the mare, who seemed unfazed by their appearance.

“Oh, hello girls. How can I help you today?” Carrot Top asked.

“Good afternoon, miss Carrot,” Apple Bloom greeted, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?”

The other two fillies noted Apple Bloom oddly while Carrot Top looked to the sky in thought, “Actually, she was in town a few hours ago.”

“Really?” Scootaloo chirped, “Where’d she go?”

“Well, she flew off to somewhere. Didn’t quite get where she was going,” the mare answered, to the dismay of the three fillies.

“I knew this was a waste of time,” Scootaloo said melancholically.

“You don’t know anypony who might’ve seen her recently?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Oh, everypony in the Weather Team knows her, and I have a friend who happens to be in it,” Carrot Top answered.

“Well, do you know where we can find her?” Scootaloo asked, dreading the thought of having to search some more.

“Actually, if you wait a few moments…” Carrot Top said, as she fell quiet.

There was noise in the flower shop they were chatting in front of. There were sounds of a scuffle, metal clattering, glass breaking, and a cat shrilling, until finally, a charred and smoky pegasus pony popped out of the front door holding a satchel full of invitations. Her mane had a young flame alit, but nopony seemed to take notice.

“I-Invitations!” Ditzy Doo shakily said, then threw four letters to the ponies. One invitation floated gently into Carrot Top’s hoof but the other three made the fillies cry in pain as they struck them.

“Oh, Ditzy, right on time,” Carrot Top said, not hearing the fillies’ cry of pain, “These three fillies wanted to know where Rainbow Dash was and I thought you could help them find her.”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’ve scene her earlier,” she said as she tapped her head and her eyes rotated, “It was during my mourning root.”

“In the morning? That’s useless info,” said the orange pegasus filly as she rubbed her shoulder from where the letter struck her.

“Butt she did leave to tell her other associates about sum special news,” she continued, then remembered something, “Oh rite. Those letters are for a party later on tonight. Suite Apple Acres, ate o’ clock sharp! Or was it seven?”

“A party at the farm?” Apple Bloom spoke up while holding her eye, “Girls, do you know what this means?”

“That we can go home and wait for Rainbow Dash there?” Sweetie Belle said with a nasally voice.

“No, she means that we have until the party to save Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh’s relationship before Miss Cheerilee ruins it,” Scootaloo continued.

“Hah, oh you girls,” Carrot Top laughed, not taking them seriously, “What sort of silly adventure are you up to?”

“We’re going to save my brother and his fillyfriend’s relationship!” Apple Bloom stated as she stood proudly.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure that those ponies are happy and nopony else interferes!” Scootaloo exclaimed, a hoof held skyward.

“We’re going to keep their ship afloat and guide them into the sunset in the name of love!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed as well, her nose clearing up.

Both fillies and the adults looked at the unicorn oddly.

“Y-yeah,” Apple Bloom continued, “Because we are…”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ‘SHIP RESCUERS, YAY!!” they shouted in unison.

Carrot Top rubbed her eyes although Ditzy Doo didn’t seem disturbed by the shouting. Actually, the tiny flame in her hair had been extinguished by the wave of noise, so perhaps she did have a reason to be pleased.

“Yeah…so,” the orange mare turned to her friend, “You saw her in the morning? Who’d she go see?”

“Oh!” Ditzy Doo’s brain did something again, “Those other two fliers. The lazy ones. Chase Clouder and Thunder Lame.”

“Thunder Lame?” Sweetie Belle repeated as, well, bells went off in her head, “Diamond Tiara said something like that to Rumble last week. It made him really mad.”

“Oh yeah, that must bee his brother,” Ditzy Doo confirmed with a nod.

“I know where Rumble lives,” Scootaloo spoke up, “If we find him, we find Thunder Lame, I mean, Thunderlane. And then we can keep looking for Rainbow Dash!”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Apple Bloom questioned, and they were already on their way as Scootaloo was revving the Scootsmobile.

“Thanks Carrot Top and Ditzy Doo!” Sweetie Belle called out as they rode away.

“See you at the party, Carrot Top!” the earth pony filly shouted back as they waved goodbye to the two mares.

As the two adults finished waving, the winged one turned to the other and asked in honest curiosity, “Who were those ponies?”

“The little rascals that pretended to be moles in my farm once,” Carrot Top replied.

Back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they had been scooting for several minutes before curiosity got the better of the driver.

“Hey Apple Bloom, how do you know that lady?” Scootaloo asked.

“Huh? Ya mean Carrot Top? Oh, she owns a carrot farm right across from ours,” the apple filly answered.

“Wait, that was her farm?” Sweetie Belle spoke up.

“Yeah. Ah mean, she runs a carrot farm. Her special talent is carrots,” the filly explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Y’all never made the connection?”

“So wait, those were her carrots we ruined,” Scootaloo recalled, “Didn’t you get in trouble for it, Apple Bloom?”

“Not really. Actually, she gave the family some dirty and mangled carrots the day after,” Apple Bloom thought, “She told us some moles ruined them the other day.”

“Well, good thing nothing bad happened,” the unicorn filly stated, “And now we know a chainsaw does not substitute for a drill.”

More minutes passed before Apple Bloom got curious.

“Speaking of ponies, how do you two know Rumble?” she asked, “Ah haven’t seen him around in school at all.”

“That’s because he and his brother moved into town a while ago,” Scootaloo answered, “Pinkie Pie held a small party. You weren’t invited?”

“Wait, she was at Appleloosa that week, remember?” Sweetie Belle spoke up.

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” the apple filly said, “Y’all should’ve seen the place, girls. There were buffalo! They were so big and fuzzy!”

“My sister went there once,” the unicorn spoke up, “Maybe we can all go there again for vacation during the summer.”

“Do you really think Rarity would want to spend such a long time at a dusty place like that?” Scootaloo pointed out, “She seems like a bit of a shut in to me.”

“Hey, Appleloosa’s rustic, like us,” Apple Bloom defended, “It’s only a little dusty.”

“Yeah, and Rarity isn’t a hermit crab,” Sweetie Belle defended.

The scootsmobile came to an abrupt stop as both the driver and the earth pony filly stared at Sweetie Belle. The unicorn filly looked back and forth as if she had said something painfully stupid.

“…what?”

Fortunately for Sweetie Belle, they had already arrived at Rumble’s house, redirecting their focus to their original mission. The pegasus home was basically just a shack with several clouds overhead, but it housed all of their necessities as the residents were outdoor folk.

“Hey, we’re here,” Apple Bloom exclaimed, “Do you think he’s home?”

“Maybe. He’s supposed to start school next week,” Scootaloo said, dismounting the scootsmobile as they left their helmets behind.

As Sweetie Belle got out of the wagon and placed her helmet inside, a thought occurred to her, “Wait, shouldn’t we be in school right now?”

The other two fillies, however, ignored her and went to the front door to knock.

“Umm, okay…” she uttered.

They knocked on the door, and within seconds, a colt came up to see them.

“Oh, hey Scoots,” Rumble said, then noticed the other two fillies, “Oh, these are the friends you talked about?”

“Good afternoon,” Sweetie Belle greeted, but then noted the position of the sun, “Uh, I mean, good evening. No wait. I mean, good…before evening?”

“She means hi,” Apple Bloom finished for her, “We were wonderin’ if you could help us wit’ somethin’.”

“Yeah, see,” Scootaloo was quick to start, “We’re looking for Rainbow Dash and we were wondering if maybe your brother had seen her.”

“You mean Thunderlane?” Rumble asked, “He’s been out since this morning,” at this, the three fillies frowned, “But he’s usually at Cloud Chaser’s place.”

“Oh. Do you know where that is?” the earth pony filly asked.

Rumble nodded, “I can show you where it is.”

“Well hop in!” Scootaloo exclaimed as they boarded the Scootsmobile again. She put her helmet back on as she asked, “Do you have your own helmet?”

Rumble shook his head, “I don’t need a helmet. I can fly.”

The pegasus filly scowled as the others put on their own helmets, “Yeah, sure you don’t.”

After locking the house, Rumble fluttered in the direction of Cloud Chaser’s house, with the three fillies following closely behind in the scootsmobile. Once again, conversation stirred, but in secrecy from the two pegasus foals.

“Hey Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle started in a low tone.

“Yeah?” she answered in the same tone.

“You think Scootaloo…you know, might like Rumble?” she asked modestly.

“What? What gave you that idea?” Apple Bloom returned.

“Well, Scootaloo’s been hanging around him for a while now since he moved into town,” she explained and shrugged her shoulders, “I was just thinking out loud.”

Apple Bloom hummed in thought, “Maybe…but then again, there aren’t that many pegasus ponies in Ponyville, much less foals. Maybe she’s just hangin’ around him to learn how to fly.”

Sweetie Belle sighed in relief, “That might explain it.”

It was Apple Bloom’s turn to be curious, “But wait, why’d you ask? What does it matter that Scootaloo has other friends?”

The unicorn began to sweat, “Umm, just a bit concerned, that’s all. Wouldn’t want Rumb- I mean, Scootaloo to spend too much time around others…”

Apple Bloom didn’t catch her rather obvious nervousness, “There’s nothin’ to worry about. Friends can be friends with other friends. All that does is get us more friends, and what’s the problem with that?”

Sweetie Belle wiped her forehead, “You’re right. There’s nothing wrong with having more friends.”

A few minutes passed by before the crusaders and Rumble made it to a rather large cloud hanging low to the ground. It was actually a house built entirely of clouds, though it was much smaller in comparison to another estate owned by a certain rainbow pegasus. The roof of the floating home could be seen from below, but it was hard to tell if anypony was inside.

“Here we are,” Rumble said as the scootsmobile braked to a stop, “I wonder if they’re home. They don’t really get out much. Hey Cloud Chaser! Flitter! Is Thunderlane there?” he shouted.

There was a rustle in the cloud home above, followed by the faint sound of hoofsteps, extra faint since the floor was made of clouds.

“Rumble?” a tired voice called out, “Is that you?”

“Thunderlane!” the pegasus colt called out.

Soon enough, the door opened, and peering over the edge of the cloud was Rumble’s big brother.

“What…” he yawned loudly, “What are you doing here?”

“Scootaloo and her friends wanted to ask you if you had seen Rainbow Dash anywhere,” he said, then got curious, “You sound sleepy, bro.”

“Huh? Oh yeah. I was having…” he lazily thought of an excuse, “A sleepover with Cloud Chaser.”

“In the middle of the day?” Scootaloo asked.

“Stallions don’t have sleepovers with mares,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Yeah they do,” Sweetie Belle spoke up, “My sister Rarity lets stallions sleep over at her place all the time.”

“Ohhh, so that must mean it’s ok then,” the earth filly said, “Hey girls, we should do that sometime. We might even get our cutie marks for it.”

Thunderlane couldn’t help but stifle a chortle and snicker. The curious and innocent looks on their faces was enough to get him to stop.

“Maybe you should hold off on that one for a while, girls,” Thunderlane said, “Cloud Chaser’s a sort of…professional, you see.”

“Can she teach us?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. Thunderlane chuckled loudly in response.

“I…I don’t think she can train you girls. You aren’t exactly of age yet,” he wiped some tears from his face.

“Is it because we can’t fly?” Apple Bloom asked, Scootaloo glared at her, “But we got compansies…compensions…compulsive…accomplices?”

“Compensations?” Sweetie Belle finished.

“Yeah that! Compensations!” the filly continued, “Ah got strong hooves and Sweetie’s a natural entertainer.”

Thunderlane couldn’t hold it in anymore. He started to laugh out loud, proceeding to loll around on the cloud, not caring how close to the edge he was.

“You guys…you’re killing me here!” the adult pegasus cried, “J-Just wait for it. When the time comes, she’ll be able to help you out.”

The girls groaned, “I wish it was soon, though,” Apple Bloom bemoaned.

Rumble playfully rolled his eyes and looked back up to his brother, “So anyways, have you seen Rainbow Dash today, big bro?”

Thunderlane had just recovered from his laughing fit to hear the question, “Rainbow Dash? No, not really.”

The three fillies sighed in disappointment, “Well, that was a big waste of time,” Scootaloo said.

“Hey Cloud Chaser,” Thunderlane suddenly called back into the house, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash today?”

More shuffling and hoofsteps was heard, and then Cloud Chaser was seen over the edge of the cloud, her hair looking a lot messier than normal.

“Really, Thunderlane? Hadn’t we seen her before earlier today?” she told him, then looked back down to the foals below, “Oh hey kids. What’s u-”

“You saw Rainbow Dash!?” Scootaloo interrupted and fidgeted anxiously, “When?! Where?!”

“Whoa, okay. Settle down, squirt,” Cloud Chaser replied, then turned to Thunderlane, “It was early this morning, remember? Around eight or something?”

Thunderlane tapped a hoof to his chin, then his wings flared up in realization, “Ohhh, now I remember. Hey did Flitter ever come back after that?”

“Yeah she did, while you were out getting ‘the toys’,” Cloud Chaser nudged him.

“Not in front of the kids, CC,” the stallion whispered to her, the foals twisting their heads in response.

“Right, anyhoo. She said she was going to some meeting because of the news,” Cloud Chaser revealed.

“Meeting?” Apple Bloom repeated.

“What news?” Scootaloo asked.

“Toys?” Sweetie Belle brought up, “Is that what you’re supposed to bring in a sleepover with boys?”

The unicorn, however, was ignored, “Yeah, Flitter seemed a bit upset with the whole ‘Rainbow Dash is dating Big Macintosh’ thing, so she went to the library for the meeting,” Cloud Chaser explained.

“That’s Twilight’s place. Maybe she’s seen Rainbow Dash somewhere,” Apple Bloom suggested.

“So…now we have to go to the library?” Scootaloo said dismally.

“Remember,” Sweetie Belle nudged and whispered to her, “It’s for the cutie marks.”

“For the cutie marks!” the pegasus filly exclaimed, wings flared up, “Thanks for all your help!”

“Y’all are goin’ to the party, right?” Apple Bloom asked as the scootsmobile started.

“Party? Oh, I’m always down for a party,” Thunderlane proudly proclaimed, then turned to Cloud Chaser and murmured, “What party?”

“We’ll be there,” Cloud Chaser seemed to ignore him, “The farm at seven, right?”

“Ayup!” the earth filly nodded just as the wagon revved on.

“Bye Rumble!” Sweetie Belle called out as they drove away, then remembered the other two ponies, “Bye Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser!”

The three ponies waved until they disappeared in the distance. Thunderlane spoke up, “They seemed like nice kids.”

“Yeah, but leave ‘em alone for two seconds and they bring a swarm of wyverns to town,” Cloud Chaser noted.

“Hey Rumble,” the pegasus stallion suddenly said, “That orange one your fillyfriend or something?”

The pegasus colt blushed noticeably as he raised his hooves in defense, “What? N-No way!”

The two adult pegasus smirked, “But didn’t you say she-”

Rumble interrupted his older brother by holding his ears down with his hooves and chanting, “LALALALALALALALALALA.”

The clouds are gathering, metaphorically speaking...

“And so, I wandered around town for several minutes until I decided to come here,” Spike explained as he poured the tea pot.

“Oh my. That sort of behavior is inexcusable,” Rarity said in disgust before calmly and classily sipping her tea.

“Twilight hasn’t been herself all day, come to think of it,” Rainbow Dash said as she added another sugar cube to her still bitter tea.

“I know what you mean,” Spike agreed, putting the pot away and taking a seat with the two ponies, “She left this morning all normal like and, when she returned, she made me go to the mayor about some meeting or something.”

“What was the meeting about?” the unicorn asked.

Spike placed a claw on his chin and thought about it, “Well, I wasn’t really there for it. I went back to the mayor’s to get a list, but when I returned, she bucked me out as soon as I gave it to her. It was really weird.”

The pegasus crossed her arms, “Hm. Something’s eating her. I think it has something to do with the news.”

“Hm? You mean the fact that you and Big Macintosh are dating?” Rarity asked, “How would that make Twili-” she stopped herself as her eyes widened realization, “…oohhhhh.”

“Ohh what?” both Spike and Rainbow Dash asked.

Rarity’s lip curled into a grin, “I think I know what’s wrong.”

“Tell me!” Spike demanded as he leaned forward, “I don’t want to have to deal with Twilight as she is for an unprece…unpredi…unknown amount of time,” Spike’s enthusiasm then changed to a thoughtful one, “Wait, actually she’s been giving me a lot of free time today. I hardly did any work,” his energy returned, “Don’t tell me! As long as she’s focusing on other stuff, I don’t have to work so hard anymore,” his excitement then faded into one of worry, “But wait, what if she focuses too much? She’ll stay up all night organizing and plotting, again!” he looked back to Rarity, this time in fear, “Tell me! Or actually, don’t tell me. I mean, tell me, but don’t get me involved if it needs fixing. Actually, don’t get me involved at all. Actuall-”

“For Celestia’s sake, Spike,” Rainbow Dash intervened and placed a hoof in the dragon’s mouth, “Just let Rarity talk.”

The unicorn had been calmly drinking her tea as the dragon was talking. She was going for another refill just as Spike apologized.

“Right, sorry Rarity,” he said, then shut his mouth with his hands. He still couldn’t help but muffle, “Conffinvoo ffleeze.”

“As I was saying,” she said, putting the tea pot down, “I think the source of Twilight’s aggravation might be because of jealousy.”

“Twilight? Jealous?” the pegasus said, almost in disbelief, “I had a hunch, but she didn’t make it very obvious. I mean, what does she have to be jealous of?” She then turned to Spike, “She doesn’t really get out much, right?”

The unicorn was rarely seen outside of her library, so it was assumed she was hardly social, her friends being the only exception. Still, Rainbow Dash wanted confirmation on the dragon’s part.

“Uhh, right. She’s been getting out more since we moved from Canterlot, actually,” Spike explained.

Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Still a closet egghead. And because of that, she shouldn’t be surprised when her friends start going out with colts. If she really wanted one for herself, she should get out more.”

“Actually, Rainbow,” Rarity spoke up, “Some stallions do find her reclusive and studious personality to be an attractive trait. Why, I bet some would give their left hoof to ask her out.”

The pegasi’s eyes widened, “Seriously? But she’s a shut in, and a know it all. And she spends a lot of her time reading than actually doing things. Who’d be into that?”

The white unicorn simply chuckled, “Oh Rainbow Dash, who are you to call a pony’s taste into question? After all, you’re the one dating Big Macintosh after all.”

It took her a moment to realize what she was talking about. Thinking back to her conversation with Twilight, the similarities she shared with Mac was stark. Apparently it was so hard to believe she was dating him that the entire town had wanted to know. Not to mention, Macintosh was probably the pinnacle of stallionness in town.

“Huh, I suppose you’re right,” the pegasus admitted, “I mean, even I thought I’d be going out with an athlete or an Olympian or something. Mac kinda is like that, though.”

She took a moment to think over the stallion.

“Nice, toned body, handsome mane, pretty green eyes, adorable freckles, and a goofy grin that just,” she let her body convulse for a bit at the thought, “Man, is that why Twilight’s jealous? I’m surprised the whole town isn’t after me yet.”

Rarity chuckled while Spike rolled his eyes. The dragon preferred the company of Rainbow Dash along with other ponies just to even out the masculinity of the area, but, of course, even the pegasus was susceptible to girly moments. Oh well, at least it’s only for the duration he was here.

And then, going on a record here, Rarity had another idea come to mind. Since remembering she had spread that nasty rumor about Rainbow Dash, Rarity had been nerved at the thought of the pegasus in front of her finding out. She dreaded the thought of confronting her past mistakes and maybe even losing some of her friends because of it, and then Twilight had to go and nearly bring about that scenario too early. She figured, she could absolve that dilemma by spreading another rumor while getting a little payback as well.

Or she could just come clean with it now.

Nah, this was a better idea.

“Actually, Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn spoke up, “I do believe Twilight is jealous, but of the wrong pony.”

“Huh?” Spike and Rainbow Dash both said, then the pegasus continued, “What do you mean by that?”

Rarity took a little sip of her tea before continuing, “You see, I believe that Twilight Sparkle is actually…a fillyfooler. And that she has a crush on you.”

Spike was the first to react, but Rainbow Dash followed shortly after with, “What?!”

“Haven’t you noticed it yet?” the white unicorn said slyly, “The way she looks at you ever since she heard the news, did it not look envious?”

“But, that’s crazy!” Spike exclaimed, “Twilight can’t be a fillyfooler! She just can’t! It’s not possible!” the dragon then turned to Rainbow Dash, his previous shock and disbelief gone for the moment, “What’s a fillyfooler?”

The pegasus gave Rarity a look, who replied with an indifferent shrug. Unsure of what to say, she decided to be blunt with the dragon, “Well, you know how ponies are, like, one mare and one stallion?”

Spike nodded.

“Well, some ponies are into another mare, or another stallion. We call the first one fillyfoolers,” she finished.

“Ohh,” the dragon said, then realized what Rarity was telling them, “Wait, that can’t be right. Twilight went out with a colt once.”

“Really?” the unicorn said in surprise. On one hoof, she could’ve been debunked and called out as a liar, but on the other hoof, there was some unknown history on Twilight’s part she was about to learn, the kind she was interested in.

“Yeah, but…it didn’t go too well,” Spike looked down in thought, “She returned home one night, and the prom dance was in a week, and she was all sad and angry. I think he broke her.”

“Oh. Wow,” was all Rainbow Dash could say. Well, that and, “And I think you mean, he broke up with her.”

Rarity took the moment to cement her claim, “See? I bet that colt was so bad, she was turned off from stallions afterward,” she said, then took a moment to sip her tea, “Tell me, Spike, what happened after that?”

Spike dug out the first memory that came to him, “She started reading a lot more. Books like Daring Do, Amazon Adventures, that one castle series, and a few with seaponies in it…hey wait,” his eyes widened, “All of those books star a female lead.”

The unicorn chuckled, “Good catch there, Spikey,” she congratulated, the dragon modestly placing his hands behind him, “Such a thing would be hard to miss, normally.”

“So wait, lemme get this straight,” Rainbow Dash intervened, “Twilight has a crush on me? I get that she might be a fillyfooler, but why me?”

“You know, all of those books are of the action genre,” Spike pointed out, “If somepony wrote a book about your life, Rainbow Dash, I bet it’d have ‘action’ listed twice.”

“What Spike probably means is, you’re the ideal mare for her, based on her favorite books,” Rarity simplified, “Figures she’d want somepony to bring her out of that stuffy library.”

It was starting to make sense, “I see…well, this is awkward,” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head, “I mean, I’m dating Macintosh now so…what do I do? Do I talk to her about it?”

The unicorn shook her head, “Wait for her to come to you. She needs to come to terms with the reality of it all first. Once she feels like she’s ready, she’ll let you know.”

“And what am I supposed to do?” Spike asked, worried.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll ask for your help about it first, my dear. And you’ll be ready to help, yes?” she said sweetly.

“Oh-h, uh, of course Rarity,” he saluted her, “Twilight can always count on me. I’m very dependable.”

From behind him, an upset shrill alerted him.

“Oh, one sec.”

Spike took the tea pot from the table and brought it to another, much smaller, table.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. More tea, miss Opal?” Spike asked.

The cat groaned impatiently, meaning yes. Spike filled the cat’s tea cup until it was full, then set aside the pot.

“Two lumps, right?” the cat nodded, “Alright.”

Once the sugars were in place, he stirred until the tea was prime. Opal simply meowed the nicest sound she could make in appreciation, although it sounded more like he wasn’t needed anymore.

Spike took the tea pot back, then looked to her other tea party guest, “And you, Gummy?”

The crocodile did not make eye contact, nor did he move his eyes at all. Gummy just blinked, his tea cup yet to be touched.

“Uhh, okay then,” and with that, the dragon returned to the table where the other two ponies sat, “Like I said, dependable.”

Rarity chuckled, but Rainbow Dash stared down the alligator across the room from her, “What’s Pinkie’s gator doing here?”

“Oh, he’s been here since this morning. I think Pinkie left him here on accident,” she answered before sipping more of her tea, “It was right after Applejack left that he turned up. And I have no idea when she’ll pick him up, occupied with setting up the party at the-”

“The farm!” Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted as she sprung into the air, “Horse apples I forgot! I needed to help Macintosh finish the chores today!”

“Oh, that sounds bad,” Rarity stated in a bit of worry, “I feel awful about holding you up.”

“Nah, it’s my fault. I just forgot what with all that’s happened today,” she looked to the door, “Hey, sorry but I gotta dash.”

“No need to apologize, go to your stud, dear,” she said with a wink.

“I will,” Rainbow Dash replied with a wink, “And stop calling me a deer. I’m a pegasus, not a double unicorn.”

And with that, Rainbow Dash flew out the door, on her way to the farm.

“…she does know that just because deer have two horns doesn’t mean they can use magic, right?” Spike asked.

“You’re asking the wrong question, Spike,” Rarity replied.

Back at the other table, Opal tested her cup before she dunked her tongue into hit, feeling the satisfyingly warm tea splash around. She gulped and resumed her conversation with her associate Gummy, in, of course, a form of communication that other ponies and dragons couldn’t understand.

“So, as I was saying,” she said with her chin held up, “He had the gall to call me fat. I thought I had misheard him at first, and I wanted to clarify, but then he decided to be snarky and call me fat again the long way. Can you believe the nerve of some people?”

“…” Gummy said in a classy voice.

“I was about to let the infidel taste my well polished claws,” Opal continued, “But Fluttershy pressed her hoof onto my head and all felt right in the world.”

“…” Gummy replied, acknowledging Opal’s story.

“Why, if it weren’t for her, she’d have been one bunny short of a cottage. I must say, that pegasus has some magical hooves,” Opal finished before taking a drink.

“…” Gummy stated, bringing up a good question.

“Oh, I don’t know what she’s up to now,” the cat said with a paw to her chin, “Perhaps the same old caring for her animals sort of business. Although I do hear Winona was due for a checkup today. I wonder how that went down?”

“…” Gummy said with modesty.

Opal chuckled, “I hope so. Our Pony Pet Playdate is due in two days, and I’d hate to track Winona’s fur on my paws again. And I do hope I get to speak with Angel again. He deserves something for that big mouth of his.”

“…” Gummy asked.

“Oh? A party tonight?” at this, Opal seemed delighted, “That means Rarity is going, which also means I’m having the Carousel Boutique all to myself again. I should invite all of my friends for our own party. Oh, but if only I had known sooner,” Opal said in dramatic dismay.

“…” Gummy comforted.

“Well, I suppose you’re right. Better late than never,” she said as she took another splash of tea, “Maybe we can invite the other pets too. I favor the chance to teach Angel a lesson sooner than anticipated, and Owlowiscious is always a pleasure to talk to.”

“…” Gummy pointed out.

“Oh, you’re right. Winona can’t come until she’s been groomed, she’ll track fur all over the place,” Opal realized, “And if Rarity ever found out, she’d disown me! Not that I fear her, of course, but I’m not exactly an outdoor cat.”

“…” Gummy proposed.

“You will?” Opal asked.

“…” Gummy said with an invisible smirk.

“What’s that?”

“…” Gummy said as subtle as possible.

“Is that all? It’s a deal,” Opal said, nodding happily.

“…” Gummy said.

“I’ll go prepare the DVDs then,” Opal said, getting off her chair, “Hopefully all goes well tonight.”

“…” Gummy agreed.

That gator thing sure has a way with words...

“Big Macintooooosh!"

The stallion in question had just finished refilling the water tanker for the second time when he heard his beloved grandma call out to him. He hopped off the ladder, turned off the hose, and trotted back towards the farm. On the front porch stood the wrinkly mare known as Granny Smith who appeared to have woken up from her nap as she was smacking her dry mouth.

“You called, granny?” the stallion questioned.

It was a few seconds before the old mare realized she was being addressed. Seeing her grandson there, she tried to remember what it was that she needed of him. She knew it was something important.

“What time is it?” she asked in all honesty.

Mac took a look at the sun and deducted the time, “’S about three in the afternoon,” he answered.

“Consarnit. Ah’m not supposed to be awake yet,” she replied, then took a moment to scan the field, “Where is ev’rypony anyhoo?”

“Apple Bloom’s wit’ her friends, out fetchin’ Rainbow Dash, Celestia knows where she is, an’ AJ s’possed to be out in the field plantin’ repellants last Ah recall,” Big Macintosh answered to the best of his memory.

“Soo, who’s in the barn?” she asked.

Just then, the sound of wood breaking brought their attention to the building in general, followed by the distant voice of a high pitched pony.

“Ah think it’s Pinkie Pie,” the red stallion answered, looking a bit confused as to why he was hearing the sound of property damage.

“That loopy, pink pony friend of AJ’s?” Granny asked, “What’s wit’ all that racket then?”

“She s’pposed to be settin’ up a party for-” that’s when Mac remembered that Granny had yet to hear the news, “For uh…Granny, Ah forget to tell ya somethin’.”

“Meh? What is it?” the elder asked.

“Y’see, Pinkie’s settin’ up that party for a new pony couple in town,” Macintosh continued, finding it hard to explain himself to his grandma. He had no trouble telling Applejack about the news, so why was it harder to tell Granny?

“In the farm? Our farm?” although she was old and her wit had dulled, the elder was quickly piecing together the clues, “Is it one of our own?”

“Well, yeah,” Big Mac shyly explained, “And a certain rainbow pony…”

Granny Smith had an expression of surprise for a moment, then gave an approving nod and a warming smile, “Oh my, this is reason for celebration. ‘bout time she an’ AJ got together.”

“Ah knew you’d under- wait what?!” the stallion said, reasonably surprised.

“After all, she came to the farm like a street cat that had been fed,” she chuckled, “O’ course it was because somepony had done claimed her, it seems.”

Big Mac shook his head, “N-no granny, that’s not what Ah-”

But before he could continue, a sharp sound of wood exploding came from the barn, giving urgency to the two ponies.

“Consarnit boy,” Granny Smith exclaimed, “Go an’ see what’s all that racket’s about. Ah needs to catch up on my shuteye,” and like that, she slowly turned around back into the house.

“B-but Granny,” but the faint noise of splitting wood and a glare from his grandma silenced him.

The door closed and Big Macintosh sighed. Though his grandma was normally understanding and keen with her morality, she was a bit loopy herself, and that Apple family stubbornness didn’t help either. He could only hope to correct her before the party so as to prevent any confusion. The hardest part would be the hooves beating him if he failed, whether by Applejack, Rainbow Dash, or both.

Oh well. The barn needed to be inspected of the noise anyway, especially if Pinkie Pie was in it. As Big Macintosh made his way towards it, he could only hope that the pony wasn’t causing too much damage. Maybe she was breaking up the trees he brought over from the field by Whitetail Woods, he thought hopefully. In that case, she’d have saved him a week of hard work splitting the trunks for firewood, not that they needed it because winter was on the other side of the calendar, but that’s beside the point.

When he actually got to the barn, though, such fantasies were far from reality, to his horror.

There were big holes in the side of the barn, with cake batter and streamers trickling down from them.

Upset, Big Macintosh trotted towards the mess while keeping calm. That pink pony had a lot of explaining to do.

“What in tarnation is goin’ on over here?” he asked out loud as he entered the barn.

In the time that Pinkie had been left to set up the party, she had done a considerable job of covering the entire place in party paraphernalia, so much so that it was barely recognized as a barn anymore. Confetti blanketed the floor like snow after a blizzard, streamers practically drenched the ceiling like spider webs in a thousand year old house, and tables were set up holding chips, cakes, drinks, and snacks, with a heaping helping of confetti on each one.

“Oh! Hi Macky!” Pinkie Pie greeted from her party cannon, “What brings you here? It’s not even time for the party!”

Macintosh took a moment to take in what had become of the barn. His hooves plowed through the blanket of confetti as he walked in, “Ah just…heard noises…why are there holes in our barn?”

“Ohh, you mean windows,” the pink pony said with a smile, “This place could do with a bit of ventilation, don’t you think?”

“No, Ah don’t think so,” Mac replied bluntly, “It’s a barn. It don’t need windows.”

“Well, the party cannon thought otherwise,” she said, rubbing the shiny surface of her contraption, “Halfway through decorating everything, some of the thingamajiggers in the party cannon got all wacky and started firing things in chunks.”

Big Macintosh shook his head, “So, wait. After the first time it got messed up, you didn’t even bother to fix it?”

“Nope! Like I said, this place could do with a few windows, don’t you think?” she said with a pleading smile.

Big Macintosh, however, was not swayed, “Nnnope.”

“Aw come on,” Pinkie Pie pleaded, “I mean, it’s going to be a big party, so having a few windows in here would help. Like so.”

Pinkie Pie zipped out of the barn and reappeared on the other side of a supposed ‘window’ with two sock puppets emulating party guests.

“Hey Jim,” she said, mimicking a rougher voice, “This is some great party, but have you seen Carrie anywhere?”

“No,” the other sock puppet, a bit nasally, replied, “But I think she’s inside.”

Then, from the other side of the barn, across another ‘window’ a third sock puppet appeared, “I’m over here,” it said in a high pitched girly voice, “I was just chatting with Susie. She went inside for some punch.”

Two more sock puppets appeared behind the punch bowl, “Did somepony say my name? I’m in the middle of a conversation with an Elementary School friend of mine.”

“Hey Susie,” the sock puppets from the other window spoke up, “We’d like to get acquainted with you since you know our friend Carrie.”

Big Macintosh, in the meantime, was utterly confused by these sock puppets he was watching, “How am Ah…seein’ this?”

The sock puppets continued, “Oh certainly. And thanks to these windows, I don’t have to walk all the way around for that. How convenient!”

Finally, the sock puppets disappeared and Pinkie Pie reappeared behind the stallion. He was fearful of her sudden presence, admittedly, but that fear turned to irritancy when she talked again.

“See? Having these windows up make the communication in a party much easier, don’tcha think?” she said with a hopeful grin.

Despite her very persuasive display, Big Macintosh had to deny it, “But, you wrecked our barn, and we need it for summer.”

“Oh, yeah. I know that,” she said with a slightly bashful shrug, “But you can always repair it, right?”

The ludicrousness of having to repair her handiwork grated at him enough to the point of losing his cool. With a despairing sigh, Big Macintosh glared and spoke.

“Look, Ah don’t know what goes on in your head, but even you should know that there are consequences to actions,” as he spoke, Pinkie Pie was beginning to shrink under him, “The only reason Ah’m lettin’ you host this party is for Rainbow Dash, an’ while she might like these sort of parties, they have a lingerin’ effect on us. Clean up and damages are left to us, an’, while you do help out an’ all, we can only take so much. So if you still wanna host this party, regardless of what you’ve done, Ah’m gonna have to ask you to pay a fine for these ‘improvements’ you’ve done to our barn.”

The pink pony stared at the stallion for what seemed like seconds. When the message finally got across to her, she turned chipper again.

“Oh, is that all?” she said as she bounced back up to standing height, “Sure!”

Taken back by this sudden spring, Mac hesitantly replied, “Uhh, okay. So, that’ll be fifty bits from you, for the new wood and paint.”

“Fifty?!” Pinkie Pie said in shocked, then checked her invisible pockets. Finding that she was short on cash, she turned to the stallion with pleading eyes, “Um, can I pay in baked goods?”

Big Macintosh, having exhausted himself of talking, simply stared.

“Baked goods, including cupcakes?” she pursued.

He kept staring.

“And cakes?”

Still staring.

“…smiles?”

It’s a wonder how he hasn’t blinked yet.

“…a foal’s laughter?”

“You have a month,” was all he said before he left the barn, leaving Pinkie Pie in the mess that was the barn.

