Chapters

Part 1 - An ice cream soda shop, you say?
Part 2 - Romance, with a side order of strabismus
Part 3 - It's not a competition. Oh wait, apparently it is
Part 4 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side A)
Part 5 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side B)

Part 1 - An ice cream soda shop, you say?
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Shipping, Do You Speak It?

Part 1 - An ice cream soda shop, you say?

Sky, grass, sky, grass. Rainbow Dash felt as though her eyes would spin right out of her head. Her wings strained, trying to twist over completely in the direction of the roll, her muscles ached holding them at the correct angle. She was going to hold this corkscrew no matter what. She'd counted in her head at least thirty seconds, and she knew she was below twenty feet. This had to be some kind of record, surely.

Sky, grass, sky, grass, sky, tree, sky, grass...wait, tree? The cyan pegasus deliberately angles her wings to try and throw herself into a bank, but it was no use – she was going way too fast, and she was way too low. She feels the tip of a wing drag the grass below and instinctively retracts it, this only serves to make her even more unstable, her body flips and she throws her forelegs up in front of her head.

Celestia this was going to hurt.

After a long few moments, Rainbow Dash carefully peers out from behind her crossed forelegs. The tree was right there, mere inches away, but she hadn't hit it, and she wasn't moving. Her body felt...light, weightless even, disconnected from gravity in a decidedly unnatural way. She expected her life to flash before her eyes...or maybe some flamboyantly dressed feminine stallion to come out of nowhere and sing a big musical number about the meaning of life. Actually, that would be kind of cool.

But no, she just remains floating there in the air, in front of the tree, and nothing cool happens. She eventually becomes aware of the purple aura around her body, and the similarly purple unicorn standing just off to the side of her with a concerned, but puzzled look.

“So. Um. Th-...thanks Twi...” the pegasus sheepishly acknowledges. Twilight Sparkle sets her friend down carefully on her hooves responsively, shaking her head.

“Let me guess, your newest trick involves becoming stuck halfway through a tree?” the unicorn jibes with a playful sarcasm.

“Well, your jokes are getting...better, I guess” the rainbow-maned pegasus returns with a roll of her eyes, though she immediately regrets it – they still hurt from spinning around her head trying to keep track of her orientation.

Dash had actually managed to forget she'd finally convinced Twilight to come along and watch her practice for the first time. She might have been embarrassed the result was the nerdy unicorn witnessing what would been a pretty epic fail, but she was too thankful her friend had the power to save her from her own mistake. She was still probably never going to live it down, though.

And she was right.

The walk back into Ponyville proper – or rather, Twilight walked, and Rainbow Dash hovered overhead and a little behind – was punctuated by a lengthy, smug, and painfully valid lecture about how none of the greatest Wonderbolts became so by getting lodged in solid objects. Or, more accurately, how reckless, borderline suicidal stunts and ideas, did not constitute fearlessness and daring, which Twilight had carefully structured using hall of famer Wonderbolts as examples to ensure Dash was basically forced to pay attention.

Desperate to have something besides Twilight's voice in her head, Dash turned her attention to the sky above. It was blue and clear, little in the way of cloud, but it wasn't hot – it was moderate, comfortable, and tempered by a pleasant breeze. Spring was awesome, especially when Equestria's greatest weather pegasus was around to make sure of it.

Of course, even the most awesome pegasus in Equestria could mess up a trick now and then. Sure nearly becoming part of a tree was a pretty big mistake, but if that tree hadn't been there, she might have pulled off the longest, lowest corkscrew in history. Maybe she did already – she wasn't actually sure what the record was.

“Hey Twilight” the pegasus perks up, grabbing the unicorn's attention, “you happen to have a book with like...all different records for aerial stunts and stuff?”.

The lavender mare ponders over this for a surprisingly short moment, then cocks her head up, which afforded her an almost effectively backwards view at her friend. “Actually, yes, I do. The Aeronautical Records Annual, I got this year's print just the other day. I was going to mention it to you...but then I remembered books hurt your soul”.

She hadn't thought of that, actually. Even a book full of things she actually wanted to know, was still a book. And reading books was just not cool. No matter how many cheesy, hopelessly out of fashion, painfully un-hip masocts and spokesponies tried to insist otherwise. The solution was obvious, to preserve her own cool, Rainbow Dash couldn't read the book...but she just happened to have a friend who would gladly read it and store the information for her reference.

“So, uh...”

“Nope”, the purple unicorn's response came quite quickly and soundly, though she was friendly about it nonetheless. “You want to know what's in the book, you read it yourself. I'm not going to be your cheat-sheet”.

Dash couldn't even begin to fathom how Twilight does that. The purple mare was getting too good at predicting what she was going to say... maybe that owl of hers really is a spy. Actually, that didn't make much sense, the owl wasn't around right now, because it's day time, and the owl can't read her mind anyway. She'd only just thought of it.

The rainbow-maned mare's eyes pry open with panicked realization. Could Twilight read her mind? Did she have a spell to do that? Was she reading her mind right now? And why was she staring at her all of a sudden?

“Something wrong?”, the unicorn presented a thoughtful look. Panic and paranoia was written all over the pegasus. Pinkie had just finished seeing to it with a permanent marker, earning a mixture of bafflement and curiosity from the unicorn and pegasus both.

“What? It's called literalism” Pinkie insists happily, bouncing up and down in place, “I'm on an art kick. See?” she suddenly produces a perfectly square watermelon from...somewhere. “I already did cubism. Next I think I'll try...”

“Pinkie, that's not how it wor-”

“Oooh! Cerealism!” Twilight is cut off as the pink earth pony suddenly races off in the vague direction of the Oats and Chairs store.

“It's...surreali...oh never-mind” the unicorn shakes her head in dismay, having long since learned her lesson.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash had gone their separate ways, evident primarily in the absence of the aforementioned purple unicorn. The cyan pegasus drifted along at an especially un-Rainbow-Dash leisurely pace, just a few feet off the ground. Her mind was still largely dominated by the events of the day, though it was only the afternoon yet, and there was plenty of time for more to happen. The thought didn't comfort her at this point.

But that might she muses to herself, gazing up at the ice-cream-soda store in front of her. She walks through the slightly awkward double-doors into a world of ice blue, white, and glitter. It wasn't exactly “girly”, but it was “cutesy” enough to make the pegasus roll her eyes a bit – it was to be expected, though. These places all had the same basic style.

She walks up to the bar itself and climbs onto a stool, leaning on the counter. An ice-blue unicorn with a predominantly white mane stood behind it, her eyes going momentarily wide at the sight of Rainbow Dash, but the cyan mare doesn't react, or even look at her directly.

“I'll have an ice cream soda” the pegasus reports inattentively, extending a wing and craning her head to pull a small, slim wallet out of an ingenious hiding place between her thicker feathers, and shaking a few bits out of it onto the counter, before placing it back.

The unicorn attendant doesn't even bother to respond or nod, seeing as the rainbow-maned mare seemed barely even conscious of her existence. Her horn lights up with an ice-blue glow, and a similarly colored aura draws a sturdy glass from the clean-rack behind her, positioning it at a soda-tap which she activates with a hoof, then sets the glass down and manipulates a nearby freezer open, while levitating two ice-cream scoops into it, which return with two scoops of vanilla ice-cream that are deposited into the soda, and finally her magic inserts a straw into the concoction, and slides it in front of the pegasus.

“Thanks” Dash almost mumbles inattentively, attaching her mouth to the straw and starting to slowly drink. The attendant returns her attention to cleaning out glasses, though she continues watching the pegasus with a certain notable curiosity.

“You know, I wouldn't mind Twi so much, if she didn't have to be so damn clever” the pegasus remarks...it wasn't entirely clear if she was talking to the attendant, herself, or some imaginary friend sitting beside her. She didn't sound particular angry or mean-spirited, but she was visibly annoyed.

“I mean it's cool that she's so smart. It's part of who she is. And it's helped all of us...hay, all of Ponyville, no even all of Equestria”, Dash's emphasis climbs with each extension, then drops off again completely with a sigh. “I just wish she was a bit more...in touch, with life, you know? She doesn't really...live it, she just kind of...reads about it”

“I...see” the attendant carefully responds, raising a brow with a cautiously engaged look.

“I had a crush on her for a while, but you know, it was pretty obvious nothing was going to happen. I mean I coulda wrote damn you flank so fine on a sign and beat her in the head with it, she'd just lecture me about how it's wrong to hit your friends with signs”.

The attendant promptly covers her mouth with a hoof to stifle a laugh, though she isn't particularly successful.

Dash takes another long draw of her drink, then leans her head onto a hoof propped against the counter lazily. “It's kinda sad, you know? I'd bet my right wing she had a crush on Princess Luna but thought she just wanted to be her friend, so she didn't do anything about it”.

“That does sound rather sad, doesn't it?” the attendant responds thoughtfully.

“Yeah. It's all Celestia's fault, of course” the cyan pegasus returns with a small frown. “She had her literally living up in an ivory tower before coming to Ponyville. She obviously never took five minutes to point at Twilight's flank and go hey, see that? Shake it once in a while and something good might happen. She could have at least given her the talk or something”.

The attendant once again finds herself having to restrain a laugh, though this one was also tempered with surprise.

“And that's not even the worst of it. I had the exact same problem anypony who wanted to get with Twilight is guaranteed to have. You know Twilight would want Celestia's approval of anypony she wanted to be with. And how the buck do you live up to those kind of standards? I mean sheesh...”

The pegasus sits up on her stool and gestures with a hoof in illustration of her own point.

“You know, that's probably it right there. Celestia. She had to be Twilight's first crush, I mean there's just no way that didn't happen. But of course nothing could happen because...come on, it's Celestia. And nopony could ever live up to a first love like that...so she never registers having feelings for anypony. Yeah, that's gotta be it...”

Dash frowns and settles down on her seat again, taking another long draw from her drink, and somberly mulling over her thoughts momentarily. “Well, it's not my problem anymore, anyway. I still have a thing for her, cuz...you know, she's pretty special. But it's never gonna happen. So I'm on the lookout for something that will”.

Just about now, the ice-cream had completely dissolved into the remaining soda. The pegasus grabs the class between her fore-hooves and tips back on her stool, gulping down the rest in one long session, before setting the glass back down with a burp and a relieved sigh. “Well, that was great. I'll have to come back for some more sometime”.

Dash takes a moment to fish out an extra loose bit and toss it on the counter, before hopping down off the stool, “and hey, you're a pretty good listener for such a loud-mouth. It was cool to see you again, Trixie”. And with that, the pegasus wanders off out of the shop, leaving Trixie visibly stunned.

The sun was low in the sky now, it's bottom edge not quite grazing the horizon yet. The temperature had dropped and the breeze had died off, but this balanced out pretty well, making it a comfortable, cool evening. Trixie was infinitely grateful for it as she walked home – her body, she concluded, was not built to stand around all day serving milk and soda beverages. But this job was a big part of her new life, and it was...strangely satisfying to go home every day knowing you worked hard enough to actually ache.

“Oh, hey Trixie”

The acknowledgment momentarily stuns the azure unicorn – no one ever recognized her, only...

“...Rainbow Dash, wasn't it?” Trixie calls up to the small cloud floating just off from the path through the park, a cyan pegasus visible reclining lazily across it.

The cyan pegasus rolls off the cloud with an unnecessary but skillful flip to land on her hooves a few feet away, then sits on her haunches casually.

“The one and only” she affirms with her trademark, boastful sitting pose, from which she quickly relaxes, “just get off work?”.

The unicorn found herself strangely possessing of the motivation to sit as well, though she moves onto the softer grass first.

“Yes, Trixie just knocked off for the day” the azure mare reports casually, though still with some mild hesitation. She wasn't entirely sure why she was able to talk to this particular pegasus...by all rights, they should probably hate her, and at the very least, not want to talk to her.

Instead, Dash just nods in response, looking off toward the setting sun, though this wasn't an especially good angle to see it from. “So I guess you live in Ponyville huh? Pretty crazy. None of us had any idea you came back”.

The unicorn frowns slightly at this, though not at Dash, seemingly at herself.

“Trixie only moved to Ponyville about six weeks ago. She is...careful of who she encounters”.

“Bad memories huh? Yeah I know what that's like” Dash muses casually.

Trixie draws her gaze at the cyan mare, finding herself momentarily lost in thought again. This was the same proud pegasus she humiliated in front of a crowd, who seemed almost as boastful as herself back then. The same pegasus she heard remark a desire to chase after her when she fled that night, and was stopped by Twilight Sparkle. How was she now so accepting of Trixie's presence?

“Well, you're cool with me, anyway” the rainbow-maned pegasus reports casually, once more casting her glance toward the sun, which was now well into the process of setting. “You live far from here? It's gonna be dark pretty soon”.

“The road home is a little long” Trixie replies, lifting a hoof to gesture at her horn, “but Trixie is not afraid of the dark”.

“Here...” Dash begins, sitting up a bit and opening her fore-legs invitingly. The azure mare found herself utterly perplexed by the gesture. Surely the pegasus was not inviting her for a hug, that seemed- her thoughts prove redundant. The pegasus becomes impatient almost immediately, and simply walks over to the unicorn, picking her up about the back and under her hind-legs, more or less forcing Trixie to put her fore-legs around Dash's neck for support.

“What...what are you-”, Trixie's protesting query goes unanswered and promptly proves redundant – the pegasus lifts them off the ground and takes flight, hovering several feet up.

“Which way do you live?” the cyan mare queries casually. Trixie couldn't help but hold onto her tighter, it was quickly evident she had never been carried by a pegasus before, and being this high off the ground was making her nervous. Her hoof shook as she gestures it westward.

“T...Trixie lives...over there...in a small blue house...third in the row”, the azure mare stumbles over her words, between shaking gently with nerves and being slightly startled at the gesture alone.

Dash takes a slightly firmer grip of Trixie and casts her a reassuring smile, “hey, don't sweat it. I'm the best flier in Equestria you know. You couldn't be safer”.

Trixie could only offer a small nod, before the pegasus takes off in flight to the west. She was thoughtful of the nervous mare and didn't go too high or too fast, able to feel that her reassurance had done relatively little to ease the unicorn's fear of heights – pegasus had an innate sense for it, ironically. She also noticed, quite quickly, that as it got darker, Trixie squeezed her eyes closed and unintentionally tried to hide her face in Dash's neck. Not afraid of the dark huh...?

It could only possibly have been a matter of a few minutes, but to Trixie, it felt like an hour. She could hear...no, feel, the pegasus' heartbeat through her neck, it was just as fast as her own. Was the pegasus afraid too? No...surely, it was just the exertion of carrying her own weight and Trixie's at the same time. But somehow, it still felt comforting. Trixie was not accustomed to being held, even if it was for a purely practical reason. She had read stories of how the heartbeat of another could be soothing, but she believed it romantic drivel. For once, she was happy to be proven wrong.

She feels a slight shock of impact as the pegasus touches down again, however gently she made the landing, and opens her eyes as Dash carefully puts her down on her own hooves. She was indeed at the front door to her house, the pegasus had gotten her there in a fraction of the time it would have taken her normally, and without a scratch to show for it.

“T...thank you, Rainbow Dash” the azure mare smiles weakly, “Trixie is grateful for the...lift”.

The pegasus shrugs nonchalantly, placing her fore-hooves behind her head. “Hey, no problem. I figure...you know, maybe we could be friends? And friends help each other out. So uh...I'll see you around”.

“...wait!”, Trixie's sudden remark pauses the pegasus as she had turned to fly off again. The unicorn hesitantly steps toward the cyan mare, and then quickly and nervously kisses her cheek, before rapidly retreating through the door of her house.

It was to Rainbow Dash's great relief that Trixie had retreated so quickly, she couldn't have seen the pegasus' wings standing firmly out to either side behind her, or the blush across her confused face.

Trixie remained lent against the inside of her door as though some terrible beast had chased her inside. She waits until she hears the tell-tale sound of wing-beats and scuffle, proving the pegasus had flow away before she finally allows herself to breathe again. She takes a long moment to collect herself, then permits a small smile to spread across her face.

The next morning arrived with all the subtlety of one of Trixie's old shows. The light from Celestia's sun pierced the thin blue curtains of Trixie's bedroom and painted obnoxiously bright radiance across the room, and the unicorn's face. She grunts in protest at it and pulls her pillow over her head while turning over. It was her day off, Trixie didn't need to put up with this.

Trixie's recently acquired home in Ponyville was surprisingly humble, considering its owner. It was relatively small, consisting of no more than a living room which was also the kitchen and dining room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. It had a small front garden, barely the width of the house and not even a third of the depth, and a small back-yard of similar dimensions.

A simple wooden table, wooden chairs, an old-looking comfortable sofa, a coffee table, a book-shelf with maybe half a dozen books in it, a dresser in the bedroom, and an old bed that wasn't all that much bigger than Trixie herself. The furnishings were similarly humble, it seemed. There were no photos on the walls or in frames, not even of Trixie herself.

There was just one object in the room to imply Trixie hadn't necessarily lost everything that terrible night – a trunk that sat at the foot of her bed, a bit old, very battered, which had her cutie-mark painted on it. One couldn't help but wonder what personable treasures she kept hidden in that inauspicious box, and why they were in the box, and not on display in her home.

Trixie was too busy wishing Celestia would turn her stupid sun off to have such thoughts herself, though of course, it would never happen. Eventually, with another protesting groan, she pulls the pillow off her head and sits up, rubbing her eyes with the back of a hoof. Coffee was required. Immediately. But the thought of walking to that cafe nearby that actually made something palatable resembling the miraculous liquid filled Trixie with despair, and a taste for muffins.

At least there was no such thing as a freeze-dried insult masquerading as tea. A kettle of boiled water, a cup, a small bowl of sugar-cubes, and a container of tea-bags from that delightful store two blocks over was all it required to get tea right. This is Equestria, there are no British to insist otherwise. Whatever those are.

Trixie continued to be referred to in the third person as she sat at her little dining table and levitated her cup of tea to slowly imbibe it. She contemplates a proper breakfast to go with it, but the thought of the effort involved makes her cringe. It was Trixie's day off, and she intended to exert as little effort as possible in the enjoyment of it.

Still, her mind returns to the events of the night before. Rainbow Dash had been more charming than she probably intended. In fact, she probably hadn't been all that charming at all, but Trixie was so unaccustomed to be treated well, it just seemed that way. Trixie didn't mind being a little pathetic, though, if she got to feel a bit special in return.

They say being carried by a pegasus, for a non-pegasus, is a life-altering experience, and one could only imagine that being carried by a pegasus as awesome as Rainbow Dash only magnified the effect. Being lonely, a bit desperate, and kind of tragic helped too, of course. Trixie was strangely content with this simple new life she'd built, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was finally time to add a little more to it.

Just a friend, for now. Surely no more than that. The pegasus was quick to point out the poor perception of Twilight Sparkle, but Trixie was fairly convinced Dash herself wasn't much better at it, if perhaps maybe in different ways. Trixie was very careful of who she encountered when she was out and about, but that wasn't to say she didn't see plenty in the process.

The first couple of weeks of Trixie's return to Ponyville had been the most difficult. She would run, hide, and/or use illusion magic to conceal herself if she so much as suspected one of Twilight Sparkle's friends was nearby, with the exception of the shy yellow one, who wouldn't recognize her anyway, and she had been quite successful. In more recent weeks, having worked out their routines and patterns, it was much easier to avoid them, and...on occasion, that is frequently, observe them from a distance.

Multicolored oatmeal with sweet-grass and carrots? Trixie looks up from the curious dish that had appeared in front of her, at the humming, swaying pink earth pony who had put it there, smiling cheerfully. The pink one, that was, Trixie was too busy blinking in confusion – when did Pinkie get in here? And what in the name of-

“So Cerealism turned out to be kinda boring. But mighty tasty!” Pinkie announces happily, producing another bowl of the curious “cereal” and placing it in front of herself, as she sits at the other end of the table on the other chair, and promptly buries her face in it, eating messily.

