"I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?" asked a slightly confused Applejack.

"I want to take you out on a practice date," said Dusk. "I sent a letter to Cadence, telling her the problem, but still haven't heard from her".

"Why me?" Applejack asked as she tried to process the request.

"Well, you're my friend," explained Dusk, "and one of the few ponies I can trust to be completely honest with me".

"Why not a pony like Rarity?" asked the middle Apple sibling. "She's better at this whole romance thing". Dusk's cheeks redden at the memory of what happened at the carousel boutique. "She got too close to you, didn't she?" Dusk just nodded. With a sigh, Applejack continued, "Okay, there is just one problem".

"What is it?" asked a worried Dusk.

"Tell me, do you think that Rainbow would like the same kind of date as Starlight?" asked Applejack. Dusk thought about it for a bit before agreeing with the farm pony.

"Probably not," said Dusk. "But what should I do?"

"First, relax," said Applejack as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "While I still don't think I'm that great at this romance, I do know that there's no such thing as a perfect date".

"But who do I asked out first?" asked Dusk.

"That's up to you to decide," said Applejack. "but if I had to choose, I would say Rainbow". At Dusk's questioning gaze, Applejack explained the reasoning behind her decision. "Well, you don't live with her. If things don't work out during the date, you wouldn't have to worry about constant awkward situations while you eat breakfast. Sure, if your date with Rainbow don't go well, you'll have some awkward encounters. Just not as much as Starlight".

"I'm still not sure," said an uncertain Dusk. "How am I supposed to choose between the five?"

"Whoa there, nelly," said a surprised Applejack. "What do ya mean five?"

"Well, while I visit Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, they each kissed me," Dusk told his friend.

"And based on your expression, you liked those kisses, didn't ya?" asked Applejack rhetorical. "I still say to go with Rainbow first."

"Okay," said Dusk as he sighed. "I would give you a hug, but..."

"I know, I know," chuckled Applejack. "Do ya think a thank you handshake would be safe?"

"It might, but do you really want to risk it?" jokingly asked Dusk.

"Good point," agreed Applejack. "While I like you, I'm pretty sure that I don't like you that much". This caused both of them to chuckle. Because of this, they didn't notice a cross-eye mailmare flying toward them. Derpy bumped into Dusk, which, like a set of dominoes, called him to fall onto Applejack, knocking both down. Before Dusk could collect his thoughts, Applejack have already caught his lips in a forceful yet loving kiss. It took a moment for Dusk to gather enough contention to teleport away.

"Faust dammit," mumbled Dusk as he appeared in his bedroom. 'How am I supposed to handle this?'

"I'm guessing that Applejack also fell for your charm?" said Starlight in a questioning tone. Dusk just groaned in response. Starlight chuckled in response. "I'll tell Spike to make some tea to help relax you". Dusk mumbled into his pillow. "Yes, yes, I know how you like your tea".

Dusk somehow fell asleep while trying to figure out his confusing emotions. He was woken up when Starlight shook his shoulder. He leapt back in slight fear, but was both surprised and confused when she didn't show any symptoms that he was used to. In fact, she seemed normal. 'So touch isn't what caused the effects' thought Dusk. 'I wish I could experiment with this, but I can't do that to my friends'.

"Sorry for waking you," said Starlight, "But the tea is done and a letter came from Princess Cadence. so I thought that you would want to know that". Starlight placed the tea and letter on a nearby table before leaving. Dusk let out a sigh before picking up the letter. Reading it, he was a bit surprised at what it said.

"It's nice to hear from you. Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and I are all doing great. About your problem, I'll have to visit you to see if the potion is having any effects on your love connections, for a lack of better words. I am a bit worried, to be honest. Did you ever wonder why, out of everypony, a princess was chosen to be your foalsitter? After meeting you, I asked to be your foalsitter. I did this for two reasons. The first reason was to have an excuse to be near your brother. The second reason was because the amount of possible love connections you had. Love connections are invisible strands of love magic that connect two possible soulmates. Most ponies have a minimum of two love connections. Very rarely do they have only one, but they do exist. However, you were the opposite. You seemed to have a near infinite number of love connections. The strongest of these connection were connected to your friends. That was also something strange I noticed about you. Normally, after meeting the pony that you'll end up marrying, the other love connections will begin fading. Your connection to your friends only seemed to get stronger as time went by. Yes, a couple connections did die out, but you still had a large amount of connections. Last time you visited us, I counted a total of fourteen connections. The reason I never told you this is because I don't want to make someone feel like they have to love someone. The only time I used my magic to affect someone's love connection was when I saw that either pony don't have another possible love connection. Is it irresponsible? Maybe, but I can't change what already happened. I'm currently packing while I write this. It will probably be two to three days before I arrive.

Dusk placed the letter back on the desk and flopped onto his bed. "Faust dammit. Why me?"

Author's Note

I know that I promised a date, but it just didn't end up that way. I also decide to reveal just how many ponies are in the harem. I'm not going to say who it is, but I will give you a slightly big hint.
Two earth ponies
Four pegasus/pegasi/pegasuses (however you choose to make it a plural)
Six unicorns
One alicorn
One non-pony
One equestria girl character
All female.