“Phew. Mrs. Cake was right. Parties are costly,” she said, wiping her brow, “Speaking of which, I wonder what’s going on at the Sugar Cube Corner?”

How is Pinkie to get all that money...?

“I’ve already told you, I don’t know anything about Rainbow Dash liking fillies. Now, are you going to buy something or not?”

Since the meeting ended, every mare that took part in it had made it their mission to go and scout the town for information, as instructed by Twilight. A good majority of them had realized that it was lot of work with little reward, however, and slowly segued back into their calm routine of live in Ponyville. But for those who actually took it seriously, getting that information was harder than it seemed, whether they were searching subtly or…in Lyra’s case, not as subtly.

“Are you absolutely sure?” the green unicorn pressured, “Because I need to be as sure as a cupcake has frosting on it.”

Mrs. Cake didn’t know what language she was trying to speak, but she heard an order in their somewhere, “Chocolate or vanilla?”

“Vanilla please,” she said with a smile.

Meanwhile, in the same bakery, Caramel and Blues were seated, both with donuts and a cup of coffee on their respective halves of the table. Like before, it wasn’t the blue one’s idea to be here, especially as it was where Pinkie worked, but he agreed to because of two things; Pinkie was still at the farm, and he could use a cup of coffee right now.

Caramel had a slightly different reason. He did want some coffee, but he was hoping to share it with somepony else. The only problem was that a certain mare was here as well.

“Why is Lyra pestering Mrs. Cake?” Caramel asked.

“You’re not gonna go and join her, are you?” Blues asked, sipping some coffee.

Caramel chuckled at his friend, “No, I’m actually honestly curious.”

Blues mimicked his laugh, “You’re actually interested in something other than mares?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” the stallion explained, “I mean, I’m interested in something a mare is doing, if that counts for anything.”

“With you, it does.”

Caramel hummed affirmatively as he drank from his coffee, creatively flavored with cinnamon and, unsurprisingly, caramel.

“But really,” he said, putting his drink down, “Why are ponies asking around? She’s dating Big Macintosh, the rumors aren’t true, mystery solved.”

“So you think.”

Lyra suddenly appeared before them, with a vanilla cupcake levitating before her with a bite wound.

“Look at you two, all snug and comfy without a care in the world like some chipper couple,” she said as she took a bite of her cupcake.

“Lyra, we already discussed this before,” Caramel said, looking a bit insulted, “We’re not a couple. …and I’m not gay.”

“But you two obviously wouldn’t know about how severe something like that is,” the unicorn continued, ignoring the stallion, “What would you know about it?”

“Hey, I’ve dated hundreds of mares before,” Caramel was quick to answer, “And I’ve even slept with a few.”

“I don’t think that’s what she meant,” Blues chimed, taking another sip of his coffee, “And the less we hear about your escapades, the better.”

“For all of us,” Lyra agreed, taking another piece of cupcake, “Those poor mares though…”

“Hmph, you sound jealous,” the stallion said smugly.

“Please, if I wanted to date a filly willy stallion like you, I would…” Lyra tried to say, but found herself short of ways to finish her sentence, “…you know, I really can’t go any lower than you out of all the stallions in Ponyville. And I would know, I’ve seen a list.”

Caramel scoffed at her remark, but it spurred Blues to speak.

“Wait, there’s a list?”

He was ignored, however, as the other two ponies continued to chat.

“So, Lyra, what were you badgering Mrs. Cake for, just now?” he said in an almost taunting fashion, hoof on one cheek and elbow on the table, “Need more rainbows in your diet or something?”

Lyra returned his attitude with a snarky tone of her own, “Why yes, I would like some extra spice in my life, with a steaming pile of raw wingpower on the side.”

Blues merely rolled his eyes and drank his coffee in silence. He had known Caramel for a while, and while the stallion wouldn’t hesitate to propose a date with just about any mare in town, Lyra was the exception. All he knew of the two was that Lyra had turned him down after he inevitably attempted to ask her out, and then he moved on to Bonbon, which she has prevented him from approaching out of the goodness of her heart, as she’d put it. Since then, she’s been a sort of rival to him, and while it was refreshing to see Caramel not flirting with a mare for once, their arguments were immature, and that was a generous description.

Speaking of whom, the other mare, Bonbon, was also in Sugar Cube Corner, enjoying her own coffee while reading a newspaper. Her existence came to attention at the call of two fillies.

“Bonbon!” chimed a filly, “I’ve been looking for you. Are you going to open the candy thop thoon?”

The filly that was talking was an up and coming candy maker by the name of Twist. Her lisp was unmistakable, among her curly red hair and oversized glasses. According to the town, Bonbon had been tutoring the young one in candy making among peppermint canes, and she’s been shown to be very promising. Rumor has it that she would inherit the shop soon, but that was a glorified claim. The other filly was Archer, a blue earth pony with a special talent in archery, but nopony cared about that. Except for Blues, of course.

Bonbon turned to the two fillies and put on a bright smile, “Very soon, my little ponies. I’m just here taking care of her.”

Back at the other table, Lyra and Caramel had somehow devolved into a rock paper scissors match off, with Lyra leading two to one. Scratch that. Three to one. How they were engaging in such a battle of luck with just hooves was a mystery.

Blues eventually had enough of the two and got up from his seat, having finished off his coffee. Like Bonbon, Blues felt the need to take care of Caramel because of how often he would humiliate himself in an attempt to show off to the females. The truth is, he was all talk and no trot, as he would melt into a pool of self conscious problems and low self-esteem when confronted by an actual willing mare. But when he bumped heads with Lyra, it was safe to leave him be, as the two usually bickered for an hour or two.

But he wasn’t going to leave the bakery just yet.

“Afternoon, Bonbon,” he greeted the mare, then turned to the filly, “Hey there, kiddo.”

“Hey there, Blues,” Archer said to her older brother, “What are you here for?”

He shrugged, “Same reason Bonbon is; keeping Caramel out of trouble.”

Twist then tapped Blues’ shoulder, then pointed to the other table. The four of them saw Caramel shaking a can of soda fiercely, blushing a bit, as Lyra watched smugly.

“I swear to Celestia…” Bonbon said as she took a big gulp of her coffee.

“What is Lyra here for, anyways?” the blue stallion asked the candy maker.

Bonbon and the other two fillies both turned to him, the latter two being just curious.

“Oh, some stuff about a mission or something,” Bonbon said vaguely, “For some reason, all the mares in town started poking around about Rainbow Dash and her,” she glanced at the fillies in front of her, “Taste.”

“Is she talking about that colorful chewy candy?” Archer whispered to Twist. The two were ignored by the adults.

“So is that why she was bothering Mrs. Cake?” Blues replied. They heard something explode and liquid dripping, followed by angry shouting belonging to Mr. Cake, but they didn’t need to look to guess what had happened, “But why would she know anything about that?”

“Well, she and her husband are taking care of Pinkie and all, plus, she’s close friends with Rainbow Dash and everything,” Bonbon said, taking a sizable sip of her coffee, “Lyra was prodding here wondering if she and Pinkie were closer than friends.”

There was a faint feeling of heartbreak in the blue pony’s center, but he quickly brushed it off, “O-oh. I guess that’s valid.”

“Where is that pony anyway?” the candy maker asked, “I haven’t seen her around much today.”

“Oh, she’s at Sweet Apple Acres as far as I know,” the blue stallion replied, “But she was at Twilight’s a bit earlier for a meeting.”

“A meeting? Lyra said something about that,” Bonbon recalled, “When she returned, she and every other mare started their whole investigation thing about Rainbow Dash.”

There was the sound of wood clacking in the bakery, and the four ponies turned to look. Apparently, they had been given mops to clean Caramel’s spill with, but it had devolved into childish swordplay with the sticks they were given. Fortunately for them, they had finished cleaning up, but the wet floor was too slippery as Caramel lost his balance, to Lyra’s delight.

“Looks like she’s a bit distracted,” Blues noted.

“If I said she had the attention span of a trout, it’d be a compliment to her,” Bonbon said, putting away the newspaper.

“Oh, speaking of childish adults,” Archer quipped, calling attention to herself, “Ruby’s mom came to school today, and left shouting about a meeting.”

“Huh, the same meeting, I’ll bet,” Bonbon thought out loud, “I swear to Celestia, if the drunk’s involved in this as well in any way,” but she didn’t finish as she just drank the rest of her coffee.

“Come on, Bonbon. How bad can it be compared to Lyra taking part in it?” Blues stated as they watched the unicorn in question slide along the suddenly wet floor on her posterior, followed by Caramel giving chase.

“You have a point there,” the candy maker replied.

“Hey Archer,” the blue adult suddenly asked, “And Twist, you know anypony else that might be in on this thing?”

After a moment of thought, the red head spoke first, “Thady’th mom went. Actually, a whole bunch of ponieth were abthent thith afternoon.”

“Noi and I played at the arcade because her sister was busy at the time,” Archer added, “We’re going to the park later with Dinky because her sister’s still busy.”

“You mean the carrot one, right?” Lyra joined in as she slid to a stop before them, “She was assigned to Sweet Apple Acres along with the toothpaste pony after the meeting.”

Before she could’ve been asked for anything else, Caramel mischievously bumped into her and sent the unicorn rolling. He chuckled as she crashed into the wall, but then attempted to flee when he saw she was coming back for them. The two ended up sliding into the hallway and the clatter of pots falling was heard later.

“I can see where this is going,” the earth pony mare said as she stood up.

“Wait, you’re going to leave her behind?” the blue stallion asked.

Bonbon stepped carefully across the drying but still slippery floor, “I suggest you do the same or else pay for the damages with your friend.”

Blues complied and motioned for the two fillies to follow the mare. The shouting of Mr. Cake could be heard just as they reached the dry floor of the entrance, followed by Lyra and Caramel pointing hooves at each other.

The blue stallion shook his head, “Those two need to go out already.”

“I agree,” Bonbon replied.

Is every adult here a child at heart?

Meanwhile, out in the field of apple trees, Applejack, having been unseen for a good portion of the day, had just finished setting up the repellant on the trees that needed them. Even though only half of the trees on the farm were to be equipped with the repellants, such a task would have taken all day due to how expansive their land was. But thanks to Applejack’s faithful dog Winona, locating the trees was easy and done efficiently, and proved to be invaluable help to the pony.

As much as the pegasus denied.

“Well, you should’ve come earlier then,” the cowgirl replied, hauling the empty cart back to the farm.

“Hey, I was busy back there,” Rainbow Dash defended as she hovered by the pony, “I fulfilled my weather duty quota, Twilight interrogated me like a criminal, and Rarity washed me. My time kind of just slipped away.”

“More like half of the day,” Applejack shot back from the cart, “Not to mention you promised to help around the farm today.”
The pegasus sighed, “Yeah, I know. I’ve just been occupied, that’s all.”

The earth pony huffed, “Well then, why don’t you go meet with Big Macintosh an’ plow them fields like Ah told ya to? And dirt better be the only thing you two are plowin’.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Really AJ? That isn’t all we think about, you know.”

“You two have been goin’ out for two months. Don’t tell me it never crossed your mind to ditch your duties an’ work the hay instead,” Applejack retorted.

The pegasus groaned, but found it fruitless to pursue the argument. Besides, she still had something to ask her about, something that she came to Applejack for especially.

“Hey AJ, I need to ask you something,” the tension of the previous argument was gone from her voice.

“Can it wait?” the cowgirl had little tolerance for the pegasus’ when it came to getting work done; even less if it was stalling.

“Not really,” the pegasus returned, “But I’ll make it quick.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and kept walking. Whatever she had to say, it better be good, “So what is it?”

Rainbow Dash stalled for a bit, rubbing the back of her head, before coming up with a proper introduction to the issue, “Okay well, I have this friend, you see.”

She was talking about Twilight, of course, but Rarity’s advice from earlier lingered in her mind. She’d hate for Twilight’s sexuality to be leaked out into the public without her discretion, but she didn’t know what to do about it in the meantime. Which is why she needed a second opinion as soon as possible.

“A friend, Ah see,” although, it didn’t sound like Applejack believed her, “An’ what happened?”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms in an attempt to conjure up an example.

“Well, she just learned that another friend of hers is dating another pony, and she kind of has a crush on her,” Rainbow Dash went on, “So, this is kind of confusing.”

“So, wait. You’re askin’ for help on tryin’ to deal with it?” Applejack replied. Although she was still holding onto the disbelief that Rainbow Dash was really asking about a situation she was in, that couldn’t be right given, well, she came out to dating her brother just this morning.

So maybe she’s telling the truth.

“Kind of,” the pegasus continued, “She wants to make sure that the two of them are happy and alright with each other, but I can’t help but think that she’s just a little bit jelly.”

“Jelly?” Applejack replied, “Like, cherries or strawberry?”

When she realized that she was in this situation again, the pegasus groaned while placing a hoof to her face and quickly corrected herself, “Ugh, no, I mean, jealous. You know, J-E-L?”

Applejack nodded in response, although it wasn’t the correct spelling.

“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash continued, “So yeah. She’s been handling it a bit extremely, and I’m just wondering if it’s something to worry about yet.”

The earth pony hummed as she thought about what she was told. She knew now that her ‘friend’ wasn’t really just the pegasus herself, but she didn’t know who exactly the friend was. It could’ve been the other girls, but Rainbow Dash also had other pegasus friends in Ponyville, and narrowing them down would be almost impossible.

If this new couple she was referring to would be her and Big Macintosh, then it was important to help out however she could in this case, for her sake especially.

“Well, for starters, you’ll wanna keep a close eye on ‘em,” Applejack started, “Make sure that whatever she’s doin’ ain’t for anythin’ nasty like tryin’ to split ‘em up, or to steal one away.”

Rainbow Dash followed along. She knew it was almost unbelievable for Twilight to attempt anything terrible like that, but the unicorn could be unpredictable when she was upset. A famous example would be the Smarty Pants incident from months ago. In that case, it was important to keep these notes in her head, especially for the party later tonight.

“If anythin’ does come up,” she continued, “You need to set things right before they get any more wrong, and get her to come to terms wit’ the reality of everythin’.”

Rainbow Dash took a moment to process these words and found them to be acceptable advice along with what Rarity told her earlier. If Twilight did something crazy, which has happened before, it was up to her to set things right, more so considering she was the object of her affection.

“Hmm, ok,” Rainbow Dash finally said, “Thanks for that.”

“Yer welcome,” Applejack obliged happily, “Now, if there ain’t anythin’ else you need to ask about…”

“Nah, I’m good,” she said as she started to hover higher, “I’ll go and get to helping Big Mac with those chores.”

“Don’t forget the seeds for the summer harvest,” she shouted as Rainbow Dash flew away in search of her coltfriend.

While Applejack and Rainbow Dash where having their chat, Winona had been faithfully trailing her master during the trek back to the farm. Along the way, though, she had stopped to itch off some excess fur a good distance away, and her entire coat needed to go to make room for the new one. It was almost all off, though; she was getting the last bits out. Right as she finished for the day, she was approached by a good friend of hers.

“Hm? Oh, why if it isn’t mah good friend Gummy,” she said to the reptilian that somehow knew how to find her, “What brings you ‘round these parts?”

“…” Gummy greeted, “…”

“Oh? A party, at Opal’s place?” Winona repeated, “What’s the occasion?”

“…” Gummy explained.

“Ah see. Well, it just so happens that there’s a party goin’ on over here later, so Ah suppose it makes for perfect timin’,” Winona explained happily.

“…” Gummy mentioned.

Winona blinked and looked over herself and her still clinging strands of fur, “Oh dear. Ah’m still a sheddin’ mess. Ah’ll need somepony to groom me before Ah can go. Ah’d hate to miss this party. They don’t happen a lot.”

“…”Gummy said haughtily.

“Say, think you can shoot a message to Angel for me?” Winona asked, “Ah need a groomin’ from Fluttershy soon before the party.”

“…” Gummy agreed.

“Ah’m ever grateful,” she then looked back to the direction where Applejack had long gone, “Oh, Ah’m bein’ called. Pleasure talkin’ with ya, Gummy.”

And like that, the dog ran off back to its owner, leaving the alligator alone in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. Actually, he wasn’t really alone.

Far off from his location, behind an apple tree, two ponies came out of hiding in order to assess their finds.

“Well, that was weird,” Carrot Top said as a unicorn approached her.

“What, the dog barking at the croc?” a blue unicorn with an hourglass cutie mark asked.

“Oh, no. She always does that with the other animals,” the other pony answered, “I mean, the thing Rainbow Dash was talking about.”

The unicorn, known as Minuette, took a second to recollect what she heard from the pegasus.

“How hard is it to link ‘jelly’ to the word jealous?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure that out later,” Carrot Top said, “That whole ‘friend’ thing bothers me.”

“You think she was referencing herself?” Minuette asked, “But if that was the case, it doesn’t make sense since she already has a coltfriend.”

“Unless,” Carrot Top started, “They’re not really going out. She has a secret crush on one of her friends.”

Minuette took a moment to recall how the conversation went down, “If one of her friends already has a coltfriend, which one is she talking about? As far as I know, they’re all still single.”

“Well, that’s why we have to keep investigating,” the earth pony explained, “We find out who they are, get them together with Rainbow Dash, and bam. There’s our proof for the secret theory.”

“So, who do we check with first?” the unicorn asked.

Carrot Top thought hard. Among the pegasus’ friends, which of them were most likely to have gotten a coltfriend recently? She didn’t know many of her friends personally, but some were too hard to miss. Two of them were shut ins, one was the farmer that Rainbow Dash just talked to, so that left either the pink one or the fashionista.

“Rarity,” she finally said.

It's like they're doing this deliberately...

It took a while to ride back to town on the scootsmobile, but soon enough, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at the town library where Twilight was. Or was supposed to be. To their dismay, they found the library closed and nopony home. With no other lead, they decided to stay and wait for the unicorn to return.

“When is she coming back?” Scootaloo complained, “It’s been hours!”

“It hasn’t been an hour,” Apple Bloom retorted, “We’ve only been here for, like, two minutes.”

Scootaloo fiddled with her handlebars before replying, “I mean, like, how long it’s been since she left.”

“Wait, how do you know she’s been gone for that long?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“She doesn’t,” the apple filly shot.

“And neither do you,” the pegasus filly returned.

“What, are you some sort of time master now?” Apple Bloom said, getting to her hooves from the wagon.

“No, I’m saying we don’t know how long Twilight’s been gone, so it could’ve been hours,” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah, that’s such a specific amount,” the filly said sarcastically.

The unicorn filly sighed as the two started arguing again. Sometimes she thought the two argued just to argue, as they hardly accomplished anything whenever the two acted up. She thought being a Cutie Mark Crusader would be the best thing that’s ever happened to her, but as the failures piled on, they got increasingly restless. They were getting desperate and stressed out, and the two fillies would take it out on each other more often while she just sat back in the sidelines waiting for the two to cool down.

Maybe it was time to take a break.

Before Sweetie Belle could come to a positive life changing conclusion, she saw something in the window out of the corner of her eye. Closing in to take a closer look, she found that the kitchen light was on, but all the other lights were off, and she could swear she saw a figure shifting about in the darkness.

“The top speed of a Peregrine Falcon is not three hundred an’ twenty miles per hour!” Apple Bloom said loudly.

“Is so!” Scootaloo shouted back, “And you pronounce numbers without the and!”

Frustrated at their pointless fighting, Sweetie Belle interrupted, “Girls! Can you two please stop arguing over homework and come and look at this?”

The two shared a nasty look before giving in and walking up to the window to see what the unicorn was talking about.

“Finally,” she breathed before speaking, “Okay look. Isn’t the library supposed to always be open?”

“Well, except for at night,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“And when Equestria’s in danger,” Scootaloo added.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I know that. But look closely.”

The three fillies all zoomed into the window to see just what was the unicorn filly talking about. After only seven or so seconds, a figure whooshed by the light from the kitchen, shocking the girls as they stepped back.

“Whoa! What was that?” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“It looked like somepony broke in,” Scootaloo said, and then a spark went off in her eyes.

“See?” Sweetie Belle said to the two, “Maybe Twilight’s still inside? Maybe she’s in danger?”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go in and teach that intruder a lesson!” Scootaloo proudly exclaimed as she clapped her hooves together, “We might even get our cutie marks for it!”

The three fillies were getting excited at the thought of beginning their careers as crime fighters and getting a cutie mark to show it, until a certain problem became clear.

“Wait, how are we s’pposed to get inside?” Apple Bloom brought up as she looked over the giant tree.

Scootaloo didn’t have an immediate answer, “Oh, uhh…”

But Sweetie Belle did, “Well, if the intruder got in, then there must be a way in. Maybe they got in through the second floor?”

Looking up, they did see that a window was left open, the balcony window to be precise. However, it wasn’t something that could be accessed immediately, unless you could fly or had a really tall ladder.

“Hey Apple Bloom, do you have a ladder at home?” the pegasus filly asked as she turned to her.

“Well, yeah. But we can’t exactly just go back an’ get it,” she answered, “Time is of the essence.”

“Then we’ll just have to climb it. Good thing I’m already pretty good at tree climbing,” Scootaloo said as she started leaning up against the library.

As Apple Bloom followed, Sweetie Belle started thinking sensibly, “Wait a minute, can’t we just call somepony else for help?”

“And get our cutie marks for what?” Scootaloo shot back, “Whistle Blowers? Tattlers? No thanks.”

“You comin’ or what?” Apple Bloom asked as she carefully climbed the walls of the library.

With no other option, Sweetie Belle reluctantly began to climb the library tree. It was an odd sight, the three most destructive fillies of Ponyville, climbing a tree house in an attempt to break and enter. Any reasonable adult would be concerned more for the homeowner that the fillies, but the only ponies in the vicinity were two fillies keeping quiet as they watched the troublemakers make it to the balcony.

“Okay, now what?” Sweetie Belle asked as she settled her hooves onto the balcony. She joined the other two as they peered into the darkness of the library.

“Now, we go inside and confront the intruder,” Scootaloo said confidently.

“Don’tcha think we need to get a candle first or somethin’,” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’ll take care of that,” the unicorn filly suddenly proposed, “You two just look out for the intruder. They won’t just let us capture them.”

With a plan set, the three fillies were determined to step into the library in hopes of taking down the mystery intruder. That is, as soon as one of them took the lead.

“Y-you go first Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said.

“What? N-no, Scootaloo goes first,” the filly replied as she went behind the pegasus and pushed, “It was her idea.”

“Huh? N-no way,” she replied as she reached around and pushed Sweetie Belle to the lead spot, “Sweetie’s the one who saw the intruder first. She gets to lead.”

“What?” the unicorn said as she stepped away from Scootaloo, “But I’m supposed to be the one getting the candles. You two are supposed to cover me while I do that.”

As they argued, they inched further and further into the darkness of the library. It was only a matter of time until they were completely past the border where the window divided the inside from the outside when it was closed. A few more steps away from a trespassing violation, and…

WHAM.

Without warning, the window shut on the three fillies, frightening the daylights out of them. Of course, the curtains were still open, so they still had the light of the sun protecting them. But it was a frightening experience nonetheless.

“Wh-who shut the door?!” Apple Bloom demanded frightfully, “Was it you Scootaloo?”

“N-No, it wasn’t me,” she replied, “Sweetie Belle?”

“I didn’t touch anything…” the unicorn filly replied.

At this point, the three fillies realized that they did not like being inside dark places without an adult supervisor. The fact that the library was made out of the tree meant that the walls and everything else were uneven and nonlinear, creating some ghastly images in the illusion of darkness. Mysteriously, the light of the kitchen was off when they entered the library, though it had yet come to light to the young ponies.

The apple filly spoke first through her jitters, “S-Sweetie Belle, you go and look fer that candle like you said you would.”

“Oh, r-right,” she responded, “Well, let’s go.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo led Sweetie Belle away from the window, but were cautious about leaving the safety of the light cast from the balcony. With a bit of urging from the unicorn behind them, the two fillies trekked carefully towards the stairs. When all three fillies had left the light of the sun, that was when the curtains mysteriously slid shut, cutting off the only source of illumination in the foyer, save for a few tiny openings.

“Ah!” they all shrieked, then Apple Bloom turned to the unicorn, “Sweetie Belle, did you do that?!”

“N-no…” she was beginning to regret ever agreeing to this, “I-I think it was the intruder…”

Not willing to abandon their mission just yet, Scootaloo steeled her nerves and said, “Th-then we need those candles right away. Come on, Sweetie Belle.”

Through what little light there was in the library, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were able to trek down the steps from the balcony, albeit as slow and cautiously as possible. As soon as they touched the foot of the stairs, Sweetie Belle speed trotted towards where she guessed the candles would be.

“Where does Twilight keep her stuff?” she asked as she rummaged through the drawers in haste.

“M-maybe by her desk?” Apple Bloom suggested.

Scootaloo, despite how scared she was, found it in her to jeer at the earth pony filly’s suggestion, “Uh, I really don’t think Twilight would own a desk. She’s a unicorn; they don’t need them.”

Spurred by her sass, Apple Bloom temporarily overcame her fear and returned, “What, are you blind? There’re desks all around us!”

The pegasus filly returned her remark, “Of course I’m blind. Do you see how dark it is?”

Sweetie Belle also overcame the plague of fear the darkness was permeating, but only out of annoyance. The two fillies were arguing again, and it’d be a while before they were useful again. So she searched through the absurd number of desks in the library, hoping that some of them might contain a candle and, even better, a matchstick.

“Yeah, of course. Like you’ve eaten a carrot before in your life,” Apple Bloom shot back.

“You’re one to talk! You noticed all the desks in the room first!” Scootaloo retorted.

As the two continued arguing, Sweetie Belle was growing frustrated. Not just at her friends, but also because of the increasing failure of finding a candle to light. She had found a matchbox a few desks before with her eyesight getting better in the darkness, but a candle would make things brighter than just waiting to adjust to the darkness of the room. Only a few more left to check, if her friends didn’t get on her nerves first.

“That is not how you measure the atomic weight of gold!” Scootaloo returned.

“And that isn’t how you say the full scientific name of a humpback whale!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“I found it!”

The two arguing fillies stopped talking and turned to the unicorn, proudly holding all that was left of a burnt out candle. It was an inadequate candle, but it was the best the filly could come across.

“Huh? We’re supposed to light that?” Scootaloo said defiantly.

“Is there even any wick left in that thing?” Apple Bloom asked.

The pegasus filly, however, corrected her, “Uh, you mean string.”

“Yeah, the wick,” the apple filly repeated.

Not feeling like arguing again, she just rolled her eyes and looked to the unicorn, “Ok, so, wick or string, how are we going to light it?”

Thankful that they had stopped their senseless bickering, Sweetie Belle exhaled, “With a matchstick, of course,” she said as she brought out a box.

“Can you even light it?” Apple Bloom asked, “Doesn’t look like it’ll last long.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” the unicorn said as she set the candle down and retrieved a match from the box.

The three patiently waited as Sweetie Belle fiddled with the matches. Still lacking magic, she had to hold the box with one hoof and strike with her mouth, and then set something alight before burning herself. It was harder to do and took a while, but eventually she mastered the craft of lighting a matchstick.

“Got it!” Sweetie Belle said through her teeth, clamping on the lit match.

Just as quickly as she had said it, a gust of wind blew by, snuffing out the match and therefore the light. From surprise and the overwhelming smell of smoke, Sweetie Belle dropped the match and stepped back, feeling a presence looming over her and the girls.

“What was that?” Apple Bloom said, the jitters coming back to her, “Ah’m not the only one who saw that, right?”

“You mean that feathery thing that flew by?” Scootaloo said, restraining her shivers, “Y-yeah.”

“I thought you two were supposed to be on the lookout for the thief,” Sweetie Belle said, half scared, half upset.

“We were,” said Apple Bloom, as by now the three were huddled together, “We just saw the thing go by just now.”

“Ugh, no, that’s not what I meant,” the unicorn said, slowly getting upset, “I meant- Ugh, did you not see anything while I was looking?”

“W-Well, we were kinda…distracted…”Scootaloo admitted.

“Well, it was your fault, bringin’ geology into the matter,” Apple Bloom jeered.

“What? You can’t even name the oceans, and you’re calling me out on homework?” the flier retorted.

“Ok, that’s it!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, turning to the girls in defiance, “Every time we go out and try to get our cutie marks, you two would rather spend your time arguing!”

Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at her as if she was serious about bringing this up now with a culprit on the loose in the same house.

“We can’t go outside for two minutes without you two fighting over something stupid like the metabolic system of a sloth, or what falls faster between a sperm whale and a pot of petunia flowers,” she continued.

As Sweetie Belle ranted, the other two shifted their attention to a figure above the unicorn, noted by its glowing yellow eyes and a glint of metal, shaped like a smile.

“You know, maybe arguing is your special talents! Because whenever we’re out looking for cutie marks, that’s all you two do, and I’m sick of it!”

“Uhh…”, “S-Sweetie Belle?” both of them tried to say as the figure loomed closer to the filly.

“I just don’t get you two,” she continued, finding it hard to stop, “You both so desperately want cutie marks but we can never cooperate enough to do anything right. I had to test out the floor buffer because you two wouldn’t stop fighting over who got to ride it first, and look at what happened!” she pointed to a band aid at the base of her horn, “I almost got detention because of you two!”

“Sweetie Belle!” the two fillies shouted, clutching each other in a fearful embrace.

Still seething, the unicorn turned around to unleash her wrath, but instead, her spine shivered with cold just as the shadowy figure overtook her.

“AHHHH!”

And like that, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo made a break for it out of the library.

But they never got far.

An eventful evening

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

An eventful evening

--

“He should be in this house,” a little filly stated.

Without another word, Flitter knocked on the door and waited for a response, tapping her hoof impatiently. The colt she had been looking for was in this house, or so the filly next to her had told her. She fondly remembered the Gabby Gums incident from several months ago, because a picture of her had been taken during a ‘private’ session of hers during that time. Fortunately, the photos were never published and the culprits had apologized, but she never did figure out who took the photos, until now.

Knowing that it had been a photographer at the local school, Flitter interrogated some random fillies, hoping to fish a lead. Luckily she did, in the form of a filly named Noi, who claimed to know the photographer and where he lived. Flitter hadn’t told her why she was looking for the particular colt, but she was here for something other than the pictures.

Although, it’d be great if she could get them back.

The door opened to reveal a light blue colt with a darker shade mane. At first he was indifferent at the sight of the filly, but upon seeing the adult, he closed the door in fear. Some sounds could be heard from the inside like glass breaking and screeching wood among muffled shouts.

“Huh, that was weird,” Noi claimed, “Shady only does that when I come at him with a straw.”

“He’s the kid who takes photos for the school?” Flitter asked, Noi nodded.

As the noise within began to quiet down, the adult pegasus fluttered and made her way around the house. She knew the sound of ponies making an escape when she heard it, and she wasn’t about to let the colt get away. Coming around to the other side of the house, she found not one, but three colts attempting to make a break for it. One apparently snagged on something inside the house, though, because the other two were helping to pull him out.

As amusing as it looked, Flitter couldn’t let these ponies get away. So, she alerted her presence with a blunt cough. “Ahem!”

At this, the colts helping out the lanky unicorn froze and stared at the pegasus, left with nowhere else to run to. Before they could make any daring escape, and she’d rather not chase a bunch of foals today, Flitter had to clarify why she was here.

“I hear one of you kids has a camera,” she stated, eyeing the blue colt, “I’m here because I want to borrow it.”

“Y-You are?” the yellow unicorn colt, known as Snails, said.

“Oh, what a relief,” the pudgy unicorn with thick eyebrows, Snips, said, “We thought you were here because-”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a picture of me, would you?” Flitter interrupted.

Again, the colts froze.

“Hey, is she talking about that one where she’s hugging herself?” Noi asked.

Fortunately for Flitter, the colts weren’t sexually aware of the exact context of the picture that had been taken of her. Or maybe they were, as it wasn’t featured in the newspaper when the Foal Free Press was all the rage. All she knew was that one of them had kept it, and perhaps other pictures of other mares.

She might score big today.

“Is it true? Do you have a photo like that?” Flitter asked again, demonstrating her authority through tone, “Speak up now, and I’ll go easy on you.”

“Pipsqueak has it!” Shady instantly declared, pointing to the house.

“Th-that’s not true!” a young voice called from within, “I was just holding it when she came!”

By now, Snails had managed to free himself from whatever had snagged on him in the room, and fell to the floor with a thud.

“Alright, listen,” the pegasus mare said, “I’m not gonna tell on you guys.”

“Y-you’re not?” Snips asked.

“On one condition,” she couldn’t help but smirk at how easy this had been, “You let me borrow the camera for today, and give me all the pictures you took.”

“All of them?” Shady asked. At this question, a skinny buck toothed pegasus peeked from the window, having a small feather for a cutie mark.

“Yes, all of them,” she repeated, “Little colts like you shouldn’t be in possession of such raunchy pictures. So cough ‘em up.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Noi said with a smile.

Snips and Snails looked at each other and nodded in reluctance. Pipsqueak looked guilty, sneaking glances at Flitter, while Shady looked a bit disappointed. Featherweight hovered out of the window with several photos in hoof and gave them to Flitter, avoiding eye contact altogether.

“Huh, aren’t you related to Asteroid?” Flitter asked, noting how familiar the colt looked. Featherweight nodded, Flitter chuckled, “Maybe he needs to give you some of his protein bars, because you are skinny.”

“He’s really light too,” Snails commented, “Sometimes we like to play a game called Toss the Featherweight with him.”

Flitter chuckled again, “I can only imagine what kind of game that is,” she said as Featherweight looked nervous.

The pegasus mare took a moment to sift through the photos she got, but was rather surprised at what she was looking at. While there were indeed a few mares in suggestive positions, there was also captured moments of other strange oddities, the likes of griffons in walking food costumes, a pony in scuba gear underwater, a ballet featuring buffalo, a strange purple pony in what looked like the Canterlot Gardens, and Cerberus rubbing his back against the dirt by the gates of Tartarus.

Confused and amazed, Flitter slowly asked, “Kid…you took these photos?”

“Oh, uhh,” Shady said, embarrassed, “Actually Featherweight took those. He was the photographer when the Foal Free Press became popular.”

“And how come you didn’t print these?” the mare asked, bewildered.

“He took those right before the Ponyville branch was cut,” Pipsqueak explained, arms hung over the window, “They couldn’t be printed, so Featherweight kept them.”

“Wow kid, it looks like photography should be working for you,” Flitter said, visually impressed.

“He’s the editor now. I’m the photographer,” Shady proclaimed proudly, feeling more comfortable as Flitter lightened up.

“Right, right. You know what? I’ll let you keep some of these,” the pegasus said, to the delight of the colts, “Just because I’m nice like that. I still want to borrow the camera, though.”

“Oh, of course,” Shady then turned to Pipsqueak, “Mind getting the camera for me?”

Seconds later, Pipsqueak returned with Shady’s camera, which Flitter happily received.

“Alright, this worked out better than I thought,” the pegasus mused, then became serious, “Now, I want you foals to understand. If any of you take any more pictures like this,” Flitter held up a photo of a stallion in a banana suit with maracas in hoof, “I’ll personally hunt you down and make you regret it.”

The colts stared at the photo, confused as to why Flitter would prohibit taking pictures in whatever context there was to the one she was holding. Even Noi was lost as to what was so bad about ponies in fruit suits. Noticing their confusion, Flitter checked the picture in hoof and realized her mistake.

“Oh, uhh,” a quick shuffle of the photos and, “I meant this one.”

“Ohhh,” all the foals expressed at once in clarity.