Trixie blinks a few more times for good measure...but then just gives a shrug of her shoulders, and leans down to take a mouthful of the dish herself. It was actually pretty good – the multicolor effect was inherently caused by some combination of fruit syrups that gave the dish a surprisingly balanced, sweet palette, that worked well with the sweet grass and carrot slices. The texture was a bit...questionable, but easily ignored.

Of course Trixie had no hope of hiding from the pink one. She found Trixie within ten minutes of her return to Ponyville, and had taken three hours to convince not to throw her a welcome party. Trixie had since learned the earth pony was another of Twilight Sparkle's friends, but had managed to forge an agreement that she would keep Trixie's presence in Ponyville a secret in return for free ice-cream-soda for life. The small print of the agreement also included Pinkie randomly popping in to hang out when she was home, though Trixie quickly came to like that part.

“Really, Dash? Again?”.

The cyan pegasus groans in protest, stuck the wrong way up, with just her flank and tail sticking out of the tree she had become tangled in. Twilight stood below, slowly shaking her head. The sun hung high over the field were Rainbow practiced her flying tricks, but there was a fair bit of cloud today, as a spring-shower was scheduled.

The unicorn's horn lights up and she magically plucks her friend from the tree, setting her down on her hooves below it. The pegasus dusts herself off with an annoyed, embarrassed frown, and sits on her haunches, crossing her front legs over her chest and looking away.

“Hey, these things don't always go to plan. I'd like to see you do better, you know, considering you can't even fly” Dash retorts indignantly, and a bit childishly.

Twilight actually seems to become annoyed at this, evident in the sharpening of her features as she turns away. “For your information, I could if I wanted to. You saw yourself I can give ponies temporary wings”.

“Yeah, fro-fro butterfly wings that burn up in the sun” the cyan mare retorts, again, somewhat childishly with a roll of her eyes, “real impressive”.

The unicorn's eye twitches violently for a moment as she takes a sharp breath and prepares to say something rather angrily...but she pauses herself, and lets it go with a long breath out. The notable silence lasts a few moments, prompting the pegasus to open her eye to look over at the purple mare, who she finds has turned away from her completely.

“...hey, I didn't...I mean, it was actually kind of impressive” Dash attempts to be reassuring, getting the distinct impression she's just trodden on the unicorn's pride a bit too hard. “It's just...you know, they weren't really practical. And you didn't use them on yourself, so you don't actually have the experience...” yeah this is going really well isn't it Dash? Why don't you call her a nerd for good measure

The cyan mare furrows her brow and leans forward, swearing she heard the unicorn say something under her breath. “Huh? What was that? I couldn't hear you”.

“Nothing” the purple mare retorts distantly, giving a shake of her head, “I'm...heading back to the library”. She doesn't even bother to look back as she starts walking away.

What did that even mean? Dash furrows her brow, her mind still stuck on what Twilight had said under her breath. The pegasus' hearing was a lot better than ponies would probably believe, but she was having trouble getting her head around what she thought she heard. So much in fact that she almost doesn't notice her friend is leaving at first.

“W-..hey, what! Where are you going?”.

The unicorn stops for a moment with a sigh, “I told you, I'm going back to the library. I have books to read, things to study. You know, nerding to do”.

“Why'd you come out here if you were just gonna leave?” Dash retorts, confused, and a bit upset now.

“Well jeez, I don't know. Because you asked?” the purple mare retorts rather sharply, though she seems to recoil slightly from her own tone, softening again strait away. “I'll see you, Dash”.

The pegasus lets her leave this time, knowing she'll probably just say something she'll regret if she pushes it any further. She gives a frustrated grunt and slumps back against the tree behind her, crossing her front-legs again and turning her head off to the side, furrowing her brow.

”One day I won't even need the spell. But then it'll be too late”? What in Equestria does that mean? Dash turns her head to the slowly shrinking sight of the purple unicorn walking the curving path back in the direction of Ponyville proper. Even from here she could see the angry, but upset look on her friend's face.

I don't get it. Is coming out here just a waste of time to her? Is she angry at me for talking her out of studying for once? Is she angry that I had another accident? Ugh, I wonder if Celestia has a flanking instruction book I could borrow. “How The Buck To Understand Twilight Sparkle”. If anypony has one, it'd be her for sure.

“Oooh she all maaaaaad” Pinkie observers with a mockingly angry face.

Dash turns her head upward without so much as a skipped heartbeat, observing the top half of the pink earth-pony protruding from the tree just above her head, upside-down of course.

“Hey Pinks”.

“Hiya Dashie” the earth pony retuns with a big smile, “wanna go play some pranks?”.

“Not today Pinks” the pegasus returns with a shake of her head, lowering it a bit with a weight of thought still across her brow, “got stuff on my mind I need to work out”.

“Oh, okie dokie lok-” the earth pony is cut off as her tenuous attachment to the structure of the tree gives way and she falls out of it onto her head, though she simply rolls over and sits up like nothing happened, leafy twigs sticking out of her mane and all. “Oh hey, are you gonna go visit Trixie today? It's her day off you know”.

This actually manages to inspire some surprise in the pegasus.

“What, you know Trixie's back in Ponyville?” Dash queries with a vacant blink.

“Well of course. Duh!” Pinkie reports with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, and head. “I knew from the start. I wanted to throw her a big party – of course, but she didn't want that. So we made a deal. Free ice-cream-soda for life!”, she gives a hoof-pump, “although I'll still throw her a party when she's ready. Just have to wait. Wait wait wait wait wait...”

The cyan mare slowly shakes her head, “Pinks, how'd you know I knew she was in Ponyville? … have you been spying on me again?”.

“Oh, no, no no no no...” the pink one begins waving her fore-legs emphatically, “nononono, no no, no no no no no, nono …. well” she pauses and smiles, “maybe a little”.

“Right...” Dash furrows her brow, but then shakes it off with a small sigh, “anyway, like I said. I have a lot on my mind. I'll probably catch up with her tomorrow or something”.

Pinkie cocks her head to the side, “well that's silly. You had a lot on your mind the first time you went to see her and it made you feel better, right? Why not today!”. She began bouncing in place, for reasons only Pinkie could possibly understand.

Dash pauses at this with some actual consideration. The earth pony had a point – it was almost terrifying when that happened, but it was a point nonetheless. “You know, you might be onto something there Pinks. And we are friends now after all. Yeah, I think I'll go catch up with Trix. You gonna come along?”.

“Nope!” the pink mare shakes her head with a big smile, gesturing a hoof in the vague direction of...well, where Twilight was, before she'd eventually disappeared from sight. “I'm gonna go cheer up Twilight”, she takes an extremely fake serious look, “or die trying”.

She might not have made that joke if she'd realized it was apparently quite possible. Pinkie stood in visible and for once, genuine, shock, beside Spike, both stood outside and a little off to the side of the library as it rattled and shook on its foundations. The lavender unicorn's angry ranting bellowed from within, virtually indecipherable in the way it kept changing tone from furious to mocking to venomous and liberally interspersed with words the baby dragon wasn't old enough to understand.

“I really, really, really wouldn't go in there...” Spike insists in mixed shock and horror. His point is promptly illustrated by what looked rather like a bolt of purple lightning blowing the door clean off the library, before a magic aura picks it up and slams it back into its frame.

Depending on you point of view, it was either surprising or quite logical that Celestia would touch down beside them outside the library, right about the same time an entire bookshelf flies through and destroys the larger balcony's doors, before the same magic aura pulls the doors back together. The bookshelf remains lodged halfway into the building on the other side of the street though.

“Princess! Oh thank … you!” Spike exclaims, grabbing the goddesses' nearest leg, “Twi's totally lost it! The mess, Celestia! The mess! It'll take the rest of my life to clean up!”.

Celesita nods knowingly, patting Spike gently on the head with the hoof she removes from his grasp, and then proceeds toward the library, clearing her throat and holding her head up. She stops immediately in her tracks as another bookshelf sails clean out one of the tree's walls and off into some distant part of Ponyville with a pretty radical amount of force behind it.

“On second thought...it may be best to let her...get it out of her system first...” Celestia submits with a nervous smile, and wide-eyes.

“...woah! Uh...Trix...you okay...?”

Rainbow Dash just...blinks vacantly at the bookshelf that was now half-way through the ceiling of Trixie's house. The unicorn herself was attached to the candelabra hanging from the ceiling several feet away, very pale and shaking in fear.

“Trixie knew it! She knew Twilight Sparkle would find out she was back in town! Oh Celestia, she's going to kill Trixie! Look! She's already trying! How can Trixie defend herself against projectile bookshelves!?”

“Woah, woah...easy now...” Dash tries her best to be comforting, though she herself was still more than a bit put-off by the projectile bookshelf. She floated near the ceiling just below Trixie, carefully coaxing her down into the hold of her fore-legs, and eases her down onto the floor, where she immediately shrinks into a cower, covering her head with her hooves and still shaking.

The pegasus rubs the back of her head sheepishly as she sits down next to the petrified unicorn. It was a bit of an extreme situation. “Uh...I really doubt Twi launched it at you on purpose...just a really, really weird coincidence”. Dash is forced to look off to the side momentarily, if anything, she was probably aiming at me...

“...h-hey, come on. Lets get this thing out of here anyway” Dash announces with an awkward insistence, trotting over to the bookshelf and pushing up against it from below, trying to get it back out the ceiling...rather in vain, it had to be said – those bookshelves weren't exactly light, and it was stuck halfway through the ceiling itself to boot.

Trixie takes a long few moments observing, and though still clearly shaken, eventually climbs to her hooves. Her horn lights up and an ice-blue aura spreads around the bookshelf. She exerts her will against it, having to lower on her legs and physically push forward against the spell to try and shift the object. Dash begins flapping her wings in slow, powerful controlled strikes, adding more force to the effort, and the bookshelf begins to inch. She flaps her wings faster, as Trixie's hooves begin to scrape slightly along the floorboards, loosing traction as she tries to push forward against the shelf's mass in her magic hold.

Finally, slowly, the bookshelf slides back out the ceiling along the angle it had come in, until it was far enough out that when the pegasus and the unicorn fall to the floor from over-exertion, the bookshelf simply slumps onto the outside of the roof with a loud bang, then slides off it onto the ground outside with an even louder crash. The scene was in no way rife with thinly veiled sexual implications.

Dash got up fairly quickly, still breathing kind of heavily, but dusts her hooves and assumes a triumphant pose “aw yeah, super pegasus saves the day again”. She pauses, and looks over at Trixie, who was still slumped on the floor and breathing heavily, clearly worn out. “Er...oh, hey...”, the cyan mare wanders over and carefully picks the unicorn up, guiding her over to slump on the couch.

“Th...thank you, Dash” the unicorn struggles out between breaths, giving a tired, but genuine smile, “it seems...things begin to go better for...Trixie when you are around”.

The pegasus blushes lightly at this, but quickly converts her nerves into bravado, striking another pose, “well yeah. When you're this awesome, it tends to spill over to those nearby”. She sinks away from her pose and...finds herself actually feeling a bit silly for it, turning her eyes away, “I mean uh...and you know...I like to help my friends”.

Trixie cocks her head with slight puzzlement at this reaction, but shrugs it off, having a much better handle on her composure now. “Trixie is glad to see you anyway. She had nothing to do today and was looking forward to seeing you again”. She immediately finds herself slightly mortified at saying that. It was a little bit too true.

To Trixie's surprise, however, the cyan mare smiles at this, with a small nervous blush. “Yeah, me too”.

Celestia just watched on in, at this point, shocked bemusement, sitting on her haunches and observing the spectacle as another bookshelf is launched out a different wall of the library. Spike at this point was cowering under the bath, which had been launched out a different wall at some point, just his tail sticking out as it rattles from his shaking.

“Wow, she's really mad” Pinkie remarks, popping up through a hole in a bookshelf that apparently landed on her at some point, an open book across her head. “Uh, maybe somepony should...stop her now? Before one of those-”, she cringes as the most recently launched bookshelf hits Sugarcube Corner “never mind...”.

“That's a funny way to spring-clean” Derpy announces with a raised brow, hovering just beside Celestia, gesturing a hoof at the library. “Did Twilight decide she doesn't like books anymore?”.

“Er...not exactly” the sun goddess returns with a nervous smile, “dear Twilight is um...well, she's having a bit of an episode”.

“Ah” comes the gray mailmare's simple response, giving a small shrug of her shoulders as she lands and trots toward the door, “well, the mail is the mail, I always deliver”.

Celestia cringes, “oh, dear, I don't think that's such a good-”, it was too late. The blonde-maned pegasus fishes a letter from her mailbag and holds it between her teeth, then trots inside without a care in the world.

Celestia and Pinkie both cover their eyes with a hoof and flatten their ears. One could only imagine the horrifying consequences that would befall the poor mailmare. Of course, when absolutely nothing apparently happens...and the activity in the library seems to cease entirely, they're left rather surprised.

Rather cautiously, especially for an immortal sun goddess, Celestia peeks her head around the corner to look into the library through it's door, not that there was a door attached anymore at this point. The inside was even worse than the outside, predictably enough – none of the furniture was were it sat originally, either having been launched out of the building at some point, or currently lodged in a wall, or the floor. None of the books actually looked damaged, ironically, though few if any of them were left in the remaining shelves.

“Shh, it's okay”

Celestia's attention is drawn by Derpy's voice, spotting the mailmare and Twilight just visible beyond the door into the backroom of the library. The gray pegasus was giving the purple unicorn a comforting hug, who was in turn hiding her face in the mailmare's shoulder, just letting herself be held.

“It'll be okay” Derpy insists softly, rubbing the back of the unicorn's head with a hoof, “you just got a bit carried away. It happens to everypony”. In defiance of all logic and reason, it was clearly working. Celestia couldn't help but think to herself the blonde maned mare was either fearless...or shamefully, as they all should, just knew Twilight wouldn't hurt anypony on purpose, and had no reason to fear in the first place.

And the day's subtle foreshadowing was complete.

Part 2 - Romance, with a side order of strabismus
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Shipping, Do You Speak It?

Part 2 - Romance, with a side order of strabismus

“That should just about do it”

Rainbow Dash dusts her hooves as she leans back to proudly observe her work. Using a combination of wood planks and tarpaulin, she'd effectively patched the hole in Trixie's roof, at least temporarily. The clouds overhead were getting darker and heavier as that scheduled spring shower drew near, making the patch all the more important.

Her work complete, the pegasus flutters down off the roof and trots back inside, closing the door behind her. Trixie was still resting on the couch, now with a damp cloth over her forehead, presumably a headache chasing the earlier shock. The cyan mare noticed the unicorn's eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady, evident she'd fall asleep at some point.

Damn... Dash looks around for some parchment and a quill to write a note, finding evidence of neither anywhere she could see. Oh...right...not all unicorns are like Twi... she muses to herself, gaining a slightly concerned look, I'm gonna have to apologize to her eventually...but what am I supposed to say? I don't even know what she got so upset about...

An incoherent mumble draws the pegasus' attention back to Trixie as she stirs, her eyes slowly finding the cyan mare and blinking a few times in puzzlement, “...oh, Trixie isn't dreaming?”. She slowly shifts to sit up on the couch, wash-cloth sliding off her head in the process, though she doesn't seem to notice. “Good morning, lo-”

The blue mare freezes in horror as her brain catches up to her mouth, her eyes opening fully to the confused look on Dash's face. By some boon of Celestia, or Luna, Trixie's eyes happen to divert to the same part of the ceiling that had just been repaired.

“Love the repair! Yes. Trixie is very grateful”.

Trixie's eyes nervously dart back and forth between the pegasus and the repaired ceiling as she smiles nervously, desperately willing the pegasus to buy it.

“Oh...uh...” the pegasus looks away from Trixie to the patched ceiling, “what are friends for, right?”.

What are friends for, huh? Is that why you're here, not over at that library apologizing your flank off?

Dash frowns at herself, but Trixie doesn't notice, too busy almost hanging over the back of the couch taking the biggest sigh of relief in her life.

By the time the pegasus turns back to Trixie, she'd already gotten off the couch and headed into the kitchenette, where she was pretending to look through her cupboards to hide the blush on her face.

“So uh...whacha up to today, Trix?”

“Oh, you know. It's Trixie's day off, so she plans to do as little as possible” comes the unicorn's muffled reply. She reappears over the counter, starting to make herself some more tea. “What about you? Trixie doubts the dashing … Dash” Trixie fights the urge to smack her head into the counter for that one, “...pegasus about town has no plans for such a wonderful day”.

Rainbow gives a light shrug of her shoulders and looks off to the side, “well I did my training this morning” yeah, lets call it that “...and I have to drop by the library at some point...” because you're totally not going to chicken out, right? “...but other than that, nothing planned” except sit on a cloud and stare at the library for hours wishing you had a spine.

Trixie could actually see the internal argument the pegasus was having, though to her visible confusion she hadn't the slightest clue what it was about. Perhaps the cyan mare was conflicted about spending so much time with Trixie? Perhaps Trixie should have offered her some tea? Although she didn't seem like the type who drank it. Perhaps Trixie should just tackle her to the floor and-

Trixie promptly slams her head into the counter, and immediately regrets it with a pained groan. This had done nothing to help Trixie's headache.

“Uh...Trix...you okay there...?” Dash rubs the side of her head with a hoof wearing a very, very puzzled look.

“Trixie...slipped...”

Celestia slowly and quietly stepped through the library toward the back room, though she only made it as far as the door before she noticed Twilight was now on the floor, and had fallen asleep from magic exertion. The lavender mare still clung to Derpy, who seemed to have no qualm setting down and keeping hold of her for the time being, with her head gently laid over the back of unicorn's neck.

The sun goddess couldn't help but submit a gentle smile, before using her magic to create a soundproof bubble around the back room they were in, and returning her attention to the chaos around her. She takes a long few moments to memorize every misplaced, lodged, or otherwise damaged object, then her horn lights up once more as she sets about repairing and repositioning them all at once.

The process was slow going, even for Celestia's powers, but before long she was done with the furnishings and fittings, save the few bookshelves that were currently elsewhere in Ponyville, and sets about repairing the doors and walls next. Spike by this point had reappeared in the library was starting to gather up the displaced books, stacking them to be re-shelved later, while Pinkie bounced past them into the backroom, grabbing the mail-mare's bag with her teeth and swinging it onto her own neck, then bouncing back off outside. The rest of the mail-run was going to be...interesting, to say the least.

Even as she concentrated on repairing the damage, and even though the cause itself had been fairly concerning, Celestia couldn't help but marvel at the sheer power it had taken to do in the first place. This took significantly more power than even Celestia realized Twilight had access to yet – she wondered if her prized protege simply didn't choose to show how far she'd really come.

As he wanders toward the next pile of displaced book, Spike is given pause to look at the two mares in the backroom, giving a mocking gag at the spectacle before moving on. The white alicorn couldn't help but chuckle.

The dull rattle of rain against the library windows rouses Twilight back to consciousness, slowly and awkwardly as always. Only her left eye opens, and it only opens partway, her head felt like it was packed with cotton and jelly, the typical after-effect of excessive magic exertion. Or rather, one of them – the others all involved particularly nasty pain, in the head, the horn, or both. Twilight was content with jelly in the head, given the options.

The first thing the lavender mare becomes aware of is that she's laying on the floor. The next, a moment or two later, that she was virtually clinging to the other mare laid beside her, who's forelegs were curled around to hold her in return. Derpy's face lay just front of Twilight's, largely but sporadically covered by her blonde mane. She had fallen asleep at some point too.

The scent of newsprint, letter glue, stamps, and...rosewood? Twilight wasn't quite sure, but it filled her senses, intermittently overridden by the smell of coffee and muffins every time the other mare took a breath. This really drove home just how close the pegasus was, and caused a blush to form across the purple unicorn's face.

