My Little Pony: Friendship is Dirty Afterstory

Phew... okay, you can do this, Twi. You got this. I let out a heavy sigh and looked into the mirror. The dress was simple, but pretty. Rarity always said white was my color, I was never any good with this kind of thing, so I just had to take her word for it. The platforms made me look average in height for once, which was a nice change of pace, were the gloves too much, though?

I turned my head to the side, observing the charming little dangle of those chandelier earrings Fluttershy had bought for me at the Summer Harvest Festival. I’d not gotten any chance to wear them yet, they looked really nice. I was used to wearing my hair up while working, but something about this felt different. I hadn’t really done much to it, but coupled with the whole image, it looked... nice. Regal, somehow.

“Okay, okay...” I bounced on the balls of my feet for a second, rocking my head back and forth and shaking my wrists loose like I was about to run the hundred-yard dash, before setting my eyes on the mirror, standing up straight, and clasping my hands behind my back. “Rarity~ how are you-- no, that’s too boring,” I shook my head and re-centered, trying again, “Darling, you look simply ravishing this even—ugh no, I can’t do formal-speak...”

I glanced over at my desk, where ‘The Art of Getting Him to Call You Back the Next Morning’ was open to the sixth chapter: Making a Good First Impression. I swallowed, feeling the powerful itch deep in my chest to go and read the highlighted passage for the seventeen-thousandth time, but I resisted.

“You need to stop getting every lesson you learn from a textbook”, Dash had told me, and I was trying to take that to heart. I allowed myself to research and take notes up to a point, but I had to stop somewhere and do some hands-on learning.

Okay, try again, just act natural. I turned back to the mirror and put on a smile, “Hey, youuuu-no, gods... why am I so bad at this!?” I lifted my hands up to grind the heels of my hands into my eyes, but stopped just in time to avoid ruining the eyeliner that Spike had worked so hard on getting right. She’s only been a girl for a few months, but she’s already better at it than I am.

Just as I was getting ready to try another line, I heard a knock downstairs, and I froze, a sudden chill running down my spine. My eyes flicked up to the clock, Just past seven... Shit when did it get so late!?I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, and turned towards the door of my room, where Spike was already poking her head in.

“Hey,” She said, smile soft and tone gentle, “You gonna be alright tonight?”

“Is it that obvious I’m a wreck?” I gave her the best nervous giggle I could muster.

“To me? Yeah.” She smirked, forked tongue flicking between her lips for a split second.

“Do I at least look nice?” I spread my arms for her to observe the evening’s attire.

“You always look nice, Twi.” Spike stepped into the room, managing to look a thousand times more natural in a black cocktail dress and strappy heels than I ever could. She stepped up to me, placed her hands on my hips and leaned in to press her muzzle to mine, “You’re the only pony I know who could be in this situation and still somehow get nervous about something like a date.”

“It’s not just a date, Spike...” I swallowed again, still dry as a desert, “It’s two, and it’s the first time since we... sorted everything out. Things are finally going smoothly for once, and I just...”

“Don’t wanna fuck it up?” Her fingers tightened reassuringly on my hips.

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but... yeah, that.”

“Twi, you’ve known them forever, you went through this whole crazy-ass year together, do you really think a single bad date is gonna put a dent in that?”

“Well... I guess... I’m just--”

“You’re nervous, it’s fine, it’s what happens. But you’ve got this, just do what feels natural”

“Why are you always the one giving me the lectures nowadays? What ever happened to my little baby dragon, huh?” I gave her a sheepish smile, and she kissed me briefly on the lips.

“She went and grew up when you weren’t looking.” Spike released my waist and reached for my hands. She looked down at the elbow-length evening gloves and her lips turned down.

“That bad?” I bit my lip.

“That bad.” She nodded.

“Dammit... I’ve let you hang around with Rarity too much lately.”