“I mean it!” Flitter suddenly shouted to make up for the lack of emphasis in her previous threat, “If I hear somepony take a picture of me in a private moment, so help me I’ll-!”

“Are we done here?” Noi interrupted, to the relief of the colts, then turned to the blue colt, “Shady, we’re supposed to meet with Dinky soon at the playground.”

“Oh, uhh, right,” Shady said, slightly embarrassed. He then trotted towards the pegasus mare before him, “Umm, you might wanna be careful with that. It belongs to the school, and it doesn’t have a lot of film left.”

“Oh, uhh,” Flitter looked at the camera in her hoof, “Can’t I just get more?”

The colt shrugged, “You could try. We order our film from Manehattan, not sure if they sell any around here, though.”

“Well, thanks, I guess,” she said. Flitter then quickly ran through the pictures, picking out the ones she didn’t want to keep. She gave the colts back just about all the photos except for any with mares in risky positions; something that Snips openly missed.

“So uhh, when will you give it back?” Shady asked, “Because I got a curfew and…”

“Tomorrow,” Flitter answered bluntly, then turned around, “Thanks for the camera.”

Before she could leave, Featherweight spoke up, “Uh, miss. What do you plan to use that camera for?”

A bit surprised that she was questioned, she turned back to say, “For something called shut your mouth before I tell your parents about the photos you took.”

Featherweight received a light tap on the head from Snails, who looked a bit upset, “Featherweight! Don’t talk so much!”

“Yeah, we don’t wanna get in trouble because of your big mouth,” Snips punctuated.

“You did take the pictures, after all,” Shady pointed out.

Flitter rolled her eyes playfully and took off without a goodbye. The foals watched her go until she was out of sight.

“She’s seems fun,” Noi stated.

“I was really hoping she’d let us keep that picture of her,” the blue colt said in disdain.

Now what could she be planning?

She tapped the door three times before nervously retreating. Reliving the suspenseful trek to finding Rainbow Dash wasn’t enjoyable, but she knew it was necessary. Rainbow needed to know about Flitter’s plans, just as Tank warned, but Fluttershy had no idea about how to confess to Rainbow Dash after that. She was slightly worried that she’d never get the chance, which gave her mixed feelings of relief and despair. Oh how she wanted it to be over already…

Finally, Rarity answered the door, except she was shorter, had green spines, and wasn’t a unicorn, or a pony of any sort. In fact, she looked more like a baby dragon she knew. Oh, it was just Spike.

“Oh, it’s just Fluttershy,” the little dragon said a bit openly, then greeted, “Heya Fluttershy!”

“Ohh, um, hello Spike,” the pegasus returned, beginning to fidget in place from anxiety.

“What’cha need? Rarity’s kind of busy at the moment,” Spike explained, pointing back within the shop.

Before she could ask about Rainbow Dash, Rarity called out from inside, “Is that Fluttershy? Spike, be a dear and bring her in.”

Spike did as he was told and stepped aside, allowing the pegasus to walk in. The dragon closed the door and Fluttershy saw that the unicorn was indeed busy. She was just beginning to weave together fabrics for a dress, as orange and golden rolls floated about along with scissors, rulers, pins, and a pencil.

“Oh, maybe this is a bad time,” Fluttershy said as she softly backed to the door.

“Not at all, dear,” Rarity said from her position, “Spike’s been such a helpful little dragon that I am at the calmest peak of my zone. I can spare some attention for you, Fluttershy. Just tell me what you need, and Spikey Wikey will assist you to the best of his abilities.”

Fluttershy was a bit flattered, Spike more so, but still couldn’t shake off her nervousness. Here she was in Rarity’s shop, where Rainbow Dash was supposed to be, and although she couldn’t see if she was here presently, there was the chance that she’d pop in out of nowhere at her convenience. Rainbow Dash has a knack for doing that.

“Umm,” she started, “Well, uh, is Rainbow Dash here? Twilight said she would be.”

“Oh, her?” Spike said as he carried a basket of ribbons to Rarity, “Nah she just left about an hour ago.”

“What?!” Fluttershy said in shock. Had she really just missed her again? “To where?”

“Sweet Apple Acres,” Rarity calmly answered from her spot as she took the basket of ribbons from Spike, “Back to her coltfriend.”

“Ohhh…” the pegasus said sadly as she slumped to the floor.

If Rainbow Dash was with Big Macintosh right now, then there was no way she’d have the confidence to make her confession. Sure, she could still warn her about Flitter’s plans, but telling Dash her true feelings was the whole reason she left her house. She supposed she could at least make the effort, maybe catch her while she and Mac were apart, pour her heart out to her, and maybe Rainbow Dash will return her feelings…

But that was just wishful thinking.

In the midst of her self pity, she almost didn’t hear somepony knocking on the door. It was when Rarity called for Spike to get it that she snapped out of her thoughts. Another visitor, so soon? Who could it be?

Spike opened the door and found two fillies waiting there, “Oh, hello. Can I help you?”

“Is miss Rarity home?” a pink filly with a purple mane asked, wearing a tiara made of diamonds on her head, “We have something to tell her about Sweetie Belle.”

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked as she looked back, some objects descending as a result of her redirected attention, “Did something happen to her?”

Spike stepped back to allow the two fillies to enter. Both Rarity and Fluttershy then recognized them as those rich foals that would bother the Cutie Mark Crusaders at school. Now, Rarity would normally take anything they said with a grain of salt, but if Sweetie Belle was concerned, she couldn’t risk not giving them an ear, however incriminating what they had to say could be.

“Miss Rarity,” the silver one spoke, “Do you know where Sweetie Belle is?”

“Well, she’s supposed to be at school, I think…” Rarity angled her head upward in thought, “No wait, did they have school today?”

“She’s with the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Diamond Tiara said with an eye roll, “And, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think she’s getting herself into trouble again.”

The unicorn sighed in annoyance, “Again? What’s she doing this time?”

“We saw her sneaking into-” Silver Spoon tried to say, but a nudge from her friend quickly corrected her, “I mean, breaking into Twilight’s library, along with her friends.”

Both Fluttershy and Rarity gasped in shock. Rarity was simply surprised that her sister was committing her legitimately first criminal offense, but Fluttershy was much more worried about the safety of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Only she and Spike knew what awaited them in the library if neither he nor Twilight was there.

“Sweetie Belle? My darling little sister, breaking and entering?” Rarity sounded off in dramatic despair, “…again?”

“We saw it with our own eyes,” Diamond Tiara said smugly, “We thought you should know first before alerting the authorities.”

“Oh, that troublesome little foal,” Rarity pronounced as she looked over her work still in progress, “I guess the dress will just have to wait…”

Seeing her distress, and knowing that Twilight might not return to the library for another hour, Fluttershy spoke, “Oh, uhh, maybe I could go in your place.”

“You will?” Rarity looked pleased, then curious, “Wait, why do you want to go fetch my sister?”

Fluttershy itched at the floor, “Umm, you see, Twilight left the library a while ago and…”

“What? And nopony’s there in charge?” Spike suddenly spoke up, then shook his head in disappointment, “I should probably go too.”

“Wait, I don’t understand,” the unicorn said in all curiosity, “What is it about her library?”

“Oh, it’s nothing wrong with the library,” Spike explained.

“…it’s who she leaves in charge if Spike isn’t there,” Fluttershy finished.

Rarity’s confused stare earned a small cough from Spike.

“Let’s just say,” he started, “Owlowiscious takes his job seriously.”

The unicorn still didn’t understand, but decided that it wasn’t that important to know.

“Well then…I suppose you should be on your way,” she announced, “Wouldn’t want Sweetie Belle to get into any more trouble.”

“Oh, uhh,” Spike spoke up a little bashfully, “You wouldn’t mind me leaving?”

The unicorn simply smiled and placed a hoof on the little dragon’s head, “Aww, of course I would mind. But you have your own duties to tend to and you can’t let me get in your way. And that’s what makes you such a responsible, and dependable, little assistant.”

Rarity pronounced each syllable of that last bit with a rub on the head, and Spike blushed at them, “Aw shucks, you don’t have to be so nice.”

Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara was silently chuckling at the baby dragon’s behavior. She knew he didn’t have a chance in Tartarus with her, but it was so amusing seeing him take up the role of a loyal servant. How pathetic. Silver Spoon, on the other hoof, found the gesture to be sweet and caring, and silently chuckled for reasons different from her friend.

Then something came to Fluttershy’s mind, “Oh, Rarity. What should I do with Sweetie Belle?”

By now, all of Rarity’s focus on her dress had disappeared, and the objects were carefully placed on the ground in a neat line, “Oh, uhh,” she thought of a reasonable objective for Fluttershy to do in her place, “First see if she’s doing anything that might harm herself or get her into trouble. If you think she’ll be fine with her friends, then leave her be. Otherwise, bring her back to me, please.”

Fluttershy nodded, but Diamond Tiara didn’t seem to like this plan.

“Wait, but, she’s breaking into Twilight’s house,” she pointed out, “Of course it’s going to get her into trouble.”

“Darling, we’re used to it by now,” Rarity explained, “And personally I’m tired of having to explain to her what’s right from wrong. And even if I did, any sense of morality will be thrown out the window if she’s sure it’ll get her her cutie mark.”

“Isn’t that kind of irresponsible?” Silver Spoon pointed out.

Rarity chuckled heartily, “Who am I to speak of dispelling right and wrong for the sake of a cutie mark? Being reckless is the quickest way to discover your own true talents. Why, I, myself, spent two days on my lonesome to get my cutie mark when I was your age.”

“And everypony thought I perished when I got mine,” Fluttershy chimed in, with no hint of sadness or remorse as she spoke, “It took me a week to be able to fly strong enough to return to Cloudsdale, and even longer to actually go back.”

Diamond Tiara gave Silver Spoon a confused look, but her friend looked like she was pondering the very subject as well.

“Umm,” she spoke up, “I burned myself a few times getting mine.”

“Nobody cares, Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara whispered.

“But you do have a point,” Silver Spoon looked down in sadness, “I do wish she’d realize her special talent soon,” Rarity said as she placed a hoof to her head, “I always have to share the blame whenever Sweetie Belle and her friends destroy something.”

“You don’t say?” Diamond Tiara said as she rubbed her hooves together maliciously.

“Sooo,” having spent a reasonable enough time staying quiet as everypony else talked, Spike spoke up, “Are we going now?”

“Oh, yes. We should hurry,” Fluttershy said as she took flight, “Sorry for taking your time, Rarity.”

The unicorn shook her head, “No, no, it’s fine. Thank you for picking up Sweetie Belle for me.”

“It’s no problem at all,” she then turned to Spike, who was waiting at the door, “I’ll see you all at the party later.”

With some farewell nods and waves, both Fluttershy and Spike left the Carousel Boutique. The only ponies left now were Rarity, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, the pinker one was hoping to make a quick leave. The adult resumed her work and attempted to regain her zen, almost ignoring the presence of the fillies altogether, even as one approached her.

“Excuse me, miss Rarity?” Silver Spoon spoke up.

“Please, refer to me as Lady Rarity if you wish to address me formally,” Rarity said proudly from her spot.

“Right, Lady Rarity,” the filly corrected, “I was wondering if we could watch you work?”

Apparently this was not something Diamond Tiara was planning. Turning back from the door, she trotted silently towards her friend so as to not disturb Rarity’s peace.

“What?” she asked in a hushed whisper, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Silver Spoon was confused, “What? Don’t you want to watch Rarity work?”

The pink filly ignored her, “We have some more important things to do.”

“Like?” the gray filly asked.

“Like, well,” she tried to think of something, “If we hurry, we could get to the Cutie Mark Crusaders before that pony and dragon get to the library,” Diamond Tiara explained.

Silver Spoon merely stared blankly at her friend, “And that would achieve…what, exactly?”

“I don’t know,” her friend replied angrily, “But it’d be worth it to get those blank flanks into even more trouble than they are now.”

“You do know I can hear you, right?” Rarity said suddenly, her words piercing through their discussion like an arrow.

“Wh-what?! I wasn’t saying anything,” Diamond Tiara was quick to defend, “S-Silver Spoon said it, not me!”

Before Silver Spoon could retaliate, Rarity spoke up, “Now, now, there’s no need to point hooves. In fact, I’d like the both of you to stay behind and watch me work, at the request of Silver Spoon.”

The gray filly beamed, but the pink one was distressed, “What? But, I have things to do! I, uhh, I need to dress for…the party!”

The unicorn chuckled, “No worries, I can loan you something for the party. I’m sure Sweetie Belle won’t mind you wearing her dresses.”

Diamond Tiara was reasonably confused. Sweetie Belle’s older sister, offering her the chance to wear something belonging to a filly she loved to bully? Was she even aware of the possibility that she’d ruin it first chance she got?

No wait. Perhaps she knew that she and her friend idolized Rarity for her work. On one hoof, she’d be in possession of perhaps a favorite dress of one of her enemies, and she’d maybe even look better in it than Sweetie Belle; she did have the charm. She could imagine outshining all the other fillies in a dress that wasn’t even hers…but that would lead to the problem. On the other hoof, if they find out it was actually Sweetie Belles, she might be called a thief, or a poser. And what if it got dirty, or stained? Sweetie Belle would never forgive her, not that she would for even wearing her dress, but she’d be eternally despised. And Rarity! Rarity would hate her forever!

She couldn’t escape this trap of Rarity’s. She could try, but Rarity would get her eventually.

It was at this moment that Diamond Tiara realized Rarity was the perfect pony to idolize.

Exhaling a deep breathe, she gave in, “Okay…I’ll wear the thing.”

She could feel the unicorn smile as she spoke, “Excellent. Now, please remain quiet as I work.”

Both fillies watched the unicorn’s magic work, one with eagerness, the other with misery. Rarity’s handiwork was truly remarkable to witness, Diamond Tiara had to admit. The way the fabrics zoomed about, colors flowing and aligning to map the vision of a dress, tools shifting in place to do their jobs as they came, it was mesmerizing. Everything within Rarity’s magical grasp moved as if it were a single unit. Perhaps Silver Spoon was right in wanting to watch.

Speaking of whom, something also came to mind.

“Oh, um, Lady Rarity?” she dared to speak, “I know you wanted us to keep quiet while you worked…”

“Yes, I believe I said that,” Rarity said, maintaining her focus.

“But I was wondering, if you knew those ponies outside,” she asked innocently.

“What ponies?” she did not turn her head nor move her eyes as she asked.

“The ones looking at us from the window.”

All three ponies immediately looked to the largest window in the room, only to see two objects, orange and blue, blur out of sight.

“Crap, she almost saw us,” Carrot Top murmured, body flat against the wall.

“Told you we should’ve left as soon as Fluttershy did,” Minuette shot at the earth pony.

“How did she see us anyway?” the orange pony asked as she wiped her forehead, “I have three degrees in the art of stealth.”

“You mean the cereal cut out card Lyra sold you for eight bits?” Minuette said with a raised brow.

“What? It looked legit enough,” she retorted.

“Even if it was real, I don’t think your bright orange color would do you any good when it comes to being invisible,” the unicorn insulted.

Carrot Top scoffed, “I’d like to see you disappear in plain sight in the fall.”

“Oooh, neat,” Minuette said sarcastically, “You have a superpower that only works for one season of the year.”

“At least I can become invisible. I don’t see you casting any invisibility spells with that horn of yours,” Carrot Top taunted.

“Ahem,” Rarity coughed.

Both ponies gasped at the sudden arrival of the unicorn, appearing right before them.

“If I could be so bold as to intervene,” she stated calmly, “May I ask what you two are doing spying on me and two fillies?”

Minuette glared at the earth pony, as it was her fault that they had loitered around after Fluttershy left. Feeling both pairs of eyes of her, Carrot Top tapped her hooves nervously.

“I, uhh, wanted to see how my dress was coming along,” she said through short breaths.

Rarity nodded understandably, “A mischievous notion, but I’m afraid I do not like being spied on.”

All of a sudden, the unicorn shouted at her window.

“Don’t you dare trample over my throw pillows, Diamond Tiara! And exiting a home through the windows is an uncouth thing to do!”

A faint groan could be heard from within as Rarity returned her attention to the two ponies.

“As I was saying. Even under normal circumstances, I do not like ponies seeing my dresses while they’re still a work in progress, with the exception of those two fillies, of course,” Rarity said calmly, “So please don’t do this again, or I’ll have to take away your discount, Carrot Top.”

“Oh, right,” the earth pony replied dejectedly, ears flattened and shoulder slumped, “Yeah, I get it.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a dress to work on and two fillies to look after. Bye!” the unicorn said as she went back inside her house.

The two ponies watched as Rarity magically closed the curtains of her shop, including the one they were spying through. With their investigations cut short, and no chance of a casual reencounter until the party, Minuette and Carrot Top left the grounds of the Carousel Boutique.

“Well, that accomplished so much,” the blue unicorn said sarcastically.

“Did Rarity look alright to you?” the orange pony asked as they walked.

With their original mission coming back to mind, Minuette abandoned her sass and spoke, “Well, she did seem extra fond of Fluttershy…”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Carrot Top asked.

“Don’t you remember?” the unicorn spoke back, “Fluttershy’s first friend was Rarity, when she moved to Ponyville. They spent such a long time together, and they still go out to the spa.”

“Wait, are you implying that…?” Carrot Top started.

“And think about it. Isn’t Rainbow Dash supposed to be a close friend of Fluttershy?” Minuette asked, “Could it be that she’s finally realized her true feelings for her?”

After a second or so, Carrot Top burst out laughing.

“For a second there, I thought…I thought you were serious,” she said as she wiped a tear, “Almost like you actually thought Rainbow Dash was upset with Fluttershy.”

The unicorn growled, “But it makes sense!”

“Yeah, right. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash? I just don’t see it,” Carrot Top said with a laugh, “Now, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, what a relationship!”

“Is the reason you can’t see sense in what I’m telling you because you still prefer Dash with Aj?” Minuette accused.

Carrot Top hummed a bit before answering, “…maybe!”

The unicorn just rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Let’s go and report back to the others, see what they found.”

The two ponies picked up their pace towards town, on the lookout for other members of their mission.

“But just so you know, AppleDash is the best relationship,” Carrot Top jabbed.

“Oh, now you’re making names for them?” Minuette jabbed back, “Well then…FlutterDash all the way!”

Are these ponies serious?

“Okay Pinkie, what next?”

After about ten minutes of searching Ponyville, Twilight quickly put together that Pinkie Pie was still in Sweet Apple Acres, preparing for the party. It was actually a mystery as to why she wasn’t finished yet, as she had started working at noon. In fact, why was Twilight spending her energy helping the pink pony decorate for the party when she had something important to tell her?

“Now just tiiiiiiieeeee thheeeee baaaaalloooooonnss…to the corners of the roof!” Pinkie Pie explained, shaking randomly.

Twilight did as instructed, levitating a group of balloons, dividing them evenly, and tying them to the four corners of the barn’s rooftop. As it turns out, Pinkie Pie was actually a bit behind with the exterior decorations, and her unexpected shaking from the Pinkie Sense wasn’t helping either. She couldn’t hold onto a ladder for the life of her, rather literally, and balloons would just fly out of her grasp when it happened. As the day was beginning to draw to a close, they got more frequent, and then she’d never get done before the party.

So, as a result, whatever Twilight had to say, it had to wait until the decorations were all finished.

“Ok, all done,” Twilight said to the pink pony, “Now what?”

“Last but not least,” Pinkie said, but then shook fiercely for a good twelve seconds; Twilight was counting. When she finished, she resumed her sentence, “We gotta set up the banner for the party.”

The unicorn nodded and took a look around, only to find that said banner was missing, “Uhh, and where would that be?”

Pinkie scanned the setting, looking for the banner, and when she realized it was nowhere to be found, she gasped and convulsed at the same time, “Iiiiiii foooooorrr-…got! I must’ve left it at my party shack!”

Fearing that they’d have to spend time looking for a banner, Twilight inquired, “Don’t you have banners stashed all over Ponyville, in case of emergencies?”

Pinkie hummed for a moment in thought, “I do, but they’re for anniversaries,” and then Pinkie started shaking again.

Twilight rolled her eyes, rather ironically, “That’s good enough. Where do you keep them stashed around here?”

The pink pony hadn’t stopped shaking, “Iiiiinnn thaaaaaatt baaaaarreeelll.”

Turning to an inconspicuous group of barrels lined up by the barn, Twilight grabbed them all and inspected each one until she found the one that weighed differently from the others. Opening it revealed a stuffed cloth, the banner Pinkie hid in here. Putting aside the other barrels, Twilight took it out and spread it onto the ground, revealing the huge letters and patterns decorating the word ‘Happy Anniversary’. Actually, it was a very big banner, wider than any face of the barn.

This was a problem.

“Pinkie, did you have to make them so big?” the unicorn asked as she scanned over the banner to estimate its size. It definitely wouldn’t fit on any of the barn’s walls.

“I didn’t make it. I bought it,” the pink pony defended, looking over the banner as well.

Twilight groaned a bit, “Well, I was thinking this banner could do with some remodeling anyway for the party. An illusion spell can rearrange the words for the party, but it won’t fix the size of the thing.”

Pinkie was shaking again as she spoke, “Caaaan’t yoooouuuu shhhoooorrrtteeenn iiiittt?”

The unicorn tapped her chin, “Well, I can try. Threading objects is more of Rarity’s special, but I’m gonna need to focus.”

“Gooooo aaaaheeeaaaaddd,” the pink pony said as she finally stopped.

As Twilight got to work with the huge banner, another pony was arriving at the barn, unaware of what was going on.

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack said out loud as she finally saw what had become of her barn, “What’s goin’ on here?”

“Shh!” Pinkie was quick to silence, “Twilight’s trying to focus.”

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Applejack apologized as she looked to the unicorn, “What’s she doin’?”

“We needed a banner for the party, but I forgot to bring one from my party-” before the cowgirl could pity herself for falling victim to another word tsunami from Pinkie, the pink pony started shaking midway through her explanation, “shhhaaaack soooo Twiiiiliiiiight’ssss heeeellllpiiiing meeee ooouuutt wiiiith ooonneee oooff myyyy eeemmmeeerrgeeeencccccyyy baaaannnnnerrrrssss.”

Applejack watched as the pink pony continue to shake violently before she finally stopped. Pinkie looked clearly exhausted from her shaking as she didn’t even have the energy to stand afterwards.

“Pinkie, you alright?” Applejack asked worriedly, “You look plum tuckered out.”

“I’m fine,” she said to ease concerns, “I’ve never had this Pinkie Sense go on for this long before.”

“That’s the doozy one, right?” she asked, “Is somethin’ gonna happen soon?”

Pinkie nodded, “And it’s gonna happen right here,” she pointed to the spot they were standing on, “During the party.”

“Party?!” the cowgirl said, surprised, “…why am I learnin’ of this now? We’re havin’ a party?”

“Didn’t Big Macintosh tell you?” the pink pony asked.

“Well, no. But then again, Ah’ve been workin’ in the fields all day,” she said with a hoof to her chin.

Pinkie laughed, “Oh, poor AJ. Left out of the fic for so long because you’re so uninteresting,” she said as she placed an arm around her friend.

“…wait, what?”

“Oh!” she suddenly said, “That means you haven’t received your invitation!”

Again, Applejack was confused, “Why would Ah need an invitation for a party at mah own farm?”

“Pssh, duh, for clearance,” the pink pony said with a dismissive hoof, “Also, we wouldn’t want changelings invading our parties again, now do we?”

Not sure if what she heard had any merit, Applejack simply agreed, “Uhh, makes sense, Ah guess.”

Out of nowhere, Pinkie pulled out three invitations and handed them over the Applejack, “Here ya go. One’s for you, the other two are for Mac and Dashie.”

Applejack looked at the invitations oddly as she took them, “Ok, I get the invitations, but…why do mah brother an’ RD need invitations if it’s their party?”

Pinkie quaked again as she answered, “Chhaaaaaaanggeliiiiings.”

Suddenly, a rectangular shadow flew overhead, and both Applejack and Pinkie watched as Twilight lifted the banner with her magic and tied it to the barn’s wall. The banner had done away with the words ‘happy anniversary’ and now read as ‘Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are dating all of a sudden’. The colors and patterns otherwise remained the same.

Applejack took the moment to look over what had become of her barn and pondered over the thought of having another party here. The last party they had was for when Apple Bloom returned from Appleloosa, but even then, it was mildly decorated for the occasion. Now the building looked more like a clown’s house what with its balloons held upright, streamers flowing all around, a giant banner, holes in the wall, the weathervane replaced with an image of Scootaloo…

Hold on…

“What the?!” Applejack exclaimed, “What happened to the barn?!”

Her magic done, Twilight finally noticed her friend’s presence, “Oh, hello Applejack. All done working?”

“N-Not quite,” Applejack said as she walked up to what the walls had become, eyes held onto the barn, “Ah came by to fetch some barrels for some end-of-day apple buckin’…” she eyed the damage remorsefully, “What in Celestia’s sun did y’all do to mah walls?”

Looking to see that Pinkie was still shaking, Twilight explained, “Well, some stuff happened, and Pinkie made some, err, windows for the party.”

As the shock receded, anger took its place, “Windows? Ya call these things windows?!”

Pinkie stopped shaking and responded, “Big Macintosh was okay with them. He just says I need to pay him back for the wood and paint.”

Hearing this, Applejack started to calm down, “He was? Well, Ah guess that’s okay. As long as yer payin’ for it…”

“I don’t know where I’m going to get the money yet,” the pink pony said before shaking again, “Buuuutt Iiii’llll fiiiguuuurrree ssssoooommethiiiiingg ooouuuuttt sssooooonnn.”

Now that was a problem. If Pinkie couldn’t pay the Apples back in time before summer, there’ll be preservation issues with their stock already inside the barn. Knowing her brother, he’d give her a time limit, but she couldn’t trust Pinkie with money, in all forms. This party might be a bit troublesome…

And that’s when she had an idea.

“Oh, Pinkie,” the cowgirl said as she approached the pony, “Ah think Ah know a way that can help out the both of us.”

Pinkie Pie was still a quivering mess when she was asked, “Ssssooorrryyy, whhaaaat waaasss thaaaat?”

Twilight had just finished putting the finishing touches on the banner and double checking the longevity of her spell and turned to the two, “Sorry AJ, but Pinkie can’t exactly hear you while she’s jittering like that.”

“Oh, darn it,” the earth pony cursed, “Ah wanted to ask her somethin’ important, before the party.”

“Yeah, me too,” the unicorn said sympathetically, “Why do you think I’m helping out? Pinkie wants this whole place prepared, and her shaking’s been getting in the way. Even if she wasn’t stuttering around, she’d be too busy setting everything up for any questions.”

“Oh. So, we just have to ask her when she isn’t jittery?” Applejack questioned, “’Cuz it looks to me that you two already have everythin’ set up ‘round here.”

“Maybe. But it’s up to Pinkie when we’re actually done,” Twilight finished as they both looked at the convulsing Pinkie Pie, “…when she stops shaking.”

The two mares waited for the pink one to stop shaking, which should happen any moment now…

…

…

Any moment now…

…

The time to party is drawing near…

“Ooohoohoohoo. Oh, Gummy. You are a humorous fellow, you are,” Owlowiscious hooted.

After having chased down and incapacitating the three intruders, Owlowiscious was very wary of any more ponies that would dare infiltrate the library while his master and her assistant were out. In the midst of his anxiety, he had almost attacked Gummy, and after recuperating from an almost ambush, the two were now having a friendly discussion.

“You are right. Fillies nowadays simply have no respect for a pony’s home or business,” he said while taking the occasional glace at the windows, “Or perhaps ponies do not expect such fierce security in such a peaceful abode, I cannot blame them.”

“…” Gummy said.

“Not really, I do not feel guilt for the miscreant I first dealt with,” Owlowiscious said with a raised beak, “Although, I think we are due to have a deposit box installed, so that nopony would be foolish enough as to return a book well after midnight.”

“…” Gummy jabbed.

“I’m insulted, Gummy. You make it sound as if I enjoy my job,” the owl took a glance at the three foals bound and gagged and out cold on the floor, “Though, I don’t see a reason as to why I shouldn’t.”

“…” Gummy teased.

“Well, I had to earn my place beside Master Twilight,” Owlowiscious said as he brushed his wing against himself, “The Element of Magic shouldn’t have to settle for less.”

“…” Gummy noted.

“I suppose you’re right. But I’d rather be treated as an intelligent individual, and thankfully Master Twilight does just that,” the owl paused for a bit, “…though, the occasional pat on the head and ruffle of my feathers is a unique luxury of the title ‘pet’.”

“…” Gummy poked.

“Whooo’s to say you don’t enjoy it as well?” he returned.

The owl laughed, although it wasn’t clear if the alligator was laughing along as well, since the only motion he made was blinking, asymmetrically.

“Hooo, anyhoo,” Owlowiscious said as he finished laughing, “I suppose you didn’t just come by for a chat, did you?”

“…” Gummy revealed.

“Oh my, a party, you say?” the owl said with a wing to his beak, “I’m not sure. I might be needed here at the library…”

“…” Gummy said persuasively.

“Master Twilight will be attending a different one tonight?” Owlowiscious asked, “But that means my presence here is even more urgently required. When is this party of yours due?”

“…” Gummy answered.

“Hmm, not good,” the owl looked down in thought, “If Lady Rarity will be away from her own house for the duration of the party, the library will also need to be guarded during that timeframe. Oh, this is very inconvenient for me.”

“…” Gummy pointed out.

“Hm? Oh, you have a point,” Owlowiscious looked up in thought, “If this party is as eventful as you say it is, a good portion of Ponyville’s population will be primarily preoccupied with it. Nopony will need the library in that time, but it also offers an opportunity to those who would dare invade it.”

“…” Gummy inquired.

“I already have three culprits seized as proof,” Owlowiscious gestured to the unconscious bodies on the floor, “You should know that I cannot simply abandon my post with the possibility of the library being robbed. Master Twilight would never forgive me for my irresponsibility.”

“…” Gummy suggested.

“…What do you take me for? I’m not saying that I don’t know how to set a trap, but doing so to leave the fate of the library for a party?” Owlowiscious looked insulted, “As the occasional servant to Master Twilight, I cannot disregard such a risk for a little personal enjoyment. And quite frankly, I cannot believe you would even-”

“…” Gummy interrupted, “…”

“…yes, you are right…” the owl looked down in shame, “At least Master Twilight is giving time for her friends. And yes, even she sacrifices for a bit of enjoyment…”

“…” Gummy questioned further.

“I suppose…I could go to the party…” Owlowiscious said nervously, “I’ll probably have to leave early.”

“…” Gummy said positively.

“Yes. We’ll see how it goes for me. I suppose it couldn’t hurt too much,” the owl beamed.

There was a faint noise in the direction of the balcony, and both owl and crocodile turned their attention towards it.

“Oh my, it appears we have more intruders,” Owlowiscious stated.

“…” Gummy said.

“No, it’s fine. You are a busy…reptilian, after all,” the owl said.

“…” Gummy declared.

Owlowiscious nodded, “Yes, until then. Farewell.”

The predator floated up to the highest bookshelf and perched himself there. He waited until the intruder boldly pressed the balcony windows open, pushing aside the curtains he had closed. From the last intrusion, he was expecting more fillies, but to his surprise, it was a very friendly face he knew.

“Owlowiscious?” Fluttershy announced as she peered into the dark library, “Are you in here?”

Not wanting to leave her unanswered, the owl swooped from his perch and landed on the floor before her.

“Oh! There you are!” Fluttershy greeted as she stepped within and gave the owl a pat on the head, “Owlowiscious, be a dear and turn on the lights. Spike’s here, so you are relieved of duty for the moment.”

The bird hooted and flew off somewhere. Fluttershy meanwhile fluttered from the second floor to the library’s main door and opened it. Waiting on the other side was Spike, and the lights finally came back on as he walked within.

“Phew,” Spike said with relief, “Finally good to be back in here. I almost miss this place since I left in the mor-huWHAAAA!”

Spike’s screech was because he had seen what had become of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, bound, gagged, and out cold because of a certain owl. Both dragon and pegasus were quick to aid the fillies as Owlowiscious returned to his roost.

“Geez, Owlowiscious, you couldn’t have gone easy on them?” Spike said, glancing at the owl as he undid the ropes.

The owl simply hooted, and Spike pretended it was a story he probably still wouldn’t have believed in.

“Wake up, Sweetie Belle,” Fluttershy said gently as she undid her gag, “You really shouldn’t be breaking and entering libraries, especially ones guarded by ferocious owls.”

“Mrmm,” the unicorn filly groaned, “What happened?”

As the others came to, Scootaloo spoke out loud, “Gyah! How many times are we going to be knocked out like this?”

As the memories of their break in came back, Apple Bloom jumped, “Ahh! What about the monster?!”

At the mention of the shadowy creature that overtook them, all three fillies straightened themselves up as they stood, “Ahh! Where is it?! What happened to us?!” Scootaloo asked, frightened.

Spike looked to Fluttershy and shook his head lightly, telling her that it was better that they didn’t know. The fillies weren’t likely to believe that an owl had subdued them, and it would also teach the Cutie Mark Crusaders to not break into other ponies houses when they weren’t home.

“We’re not sure,” Fluttershy finally said, “We just found you like this.”

Sweetie Belle picked up the rope and rags that had held them, “Tied up?”

“Umm,” Spike quickly forged a tale, “It was probably…the Shadow Napper!”

“The Shadow Napper?” Apple Bloom repeated.

Fluttershy caught onto what Spike was trying to do and helped out, “Y-Yes. It’s a terrifying creature that makes no noise, and likes to kidnap naughty foals that do bad things.”

“You three are lucky we caught you before the Shadow Napper hauled you off to who knows where,” Spike explained with an ominous wave of his claws.

Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shuddered at the thought of abduction, except for Scootaloo. She was also terrified, but her fear was subdued through logical thinking.

“Wait a minute, wouldn’t the Shadow Napper have taken ponies like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon already?” the filly thought.

At this, the other two foals regained their senses.

“Yeah, she’s got a point,” Apple Bloom said, “What’s up with that?”

“Uhh,” Spike tried to, but couldn’t think of a reasonable defense to their claim.

“It’s because…” Fluttershy, however, decided to wing it, “…They pay the Shadow Napper to not kidnap them?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at the adult in disbelief.

“I mean, think about it!” Spike said in support, “Why do you think there are so many spoiled brats in the world?”

It seemed to work.

“Ah guess that makes sense,” Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.

“Man, I hate it when the rich can just buy their way out of trouble,” Scootaloo said with a stomp.

“At least ponies like those aren’t in charge of the world,” Sweetie Belle commented optimistically.

Fluttershy and Spike gave a nervous look at each other.

“…so!” the pegasus mare spoke up, “I should be leaving now. Spike, do you think you’ll be okay with these three?”

Before Spike could protest, the fillies did it first, “Wait! Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, looking around the now lit library, “We came here because we were looking for her.”

“Oh, she’s already back at Sweet Apple Acres,” Spike answered, “But…why did you three think she’d be in a library of all places?”

The question flew over their heads, however, as the fillies realized that they failed their mission, “She’s back there already? Aww…” Apple Bloom said sadly.

“We had an important message from Big Macintosh for her,” Scootaloo said glumly, “Now that she’s there, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“We spent a lot of time and effort looking for her,” Sweetie Belle added, “Now it’s all gone to waste.”

Seeing how miserable the fillies were, Fluttershy decided to try and bring their spirits back up.

“Oh, uhh, you know, I also have an important message for Rainbow Dash as well,” the pegasus said with a grin, “If you want to, you can come and help me.”