Her initial reaction felt like a lurch, but in reality it was just a small shift away, which prompted the unconscious pegasus to use her forelegs to pull her closer again, causing their chests to press together. The lavender mare's heartbeat climbed and the logical part of her brain demanded she pull away, immediately. But some louder, unfamiliar part of her told her to stay, told her to pay attention. She could feel the other mare's heartbeat, so calm and steady, it was soothing...it made her relax.

Twilight found herself wondering why she'd even want to move. It was so nice here, so relaxing, so comfortable, why would she ever want to leave this? The logical part of her mind, for once, was silent. The rational part of her brain could come up with doubts and fears, arguments why it was wrong, but none of it seemed to matter. Something was different here, somehow there was a clarity in her mind, a ceasefire in the perpetual mental faculty war that normally drove her behavior.

And then she sneezed.

The unicorn's blood instantly ran cold in her veins and her eyes opened wide in horror. She'd ruined it, she'd finally found some strange, special peace that finally shut her brain up, and she'd destroyed it. The pegasus would be disgusted, mortified, she'd be lucky if she didn't get slapped or punched for it. By some miracle nothing had come out of her nose but surely...

Nothing. Derpy hadn't even flinched. Twilight thought her heart would burst right out of her chest from the way it was beating, she was on the brink of hyperventilating. The gray mare simply moves her upper hoof down and gently rubs the unicorn's back...and she relaxes. Confused beyond belief, but calmed almost immediately. She just now noticed the half-lidded yellow eyes gazing out at her softly from beneath the mess of blonde mane.

“Sorry...I guess I dozed off...you okay?” Derpy half-mumbles quietly.

“I...I'm fine...” the lavender mare finds herself almost whispering.

Shocked back to reality by her embarrassing slip a moment earlier, Twilight found her mind swimming with questions. Why was Derpy still here? Why was she being so nice? She'd apparently been comfortable enough like this to fall asleep...but, why? Twilight didn't speak to her very often, or at least not at any significant length, she didn't really know the mail-mare very well...why was she so comfortable with her?

But the heaviest hitting question of them all, of course, was why none of it actually seemed to matter. The questions swirled around in her head but the unicorn somehow found it easy to ignore them, the concept seemed alien, almost impossible to her. She had no significant desire to pick apart and analyze the situation, she was simply accepting it for what it was. It had only happened once before, with Pinkie Sense, and even then, it had taken an awful lot to get to that point.

“You sure you're okay?” the blonde mare queried again with a soft, playful smile.

The unicorn blinks a few times in surprise, feeling that hot flush spread across her face again. It seemed everypony was able to tell when she was thinking these days. “I'm...confused? I think...”

“Something on your mind?” the gray pegasus offers thoughtfully, as though she couldn't already tell.

The lavender mare nods slowly. “I guess I don't really understand why you're still here...or why I'm so happy you are?”. Twilight couldn't help but wonder where she was finding the inspiration to be so honest. Something in the back of her mind was pushing her along, but it didn't feel like a thought.

The blonde mare chuckles softly, taking a considerate tone. “Well, I'm still here because I want to be, if that helps”.

Did it? It seemed kind of obvious really – she wouldn't be here if she didn't want to be. Why did it feel like she was missing the point?

“But why do you want to be?” the unicorn furthers curiously, trying her best to stare into those misaligned yellow eyes beneath that mess of blonde mane in front of her.

The blonde pegasus smiles thoughtfully, but Twilight could see the hesitation in her eyes this time. “Now might not be the best time to talk about it”.

The unicorn frowns at this, “now would seem like the ideal time to talk about it, actually”. It felt more like a childish argument than an actual response, but it seemed to be working – the pegasus' resolve weakened and she bit her lower lip nervously.

“How do you put it these days? I...like you?” Derpy offers hesitantly.

“I like you too, but that doesn't-” the lavender mare looses her sentence as the proverbial cogs spin around far enough for the little boot to kick her in the back of the head. Her eyes slowly grow wide, “...you like...me?”.

The blonde mare closes her eyes and seems to brace herself, “yes...”

As silence pervades the already relatively quiet scene, the gray pegasus could almost hear her own heart beating through her chest. She senses the unicorn's free hoof move and tenses up, waiting for the inevitable. Her eyes split open in shock as the hoof presses lightly onto her chest, and doesn't even push her away. Her heartbeat climbs even higher as her eyes find the lavender mare wearing an uncertain look, almost like...fleeting hope?

“You..you're not making fun of me, right? You mean it?”

“I...yes, I do” the blonde mare chokes out in bemusement. This seemed to be about as far from the reaction she expected as it was possible to get.

Twilight brought her other hoof up to rest closer to the gray pegasus' shoulder. She looked confused and happy at the same time, but also skeptical, like she couldn't quite believe it, and nervous – that much was very, very obvious.

“...you've always been nice to me” Derpy offers, still fighting her surprise. “You didn't so much as yell at me after that incident with the piano, you didn't call me an idiot like everypony else after that incident with the birds on winter wrap up...you never question why I would want to check out books when so many others think I'm too dumb to read...”

The blonde mare slowly turns her eyes down and her voice softens, “you look me in the eyes when you talk to me. You'll never know how much that means to me...”.

“I...think I do now?” Twilight offers in return, visibly a little overwhelmed, but smiling faintly.

The gray pegasus can't help but laugh, even as she fights back those old tears, “hah...you have a point there”. She bites her lower lip as she wrestles her composure back in check.

“Augh...” Derpy brings her hooves up and rubs her face through her mane, chuckling again ironically. “This is so inappropriate, isn't it? We're both mares, we don't know each other that well, and I'm older than you to boot...”

Twilight takes the opportunity while the blonde mare's forelegs are raised to scoot forward against her and curl her own forelegs around her back securely. The gray pegasus' initial shock at the gesture is promptly defeated as she feels the unicorn's face tuck into her neck, and her own forelegs come down to wrap around the slightly smaller unicorn.

“I'm fine with that” the lavender mare reports softly, and with a notable confidence in her voice.

“Woo!”

Pinkie's eyes go wide as her body takes on a mind of its own – her tail twirls in a circle behind her, then she bounces up and down in place rapidly, then she's shot several feet up into the air and inexplicable fireworks go off in the background. As soon as she touches the ground again the pink earth pony grabs the nearest other pony, some poor stallion who clearly doesn't have a clue what's going on, and even less sense as Pinkie shakes him by the shoulders excitedly.

“Something to throw a party about just happened!”

The stallion suddenly falls to the ground in a stupor as Pinkie relocates to the roof of the nearest building, standing on her hind legs and peering out over the town through a pair of binoculars. The longer it takes, the more unsettled she becomes, starting twitch randomly and hop from hoof to hoof awkwardly.

“Must...find...cause...to party!”

Ponyville was pretty quiet though, one quickly noticed. The occasional pony who was out in the rain seemed no more or less possessing of a reason to party than normal. The pink one sweeps the town back and forth, clearly growing more desperate and...it had to be said, unstable, by the moment. Her gaze suddenly transfixes on the library.

There's a sudden crack of pink lightning as she shoots off toward it, leaving a pink trail through the air, onto the street, through a cart of watermelons that explodes a second later in some bizarre delayed reaction, and Carrot Top is suddenly flung off the street onto the roof of her house looking completely bemused.

Pinkie arrives at the door to the library a few seconds ahead of the pink trail, which at its point of source was a perfect, transparent pink silhouette of herself that caught up and reattached to her as she sat there for a moment. She then slowly reaches for the door handle, beaming with excitement, a party blow-out had appeared in her mouth at some point, sparkles appeared in her eyes...

But then she stops, and suddenly recoils from the door in confusion.

“Waiiiiit a minute....” she rubs her chin with a hoof, “hmm something good just happened here but a party isn't called for yet. False alarm?” she scratches her head with the same hoof, “naw, I don't get false alarms...”. She stands up on her hind legs and leans against the door with one elbow, sporadically blowing through the blow-out held with the other hoof as if it was a cigarette. “Calm, Pinky. Let it come...let it come...”

She suddenly spams into the air away from the library door with another inexplicable burst of fireworks, landing on the ground on her head, but somehow balanced, with a back leg pointing in the vague direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

“There it is!” she exclaims excitedly, before flipping back over onto her hooves and bouncing off in the direction of the farm. “I wish party-sense was as accurate as Pinkie sense” she scoffs and snorts, “it would make things sooooooo much easier. But nooooo-wait!”

She stops mid-bounce, that is to say, in mid-air, and her body begins to rotate like a compass trying to find north, using her tail as the apparent pointer. She rotates away from Sweet Apple Aces to the library again, then away from the library toward Rainbow Dash's house, then away from that back to the library, and starts turning away from it to somewhere else, but falls out of the air onto her stomach heavily.

“Ohhhh now I get it” the pink one nods sagely, “the cause for the party is moving. That's why I can't get a fix. It's mobile!”. She springs to her hooves, now suddenly wearing a pair of roller-skates. “Eaaaaaasy peasy” she reports, as her tail sticks out behind her like it was being pulled...and she suddenly starts rolling backwards in the direction it's pointing at rather disturbing speed.

“Geronimo!”

“What the-”

Rainbow Dash blinked once or twice at the pink blur that sails past her at the street-crossing, but shakes it off and continues on. The library loomed ahead, growing closer with each slow step. The pegasus had no conviction to get there any sooner, she still had no idea how she was going to handle it when she did. She was tempted to just go back to Trixie's, she even had a perfect excuse – the unicorn might have a concussion after her curious “accident” earlier.

What do I even apologize for? Asking her to come watch me practice again? Pointing out unicorns don't know much about flying? I did kind of step on her pride a bit...but Twi does that to me just about every chance she gets...right? the cyan mare furrows her brow in a conflicted frown, that's not really true though, is it? She only really steps on my pride when I start getting too full of myself...

Before she even realized it, Dash was standing outside the library. Her gaze slowly lifts off the ground to the door several feet ahead just a few more steps and knock on the door, it's so simple...why can't I do it? Why... as she continues to gaze at the door, a chill runs down her back that seemed to have a real weight to it, and It had nothing to do with the weather. ...why do I suddenly feel like I really shouldn't be here...?

The cyan pegasus gives a firm shake of her head and stomps a hoof down, no! I'm not a coward. I'm not chickening out. I owe my friend an apology, and I'm going to do it. She takes the last few steps to the library door, lifts her hoof, and knocks on it...a bit more firmly than she intended.

It slowly opens a few moments later, Dash finding nothing but empty air ahead of air, before she thinks to look down.

“Oh, hey Rainbow...” Spike greets hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head with a paw, “uh...now's not the best time...”

“What? Why not?” the pegasus retorts in annoyance. All that to get here and he tells me it's not a good time? This better be-

The young dragon rolls his eyes and clutches his stomach in mock disgust, “oh Twi's back there making kissy-faces with Derpy. I think they're a thing now, or something. I don't know, I'm trying not to think about it too much, I just ate”.

“Oh...cool” the cyan mare half-mumbles distantly, turning her eyes off to the side, “well...I'll come back another time then...”. She doesn't wait for the young dragon to respond, she'd already taken flight by the time the last word left her mouth. Spike shakes his head in confusion, but closes the door a moment later.

Twi and...Derpy...? the cyan pegasus furrows her brow as she flies back across Ponyville...at a decidedly un-Rainbow Dash speed. She looked more confused than anything else, at least for now. Derpy? How...how does that even work? Luna...or, Trixie somehow, maybe Applejack, even...Rarity I guess, but Derpy?

She shakes her head and stutters an awkward laugh, I guess Pinkie isn't the craziest thing in Ponyville anymore...although.... From her vantage in the air, Dash spots the pink one below, wandering along the street low on her legs with her tail pointed up in the air and a large piece of dish-shaped cardboard attached to it, for Celestia only knows what purpose.

The pegasus descends to a hover just off to the side of the earth pony, trying not to laugh. “Hey Pinks...you uh...you should leave the fashion statements to Rarity, I think”.

“No, silly” Pinkie returns with a roll of her eyes, “my party-sense went off...but I can't find the source. It was moving before...and now it's just disappeared. I can't work it out”.

“Hmm...” cyan mare crosses a foreleg over her chest and braces her other foreleg against it, rubbing her chin with that hoof, “well, Twi and...”, she has to pause to snicker, “Derpy are...apparently a thing now, maybe that's it?”.

“Oh I know about that, but they're not ready for a party yet” Pinkie reports with a skeptical intensity.

The pegasus blinks a few times at this, but lets it go. “Uh...okay, maybe the source was a dud?”.

Pinkie almost seems insulted by this, turning her nose up, “Hmph! Pinkie's party sense does not pick up duds, thank you very much”.

Dash can't help but roll her eyes. Pinkie's party sense may not pick up “duds”, but it definitely picked up reasons to party nopony else would think to throw a party for, and it wasn't always a good thing. She still remembered Pinkie's infamous “congratulations on being wrong” party for Twilight after the pinkie-sense incident. The fact it had also been a surprise party really hadn't helped matters.

“Okay...” the cyan mare begins again, rubbing her face down with a hoof, “maybe...there are a bunch of...potential parties that aren't quite ready yet...and your party sense is...warning you to be prepared?”. She was pulling this one out of her flank, frankly.

“Of course!” Pinkie sprung up with an excited smile, “Dashie! You're a genius!”

...really? She bought that? Well..this is Pinkie... “Uhh-” the pegasus paused as she realized the pink one had already disappeared, leaving a Pinkie-shaped pink outline that evaporates a moment later. Yeah...that's Pinkie...

With a last shake of her head, Dash takes to the air proper once more, aiming herself in the vague direction of her cloud home and setting off at a curiously leisurely pace. Still, I guess this Derpy thing is...a good thing, right? Twi's actually off the market now, so I can stop...thinking about her she actually found that a little depressing. When the pegasus concluded nothing was going to happen, it was because it didn't seem like Twilight would ever catch on. This left the cyan mare with the conundrum of whether Twilight simply wasn't ready then, or her own approach had been wrong.

But it doesn't really matter, as long as she's happy. That's what a real friend is, right? she frowns again, not entirely convinced of her own argument. A real friend would be happy as long as their friend was happy...but a friend who harbored romantic inclinations probably had a right to feel a bit down. And besides...I'm...sort of doing my own thing with Trixie...aren't I?

Actually, she hadn't really considered the idea yet. Up to now I've only really thought of Trixie as a friend. She's kind of cute...and I like hanging out with her...I guess it could work? Shouldn't I be...more sure of it than this?. Her cloud home came into view, still a ways off but slowly drawing up now, south-east of Ponyville proper.

If Dash was honest with herself, she wasn't even sure why she was going home. It was still the middle of the day, there was nothing substantial to make a proper lunch with in her house, and even less to actually do. For once in her life, a nap didn't sound especially appealing – that thought alone worried her a bit. She hadn't really had any determined idea what she was doing at any point today, save for the fifteen minutes she'd been determined to apologize to Twilight, and still not actually gone through with it.

But I need to work out what I'm actually going for with Trixie before I see her again Dash mused to herself with a half-determined look, and the only thing I really need to do is apologize to Twi...but I'll have to go back later for that. She touches down on the lip of the cloud-bank her home was built on, retrieving a small bundle of mail from her mailbox and shouldering her way through the door.

Now in her living room, Rainbow Dash dumped the mail on her coffee table and slide a hoof over it to spread it out as she flopped onto the couch. Paycheck...Wonderbolts Fan Monthly...bill...bill...junk...blah she gives up any interest and rolls over onto the couch with a bored sigh, but then perks again and rolls back over, wait....

Amongst the junk mail was a flier, something she'd almost missed, an announcement flier for a National Iron Pony Competition, to be held in Ponyville this year. That could be cool...it'd be way bigger than that little one AJ and I had last year..., Dash rolled over again and held the notice above herself in her hooves, as long as I can talk AJ into taking part...yeah, this should be awesome.

The rain had stopped as the spring shower had finally run its course, all that remained of the clouds that bore it were thin streaks of silvery-white across the clear sapphire sky under Celestia's sun. It was still just as warm as it had been before it started, but the increased humidity was pleasanty cooled by a spring breeze now. The weather team had really outdone themselves today.

Twilight could think of one weather pegasus in particular who'd gladly take all the credit for it, but right now, there was only room in the unicorn's mind for one pegasus, and that was the gray one that walked beside her along the street. The blonde mare hugged her close with a wing as they walked, making the lavender mare giggle at first, unaccustomed to the gesture, not that she was about to complain.

The streets of Ponyvile were some curious medium between their usual bustle of daily activity and their all but deserted status during the rain. To Twilight's notable surprise, of the numerous ponies there were about, none seemed particularly put-off or rude, even in passing, about the way she and Derpy walked together. She swore she even saw Lyra and Bon Bon smile at them approvingly when they passed. The one stallion who had gawked at them walked into a lamppost as a consequence, to their mutual satisfaction.

It was just the beginning of the afternoon but the lavender mare knew the blonde pegasus would have to leave fairly soon, even if she had effectively taken the day off. She wasn't especially advised of Derpy's living arrangements and personal life, but she knew she lived in the outer portion of Ponyville, and had a daughter who'd be coming home from school, who would need her mother much more than Twilight did.

For now, having regained enough strength to walk confidently after the day's earlier, rather substantial magical exertion, the unicorn led the gray pegasus to a nice little cafe she discovered shortly after moving to Ponyville. The hay used for seating outside had been refreshed and the tables dried, new menus and table-clothes set. Twilight led Derpy to her favorite table to the right of the entrance, in the middle of the little square formation of the area.

“Ah, madame Sparkle, so good to see you again” the slightly hoity waiter greets with a genuine smile, “and I see you have brought a friend with you today, how wonderful”.

“Always a pleasure, monsieur” Twilight returns with a cheerful smile, to which the waiter gives a playful bow.

“The usual, I presume. And for your friend? Madame?” Derpy just now realizes the waiter is looking at her, slightly mystified by the honorifics going around.

“Two daisy and daffodil sandwiches, and some tea, monsieur” the lavender mare quickly responds, reaching a hoof over the table to reassuringly pat the blonde mare's.

The waiter bows in recognition and slips away into the cafe building, leaving the gray pegasus looking a little embarrassed.

“Sorry about that” the unicorn offers with a thoughtful look, “I come here so often that that waiter and I play around with the honorifics as a bit of a joke. We both come from Canterlot, you see, where almost all the restaurants and cafes take themselves way too seriously...as opposed to here in Ponyville, where they actually act like real ponies”.

The blonde mare breathes a sigh of relief and brings a hoof to her chest, “oh, thank Celestia. I thought I was actually embarrassing you...I'm not really accustomed to fancy dining or anything, myself. Even in Cloudsdale I don't think I ever spent more than twenty bits on a single meal...”

“I wouldn't be embarrassed of you” Twilight retorts with a slight frown, but it melts away immediately against the appreciative smile the blonde mare returns her.

“So you really do come from Canterlot?” Derpy observes with an interest, “I'd heard talk of it, but you can never quite be sure how much of it is just gossip”.

The lavender mare nods in turn, “oh, yes. I was born and raised there. Though honestly, after living here a while, I'm glad I only go back to visit. The glamor and sophistication is nice for a special occasion, but living with it? Augh...”

The gray pegasus chuckles softly, “I can imagine. My delivery area used to include Canterlot, before the the last raft of zone provisions brought my coverage down to the general Ponyville area itself. I always found it a little off-putting, even just passing through”.

The blonde mare brings a hoof to her face, “oh, listen to me, talking about zone provisions. Honestly. I must be the most boring date...”

“This is a date?” Twilight seemed to perk up in excitement, to Derpy's gentle amusement.

“It is if you'd like it to be” the gray pegasus offers with a warm smile.

A bright smile spread across the lavender mare's features as their food was set in front of them. The day had started out so catastrophically, only to turn out so well by lunch time. Of course, that wasn't entirely unusual around here – there was always some disaster or another for Twilight and her friends to deal with, and it always seemed to turn out well in the end, but today was different somehow.

The unicorn didn't feel a sense of accomplishment, but rather something closer to personal satisfaction, fulfillment even. As she watched the gray pegasus pick up and bite into her sandwich, promptly and positively surprised by how good it was, evident through the approving mumbles she emits as she eats it, the lavender mare couldn't help but give a content sigh. She couldn't imagine this day having gone any better.

If nothing else, that should have been her first warning.

Their meal complete, Twilight and Derpy had moved on to the park north of the town center, normally a bustle of activity but to their mutual relief, rather quiet right now. The afternoon had drawn on and it was time for their little impromptu date to come to an end. It had been a new experience for one them, and a strange but welcome experience for the other.

They lingered together by a tree, sat on their haunches side by side as the gentle summer breeze rustled the leaves above and the grass below. It carried the familiar scent of apples they both knew well, serving as a good indication which direction it came from presently. The air was permeated by a comfortable silence, even if the blonde mare seemed a little nervous.

“As far as first dates go, that wasn't so bad, right?” the gray pegasus queries hopefully.

The unicorn smiles nervously, “I think so...I mean, it was the first date I've been on, but I liked it”.

“That was...? Oh Celestia...” the blonde mare mumbles under breath nervously.

“We'll just have to go on some more so I can get a better measure” Twilight insists, glancing aside at the gray pegasus with a playful smile.

The gray pegasus finds herself disarmed by that smile once again. It somehow discarded the ball of concern that built up in her chest and dulled the edge off her nerves. The unicorn was inexperienced, yes, and nervous because of it, but her eyes held a confidence that reassured Derpy it was alright. The blonde mare slowly leans over toward Twilight, tilting her head slightly to one side as she does and lowering the lids of her eyes.

The lavender mare for her part blushed intensely and counter-productively drew her head back, while tilting it slightly in the other direction at the same time, and immediately closing her eyes. The blonde mare head to lean even further over to make up the difference, but the closer she got, the more the unicorn began to shake nervously.

The gray pegasus had an idea though. She lifts a hoof and hovers it just in front on the lavender mare's chest, which causes the unicorn to reflexively lean forward into it, in turn bringing her head forward, where the blonde mare quickly but gently presses her lips to the unicorn's. She stops shaking instantly as her eyes spring open to find the pegasus' golden, misaligned ones gazing back through half-lids, and closes her eyes again, melting into the kiss.

It was rather to Derpy's surprise, but approval, that Twilight was brave enough to venture her tongue into hers first...even if she was rather clumsy about it, but she submits an approving murmur and hugs the unicorn closer with a foreleg for the few moments the kiss lasts. When it finally breaks again, the lavender mare almost falls over backward and breathes heavily, having stopped for the duration.

The blonde mare couldn't help but chuckle softly, “you have to breathe through your nose, sweetie...”.

“I f-...I forgot...” Twilight pants with a broad, sheepish smile of satisfaction.

“Unfortunately, I still have to get going...” the pegasus submits with a thoughtful smile.

To her surprise, the lavender mare smiles with an almost sultry excitement. “That just means I can look forward to next time”.

The pegasus blushes as she hears the distinctive pomf and feels her wings spring out, but refuses to believe it just happened, even with the deviously satisfied smirk on the unicorn's face.

“I'll just be going now...” Derpy submits sheepishly as she regains control of her wings, taking to a low hover first, waiting to see just one more of those warm smiles on the unicorn's face, before she takes off for the north of Ponyville.

Twilight waits a long moment, then submits a deep sigh of relief, slouching on her forelegs and hanging her head. Catching her breath was easy, but she was still a bit light-headed. At least the world had stopped spinning. She'd read that a kiss could have a powerful effect on the body, but she'd always thought it romance novel drivel.

She'd never read anything about pieces of popcorn falling on her head, though. The unicorn turns her gaze up, and finds Pinkie Pie sitting on a branch of the tree above, to her mixed mortification and annoyance.

“Pinkie...we've talked about the spying thing” the purple mare deadpans.

Pinkie beams cheerfully, “aww but it was so cute! And kind of hot. Also, I wasn't spying. I just happened to be sitting in this particular tree eating popcorn”.

“Uh huh” the unicorn returns dryly, rolling her eyes, “and I suppose you do that often?”.

Pinkie swings around on the branch to hang from it by her hind legs...somehow without spilling her popcorn. “What? Eat popcorn, or sit in trees? Because I eat a loooooooooooot of popcorn, but I don't sit in trees very often. I do hide in them a lot though. Trees make great spying spots”.

The pink one's eyes suddenly go wide and she swings down out of the tree with an awkward look “uhhh...sorry Twilight, I gotta go. Pinkin' to do, you know? Bye!”, and before the unicorn could even say anything, the pink blur was gone, leaving her more than a bit puzzled.

“Looks like I finally found ya”

The lavender mare blinks at the familiar voice, turning around to find Rainbow Dash stood a small distance away in the other direction.

“I dropped by earlier, but you were busy. So I came back and...whaddya know? You weren't there, for once”. The pegasus sounded calm...but there was a slight bite to her words, like an underlying aggression.

Twilight found her curious tone a little off-putting, but sat on her haunches where she was calmly, “yes, I was out having lunch with a friend”.

“Derpy, right?” Dash returns quickly, walking in a little closer to her friend, “but I hear you're a bit more than friends...”.

The unicorn lifts a hoof to rub her neck awkwardly. “Well...maybe? I think so...” she pauses a moment and furrows her brow skeptically, “why does it matter?”.

The pegasus rolls her eyes with a dismissive pfft, “It doesn't. Obviously. It's cool, you know?” the cyan mare begins to hover in an upright posture, drifting past Twilight, forcing her to turn to face her direction again. The pegasus slumps her shoulders slightly as she crosses her forelegs, looking out into the distance, “I just didn't think you did the whole...dating thing. Did you read a book on it finally or something?”.

“No...” the lavender mare returns with an unimpressed frown, “some things even I don't think you should need a book for”. That was a blatant lie, of course. She had every intention of finding every book the library had on the subjects of dating and romance when she got home and studying her horn off. But Dash didn't need to know that.

Largely because she already knew. “Yeah, right” the cyan mare retorts with an arrogant laugh, “you're a terrible liar, Twi. Do I need to remind you why we don't play poker anymore?”.

The unicorn shudders at the memory, “no, you don't. But you know what? I don't care, either. I'm happy, Dash. Isn't that all that counts? What's your problem anyway?”.

“I'm sorry about this morning, by the way” Dash returns, apparently ignoring her friend's question. Her tone had shifted again, but it was hard to pick now. “I don't actually know what I'm apologizing for, of course. I don't know why you got so mad. But I know it was my fault, so...”.

The lavender mare sighs at this. Rainbow wasn't know for her apologizing skills at the best of times, but that was, ironically, one of her better attempts, even if she did sound weird right now. Maybe it was better to just explain it.

“You know that temporary wing spell you were so quick to dump on?” Twilight begins, prompting Dash to turn her head partly back over shoulder. “Yeah, well. I spent the better part of six months improving it, so it would give me proper wings. I was going to surprise you by asking you to teach me how to fly properly, so we could hang out more. But you made it pretty clear it was a waste of time, and I didn't take it well”.

The pegasus drops onto her hooves and slouches her posture, still facing away. “What's this? You're trying to teach me some kind of lesson by making up some guilt trip? That's not cool, Twi”.

“I'm not making anything up!” Twilight retorts indignantly, stomping a hoof for emphasis. “Why are you being so weird?”.

And the chapter ended on a cliffhanger, oh no!

Part 3 - It's not a competition. Oh wait, apparently it is
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Shipping, Do You Speak It?

Part 3 - It's not a competition. Oh wait, apparently it is

Oh buck...what have I done...?

Rainbow Dash stared down into Twilight Sparkle's eyes in horror. Having tackled the unicorn to the ground before her magic could stop her, she had the lavender mare pinned by the forelegs and was sitting on her stomach. Her back was arched and her head craned down, having engaged the unicorn in a kiss before she could react.

Twilight's own eyes stared back up into Rainbow's, completely lost, confused, and shocked. She had so little grasp of the situation she wasn't even fighting back, it hadn't even registered yet that she was pinned down under the pegasus, her mind was completely and hopelessly scattered by the fact she was kissing her.

Any second now...I'm going to be a newt...or stuck in a tree...or launched at Canterlot...

Dash's wings stuck out rigidly behind her to the sides and her grip was strong, but her whole body shook in a mixture of adrenaline and fear. She knew this was going to end badly, she knew it was a mistake, she knew she should be trying to fly away as fast as possible right now, but something inside her refused to let her stop. Something restrained, suppressed, held down too long finally getting its chance to come out.

Our friendship is screwed...the girls wont let me live this down any time soon...I'll have to tell Trixie...she'll have to tell Derpy...I've ruined everything...

The adrenaline was dying out against the guilt and remorse that was already starting to overcome the cyan mare. Her wings fell limply down her sides, her hooves slipped out of their pinning positions onto the grass instead. She felt the unicorn's forelegs start to move and she immediately closes her eyes and braces herself. A shove, a punch, a slap, she didn't know what was going to knock her off but she knew it was going to hurt.

Twilight's horn ignited with an intense purple glow trailing small sparks of magic, and Dash knew this wasn't going to end well...

Elsewhere in Ponyville, Pinkie intently passed a cloth in one hoof along a section of her party cannon's barrel, and then passed over the same area with a second cloth in her other hoof. The bandana tied around her head was patterned with silhouettes of cupcakes and sweets, and she wore a peculiarly serious look.

The small room was lined with spare parts for the unfathomable mechanisms that drove the ponderous device, and what appeared to be the shells into which party paraphernalia were packed into, to make the ammunition. They were organized on shelves, marked with simple descriptions like “regular”, “special”, and “birthday”.

The light was provided by a single bulb in a wire hanging from the ceiling, which swayed slightly in an impossible breeze.

This is my party cannon. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My party cannon is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as a I master my life. Without me, my party cannon is useless. Without my party cannon, I am useless. I must fire my party cannon true. I must-

Her inner monologue is shattered by the smell of freshly baked cookies from downstairs. The residual Pinkie-shaped pink silhouette just shrugs as the pink one herself vanishes in a blur, then continues wiping the barrel down as the door to the decidedly bizarre closet in Pinkie's bedroom closes on its own.

Rainbow Dash's world was a mass of white, fluffy moisture. It was familiar and soothing, almost comfortable, except that the sensation of gravity seemed all wrong. She felt like she'd been here before, though it was quite an unusual place. She could feel the bite of cool night air on her flank, and there was a slight ringing in her ears.

The pegasus was stuck halfway through a small cloud somewhere over downtown Ponyville, having inherently been launched into it backwards. Her flank stuck out high in the air above, her upper half somewhere inside below. With a huff of effort, she plants her rear hooves against the puffy mass and pulls herself out, immediately falling over backward into a daze upon it.

Well that wasn't quite as bad as I expected...at least I'm not a newt...

Dash muses to herself as she gazes distantly at the stars above. Stargazing wasn't something she'd ever been interested in, until Twilight came along. She'd never call herself an astronomer, amateur or otherwise, but just laying back watching the stars was relaxing. She'd never thanked the unicorn for getting her to try it.

I wonder if Twi understood any of that? I mean, she only launched me into a cloud...that's a good sign...right?

There was nothing to answer her thoughts but the dull wisp of the breeze carrying the cold night air. A sideways glance off her cloud indicated she was somewhere over western Ponyville now, toward one edge of the large park there. Twilight had launched her quite a distance, granted she was much lighter than one of the library's bookshelves. She couldn't help but wonder if her friend had aimed at the cloud deliberately, out of some underlying care for her friend despite her anger. It could just as easily have been pure coincidence, though. Maybe she was meant to hit a tree? There was no shortage of them nearby.

How in Equestria am I going to apologize for this one? Dash wonders to herself, covering her eyes with the back of a hoof as she relaxes into the cloud beneath her. ”Sorry for tackling you to the ground and trying to make out with you, and dissing your great idea for a surprise for me”? Seems pretty weak...

The pegasus couldn't help but groan in protest at the hole she'd dug for herself, as the reality of it began to really sink in. This wasn't like messing up the library by crashing through the window or damaging one of the unicorn's books. She knew she'd hurt the lavender mare, and probably put a pretty bad dent in their friendship. Twilight was the forgiving kind, especially with her friends, but even Dash had to admit this one was pretty bad.

I'll have to ask the girls how to deal with this one...if I go at it on my own, I'll just make it worse. I know it...but then I have to deal with the lectures and disappointed looks...ugh...

“Dash?”

The familiar voice jostles the cyan mare out of her chain of thought, prompting her to roll over and peer down over the edge of her cloud. Trixie stood below, wearing a scarf and a concerned, but also slightly upset look.

“How long have you been up there...?” the unicorn continues to query.

“Uh...I'm...not really sure, actually” Dash admits awkwardly. “Something wrong?”

The blue mare seemed to grow a little more hurt, though she looks away and tries to hide it. “Trixie...thought you said you were coming back, after lunch...that's all. Trixie must have misheard you...”

I wish. I totally forgot...and that's not the best part, I kissed Twilight Sparkle. You remember her, right?

The pegasus rubs the back of her neck with a hoof, finding herself having to look away. “Sorry Trix, I kind of forgot. You know, a pegasus as awesome as me is under high demand”.

Where the hay did that come from? Am I trying to impress her or dig the hole deeper? Just how many holes am I planning to dig today?

A vein appeared on Trixie's forehead, but she tries to remain demure and slightly down-trodden. “Trixie...understands. Have you had dinner yet? Trixie is running a bit late with it, herself”. Actually, Trixie had deliberately put off having dinner on the off-chance Dash turned up for it, as an interpretation of “being back after lunch”. The pegasus didn't need to know that, though.

“Uh...actually, no” Dash submitted sheepishly, secretly moving her other hoof to rub her stomach as she suddenly realized she was actually pretty damn hungry by this point. She'd forgotten lunch entirely. “If...you're offering...”

...seriously? What does Trixie need to do, beat you in the head with a sign? Honestly..., the unicorn shakes off the thought, presenting a slightly forced, but ultimately sincere smile, “Trixie would like that”.

The walk from the park to Trixie's house took notably longer than the flight that first night, presumably in no small part to the awkward silence that gripped it. Rainbow Dash could think of little to excuse her behavior that day in general, let alone specifically, and Trixie, for her part, was preserving her patience and self-control, in adherence with a strict mental budget.

The cyan mare was tempted to try the old put a wing over the girl as you walk trick to try and win back some points, but she wasn't convinced she wouldn't get beaten with the wing in return. There was something decidedly different about the unicorn's mentality tonight...or perhaps it was leftover anxiety from her encounter with Twilight.

In any event, by the time they reached the blue mare's house, Trixie now had control of the inner-monologue and was in no mood to share it. Dash, for her part, was surprised to discover the bookshelf had been removed from outside, and the roof had been seamlessly repaired, undoubtedly with magic, though she could only wonder by whom. Trixie didn't seem to have that kind of power herself.

“Trixie's cooking is not gourmet, she must admit” the unicorn reports as they enter the house, with the door closing magically behind them. “But she thinks she does well enough”. The blue mare continues strait on into the kitchen, where she had inherently already prepared dinner and simply had to heat it back up a bit, using her magic to shorten the process.

As the unicorn returned from the kitchen with a soup pot and some bowels and spoons levitating in her magic grasp, the pegasus takes the prompt to move to the small dining table, sitting at one end while Trixie sat herself down at the other and went about dishing out the dinner. A simple vegetable soup with herbs, nothing fancy, but it smelled good.

Truth told of course Dash was so hungry at this point it could taste like sawdust and she'd still eat it. She expends no ceremony rubbing her forehooves together and licking her lips, promptly tasting the soup. This proved to serve as another point of difference between Trixie and Twilight – Trixie could actually cook, the soup was modest, but delicious. But Rainbow resisted the urge to pick up the bowel and consume it like a madmare.

As Trixie set to eating her soup in a normal, reserved manner, Rainbow Dash escalated to virtually devouring hers rather quickly.

“So...do you do everything so quickly?” Trixie queried with an almost challenging smirk.

The pegasus doesn't even stop to think about it, replying proudly through a mouthful of soup. “Yep!”

Trixie very nearly spat out the soup in her mouth at this. That wasn't...Trixie isn't being that subtle, surely...

“No, Dash...I mean...everything?” Trixie reiterate, with an exaggerated wink this time.

“Yep, everything. Rainbow Dash does everything fast, that's just how I roll” the pegasus reports proudly.

One could swear a small puff of smoke came out of Trixie's ear as her head reverberated with countless unspeakable words of curse. Somewhere in Canterlot, Princess Celestia was surely blushing right now, and probably had no idea why. Rainbow, for her part, was oblivious to the cause of the bemused look on Trixie's face.

“Uh...somethin' wrong, Trix?”

“Wrong!?” Trixie blurts out in exasperation, rising from the table to throw her forelegs out in the air, “how much more obvious must Trixie be!?”.

“W-...wha?” the cyan mare recoils slightly in surprise and confusion, “obvious? About what?”.

Trixie cocks her head back with a perfect, but presumably unintentional imitation of Twilight's frustrated “ugh!” gesture, right down to the facial expression. “Does Trixie need to draw a diagram!?”

“Woah now” Dash retorts awkwardly, leaning back on her chair a bit, “I thought you'd changed, anyway? When did you get so pushy?”.

“Of course Trixie changed!” Trixie returns in bemused frustration, waving her forehooves about, “that doesn't mean Trixie turned into another pony entirely! Honestly if Trixie had known you were this dense she would never have tried the shy route!”.

“Hey!” Dash shoots back, slamming her forehooves down on the table as she leans forward across it now, frowning, “I am not dense! And what do you mean shy route? You were just acting all hopeless?”.

Trixie rolls her eyes, “well of course! Honestly now, you can't really believe Trixie could ever be that vulnerable and weak! Trixie thought you would only like her if she was sensitive. She had no idea the only thing Rainbow Dash was slow in was the head!”.

A long few moments of tense silence descends as the two ponies lean across the table and glare at each other. They each wore a mask of defiance and aggression, and bared their teeth.

“Trixie likes you. Is that clear enough?” Trixie snorts at the pegasus.

“Hay yes. And I like you too” Dash snorts right back.

It was difficult to tell which of them flipped the table, but within an instant, they had collided in the middle where it used to be and crashed off to the side somewhere onto the living room floor. They were already making out passionately and, it must be said, rather aggressively, snorting and growling at each other through their nostrils before they even came to rest. The pegasus was on top, at first – but Trixie was having none of it, within moments, she'd rolled them over so she was on top instead, and when Dash tried to reverse it, she pinned her down to stop her.

The excited growl confirmed Dash approved.

One could only presume the constant waiting for causes to party to come to fruition was weighing heavily on Pinkie's already flimsy sanity. That, at least, would explain why she was gallivanting around Ponyville so late, wearing night-vision goggles. The pink one was presently stalking along the winding path between Ponyville proper and the south-western outlying areas that led to Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy's cottage, despite there being nopony around to see her anyway.

Or at least, there shouldn't have been. The earth pony's attention is drawn by the presence of another, prompting her to dart up the nearest tree and hide amongst the branches, spying out.

The solitary figure of a pegasus mare was visible, as she curiously walked along the top rail of the particularly long fence bordering the field alongside the path. It was actually kind of impressive to watch – the fence rail was no more than an inch and a half across, yet the pegasus walked along it hoof before hoof in a fluid, continuous motion, just as steady as one walked on the ground, without even the balance-assistance of her wings.

The night-vision goggles robbed Pinkie of any perception of color, but she could tell, at the very least, it was no pegasus she knew. Her first thought, of course, was a welcoming party. Her second thought was about cake. Her third thought, that jumping out and announcing she was going to throw a party for the pegasus right now, in the dark of night, while she's prowling around wearing night-vision goggles, might not go down so well.

Through the still silence of the night, even as the pegasus gradually moved farther and father away, Pinkie could hear the familiar dub dub dub of the music coming from the headphones the pegasus was wearing. At least, Pinkie assumed they were headphones – they didn't look like the big ear-cup type she was used to, they were small and slender, and attached to her ears using rubberized hoops to hold them in place. The cable from them hung with some movement slack, leading to a small music player attached to her left upper-foreleg by a sweat-band.