“Please say yes,” Spike quickly pleaded.

It seemed to do the trick, as that familiar shine in their eyes returned, “We can? Of course we will!” Apple Bloom said as she sprung to her hooves.

“This has got to be it! This has to be our special talent!” Scootaloo exclaimed happily, also getting to her hooves.

“Even though we’re supposed to be Relationship Rescuers, I think we can also be…” Sweetie Belle stated as the other fillies took a deep breathe.

“CUTIE MARK-”

“HOOT!”

The four ponies and dragon turned to a displeased owl still perched on his roost. Owlowiscious brought a talon to his beak and made a shushing noise, reminding them that they were still in a library.

The fillies decided to whisper it out instead, “…cutie mark crusaders messengers, yay.”

“Thanks for that,” Spike said with a thumbs up to the owl.

“So, what did you want us to tell Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo eagerly asked Fluttershy.

“Oh, I thought you wanted to come with me and we could tell her together,” the adult replied.

“Huh? But that isn’t the same thing as bein’ a messenger, is it?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I don’t think so,” Sweetie Belle said, “I mean, messengers are usually one or two ponies.”

“So, what does that make four ponies with a message to deliver?” the apple filly asked.

“Ooh! Maybe a barbershop quartet?” Spike suggested, “Some of the shops in Canterlot still have ponies like those around to advertise their sales.”

Knowing that at least one of the filly’s undiscovered talent was singing, Fluttershy was fond of the idea, “Oh, that sounds lovely!”

“No, it sounds stupid,” Scootaloo was quick to reject, “None of us are good at singing. And besides, I’m pretty sure messengers don’t sing.”

Ironically, Sweetie Belle was tapping her chin, processing what little sense Scootaloo was making, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Anyway,” Apple Bloom was quick to resume, “We should probably get goin’. That message you got for Rainbow Dash is important, right?”

“Oh, yes. Very important,” Fluttershy said with a nod.

“Then let’s go!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, “I don’t want to be in this library any longer.”

The fillies subconsciously agreed with the unicorn, given their close encounter with the Shadow Napper.

“Phew,” Spike said as he wiped his forehead, relieved that he wouldn’t have to babysit any foals, “Take care, you guys. And try not to break into any more houses, ok?”

“Don’t count on it,” Scootaloo replied casually, “Especially if it might get us our cutie marks.”

“See you later at the party tonight, Spike,” Fluttershy said as she guided the fillies out of the library.

“See you there,” the baby dragon waved back until finally, the library door closed behind them. The sound of the scootsmobile revving up could be heard, along with it driving away until it faded into noiselessness.

Spike took a deep breathe and observed the now quiet library. It was just him and Owlowiscious left, and he was certain the others were busy. He didn’t know what Twilight was up to, but he just hoped it wasn’t anything serious. Pinkie was probably doing something Pinkie-like today, although it was weird how he hadn’t seen her all day. Rarity was still busy with the dress, and Rainbow Dash was now at the farm, along with Applejack most likely.

It was about two hours left until the party, and that meant about two hours of free time all to himself. What should he do?

“Hey Owlowiscious,” Spike suddenly inquired, “Wanna play Skull Fillies?”

The owl simply hooted in response.

He smirked as he waltzed into the kitchen with Owlowiscious following behind, “I’m gonna beat ya this time.”

It’s all coming together…

After a long afternoon of wandering Ponyville, conversing and flirting with each other, Braeburn and Red Tongue had decided to stop by a nearby shop for something to eat. Red Tongue had before her a since empty bowl of soup, while Braeburn had a few leaves and the cauliflower stem, all that was left of a cauliflower feast. It had been an hour since they finished their meals, having spent the majority of their time chatting, and it looked like they weren’t going to stop anytime soon. Neither pony had a shortage of tales to tell.

“And then Ah said to her, ‘Oatmeal? Are you crazy?!’,” the apple stallion said with a wide grin.

Red Tongue howled in laughter as Braeburn chuckled. There weren’t many ponies around in the street at this time of day, so nopony in particular seemed to mind them or their loud noises.

“That, was probably the most appropriate time to say that ever,” Red Tongue said, catching her breathe.

The stallion smirked, “As serious as the situation was, Ah jus’ couldn’t help but find it funny.”

Red Tongue had calmed down now, and leaned forward, supporting herself on her elbows, “Sounds like Appleloosa is a very exciting place. There’s always something going on over there.”

Braeburn dismissed her claims with a wave of her hoof, “Nah, it’s only like that sometimes. Nothin’ beats Ponyville when it comes to excitement.”

The pegasus nodded, “Tell me about it. This place has seen wyverns and a dragon once.”

“Ah heard. But Ah should probably be thankful,” the stallion said, leaning forward on one elbow, “Appleloosa’s still young; we can’t afford the likes of Ursa Minors and gods of chaos runnin’ amok in our town.”

Red Tongue let one arm fall, “I like that about you, Braeburn. You only have the best interest of things important to you in mind, and you aren’t afraid to show how proud you are of it.”

The stallion shrugged bashfully, “Well, that’s how we Apples roll. We stand firmly by the most important things in our lives. Ah sometimes revel a bit in the opposite gender though.”

“Now that’s one thing I can stand firmly by,” Red Tongue agreed, “And you are quickly becoming my favorite stallion ever.”

Braeburn chuckled in response, “You’re already the best mare Ah’ve ever met.”

While both ponies were happily indulged in each others company, they were not aware of the malicious eyes spying on them from the window of the store. Both mares eyed the pegasus vindictively, which was rude of them considering the two were their customers.

“How is it that the pegasi get all the hot ponies?” Rose said in disdain, hiding behind a small bushel of, well, roses.

“Why are they all so selfish? Can’t they leave some for us?” Lily said with a similar tone, in a similar hiding spot next to Rose.

Both Braeburn and Red Tongue had yet to notice these two ponies spying on them for the past hour, having been so occupied with talking to each other. It was hard to believe they’d be so oblivious to the bright manes sticking out from the pots of flowers lined up on the windowsill only meters away from their location.

“Maybe if you two weren’t so picky, you’d at least have a coltfriend of a respectable stature,” Daisy teased as she placed some stocks in her cart.

“Don’t you get involved in this, Daisy,” Rose shot back, “We’re mourning our losses over here. There’s no need for you to talk to us about coltfriend advice.”

“I’m not trying to advise you anything,” the earth pony replied, “But I would like it if you two stopped spying on our customers and helped me out with this food cart.”

“Why are you taking it out again?” Lily asked, not moving from her spot.

With a sigh, Daisy explained, “Pinkie invited a lot of ponies to the party. And you know what that means. Lots of ponies will be there, which means lots of potential customers.”

“So, you’re going to go sell our stuff, on the Apples farm?” Lily figured out, then scoffed, “That’s dangerous business.”

Daisy scoffed back, “It’s just a business opportunity, not an arena. And even if it was a bad idea, a bit of risk might pay off. Speaking of which, we could do with a bit of money this month, if only you two were helping me,” she stressed the last sentence.

“Uh, yeah we got more important things to worry about,” Rose declared, then punctuated with, “Stallions.”

“He’s not going to just get up and trot over here,” the pink and green pony said, placing the last of the flowers in her cart, “Why are you even staked out, anyway?”

“Because sooner or later, that pegasus is going to leave his side,” Lily answered, “And when she does, we’re going to swoop down and steal him away.”

“Like vultures?” Daisy asked.

“More like hawks, but yeah,” Rose corrected.

As the two ponies continued to eye the couple, Daisy simply sighed and trotted away, muttering things like how they were still in business.

While Braeburn and Red Tongue continued to converse obliviously, another group in the area had gathered. It was a formation of mares that had also convened to watch the apple pony go about his business with the lucky pegasus, but when they all realized who they were, they actually began to talk about official business. It was almost impossible to stray from the gossip surrounding Braeburn and what’s-her-name, but with the party drawing close, they found it within themselves to make the discussion.

“I’m telling you girls, Rainbow Dash actually has a crush on one of her friends,” Minuette tried to explain, “I believe that Fluttershy and Rarity are in cahoots with each other, and Rainbow learned about it today!”

Carrot Top scoffed and chuckled laxly, disregarding Minuette’s claims with a wanton wave of her hoof, “Oh Mini, you and you’re love triangles. We all know she’s truly jealous of Applejack.”

Lyra stopped sipping from her hayshake and spoke up, “Wait, I thought it was obvious she had a thing with Pinkie Pie.”

“Obvious? This is the first I heard of it,” a blue earth pony by the name of Linky said, “What makes you think that?”

“Well, the two of them really like pulling pranks together,” Lyra stated as if it were common knowledge, “Don’t you remember? That one time with the party for what’s-her-beak? Grizelda?”

“Lyra, that was a year ago,” a purple and gold pegasus, known as Cloud Kicker, spoke up, “And it only happened once, when that griffon came around?”

“Oh!” the orange earth pony suddenly shot up, “Kicker! Do that face again! That funny face you made!”

“No,” Cloud Kicker was quick to shut out.

“Please?” Carrot Top persisted.

“No! Ugh,” the pegasus angrily folded her arms, “I swear, you make one face in this town, and it’s the only thing ponies remember you by.”

“What’s going on inn this thread?!” Ditzy Do suddenly asked as she flopped onto the table from the sky.

The clumsy pegasus looked amongst her new company, wearing what appeared to be a traffic cone on her head. Other than that, she didn’t look too out of the ordinary.

“Oh, hey Ditzy,” Minuette greeted as Lyra was thankful that she was quick to grab her shake before it could’ve been knocked away, “Need something?”

“Just looking around to sea if I mist anypony,” she said as she rolled onto her back, “The party’s in about two ours, and I gotta make shore everypony’s invited.”

“Oh yeah, the party,” Linky said, “Yeah Pinkie gave me mine a while ago.”

“I didn’t get one,” Lyra pointed out. Suddenly, Ditzy threw a letter in her direction. Lyra caught the envelope with her magic, but then her haysake began to leak from her cup through a horizontal line, indicating it had been sliced through cleanly, “My shake!”

“Sorry about that,” the screwy eyed pony apologized as she got on all fours, “They always due that when I hand them out.”

“Ditzy, get your butt out of my face,” Cloud Kicker exclaimed from behind.

“Oopsie,” she apologized further as she took to the sky, “Sorry for causing such a mess.”

Carrot Top shook her head, “Nah, it’s fine. You just can’t help it, that’s all.”

“So does everypony else here have their invites, or are we going to have more of Ditzy’s bubbles in our faces?” Minuette asked.

With a resounding nod from everypony at the table, save for Lyra who was mourning the loss of her drink, Ditzy Do beamed.

“Aisle see you all later at the party, then,” the pegasus said as she flew off, right into the sign of a shop. She hovered back and shook her head, only to smack into the sign again attempting to take off the second time. Frustrated, she pushed until the board was torn off from the building and was carried off by the pegasus. The board and her traffic cone helmet fell as she flew away, landing on two separate unfortunate ponies in the distance.

“…looks like the Quills ‘n’ Sofa shop won’t have any customers anytime soon,” Linky joked.

“What were we talking about now?” Cloud Kicker asked, “Oh yeah, funny faces. No, Carrot Top.”

The orange pony frowned and slumped a bit as she was denied before she had the chance to ask again.

“Why can’t you just take a picture for her?” the blue unicorn pointed out.

“Why would I wanna do that?” the pegasus returned negatively.

“So that she’d stop asking?” Minuette did have a point.

“Even if I did agree to that, I don’t have a camera with me,” Cloud Kicker stated, “And I’m pretty sure none of us has a camera right-”

“Hey Flitter!” Lyra suddenly spoke up.

In the middle of the road stood the silvery blue and green pegasus with her noticeable pink bow, and a camera in hoof. Before Flitter could make an attempt to flee, Lyra grabbed her tail with her magic, without permission, and dragged the poor thing to their table.

“Neat camera. Can we use it?” the unicorn ignorantly asked.

Flitter was more upset with being dragged against her will than Lyra’s insensitivity, “What the hay was that for?! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“That is a neat camera,” Carrot Top asked, ignoring the pony’s disdain, “Where’d you get it?”

“Uhh, from that skinny bone kid, Feather something, I think,” Flitter quickly answered.

“What are you doing with that thing anyway?” Minuette asked.

“Oh, uhh,” the pegasus wondered if there was any harm in revealing parts of her plan to these strangers, “I was hoping to get some secret shots of a pony.”

“What for?” the green unicorn asked, then realized a possible answer to that question, “Ohh, is it somepony who’s gonna be at the party later tonight?”

“Ahh…” that was almost spot on, “Yes?” she answered nervously.

“Ooh!” Minuette chirped, “You should take some pictures of Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy!”

That was almost exactly what she was going to do, “What? Why Fluttershy?”

Carrot Top rolled her eyes before speaking up, “Mini here thinks Rainbow is secretly in lesbians with Fluttershy, and thinks something might go down at the party later tonight.”

“They are?” Flitter exclaimed. It was just like she theorized, except it couldn’t be that other pegasus, “But, that can’t be right. I saw her earlier today sharing a shower with that unicorn.”

Cloud Kicker was quick to react, “Unicorn? White coat, purple swirly mane, Rarity?”

That was probably her name, “Uhh, yeah, I thin-”

“You actually saw that?!” the other pegasus nearly shouted, going nose to nose with her, “When?! Where?! Did anything sexual happen?!”

“Whoa, Kicker,” the orange earth pony said as she tried to ground the pegasus to the table, “Calm your feathers, girl. I’m sure what Flitter saw was actually her and Applejack,” she turned to the other pegasus with a skeptic face, “Right?”

With Cloud Kicker a comfortable distance away, Flitter shook her head, “Nope, it was Rarity all right. Saw it with my own eyes.”

Cloud Kicker leapt into the sky as if she was about to explode with joy, but then paused before any noise could be made. She looked back down with a straight face and asked, “Wait, do you have proof?”

Again, Flitter shook her head, “No. Why do you think I got myself this thing?”

As she held it, her hoof accidentally touched the button on the camera, letting loose a sudden flash that surprised everypony at the table. Cloud Kicker let herself fall to the table, rubbing the flash out of her eyes.

“Aw crap, I did it again,” the pegasus cursed as she shook the camera, “What’s-his-name told me that there’s not a lot of film left in it, so I gotta be careful with how I take these shots.”

“Oh, so, no kooky Cloud Kicker face, then?” Carrot Top whined.

“Aw, what the- You gave it a name?” the pegasus angrily replied with closed eyes.

“Yeah, sorry no,” Flitter answered, “This is strictly for use at the party, where I’m going to catch Rainbow Dash in the act with Rarity, and prove once and for all that Mac and Dash are not really dating.”

“Are you sure you’re not confusing Rarity for Twilight?” Linky asked, “I mean, they both have purple manes, and have horns, and-”

“It was at the Carousel Boo something, alright?!” Flitter angrily confirmed, “Ugh, I’m trying to tell you all that something’s for real, but you all would rather believe in your own fantasies. What’s up with that anyway?”

“If we don’t see it, we don’t believe it,” Lyra simply stated, sucking her straw only to realize the cup was still empty.

“And besides, Rainbow Dash and Twilight make much more sense than Rainbow and Rarity,” Linky said proudly.

“Oh buck you,” Cloud Kicker shot, her eyesight restored, “Rarity would be better than Twilight for her. At least she’s not as compulsive as the bookworm.”

“What makes you think Rainbow Dash needs something in another pony?” Lyra spoke up, throwing away her cup carelessly behind her, “She would obviously prefer somepony who can provide consistent fun, like Pinkie!”

“Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have several years of friendship supporting them!” Minuette joined in, “None of your imaginary theories have any foundation.”

“Fillies!” Carrot Top spoke up, “I think you’re all forgetting that Applejack and Rainbow Dash is the best relationship?” she said as she leaned back with hooves behind her head, “End of discussion.”

Eventually, the entire table devolved into a silly argument over which friend of Rainbow Dash was a much more fitting love interest for her, all forgetting about Flitter. Speaking of whom, she could’ve walked away and resumed her business, but instead, she decided to try and speak her mind, hoping to leave with something.

“Shut up!” the pegasus shouted, silencing the others, “You’re all senselessly bickering over things you don’t have the right to argue about! I mean, she’s a real pony, for Celestia’s sake. How would you,” she pointed at Carrot Top and Linky, “like it if ponies thought you looked cute together just because you’re a frequent customer?!”

Both earth ponies looked at each other as the others looked back and forth at them and the pegasus. This stare-off lasted for four seconds before everypony minus Flitter burst out in a laughing fit. Flitter had to wait five seconds before anypony could regain their breath.

“That…that is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard,” Carrot Top said with a wipe of her tear, “Everypony is aware that I like stallions, unicorn stallions, I might add.”

“Yeah, and everypony knows we’re just friends,” Linky said, having finished drying her eyes, “Besides, I already have my eyes on another colt. Nopony would think that we would be infatuated with the other.”

Flitter just looked at the ponies as if they were out of their minds.

“That…isn’t what I was trying to say at all,” she said in vain.

“Celestia almighty, imagine the innuendo they could make with you too?” Lyra spoke up, the others either chuckling or shivering in response.

It was at this point Flitter decided to ditch these strange ponies and move on with her plans. She silently backed away from the table and turned around. She only came here to see if there were any shops that could provide her with an extra reel of film, but the technology was still relatively new as none of the shops around had any in stock. Besides, she probably didn’t know how to replace it anyway.

“Oh no, it might give you an air embolism,” she heard Carrot Top say, “My aunt says thick plastic wrappings is the way to go.”

That was more than she needed to hear. With a flap, Flitter took off back to her cloud home by the edge of town.

She had an important call to make.

What have we done?

“Thank you for your time,” Thunderlane stated happily.

“It’s no problem at all,” Cheerilee replied, “The students always appreciate a new foal in the class.”

It was an hour until closing time for the school, but Cheerilee always had time to assess the programs of a future student. Doors of the faculty were locking up for the day by the school’s janitor Mr. Mops, who was waiting outside of the classroom so that it too would be locked up for the day. Thunderlane brought his little brother here to look over what sorts of things Rumble would be learning for his first school year. He was eager to start his education and spending time with the other foals; Thunderlane was just eager to get him started so that he’d have more time for himself. Not that Rumble was a nuisance or anything, but with school to occupy him, he’d have more time to spend with pretty mares.

Like the attractive school teacher he was with.

The ponies were now outside of the school, having crossed the floor that was destroyed from today’s earlier events; it was a floor buffer accident according to Cheerilee. Mr. Mops was checking the rooms before he would lock them up for the night, and the jingle of keys could be heard behind them.

“Hey Rumble,” the adult suddenly said, “Why don’t you go and play over there?”

The little pegasus looked to see a few foals playing with a tetherball in the school’s playground, still lingering around despite their classes having ended nearly an hour ago.

“But…what if they don’t like me?” Rumble asked nervously.

“Nonsense!” Cheerilee was quick to dismiss, “All of my students adore one another, and they’re always up for making friends!”

“Besides, you’ll never know if they like you if you don’t at least try to talk to them,” Thunderlane insisted, giving him a little enthusiastic push, “I believe in you.”

Shaking off his nerves, Rumble nodded, “I guess I can try…”

As the little foal fluttered off towards the other kids, Thunderlane waited until he was out of earshot so that he could get to work.

“He’s such a sweet thing,” Cheerilee spoke first, however, “To be honest, I was a bit concerned that being raised by his brother would cause some…well, compatibility problems with other foals.”

Instead of being insulted, the pegasus scoffed, “I’m an older brother first, a teenager second.”

Cheerilee giggled, “That’s such an admirable quality.”

Thunderlane blushed a bit, “Speaking of admirable…you wouldn’t happen to be seeing anypony right now, are you?”

At this, the teacher stood there, shocked. It was typical that a stallion would come to that question in a discussion, but that wasn’t what surprised her. It was more like she forgot for the moment that he was still a single stallion, with a genuine interest in mares. Knowing that he raised his brother like a responsible guardian allowed her to forget that tidbit.

“Oh, no, not really,” Cheerilee answered after recovering, “But I’m not really looking for anypony to date right now.”

“Aww, really?” the pegasus said, disappointed, “Why not?”

The earth pony sighed, “Some things happened with another stallion in the past. Stuff like Love Poison, property damage, falling into pits, that kind of stuff.”

At this, Thunderlane was more sympathetic of the earth pony than he was saddened, “Ow, I know that feeling, when a date goes horribly wrong like that.”

“It wasn’t really a date. It kind of happened because of a certain group of fillies,” Cheerilee stated as they passed by a crater made in the shape of a filly, with a charred floor buffer half buried right next to it.

“You mean the Cutie Mark Crusomethings?” Thunderlane asked, “Yeah, they can be a bit of a bother.”

He looked over to where his little brother was, who was now partaking in a tetherball game with the other foals still around.

“Speaking of which, they go to this school, right?” he asked, Cheerilee nodded, “Well, little Rumble over there has a crush on one of them.”

“Oh? Is it Scootaloo?” Cheerilee was quick to guess, Thunderlane simply tapped his nose with his hoof, confirming her answer, “Aww, how adorable.”

“I know, right? Poor kid can’t hide it very well, either,” the pegasus said.

Cheerilee chuckled, “I suppose he has difficulty accepting it as well,” she said with a delighted sigh, “Oh, how precious young love is.”

“Yeah. And I was thinking,” Thunderlane spoke up, “Any chance you might help them out?”

Surprisingly, Cheerilee shook her head, “Sorry, Thunderlane, but I can’t do that. You need to let these things sort themselves out. It’s not right to interfere.”

The stallion simply chuckled, “If you say so. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to tease him about it.”

“It’s like you said, you’re an older brother first, a teenager second,” the earth pony said with a passionate smile.

The two took a moment to stop walking and look at each other. In Thunderlane’s experience, he hadn’t met a mare with such a tender side for foals. He preferred those that didn’t hold onto such parenting responsibilities so tightly; they were usually very strict. But here, chatting with Cheerilee, something about her was very relatable in a sense. Maybe it was the fact that he had raised Rumble independently, something the mare could also sympathize with; sharing her teachings with so many different foals at once. If that was the case, it was a foreign experience; Rumble hardly played a part in getting him mares. And while it was a popular belief that mares admired a gentle father figure, all the fillies he’d been with weren’t looking to make foals.

In Cheerilee’s case, she rarely encountered stallions that had an equal love for kids as they did mares. While she did enjoy the occasional stud, none of them ever wanted to linger around, and something was usually missing in those meet ups. It was at this moment that Cheerilee realized what exactly was missing in all the stallions she dated. She loved children, she respected children, and no other stallion before Thunderlane reflected that in her.

Was this what she had been waiting for?

“Hey, uhh,” Thunderlane started, nervous all of a sudden, “Are you sure you aren’t interested in dating? We could go out for coffee some time, or…”

“I, uhh,” Cheerilee was nervous as well, “I’m not sure either. I mean, it’s been quite a while since I’ve gone out.”

“It’s never too late to get back in the game,” the pegasus said positively before shyly looking away, “Maybe I could…you know…if you have some free time next Thursday…”

“Hay everypony! Am eye interrupting anything?!”

From the sky above crashed a gray pegasus with a blonde mane. The two ponies backed up from the sudden appearance of the pony and watched as she tried to pull her face out of the dirt. After a second or so, the pegasus was successful, and revealed herself to be the infamous screwy eyed pony named Ditzy Do.

“Oh, hey Derpy,” Thunderlane said with a tone of disappointment, “What brings you here?”

The pony turned to Cheerilee, some dirt still clinging to her nose, “I just came by to see if ewe two got your invitations yet.”

“Oh right, for the party,” the earth pony said carefully, “Pinkie came by earlier to give me mine.”

“I never got one,” as soon as Thunderlane said that, Derpy threw an invitation at him. Seeing the spinning paper coming at him, he ducked, and managed to evade the attack at the cost of an inch of his hair. The envelope landed in the bark of a distant tree, wedged several centimeters deep.

“I think that’s everypony now,” Derpy said thoughtfully, then noticed a group of foals in the distance, “Oh, excuse me.”

And like that, Derpy fumbled her way away from the two ponies. Cheerilee was a bit concerned about leaving the kids alone with her while Thunderlane was inspecting his new haircut.

“So, uhh,” the pegasus said when he finished, “What do you say?”

“Oh, uhh,” Cheerilee wasn’t entirely sure of what to say, “I’ll have to think about it.”

“Well, ok then,” Thunderlane said awkwardly, “No pressure or anything, heh.”

Meanwhile, back with the foals…

“HIIYAH!”

Rumble was enjoying himself with his new friends. In the group was another colt, a light blue one by the name of Shady Daze. He was a shy individual but was easy to excite. The other two foals were fillies, one was a unicorn by the name of Dinky, and the other was a yellow one named Noi. Dinky was a bit strange for a foal her age but she was otherwise friendly. Noi, on the other hoof…

“Ooof! Not so hard!”

She liked to take things to eccentric levels. She was always quick to escalate situations for the sake of fun. It was very reckless, but then again such an attitude was expected to develop, having a sister like Carrot Top.

“You’re an earth pony. You shouldn’t complain so much,” Noi beamed, ignorant to Shady’s pain.

Shady rolled his eyes and knocked back the tetherball in Noi’s direction. The filly braced herself as the ball struck her directly in the face, then casually caught it before it could swing back.

“Hah. I almoth felth thomething that thime,” Noi said, sniffing a bit, “Alright Rumble, you’re next.”

The pegasus nodded and fluttered a few inches off the ground. Noi chucked the ball upward like a volley ball and struck it the same way in his direction. The pegasus colt let the ball hit him in the chest and was pushed back a few feet, then clutched the ball before it could get away.

“Nice one Noi,” Rumble said as he descended back to the ground with the ball in hoof, “So, who’s next now?”

The game they were playing was called deathball, and it was not to be taken likely…for foals, that is. The gist of it was to hit the ball as hard as you could at another pony and the receiving end has to endure the hit. This goes on until somepony misses or gives up. Naturally, an adult would be concerned over the legitimacy of foals playing such a harsh game, but that’s the thing. They were foals. By the time the ball made its ascension towards the target, the force would wane and result in a harmless tap against the filly or colt. Not to mention, no foal would be strong enough to actually cause any serious damage.

Adults, on the other hoof…

“Hey kids!” Derpy announced herself, “Hey Dinky! What’cha playing?”

“Derpy!” Dinky said cheerfully, “We’re playing deathball. It’s fun!”

“Anything with the word ‘death’ in it has to be fun,” Noi stated as if it were obvious.

“Oooh, how do you play?” Derpy asked.

“Like this,” Rumble said suddenly, “Dinky, think fast!”

Rumble struck the ball in Dinky’s direction, but he wasn’t as strong as Noi or Shady would be, as they were earth pony foals. When it hit Dinky in one side of her face, she giggled and caught the ball with her magic.

“You’re not very strong, are you Rumble?” Dinky teased.

Rumble blushed, “I guess not. Wing power doesn’t exactly translate to arm power.”

“Ooh, can I try?” Derpy asked, eyeing the tetherball with one eye while the other admired the pole.

“Sure,” Dinky said naively.

The other foals subconsciously stepped back as the pegasus received the ball. Even they knew it wasn’t a smart thing to do to give Derpy a tetherball, especially if the objective was to hit another pony with it.

“Umm, maybe you should just hit something else instead of one of us,” Shady nervously suggested, “I mean, you’re a grown up and all…in some respect of the word.”

“What are you, chicken?” Noi taunted.

“I’m gonna have to go with Shady on this one,” Rumble spoke up, “I mean, you hit the hardest out of all of us, Noi. Can you imagine how hard Der-, I mean, Ditzy would hit?”

The filly rolled her eyes, “Fine then. Derpy, hit me.”

“Okay!”

Noi straightened herself on her forelegs in preparation for the attack while Derpy sized up the ball with her exceptional eyes. The two colts looked at each other nervously while Dinky seemed indifferent to the possibility of somepony getting hurt. Eventually, Derpy decided she had her mark, and let fly the tetherball.

…

…only for it to completely miss Noi, hit the pole instead, and rebounded right into Shady’s face.

“OW!” the colt cried.

The other foals quickly came to the colt’s aid and tried to get a good look at his face to see the damage. The cry of pain brought the attention of the other two adults nearby, and they rushed over to the scene of the crime in concern.

“What happened?!” Cheerilee cried, then threw a sharp look to the other pegasus, “Ditzy, what did you do?!”

The pegasus quickly shrugged with an apologetic face, “I…I just don’t know what went wrong!”

“Oh, my nothe,” Shady cried.

“Stand back, lemme see kid,” Thunderlane said as the other foals backed off.

The adult pegasus knelt down to get a closer look at what happened to the colt. His muzzle was bruised but there where no signs of bleeding.

“What happened?!” Cheerilee shouted angrily at Derpy, who was now grounded and at the mercy of the enraged teacher.

“The foals were playing deathball and I wanted to play,” Derpy explained, feeling bad for what she did, “But I missed…”

“D-deathball?!” the teacher repeated, nearly fuming, “That must be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!”

“It doesn’t look like anything serious,” Thunderlane announced as he helped the colt up, “Pretty sure he’s gonna be ok, as long as he gets some ice on it.”

Shady fumbled with his mouth for a bit, as if he was chewing something. Suddenly there was a build up of liquid and he had to spit, to the disgust of the foals and interest to one. Turns out Thunderlane had missed something; the colt was, in fact, bleeding. Adding to that, there was something white in the blood and spit.

“…ith that my tooth?” Shady asked.

“I think it is…” Rumble confirmed.

“It looks like a baby tooth,” Dinky said a bit too happily.

The ponies stared at the tooth for a while before Cheerilee turned angrily to the visually impaired pegasus.

“Ditzy, I would advise you to leave, right now, and take your foal with you,” she warned.

“Actually, I’m not her daughter or anything,” Dinky spoke up.

“Doesn’t matter,” Cheerilee said with a hoof to her muzzle, “Just…please leave before you break any more pony’s teeth.”

Saddened, Derpy motioned for Dinky to come to her, and the two began to walk away from the schoolyard.

Once the two were out of earshot, the unicorn filly spoke up, in an attempt to cheer up the pegasus, “Aw, Derpy, don’t feel bad. It was an accident. And Noi was asking for it anyway.”

“I can’t help it,” Derpy replied, “I hurt a little foal, and that wasn’t ok.”

“But you always hurt ponies, not intentionally at least,” Dinky pointed out.

“It’s not like that,” the pegasus said sadly, “Every time I go out into Ponyville, I break somepony’s things, or I hurt a pony on accident. I know that everypony’s gotten used to it and doesn’t hold it against me, but when I do break something that nopony would forgive me for, I feel like I should feel bad for all of the things I’ve done.”

Dinky felt sad too, but knew better than to hold on to the feeling, “But Derpy, I know Shady isn’t going to hold this against you. Cheerilee, maybe, but it won’t be permanent.”

“I still want to do something to make it up to them, though,” Derpy said as she looked down in thought, “But I’m no good at anything.”

“Of course you are,” Dinky said positively, “And the most important thing about apologizing to somepony is that it’s the thought that counts.”

As she let her…filly of some affiliation’s words sink in, Derpy was slowly coming to realize what she could do to make up for all the accidents she had done. Her spirits were beginning to lift as a plan was spurring in motion in her head. It was very convenient for her that there would be a party later today.

“Dinky, you’re a genius,” Derpy said lovingly as she ruffled the filly’s mane, “Sometimes, I wish you were my daughter.”

Dinky giggled as her hoof left her mane, “One of these days, we’ll find out exactly how I’m related to you.”

Back to the other ponies, Cheerilee and Thunderlane were discussing the urgency of Shady’s condition.

“Thunderlane, you go and take Shady back to his house,” Cheerilee commanded, “Get his mother to look at his tooth.”

“Uhh, I kind of don’t know where that is,” the pegasus replied nervously.

“I’m sure Shady knows where it is, right?” the earth pony asked, receiving a muffled nod from the colt.

“Wait, what about me?” Noi spoke up, “I want to ride Thunderlame-I mean, Thunderlane, too!”

“Oh, well, if it isn’t too much trouble…” Cheerilee said as she looked to the pegasus stallion.

“Easy peasy,” he replied confidently, “I gave Rumble rides all the time when he was still a yearling. Right little guy?”

The foal nodded enthusiastically as Noi silently cheered for herself.

Mildly stressed, the teacher sighed in relief, “Thank you, Thunderlane. I’m so glad you’re good with kids.”

Feeling bashful, the stallion replied, “Well, I guess you could say that, if my special talent wasn’t already thunderbolts, I’d be taking care of kids.”

“I thmell nothing but metal,” Shady commented as he tried to snort.

“You should probably get going,” Cheerilee forwarded.

“Good idea,” Thunderlane said as he knelt down for the colt and filly to climb on, the latter of which did so excitedly, “I’ll, uh, see you at the party?”

“Definitely,” the teacher said with a wink.

“Great then, See you later,” the stallion said as he spread his wings.

“Bye, Cheerilee!” Noi waved, with Shady weakly copying.

“See you next week!” Rumble waved along with them.

With a slightly struggled liftoff, Thunderlane carried the kids into the air with Rumble tagging along shortly behind. Cheerilee watched as the two pegasi flew beyond the tree line towards Ponyville and out of sight. She sighed forlornly as she slowly walked away from the school, leaving it for good for the day. It was about an hour and a half or so before the party, and she had plenty of time to waste before then, if she was to meet Thunderlane there.

Maybe she could do with a date…

Let’s hope the CMC don’t interfere…

With one last kick, the last of the water had been drained from the clouds and flowed into the earth below. With no more moisture holding it together, the cloud slowly dissipated into oblivion. Fortunately, it was the last bit the pegasus needed, as they had just finished with this line of plowed dirt. That meant that the squash fields had been completely reworked into a corn field, due for harvest in the fall later this year.

“You sure AJ won’t mind that we used corn pods instead of pea seeds?” Rainbow Dash inquired as she landed on the ground.

Big Macintosh chuckled, “She may be the boss, but when it comes to harvests other than apples, she can’t keep track of ‘em for the life of her.”

The pegasus chuckled, “Heh, that silly pony.”

Big Macintosh walked over to the remaining pods in the cart, with a dirty plow stowed away in the back. With their work done here, he hitched himself to the cart and began to pull it back to the farm.

“So, anything we gotta do next?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered by his side.

The red stallion hummed to himself in thought as he pulled the cart, “Other than weedin’ out dry spots, Ah think that’s it for t’day.”

“Spot checks? Pfft,” the pegasus scoffed, “I can do that in-”

“Ten seconds flat?” the stallion interrupted with a tease.

“…what, you want me to do it faster?” she challenged.

“As long as it gets us more time to ourselves after, sure,” he said with a smile.

“You’re on,” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle.

Big Macintosh chuckled as well before the both of them fell into silence. Aside from the flapping of wings and the creaking wheels of the cart, there was no other noise in the air. This distant section of the farm was rather quiet throughout the day, and it was also a hotspot for fireflies. It wouldn’t be another hour until the crows started calling forth the night as the sun set, so this peaceful air would be short lived.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breathe and exhaled it satisfyingly, “I’m so glad to be here with you, after all that’s happened today.”

Big Macintosh chuckled in response, “To be honest, I kinda missed you today.”

With a girlish squeak, the pegasus landed and gave the stallion a one armed hug, “Aww, you big lug. You actually missed me?”

The stallion pretended to be sad in reply, “You were jus’ gone for so long, Ah thought you had forgotten about me.”

In shock that was half pretend, Rainbow Dash hugged her coltfriend with both arms and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, “I’d never forget about you, Big Mac. You’re on my mind everyday.”

He smiled warmly in response, “Ah believe ya. Ah’m sure you were just distracted, is all.”

“Tell me about it,” the pegasus replied with an eye roll as she let go of him, “I’d rather forget most of what happened today and just spend the rest of it with you.”

Big Macintosh beamed, followed by a perverted chuckle, “Ya know, now that we’re officially datin’, you can spend more than just the day with me.”

Dash replied with an even more perverted giggle, “Does the morning count as day?”

“Not in mah book,” the stallion replied wittily.

A few more seconds of silence passed before Dash took to the skies again. The stallion silently watched her as he continued hauling the cart at an undeterred pace. Big Macintosh had always preferred the tranquility these fields had to offer, and liked spending his working time alone, but when he and Rainbow Dash became an item, he feared those opportunities would be lost to him. He couldn’t be more wrong. The pegasus respected his need for silence and calmness, and was always happy to hear him speak his mind whenever a thought came up. He would always return the favor, providing an ear for her to rant about the day or any event she had been a part of, as it cured the repetitiveness of working that would sometimes plague him.

They had perfect synergy with each other, and this was something they both knew well.

“Hey, about that party…” Rainbow Dash spoke up. She looked to him slightly concerned, “Are you really ok with it?”

The nightmare that is Pinkie Pie came to mind, but it wasn’t something she needed to know, “Yeah, of course. Ah mean, you made a point, it was somethin’ that everypony needed to know about anyway.”

“Well, yeah, but…” pieces of the day so far replayed themselves in her head, and she realized what exactly Mac might’ve been concerned about earlier when Pinkie forwarded the party to them, “A party today might not be the best idea.”

“What? Now ya don’t want a party?” the stallion asked, “Well, Ah’d agree with ya, but…Pinkie’s dressed up our barn like an orphan’s birthday cake, an’ Ah wouldn’t wanna hafta cancel it.”

“Wait, you’re saying you want to go through with the party just because it’s already set up?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

“Not really,” he was quick to reply, “You should see the place. Cleanin’ it all up is gonna be a nightmare, so we might as well go through with it. All that work can be done afterwards.”

“Oh,” typical Apple family cheapness, “Well, I guess Pinkie wouldn’t like it very much either if we just called it quits after all that work she put into it.”

Noticing that his fillyfriend still looked concerned, he spoke to console her, “If yer still worried about the party, don’t forget that me an’ AJ are gonna keep track of everypony. Along with Pinkie too, Ah guess.”

“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked worriedly, “I have a bad feeling about this…”

The stallion smiled, “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. You got the entire Apple family on your side tonight.”

Rainbow Dash let out a huge sigh of relief, “Thanks Mac, I needed that.”

Big Macintosh simply nodded and continued to walk in silence. It was a few minutes or so until they came upon a particular spot. Nearby, there was a tree with a lopped off branch that had since been grown in. Months ago, the two noticed how the formation looked like that of an apple, which somehow led to a long discussion about Apple family history and the impact of weather manipulation. This tree was the landmark to a spot that was very special to both ponies.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said softly, “This is where we shared our first kiss.”

Macintosh chuckled, “Eeyup.”

The pegasus let out another perverted giggle, “This was also the place where we did ‘that’.”

If Macintosh was blushing, it couldn’t be seen, either because his red coat would’ve hidden it, or because he looked away, “There’s no need bringin’ that up,” he said with a nervous laugh.

“What are you ashamed about?” the pegasus teased, “You’re the one that pinned me to the tree and-”

“Ah was in heat, or somethin’,” the stallion quickly made an excuse, but couldn’t hold back his chuckles.

Rainbow Dash was having difficulty holding back her laughter as well, “Can stallions even get that?”

“It sure felt like it,” he replied, trying to pull his smile down.

“It definitely felt like it,” the pegasus said, intentionally lustfully.

Big Macintosh simply rolled his eyes and maintained his pace with Rainbow Dash falling behind a bit.

“Speaking of legs,” she spoke up once more, “Isn’t it weird that you haven’t bucked any tree at all today?”

“Really? Nah,” the stallion replied, “Ah’m pretty sure Ah bucked somethin’ today…”

“Not yet, anyway,” the pegasus let herself say.

The stallion chuckled again and turned to his fillyfriend, “What’s the matter, though? Concerned?”

Rainbow Dash playfully shrugged her shoulders, “Ha ha, got me there. I just don’t want you losing those glorious legs of yours to misuse.”

Big Macintosh looked back to his hind legs and smiled at the pegasus, “We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we? But Ah can count on you to keep them in shape.”

It was her turn to laugh off the sexual innuendos Macintosh was telling her.

“Yeah, that is true,” Rainbow Dash said as nonchalantly as she could, “But nothing beats seeing them in action.”

Macintosh couldn’t help but put on a prideful smile. Now that he thought about it, he never did buck any trees for their apples today. He wrecked a few trees, certainly, but he did that for their lumber. The trees were still developing for Applebuck Season that was due for late summer, and any trees that needed apple bucking were few and far between. Applejack was handling those, all Big Macintosh had to be concerned about was the heavy stuff like plowing and pulling heavy carts. Maybe he could buck a tree for good measure.

Seeing a lone tree that was empty of apples, Big Macintosh stopped to unhitch himself from the cart. Rainbow Dash said nothing and simply watched as the red stallion calmly walked over to the tree, gave her a seductive look, and delivered a single legged buck to the tree.

Realizing what he was doing, Rainbow exaggerated her satisfaction. “Oh Mac,” she said with a shoddy swoon, “Oh yeah, do it again.”

Macintosh’s smile widened as he bucked the tree a little harder.

“Oooh Mac, you’re soooo strong,” the pegasus said, throwing her body in different overly expressive directions.

The stallion kept bucking the tree a little harder with each reaction Rainbow Dash gave.

“Ohhhh, you’re a monster Mac!” Rainbow said, her voice growing with false ecstasy, “Ahhh!”

Eventually Mac started using two hooves and inexplicably bucked harder the stronger her reactions were. He was actually bucking the tree with way more force than needed for apple bucking, and, in the excitement, they hadn’t noticed the cracks growing on the tree.

“Mac! Maaac!” she continued to shrill.

Finally, something did erupt.

Both ponies realized something was amiss when the sound of wood breaking lingered for more than a second. Before either of them could process what was happening, the tree was already touching down on the earth, its fresh inner wood exposed before them.

Neither of them said anything for the moment. They just eyed the fallen tree as if it were a work of art, a very offensive work of art. A quick look around confirmed that nopony else was around to witness the crime, especially, Celestia forbid, Applejack. Once the reality of the situation settled in, Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

“…pop goes the wood,” she nearly whispered.

A second later, and both ponies were a pile of laughing fits on the ground. Several more seconds later, both ponies were on their hooves to assess the damage.

“Should we…should we take it to the barn?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Nah. Ah don’t feel like carryin’ another tree this late in the day,” Big Macintosh simply replied.

“Well, we can’t just leave it here,” the pegasus stated, “What’ll AJ do if she finds it?”

Without a word, Big Macintosh walked up to the tree and cleared any splinters still clinging to the tree and trunk. He analyzed the wounds before coming to a conclusion.

“Ah’m gonna need your help for this,” he said, “Hold on to a branch or somethin’.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t question him and did as she was told. With their combined efforts, the two of them lifted the tree and slowly aligned it back to the trunk, matching the zigzag wound line almost perfectly. The shoddy repair was almost seamless, save for a few notches where the stallion struck the tree.

“Ok, so, are we going to glue it or…?” the pegasus asked as she landed back to the ground.

“Nah. We’re gonna dig this tree out and clear out its roots when AJ ain’t lookin’,” Big Macintosh answered, “She won’t be none the wiser.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a nod, “When are we going to pull off this daring escapade?”

“Soon. Not today, though,” the stallion replied as he walked back to the cart and hitched himself to it, “We got ourselves a party to get ready for.”

“Eeyup,” Rainbow Dash said, earning a playful glare from the stallion, “By the way, that was your fault, just so you know.”

“Well, you’re the one who wanted to see mah legs in action,” he replied as he pulled the cart.

“Well, I blame your sexy legs,” the pegasus retorted.

“Ah blame your sexy mouth,” Macintosh shot back.

“You love this mouth,” she simply said.

“Eeyup, Ah do,” he said with a smile.

That part served no purpose at all to the story…

Buck you, that part was adorable.

No, it committed nothing to the story at all.

Not everything can be crazy out of control chaos fun, you know.

I beg to differ, we’ve been doing okay so far with just that.

Well, it doesn’t hurt to pay the characters in the title some special attention, does it?

Well, no, but we-

Butts are for pooping!

Enough! We are dragging on the story as it is!

Fine. But we are not editing that part out.

Fine then…

…stick in your butt…

What was that?!

You have eyes, just read it over!

Ugh…

The day was drawing to a close as the sun was slowly losing its light, evident by the reddening of the sky above. In about an hour, the sun would be on its way to twilight, and the day would end within that time. For some, it meant the time to party was imminent, as just about every pony had received their invitation. For others, like Fluttershy, it was a reminder that she should already be finished with her task at hoof.

As soon as they left the library, Scootaloo had requested for them to slow down, as her wings were exhausted from driving the scootsmobile all day. While Fluttershy wasn’t one to complain about another’s ability of flight, especially Scootaloo’s, she couldn’t deny the poor filly a break. So, here they were, Scootaloo tugging the scootsmobile by hoof as her friends trotted by her side, taking their time as they made their way to Sweet Apple Acres through town.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were falling behind, though.

“So, wait a minute, lemme get this straight,” Apple Bloom whispered, “You think we should be the only ones to deliver Fluttershy’s message?”

Scootaloo nodded with a determined look on her face, “I’m absolutely certain that this is it. This has to be our special talent.”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said, looking unsure, “It seems like a lot of effort, just to keep her away from Rainbow Dash.”

“Remember, it’s for the cutie marks!” the pegasus filly had every right to be smug about that line.

The unicorn filly pouted, “But do we really have to get in her way to do that? Fluttershy hasn’t done anything bad to us.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom spoke up, but kept her voice out of earshot of the pegasus they were following, “She even saved us from a cockatrice before. It just wouldn’t be right!”

“Shh! Keep it down!” Scootaloo hushed, then continued, “I don’t like it either, but this is different. We didn’t even get a chance to get our cutie marks in message delivery, and we’re not going to lose it this time!”

“Wait, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle spoke up, “Didn’t you already try delivering a message before?”

“Yeah, when you tried to stop Granny from comin’ to our school,” the apple filly added.

Scootaloo was quiet for a while, recollecting the event.

“Err, that was different. That was a telegram, not a message,” she justified hesitantly, “Besides, it wasn’t a real message anyway.”

They were quiet afterwards, for a little bit anyway.

The four ponies were now treading through the market streets of Ponyville, the last part of town before reaching the stretch of space between them and the farm’s borders. At this time and hour, there weren’t many ponies that stayed from the afternoon rush; those that did were either closing shop or mingling with friends. Any idle chatter was faint, giving the street a gentle air of quietness. There was a noticeable string of giggles and chuckles coming from a particular table, however, belonging to a mare and stallion couple. The group didn’t pay them much attention, at least until they got closer…

“Braeburn? Braeburn!” the apple filly shouted out and waved her hoof, “Over here!”

Looking to see one of his favorite cousins closing in, the apple stallion greeted them jovially, “Apple Bloom! What are the odds of seein’ you here, an’ with your friends?”

“Braeburn, Ah didn’t know you were visitin’!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she trotted to his side. The stallion gave her a friendly hug, then the two parted so that Apple Bloom could ask, “What are you doin’ in Ponyville?”

Braeburn shrugged his shoulders laxly, “Well, we just finished our own summer harvest, and now the trees got all summer to grow. Ah thought Ah’d come by to see how mah favorite relatives were doin’.”

While Fluttershy and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders neared, Red Tongue looked over the filly and said, “Braeburn, I thought you said you didn’t have any foals. Did you lie to me?”

The pegasus was just teasing, and Braeburn knew it, although, one bush in particular seemed to rattle. The stallion chuckled, “Nah, she’s just mah little cousin,” he then directed her attention to the group, “Red Tongue, this here’s Apple Bloom,” he pointed at the red haired filly, “And her friends,” he motioned to the other two fillies.

“I’m Scootaloo!” the orange filly quickly announced.

“And I’m Sweetie Belle!” the unicorn sung.

Before the three could announce the title of their union, Braeburn continued, “And that there’s Fluttershy, Ah believe. She’s a friend of AJ’s.”

“H-Hello,” the pegasus greeted shyly. She had met Braeburn before already, but under different circumstances that didn’t call upon her reclusive nature. Red Tongue, on the other hoof, was a new face, at least, that’s what she thought at first. When she got a better look at the pegasus, she was starting to look familiar. Had they met before?

“My name is Red Tongue,” the orange pegasus replied, “I’m a weather pony from Manehattan, and I got the week off so I decided to come to Ponyville for a bit.”

“A weather pony, from Manehattan?” Fluttershy repeated, to the curiosity of the foals, “That’s weird, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen you from around here. You look familiar…”

“I do?” the other pegasus questioned. While Red Tongue was used to having ponies recognize her from somewhere in her casual look, she didn’t want the attention in this situation.

“Yeah. I think I saw you in a magazine once…” the pink maned pegasus said, uncertain.

“Huh, how weird,” she hoped to appear calm and casual enough so that she didn’t blow her cover. Magazines and posters could only show so much, so there was no way she’d be recognized as she was now. But now that she thought of it, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, like she too had met Fluttershy before. Is that what she was talking about?

“Anyhoo,” with the conversation quickly going nowhere, Braeburn decided to speak up, “Where are you gals goin’?”

“We’re on our way back to Sweet Apple Acres!” the little pegasus stated proudly.

“With an important message for Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie Belle revealed.

“Rainbow Dash, huh?” Red Tongue noted thoughtfully, “I heard a lot about her.”

“Oh yes, she’s one of my friends,” Fluttershy stated, bashfully playing with her hair in mention of the colorful pegasus she had a crush on, “In fact, we’re actually kind of in a hurry…”

As shy as she was, Fluttershy wanted to bring up the importance of their quest to the farm, and had been waiting for an opportunity to do so. She was worried that meeting up with Apple Bloom’s cousin would’ve taken them forever, but thankfully, it seemed like it’d be wrapping up any moment now.

And the sooner they got there, the better.

“Oh, then don’t mind us,” Braeburn said as he resumed a comfortable position in his seat, “We’d hate to get in your way.”

Fluttershy sighed and turned around to lead the fillies back to their journey, but then Apple Bloom chimed.

“Are you comin’ to the party later?” she asked hopefully.

“O’course!” the stallion replied with a ruffle of the filly’s hair, “Ah’d never pass the chance to tease that big brother of yours ‘bout his fillyfriend. Ah imagine so many fillies must be very jealous right now.”

“You’re darn right!” a bush of flowers a few feet away shouted.

The ponies paid the voice literally two seconds of thought before Red Tongue chuckled, “Ponyville must be quite a town to have so many fillies put so much importance into stallions.”

“Why do you think Ah came here to relax?” Braeburn joked, followed by a distressed groan, either from the flower bush or Fluttershy, as it sounded like the conversation wasn’t over yet.

Red Tongue chuckled in return, “Well, it’s a good thing I got to you before they did. You’re not like other stallions I’ve met before.”

Braeburn dismissed her praise with a wave of her hoof, “Pssh, that can’t be true. Ah’m sure there are other stallions out there that’d make better company than me.”

Red Tongue returned his skepticism, “Fat chance. If I had a list of stallions, you’d be…”

The orange maned pegasus let the question fall unfinished as she was reminded of something incredibly urgent. Red Tongue replayed the mental note in her head several times, her panic multiplying with each relay.

“A list…oh horseapples!” she cursed, despite the presence of fillies before her. She hopped backwards out of her chair, letting it fall as she looked left and right in panic, “I completely forgot!”

“Red Tongue, what’s wrong?” Braeburn asked in concern, getting up from his own seat.

“I, uh, I totally forgot something, um,” the pegasus was at a lost for words at how she would explain herself right now, expressing her disdain by trotting in place, “Braeburn, I’m really sorry, but I have something to do, like, right now.”

The stallion looked disappointed, “Oh, how long will you be?”

Red Tongue sucked in her teeth before answering, “I don’t know. I let myself get carried away with the time and…” she let the sentence fall again as she failed to form a complete excuse, “…I’m sorry that I have to leave so abruptly.”

Braeburn was a bit lost. Was she ditching him? “If you wanted to just get up an’ go, you could’ve just said so.”

Red Tongue was quick to shake her head, “No, it’s not like that, Braeburn. I mean, you’re one of the nicest, funniest stallions I’ve ever met in a long time, and I’d love to do nothing more than spend hours with you.”

“Not like you already haven’t!” the flowers shouted, and were promptly ignored.

“But…I have a sort of…responsibility to fulfill,” Red Tongue said with difficulty, “I can’t tell you what it is yet.”

There was a visible unease in the stallion’s features, “…you’ll tell me soon, right?”

“If you’re willing to wait for me,” she replied, then lowered her head nervously, “…Will you?”

“Of course,” Braeburn quickly answered, “Ah’d wait an eternity for you.”

“Cheeeeesy!” the flowers shouted again.

It was admittedly cheesy, but Red Tongue still smiled, “I promise, I’ll come back soon. I swear on my Wonderb- I mean…job.”

Without hesitation, the pegasus pulled Braeburn in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The stallion was shocked, but before he could say anything, she lifted off into the sky, and then hovered for a bit as she scanned the area. Finding what she was looking for, the pegasus zoomed in that direction at frighteningly fast speeds, almost as fast as Rainbow Dash.

Once it was calm and quiet again, the orange pegasus filly spoke first, “What was that all about?”

“I thought it was really sweet,” Sweetie Belle commented.

“Wow Braeburn, Ah’ve never seen you act like that before,” Apple Bloom said to her cousin.

Braeburn sighed despondently but put on a smile for the sake of the filly, “To be honest, Ah don’t think Ah ever acted like that either. That mare sure is something.”

“Is she a special something?” the unicorn filly asked brightly.

Braeburn sighed a bit happier in response, “Very special. The most special mare Ah think Ah’ll ever meet.”

“Oh come oooon!” a voice shouted, this time coming from a pink and yellow earth pony who sprouted from the bushes. Shortly after that outburst, a rose maned mare poked out from the other bush and dragged her back in.

“Oh, that is a lovely thing to say and all,” Fluttershy was careful not to sound insensitive, but hesitantly continued, “Umm, but I wouldn’t want to bother you at this time, I mean, I know how it feels like to develop these feelings and all, so I understand how it feels, but-”

“Just say it already,” Scootaloo said abruptly and impatiently.

“Oh, I just wanted to say that I would like for us to get going as soon as possible,” she quickly worded, then looked to Braeburn, “Um, would you like to come with us?”

To her surprise, he shook his head, “Nah, Ah’ll go on mah own time. Ah’d like to stay here for a little while longer.”

“Well, if that’s what you want,” Fluttershy then turned to the fillies, “Well? Are we ready to go?”

“Duh!” the pegasus filly replied, having never left her scooter, “I’m always ready to go!”

Apple Bloom trotted back to the fillies’ side, “Ah suppose. Ah’ll see ya at the party, Braeburn.”

“Yep, can’t wait,” the stallion replied with half of his usual excitement.

The scootsmobile started up, to Fluttershy’s delighted surprise, as they resumed their journey towards the farm with hopefully a bit more speed than previously. The ponies spared a moment to wave goodbye to the apple stallion who waved back and watched them go. With nothing else to do, he sat back down in his seat at the table all by himself, his thoughts occupied with that wonderful pegasus mare he was just talking to minutes ago. It wasn’t long until his company was occupied by two other ponies, and the ones that did so broke the record by thirteen seconds.

“Hi!” two mares quickly greeted as they freely took the chairs opposite of him.

The stallion was surprised and afraid at the same time, as the sudden arrival of these mares broke his train of thought.

“Uhh, hello?” Braeburn nervously replied.

“Ahahahah! You’re so funny!” one mare, Lily, was even quicker in replying, though did a poor job at pretending to know the context of the conversation was.

“So tell us about yourself!” the other mare, Rose was her name, quickly said, “You live in Appleloosa, with lot’s of buffalo there, you’re the head Apple clan member of the town, you started it about year ago, and what else?”

“Uhh, that’s…really everythin’ there is about me,” Braeburn was hesitant to say.

“Oh, Braeburn, you charmer you!” Lily said for some reason, “How does Friday at eight sound?”

“Wait, what?” he replied in confusion.

“Back off!” Rose said, pushing Lily aside for emphasis, “I already told you I was going to ask him first!”

“Sucks to be you then,” Lily said as she pushed back, knocking Rose out of her chair, “He already said yes.”

“Ah did?”

“Now he did!” she said enthusiastically, “You need to be quicker than that, next time.”

“You hardly said anything to him!” Rose shot back.

It was at this point that Braeburn decided that a minute to loiter around was enough time for him to spend. He silently got up from his seat and backed away from the arguing ponies before bolting it in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. It was a minute of arguing before the two ponies realized that the handsome stallion had already left.

Once the stallion reached the border of the town, he slowed to a relaxed trot as he’d prefer the company of himself rather than Fluttershy’s group just up ahead. He preferred to keep his mind clear for the moment, especially away from mares that blindly spoke to him with no regard to his interests.

It wasn’t like the stallion to just up and leave two mares that pined for his attention; he actually really enjoyed it when mares opened themselves up to him. The problem was, there was one mare that he would rather have occupying his attention, and that was Red Tongue. There was something about that pegasus that Braeburn…well, missed was the closest word he could describe it with. He couldn’t get her out of his mind, even when two other mares took her place. He knew there was something special about her.

He just hoped it was right to place his trust in her as well.

Maybe those ponies will be so distracted with him to cause trouble…here’s hoping…

“Oooh, I like this flavor!” Archer said positively, mouth half full with candy.

It was closing time at Bonbon’s candy shop, and yet the shop was still full of sugar hungry foals of all shapes and sizes, rather literally. Among Archer’s company were Snips and Snails, along with Pipsqueak and a portly colt known better as Truffle Shuffle. As Bonbon herself was tending to the shop in preparation of her departure for the party, Twist was handing out samples of her creations that she learned to make under Bonbon’s tutelage. The results were resoundingly positive.

“Thankth!” Twist said happily, “I wath wondering how blueberry and peppermint would tathe together.”

“It’s sweet and tingly,” Snails said in response to the flavors he was experiencing.

“It’s like sucking down on frozen blueberries,” Snips commented, Pipsqueak nodding in agreement.

Truffle Shuffle mouthed an additional compliment, but had trouble forming words with his own mouth stuffed with candy. He’d take them out to speak better, but he was adamant about holding it in. It wasn’t like he had a sanitary way of holding the candies in order for him to speak clearly, so he would wait until all the candy was sucked down to oblivion.

“Ah thankth,” Twist said bashfully, “You’re all too kind.”

Suddenly, the door bell chimed, signaling another customer had entered the store. Bonbon wasn’t expecting any pony else aside from Twist’s friends, so she looked to see who the new pony was. Or rather, were.

“There you are, Archer,” a blue stallion said, “I thought you’d be here.”

“Oh, hey big bro,” the little filly greeted enthusiastically, then looked to his other company, “And Caramel.”

“Hey there, sharpshooter,” the stallion greeted, then quickly did so for the others as he traveled in the store owner’s direction, “Short stuff, tall kid, the fat one, big eyebrows, err, Twisty. Hey there, Bonbon.”

“Oh hello Caramel,” the candy maker said a little unenthusiastically. It wasn’t that she was unhappy to see the guy, it was the consequences of being seen with him by Lyra of all ponies.

“Just thought I’d drop by before closing time and all,” Caramel said as casually as he could, knowing he was on a time limit.

While it was common for Blues and Caramel to tag along with each other, the former doing so to keep Caramel out of trouble, this time, the two stallions were here at the shop for different reasons, a rarity in itself. Blues was here to fetch his little sister so that they could freshen up a bit before the party. Caramel was simply here because Lyra was not. He knew she wouldn’t be, because of the fact that the unicorn had ditched him while they were cleaning up her mess in Sugar Cube Corner. If Lyra didn’t know where he was, it provided the perfect opportunity to make his move on the sweet mare before him.

That was all based on a chance, and it seemed to pay off.

“Hey there, mither,” Twist greeted, “Want to try out thome of my thweetth? Bonbon helped me make them.”

The filly’s lisp warned him of a possible error in the candy’s creation, giving him images of saliva spitting everywhere over an open pot. He would’ve declined, but if he wanted to win Bonbon’s favor in any form, he’d have to agree to it.

“Uh, sure kid!” the stallion answered as he took a candy cane that he would probably regret putting in his mouth. Almost hesitantly, he put the straight end in while pushing away unclean thoughts as hard as he could, hoping that Bonbon was watching and admiring. To his surprise, the candy cane was actually very good, “Hey, this isn’t bad.”

“Glad you like it,” Twist said with a beam, “It’th blueberry and peppermint.”

“It’s sweet and tingly,” Caramel commented, balancing the stick like a sprig of wheat.

“Hey, that’s what I said,” Snails spoke up.

Caramel turned to the colt and smirked, “Well, great minds think alike then.”

Snails took it as a compliment and smiled. Blues, however, couldn’t hold back a snicker, though whether for Snails’ or Caramel’s sake, he couldn’t say.

“Anyways, Bonbon,” the stallion said as he turned to the mare, “You know that the party’s in less than an hour, right?”

“Yep, that’s why I’m closing up shop,” she fiddled a bit with the cashier, “Are either of you going to buy anything before I put this away?”

Caramel shook his head, “Nah, we’re just here for a bit,” then he fiddled with his hoof, “Any particular reason you’re going?”

As Bonbon came back from putting the machine away, she let out a sigh, “Well, Lyra’s going, and somepony’s gotta be there to keep that mare under control.”

At the mention of the unicorn, Caramel scoffed, “I know, right? She can be too forward with things.”

“Exactly! She doesn’t stop to think about how she might affect other ponies,” Bonbon said, relieved, “I suppose you say all those things because you and her don’t get along very well.”

He shrugged in response, “I guess you could say that,” he then leaned in, “I was just wondering. Maybe you’d like somepony to keep you company while we’re at the party?”

The mare knew when she was being asked out, but held back solely because of the issues she would encounter with Lyra, “Well, I don’t know. Keeping Lyra out of trouble is time consuming enough as it is.”

“Tell me about it,” Caramel almost muttered, “But what if she was occupied, in a way that didn’t put other ponies in danger?”

Bonbon scoffed, “If you can do that, I’ll date you in a heartbeat.”

Caramel was shocked, almost dropping the candy cane from his mouth. He didn’t think he’d have that much luck with her, “R-Really?”

“Emphasis on ‘if’,” she quickly added in, placing a hoof on his lips over the candy, “If I don’t have to worry about Lyra for tonight, I’d be eternally grateful.”

As her hoof left his lips, which he was already missing, he couldn’t hold back a smile, “W-Well then, you can count on-”

“Stop right there, criminal scum!” a unicorn shouted as she kicked the door open, sending the bell ringing wildly.

While every other pony in the store was frightened, Bonbon was simply frustrated, “Lyra, for Celestia’s sake, don’t kick my door open! You’ll break the bell!”

Instead of feeling sorry, Lyra marched right past Blues and the foals and shoved herself between Caramel and Bonbon.

“I should’ve known you’d try something slimy,” the unicorn said with a jab to his chest, “And sliminess is your specialty, because it’s in your name, too.”

Caramel simply glared back with a smile, “Lyra, a thorn in my side, and a hoof in my chest, as always. You always like touching me like this?”

At the suggestion, she quickly retrieved her hoof and pretended it didn’t happen, “Just what do you think you’re doing, visiting my friend of your own free will, as if she’s a free mare?”

“I kind of am, Lyra,” Bonbon threw in, but was ignored.

“You’re not her keeper, you know,” Caramel challenged as he leaned forward. She leaned forward as well, and the two were now nose to nose in an attempt to size up each other. Lyra haphazardly thought about taking the candy cane away with her own mouth, but the fact that it had his saliva on it was…a lot less unsettling than she thought, but still uncomfortable. So she settled for avoiding it at all costs, “In fact, if I didn’t know any better, you’re probably just getting in the way because you want me for yourself.”

“H-hardly,” she had no idea why she stuttered, neither did Caramel, “My standards haven’t lowered enough to date a pony like you.”

The stallion smirked in reply, “What’s wrong? Too good for my sweet stuff?” he momentarily taunted by flicking the candy cane in his mouth.

“Okay!” Blues shouted as he dragged Caramel away from the unicorn, “You’re getting a bit too adult here, Caramel!”

“He wishes his stuff was sweet enough to be edible!” Lyra shouted back, then took a moment to think that line over, “Well, technically-”

“That’s enough out of you too!” Bonbon shouted as well as she pulled at Lyra’s tail, then muffled through it, “There are children present!”

The two ponies resisted but remained silent as they stared each other down. The foals nervously looked back and forth between the two bickering adults, unsure of what to make of this scene. Finally, Blues spoke up.

“You know what?” he said as he let go of his friend, “I want the both of you to take it outside, far away from this place, and say nothing until we can’t hear you two. Got it?”

“That goes for you too, Lyra,” Bonbon warned then let go of the unicorn’s tail.

Without even waiting for a cooperative agreement to their demands, Blues went over and opened the door for the two to make their leave. The two ponies reluctantly made their way out of the shop, obediently staying quiet, but not looking away from each other. Once the two were well out the door, Blues closed it behind them. They were still within earshot, so Caramel and Lyra resorted to making silly faces as they paced their way away from the shop.

“I’m really sorry for that,” Blues apologized as he turned to the store owner, “It normally doesn’t get that bad.”

“Same here,” Bonbon returned, sighing mournfully as she placed an elbow to the counter.

“Well, that was very unsettling,” Pipsqueak finally spoke up, “Do ponies normally talk like that?”

“Only those two,” Blues answered, then smirked, “But don’t let it worry you. It just means they like each other.”

“Whoa, really?” Snails chimed, almost looking excited, “So, if two ponies fight, they like each other?”

“Well, it depends on the ponies,” Bonbon tiredly answered, “Those two have been at it since Lyra rejected him.”

“Bonbon, I got a question,” the blue stallion suddenly spoke up, “Why don’t you just go out with him already?”

“Because then Lyra won’t shut up about it,” she answered, not moving from her spot, “She’d probably try to sabotage the date first, if not kill the guy, before we even go out. She’s just a lot of trouble.”

“I see. And why are you…?” the stallion continued.

“Long story. She saved my life once,” the mare nonchalantly answered, “High school, obesity, self harm, I just owe her, ok?”

Blues simply nodded and left the subject at that.

“Well, it’s getting late. I only came here to pick up Archer,” he said as he looked down at his sister, “Ready to go?”

“Almost,” she said as she turned to Twist, “Do you have any more of those candy canes?”

The filly shook her head, “Nope. Thorry. Truffle ate the reth.”

The other foals glanced at him, who shied back in response, with half the amount of candy remaining in his mouth.

“Aww, well,” Archer said as she brightened up, “Maybe tomorrow then, after school.”

Twist nodded, “I’ll make thome ethpecially for you.”

The blue filly nodded, then turned to her brother, “Ok, ready to go.”

“Blues, mind taking the other foals too?” Bonbon chimed before he was about to leave, “The shop’s closing and all.”

“Oh, of course,” he nodded, then looked down to the remaining fillies and colts in the shop, “Come along now. Bonbon’s got a busy schedule.”

As the ponies started filing out of the door, which Blues held for them, Bonbon stopped Twist from leaving the counter.

“Not you, Twist,” she said, “I’d like for you to stay a bit longer.”

Twist was a bit confused, but stayed put regardless. She waved over to the foals and shouted, “I’m thaying behind! I’ll thee you all at the party!”

“See you later then, Twist!” Pipsqueak shouted back as he waved, the others doing the same.

Once the door finally closed, Twist turned to the adult and asked, “Tho, what are we going to do, Bonbon?”

With a smirk, Bonbon said, “You’ve been with me for a few weeks, right?”

“Uhh,” Twist took a moment to count the time in her head, “I think tho.”

“Good. Now, I think it’s time to teach you a lesson in running a market,” she said as she started walking towards the back.

“You mean…” Twist said with an air of anxiety.

“The party’s in less than an hour,” Bonbon said as she opened the door, “Tonight, you are going to make your first sale.”

How weird is it for the foals to be the most mature ones here…

“I’m gonna get ya this time…no. No nonononoNOOO! Argh, C’mon!” Spike shouted, resisting the urge to throw the controller away with all his might. He then pointed an accusing claw at the owl, “Quit using the same moves over and over like that!”

The owl hooted naughtily as his talons rested awkwardly on a controller pad. The owl and baby dragon sat in front of a TV in the kitchen, with the screen displaying a results screen, showing that Owlowiscious had seventeen wins to Spike’s zero.

One would think that the library kitchen was an odd place to put a TV, but it was due to Spike’s tendency to play video games for extended periods of time. The bedroom was out of the question, since he shared that room with Twilight Sparkle, and the foyer was excluded since it was the place were visitors lounged around to read and have tea. So the TV had to be set somewhere else, and the kitchen was the only other option aside from the bathroom. It was the best place to set the TV, as it turns out, as having a weather report and news delivered while eating breakfast was an invaluable luxury.

“How did you get so good at this game already?” Spike grumbled as the video game started the match once more, “We only got this game last week.”

Owlowiscious sounded off a snide hoot as the fight began.

“I bet you’ve been sneaking in practices late at night,” the dragon poked. The owl said nothing in reply as the game was underway but he could feel Owlowiscious smiling guiltily.

After Spike inevitably lost the first round, there was a knock on the door. Reluctantly pausing their game, Spike got up to get it, but the knocking continued in quick succession. Somepony was certainly impatient.

“Hello?” the little dragon asked as he opened the door, revealing a very orange and yellow pegasus mare.

“Oh, hi, umm,” she replied as her hind hoof fidgeted, “Twilight isn’t home?”

“No, she’s been out for a while,” Spike said with a subtle tone of annoyance, “How do you know her?”

She stopped fidgeting and thought of an excuse, “Uhh, how don’t I know her?”

It worked, “Good point. Well, I can still help out with whatever it is you need.”

The baby dragon stepped back and the mare freely trotted in, “I need something very specific, and I was hoping Twilight would help.”

“Oh, well, in that case,” the little dragon closed the door, “Do you want to wait for…” then he looked down in thought, “Actually, the library’s going to be closing early in a bit, because we’re going to a party.”

“Yeah, I’m in a hurry as well,” Red Tongue said as her legs fidgeted again, “And I can’t wait that long. What I need is a list of stallions.”

Spike knew that item all too well, “Oh! That old thing? Of course we have it.”

Red Tongue brightened up, “Where is it?”

Spike was about to answer, until he realized that he was gone from the library since giving that list to Twilight. The only other assistant the unicorn had at the time was her pet owl.

“Owlowiscious, do you know where Twilight left that list at?” the dragon questioned out loud.

The owl flew in from the kitchen and looked around the foyer, trying to remember which cabinet had it. When he saw it, he flew towards it, fetched the giant scroll, and brought it down towards the pegasus and dragon.

“Oh, thanks so much,” Red Tongue said in relief as she reached out for it, “I thought-”

But then Owlowiscious took it back, Spike stepping in, “Hold on now, this sort of thing isn’t just something you can borrow.”