Pinkie carefully slipped out of the tree onto the grass and sunk low on her legs, cat-crawling her way along cautiously to follow the pegasus from a distance. As she continued to observe, the pegasus suddenly swung her flank up into the air as she rose into a hoof-stand...and continued walking along the fence-rail in that manner, with startling little effort.

“Oooh...”

Pinkie quickly clamps her hoofsies over her mouth, but it was quickly apparent the pegasus hadn't heard her through her music, so she continued to follow. This pegasus was proving to be rather interesting, and the pink one's impression only grew as the pegasus performed a hoof-swap to turn around and dropped her flank back down, continuing to walk along the fence-rail on all four hooves, but backwards now.

This, however, came with the unfortunate consequence of her very quickly noticing the two glowing green lenses of Pinkie's night-vision goggles. The earth pony quickly snapped her hooves up to cover them, while sliding them up off her eyes, but it was too late. By the time her eyes had even begun to adjust to the sudden lack of clarity, all she could see was the pegasus literally running at full tilt along the fence rail, quickly disappearing into the night.

“Fooey” Pinkie protests, crossing her hooves and sitting on her flank where she was, “she seemed fun. I wonder who that was?”.

The dining table was the wrong way up, the chairs that had been set aside it cast away in opposing directions, the residual contents of either bowel and the soup pot that had been sitting on it was splattered across a large section of the floor nearby. The couch had been turned over, the dining table was resting on its side, the living room rug was scrunched up and displaced.

Trixie and Rainbow Dash lay in the middle of the living room floor in opposite, horizontal positions with their heads side by side, breathing heavily. Dash's mane was always fairly messy, but now it was much more so – Trixie's wasn't much better, though she was currently brushing it back partway to normal with a hoof. You were left entirely to your own decision how far things had gone while your attention was directed elsewhere. Hah.

“Trixie believes she won that one” Trixie announces with tired bravado and a content smirk.

The pegausus tried to chuckle in response, but quickly holds her ribs with a foreleg and gives an amused groan of protest, “aw man, don't make me laugh. Besides, I totally won that”.

Trixie's smirk only grows wider at this, reaching her other hoof back past her head to find the pegasus', which she turns inward and upward toward herself and presses into a passionate, but decidedly softer kiss than before.

The cyan mare returned it equally, and licked her lips after it broke. “That soup was pretty good” she jibes challengingly.

Trixie gives a fake scoff of indignation, “oh please. Trixie's cooking is good, but she tastes far better than it herself”.

“No argument there” Dash returns with a smug smirk.

“Still...” Trixie begins, idly lifting her hoof and pretending to check her fetlocks, “Trixie really should make you clean up this mess you caused”.

Dash gives a pft right back, but after a moment she shifts to a more thoughtful mood. “So...are we a thing now?”

Trixie closes her eyes and tries to raise her nose...which was easier said than done when laying on your back, “Trixie supposes so...”

“Cool” Dash returns, playing it off casually, though she could do little to hide the content smile that spread across her features.

Nor could Trixie her own. “You're still going to clean up the mess, though”

The morning came, and it was not subtle. There was no mercy in the rays of sunlight that pierced the thin veil of the curtains. Twilight groaned at them in protest, willing them to go away. It was futile of course, but a quick adjustment of her blankets to cover her head and she could at least pretend for a while. The library was especially quiet this morning. Spike would normally be carrying out his morning chores and routine, but he was nowhere to be found, nor did his bed look like it had been slept in last night.

There was a good reason, of course. The young dragon had developed a case of shell-shock, and began having a small nervous breakdown every time Twilight used her magic to move something, so she'd sent him on to spend a few days at Sweet Apple Acres. She could have perhaps warned him why the farm was her first thought, rather than Canterlot, but she figured it was best to leave these things to play out on their own. Or so she'd recently learned, anyway.

Still, Spike not being around came with two distinct disadvantages, first thing in the morning. Firstly, he wasn't around to make breakfast, and even Twilight had to admit her own cooking was … lacking. Second, it meant the coffee wasn't pre-prepared and waiting for her. Another, much louder groan of protest emits from under the blankets at this thought.

Several moments of nonsensical cursing later, the lavender mare descended the stairs and headed toward the kitchen, still wearing her blanket as a sort of impromptu cloak. Twilight's mighty “anti bad morning armor”, or so she liked to think of it, was an “ingenious” way to retain some of the comfort of her bad while she moved around.

A dim collective of purple magic reached out, like a small army of sanity-preserving pixies, setting up the coffee maker and breaking a law or two of nature to make the water boil immediately, drastically expediting the process. Within a few moments, Twilight had a fresh cup of the dark sanity-preserving liquid ambrosia simpler ponies called “coffee” held in her magic, and drank from it as she wandered back into the library proper.

Breakfast, and indeed just about everything else, could wait until the first cup of the day was sunk. Still, the unicorn couldn't help but wonder what today would consist of. Yesterday had been an...unusual day, to say the least – the early portion of the day was an unmitigated disaster, the middle portion of the day was like some fantastical dream, and the latter portion of the day would have been better if Rainbow Dash hadn't attempted to molest her.

Rainbow Dash. Twilight still hadn't decided if she was persistently angry or just plain confused over what the pegasus had done the previous afternoon. Pushy, over-confident, prone to making bad decisions, Dash was all of these things – but to tackle her to the ground and kiss her? Setting aside logic, as the unicorn had only recently discovered she actually could...temporarily, it still made little sense.

It was hardly anything you could consider a prank, poorly conceived or otherwise. A horrifically badly thought out attempt to derail the conversation? It seemed unlikely, and awfully drastic. A deliberate attempt to sabotage her new relationship? Unthinkable, Dash was many things, and the strongest of them was loyal; she simply wouldn't do that. Perhaps some unresolved feelings reaching critical mass due to the news...?

Twilight chuckled to herself. That was preposterous. Clearly, she hadn't consumed enough coffee yet.

A continual dull roar of metal on metal friction under great pressure, and the accompanying off-rhythm of clackity-clack with the occasional clop of wheel over rail. The sound of a train in motion was a kind of natural, unintentional music; a soundtrack Octavia appreciated even if the average pony didn't understand.

She stared distantly out the window of her private cabin at the landscape whizzing by; trees and grass, nothing unfamiliar, nothing especially interesting, broken up by the occasional remnants of an old stone structure. This was an old part of Equestria between Fillydelphia and the Canterlot/Ponyville area, one that had gone largely untouched save for the construction of the linking railroad, in hundreds of years. Eventually, settlement would find this place again, as it had long ago, but for now, it was left in the care of nature and time.

A poetic thought, but it did nothing to alleviate the musician's boredom. One of the few things the gray mare disliked about her career was the travel and the endless tedium that came with it. The train was fast, but it still took several hours to get from Ponyville to Fillydelphia or Manehatten, hours spent in a little cabin with little to do. She could hear a commotion elsewhere in the carriage and knew the voices well – two of the other band members locked in a pointless argument, just to pass the time. It worked for them, but it was not to Octavia's tastes.

Actually, as she paid attention, she realized one of the voices in the argument was not familiar. Aggressive and speaking in a dialect more appropriate for a school yard from a decade ago than should be used by any adult pony, which the musician found decidedly distasteful. It almost reminded her of that insufferable DJ she was so often grouped with as famous Equestrian musical talents. She couldn't entirely follow the argument, but it sounded childish enough – something about knocking over someone's instrument case, and counter-blaming the owner for leaving it in the aisle.

Octavia sighed and leaned her elbow on the window-frame, her chin onto the hoof of that foreleg, and allowed herself to slump for once. This was going to be a particularly long train ride.

Pinkie resumed her observations early today. Sure, she probably should have been working, and Sugarcube Corner was awfully busy when she ran out that morning, but the Cakes understood. Being prepared for parties took a lot of time and effort, planning, coordination, spying, energy drinks, and the occasional bail-out from the local lock-up. It was all par for the course. If only trees weren't quite so uncomfortable. How does Rainbow Dash sleep in these things anyway?

Speaking of Rainbow Dash, the pink one observed as she emerged from Trixie's house, from her vantage point in a nearby tree, armed with binoculars, a notepad, an energy drink, and some popcorn...just in case. But she wasn't spying. Oooh, this one's coming along nicely! Hm...but they'll probably insist on Trixie being reintroduced to the group before having a party...and I think I like strawberry cake more than chocolate, or is that just pink bias?.

Pinkie raised a hoof to her chin and slanted an eyebrow in thought. Then again, do I like pink icing more than chocolate because it's pink, or because it's naturally sweeter? Narcissism or taste? I suppose in theory chocolate strawberries would solve the issue. I should make a cake using both strawberry and chocolate icing. Perfect!

Meanwhile, Trixie and Dash sat on their haunches face to face, slowly leaning in toward each other. Their expressions were equal; affection and challenge with a little deviance, evident there was some kind of game involved. Without warning, the cyan mare moved forward and swept Trixie off her hooves, dipping her and kissing her passionately. Trixie in turn threw her forelegs around the back of the pegasus' neck and returned it with equal fever.

It was only as the kiss broke Trixie realized what Dash had done, largely by observing the affectionately satisfied, but undeniably smug smirk on her face.

“Hmph, sneaky pegasus. It appears you have beaten Trixie this time” Trixie murmurs contently.

The cyan mare was about to say something in return, but both mares are distracted by an explosion of confetti and streamers from a nearby tree, and then stunned as both of them suddenly are being crushed together in a large pink hug.

“OhmygoshI'msohappyforyouguysIknowyouprobablydontwantapartyyetbutletmeknowwhenyou'rereadyandyoushouldreallyreintroduceTrixietoeveryoneDashiean-”

The pink pony took an especially large breath.

“And by the way, I wasn't spying. I just happened to be nearby”, she finishes with a big smile.

“You're wearing binoculars” Dash observes with a deadpan.

“And you were in a tree again” Trixie adds, with an equal deadpan.

“Oh, look at the time!” Pinkie announces, looking at her bare right foreleg and holding her head with the other hoof, “I can't stand around talking with you silly fillies all day! I have observations to make! I mean pies to spy! I mean...bye!”.

And with that, a pink blur rocketed off down the street, leaving the two mares slowly shaking their heads.

“She has a point though”, Dash finally submits with a sideways glance, “we really should reintroduce you the girls now that we're...you know, a thing”.

Trixie nods slowly in turn, “Trixie agrees, though she wonders how best to go about it”.

“Oh...I think I know how” Dash returns confidently.

It was just as well Octavia's special talent wasn't predicting the future. The earth pony is roused from her bored daze by a violent shudder running through the train, a moment before the scenery began going by at a noticeably slower and continually decreasing rate, until the train had come to a complete stop.

Exclamations of confusion, protest, and frustration quickly emerged from the rest of the carriage, mostly from the same overtly loud voice, as Octavia simply leaned out her window a small ways to look along the length of the train herself. The engine was billowing steam in a decidedly unnatural way – excessively, and through one side of its shell, evident the engineers had only just managed to avert a blow-out.

Being the level-headed pony that she was, and having absolutely no intention of being trapped on this train for the hours it would take to safely patch the breach, Octavia simply slung her cello-case onto her back and made for the nearest exit to the carriage. There was already a small crowd forming outside of other passengers, and they looked apt to beset the engineering doing his best to explain the situation like hungry wolves.

“You're not seriously going to walk back to Ponyville are you?” Bluenote remarks with concern, from the window of the band's carriage.

“It would seem the pertinent thing to do” Octavia returns idly, “what about you?”.

“We're staying right here, thank you” Harpo interjects, appearing beside Bluenote. “Imagine, traipsing about the wilderness for miles”.

Octavia rolls her eyes, but turns her head first to obscure the gesture. None of the other passengers seemed inclined to make their own way either, at least, none of the other ponies. One especially distinct figure emerges from the crowd, largely by product of being somewhat larger in stature to begin with. A griffin, who seemed to have just as little intention to remain trapped in the train with the quibbling as Octavia did.

That said, and even as rare as they were, the griffin was no friend of the musician's, and she was of no mind to approach them and suggest a shared journey. It was somewhat awkward, then, that they both set off at the same time, in the same direction, and walking at the same pace, one two feet ahead of the other, though they paid mind to keep to opposing sides of the road as they went.

The first hour of the journey consisted of walking, and silence. Neither traveler seemed inclined to so much as introduce themselves to the other, or strike up any sort of conversation. Octavia felt, at some level, this was a bit rude, but had also determined from the start the griffin was the owner of the immature, arrogant voice she had heard earlier on the train, and was disinclined to deal with any of it herself.

Gilda, on the other hand, could apparently only go so long in the presence of ponies without talking trash.

“I'm not carrying you or that thing on your back when you get tired, just so you know” the griffin reports suddenly.

“I don't expect you to” Octavia returns calmly, without so much as a sideways glance. “And it's called a cello, for future reference”.

The griffin gave a pft and rolled her eyes dismissively. “Whatever dude. I give it another ten minutes tops and you'll be flat under that thing”.

“I'm a mare, you realize” Octavia returns without rise, “and you needn't concern yourself with my cello. I have no trouble carrying it”.

“Yeah right” Gilda almost snorts in amusement, “you're like half the size of the thing and it probably ways three times what you do. You can try an act tough, but we both know you can't keep it up for long”.

“One of us seems to, anyway” Octavia returns once more, and still without rise.

Fifteen minutes pass in silence, and Gilda raises a brow as the earth pony's pace remains unbroken, and she showed no sign of fatigue. Fifteen minutes becomes half an hour, and still the musician appeared completely unaffected by the effort of carrying her cello. The griffin's face, by this point, had become an unamused scowl.

“Alright, go on, rub my beak in it” she snorts resentfully.

“In what?” Octavia returns idly with a sideways glance.

The griffin rolls her eyes, “you're still going, I get it, you're tougher than I thought, good for you”.

“Whatever are you talking about?” the earth pony returns with a raised brow of puzzlement.

Gilda could feel the blood boiling in her veins. It wasn't bad enough this pony was a lot tougher than she believed possible, or that she was apparently immune to provocation, she actually didn't even remember it.

“You know you're really getting on my nerves” the griffin snorts disdainfully.

Octavia cast another sideways glance with a raised brow, “I don't see how. I wouldn't even be talking if not to respond to what you say”.

The griffin's eye twitched, but she didn't say anything. And sure enough, as long as she didn't say anything, the pony didn't. As though not fully grasping the reality of it, Gilda deliberately goes another half an hour without saying a word. And soundly driving the point home, without even being aware she was making one, Octavia said nothing either.

Finally, the griffin caves in with a defeated sigh, and looks off to the side somewhere, away from the pony.

“So why didn't you stay with the train like the others?”

“Because I have four legs and common sense” Octavia replied idly.

“You know it's like an eight hour walk, not including the two we've already walked, right?” Gilda returns, allowing herself to peer across to see the defeat the knowledge brings.

“Actually, it's about ten hours, not including the two we've already walked, and any rest breaks along the way” the musician returns calmly. She turns her head to glance around at the surroundings momentarily, then returns her gaze to the road ahead. “Nine, actually. We're a little further ahead than I initially thought. I haven't made this walk for a while”.

“You've done this before!?” Gilda blurts out in rather obvious shock.

Octavia cast a sideways glance with a raised brow, once again. “I made journeys like this on a monthly basis for several years, when I was still a wandering musician”.

“Wandering musician? Aren't you in a fancy band or something?” the griffin returns in confusion.

“I am now” the earth pony replies simply, “I was not always”.

Checking back in at Ponyville, and the morning was coming along nicely. Ponies went about their daily business as they did, the weather was fair, if a little overcast today, forestalling a light shower the area would see before the day was out, and a familiar pink earth pony watched an equally familiar library through high powered binoculars from a vantage point in a tree. Which was also becoming familiar. Even though it shouldn't.

Pinkie Pie turning into a deranged stalker of friends in blossoming relationships aside, Twilight's ritualistic morning study was interrupted by a thump at the library door not unlike somepony running into it, followed briefly by the actual knock at the door one would expect. The excited smile the unicorn wore implied she had a good idea who it was, even before she cantered to answer it.

And she certainly wasn't disappointed to find Derpy waiting on the other side of the door.

“Morning, Twilight” the mailmare greets warmly, leaning in to give the unicorn a soft nuzzle of affection, “I can't stay long, this morning's a doozie for deliveries. But I couldn't pass by without...”, she blushes awkwardly, crossing her forelegs, “that is to say, I missed you last ni-...I mean...oh Celestia what am I trying to say again?”.

The lavender mare giggles softly and presents a thoughtful look, “it's okay, Derpy. I know we only saw each other yesterday afternoon, but I missed you too”.

The pegasus took a renewed, warm smile. “If you're not busy today, I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch together again? I was thinking maybe...more privately this time. Say...here?”.

Somewhere deep in the Twilight Sparkle Department of Thoughts, little Twilight Sparkles were running around screaming in panic at the idea of Derpy discovering just how tragic her every effort at cooking what ponies could rightfully call food was, and at least one was going through a mental breakdown, Twilight Sparkle style. Outwardly, she just presents an awkward laugh.

“Uh, actually...” Twilight brought up a hoof to rub the side of her neck what are you doing? Don't say no! For the love of Celestia just drop by AJ's to pick something up!. The unicorn blinked two or three times, “actually I'd like that very much”.

The grey mare seemed to breathe an inward sigh of relief, though she remained a bit nervous. She leaned in a little, but then paused, “I'll see you then, Twilight...”

A painfully long, awkward moment passed. This had seemed so much easier yesterday. Was it because there were no other ponies around? She was taking too long to do anything, the lavender mare seemed to be hiding mild disappointment behind her smile. And then she seemed to contemplate something, and come to a realization?

Twilight suddenly leaned forward herself and connected with the blonde mare in a kiss. Whatever flimsy nerves had stalled the pegasus immediately perished, and she drew the unicorn against herself in her forelegs, returning the kiss with fervor. The unicorn breathed through her nose this time, and they were able to hold it longer without fear of her passing out as a consequence. Derpy couldn't quite say the same, ironically, as she felt a powerful hot-flush run over her body and a surge of something she thought she'd lost.

It was at this point the blonde mare hesitantly decided to break the kiss, lest she might never. The lavender mare wore an affectionate, satisfied look that Derpy knew she was returning.

It was only as the blonde mare took flight and left, as she regretfully had to, that Twilight's gaze eventually fell from the air to the ground beyond the door of her library, and she realized Fluttershy had been standing not far behind Derpy the entire time. She could tell this by the yellow one's jaw currently resting by her front hooves, and the blush she wore that you could probably see from the moon.

“Uh...hey...Fluttershy” the unicorn stammers awkwardly in mild shell-shock. She had intended to tell the rest of her friends about her and Derpy, but this...wasn't quite what she had in mind. Especially for this friend, in particular.

The yellow mare responded by fainting.

Then a shower of confetti and streamers erupted from a nearby tree.

And finally, Twilight facehoofed.

“Your timing was a bit off there, Pinkie”.

“Your highness? Is everything alright?”

Celestia is stirred by the voice from beyond her chamber doors, a white hoof jutting out of her bed covers beneath with the rest of her hid...ironically from her own sun.

“I'm fine, thank you” she calls back.

The dismissal evidently works as nothing further comes from beyond the door. Still, the alicorn knew she couldn't laze about in bed all day. She wasn't really sure what had possessed her to return to bed after raising the sun in the first place. She didn't even need to sleep, it was merely an activity she used to pass time and relax, yet some overwhelming force had compelled her to go back to bed for a few hours today.

Luna had reported a similar curiosity herself after her return, but Celestia failed to see a connection. She finally relents and climbs out from under her bed-covers, wandering over to the now cold tea on the small table in the room not far away. Returning it to drinkable state took a split second and an immeasurably small amount of effort, before she magically lifted and sipped from the cup. She found it ironic that the tea still, somehow, didn't taste right, but knew it was psychological.