Confused for a moment, Red Tongue leaned forward, “I do not have time to apply for a library card. I just need the list for a little bit.”

Spike shook his head, “That’s the thing. This scroll isn’t a registered item in the library’s stock. Technically, it’s a property of the owner, Twilight, and you can’t borrow it until she’s written it down into the library’s stock.”

Red Tongue blinked as she realized what she had to do, “So, you’re telling me I just have to go and ask Twilight to borrow this?”

Both Spike and Owlowiscious nodded.

“Even though I can do the same thing for everything else in the library?”

“Well, yeah. Pretty much,” Spike then placed a claw on his chin, “But I don’t think Twilight would ever put something controversial like this up for grabs in the library.”

Owlowiscious then let out a hoot, as if he was agreeing with Spike.

Looking tired, Red Tongue sighed, “Alright, I didn’t want to have to do this but…” she then pulled out a blue wallet from who knows where, “…I need you to make an exception.”

Spike took the wallet and opened it, expecting money. Instead what he found was a Wonderbolts license, along with an ID. His jaw dropped.

“Wait, you’re a Wonderbolt?” he said as he looked up, then compared the photo to the pony herself, “But, you look kind of different.”

The mare chuckled lightly, “Well, most ponies recognize me with my mane upright,” Spitfire stated, pointing to her mane combed down, “Also helps that nopony has ever seen my real cutie mark. Good thing too, because I needed to be incognito for this mission.”

But then the dragon got curious, “Wait, then what’s a Wonderbolt doing in Ponyville? And why would you need something like this?” he pointed to the thick scroll, which Owlowiscious had to balance on the floor as he was getting tired of holding it.

Even with her identity revealed, Spitfire reeled back nervously, “It’s kind of private…let’s just say that that list of yours makes my mission a whole lot easier.”

Spike and Owlowiscious looked at each other, both of them figuring out the reason themselves, “If you really wanted a stallion to date, you don’t have to hide it,” Spike said, Owlowiscious nodding in agreement.

“It’s not for me!” the mare shouted back, almost offended, “It’s for Prin-… gah, forget it. Just give me the scroll, ok?”

The two assistants stepped back still, despite the pegasus revealing her identity to earn their trust, “Sorry. Wonderbolt or not, we still can’t just give you this scroll. It belongs to Twilight,” Spike said, the owl nodding in agreement.

Growing frustrated, Spitfire leaned further, “Then give me the scroll so I can go ask her.”

“How do I know you won’t just fly off with it?” Spike accused, “Twilight will have my scales if I let that happen.”

“I’m not leaving this library without that list,” Spitfire demanded.

“This is going to be a long night, then,” the dragon returned.

At this, Owlowiscious became a little nervous at the idea of staying in the library all night, especially if he had to watch over these two. Neither one knew when Twilight would be back, nor where she was, and the owl simply didn’t have the time to watch the situation play out. Instead, Owlowiscious dropped the list in Spike’s hands, roosted on a desk nearby, and pointed with a wing towards the door, punctuated with a hoot.

The little dragon seemed to catch on to what the bird was suggesting, and looked at the clock. It was less than half an hour before seven, and the party would be starting soon.

“You know what?” he said as he looked to the orange pegasus, “Let’s make a deal. Come with me to the party, and we can ask Twilight together. I need to leave soon anyway if I’m going to make it.”

She figured that this was the best she was going to get and nodded, “I can deal with that. But I need the list real soon, before the end of the day at least.”

Spike shrugged his shoulders, “It shouldn’t take that long,” he then turned to Owlowscious, “Thanks. I guess we’re not going to finish our game then.”

Owlowiscious simply hooted coolly.

“Oh come on, I could’ve totally beaten you this time,” instead of pursuing the argument any further, Spike sighed, “Think you can handle the library by yourself, without putting any foals at risk?”

The owl replied with a simple hoot.

“I hope so. Be sure to put the games away, ok?”

Owlowiscious hooted a bit more positively.

“Good,” he turned to Spitfire, “Let’s get going then.”

As Spike led the way to the door, Spitfire watched as the owl flew to the kitchen and turned off a game console.

“Wait a minute, the owl can play games?” she asked as she followed the dragon out the door.

“Among other things,” Spike replied as he closed the door and locked it.

“And what did you mean by ‘putting foals at risk’?” she continued as they both started walking away.

“You don’t want to know.”

Why does she need the list so badly?

The barn was almost ready for the party. Despite some major distractions and increasing frequency of shivering, Pinkie Pie was almost finished decorating the entire place. Any tasks she couldn’t do because of her constant jittering were covered by her two great friends Twilight and Applejack, and the two of them were all too happy to be of assistance. In the middle of applying some finishing touches, a pair of ponies had entered the vicinity.

“Sweet Celestia,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “You weren’t kidding, this place is decorated like an orphan’s birthday cake.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied, “But Ah don’t remember the place bein’ this fancied up.”

Upon hearing the arrival of the ponies, both Twilight and Applejack turned to greet them, the former gazing at the pegasus a bit warily.

“Well, it’s about time you two finished,” Applejack said, “Took a while to plow them fields, didn’cha?”

“Ah guess you could say, we did a bit more than that,” the red stallion was feeling very humorous today.

Twilight’s half smile scowled for a bit before Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Don’t be so vague about it. You ripped that grass a new one.”

“Well, you made it easier to pull,” he replied with a calm smile.

“You were digging at it a bit too happily, you know?” Rainbow said with a playful elbow.

“Can ya blame me? We had to make quick work of it,” his smile widened the more they spoke.

“Well, you sure took your time coming,” the pegasus said, finding it harder to restrain her laughter.

By now, the other two ponies present were fighting back the mental images of the couple based on the horrifyingly vague details they were given. While Twilight had been reduced to a statue from shock, Applejack’s face had twisted like a Picasso painting. It was at this point that the cowgirl had to intervene.

“S’cuse me, what in Celestia’s sun-” running their words through her mind involuntarily, Applejack shook her head of the images that resurfaced, “Okay, I don’t care if you two rut around out in the field in the middle o’ work, but for Celestia’s sake, keep it to yerselves!”

Twilight didn’t need to hide her frown anymore as Applejack had the same expression. A second passed before Rainbow and Big Macintosh burst out laughing.

“We… we were just saying we finished scouting and pulling out dry spots of grass,” the pegasus revealed when she had the chance to breath.

The stallion took a deep breath in order to speak clearly, “You shoulda seen the looks on your faces, like y’all found half a worm in yer apple.”

Rainbow Dash stopped laughing and adopted a mischievous tone, “But…” she started as she trotted merrily towards the farmhouse with Big Macintosh trailing nearby, “If you say it’s okay to do that kind of stuff, we will. We’ll try to stay out of the open fields, though.”

“Yeah, thanks for understandin’, sis,” Big Macintosh said as he passed by the two.

By the time she realized what had just happened, Applejack shook her head and called for them, “Now wait just a gosh darn-” but they were already inside the barn, and it was a bad idea to go after them shouting considering Granny Smith was still asleep, and she still needed to ask Pinkie for something.

“What just happened?” Twilight asked when she regained her bearings.

“Crafty ponies,” Applejack muttered, then spoke up, “Ah’m gonna have to talk to them later.”

Looking back to the still shivering pink pony, Twilight asked, “What do you need to ask Pinkie about anyway?”

Looking back to Pinkie Pie, then the barn, she turned to Twilight and answered, “Well, Pinkie’s earned a bit of a debt from the farm, and Ah don’t think she can pool it in before it’s due.”

The unicorn took a moment to think over Applejack’s words. It was easy to believe Pinkie had money issues, since nopony knew where she spent all of her earnings. Presumably she used it to buy and or make all of her party supplies and contraptions, and given that Pinkie used up her expendable supplies just about every day, such thoughts were justified.

“Yeah, me neither,” Twilight replied.

“So, Ah was thinkin’ that Ah could lighten her load a bit,” the cowgirl continued, “If we’re really doin’ this party, it’s gonna attract ponies who might take the opportunity to sell their foods ‘round here.”

“Ohh, I get what you’re trying to do,” Twilight said with a little delight, “You want to ask Pinkie if you can charge those ponies a little fee for the rights to sell on your property.”

“Well, yeah. Pretty much that,” Applejack confirmed, “But ah don’t want to do such a thing to her party without askin’ permission first. And the sooner Ah get my answer, the sooner Ah can go an’ prepare our own sales.”

Typically, it was a much more honest subject than what Twilight wanted to talk to Pinkie Pie about. Rather than return the favor, though, she decided to help out her friend.

“But…you can already do that,” the unicorn stated.

“Say wha?” Applejack replied.

“Well, yeah. It is your property, after all,” Twilight explained, “As the rightful owner to Sweet Apple Acres, you are legally allowed a portion of other producer’s profits in exchange for setting up a vendor and the right to sell on your grounds.”

Applejack stared for a few seconds before shaking her head, “Ah’m jus’ learnin’ of this now? Applesauce, all those times we held birthday parties an’ weddin’s, we coulda gotten in on some o’ that?”

At the mention of weddings, Twilight’s ears perked up, “Weddings? Ponies have been married here before?”

As far as she knew, every other pony living on the farm wasn’t currently married, or had been in Granny Smith’s case. That may have been what she was talking about, but it wasn’t very likely that Applejack was born at the time.

She nodded in response, “Eyup, ponies sometimes want to get hitched on our farm, an’ we let ‘em, wit’ a price. We charge extra for caterin’, but most o’ the time other ponies come ‘round to sell their own food,” she looked down in pity as she recounted the dozens of weddings they held in the past years.

“Well, now you know, at least,” the unicorn replied with a smile.

The cowgirl nodded with a tip of her hat in agreement, “Yeah, thanks for that,” she then looked back to the farm, “Well, better get started on those treats. The barn ain’t gonna repair itself.”

“Good luck,” Twilight said as Applejack turned back towards the house.

With the earth pony gone, it was now just her and Pinkie Pie. Thankfully, she had spent much more time shaking than talking, so the pony was a bit more tolerable today than most other days. Of course, she was a little worried at what the Pinkie Sense was predicting, since she never shook this much, and for this long. Even more unsettling, it was due to happen tonight, during the party. It was no coincidence it had something to do with Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash going out, but what exactly could come of it that set the Pinkie Sense on the fritz?

Eventually, Pinkie Pie had stopped shaking for the meantime, and promptly slumped on the ground, exhausted from quaking so much. Now that an opportunity was present, the unicorn approached her.

“Urghh, I kinda wish the prediction would pass already,” the pink pony moaned as she looked up from the ground. She sounded almost sick.

“As unique as your ability is, I can only imagine how much of an inconvenience it can be sometimes,” Twilight said as she helped her up.

Pinkie giggled in response, “Almost makes me wish it really was all an elaborate joke to mess with you back then,” she said with a tired smile.

The unicorn giggled back, “Imagine that, even Pinkie’s exhausted from being Pinkie Pie.”

Said pony responded with a loud “HAH!” and left it at that since she didn’t have the breath to laugh.

With that over and done with, Twilight spoke up, “So, are we all set for the party?”

“We should be,” Pinkie responded, her energy slowly returning, “What time is it now?”

Twilight summoned a pocket watch from whatever magic dimension she had stored it in and looked at the time, “It’s about six fifty.”

“Great!” Pinkie said with a hop, “Come help me double check everything, will ya?”

Twilight beamed; this was her specialty, “Absolutely. Let me get a quill and checklist ready…”

Ten minutes left…

Cloud Chaser was almost ready for the party now. All she had to do was wait for the hairspray to set before going out into the open air. After that long bout with Thunderlane, her mane needed another application of the hairspray, and she needed to look her best if she was going to go another round with a lucky stallion at the party later tonight. Maintaining her mane was a lot of effort, but it emphasized her lifestyle perfectly; it was a beacon to other stallions, signaling that she was always game for a good time. And she enjoyed it.

And then, there was a knock on the door. The pegasus thought it was Thunderlane, coming to escort her to the party like the good ‘friend’ that he was. Not wanting to keep him waiting, Cloud Chaser opened the door, only to find her twin sister waiting instead.

“Oh. Hey Flitter, where have you been?” Cloud Chaser said as she stepped aside to let her into the house.

“Out,” the pegasus simply replied as she looked around the house.

Cloud Chaser knew better than to question Flitter when she was being intently vague. It meant she was not in the mood to be interrogated, evident by her hasty scanning of their abode. Despite this, Cloud Chaser couldn’t help but draw her eyes to the camera that hung around her sister’s neck.

“Uhh, when did you get a camera?” she asked, “You didn’t steal it, did you?”

“No, I’m borrowing it,” Flitter replied as she looked around the corner of the living room, “Why do you think I would steal a camera?”

“Well, you steal things when you’re in a bad mood,” Cloud Chaser pointed out, “Like that one filly’s birth certificate from the hospital. I’m still expecting you to give it back, too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she replied, giving up the search in the living room and looking through the halls, “Hey, do we still have the number of those ponies we called for Thunderlane’s birthday?”

“Oh, check on the fridge, it should be with the others,” her sister replied, and watched her go into the kitchen. Whatever it is that had gotten into Flitter today, it made Cloud Chaser uneasy. She had a tendency to do drastic things when she was upset, and while it was rare, the consequences could be dire, “Umm, Flitter. You coming to the party?”

“Of course. I just need to get a few things…” she said with a mischievous smirk on her face.

Nine minutes left…

“Oh, darling, the dress suits you perfectly,” Rarity exclaimed as she stepped back from the filly.

Diamond Tiara could only agree with her so much at the moment. The purple and white scheme of the dress accentuated her own similar colors. It was rather ironic that the owner of this dress was one of the fillies she liked to bully often, but because of her relationship to Rarity, she mercifully picked on Sweetie Belle the least. It was even more ironic that she was wearing her dress put on her by the fashionista herself, but to Diamond Tiara, the dress represented a prison, or a torture chamber to be exact.

She’d be wearing it to a party soon. And if the dress was ruined in any way, she’d suffer consequences worse than the time she had to hop over pails of water wearing bunny ears.

“You really bring the white out in it,” Silver Spoon added onto Rarity’s comments.

Despite the situation she was in, Diamond Tiara found it in her to respond to the praise she was receiving, “Well, I guess it does go well with my tiara, does it not? I look even more like a princess with it on.”

Rarity chuckled, though it sounded forced, “Alright girls, that’s enough for now. We have a party to go to.”

At this, Diamond Tiara’s pride turned to dread, knowing what awaited her at the party, “Umm, don’t you think we should take some time to get ready? I mean, I’m not the only one who should get to look as pretty as I do.”

Rarity chuckled again, a little forced as well, “Well dear, a quick application of make up shouldn’t take us long,” she said as a small block box levitated in from a nearby dresser, “A little blush, some eye shadow, and a quick comb over, and I should be all set for the party.”

As Rarity brought out the delicate tools, Diamond Tiara thought of a way to stall a bit longer. Her fear greatened when she saw that Rarity was almost done with her make up, applying blush, eye shadow, and combing her mane all at once with her magic.

And then an idea struck her. Silver Spoon got her into this mess anyway, so…

“Uhh, Lady Rarity?” the pink filly spoke up, “Silver Spoon wanted some make up tips from you.”

“I do?” she asked in response, then corrected herself after a convincing elbow to her side, “I mean, I do! You have such a lovely shade of blue for your eye shadow.”

The unicorn knew this was just another attempt to stall for time, but she couldn’t help but feel admired for her work. After all, make up was more than just face painting and sparkles.

“Well, I’m glad you appreciate it Silver Spoon,” Rarity said, letting a bit of vanity showing, “Would you like for me to find a color for you?”

“Would I?” Silver Spoon said, hooves together and stars in her eyes.

As they spoke, Diamond Tiara breathed a small sigh of relief.

‘Just a little longer,’ she thought.

Eight minutes left…

The little filly checked under the nearby potted plant to assure that the key was there. Content, Ruby locked the door to their house and walked away in the direction of the farm.

“What’s that drunk up to?” the pinkish filly thought out loud, saying it as if it was a common title than an accursed name.

Looking around, she saw that other ponies where also on their way to the farm. Ruby recognized one foal in particular and went to approach him.

“Hey Featherweight,” she called out as she trotted towards the skinny colt, “Going to the party too?”

The lanky pegasus nodded in reply.

“That’s nice. Have you seen my mom anywhere?” she asked, not in the least bit worried.

Featherweight shook his head.

“Just wondering. If she hasn’t broken anything yet, that’s good,” she said as she looked forward, “She’ll definitely be at the party, though.”

As they walked down the path towards the farm, they spotted a colt and his mother leaving their own house. The two foals recognized them, one of them a blue colt with a bandage around his mouth.

“Shady, what happened to you?” Ruby asked as they approached.

“Ditzy happened to him,” his mother, Linky, replied, “He’s okay now, just with one less tooth.”

“Oh! You finally lost your baby tooth?” the unicorn filly asked.

Shady nodded in reply. He was still capable of speaking, it would just come out as a mumbling mess due to the band and cotton in his mouth.

“He still wants to go to the party after all that,” Linky said, “He doesn’t want to miss out on the chance to hang out with his friends.”

“That’d be us,” Ruby beamed while Featherweight smiled, “You think it’d be okay if he walked with us to the farm?”

“Of course!” Linky smiled, “I have some ponies to meet with before the party anyway. Keep him away from tetherballs, will you?”

“Yes ma’am,” the unicorn filly replied, Featherweight giving a salute.

“You’re such good foals. Take care now,” she said as she walked towards another house.

With Shady left in their care, the unicorn looked between the two colts she was now with.

“So,” Ruby started, turning to the blue colt, “You can’t talk, huh?”

Shady nodded with a hum.

“And you,” she turned to Featherweight, “You don’t like talking, right?”

Featherweight replied with a bashful shrug.

Ruby then looked forward and took a deep breath, “Peace and quiet. My favorite noise.”

And so, the three foals resumed their way towards the apple farm for the impending party.

Seven minutes left…

“Really? A party, right now?” Angel said from his miniature newspaper.

“…” Gummy repeated.

Folding the paper, Angel set it down on the table, “What’s the occasion?”

“…” Gummy answered.

“Right, because we don’t get to have one that often,” the bunny said, placing a paw on his chin, “Opal’s place, right?”

“…” Gummy confirmed.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I think she’s still mad about that whole fat thing,” Angel said thoughtfully, taking a moment to check his phone.

“…” Gummy said as bluntly as he could.

Angel scoffed, “Yeah she would,” then he put the phone away, “Will Tank be there at least? I’ll need a shield.”

“…” Gummy said rather proudly.

“That’s smart. The guy takes a while with everything,” he said before taking a sip from his cappuccino, “At least you remembered to notify him first this time.”

“…” Gummy said as he recalled the memory.

“He wouldn’t let us live it down for weeks,” Angel said, and then a DING went off in the room, “Oh, one sec.”

The bunny got up from his sofa and hopped over to the microwave. He opened it to reveal a piping hot bowl of oatmeal with tiny apple slices and a pinch of cinnamon decorating the top. He carefully removed the bowl from the microwave and placed it on the nearby table, closing the door with his foot.

“So anyways,” he continued as he sat back down on his sofa, “Yeah, I’ll go. Should I bring a movie?”

“…” Gummy stated.

“It won’t be a bootleg this time, ok?” Angel said, slightly annoyed, “How was I supposed to know the rat would let the camera slip during the whole premier?”

“…” Gummy joked.

The bunny rolled his eyes, “I’ll pick something out from my bluray library.”

“…” Gummy said, satisfied.

“See you at the party,” Angel said, as he started making quick work of his expertly prepared oatmeal.

Six minutes left…

“Derpy! Did you leave yet?” an orange mare called out from below.

Within a few seconds, a filly unicorn came out from the second story apartment in response. Dinky looked down to see the familiar faces of Carrot Top and Noi greeting her.

“Oh. Hey you two!” she greeted with a wave, “We’re about to leave right now. Derpy’s just getting some stuff together.”

“Noi told me about what happened,” Carrot Top said with a bit of worry, “I know how she gets when she gets ponies hurt, so I came by to check on her.”

Dinky smiled at how much her friend cared, “Nothing to worry about! Derpy’s feeling better than ever!”

“Huh,” Carrot Top uttered, “Maybe it’s having a reverse effect on her now. That’s bad.”

“What’s she doing?” Noi called out.

Before Dinky could answer, Derpy exited from her door to reveal a wagon with a table cloth hiding its contents. It was just an ordinary red wagon, so she couldn’t just tow it into the sky. Even if she could, she wasn’t very good at handling things in the air.

“It’s a secret!” Derpy exclaimed as Dinky went to lock the door.

“You’re not planning to hurt more ponies for your entertainment, are you?” the orange mare asked.

“Not today!” the pegasus said with a silly smile.

Carrot Top breathed a sigh of relief as Noi eyed the wagon excitedly.

“You two going to the party right now?” Dinky asked, coming back.

“Yeah, we just had to stop by,” Noi replied.

“Want to come with us?” Carrot Top asked.

“Of coarse!” Derpy exclaimed as she carefully trotted down the steps, Dinky following shortly after.

When she came down without burning anything, Noi approached her with a bright look on her face, “What’s in the wagon? Is it a surprise?”

Derpy shook her head and said, “Nope it’s a…uhh,” but she let the answer fall as she realized that the filly was right, “Oh. I guess it is a surprise.”

“Let’s hope it’s what it actually is instead of,” Carrot Top then shivered at a memory, “Gasoline or something.”

“Nah. They took out everything combustible from our house after that,” Dinky replied.

“Let’s go to the party now!” Noi spoke up, shaking her front hooves in the air excitedly, “I want to see the surprise!”

“Good idea,” Carrot Top said, “Would you like to join us?”

With a nod from both ponies, Derpy and Dinky made their way to the farm with the farmer and eccentric filly.

Five minutes left…

“There you are. Of course you’d be on your way already,” Linky stated, joining the crowd.

“We’re on a mission, after all,” Lyra said as if it was obvious, “This party is a big opportunity for us.”

“I’m supposed to be sleeping early for work tomorrow,” Cloud Kicker said openly as she hovered nearby, “But the safety of RariBow is a little bit more important right now.”

“You know that’s not real, right?” Minuette commented, “RainbowShy is a much more realistic relationship than whatever you just called your thing.”

“I thought it was FlutterDash?” Lyra said to the blue unicorn.

“Oh. I thought RainbowShy sounded better,” she said with a shrug.

Cloud Kicker simply laughed in response, “Keep dreaming, Mini. RariBow actually has a possibility of being real, unlike her and that yellow one.”

“Are you girls still arguing over thought?” Linky spoke up, bringing the attention to her, “As a marriage counselor, I can tell you that TwiDash is a much more concrete relationship than those other ones you all mentioned.”

At this, the three mares simply stared at the light blue pony.

“TwiDash?” Lyra spoke up, “Sounds lazy.”

“I think TwiBow sounds better,” Cloud Kicker commented.

“Ooh! Let’s call it RainbowSpark!” Minuette chimed.

At this, the other mares nodded in agreement at the name. A little annoyed, Linky spoke up.

“I don’t care what it’s called. I’ll call it however I want,” the mare said, shutting them up, “What I’m trying to say is that my opinion is better than yours, and you should all realize it now.”

“Whoa, watch out everypony,” Cloud Kicker pretended to be taken back, “We got a badass over here.”

“Don’t sound like one, Linky,” Lyra said with an intentional roll of her eyes, “We’re all entitled to our thoughts, but you don’t need to go and act like yours is superior.”

The light blue mare twitched in response, “But, that’s exactly what you were doing just now!”

“Learn to take in a bit of subtlety,” Minuette responded.

“But my job is analyzing and fixing relationships,” Linky exclaimed, “Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Linky, you’re doing it wrong,” Cloud Kicker noted, “That thing you do when you’re talking, it’s wrong.”

“I think she’s trying to say that you don’t need to put so much effort into subjective matters anyway,” Lyra said, “No point in trying to prove something that nopony knows about yet.”

Linky said nothing as they trotted on in the crowd on their way to the party. The crowd itself was steadily growing the closer they got to the farm, and one had to wonder just how many ponies Pinkie invited for this one. The easier question would be, who didn’t she invite?

Eventually, somepony broke the silence, “Anyway, RainbowShy is a much more likely relationship, and let me tell you why you’re wrong,” Minuette said to Cloud Kicker.

“Bring it!” she replied, as every pony else in the surrounding area began to distance themselves from the group.

Four minutes left…

Blues didn’t expect to find himself in charge with a bunch of foals. Not that he didn’t mind, it was just an occupation he wasn’t expecting. After that embarrassing incident in Bonbon’s shop, he was more than happy to escort the kids somewhere else. However, he hadn’t seen Caramel again since then, and he was getting a bit worried.

His worry had to wait, though. As they neared the farm, one of the colts recognized a nearby stallion.

“Heyyy,” Snips said with a slight hum, “That guy looks kinda familiar.”

When the foals turned to look, Archer seemed to recognize him as well.

“That’s Braeburn!” she exclaimed, the stallion looking in their direction in response, “I didn’t know he was in Ponyville!”

“Wait, you know him?” Blues asked curiously.

“He lives in Appleloosa. We were there, remember?” Archer explained.

Blues didn’t remember a lot of ponies, but he definitely remembered the festivities he took part in that week.

“Ohhh, now I do,” he said and turned to the other stallion, “You know my little sister?”

“Oh, howdy,” Braeburn replied, “You must be the pony she spoke a lot about.”

Feeling bashful, Blues mumbled a bit to his sister, “Archer, what have I told you about telling ponies about me?”

“Oh, sorry,” she replied, then brightened up, “But I couldn’t help it! Braeburn’s such a cool pony!”

“Yeah!” Snips chimed in support, “He’s a best friend of the buffalo!”

“Wait, you went to Appleloosa too?” Blues asked the short unicorn.

He nodded in response, “We have a relative over there who told us about the ceremonies. The only bad part about it was that Snails couldn’t come with us.”

“They said I was too much trouble to look after,” the tall unicorn said with droopy ears.

“I know that feel,” Blues muttered with an involuntary roll of his eyes.

“So tell me, Bluey,” Braeburn spoke up, then toned his enthusiasm down, “Uh, I can call you that, right?”

“No,” the stallion replied flatly.

“Alrighty then, you takin’ care of these foals tonight, Bluenotes?” he asked.

The blue stallion groaned a bit at his other supposed nickname, “Just until they get to the party. I’m going to be a bit busy with other important things while I’m there. And don’t call me Bluenotes, please.”

The apple stallion hummed for a bit, “Okay then, Jazzy,” the other stallion groaned a little more, “Anythin’ fancy you in particular? It’s a mare, innit?”

Blues’ eyes widened at this, even though it’s not what he had in mind.

“It is, innit!” Braeburn said, noticing his reaction.

Archer giggled, “He always gets like this, especially when Pin-”

Not wanting to deal with this, Blues said quickly and desperately, “I’ll give everypony who shuts up about this five bits.”

Archer was quick to capitalize on this, “Make it ten in my case!”

“Seven.”

“Deal!”

The blue stallion breathed a sigh of relief as Archer relished in her extra funds she would be receiving soon. A few moments of silence and Braeburn found it safe enough to talk, but a foal beat him to it.

“Mr. Noteworthy,” Pipsqueak spoke up, “Isn’t it bad for you to hide your feelings like that?”

“It’s not something ponies need to be concerned about,” Blues simply replied, “The less they know, the better. And call me Blues in the company of others.”

“But mister,” Pipsqueak persisted, “They’re only trying to help. It’s clear that you wouldn’t ever act on your own accord without help, and the sooner you act, the better it will be for you.”

Instead of taking the advice of a colt, a yearling even, to heart, the blue stallion simply replied, “You’re not getting your five bits if you keep that up.”

At this, Pipsqueak decided to drop the subject, for now.

“Eh, wouldn’t it make more sense to double his share?” Snips spoke up.

“You shut up too or you’re not getting any,” Blues repeated, Snips complaining in response.

Now that it was safe to speak, Braeburn did so, “Anyways, you don’t mind if Ah tag along for the meantime, right?”

Since leaving for the farm, mares have been silently trailing him. As he made his small talk with the blue stallion, he noticed that the other mares had distanced themselves a bit. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he was getting friendly with Blues. Whatever it was, he had to keep this stallion company for his own good, and let those mares keep thinking whatever they were thinking.

“Eh, sure,” Blues replied, “Tell me a bit about Appleloosa. Archer doesn’t talk much about it.”

“Absolutely,” the apple stallion replied cheerfully.

Three minutes left…

“You’re falling behind, Rick,” Spitfire called out to the baby dragon.

“Gimme a break, I have short legs,” Spike called back, “And my name’s Spike.”

The pegasus simply rolled her eyes in response. They had just left the edge of town, and they were closing in on the border of the farm. Spitfire was anxious to get there as soon as possible, not only to fulfill her mission, but also to meet with Braeburn again before departing. They’d have been there by now had the mare gave the dragon a ride, but Spike was adamant about not needing help.

“Just let me carry you on my back. I doubt you’re heavy,” the pegasus mare said, leaning downward for emphasis.

“No way,” the baby dragon returned, carrying the scroll with difficulty, “You’re probably just going to kidnap me, or trick me into making off with the scroll.”

Spitfire groaned and stood straight up, waiting for Spike to make up the distance between them. The baby dragon couldn’t possibly tote the huge scroll all the way to the farm, yet that’s what he was doing.

“You know, if you’d just let me-”

“No!” Spike interrupted, “I carried this thing all the way from Town Hall to the library, I can carry it to the…whoa…whoaaa!”

The dragon stuttered a bit as his balance was slightly off. He teetered on his feet for a bit as Spitfire watched in amusement before he righted himself. Spike then straightened himself up to salvage any semblance of professionalism he had before leaving his bed this morning.

Noticing Spitfire’s smirk, he coughed, “Uhh, like I said, I can carry it to the farm, by myself, with no help.”

The pegasus chuckled, “Well, let’s hope you don’t collapse before we get there then,” she then turned around, “Now come on, we’re literally running out of daylight.”

Spike sighed and balanced the scroll in his arms again, “Yes, ma’am.”

Two minutes left…

Slowly trotting into the kitchen, she looked to see her granddaughter carefully breaking eggs into a bowl. Having woken up properly from her nap, she set out to see what the end of the day could bring to her. She found most of the house empty, along with the sound of pipes running; somepony was using the shower. A shower at this time of day, she understood, but she didn’t quite get why Applejack was running back and forth between bowls of batter and boiling pots. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble for dinner later on.

“What in the hay are you doin’ here?” Granny spoke.

Applejack turned to see her grandma looking at the sudden mess in the kitchen, “Oh, evenin’ Granny. Just gettin’ some cookin’ done for the party.”

“Party?” her memory was occasionally cloudy, but at least she remembered that from earlier, “Oh, that one. An’ you’re cookin’ because…?”

Recalling the little headache from earlier, she sighed, “Pinkie installed some ‘windows’ in the barn. Now we gotta work up some bits to fix them.”

Instead of being upset like Applejack had been, Granny smiled, “Ahh, we needed some windows in that stuffy ol’ barn.”

A little confused, Applejack stuttered, “N-no, Granny. It don’t need windows. It’s a barn.”

Her common sense was also a bit hazy today, “…oh, right.”

Recalling that there was a party going on, and for who, Granny Smith couldn’t stay upset. She trotted up to her working daughter and gave her a surprise hug from the side, “Ah’m proud of ya, AJ.”

She wasn’t sure why she was being congratulated, but she took it, “Uhh, thanks. Ah guess. It ain’t easy, though.”

“Ah understand,” she smiled, “It can be a bit of a hoofful, Ah should know.”

Cooking wasn’t that hard, admittedly, but Granny Smith had taught her just about everything when it came to working in the kitchen, “Well, Ah could always use some advice whenever you can give me any.”

“Ohh, trust me, when the time comes, you’ll get it,” she patted her shoulders and turned away, “Don’t let anythin’ come between you two, no matter what they say.”

Applejack wasn’t sure who she was referring to, but it could be Granny Smith uttering nonsense once again, “Ah’ll keep that in mind.”

The elder pony left the kitchen to let her granddaughter work. A few seconds passed before Granny Smith came back to the kitchen, looking very confused.

“Why did Ah jus’ see Rainbow Dash come out of our shower with Big Mac?”

One minute left…

“Inspiring wall paint, check,” Twilight said, finishing the last item on the list, “Well, that just about covers everything.”

“Phew, good,” Pinkie exhaled, “I can’t believe that took ten whole minutes!”

Twilight smirked, “You’re the one who decorated everything.”

“Well, duh! I’m in charge of this party,” the pink pony exclaimed proudly, “All of my parties have to be the best.”

Looking back to the barn, Twilight looked over all of the decorations and colors covering the whole thing. The barn was barely recognizable under all of that party.

“But I don’t see why this party is any different,” Twilight stated.

Pinkie Pie just shrugged, “I just had a lot more time for this one than I normally did. I usually put party stuff everywhere until it’s actually time to party.”

Twilight sighed in relief. Now that the decorating had been officially completed, she could get on with what she came here for.

“Ok, Pinkie. Now there’s one last thing we have to cover before the party starts,” the unicorn said.

Before she could start, however, somepony tapped on her shoulder. She turned to see a pony couple, one holding an invitation in his hoof.

“Are we early for the party?” a brown and black stallion asked, a pink and yellow mare next to him, both of them with cherries for cutie marks.

Twilight looked past them to see a growing line of ponies here for the party. Since each one had been given an invitation, they’d be needed to confirm their presence, which meant nopony got in without showing it. That also meant that, if Flitter wanted to put her plan into motion, she wasn’t getting through her and Pinkie Pie.

Perfect.

“Uhh, you were saying?” Pinkie chimed, hoping to deal with any last minute tasks before she started shaking again.

“Oh, right,” Twilight replied, turning back to the pink mare, “We need to keep track of everypony with invitations, to make sure everypony invited got in.”

“Oh! Good idea!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Good thing the party’s about to start, and just about everypony’s here now.”

The unicorn nodded, and then turned to the pair and the growing line behind them, “Alright everypony. Please present your invitations before entering the barn.”

She summoned her spontaneous clock, tracking the movements of the arms down to the second.

“The party will start in…six seconds,” Twilight said as she watched the needle inch closer to seven o’ clock, “Five, four, three, two…one!”

---
And so it begans, the greatest party Ponyville will ever see. What are we to expect from such a gathering of colorful and unique characters? Though we have seen scuffles and mishaps, it is safe to assume that nothing will go wrong tonight. Yes, no matter how insane things get, they cannot possibly escalate to unreal situations. Absolutely nothing will go wrong tonight, that can be accounted for.

A completely calm morning

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

A completely calm morning...

--

“Okay, you two. Summer’s a comin’ in a few weeks an’ we got a lot of work to do to prepare for it.”

It was another busy day at Sweet Apple Acres. Every day is usually the same thing, with fieldwork and chores occupying most of the schedule for anypony that lived here. However, as the seasons change, conditions alter, and everything was to be monitored and worked to prepare and care for the farm. Work was never done on this rustic farm, but it was nothing for the powerhouse workhorse that is Big Macintosh.

“Firstly, we’ll need to set up bug repellent on all the trees in the south field. Then we need to harvest all the squashes and plow the soil.”

Although, a hired hoof was welcomed every now and then. And none were more frequent as Rainbow Dash. Having been banned from performing her tricks over the skies of Ponyville, the farm was the only wide area close to home where she could still get some practice in. Of course, she helped around at the farm in between practicing the tryouts for the Wonderbolts, but lately she’s been very helpful. Quite helpful, in fact.

“Then, we have to weed out any dry spots in the grass and check the tanker for any leaks.”

Applejack wasn’t one to complain, though. Her manipulation of weather and rain were invaluable niches to the farm when a stubborn hoof wasn’t enough. There were some roused suspicions, but there was hardly anything to be suspicious of the pegasus. She just felt like she had seen the pegasus far more frequently than normal. The cowgirl just chalked it up to boredom.

“An’ finally, we go an’ cut down some of the trees on the outer border and sell ‘em to a lumber yard. Ya’ll got that?”

Both ponies nodded cautiously to the cowgirl. The two clearly had something on their minds, but weren’t certain on how to say it. Applejack didn’t care, though. Work first, thoughts later.

“Good. I’ll go an’ get the bug repellent. Only use ‘em on the fruit bearin’ trees cus’-”

“Um, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

The cowgirl just sighed, “I was about to explain. Bugs an’ critters help pollinate our trees but they can also-”

“That’s not what she wanted to say,” Big Macintosh spoke up, surprisingly.

The cowgirl was a little lost for words, “Wha? Then, what is it?”

Both ponies looked at each other and took a deep breathe. Big Macintosh nodded and the pegasus turned to her.

“We’re dating,” both said at the same time, locking forearms.

And it was at that moment that her brain stopped working.

“…wha.”

Nothing of significance has happened yet...

She stood outside the Carousel Boutique and sized it up. She had been here many times before, but never for a casual visit or to actually make an order. That was why this whole thing felt awkward to her, but she had no idea who else to talk to. Fluttershy is too much of a shut in to know anything, Pinkie Pie was too detached from reality to actually provide a solution, and she was pretty sure Twilight never got close enough to a boy.

Actually, scratch that. Her brother was married a few months ago. Darn it! She was the perfect pony to approach for this kind of problem.

No wait. Scratch that again. She saw how assuming she was of Cadence and mistook it for possessiveness, and from her observation, she at least knew what NOT to do in this sort of situation. Well, it wasn’t like your best friend suddenly dating your big brother was any different from your brother getting married to a princess.

That was enough thinking. She was here already, might as well give it a shot.

The door rang with a bell as she opened. In the room, she saw her generous friend Rarity sitting at the nearest table with two cups of tea, one belonging to her and the other belonging to…

‘Pinkie Pie,’ Applejack thought, ‘Shoot.’

“Applejack! What an unexpected surprise!” Rarity announced from her seat.

“Oh wow, hi Applejack!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed, but then suddenly looked at what seemed to be her shoulder.

“To what do I owe this visit?” Rarity inquired, “Would I be wrong if I said you were looking for clothes?”

“Yeah, actually,” Applejack modestly confirmed as she trotted toward the table, “The day I buy clothes from you is the day you wear plaid.”

Pinkie Pie muttered something that sounded along the lines of, “…wasn’t the doozy…” She was ignored, however, as the other two continued talking.

“Figures. You hardly come by for anything other than friendly business,” Rarity said as she sipped her tea, levitating in a veil of her magic, “So what is it this time? Did you do something to Fluttershy? Or did you ruin one of Twilight’s books?”

“Ooh! Or maybe you and Rainbow Dash had a fight?” Pinkie Pie asked, rather excitedly for some reason, “Or did you have a favor to ask Pinkie Pie? She’s not at the Sugar Cube Corner, just so you know. She’s actually at the Carousel Boutique. But I can pass on the-”

Pinkie was promptly silenced with tea being forced down her throat.

“Please, Pinkie. You need to finish your liquid sugar,” the unicorn said, glancing at the nearly empty pot of sugar lumps, “As I was saying, you didn’t upset anypony, did you?”

“Sheesh Rarity, yer way off,” Applejack joked, feigning discomfort with a forced chuckle, “At least lemme find out where to begin.”

“Please, take your time. Pinkie Pie and I were just discussing wedding cake dresses,” Rarity said with a straight face.

“I-what,” Applejack managed to say before going speechless.

The pink pony managed to swallow the rest of her tea before speaking, “Like I said, it’s not that hard to put half a cake on a pony, really!” Pinkie Pie explained the nonexistent legitimacy of the wedding cake dress, “Hey! I heard that!”

“Pinkie,” Rarity ignored her random outburst, “the only feasible combination of the two is to design a dress to look like a cake. I can accept the columns as a design for the piping and the sleeves, but there is hardly a benefit to having frosting smeared all over ones coat.”

“Uh, gals-” the apple pony tried to speak.

“And that’s your problem!” Pinkie Pie continued, stretching a hoof over to Rarity for emphasis, “You think a girl WOULDN’T want to be covered in frosting on their wedding day! I know I would!”

“Girls.”

“That really varies with the bride in question,” Rarity continued to ignore Applejack, “But as far as I know, you’re the only one that’d want such a thing.”

“But do you know how far you’ll go with an edible wedding dress?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Yes, why pay for a meager wedding dress when you can have an edible one due to expire the day after for double the price?”

“I need to talk to ya’ll ‘bout-” This was getting ridiculous.

“I’d buy it!”

“And I’m not making it!”

“My brother an’ Rainbow Dash are goin’ out!”

And then the noise died.

Both ponies stared at Applejack with their mouths opened wide. Pinkie, however, recovered quickly and inspected her tea cup only to find it empty. Nonchalantly, she reached for the kettle and refilled her cup, then delicately sipped from it before spitting it all out, right at Rarity.

“WHAT?!”

“AHHHH!!!” Rarity screamed, “It’s still hot!”

“Oopsie! Wait, it’s not that hot,” Pinkie said and dumped another cupful into her mouth before spitting it out again, at Rarity again, “ACK! It is hot!”

Luckily Rarity had shielded herself with a magic wall and was quickly wiping off the tea from her face with a cloth, taking some of her makeup with it.

While the two of them were tending to a scalded face and a scalded tongue, Applejack took a moment to count in her head. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…

“WAIT WHAT?!” both ponies reacted.

“Ah said, Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are datin’,” she repeated.

“Hey, that’s just like in the tab up there!” Pinkie Pie said as she looked up, “Oh that second part hasn’t happened yet.”

“But how could this be?!” Rarity questioned, again ignoring the delirious pony across from her, “How could the gentle yet muscular Big Macintosh ever be with the loud mouthed overconfident Rainbow Dash?!”

“Easy there, Ah’m the honest one,” Applejack reminded, “And Ah’d tell ya if I knew. They just told me this mornin’.”

“Oh come on! Is anypony surprised?” Pinkie Pie spoke up, now joining the conversation, “Did you ever think if she would be interested in any guy, it’d be him?”

“Good point,” Rarity said, noticeably calmer, “I know he’s the eye of every mare in Ponyville. Can’t blame him for sticking close to the farm. Why, I myself find my eyes straying to his toned physique and bulging muscles and carelessly styled mane and shapely rear end and-”

Both ponies stared at her, one disgusted, the other holding back a laugh with some disgust.

“…I’m, sorry, was I talking out loud?”

“A little too much,” Applejack confirmed.

After the awkwardness settled in, Pinkie Pie turned energetic again, “Woohoo! I bet you know what this calls for!”

“A party,” Applejack bluntly stated.

“Yep! A ‘Congratulations on Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash for officially announcing that they are dating’ party! I’m gonna need a huge banner for-”

“Hold up, Pinkie,” Applejack interrupted; no way she heard that right, “Did you say, officially?”

Pinkie Pie reread her last sentence, since they tend to stretch out whenever she spoke, “Yep! Because now they’re announcing it! I can’t wait for-!”

“No,” Applejack stressed, “They told me this mornin’ that they were datin’.”

“For how long?” Rarity asked, becoming suspicious with Applejack.

“Fer, like, a week or so,” she emphasized with her hoof, “Told me it was some experimentin’ thing and they hung around a lot, which makes sense because she’s been more helpful on the farm for the past few days.”

“A week? Pfft! They’ve been doin’ it for months!” Pinkie Pie revealed, “And I really mean, ‘doin’ it’,” she finished with a wink.

Rarity’s face paled and Applejack’s eyes widened to occupy her face.

“Wait, Ah’m lost. What was that?” she asked.

“Yeah! They’ve been dating for months now! Enthusiastically too!” Pinkie Pie explained, “I saw them once out in the fields while you were helping Fluttershy with that bear. I didn’t watch the whole thing because ponies need privacy, but man they were doing some sweaty stuff that should’ve been done indoors rather than-”

“How DARE that pony lie to my face about somethin’ like that?!” Applejack shouted, stomping at the floor, “Why does he think he needs to hide somethin’ like this from me?! Ah’m understandin’ and trustworthy! Ah’m his little sister for Pete’s sake!”

“Maybe because he was worried you’d act like Twilight did with her brother back in Canterlot?” Rarity said as she casually refilled her tea cup.

“But that’s still no good reason to cover up somethin’ like this from me for months! Just knowin’ is hard enough to take, but Ah’m a tough pony! Ah can accept that my best friend is doin’ mah brother when Ah’m…not…lookin’…”

Applejack took a moment to process some information that had just surfaced into her mind.

“Oh ponyfeathers! Ah left the both of them alone at the farm! They’d better not be rustlin’ the hay!” Applejack exclaimed.

And like that, she bolted out of the Carousel Boutique, leaving a shocked Rarity and Pinkie Pie alone at their table.

“Well, that’s one way to start off your mornings,” Rarity said as she sipped her tea.

“Please Rarity. Nothing normal happens in Ponyville anymore, not since I moved in here,” the pink pony said with an impish giggle.

“I’d say Ponyville is a magnet for the odd, seeing as how it brought you here,” she joked, “Now then, how do we handle this revelation?”

“About Mac and Dash dating?” Pinkie questioned, “Pssh, that’s easy. Take it in stride like we do everything else in the town.”

“But Pinkie, this is different,” Rarity explained, “As you know, Ponyville is home to the largest ratio of mares to stallions, and among those stallions, Big Macintosh is ‘the grand prize’.”

“But Macintosh isn’t a prize to be won,” Pinkie thought.

“Well, that’s not how the others see it,” Rarity sipped her tea and continued, “When it comes to the finer things in life, the opposite gender becomes a luxury. Just like any coffee or television program, a stallion is something most carefree ponies jump back and forth with. Think about it, Pinkie, what do you do with a cake?”

“I devour it, of course!” Pinkie answered before a second thought crossed her mind, “But, you don’t eat stallions.”

“Not usually,” Rarity said under her breath with a lustful giggle, before clearing her throat and continuing, “What I’m saying is, you move on to the next cake afterwards, right? Usually a different flavor?”

“Of course!” Pinkie answered again, but the comparison she thought Rarity was trying to make didn’t leave her mind, “But ponies aren’t cakes. Maybe if you put a pony in a cake, but there are only two kinds of those and one of them is something I don’t ever wanna read again.”

“Ohoh Pinkie. I can’t wait for your bachelorette party,” Rarity said with a whimsical sigh before continuing, “Well, let’s say one of those cakes is an extremely rare flavor. Obviously it’s pricy or difficult to make, so you don’t eat it as often.”

“Yeah, I had this one peaches and lime cake that was absolutely mind blowing!” the pink pony exclaimed with two hooves holding her head, “I haven’t ever seen another one of those since then and I haven’t found the recipe for it!”

“Exactly. See, Mac is like one of those flavors, if a flavor had consent,” Rarity mused, “And for the average carefree pony, Mac is that flavor of cake that is sought after but few rarely ever have. Now do you see what I mean?”

Pinkie stayed silent for a while, understanding her words and comparisons with a hoof on her chin. All at once, it came to her.

“Ohhh! Now I get it!” she proclaimed, “And I know just how to fix it!”

Rarity raised a brow, “What do you mean?”

“I make a Big Macintosh cake! With lots and lots of apples!” Pinkie said as the sound of a hoof hitting its owner’s face was heard, “Ooh! I should make other cakes themed after other ponies! Make them custom orders between ponies! Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun!”

“Well, I suppose you no longer care about the wedding dress cake, then?” Rarity said with an amused smile.

“Wedding dress cake?” Pinkie said in all confusion, “Good idea! We should get, like, half a cake and put it on a pony, and wrap rolls around the sleeves, and…”

The sound of a hoof hitting its owner’s face was heard throughout the store.

So there's going to be a party. Nothing major. Still relatively insignificant.

“Ah swear to Celestia,” Applejack growled through her panting, “If they’re workin’ in the bedroom instead of the fields, Ah’ll be the one to bed ‘em both!”

Applejack ran for a while before realizing how awkward that sounded.

“Wait, Ah mean, Ah’ll, throw both of ‘em in the bed! Ah mean, make ‘em stay in the bed! Err, Ah mean, I’ll hospitalize ‘em! Yeah, that’s what Ah mean!”

“Applejack! Why are you shouting!” a voice up ahead shouted.

The cowgirl found herself already pass the farm border and on the trail towards Sweet Apple Acres. Up ahead, she spotted Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, the other two close friends of hers that had yet to hear the news, making it a bit too convenient that they were here.

Oh well, might as well spread the word.

“Oh, was I bein’ too loud?” Applejack said as she approached the two, “Sorry, just had somethin’ urgent to tend to,” she apologized with a tip of her hat, “But first, what are you two doin’ here so early?”

As much as she’d like to murder her brother and friend for doing it while she was away from home, friends came first in terms of business.

“Oh, we wouldn’t want to impede,” Twilight said, “I just came by, hoping to buy some breakfast, but nothing’s been made yet.”

“And I came by to check on Winona, since summer’s coming and all,” Fluttershy said, “Gotta make sure she’s in good condition for the season.”

“Well ain’t that nice o’ ya’ll,” Applejack said as she trotted past them, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go check on Macintosh and Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh? We saw Rainbow Dash on the way here,” Twilight brought up, “Haven’t seen her much in town, lately.”

“Huh? Did you now?” Applejack asked, “Where'd she go?”

“Towards town. I guess since summer’s coming, she probably checking with the weather team for any updates,” Twilight explained, “Seems like she’ll have a lot of free time once summer comes by.”

“Huh. Guess they can tell the difference between work and play,” the cowgirl joked, “Well, at least they’re buckin’ trees instead ah buckin’ around.”

As Applejack’s worry disappeared, allowing her to trot without haste, both Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, confused.

“Wait, what was that?” Twilight asked, “That last part about bucking?”

“Huh? Oh, I forgot to tell ya’ll,” Applejack faced them and found it difficult to maintain a straight face so that she could announce the news, “Mah big brother an’ Rainbow Dash are goin’ out.”

Like with Rarity and Pinkie, the look on Twilight’s and Fluttershy’s face was a priceless moment, from confusion, to understanding, to shock, then to exaggerated shock, all in a delayed reaction. Applejack made a note to tell other ponies to relive the sight.

“What?!” Twilight was the first to speak, “Big Macintosh, as in the big red pony that is your brother, and Rainbow Dash, the rainbow one, are going out?!”

Applejack nodded, finding it hard to restrain her laughter from just looking at their surprised expressions.

“I can’t…I can’t comprehend something like this,” Twilight rubbed her forehead as if she had been hit in the head with a rock, “Tall, gentle, humble, and slow plus wild, athletic, brash, and hasty just don’t mix! It’s all about key personality traits mixing and reflecting each other!”

“Hey, how’d you think Ah felt when they told me?” Applejack said with a shrug, “Ah didn’t have any suspicions when she was hangin’ around the farm all the time, but I never thought it’d be because she’s doin’ him.”

“H-How long…” Fluttershy spoke up, almost visibly hurt, “…have they been…?”

“They told me a week,” she answered, annoyed, “But accordin’ to Pinkie, it’s been much longer than that, and they’ve been doin’ more than datin’.”

“It must be for the sex,” Twilight blurted unexpectedly, “Seriously. What other reason could Rainbow Dash be interested in him for?”

“Easy there, Twilight. That’s the same reason why other mares are interested in him,” Applejack retorted, “And I’d honestly believe that it’d take much more than that for Rainbow to tolerate Mac.”

“Well, I’m not going to believe that a relationship between them has any other foundation than that,” Twilight said confidently, “I’m going to talk to Rainbow Dash later this afternoon and have a nice long, detailed, and heavy…” her voice began to drag as she listed, “…er, conversation! …with her…”

“M’kay, you have fun with that,” Applejack said as she began to walk, “I’m gonna go back to work. We need to restock on eggs.”

As the two ponies went off on their own way, a lone pegasus stood by herself on the trail of the farm. After a while, she made her way out of the farm, forgetting her previous business, and walked slowly and sullenly. And the reason was obvious…

“Why, Rainbow Dash…?” she uttered in disdain as she left the farm.

A quiet and normal lunchbreak

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are Dating and Everypony Freaks Out

A quiet and normal lunchbreak

--

“You know, I still don’t get it.”

“Mm?”

“How the hay could Rainbow Dash bed a stallion like Big Macintosh? I always thought she was a fillyfooler.”

Thunderlane shifted on his cloud as Cloudchaser stared into the sky. Summer was approaching, and that would mean no more clouds for the season. They would all be cleared out to allow the air to dry and allow the sun to shine more on the world below. The two pegasi were loitering on these clouds, enjoying them before they would disappear for the following months. They would then have to either adapt to land life or move to places like CloudsDale, which, during the hot season, condenses their buildings into one large structure, like an air base.

Thunderlane removed his face from the fluff and looked to Cloudchaser, who laid on her back, “Why are you wondering about that?”

Cloudchaser hummed, a hoof pressed to her chin, “Juts some idle thinking. If it were any other stallion, it wouldn’t bother me so much. But Big Macintosh…he’s the stallion of stallions, and I never thought she’d be into him, or males in general.”

“Isn’t that rather presumptuous?” Thunderlane asked with a smirk.

“Well, it was just a rumor,” she defended, “But it’s not like she ever did anything to prove otherwise.”

“I don’t think she was even aware of the rumor,” the other pegasus stated, “Or maybe she did and she didn’t care. It could’ve been either one of those.”

“Brony, weren’t you paying attention earlier? She came right up to us and told us about it, like she was proud or something,” Cloudchaser said as she sat up, “But then again, I’d be proud too if Big Macintosh was my coltfriend.”

“I’d have been proud if Rainbow Dash was my fillyfriend,” Thunderlane scoffed positively, “If only I had known.”

“I didn’t know you were into her, or athletes in general,” the pegasus mare stated.

“Hey, I like all kinds of fillies,” he said with a smug smile, “I pride myself on being an opportunist. I’m never picky.”

“You sure do pick me a lot, though,” Cloudchaser pointed out, turning to him with a sultry gaze.

Thunderlane sat up to stretch, “Only because you don’t have ‘fillyfooler’ written all over you.”

“Now who’s being presumptuous?” the pegasus mare said to him, belly flat on her cloud.

The two of them shared a laugh for a moment. When the laughter died, Cloudchaser frowned. “Poor Flitter, though.”

“She didn’t seem to take the news as well,” the pegasus stallion said, “She didn’t want to go cloud surfing with me. We were supposed to go later this afternoon”

“Yeah. I wonder where she went. It’s almost lunch time.”

Thunderlane flopped onto his back, much like how Cloudchaser laid before, “Hey, Flitter isn’t the jealous type, is she?”

“Oh, you think she had a crush on her?” the pegasus mare asked back, “Well, now that you mention it, she might’ve had a thing for her.”

The other pegasus shrugged, “I asked because of that whole dance drama thing several years ago.”

Cloudchaser chuckled, “That was a mess. She ate all the food and clocked Hoops in the jaw. I don’t think the fire was her fault though.”

“How do you set fire to clouds?” Thunderlane asked.

“I don’t know, but you’d have to be a real derp to pull that off,” the other pegasus mocked.

Some time passed before Thunderlane spoke again, “Where do you think she went? It’s almost lunchtime.”

Cloudchaser merely shrugged, “Probably to get something to eat. Maybe ice cream or something.”

“So she is the jealous type,” he replied, “Hope she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Hey, if I really wanted to bang a pony, I’d punch a shark for it,” she mused, “I mean, I wouldn’t consider Rainbow Dash, but maybe Big Macintosh,” she trailed off as she envisioned the stallion in her mind, “Tch, Rainbow’s lucky she gets to tap that flank whenever she wanted.”

“What makes you think they’re doing it? It’s only been for a week,” Thunderlane pointed out.

“Brony, have you seen that stallion? They’d be wrecking the barn shed every night, if you know what I mean,” she said with a swoon, “I mean, I’m not picky either. I could definitely go for some raw stallion right about now…”

“Hey, I’m a raw stallion,” the male pegasus said defensively as he turned his head to eye her.

“Oh, right. What I meant to say was some delicious green apples,” Cloudchaser said with a hungry hum.

“…that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“It’s not supposed to.”

Thunderlane groaned in response.

“Actually, I really could go for a big ol’ apple. Something nice and round, good to the nose, full of juice,” the pegasus mare listed, “With a satisfying crunch when you sink your teeth into it.”

The pegasus stallion looked at her with the most disgusted face he could muster. She noticed this and quirked an eyebrow.

“What? I’m talking about lunch.”

“…oh.”

A relaxing time abound...

“Macintosh!”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash. Yer back.”

The pegasus landed on the ground, pausing to catch her breath. They were outside of the barn shed, the very one they snuck into for their last fun time. Macintosh had just put away the squash and was about to retrieve the ax when the pegasus arrived. She took a few more gasps before she could speak properly.

“Our cover’s blown,” Rainbow Dash gulped, “It’s been blown. Pinkie Pie’s been spying on us.”

Macintosh grimaced, though less than he should be.

“Ah know. ‘Tisn’t somethin’ Ah wanna think about,” he said, turning his head to scratch at his hair.

She cocked her eyebrow at him, “Wait a minute, you knew?”

“Not exa-”

“Oh my Celestia,” she covered her muzzle, “Please, please, please do not tell me you get off to an audience because if you do-”

“Heyy!” he interrupted her, “Ah am just as embarrassed as you are knowin’ this. Ah just heard it from Applejack and Ah’ll tell ya, hearin’ it from yer sister is no walk in the orchard.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. She was overshooting things and jumping to conclusions again, but at least Macintosh didn’t take it personally. That was one of the benefits of having him as a coltfriend. He’s so understanding that he can dismiss falsities and assumptions without making anypony feel bad about it. She liked not having to feel like road apples because of something stupid she said. But she could never escape that initial mortification.

“Oh. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking straight,” she looked away, embarrassed, “See, I just heard about it from Twilight, and she heard about it from Applejack, who heard about it from Pinkie Pie…”

There was a moment of silence as Rainbow Dash came to learn something.

“Huh. So that’s how word spreads,” she said in a positive tone.

“An’ it only took all mornin’ too,” Big Macintosh chuckled, “Must be a new record.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, but her laughter was short lived, “But really though. Pinkie Pie knew we’ve been doing it. You have any idea how freaky that is?”

Big Mac simply nodded, “Makes you wonder what else she’s seen in this town.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in return, “Yeah. Always somehow being there, knowing what other ponies are up to,” she trailed off when she came to another conclusion, “On second thought, it isn’t that surprising, since she somehow keeps tab on everyone.”

He raised a brow, “Don’tcha mean everypony?”

“No.”

Silence.

“So, funny story,” Rainbow Dash started, taking a quick glance around to see if there was anypony else listening, “I was looking for her because I wanted to tell her about not telling anypony else about you-know-what.”

“Uh huh,” he said, following along.

“And my first stop was at Sugar Cube Corner,” her lips curled into a frown “Guess what I saw?”

Mac wasn’t sure if he was supposed to know, “Umm, Pinkie Pie?”

“No. Mr. and Mrs. Cake making…” she shivered slightly, “…a third cake.”

It took a while for Big Macintosh to register, but when he did, he shivered and felt icky all over. It was a horrible image in his head and it wouldn’t leave.

“Usin’ metaphor’s don’t help much for my psyche,” Mac said as he suddenly didn’t feel as hungry as he did earlier.

“How do you think I felt, walking in on that?” despite what she saw, she managed to chuckle reflecting on the experience, although Mac was having a hard time coping with it.

“Well, Ah bet Pinkie would take it better than anypony,” the stallion said, “But fer somethin’ like that? Might need an improvision.”

“Actually, I drown my brain in cake and sweets. Although that’s what I do after I see anything. Or do anything. Or after anything, really.”

Both ponies turned to find a pink pony, minding her own business, loudly sipping her banana flavored drink through a straw as she sat on a barrel. The sucking sound lingered the entire time the two were quiet, until Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

“Pinkie Pie! H-how long have you been standing there?” the pegasus questioned.

She gulped before answering, “Since the part where the words were like ‘We didn’t need to see that’. Totally appropriate,” she explained as she hopped off the barrel, “Been waiting here for five parts and ten pages, maybe eleven. Haven’t kept track on the Microsoft Word document.”

Both ponies looked at each other before shrugging off Pinkie’s detached words.

“So, why are you here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh, just wondering if I could celebrate your ‘you and Big Macintosh coming out with your relationship’ party and host it here. At the farm. With lot’s of other ponies,” she finished with a wide, exuberant smile.

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash looked at each other before nodding and giving their answer.

“Nnope.” “Sure.”

Mixed answers, actually.

“Hold on, do we really need a party fer this?” Macintosh asked.

Rainbow Dash shrugged her left wing, “I think it’s for the best that we cement this as soon as possible. I mean, you don’t want to know what I just went through in town.”

“By the sounds o’ that, Ah think it’s an even worse idea,” Big Macintosh said, concerned, “And Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever told you, but there have been a few aggressive mares that have been eyein’ me for a long time.”

“Pssh, I can handle them,” she dismissed his worries with a wave of her hoof, “What kind of fillyfriend would I be if I couldn’t defend my coltfriend from rabid mares?” the pegasus said, breaming with confidence, “Besides, I can nuke the place if it comes to that.”

“Ah don’t think AJ would like that one bit,” Mac said with half a scowl.

“Relax, Mac. I swear, nothing will go wrong,” his fillyfriend ensured, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, yadda yadda-”

“Finish it.”

The pegasus and stallion both turned to the pink pony, who suddenly became dark and serious, and somewhat monochrome.

“Finish the swear.”

With a confused and slightly afraid gulped, Rainbow Dash performed the entire chant, somewhat faster than needed, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

As soon as she finished, Pinkie Pie regained her iconic color and fidgeted excitedly, “Yay! Time to fire up the party cannon! We’re celebrating tonight. I bet your whole family is going to love it!”

And then a realization hit Macintosh just as Pinkie Pie zipped out of existence.

“Oh horse apples,” he cursed, “We haven’t told Granny Smith or Apple Bloom yet.”

Rainbow Dash turned to him curiously, “Hm? Is there a problem?”

Macintosh rubbed his neck, “Well, no. Just somethin’ that slipped mah mind.”

“What are you worried about? I mean, granny’s an old, wise mare. Apple Bloom’s a young, open minded filly. They’ll both understand,” she explained as she trotted forward.

The stallion breathed happily, “Why, that must’ve been the most understandin’ thing you said about mah family.”

The pegasus shrugged, “If I’m doing you, then they’re my family too.”

“Ain’t that sweet,” he pulled her in with his foreleg and gave her a deep kiss, which she returned.

When they parted, Rainbow Dash sighed blissfully, “Well, I need to go. Twilight made a big ruckus over in town-”

“Fracas!” Pinkie Pie shouted in the distance.

“Whatever, in town and I need to have a word with her.”

“Huh, well. Alright then,” Big Macintosh said, “Jus’ be careful of any crazed mares. Ah had a ‘thing’ with a few of them before. Some might not like the thought of you an’ me bein’ an item.”

She chuckled, “I think I ran into that problem already,” she said with a wink and turned around. But before she flew off, a thought came to her head, “Huh. You don’t think Twilight is…?”

“Is what?” he replied.

“You know, one of those…jealous mares?” she said with a concerned face. If the case were true, it wouldn’t be an easy talk with the unicorn.

“Hmm. Maybe. Ah did lick her once,” Rainbow Dash stared, “Discord made me do it.”

“I’ll pretend to believe you for now. Be back soon.”

And like that, she rocketed off towards the library, leaving Mac to wrap up work.

Jealousy may be abound...

“Mayor Mare? I’m here,” Twilight called out into the hall.

It was now about half an hour before lunch, just like the mayor had scheduled. Town Hall wasn’t a very busy place, much less a noisy one, as all of its occupants and workers went about their business quietly to ensure that work went on uninterrupted. The mare at the front desk had only needed to direct Twilight to a door, one that read ‘Mayor’s office’, for the unicorn to find her way to the pony in question.

From behind the desk, Mayor Mare rose from the ground, carrying a rather thick folder in her hooves.

“Twilight Sparkle! I just remembered you were coming over,” the mayor said as she dropped the folder onto the table, “I just found the folder you wanted to see.”

The unicorn trotted toward the desk and scanned the folder. The first thing she noticed about it was the big red CONFIDENTIAL stamped on the front, as well as several ribbons hanging out acting as bookmarks of sorts.

“Uhh, thanks,” she said with a nervous smile, “But, what exactly is this?”

The mayor chuckled, “Why, it’s a list of every bachelor stallion living in Ponyville. What else could it be?”

“Oh,” Twilight said. She gave the folder another look, and a gear in her head was having trouble completing its rotation, “What?”

The mayor gave another laugh, “Why so stumped? A neat and tidy pony like yourself should be grateful that such a list like this is prepared.”

It still confused her, “But, you said earlier that you didn’t have a list like this prepared.”

Mayor Mare chuckled again, then said with a straight face, “I lied.”

More gears in her head came to a stop, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Well, you never know who could be listening,” she said, placing a hoof to the table and inching closer, “You see Twilight, not a single stallion in town is aware that this folder exists. In fact, only a select group of mares even know about it.”

“But…what exactly is it?” Twilight asked.

Mayor Mare opened the folder to a page with the biography of a stallion, “I already told you, it’s a list of bachelor stallions in Ponyville. Every unwed, single, and eligible of course, stallion that is currently residing in the town. We hold meetings about it every month or so.”

Another gear in her head whirred to a stop, “You…hold meetings for this,” she resisted the urge to plant a hoof to her face with all her might, “How did you get all this information without the town knowing?”

“Pinkie Pie.”

There went all of her resistance as the sound of a hoof hitting its owner’s face echoed throughout the room.

“Should’ve known…” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes, “Well, thanks, I guess.”

“No problem at all,” the mayor said, then placed a hoof on the folder just as Twilight was about to take it, “Oh, forgot to mention. You can’t take it home with you.”

“What? Why not?” the unicorn asked.

“I just told you, this is a very important list for the mares in Ponyville,” Mayor Mare explained as she opened the folder to a top ten list, “It is vital that no stallion ever knows of this. Do you know what would happen if knowledge of this folder ever made it out of this building?”

Twilight stared for a second with a raised brow, then slowly shook her head.

“Stallions will grow self conscious about their image and personalities,” the mayor listed, “They’ll take on whatever measure they can to ‘improve’ themselves, and, mind you, some of these stallions and their insecure nature is what makes them on this list,” she said, tapping a blue stallion’s profile. “If every stallion suddenly decided to reshape themselves into a preferred image, the entire list will be thrown off blanace and Ponyville will become a romantic mess!”

Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure if she was to take the mayor seriously over a list. After all, she couldn’t see the merit, or necessity, to having such a list exist in the first place. Then again, she wasn’t looking for a stallion to date yet, so the list held no purpose for her. And although the vision of a ruined Ponyville had come so close to fruition many times, she could sympathize that the mayor would want to prevent such a disaster. She couldn’t see how it would happen, but it was Ponyville, and anything could happen in this town.

“I…see,” the unicorn finally said, “Well then, what am I supposed to do?”

The mayor shrugged, “Can’t you just look through the list right now?”

Twilight decided it might be for the best that she run through the folder rather quickly, “Well, ok then.”

Using her magic, Twilight took the papers out and took a moment to look at how it was arranged. She made a note on the order so that she could return it the way it was when she was finished. Mayor Mare seemed to know this, as she didn’t seem upset when Twilight began splitting up the papers. The unicorn analyzed each one, noting the names of the stallions with those that she was familiar with. The more she looked, the more she began to realize something.

The list was incomplete.

“Umm, something’s wrong with your list,” Twilight said as she began placing everything back in order, “It’s rather small. There’s only, like, thirty or so stallions in here. There can’t be that few of them in Ponyville.”

The mayor seemed confused by this for a moment, “Oh, that’s because not every stallion is in it. Really, it’s only just about half of them enclosed within the folder.”

“Why only half?” the unicorn asked as she closed the folder and set it down just like it was before.

“Well, some of the stallions are already taken, or married,” Mayor Mare explained, seating herself in her office chair, “Others…aren’t exactly notable enough to be included. That’s why the list needs to stay secret from Ponyville. I even had the walls soundproofed for it.”

Twilight seemed to have just noticed that the room was eerily quiet for Ponyville. A quick look outside the window revealed that there were several things going on that warranted noise, such as a pony juggling for bits, a few workers drilling and sawing wood, fillies running after a stray ball, several ponies laughing, and two ponies having a fencing match. Then Twilight saw what appeared to be a flying object in the distance, just over the school. Twilight watched as the object buzzed around for a bit before sailing towards the ground and disappearing from view behind some trees.

Just then, a stallion in a ballerina suit strode into view, balancing himself on a unicycle holding a bar with two tanks of water on each end. Both tanks housed a dolphin kicking a ball back and forth through a ring held by a hat the pony was wearing. Nopony paid the stallion two seconds of attention, including Twilight. Her focus shifted when she spotted Rainbow Dash flying overhead and talking to some pegasus.

The unicorn snapped out of her focus and turned back to the mayor, “Sorry about that. I was a bit distracted.”

“I understand,” she nodded.

Twilight went back to business, walking towards her desk, “So, the list is incomplete then. I need the rest of the male population of Ponyvile to look at.”

Mayor Mare laughed, “But why would you need that much information when you have a list of eligible bachelors right here?” she said as she opened the folder to a top ten list, “If it’s dates you’re looking for, why not this fine pegasus? Or how about this unicorn? Ooh! How about this one? I hear he’s a special doctor!”

Twilight growled, “I already told you, I’m not looking for a stallion to date!”

“Are you sure?” the unicorn glared, “Then why need a list like this?”

“Because,” she was about to talk about her suspicions, until her eye caught something. The top ten list did have some appealing stallions, but that wasn’t what distracted her. At the very top of the list was a red stallion, with green eyes, freckles, and orange hair. And a yoke.

Big Macintosh was at the top of the list. If the mayor knew this, maybe then she’d take her seriously.

The mayor had somehow brought out a bottle of water while she was looking and was taking a moment to drink it. A tiny Pinkie Pie in her mind told her to say it before she finished drinking, but Twilight pushed those thoughts away. She waited until the bottle left her mouth before speaking.

“Because Rainbow Dash happens to be dating stallion number one, Big Macintosh,” she said.

Apparently, the mayor’s portion needed two swallows, because she had just spat out the second one.

“Big Macintosh is dating somepony?!” Mayor Mare asked, Twilight resisting the need to roll her eyes.

“Yes. Applejack told me about it this morning,” she confirmed.

Mayor Mare took back the folder and observed the list, reading a few lines while going back and forth between pages.

“This is…unexpected. Very unexpected,” the mayor said nervously as she continued searching through the folder.

“Why so? I thought Mac is supposed to be number one?” Twilight stated.

“But that top ten list exists for a very good reason. Oh you wouldn’t understand,” the mayor said as she brought out another paper.

Twilight finally rolled her eyes, “Clearly I don’t.”

The mayor scanned the paper and read a few names out loud, “Rabbit’s Foot, Raceway, Rad Rachael, Raggedy Ann, Rarity, …oh, she isn’t on the list.”