Finally, and for no particular reason, she takes a moment to wander over to the body-length mirror in the room. Perhaps the cause of her this morning's curiosity had some visible sign? It was dreadfully unlikely, but the phenomena was foreign as it was to Celestia. She sat on her haunches before the reflective window in momentary, idle observance of herself.

...oh, there was the connection.

She had to blink three or four times to be sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. The alicorn that stared back from the mirror was one she only remembered distantly, from some time long passed. Solid pink mane and tail, and no greater than the height of any other regular pony. Celestia blinks two or three more times for good measure, but the image persists.

“...what the buck?”

Part 4 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side A)
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Shipping, Do You Speak It?

Part 4 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side A)

The private chambers of the Princess of the night barely bore describing, as they always seemed to be described roughly the same way. Dark, heavy curtains to block out the daylight, an easel and art supplies, numerous books, an abacus, a wardrobe left partially open to reveal it contained nothing but socks.

But that would be lazy. In finer point, the layout of the room was quite different to Celestia's and the atmosphere even more so, and not just for the lack of light. The bed for example was clearly made by the same hooves at the same time, but showed far less incidental wear, evident it hadn't been in use nearly as long. It also featured dark gossamer privacy curtains which looked to have been closed, and only temporarily parted.

It was positioned much deeper in the room, toward the furthest corner from the door. The heavily encumbered reading desk in the room was positioned near to it along the wall, with the painting area opposing it partway into the room - the three forming an obvious "enclosed space" in that far corner. By contrast, the dressing table where she would attend her appearance before leaving the room was close to the door, almost like an after-thought.

Her regalia was still laid out on a rack built just for the purpose not far from the bed, no small surprise as Luna would normally be sleeping right now. Instead, she presently sat on her haunches further toward the center of the room with her older sister, who stood just in front of her.

The scale of the change in Celestia's appearance was that much more obvious as a result. Her mane and tail being solid, regular hair of pastel pink was easy to discern. That she clearly stood no taller or older looking than Twilight Sparkle at this point was finely highlighted against the almost towering stature of her younger sister, even if the night Princess was slouching tiredly.

The dark Alicorn's eyes and horn glowed with a dull intensity, as a sleeve of her deep blue magic enshrouded the Princess of the day. Luna bore an analytic and mildly curious expression, tempered by fatigue and some slight annoyance at being woken up in the first place. After a few moments, the magical shroud dissipates and the glow fades from the younger sister's horns and eyes. She gives a small shake of her head, and then a more casual shrug of her shoulders.

“Tis thy own magic, sister. Thou hast done this to thyself” she finally reports, gesturing a hoof toward her sister.

Celestia gives a responsive shake of her head with a plain look of confusion. “But it can't be. It happened while I was asleep. Why would I do this to myself in the first place?”

The younger Alicorn gives another shrug of her shoulders and offers a playful look. “Perhaps thou hast become self-conscious of thy age? Tis not thine mind to know, sister”.

“That isn't funny, Lulu” the white Alicorn retorts indignantly, sitting back on her haunches and crossing her forelegs, glancing off to the side.

The Princess of the night submits a gentle sigh, taking instead a thoughtful approach. “Tia, thou hast always bottled up thy true feelings for the sake of thy image. Perhaps thy feelings hath finally found outlet”.

“What...?” the elder sister turns her gaze back to the other Alicorn, puzzled at first, but the words seemed to sink in after a few moments. “You believe I did this subconsciously, for a reason?”

Luna returns a slow nod. “Study thy own mind, sister. Thy own heart. The cause doth surely lie within”.

The white Alicorn can't help but smile to this, thoughtfully, but also playfully. “I suppose you are the poetic one for a reason. Though I wonder how long that will last now that you shall have to take on my duties”.

The Princess of the night continued to nod in agreement, right up until she actually took note what Celestia had just said. The way she went rigid and her eyes open widely suggested “panic”. “S-surely thou jest!?”

“Thou does not” the older sister returns with a satisfied smirk. “I can't very well hold court looking like this. Or entertain dignitaries, attend society matters, take council...”

Each item added to the list seemed to drive the dark Alicorn further into dread.

“...and obviously, as I will not be the one performing these duties, I can hardly do the paperwork” the white Alicorn continues, placing her hooves on her hips and giving a sage nod. “No, I'm afraid you'll have to take over my duties until this situation is resolved”.

When the Princess of the day opened her eyes once more, she found her younger sister cowering on the floor with her hooves crossed over her head. The imitation of Fluttershy was impeccable, at least.

Morning slowly marched toward midday, and the journey of a pair of unlikely traveling companions had finally come to a pause. A Pony and a Griffon sat on opposing ends and sides of a weathered table, in the small outside dining area of an old inn along the road between Fillydelphia and Ponyville.

Octavia sat with her cello case lent against the table to her side, quietly eating a sand-which she held with either hoof in small, measured bites. She sat upright and back from the table so as not to rest her elbows on it, kept her mouth closed as she ate, and consistently kept her eyes on her meal. Occasionally she would pause to take a sip of the tea sitting beside her plate, but only after carefully chewing and swallowing whatever was in her mouth first.

Gilda, by stark contrast, may as well have been laying on the table directly. Although some argument might be made that a table built for ponies was a bit too short for her, one imagined this actually had little to do with it. She slouched over so far her chest pressed against the table's edge while her front legs virtually encircled the plate of hayfries before her, which she ate with both clawed paws in alternation, sporadically going for her fruit-smoothie with whichever one wasn't clutching food at that particular moment.

It was almost a wonder where she was finding time to breathe.

"So like", the Griffon begins through a visible mouthful of food, "you were saying...you weren't always in that fancy bad or whatever?".

The grey Earth Pony resisted the urge to cringe, taking a moment to properly chew and swallow her food before clearing her throat. "There was some measure of delay between being in the school band and the Ponyville Quartet, yes".

The subtle sarcasm was evidently, but unsurprisingly lost on the Griffon, who simply nods along to the response casually. "So you did something else first? You said you like, made this trip before or something".

A very slight frown creases the mare's brow momentarily, setting her sand-which down, but keeping her civil tone. "After school I had not yet decided what, precisely, I wanted to do with my special talent", she raises her vision to meet the Griffon's eye, but upon sight of her chewing with her mouth open, closes them again with a faint cringe.

"...I traveled often, to gain a greater idea of the possibilities" the pony continues, staring a hole in her sand-which. "There was some...encouragement...that I should seek a place in the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, but-"

"Parents, huh" Gilda abruptly interjects, albeit casually and with no apparent notice of the interruption. She submits a knowing nod, "yeah I know what that's like. If they think you're anything special suddenly your life is theirs to throw around".

The griffon flips the fringe of feathers that always hung in her face with a contempt pfft. "All Griffon parents are like that, 'cuz we're rare or whatever. Expect you to be something. The something being whatever they pick".

Octavia's initial aggravation weakened at this, taking a more receptive look as she raised her vision to meet the griffon once again. Gilda was looking elsewhere now, with narrowed eyes and contempt.

"It's all these grades make a mockery of your heritage and the only friends you should be making are the important and the elite"

The griffon gives another contempt pfft with a flip of her head, "'cuz you know, having fun and friends you can actually stand talking to is totally not for Griffons. No, we're all a thousand years ago we were important and you're not going to forget it. It's not like time moves on or anything".

Gilda finally seems to ease back from the growing frustration, but only to give a defeated sigh as her attention turns back to the food in front of her. She half-mutters under her breathe, "whatever..."

Dash had stared at the door to Trixie's house so long at this point she could see its design and the pattern in the wood every time she blinked. The cyan Pegasus wore an expression that spoke of no confidence or certainty, which went a ways to explaining why she was having a staring contest she couldn't win.

No matter how long she thought about it, only so many ways to explain what had happened the day before came to the rainbow maned mare, and too many of them involved puppets or a defensible position to be tenable. Of the handful she'd come up with that could be carried out with naught but the wings on her back, most of those involved using them to escape at some point.

It's not like Trixie can launch me across Ponyville, at least... the Pegasus muses to herself, lightly biting her lower lip. I mean, all the stuff she can do is like...pranks. The worse thing she could do is turn me green or something...

Dash's head is dragged down with a weak sigh under the weight of building apprehension and a dark self-admission. No, the worst thing she could do is tell me to clop off and never talk to me again. And I'm not so sure I don't des-

The door derailed her train of thought with spectacular efficiency as it swung open under the influence of an ice-blue magic aura.

Trixie herself blinks two or three times in surprise as she looks at the door, then steps out from it to look around the corner, taking some confusion at the sight of a dazed Rainbow Dash sprawled out on her lawn.

"...Dash?"

A groan of protest was her initial reply. The cyan mare slowly sat up, holding her head with one hoof and supporting herself with the other, waiting for the two Equestrias she could see to line up again. The Unicorn moved to stand over her, leaning her head down and inspecting the Pegasus momentarily with a hoof raised to her chin.

"Hm. Lucky you have a hard head" Trixie finally concludes with a satisfied nod, turning back to close and lock the door to her house.

The cyan mare grunted indignantly at this, climbing to her hooves. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks..."

"Of course you are" the Unicorn replies as she returns from the door, pausing to glance across at Dash with a lightly puzzled look. "Trixie would be worried about you otherwise".

...oh...good point, I guess...

A long moment of silence descended between them, with the Pegasus vacantly staring at the Unicorn in thought, and Trixie eventually developing an expectant expression.

"Trixie is aware she is quite attractive, but she does need to go to work..."

This finally snaps Dash back to reality, giving a firm shake of her head before taking a step toward the Unicorn. adopting an apologetic look. "Yeah...uh...before you go, Trix..."

The blue mare cants her head lightly, "yes?"

"I...uh..." the Pegasus pauses to rub the back of her neck with a hoof, how the hay do I say this? Why did I waste so long staring at the damn door? Why didn't I think this out better?

"Dash...?"

"Something...I need to...", the Pegasus pauses herself again, giving another clearing shake of her head, and taking a deep breath to steady herself. "There's something I need to tell you. Something about yesterday".

Trixie's composure seems to slip from calm to nervous immediately. With Dash in control of the inner-monologue, it was difficult to tell what was going through her mind, but it clearly didn't fill her with confidence.

"I did something really stupid yesterday", the cyan mare continues with her head hung low and remorse on her face. "I should have admitted to it when I had the chance, but I chickened out".

The Unicorn at this point had her eyes closed and her head turned away, bodily tensed in anticipation of bad news. The rainbow maned Pegasus similarly braces herself and closes her eyes.

"I kissed Twilight".

"NO WAY!"

One of the trees in the nearby park shudders in turn with the shocked exclamation, the interruption causing Dash and Trixie to simultaneously raise their head and look at each other. Trixie's expression bore no anger or malice, but rather relief, and surprise. This in turn left Dash's face a mask of surprise and confusion, as a long few moments of silence descend once more.

But the longer it held, the more nervous the Pegasus became, and she was forced to shake her head. "No, it's more like I tried to make out with her. I don't even know why. I didn't even think about it, it just happened..."

The cyan mare had shifted to sitting on her haunches, gesturing with her hooves. "I mean, what the hay, right? It just came out of nowhere. I regretted it in like, seconds. I felt like a complete tool. And then i saw you in the park last night and I realized I didn't come back after lunch like I said, and you offered me dinner, and I was hungry. But I really just wanted to spend some time with you again anyway and..."

A sheath of ice-blue magic clamps the Pegasus' mouth closed, to her mixed surprise and relief. She maintained a wild-eyed but apologetic look at the Unicorn as she walked over to her, putting her hoof in place of her magic momentarily as she releases it.

"Just tell Trixie she was better"

The blue mare's hoof moved out of the way, and Rainbow was left even more confused. It takes a moment and an impatient frown from the Unicorn, but she finally gives a slow nod.

"Well...I mean, yeah...you were"

Trixie gives a sage nod in return, "then you're forgiven".

The Pegasus suddenly found herself very light-headed and staring at grass. Not to mention tasting grass, and feeling her face buried in it. She shifted her head to see a pair of familiar blue hooves, and finally rolled over onto her back to see Trixie standing over, leaning down, and wearing a rather amused look.

"Did the great Rainbow Dash really just faint?"

The cyan mare's face heated up. "What? No way! I don't...I-"

Trixie lent down further and set a gentle, if inverted kiss to Rainbow's lips, which the Pegasus was only too happy to return. She raised a hoof to tuck around the back of the Unicorn's back and pulled her a little more deeply into it, earning an approving murmur from the blue mare.

It only lasted a few moments until the Unicorn broke it, but the cyan Pegasus felt all the pent up anxiety, fear, and doubt dissolve against the sensation, and the taste of spearmint toothpaste. The slightly smug tone to Trixie's satisfied look as she pulled back from it somehow just completed it.

"Okay...you definitely won that one"

As she watched Trixie walk on toward work, Rainbow Dash could almost swear she had become lighter. It wasn't simply a side-effect of hovering as she was, briefly off the ground - it felt like it took even less effort than normal to do so, like she'd keep hovering if she stopped flapping her wings. Not that she was dumb enough to try it.

The great sense of relief was amplified by something else the Pegasus didn't know the name of. It was like peace mixed with content, and itself brought forth a sense of optimism. She still knew she had the situation with Twilight to resolve yet, but for the first time since it all began, she actually felt like it would work out.

The positive mindset was clearing, clarifying. She remembered, and was now only more determined, that Trixie had to be reintroduced to her friends. Her initial thoughts on how to go about this, she now realized, were comparable to well-intended pranks. That wasn't the way to go about this.

Now more than before, she wanted her friends to welcome the Unicorn back, despite her colored past in Ponyville. She had an opportunity for something here. She wasn't sure what it was yet, it was too early, too new, but it was there. And it still would be, as long as she played her cards right.

The rainbow-maned one was so consumed by this painfully sweet, starry-eyed budding romance nonsense that she didn't register the other Pony coming strait at her. She realized the on-coming collision just in time to submit an embarrassingly timid squeak and duck under the cover of her hooves, as the other pony sailed clean over her head.

By the time she heard the heavy clop and scuffle of their hooves hitting the ground on the other side of herself, and she had spun to face them with snap-annoyance, she found the other Pony already a surprising distance up the street in an unbroken gallop.

Woah...fast...

An excited smirk spread across the cyan mare's features.

Really fast. You're on!

The unspoken and likely unintended challenge had been accepted. Before anypony could say "predictable", Rainbow Dash had taken flight and was chasing down the other Pony with purpose. Even if it was a purpose only Dash herself could see.

Nothing was allowed to go fast in Ponyville without being tested against the best flier in Equestria. It was a law of the land Celestia just hadn't thought to write down, and that would change if Dash had her way.

It didn't take the cyan mare long to catch up to her quarry - even if she hadn't set off at a reckless but entirely characteristic speed, the other Pony was difficult to miss. It was another Pegasus, a mare, with about the weirdest coat Dash had ever seen.

An uneven mass of mid and dark blue whose only consistency was being darker at her back and lighter as it reached her stomach, interspersed with a loose scattering of small white spots of varying opacity, giving the illusion of stars against the night. Her mane ran in the wind, predominantly a dark wine red, with a dual highlight of dark teal and ice blue, styled not entirely unlike Twilight's, but not the same either.

But the only thing about her that the cyan Pegasus really cared about was just how fast she was running. Dash had no trouble keeping pace, of course, but most Pegasi she knew didn't fly as fast as this dark mare was running. She weaved past the other Ponies and obstacles on the streets like a dark liquid streak, and rounded corners like a smooth quill writing cursive.

The rainbow maned mare flew in low and closed the gap, only now noticing the mail courier satchel slung around her shoulders trailing in the wind, the rather befitting words "Priority/Express" stitched across its flap. She was close enough now to see the wrap-around headphones on the other mare's ears and hear the fast heavy beat coming out of them.

With little thought to the inevitable consequences, the cyan one stuck a hoof out and lightly prodded the other Pegasus' side.

"Hey, I'm Rainb-!"

For the second time today, Dash came around to find herself abruptly in a different situation. Watermelon tasted better than grass, at least to Rainbow, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to wear it like a coat. She quickly realized a large amount of her body actually ached a bit this time, too.

As she shifted and shuffled to try and figure out where she was, the cyan mare's form dislodged and toppled out of the destroyed watermelon cart onto the cobbles of the street. She sat on her flank, rubbing her head with a hoof, covered in and surrounded by fruit debris in a daze, earning more than a few puzzled looks from passers-by.

And at least one comment about how much she must like watermelon.

The rainbow maned one had to strain for it, but the last thing she remembered was the other mare startling at the sudden jab of Dash's hoof and trying to come to an abrupt stop - the cyan mare instantly collided with her and was flung off by her own momentum. From the feeling in her ribs, she was pretty sure she skipped off the ground at least once before finding the cart.

Ugh...didn't think that through very well... Rainbow bemoans to herself, climbing to her hooves and surveying the scene about her. She's given momentary pause with a cringe at the headache she just now discovered she had, causing her to squint.

Besides the occasional passer-by rubber necking at her predicament, and the apparent owner of the cart still staring wide-eyed and mouth agape in utter bemusement at what has befallen it, the cyan mare saw no obvious sign of the other Pegasus, save for some small items on the ground her glance misses the first time.

She takes a brief and slightly awkward trot over the few feet or so to them and lowers her head to get a better look - broken pieces of plastic. The gears in the rainbow maned one's mind took a few moments to rotate into place, but she finally showed realization.

Aw hay, did her iPony get busted up?

Dash lifts her glance to look around again, but it led only to a groan of self-disapproval. The other Pegasus was nowhere to be seen.

“Uhh...”

The young dragon continued to back up, periodically peering behind himself to see how much more barn he had to retreat across.

“Awh c'mon, Spike! It'll be fun!” Applebloom persists in turn, continuing to move toward him.

Scootaloo, curiously dressed in a hay-stuffed cardboard approximation of fur-lined armor with a horned helmet and Sweetie Bell, levitating a puzzlingly real looking mace, were positioned a short ways behind their fellow crusader.

“I keep telling you, there's no dragon slaying cutie mark!” Spike insists nervously, rapidly looking for an escape route. “E-even if there was, you wouldn't slay me just to get one...would you!?”.

Scoots and Sweetie shared a look of momentary consideration.

“Yeah, we would”

Applejack raised an eyebrow at the sight of a screaming Spike running from the barn with the crusaders in hot pursuit, but shrugs it off a moment later.

“Anyway, ah think yer jus' givin' in t'gossip like always, sugar” the Earth Pony reports with a half-attentive tone, turning her attention to the next tree in the row.

Rarity shook her head and gestured her hoof for emphasis, “no, I'm quite serious. I saw them with my own eyes. She was on a date with that mailpony Pegasus mare”.

The Unicorn's pointed emphasis on the word “mare” seems to provoke a momentary look of annoyance from the orange Pony, but she shakes it off and plants her rear hooves into the tree, making it spill forth apples into the waiting buckets below.

“Y'know, Rare” the Earth Pony begins, pausing between trees to cast a raised sideways glance at her friend, “there ain' nothin' wrong with that. Now ah' ain't sayin' I believe this gossip of yers, but even if ah did, 'far as ah'm concerned, it's Twi's choice which way her barn door swings, an' I fer one have no problem if it swings that way”.

Rarity actually seems to recoil from the insinuation with a slight frown, then raises a hoof in protest. “Oh darling, you misunderstand! I have nothing against the preference in the least. It just makes it that much more scandalous!”

The orange mare misses the next kick in exasperation at this, casting a bemused look at her friend. Neither of them seemed to notice the commotion in the background of Spike clawing his way up a tree to disappear in the foliage. The crusaders arrived a moment later, visibly trying to figure out where he went.

Applejack finally returned a vague "uh huh...", then shook her head and gave the tree a second buck, connecting this time and eliciting forth the customary appley jackpot.

The white Unicorn came back with an unsatisfied tch and a bemoaning tone, "you're simply no fun to gossip with, you know that?".