The unicorn peeked at the list, “I thought you only had a list of stallions here?”

The mayor put the paper away as she spoke, “No Twilight, that’s a list of every mare who comes by for the meetings about the list. Rainbow Dash isn’t on it, so there wasn’t any way she knew.”

Another gear in her head became stuck, “Wait, the same meetings you talked about before?”

The mayor nodded.

“And, dare I ask, what is it you do in these meetings?”

“Oh, we just report in on stallion activity, what it is they do, any updates to their usual schedule,” Twilight found it harder to keep her hoof away from her face the more she spoke, “But we focus mainly on the top ten stallions in that list. Mares are prohibited from seeking relations with those ponies.”

The unicorn scratched her head at this, “Why is that?”

“If those stallions were fair game, every mare would be chasing them down alleys, spending every last bit they have to flirt with them, and even fight each other to the death for a chance to ask them out.”

“Do you really think the mares of this town would be so childish as to fight over a stallion?” Twilight asked.

The mayor simply stared at her, “It wouldn’t be the first time a crowd full of mares went into a mob over something. Don’t you remember, Twilight?”

She was confused for a bit, until she remembered the incident with her Smarty Pants doll.

“Oh.”

She hated it when the mayor did that.

“So you see, Twilight, Big Macintosh dating somepony is quite a big deal,” Mayor Mare continued to explain, then looked at Twilight oddly, “But…you didn’t come here to tell me that, did you?”

“Of course not,” she replied flatly.

“So why do you need to look at a list for this?” the mayor asked.

“Because,” she was finally about to explain herself, “I have reason to believe that Rainbow Dash is only into Big Macintosh for nontraditional reasons. One of my suspicions was that there weren’t enough notable stallion ponies in Ponyville, which is why I asked for a list.”

Mayor Mare rubbed her chin, “I see. You believe it isn’t a real relationship. In that case, I can supply you with a list of every bachelor pony in Ponyville.”

Twilight beamed, “You will?”

“It’ll take a while to have a copy printed though. Think you can wait that long?” she asked.

“Of course!” Twilight smiled, then became curious, “But, why are you helping me all of a sudden?”

“Because, we have to know if this relationship is real or not,” she pointed back to the list, “If Mac’s taken, the entire thing will have to be revised. We need to know if this is a real relationship or not before we can do with the revisions.”

“I see…” Twilight still couldn’t take the existence of the list seriously, but at least she earned the help of the mayor, “Well, I’ll do my best.”

“If our members were here, they’d help you with whatever they can do to confirm their couple status,” Mayor Mare said, “You’d be surprised at how many mares have wanted to date Big Macintosh for a long time. They’d eat their own hoof for one!”

Twilight pretended to giggle, but then a thought came to her. She might not take this list seriously, but others do. If she could gather the help of all the mares in town, she’d learn the truth about their relationship in no time.

“Oh, Mayor Mare,” she spoke up.

“Yes?”

Wait. Would she really put her friend through that?

No. She was thinking of it the wrong way. This was for her own safety. She couldn’t let her go through a relationship like that. And Rainbow Dash was the stubborn type.

It was for her own good.

“Do you think you could make an announcement for me?”

There's an eerie calm right now...

“That’ll be three bits,” Applejack said as the customer handed her the money. She took it and let it drop in the already filled bucket and gave him a slice of pie, “Thank you, come again!”

The cowgirl sighed happily as she watched the stallion carry his lunch to a nearby open seat. It was midway to noon on the borders of Sweet Apple Acres, but business was already booming and the lunch area was stocked. She had made a good sale today and was almost sold out already. She was starting to think she’d need to go back to the farm to get more for any more customers.

She was about to close her stand to make that run when she overheard something from a customer, “Hey, are you going to that private meeting?”

Applejack wasn’t much of an eavesdropper, but there wasn’t anything dishonest about listening to a conversation when somepony else was being carelessly loud. She decided to get to work on closing shop while keeping her ears opened.

“Probably not. School’s about to end and I need to pony the candy shop for when the foals come by.”

“Boo, you’re no fun, Bonbon.”

“Why are you going, though, Lyra?”

Applejack was about to lose interest until she heard the next part.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a teensy bit curious about Rainbow Dash being straight or not, what with her new coltfriend and all.”

That was weird. Apparently the news had spread quicker than she expected in the span of a few hours. But what was this whole thing about a meeting?

Wait a minute. Rainbow Dash was dating Big Macintosh. And he was sought after by over half of the mares in town. She’d understand if there were some suspicions abound out of jealousy, but holding a meeting about it? She needed to listen in.

“What’s the meeting about again?” Applejack hoped she’d ask that kind of question, “Seems like a big deal about just two ponies.”

“Hey. They aren’t just two ponies. It’s Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh, after all. The two of them are, like, the pinnacle of pony hotness!”

“Oh yeah. You would be the kind of pony to appreciate both.”

“Well, it does have its perks, but that’s not really why I want to go.”

As Applejack tended to putting away what little food was left back into the cart, she saw out of the corner of her eye an orange pegasus mare walking up to the two.

“Pardon me for asking, but I couldn’t help but overhear you two,” she said casually, “Exactly who are you talking about?”

She heard a scoff, “Rainbow Dash, the lean and toned athlete flyer, who happens to be dating Big Macintosh, the peak of male stallion ripeness.”

“Lyra, seriously.”

“Hmm, I see. Sorry for asking, I just came into town recently,” the pegasus said, “Been wanting to take some time off.”

“What’s your name? You look like a farmer,” Bonbon asked.

“Oh, Red Tongue,” the pegasus said, “My cutie mark doesn’t actually mean I can grow plants, but I do like spicy foods.”

“Have you met Pinkie Pie yet?” Lyra asked, “If not, she’s probably busy. She somehow knows when a new pony comes into town.”

“Well, I’m not here to stay actually, just visiting.”

“Oh, I guess that’s an exception,” Bonbon said, “That or maybe she’s busy.”

“You should come to the meeting. We’re going to discuss the social status of the two while we review the list of available stallions in town.”

“Ehh, not really interes-” she stopped, “Actually, that would help me out a bit.”

“Are you really sure about that?” Bonbon asked, “Seems like a waste of time just to see who’s single or not.”

“You’re one to talk for a mare in her mid 20’s,” Lyra taunted.

“I’ll just stick around for that list and…” suddenly everything went quiet, “…hello handsome.”

Applejack heard some cooing from the lunch crowd and was confused as to why the noise stopped. It wasn’t until she got up from undoing the locks on the cart’s wheels that she found out why. Walking in from the eastern entrance of Sweet Apple Acres was an orange and blonde stallion, wearing a cowboy hat and vest, with a single apple for a cutie mark. His cutie mark wasn’t the only thing the mares were staring at, apparently.

“Well, howdy, cuz. Been a while, ain’t it?” he said to her.

“Braeburn! What an unexpected surprise!” Applejack said aloud, “You didn’t tell me you were comin’ over to visit.”

The stallion shrugged, “I got some free time from Appleloosa. All the apples have been bucked and the trees got all summer to grow. Figured I take the time to see how my cousin’s handlin’ things in Ponyville.”

“Well, ain’t that nice o’ y'all,” she handed him a leftover apple dumpling, “Care for a bite?”

He waved his hoof, “Just ate. Thank ya kindly, though.”

“Oh. Well, Ah figure since yer here an’ all, you should know of some unexpected developments that happened recently,” more Apple ponies needed to find out about her brother and the pegasus, and it had to be sooner or later.

“Oh, really?” he gave a glance to the crowd of mares behind him, knowing what they were looking at, but didn’t mind.

“Eyup. As it turns out, that big oaf Macintosh got himself a fillyfriend,” she said, to Braeburn’s surprise.

“Whoa nelly! Seriously? Who’s the lucky mare?” he asked, now no longer caring of the attention he was getting.

“Rainbow Dash. You remember her, right?” she asked.

“Ohhh. Now I do. Winged, lean, toned, brash,” Braeburn listed with a hoof to his chin, “Yep, Mac’s got himself a keeper. Them pegasi are all life and no slack. Almost makes me jealous.”

“Would you like a pegasus of your own, cowboy?” Red Tongue said from behind.

Braeburn turned to the mare and was astonished. Now the Applejack had a closer look at her, she was almost like Rainbow Dash physically, with a sculpted body, only plusher. Her orange and red mane looked hastily combed, or at least was only combed recently, as it was pulled forward and tucked under a headband. Her cutie mark was, surprisingly, that of a red pepper, which was an earth element and looked odd on a pegasus.

After the initial shock, Braeburn turned cool, “Well, that depends. How do you like your apples?”

“Well, I’m not usually a picky eater,” Red Tongue said in a flirtatious voice, “But I can always go for something tough with a sweet center.”

“Okay, you two,” Applejack interrupted, “This is a public dinin’ area. Braeburn, show some decency.”

“Oh, sorry AJ,” he said to her with a tip of his hat, “I’m usually…a little more conservative,” he said to Red Tongue in a lightly suave tone.

“So it is true,” Lyra said out of nowhere, right next to Applejack, “Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash are dating?”

Applejack sighed lightly as she folded the cart, “Yep. Ah’m just as surprised as you are. Although Ah can’t help but worry some ponies might take it a little too far.”

As Braeburn and Red tongue walked away to chat, Lyra dismissed her worries with a wanton wave of her hoof, “You overestimate these ponies, Applejack. See, I don’t know if you heard, but I’m going to a meeting-”

“Ah heard.”

“-to discuss the changes to the balance of single and taken stallions in Ponyville. A completely harmless exchange of words,” Lyra said in all naivety, “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Yes, what indeed could go wrong...?

“Now, do you know why you’re here, young mare?”

It was half an hour past lunch. The foals of the school were outside, working off their sore legs or enjoying a nice lunch made by their parents. The school wasn’t so strict with a schedule like other schools were. In fact the schedule seemed to jump around with no particular time of day in mind. It made things a lot easier for the limited staff of the faculty, namely the one teacher, janitor, nurse, and counselor.

There was still the occasional fluke in foal behavior, and Cheerilee was there to deliver justice to those who did wrong. Today’s victim: Sweetie Belle.

“Umm, because we owe Mr. Mops a new floor buffer?” she meekly answered with a guilty smile.

“That too. And what else?” Cheerilee persisted.

“Uhh, and a new floor?”

“Exactly,” Cheerilee said as she rubbed her temples, “I do not mind that you and your friends will do anything for your cutie marks, but can you at least keep it out of school grounds?”

“We weren’t even trying to get our cutie marks,” the filly defended, “We just thought that it looked like a flying saucer. It was plugged in and…”

“I don’t know what’s worse,” Cheerilee said with a sigh, “The fact that you destroyed half of the hall floors in the school or that you actually managed to achieve flight with the thing…”

In view of the window, the fillies gleefully galloped by a smoldering machine in a crater, along with a Sweetie Belle shaped imprint next to it. A few would stop their outdoor activity to marvel at the catastrophe before resuming their well deserved lunch break.

“…for a few seconds.”

The unicorn filly rubbed her forehead were her bandage was. The nurse said she got a minor horn depression from the crash, but it should recover as long as she kept her head out of trouble.

“Well, I didn’t get my cutie mark out of it, so…” the filly said disdainfully, “I can’t really feel any worse than I already do.”

Cheerilee gave a sarcastic smile, “Oh, good. Then I hope your parents and sister know how to fix that, because I am going to host a parent-teacher’s conference next week.”

“What?!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Oh, I should also bring in Apple Bloom’s family, and Scootaloo’s too,” she thought, ignoring the filly’s cry.

“B-But, why drag them into this? I’m the one that wrecked that floor buffer!” she said as she pointed an arm outside, where a filly looked distressed at something out of view.

“Because, Sweetie Belle, your Cutie Mark Crusader business has had a negative effect on all three of you,” she explained, “And, it’s been harmful to Ponyville life in general. So I figure it’s about time we-”

“Cheerilee!!” a purple pony burst through the door, “It’s terrible! Terrible news!”

“Wha, Berry Punch?” Cheerilee responded, confused, “What are you doing here? I’m talking to a student!”

“But Cheerilee,” she sprawled herself out on the teacher’s desk dramatically, “It’s awful! Just plain awful!”

The teacher sniffed the air for a bit, “Have you been drinking again?”

“Maybe, but that’s not important right now!”

The sound of a hoof hitting its owner in the face was heard as Cheerilee looked to Sweetie Belle, one hoof still over her eye, “I’m really sorry you have to see this, Sweetie Belle. But this is what happens when you let your talent define who you are for the rest of your life.”

Sweetie Belle looked to the half drunk parent and analyzed her. The plumes of her mane were actually lumps of knotted hair on closer inspection, grown that way from years of passing out and sleeping on a hard surface. Her coat was an absurd shade of purple, and she smelled very fruity. From her cutie mark, which was a strawberry and bunch of grapes, a horrible realization dawned on her.

She was becoming a fruit.

“Berry Punch, can it wait?” Cheerilee turned to the slightly dizzy mare, “I was about to tell Sweetie Belle something.”

“It’s about Big Macintosh,” she continued, “He and Rainbow Dash are dating!”

“Oh, for the love of Celestia, what do I care abo- Wait. What’d you say?” Cheerilee asked, sharing Sweetie Belle’s look of surprise.

Berry Punch nodded, “Just heard about it from the mare herself. She’s doing Big Macintosh!”

“Berry! Not in front of the filly!” Cheerilee responded loudly.

“What? I talk like that all the time in front of my kid and she never complains,” she said dismissively with a hoof, teetering a bit from being on three legs.

“Never mind that,” Cheerilee said, standing up, “For how long?”

“Oh, since she was born,” Cheerilee glared, “Oh, you mean Macintosh and Dash? They said a week, but,” she leaned in close to her, “Some of us are suspicious about that number.”

“Huh? Why is that so?” she asked.

“Because Rainbow Dash flew away when Carrot Top asked if it was a week or a few months,” Berry explained, “That’s why I came here. We’re having a private mare meeting over at a secret location about it.”

“And you wanted to invite me, why?” Cheerilee asked.

“You’re the second smartest mare I know, Cheerilee, next to Twilight,” Berry said, “And she’s hosting the meeting, too. You could help us out with your added smarts.”

The shock of the news had died out for Cheerilee and she was sensible again, “A meeting? Seriously? Thanks but no thanks. If its answers you want, I can just go ask Big Macintosh myself, since we’re good friends and all.”

“But Rainbow Dash won’t let you go near him,” Berry Punch pointed out.

“Berry, it’s just friendly talk. I’m sure Rainbow Dash won’t mind,” she left her table, “Besides, I don’t think she’s the clingy type of mare.”

“Bring a helmet, just in case!” she warned before Cheerilee could leave.

As she opened the door, something crossed her mind. Sweetie Belle was still in the room, only she had forgotten for what reason.

“Oh yeah, Sweetie Belle, you can go,” Cheerilee said.

She was reasonably surprised, “But, what about my punishment?”

“Wait, you had a punishment?” she responded.

“Nope! I don’t know what I’m talking about! Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee!” and like that, Sweetie Belle bolted out the door.

Rushing out the school and over the still hot floors, Sweetie Belle had one place on her mind.

‘Clubhouse.’

Things are still relatively peaceful...

Entering the library through the balcony door, the first thing Rainbow Dash noticed was that the lights were out, even though it was past noon. The curtains were closed and only a single candle was lit, and the only other light source was from the window she just entered. She cautiously entered the library, and just as she did, the door behind her closed by some invisible influence, which Dash instantly thought was magic.

“Twilight? Are you here?” she hesitantly called out.

She could make out the usual mess of books in the darkness, but what stood out to her was that a nearby table had been cleared out and moved near the staircase. There was a tall chair, facing away from her, placed by it, the kind that important ponies had in their offices.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle said villainously as the chair rotated, revealing the unicorn sitting there with her pet owl roosted on her head.

The pegasi’s first thought was to be intimidated. However, the sight of the serious unicorn with an indifferent and somewhat adorable owl on her head overpowered her with feelings of mirth. Unable to hold it in, Rainbow Dash burst out chuckling at the unicorn while Twilight lost her composure.

“What, what’s wrong? Is the lighting not bright enough?” she asked, embarrassed.

“N-no, you just look silly with that bird on your hea-HAhahahahahh!” it just got funnier every time she looked.

Groaning lightly, she looked up at her pet, Owlowiscious, who looked down when she leaned her head back. There was a silent command that Owlowiscious understood, prompting him to flutter off and perch onto the armchair. Twilight tried her best to look serious again, combing her hair a bit with her hoof, while the pegasus calmed down.

“Ok. I’m ok,” she said, feeling lighter about the mood, “So, Twilight, I came by to talk to you about what you said in town.”

“Yes, I figured you’d be back about that,” Twilight said as she stroked her pet owl’s head.

“Actually, I did say that we should discuss it in the library,” she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. It was sort of awkward that Twilight was expecting her, and had set up the library like this, “I was looking for you all over town, but ponies kept giving me weird looks.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you make a scene in Ponyville,” she said, slumping a bit.

“Actually Twilight,” she started, but didn’t want to ask any more about the event. The sooner she got this over, the better. With a tired sigh, she spoke, “Whatever. You said something about bucking around between Mac and I?”

“I wanted to clarify the relationship status between you and Big Macintosh,” she explained, “And it’s ‘Mac and 'me’.”

“Uhh, that’s what I said,” serious Twilight was something new to her, “Why do you want to know so badly?”

“For personal reasons,” she said as she slumped further down into her chair. And before Rainbow Dash could retort, she continued, “I just want to make sure that one of my best friends is having a good and healthy relationship.”

“But, do you really need to ask if I had hit second base with Big Macintosh?” she asked. She was beginning to fear that her suspicions were coming true.

“Baseball has nothing to do with this, Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus rolled her eyes, “And you should understand that sex plays a big part in the importance of having a healthy relationship with another pony. I’m just looking out for you, I swear.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, giving in, “Well, if you really want to know. It’s all true. Mac and I have been doing it for a while.”

That was surprisingly easy. Twilight didn’t expect the answer to come out so quickly. In fact, she seemed overly proud about it. But on Rainbow Dash’s end, it wasn’t the entire truth. They actually had been bucking around, just within the week. It might’ve been a bit hard to believe that the two of them had already advanced so far into their relationship, but she was known to be an impatient pony. Apparently, Twilight thought this too.

“Y-yes, but for how long?” she inquired as she straightened herself up in the chair. Owlowiscious seemed to be paying attention to something else in the room, his eyes scanning carefully.

She still wanted to go by what they told Applejack so that there wouldn’t be any conflicting information among her friends, “A week, like I said.”

“You say that, but I had just spoken to Rarity a while ago,” she said as Owlowiscious suddenly shifted in his perch, “And according to her, you have been ‘doing it’ with Macintosh for a little over a month now.”

Rainbow Dash was torn between planting a hoof to her face and chuckling off her assumptions. Why couldn’t she just leave her alone about her sex life? Not to mention, Twilight heard it from Applejack, and she heard it from Pinkie. Now she heard it from Rarity too? That was the word of two ponies against her. There wasn’t any way she could keep up the lies for too long.

Wait…something had just crossed her mind. Of the ponies that ‘heard’ it, one of them was a blabbermouth party pony, and she was hosting a party all about it. The other was a farmer that couldn’t tell a lie to save her life. And the third one was a fashionista that fed gossip like Fluttershy fed her animals.

She knew she forgot to tell Big Macintosh something before she left.

‘Oh horse apples!’

Her train of thought was interrupted as Owlowiscious suddenly bolted from the chair to across the room. From where he landed, there was a slight struggle and squeaking noises before it stopped and Owlowiscious calmly flew back to the chair. This time, the owl returned with a mouse trapped in its beak, still alive.

“Uhh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash pointed out, “Your bird’s feeding.”

“Ignore him. He keeps my library clean of pests this way,” Twilight said as Owlowiscious began to ‘leap’ the prey into his beak, “So, we’re going to settle this now. How long have you really been dating Macintosh?”

Rainbow Dash was about to repeat her previous answer, but the owl hacking loudly cut her off. She tried to speak again, but the owl kept making noise as he ate. Every time she tried to lie, the feeding noise interrupted her, and Rainbow Dash found it harder to confidently tell her answer. Twilight staring her down didn’t help either.

“It’s been…-” Squeak! “…uhh, been only-” Gack! Gack! “…only about-” Ach! “…about a-” Squish! “Alright! It really has been a few months!”

And like that, Owlowiscious ceased the noise and quietly slurped the mouse into his throat, gulping silently.

“See, was that so hard?” Twilight taunted as she patted Owlowiscious’ head.

After the terror show passed, the pegasus calmed down, impressed, “Wow Twilight, how’d you teach him to do that?”

“Oh, I didn’t teach him anything. Eggheads just synch well together, is all,” she said as she magically floated a napkin to the owl, who took it in a talon and dabbed his beak with it, “Now, why’d you have to go and lie to everypony about you and Big Macintosh? Is there something you’re ashamed of?”

“What? Why would I be ashamed of dating Mac?” she said defensively, “You know what I think? I think you’re jelly!”

Both Owlowiscious and Twilight stared at her, confused, “What?”

“Uhh, I mean, jealous,” she clarified, but then regained her stance, “Jealous of Mac and I.”

Twilight didn’t respond well, “What? What makes you think I’m jealous of you? And it’s Mac and ‘me’ for grammar’s sake!”

“Exactly,” she said slyly, “I didn’t say you were jealous of just I.”

Twilight tensed in her seat as Owlowiscious turned to her. She had slipped up. She was exposed.

“Is that why you made such a big deal about it back in town?” now it was her turn to be upset, “You embarrassed me in front of the town because you were jealous?”

“N-No! That’s not it!” she defended, as Owlowiscious suddenly became alert, “I was just a little suspicious.”

“What do you have to be suspicious of?” the pegasus asked.

“W-Well, the thing is,” she started nervously as Owlowiscious eyed the door, “I guess I just…didn’t expect you to be into Macintosh like that.”

Rainbow Dash smirked, “For real? Twilight, have you seen that stallion?”

“I have, and it confused me a bit,” Twilight explained, “I mean, I always thought you were into one type of pony.”

“Like what? Winged ponies? Like any one type would keep me satisfied for long,” Rainbow Dash said confidently, “I thought you knew me better than that.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she continued, “I mean, the thing is. I’ve heard things from the other ponies in town…about you…”

“Huh? Like what?” Rainbow Dash asked as she cocked her head.

Before Twilight started, the door of the library busted open, flooding the dark room with light. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash shrieked and covered their eyes while Owlowiscious had time to close his eyes and look away. From the light of day outside walked in Rarity, her steps hasty as she held a bag with her magic.

“Oh! Look who it is! It’s Twilight and my good, dear, straight friend Rainbow Dash!” Rarity quickly said as she speed walked towards a blind Twilight, “Twilight, dear, please open your eyes and marvel at this smoke colored fedora that you were looking for! I was looking through the storage when you said you wanted something mysterious and noiresque and I didn’t have any but I had the mind to check and I found it and I thought I should bring it over in case you still needed it ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Hahhhh…”

When both ponies recovered their eyesight, Twilight merely glared at the unicorn while Rainbow Dash jeered.

“Who’re you calling deers?” she asked. The sound of a hoof hitting its owner’s face echoed in Rarity’s mind.

“Well, thank you, Rarity, but it’s kind of late now…” the purple unicorn said as Owlowiscious fluttered to the other armchair near Rarity.

“Well, I still thought you should know that I actually did have one in stock, so I came by to deliver it to you,” she said as she placed the hat on top of the owl’s head. Rarity then took a moment to observe the room; closed curtains, single candle, intimidating rotating chair. She seemed to have wanted to make somepony uncomfortable, “Wha…what were you and Rainbow Dash talking about?”

“Oh, something about suspicions and ponies in town,” Rainbow Dash said, “So, what am I suspicious of again?”

“Oh,” Twilight started, “Being a fi-”

“Feathers!” Rarity loudly intervened. When both ponies looked at her, Rarity nervously continued, “Uhh, I mean, Rainbow Dash, you need to get your feathers preened!”

“What for?” she said, looking at her pair of wings and opening them to inspect them.

“For…the…” her mind searched for an excuse until she remembered what Pinkie Pie had said, “Your party! Pinkie Pie’s hosting your party to congratulate you coming out…WITH BIG MACINTOSH, I mean.”

Twilight found her behavior weird, but Rainbow Dash seemed enlightened by this, “Oh, that. I already know that. She’s actually hosting it at Sweet Apple Acres, so, I don’t need to look all fancy.”

“B-but you do! Because…” and once again, Rarity found another excuse in her mind and managed to speak calmly, “Because, you’re dating not just any farmer, but Big Macintosh is an Apple Pony. And you want to look good for the family members, don’t you?”

“That’s true,” the pegasus said as she tapped her chin, “But don’t the others live far away? The party is only tonight. I don’t think it’ll be that big of a family party.”

“Nonsense. You still need to look your best for tonight’s party,” Rarity said as, third time and counting, another excuse popped into her head, “In fact, let’s go get you fixed up!”

Rarity began to push her out of the library as Rainbow Dash looked back to her, confused, “Wha, where? The spa?”

“Yes, I mean, no!” the white unicorn remembered that most of her other associates not named Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy frequented the spa, “I mean, we’ll freshen up at my place. After all, you need to look your best for tonight, after all.”

“Oh, uhh, okay. We’ll talk later Twilight,” the pegasus said as she and Rarity left the library.

Watching them go, Twilight thought back to what she learned from the interrogation, which was very little. It did confirm her suspicions that she might have something to hide, hence the lie about it being a week. But she needed more information. And she wouldn’t get another chance at it today before the party. She would need help.

Idly looking to her pet owl, she remembered that there was still that private meeting later today. A plan was forming in Twilight’s head. And Owlowiscious was going to need more than a fedora.

Oh goodness, ponies are planning and plotting...

Silence.

The filly tapped her chin in thought with the tip of an eraser. She was searching her mind for a list of things she and her friends had done and wrote them down. This way, it’d be easier to remember when they were repeating something they had already done before.

The leaves outside rustled from the wind, although one could make out the faint sound of hoofsteps.

She wrote down another activity that she and her friends had done, although one of them sat it out. To clarify who had done what, she filled in a dot next to the activity name with a crayon, yellow, orange, and or white. This way, they’d know who’d done what and who should try what.

In the distance, a filly’s rapid breathing could be heard. Not much farther now.

At last, she had finished the list and hung it on the wall. Satisfied with her work, she looked back to her flank, only to find that it was still blank. With a disappointed sigh, she picked up the pencil again and wrote on the paper one more activity: list making. She filled in a yellow circle at the end just to punctuate her failure.

At last, Sweetie Belle made it.

“Girls! Girls!” she shouted loudly as she hammered the wooden floor with her hooves.

“What is it?” Apple Bloom said.

“You’re not going to believe this!!” the unicorn filly said as she scanned the room for the winged member of their group, “Where’s Scootaloo?”

“Up here,” a tired voice called, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor upstairs. Steps were heard until an orange and purple pegasus filly was seen descending down the stairs of the clubhouse. As she dropped to the floor, she yawned, “What is it…?”

Sweetie Belle had just regained her breathe, “Ok, so I was in the classroom during lunch with Ms Cheerilee and-”

“Wait, shouldn’t you still be in detention?” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Oh, Cheerilee let me off,” she answered, “Anyway, and then-”

“Wait, she didn’t punish you?” Scootaloo interrupted, “Wow, Cheerilee’s going soft.”

“Maybe she is, but that’s not what I’m trying to say,” the unicorn filly continued, “Ruby’s mom came into the room to tell her about some terrible news.”

“Terrible news? What is it?” Apple Bloom asked, worried.

Sweetie Belle sighed again, annoyed, “Dreadful information of occurrences that are recent and or relevant to those hearing or reading it and the very knowledge of which causes disdain in an individual or individuals. But that’s not important right now.”

Both fillies shared a look of quaint confusion, then shrugged and looked back to the dictionary.

“So, what did she say to her?” Scootaloo prodded.

The filly took a moment to calmly deliver the news. Her two friends would be the most affected by such astounding turn of events so she had to be as clear as possible.

She took a deep breathe, “Big Macintosh…is dating Rainbow Dash!”

Both fillies looked at each other as they processed this information in their heads.

Then simultaneously began laughing.

“Are you, you’re joking, right?” Scootaloo said as she wiped a tear from her eye, “There’s no way in the skies Rainbow Dash would be dating anypony, especially Apple Bloom’s brother.”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed, “Big Mac’s too shy to be datin’ somepony as loud as Rainbow Dash.”

Sweetie Belle watched in disdain as the two fillies calmed down, “But, Ruby’s mom said so and-”

“Wait, isn’t she the tipsy pony? The one that always smells funny?” Scootaloo asked.

“You mean Berry Punch?” Apple Bloom asked, “She comes by the farm every once in a while askin’ for Applejack.”

“Uhh, yeah, her,” Sweetie Belle confirmed.

“And you believe her?” the pegasus filly spoke, “She makes Ditzy Doo look like a ballerina dancer, and I know dancing when I see it.”

“But, Cheerilee believed her,” she defended, “She even said she would ask Big Macintosh himself about it.”

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom, “Where is your brother, anyway?”

“Oh. He an’ Rainbow Dash are supposed t’be bringin’ down the –”

“Wait, did you say he and Rainbow Dash?!” both fillies exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, Ah forgot to mention,” Apple Bloom blushed, “He and Rainbow Dash have been workin’ on the farm together for the past week.”

Scootaloo held her mouth agape while Sweetie Belle realized it was very likely to have been a true rumor.

“…Ah didn’t think it was important,” she said before Scootaloo could accuse her of anything.

“So…while we’ve been in this clubhouse for the past week, trying to get our cutie marks, Rainbow Dash, the rainbow colored pegasus, has been at your farm helping out with chores?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Uhhh, yeah?” she buried herself in her shoulders.

“I can’t even-!” Scootaloo shouted as she held her head in her hooves, “All that time we spent failing to get our cutie marks, we could’ve been hanging out with Rainbow Dash!”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom retorted.

“Oh, and Big Macintosh too, I guess.”

“That’s not what Ah meant,” Apple Bloom continued, “You think hanging out with us is a waste o’ time?”

Scootaloo blinked, “What? No! I said failing to get our cutie marks, which is all we do all the time.”

“But you think hangin’ out with Rainbow Dash is more important to us than gettin’ our cutie marks?”

“Well, yeahhh!” she dared to answer, “She’s just that cool!”

“So you’d rather hang out with her than with us?” Apple Bloom continued to prod.

“Ugh. No! I said we!” Scootaloo shot back, “Next time, listen a little more carefully!”

“Oh, Ah’m sorry. Ah just thought that what we do together as friends was important to you, but apparently it isn’t,” she said as she turned away from the flyer, more like nonflyer.

“Don’t get difficult with me,” Scootaloo said as she pointed a hoof at her, “I still have a life outside of this cutie mark hunting business you founded. I still have ponies that I admire and want to be because cutie marks aren’t the only things I think about!”

“Nuh uh! Ah have business outside o’ the Cutie Mark Crusaders too!” Apple Bloom defended, “Like, uhh, Zap Apple Season! And, um, family reunions!”

“Those aren’t things you can choose! You go to them because you have nothing better to do!”

“Are you claimin’ that hangin’ out with us isn’t as good as spendin’ time wit’ family?!” Apple Bloom said with her forehead outward.

“Will you stop twisting my words around like that?!” Scootaloo shouted.

“GIRLS!”

Both ponies stopped arguing and looked to Sweetie Belle, who was seething and slightly red in the face.

“Can we please…focus on something a little more important than arguing?” she said through tired breaths, “Cheerilee’s coming by to ask Big Macintosh about them dating. Do you know what this means?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other, lost to Sweetie Belle, “Uhh,” “No…?”

“Rarity talks about it all the time,” Sweetie Belle started, “The exfillyfriend learns that her excoltfriend is going out with another mare and then she’ll start developing old feelings for him. Cheerilee is going to try and take Big Macintosh back!”

And once again, both fillies were confused.

“Wait, they went out? Cheerilee and Big Mac?” Scootaloo asked.

“It didn’t look like it from what Ah saw,” Apple Bloom agreed.

“It doesn’t matter. Somepony’s always gonna be jealous of the new fillyfriend and the exfillyfriend is going to try and break them up so that she can have him again,” Sweetie Belle stressed the situation, “And if we don’t stop her, she’ll make two ponies unhappy!”

“Do you think Cheerilee would do such a thing?” Apple Bloom pondered.

“Well, we have to invent…invesetate…visigate,” Scootaloo tried to say.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, “Investigate.”

“Yeah that!” she continued, “We’re going to investigate Miss Cheerilee and find out what she’s up to before she can hurt anypony!”

“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Well, alright. But let’s not take this too far like we did with the floor buffer,” Apple Bloom said.

The three fillies all leapt together and clapped their hooves.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Relationship Rescuers! Yay!”

There they go again. Some form of catastrophe is guaranteed now...

Ever since she came back to her cottage, Fluttershy had been silently bemoaning her loss. The curtains were half closed, letting in little light, and the animals around her were silent, careful not to upset the pony any further. She lay in the middle of the living room, feeling lifeless, as she sobbed her woes away.

Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash were dating each other. There was nothing she could do about it.

Hopping in from the kitchen, the mature bunny Angel toted a bowl of sliced cucumbers and presented them to her. While Fluttershy never questioned how he could hold and use a knife, much less fear that he could, she weakly took a hoofful and stuffed her mouth in depression.

“Oh, Angel,” she said with a stuffed mouth before swallowing, “Why didn’t I do anything? Why didn’t I say anything?”

Angel crossed his arms as Fluttershy continued to eat.

“But Angel, you know I don’t have the courage.”

Angel shook his head and held a paw over his heart.

“Yes, I really do love…” she wasn’t able to finish as tears welled up in her eyes again. She grabbed another hoofful of cucumber slices and messily stuffed them into her mouth.

The bunny forcefully grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled. He wanted her full attention. He made some gestures with his arms that Fluttershy seemed to understand.

She sniffed, “But, what’s the point? If I can’t tell my crush how I really feel…”

Angel interrupted. He made more gestures, some dramatic while others not even other bunnies would have understood.

Fluttershy rubbed her swollen eyes before coming to fully comprehend her pet slash friend, “You mean, I can still say how I really feel, even though they’re already a couple? Because what really matters is that I’ll have closure and I won’t have to live the rest of my life not knowing how my crush really feels about me? And that I should stop being afraid of rejection just because they’re taken, especially because I have nothing left to lose because my friends will understand me? Like, even if I am sad to know this, I shouldn’t be selfish and wallow in pity and just let my crush know how I really feel?”

Angel nodded.

Fluttershy wiped her dirty face and stood up. She looked down and decided to finish the rest of the bowl in one gulp, leaving it Angel without any to himself. As she abandoned the bowl in the room and left to the bathroom to wash up, Angel looked into the bowl, hoping for even a piece of cucumber leftover for him. Fluttershy returned shortly after, eyes still somewhat red, as she had a newfound look of determination of her face.

“Thanks Angel,” she sniffed, “What would I do without you?”

Angel smugly rubbed his knuckles onto his chest in response.

“Well, I have to go, now. I’m not going to wallow in here anymore,” she opened all of the curtains, allowing light to fill the room again. With that done, the animals peeked out of their hiding spots as Fluttershy walked to the door, “I’m going to confess my feelings to Rainbow Dash!”

And like that, the pegasus bolted out the door, leaving a proud and somewhat worried bunny behind.