The Earth Pony showed annoyance once again, and this time responded with less patience in her tone. "Don't y'all normally gossip with Fluttershy, anyway?"

In the background, the crusaders had inherently discovered the young dragon was up the tree. Applebloom and Scootaloo were taking turns trying to buck him out of it, while Sweetie Bell cheered them on.

Rarity, meanwhile, returned an exaggerated sigh of disappointment to her friend. "Yes, but I have no idea where she is. She mentioned going to the library today, but when I arrived Twilight wasn't even there herself".

That's funny...they were here earlier pickin' up that lunch fer later... AJ muses to herself with a momentary pause. The Unicorn seems to notice the brief distraction in her friend, prompting the Earth Pony to quickly move on to the next tree.

"You know something!" the white mare observes with wide-eyed realization, immediately closing in on the other Pony with an expectant look, "oh you simply must tell me!".

"Ah must nothin' but buck trees, missy" the orange maned one retorts in annoyed defiance, shooting her friend a flat look.

The Unicorn simply turns her nose up with a huff of indignation in reply.

Celestia's sun rode lower in the increasingly orange sky now, as the afternoon continued its steady march toward evening. The temperature had gone down slightly with it, as the weather Pegasi worked busily overhead assembling and arranging the clouds for a rainy night.

Rainbow Dash felt slightly lame for ditching her shift, but not enough to get her up there working. The day started out unexpectedly well, but by this point she was a bit tired, still kind of sore, and had half a pizza to finish yet.

She sat at a small table on the larger balcony of the library, deeply reclined back into the chair at it with her hooves up and the pizza box sat across her lap. There were no obvious signs of life inside the library itself, but at least Dash was ideally positioned to know when the Pony who lived there got home.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, the cyan mare knew she should really go to at least one of their friends for advice first. Her last attempt to apologize to that certain lavender Unicorn hadn't exactly worked out ideally, somewhere between being a bit of a flank about it and the whole oral molestation thing. But despite the day's earlier turn of events, that new turn of confidence she'd attained this morning was still there.

Things with Trixie had worked out, why wouldn't things with Twilight? Okay, they were pretty much completely different Ponies, and they probably didn't think or see things the same way at all, but that didn't matter, right? She just had to show she was sorry, and her friend was sure to understand.

The cyan mare paused halfway through taking a bite of her pizza with a distinct look of realization, evident it had just dawned on her how unlikely it was to be quite that simple.

This thing with Trixie was brand new. It had been rushed into, in classic Rainbow Dash style, recklessly. All she really knew about the Unicorn for sure was that she was proud, but insecure, lonely, receptive to Dash's bravado, and could apparently be placated by feeding her pride. There wasn't really much to mess up there yet.

Her friendship with Twilight, on the other hoof, may have started quite suddenly, but had also been cultivated and developed over the better part of two years now, and was built on trust, loyalty, dependability, and a bunch of other things that made her shoulders feel rather heavy as she thought about it.

She didn't even know how upset Twilight actually was with her. Launching Dash halfway across Ponyville might seem less extreme than tearing the library apart, unless of course it was a message, or a warning.

Suddenly, sitting around on the balcony of the Unicorn's home eating pizza and waiting for her to come home didn't seem like such a good idea. Rainbow needed her friends' advice, or at least a better idea just how bad it was. If she was going to fix this one, she had to do it right.

Rarity's like, the biggest gossip in Ponyville, hooves down. She's gotta know something...

Rainbow Dash landed briefly back from the boutique and took a steadying breath, consciously replacing her previously determined expression with a casual composure, albeit coming off just a little forced. She never claimed to be a good actor.

The white Unicorn responded to the tingle of the bell as her door opened with typical good grace and poise. A sing-song toned "Just a mo-ment!" coming from the rear of the shop, immediately before a short sequence of muffled crashes and venomous expletives, no evidence of which remained in the dapper mare by the time she emerged in the store-front proper.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash!" she greets warmly, "how are you darling? Is there something I can help you with?".

"Nah, I'm cool..." the Pegasus returns, internally cringing at how hollow that rang right now. "Well, maybe you can, actually"

"Oh?" the Unicorn piques with interest, "have you finally realized how much you need a nice dress?"

"Actually-"

"I know hats don't really work for you, with the way you fly" the white mare continues, crossing the shop-floor to her friend and inspecting her from side to side analytically, before proceeding to a wall lined with odds and ends. "But I did have some ideas for accessories that would hold up, if you tone it down just a teensy bit..."

The cyan one by this point was slowly and repeatedly facehoofing.

"Oh but really, we should do something with your mane first" the Rarity train goes on, her magic pulling out and levitating a fashion magazine which she brings back to her friend, starting to flip pages and point with her hoof. "This perhaps, or something like that...hm, if you didn't fly so quickly all the time, you could try-"

"Rarity!"

The Unicorn startles into falling on her flank, staring at her friend in surprise. The Pegasus takes a deep breath in turn, gesturing with a hoof.

"I really just wanted to know if you knew anything about Twi" Dash explains, fidgeting a little as she looks off to the side. "I kind of made her mad yesterday. Really mad, i think. I just don't know how much..."

Rarity frowns momentarily, but seems to perceive how troubled her friend is, and adopts a softened tone. "I'm not sure how much help I can be, darling. I know Twilight was on a date yesterday, but I haven't spoken to her myself. Applejack...may know something, but she isn't saying".

The Pegasus goes to respond, but pauses as she notices the white mare looking away in pensive deliberation.

"..I certainly wouldn't ask Fluttershy, however" she hesitantly concludes, only now turning her gaze back to her friend. She offers a thoughtful look, but it was curiously underwritten with some concern.

The cyan one visibly ponders over this for a long moment with a skeptical look, but finally lifts her gaze from the floor to offer a smile. "Thanks Rare. I'll head over that way now".

With that, the Pegasus calmly made her way out the door and back outside, taking to the air and aiming in the vague direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack is like, Twilight's best friend out of us. Why didn't I think of her first?

Ponyville rolled on below, but the Pegasus paid no mind of it from the afternoon sky. The flight to her destination was a relatively short one, even without the benefit of the speeds she can get up to, but her ribs still hurt a bit, a memento of an earlier lack of forethought today.

But Fluttershy? the cyan one furrowed her brow in confusion. What would she know? Those two like, never hang out. I don't think they even talk much...

Her mind flashes back to her friend's hesitation. Rare knows that. Why would she even mention Shy? It doesn't make any sense...

The orchard had loomed into view already, not that it was easy to miss. The farm stood largely silent as far as the Pegasus could see, save for what looked from this distance to be Big Mac emptying out the barn. Something along the track between Ponyville and the farm caught Dash's eye first, though, prompting her to fly in low.

The cyan mare came in to a hover nearby the pink Earth Pony as she sat on the long fence-rail, idly kicking her hooves and letting the breeze run through her mane. She almost seemed...peaceful, for once.

It was a little disturbing.

"Hey, Pinks, what's up? Taking a break from the hunt?" the Pegasus inquires.

"Heya Dashie!" the pink one greets, bringing up both hooves in an exaggerated cheer motion that nearly makes her fall off the fence backward, but curiously she relaxes again afterward.

"I decided to just throw one big super duper crazy party later" she goes on to explain cheerfully, although oddly calmly. "That way I'll get 'em all at once".

Dash found herself a bit put off by the Earth Pony's behavior, but shrugs it off. "Good idea, Pinks. So whacha up to out here then?"

"Waiting, silly" the other mare returns rather simply, to the cyan one's no greater understanding.

"Uh...waiting for what?" Rainbow wonders aloud, lifting her head to take a look around, only to confirm there was nothing to see.

"Waiting for it to be my turn, duh!" Pinky replies with a bubbly giggle, "it's just how these things work. Can't do it alllll at the same time. It would be too hard to follow".

The cyan mare found herself simply staring at her friend at a total loss what she could possibly be talking about. But having long since learned about the infrequency of Pinkie Pie and making sense coinciding, decides it best to just leave it there.

"Well, uh..good luck with that, Pinkie"

Thoroughly confused by her encounter with Pinkie Pie, but no less determined, Rainbow Dash flew on the rest of the way to Sweet Apple Acres in short order and headed directly for the barn. Within a moment or two of landing outside it, the large red stallion emerged, offering a polite nod of his head in greeting.

"Hey, Mac" the cyan mare greets in turn, turning her head to look around, "Is AJ around?"

"Eeeeyup" came the simple and predictable response.

The Pegasus should have seen it coming by now, but somehow nopony ever seemed to learn the lesson. One could only assume the stallion had, though - after a moment, he adds a gesture with his head toward an open shed not far away.

"Thanks" Rainbow returns quickly as she trots off in the indicated direction. The small structure in question had seen better days, evidently one of the things the Apple family hadn't got around to replacing yet. And sure enough, Applejack was to be found within.

The orange mare doesn't seem to notice her friend at first, not the least presumably because she was facing the wrong way - her attention largely invested in comparing a small map of the orchards on a hay-bale in front of her to a much larger and older one attached to the wall of the shed, with visible concentration and regular self-muttering.

"Not now, Rainbow Dash" the Earth Pony half-mumbles inattentively the instant the Pegasus opens her mouth. "Ah ain't got th' time now or th' patience besides".

The cyan one blinks once or twice in visible confusion, pulling her head back slightly as an annoyed look finds its way into her features. "Whaddya mean?"

AJ hangs her head for a long moment with a deep sigh of disapproval, then shakes it off and resumes her concentration, and short tone to match.

"Ah mean does it look like ah've got free time comin' out mah ear right now?" she furthers. A closer glance at the smaller map of the orchard she was comparing to the larger, older one showed it was veritably covered in mathematical calculations following some sort of drawn out path through the trees.

The rainbow maned one found it utterly indecipherable, and difficult to believe the apple farmer apparently didn't, as she at least seemed to know how it applied to the larger map, though it was clearly straining her.

"I guess not" Dash concedes, lifting a hoof to rub the side of her neck awkwardly. "I was just wondering if you-"

"C'mon now, Rainbow" the orange one interjects, casting an almost pleading look across at her friend, "y'all know ah'd help ya'n a hoofbeat if ah could, but ah jus' cain't right now".

Somehow even the Pegasus could tell it had rather less to do with time and more to do with the Earth Pony being unable to lie, and already knowing what she was here to ask about. The look on the apple farmer's face virtually read please don't ask.

It would be so easy to ask anyway, knowing she couldn't lie about it, that there were only so many excuses she could make before cracking. But the cyan one knew that wouldn't be fair, and the last thing she needed right now was to damage another friendship.

"Sorry, AJ" Rainbow concedes with an apologetic look, "I'll come back another time".

The orange pony submits a deep sigh of relief, and takes a tone to match. "Thank you, RD".

The Pegasus submits a nod in confirmation, then turns from the shed and takes flight once more.

As the sun crept ever lower and evening approached, Rainbow Dash could feel the humidity in the air rising through the dander of her wings. The rain setup by the weather Pegasi earlier wasn't all that far off now, and Dash only now noticed it was actually a storm they'd been building.

AJ was no good...but she was my best shot the cyan mare muses to herself with a discontent frown, I mean what am I meant to do, ask Derpy? That'd go down real well. Could I ask the Princess about something like this?. A mental image of Celestia becoming furious and launching the Pegasus at the moon flashes through her mind, causing Dash to shiver. Yeah...lets not test that one...

From her altitude and relative position, Dash could easily see Fluttershy's cottage, not being all that far from Sweet Apple Acres to begin with. The timid yellow mare was the only one of their friends she hadn't approached now, but short of Pinkie Pie, the least likely to know anything useful.

But then why'd Rarity even mention her? the cyan one wonders, furrowing her brow, what's the point of bringing her up just to say not to ask her? And what was with that look on her face? What am i missing here?.

Before she'd even consciously decided to do it, Dash found herself descending toward the cottage. And started having second-thoughts about it before she even landed, though it doesn't stop her. That unquantifiable sense had come back - the uncanny but seemingly sourceless impression she shouldn't be here.

As ever, the humble home sat amidst an idyllic scene, seemingly irregardless of the time of day or the weather. The animals were already asleep, or just paid no mind to the Pegasus as she walked the last of the way from the little bridge up to the front door. Nothing about the scene appeared to support her sixth sense.

As she neared, and long before she got to the point of knocking, however, her ears perk up to the sound of distinctly familiar voices from within the cottage. Fluttershy's was expected and obvious, but the cyan mare's surprise was drawn by what was clearly Twilight's as the second.

"How do you like your tea, anyway?" the yellow mare's muffled voice inquires curiously. "I've just realized I don't know".

A muffled casual laugh comes back ahead of the reply. "As coffee, usually. But black would be great".

What the hay...? confusion dominated Rainbow's features. The very concept of these two hanging out seemed incomprable to her somehow.

"Dinner smells great, by the way" came Twilight's muffled voice once more, "I don't think I've looked forward to a meal so much since...well, not long after I first moved here, and a certain group of someponies kept me from eating all day".

Fluttershy's voice came back first in a giggle, "I'm still sorry about that. I can't believe I got so carried away".

When did they become such good friends? They never hang out, they only talk when we're all together...or did I just like, not notice or something?

"I think Angel Bunny is a bad influence" Twilight's voice come through again, "but he is an adorable one, at least".

A shared laugh follows, but as the yellow mare replied, her voice was too far from the front door to hear, prompting Dash to move around along the side of the cottage. A casual observer might have pointed out there were surely laws against what she was doing, but she didn't seem to care.

"..nervous about tomorrow" the timid Pegasus' voice became clear again, "I know it's asking a lot".

Huh? What about tomorrow?

"Hey, it was my idea in the first place" came the Unicorn's reassuring voice in return. "I admit, I was a bit nervous about it myself at first. But I'm glad we're doing this date thing. I think it'll be good for both of us".

WHAT!?

The inevitable bemused spasm made the cyan one trip, knocking over a wheel-barrow which fell to the ground with a distinct thud, and consequent rattle of the gardening tools previously inside it spilling out. She instantly panicked, her eyes finding the first dense tree, which she promptly flew up into.

"What the hay! What was that?"

"Oh dear, I hope it wasn't a predator"

"Come on, we should check your animals are okay"

Rainbow Dash had already buried herself amongst the foliage by the time the cottage door swung open. Twilight came out first, holding a continual charge of magic in her horn and a look on her face that suggested it was going right up the rear end of anything that shouldn't be here.

Fluttershy quickly - by her standards at least - fluttered out to the animal enclosures and dens, and began checking them over while doing a head-count under the Unicorn's protective cover.

"Everyone looks fine" the yellow mare finally reports, then gestures a hoof at the sky, "but it looks like there's going to be a storm".

"It's just a rainstorm" the lavender mare informs assuringly, before converting the charge in her horn and releasing it. A gentle purple flash appeared around the various animal homes, which then materialized into waterproof screens and covers to block out the wind and rain. "Will that keep them safe?"

"Oh my..." Fluttershy observes in approval, fluttering over and inspecting a couple of them, "oh these are perfect, Twilight. I don't think they'll even notice the storm". She flies back to the Unicorn, wrapping her front legs around her in a warm hug, albeit from a slight elevation. "Thank you"

Twilight in turn gives the Pegasus a friendly nuzzle, "you're welcome".

After a few moments, the friendly embrace was released, and the other two Ponies returned indoors. Dash waited briefly still after she heard the door close behind them before risking coming down - dropping out of the tree into a hover, her face wearing the depth of her confusion and disbelief at this point.

What the hay is going on around here!?

Part 5 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side B)
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Shipping, Do You Speak It?

Part 5 - The Trouble With Eavesdropping (Side B)

The sight of her own sun often helped Celestia's mind clear and calm. Her symbiosis with it was a reminder of her duty to Equestria – the qualities she had to embody – stability, dependability, a radiant force that encouraged and sustained life, a seemingly eternal entity that rose each day no matter how bad things may be.

It wasn't working today.

She stood on the balcony attached to her private chambers, and for the first time since this particular castle had existed, she had to stand up on her hind legs to see over its railing. Her chin rested atop her forelegs folded upon the railing, her gaze panning down, first to Canterlot below, and then the expansive scape of the Ponyville area further still. They had always looked small from up here, however no less important. But today, for as long as she could remember, she felt just as small herself.

The fact that she was, in fact, no taller than her own student right now probably had a lot to do with it. In truth, whatever spell she'd unconsciously woven upon herself, it had only affected her appearance. It was her appearance, rather, that was affecting her mind – one might think that suddenly becoming younger would be a boon, but then most weren't an eternal goddess of the sun whose expected place was to preside over Equestria, and be the largest and most regal, pristine looking example of their species known, in the opinion of many, if not most.

But it was more. Celestia possessed great power, of this there could be little question. Her past spoke in places more like the tale of a warrior Princess than the almost infinitely patient, seemingly unflappable, steady, level-headed, empathetic one she was known as. Granted, the only time in living memory she actually rose to fight directly she was cast down effortlessly, but in her defense, even the queen of the Mimics herself wasn't aware she was that powerful at the time. And the sun was in her eyes.

It was precisely because of that great power that an unknowable amount of time, effort, and practice went into attaining flawless self-control. How could the ponies have total confidence in their Princess if the sun moved every time she sneezed. How could the castle staff carry out the unending, interconnected procession of tasks that kept the kingdom running if they grew a mustache every time she stubbed a hoof. What neighboring ruler would make peace, if every meeting with Celestia was in fear that they could be launched out a window if her tea was hotter than she expected.

And so to have unconsciously cast a spell on herself at all, much less one with an affect that directly impacts her duties, was a deeply troubling notion for the Princess of the sun to contend with. She would never claim to be above the inherent nature of the mind, that her subconscious unlike any other was plainly knowable or contained nothing she was not aware of. But what subconscious musing would warrant such a spell, and be so powerful as to make her cast it?

The answer, as Luna instructed, was to be found within. In her mind, and in her heart. But a thousand years of rule, alone, had left Celestia with so little time for anything else, her heart was in truth, a very shallow thing. Her only hobby was Twilight Sparkle and the things she did for or with her student. The things she did solely for own enjoyment, all related to Twilight somehow – all else she did was, ultimately, a duty to Equestria, be it a literal responsibility or task, or simply an appearance at a time and place that reassured or encouraged the Ponies.

And while referring to Twilight as a mere hobby, when she was truly so much more, made the Princess feel guilty, the fact remained that even this one “hobby”, she had nowhere near the time for that she would like. Was this the answer she sought? Could it really be so simple? A great and selfish desire for more time to do anything besides all but live solely for Equestria? Surely not. Such a desire had existed in her heart for a long time. Why would it only be expressed now, and in so simple a form.

Even if that were the cause it would be faulty. The Princess of the sun may have already delegated all of her duties to the care of her younger sister, but the arrangement is temporary. The decision itself was in equal parts a temporary solution for breathing room and an excuse to ween Luna off her self-imposed exile – to show her that she has the capability to be the Princess that she already is, and that the Ponies of Equestria are ready for her to be such.

No, if Equestria needed her, or if the younger Princess was in true need of reprieve, Celestia would return to duty be damned of her appearance without pause or second thought. This she knew too deeply and too completely for a mere subconscious desire for free time to have any hope of piercing the walls of her self-control.

The Princess releases her contemplation with a deep sigh, closing her eyes and taking slow, steady breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth until her mind clears and the weight lifts from her shoulders. There was surely a more effective way about this, she just had to find it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two travelers continued down the long road between Fillydelphia and Ponyville, their brief stop on the way over, and the destination that much closer than when they started. They still made an unlikely pair, but the air between them had changed somewhat – it wasn't overt or immediate, but reflected in subtle changes.

They didn't quite walk at the extreme opposite sides of the road now, and one was no longer slightly ahead of the other. The silence in the air wasn't so much cold and impersonal as somehow more incidental. Where one once chose not to speak out of aversion to ill-mannerisms and was coolly inattentive, her expression spoke more of quiet, calm respect that some difficult, personal things had escaped the other in a fit of frustration.

The other wore a look that illustrated a certain relief and the smoothing-down of their rough edges from expressing some long pent-up unwanted truths, but also small embarrassment in doing so. Her head wasn't held quite so high now, but not out of shame – the hollow pretense for doing so was gone, and a reminder of sorts that it was never her choice, allowed her to relax the normal strain in her neck.

“My parents were not much better” Octavia reports calmly, her eyes remaining set to the road ahead. “But rather the opposite. They believed my special talent was...impractical, and that pursuing it a waste of time. Time spent practicing my music could be better spent learning to work the family business”.

An almost amused sigh escapes her as the gray mare's eyes close, and her head turns down lightly. “The family business being carpentry or Good, honest, salt of Equestria work, as they would constantly point out. Wanting to become a successful musician wasn't an aspiration, but rather evidence I was born lazy. No successful musician ever raised a barn, after all”.

The Griffon by now couldn't help but show surprise in her expression, as she turned an eye aside to observe the Pony. While the tone of Octavia's voice remained the same, the inflection and pronunciation of her words had begun to dull, if slightly.

“All the time and effort that went into refining my talent was, of course, just avoiding doing any real work. Earning a place in the school band was similarly just an excuse” she continues, as her hooves began to make slightly sharper crunches on the dirt road. “They attended my first recital just for proof I was doing something, rather than simply off somewhere sleeping”.

Her hoof-falls soften again as her eyes open once more. They were not set to the road ahead now, but somewhere further. “The encouragement to seek a place in the Royal Canterlot Orchestra did not come in the form of words or assistance, but rather the determination that I had taken my lazy dream as far as I should, or could. They attended my audition for the chair simply to see it proven”.

Octavia's eyes narrowed now, paired with the creases of a faint anger in her face. “They introduced themselves by apologizing that I was wasting the agent's time. They answered his questions of my reliability and commitment with statements of my irresponsibility and lack of work ethic, as they saw it. As though my common speech and crude manners weren't already against me. Little wonder, of course, that I was rejected for the chair. I don't think the agent even bothered with the customary we'll let you know”.

“Harsh...” Gilda observes in quiet recognition.

The Earth Pony returns a small shake of her had with a softening of her expression, closing her eyes once more. “Inevitable. I had little experience of the world beyond my small town home. The most civilized Pony I knew up to that point was my teacher, who read books with the assistance of a dictionary and was in a relationship with her cousin. No, I had little hope of passing that interview even without my parents' assistance”.

The griffon at once seemed almost incapable of reconciling the idea of the mare coming from those sorts of roots, evident in the quietly bemused expression painted across her face, though she uncharacteristically holds her tongue at this point.

“So I sought a wider experience of Equestria, and life in general” the Pony began to explain, pausing to take a calming breath, and continuing once her composure cooled. “I traveled, hooking up with groups, giving solo performances, and participating in showcases as I moved about Equestria. I never stayed in the same place very long, but I gained a much broader view of life along the way”.

“Can't do it, like, forever though, right?” the Griffon observes with a modicum of genuine recognition.

The Earth Pony returns an affirming nod to this in reply. “No, you can't”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A sound, like somepony speaking through a long tube while underwater, begins to rouse Fluttershy back to consciousness. As the mass of dull color that was the world around her slowly began to form proper shapes, she recognized wood, books, book-shelves. It looked strangely like she was inside a tree with the curtains drawn, but a nearby window open to deliver a steady stream of fresh air, and the voice was somehow familiar.

It finally dawned on the yellow mare where she was, the recognition tempered by the confusion of everything being the wrong way up. It takes her another moment or two to determine she was laying on her back, on the sofa in the back room of the library. There was a damp cloth on her forehead, which was initially surprising, but quickly became soothing. She'd forgotten how comfortable this sofa was – she didn't sit on it very often.

Twilight sat on her haunches close by, lightly leaned over the Pegasus in concerned observation. Upon noticing her friend was now awake, she offers a thought smile and tone to match.

“Hey, you're back”

“Oh, my. Hello Twilight” the yellow mare responds softly, blushing faintly. Her voice grows ever quieter. “W-...why am I on your sofa?”

“You fainted” the Unicorn reports. “So I brought you inside to make sure you were okay”.

The shy one took an embarrassed look as she slowly shifts to an upright sitting on her haunches on the plush seat, offering her head forward slightly as the Unicorn uses her magic to retrieve the damp cloth.

“Oh, you didn't have to go to all that trouble. I mean...um, the ground's a little uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have minded really” the yellow mare offers in typical self-deprecation.

Twilight could only shake her head at this, returning a gently disapproving look. “Fluttershy, I wasn't going to leave you on the ground like that”.

This, of course, only serves to make the Pegasus blush even more, and reply with a tiny voice. “Th-thank you...”

“Now you wait there” the Unicorn continues, taking a more instructive tone, “you shouldn't move too quickly”. She then proceeds toward the kitchen, “I'll just get you a glass of water”.

After first nodding in confirmation of the instructions, despite the fact the other mare hadn't waited for a reply, Fluttershy took the opportunity to glance around the room. She didn't see this part of the library very often, as the group more often tended to assemble in the larger, more open main room. Not that it was particularly different from the rest of the library anyway, but it was a convenient excuse to make this particular paragraph a little longer.

Twilight returned momentarily with the previously ascribed glass of water levitating in the grasp of her magic, carefully guiding it into the grip of the yellow mare, who took hold of it with both hooves just to be safe.

“Thank you, Twilight” the Pegasus semi-echoes coyly, before going to take a large mouthful. Predictably, it was in that precise moment the yellow mare's mind recalled what had caused her to feint in the first place, which in turn caused her face to turn bright red as she consequently swallowed the water the wrong way and began to choke.

The Unicorn instantly startled into concerned response, moving in to pat her friend on the back with a hoof while retrieving the glass from her grip with magic. “Whoa, easy there. Water doesn't go down that way”.

Somewhere between trying to nod in response, the passive assistance of the hoof patting her back, and coming close to fainting again, Fluttershy finally manages to regain herself and slumps somewhat in her seat, blushing profusely as she catches her breath again. She could now only stare at her friend in deep embarrassment, as the mental image of what she'd seen refused to go away.

Twilight, in turn, began to blush lightly as the Pegasus' stare remained fix upon her, knowing full well the cause. This begins to make her nervous, despite simply being mildly unsettling, and she takes on a forcefully casual, dismissive air.

“So! It was great to see you...” she announces, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. “But I was on my way to Apple Swee-”, she pauses and shakes her head, “Apple Acres Swe-”, she shakes her head once more and facehoofs, “AJ's place, before you showed up. So if there's nothing else I can do for you...”

The Unicorn concludes with an exaggerated smile and a not so subtle repeated nodding of her head in the vague direction of not here anymore. To her prompt deflation, the Pegasus doesn't seem to get the message – rather, she continues to stare, but returns a slow nod.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twilight, it seemed, had forgotten Fluttershy's home was in the same basic direction as Sweet Apple Acres, and that the majority of the walk to either could be done along the same paths. And so it was to her visible discomfort that her walk to the aforementioned farm was in the continued company of the yellow Pegasus, in lieu of the heart to tell her to … well, lets just say not follow her, to be kind.

It wasn't that the Unicorn didn't like the daffodil mare. On the contrary, she counted Fluttershy amongst her best friends without hesitation. It was more an issue of the fact that she was persistently and it had to be said, at this point, rather creepily, staring at the Unicorn, with an expression that actually suggested admiration.

“You really are amazing, Twilight” the Pegasus reports in wonder. “I mean, kissing in public? I could never do that”.

“So you keep saying...” the Unicorn retorts in suppressed annoyance under her breath, keeping her eyes fixed ahead.

“What was it like?” the yellow mare goes on to query, presenting a wide-eyed look, “could you feel everypony watching you? Or did it feel like nopony else was there?”, she lowers her head and blushes. “I mean, if you don't mind me asking...”

Would you really stop asking if I did? the lavender mare bemoans to herself internally with a roll of her eyes. But she shakes it off and returns a calm, if somewhat curt tone. “Honestly? I only really noticed Derpy at the time. I thought about it just before, and decided I shouldn't care anypony was watching”.

“Wow, it was really that simple?” the Pegasus observes in yet further wonder. “You really are amazing, sometimes”.

The lavender mare's eye twitched. If she says that just once mo-. She pauses mid-thought, as her ears are made to perk up at an oddly familiar, tiny sound. Did she say something?

“What was that? I couldn't-” Twilight's inquiry trailed off, as a cursory glance back over her shoulder showed her friend now hiding behind her mane, as she often did when, and in the aftermath of, saying something she doesn't quite have the courage to loud enough for anypony to actually hear it.

Whether it was payback, or the Unicorn had just finally decided she'd had enough of only getting half of what the Pegasus says on the rare occasion they actually spoke, she decided just this one, she wasn't going to play fair. The lavender one's horn lit up with a small pulse of magic, which seemed to momentarily vacuum in tiny effervescent particles, and then began to release Fluttershy's voice, sounding rather like it had been recorded on tape, but with the volume up high enough to actually hear.

“I haven't even told the pony I have a crush on. I couldn't. I wouldn't even know how...”

“Wow, Fluttershy. You have a crush?” Twilight observes with a mixture of mild surprise and an impressed smile.

The demure yellow mare replied by fainting. Again.

It was familiar to find the world around her a mass of color and light, albeit significantly brighter this time, as Fluttershy's eyes drifted open again. What was less familiar, though, was that those colors, and the shapes they were steadily defining into, were moving. As her vision finally clarified enough to determine she was on the familiar farm track road to Sweet Apple Acres, the yellow mare found it odd that the dirt beneath her appeared to be slowly drifting by.

Then she got a nose full of a distinctly familiar scent, but at much greater clarity and proximity to the source than she could remember ever getting before. Lilac and something else pleasant that she couldn't identify, accompanied strongly but in subjugation with books, parchment, and ink. In a word, or two, Twilight Sparkle.

“O-oh my...” the Pegasus squeaks softly, as she realized her form was neatly overlaying the purple unicorn's – stomach to back, with her head resting down the side of her neck. Her hooves were just barely off the ground as a consequence of being a little taller than her friend, courtesy of being similarly a little older. Twilight, it seemed, had opted to simply put Fluttershy on her back and keep walking.

“Welcome back” the Unicorn acknowledges calmly. “But just so you know, I'm not letting you near any water this time. It seems to be in your best interest”.

The yellow mare couldn't process a response. Her blush was so deep it extended partway up her ears. Even her mane was pi- oh, right, that's normal. Anyway, she was deeply embarrassed, and it was rather clear to see. She could feel her heart beating in double time, but also beneath it, couldn't help but feel another heartbeat. It was steady and calm, not even showing the strain of carrying her weight. It almost seemed too big to possibly belong to such a small Unicorn. But somehow, it was soothing, and made her feel more at ease.

“P-please don't tell anypony...” the Pegasus requests timidly. It was in that tiny voice that was normally difficult to understand, but her head was close enough to the Unicorn's for her to hear it clearly now.

“You faint all the time, Fluttershy” the lavender mare returns calmly. “Pretty confident everypony knows about it by now”.

The timid one shook her head softly against the Unicorn's neck. “No...not that...”

“I know” Twilight affirms with a slightly softer tone. “Don't worry. I'm very good at keeping secrets. Plant-pot soil doesn't taste very good”.

Fluttershy can't help but submit a soft giggle at the memory, unevenly looping her forelegs around the Unicorn's neck and chest to hold onto her lightly. It struck the Pegasus as odd she didn't feel embarrassed about this, or nervous, self-conscious, even shy. It was comfortable and calming, but it wasn't the physical contact itself – it was a sense, an almost tangible aura that seemed to be coming from Twilight, that somehow reassured her, and made her feel safe.

“Aren't you...going to ask? Who it is, I mean” the yellow mare queries quietly.

The lavender one turns her head down slightly, noting the way she was being held on to, but seems to simply accept it calmly. “That depends. Do you want to tell me?”. She felt her friend nod softly against her neck in reply. “Well, I'm all ears then”.

“You remember when I was a popular model for a little while?” the Pegasus begins.

“And how” the purple mare returns with a light shake of her head and an amused tone.

The daffodil one gives another small nod of her head. “Well, I got a lot of fan-mail at the time. Most of it was just empty flattery, love letters...things like that. But one Pony in particular...”. She pauses, as if in memory, a small smile forming on her features. “she was very supportive, and made the whole thing a little less terrible”.

The Pegasus tightens her hold on her friend just slightly, the peaceful smile on her face growing a little more. “I think you know her, actually”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“...-you hear me?”

The patterned mare groaned in protest as consciousness came with a distinct pain all along her left side. The world was a swaying blur of colors and half-intelligible shapes, but the familiar voice slowly draws her out of her daze. Her first attempt to move informed her she was winded, and the pain in her head wasn't being helped by the incessant wail of junk noise assaulting her right ear. With more than a little protest from her left side, the Pegasus climbs to her hooves, having to fight disorientation all the way up.

“You shouldn't move yet, I think you hit your head” Derpy insists in concern, trying to coax the other mare to sit back down with her hooves.

The darker Pegasus complies, sitting on her flank heavily as she turns her head down to check the music player attached to her left front leg. Sure enough, it was smashed – still powered on, but so badly damaged it was just putting out garbled junk sound. The mare frowns, but simply brings her right hoof across, smacking it two or three times, forcing it to concede to the damage and power off. Nearby, there was a smashed watermelon cart with a few randomly twitching cyan bits sticking out of the mass of busted fruit, not that either Pegasus seemed to notice.

“Hey, look up” the blonde mare instructs, drawing the patterned mare's attention to herself. She leans down, carefully gripping the earpiece from the other mare's left ear and pulling it away, revealing it to have snapped off from its cable. The darker one again frowns to this, but continues to comply to the manipulation of Derpy's hooves, allowing her to repeat the process and pull the other earpiece from her right ear.

“I should take you to see nurse Red Heart...” Derpy continues.

But this only draws a disapproving look from the other mare, who proceeds to stand up on her hooves again. The first attempt to take a step comes with an uncomfortable brace of pain down her left side, and a small shift in her balance she has to widen the stance of her hooves to steady through.

“...will you at least come back to the office and take a break?” the blonde mare concludes, now with a firmer tone of disapproval underscoring her concern.

The patterned Pegasus submits a defeated sigh, lowering her head in conceit. “Alright, Dee”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Elsewhere in Ponyville, another pair of Ponies were drawing close to their destination, thanks in large part to the efforts of one in particular. Though in truth they had been walking along part of the perimeter of Sweet Apple Acres for a short while now, the old familiar sign which designated its proper entrance was still a short distance ahead yet. For some time now the breeze had carried the scent of the apples, only now at this proximity one could practically taste them in it.

The near-legendary delectable taste of the farm's produce and how much she could go for some of it right now, however, was a mere background thought for Twilight Sparkle. As had every moment since its arrangement, distractions aside, her thoughts were primarily centered on a certain gray Pegasus and their ever-looming “private” lunch date in just a matter of hours. She thought it odd she was so calm about the prospect – rationally, she knew there was plenty of cause to be nervous and lack confidence – she hadn't yet actually read a single book on the subject of romance and the many complex variables and nuances to it.

As a subject of study, the Unicorn knew more about the behavior of magic in a vacuum than she did about the procedure and nuances of courting and romantic partnership dynamics. It's not like nopony had ever tried, of course – her efforts to prioritize study over the “distraction” of friendships throughout magic school weren't helped by more than a few attempts to gain her affections, but Twilight had always concluded it was simply the byproduct of being Celestia's protege.

On the rare occasion she did relent and accept a “date” to attend a school function or student social, it was only at the subtle prodding of her mentor, and only ever one with specific other student of the magic school – a particular, slightly older Unicorn against whom Twilight's resilience somehow just didn't hold up. The lavender one never did work out what exactly it was about her that caused it, only that she vaguely reminded her of somepony else.

And it's not like Celestia hadn't tried to teach her about the subject, either. Twilight recalled more than a few occasions when her beloved mentor had suggested a book or tried to start a discussion on the subject of romance, but the Unicorn had always brushed it off as unnecessary down-time from real subjects – just the caring measures of a thoughtful teacher trying to avoid her student becoming overworked or burnt out. She did it in other ways too, of course – walks in the gardens and grounds of the castle, days off to attend Wonderbolts shows or accompany the Princess to the many society functions she had to make an appearance at, girls-night-ins where the most productive thing they would get around to was to see how long they could huddle by the fire without discussing or debating the subject of a lesson before they fell asleep.

No, nothing in the lavender mare's past had really prepared her for how to approach a romantic relationship, but it still didn't concern her. Something inside her provided continual, gentle, but steady reassurance that things would work out. It didn't tell the Unicorn how they'd work out, or how to make sure they worked out – it wasn't anything as plain and direct as confidence – it was an unobtrusive whisper from somewhere she didn't quite understand, that she was sure wasn't there until recently, and yet was comforting and familiar. Somehow, Twilight didn't feel the need to even try and work out what it actually was.

But for now, these musings would have to wait. The sight of the daffodil Pegasus still draped over the Unicorn's back, gently cuddling into her neck from behind was, probably, a heart-warming sight – but it would also almost certainly prove to be to their mutual embarrassment if anypony actually saw it. As peaceful and comfortable as she looked now, Twilight knew full well Fluttershy was liable to spend the next couple of days as a near-mute from the jokes at their expense that were inevitable in the eventuality.

Which was an overly fancy way of saying Twilight would get annoyed, and Fluttershy would spend a couple of days imitating a mouse.

And so it was unlikely to anypony's surprise that Applejack just happened to be standing by the old farm sign when the pair drew near it. The orange Earth Pony was currently preoccupied trying to kick one of its support beams back into a strait position without inadvertently kicking it so hard that she breaks it. This was illustrated by the uneven alignment of her eyebrows in concentration, and the way the tip of her tongue stuck out as she lined up each measured thrust of her hind leg.

The orange one misses her next kick with an awkward stumble upon sight of the approaching pair, simply lost in a long moment of staring at them somewhere between disbelief and confusion.

“...oh. Hey AJ...” horseapples! Twilight greets in an awkward attempt to be friendly, despite her desire to facehoof. “I guess this must look-” ridiculous... “-a little odd”, she turns her head slightly toward the Pegasus on her back, who was already blushing profusely.

Applejack returns a slow shake of her head as she replies, “naw ah've...seen weirder things, livin' 'round here”. She sounded a bit more like she was trying to convince herself than was probably intended, but gives a second, more vigorous shake of her head and attempts her usual friendly tone. “What can ah do for y'all...?”

Fluttershy at this juncture takes the opportunity to climb down off her friend's back, and attempt to shrink small enough to hide on the far side of her from the Earth Pony. The Unicorn gives a weak shake of her head at this, but decides it better to just move on. “Actually, I came by to drop something off and pick something up” she reports with as casual a tone as she can muster.

The orange mare returns a gesture of her head toward the farm-house, prompting the lavender one – and the daffodil Pegasus still trying to hide behind her – to follow along an idle walk further into the farm proper.

“After discussing it with the Princess, I drafted up a plan for that idea I told you about” Twilight continues, her magic reaching out to open her single saddlebag and retrieve a large, rolled up sheet of parchment from it. For her part, the Earth Pony just listens along in distracted interest. “As you know, the runners in the Running of the Leaves collectively generate minor seismic ripples just substantial enough to make the leaves fall from the trees...”

The Unicorn's magic unrolls the parchment, showing it to be a partial map of the orchard with mathematical formula following a route through it, scribed over the top. “Now, the bulk of the runners tend to bunch up in clusters due to the average gallop speed of the typical Pony, and of course basic crowd psychology. But if the width of the track was carefully controlled, it should be possible to artificially induce them to form a consistent stream with a controlled flow rate...”

AJ was visibly understanding less and less of the explanation, not that the lavender one seemed to notice at this point. “And then by plotting the route through the orchard correctly, it should be possible for them to shake the vast majority of the apples from the trees as they go through it. All you guys would have to do is get the receptacles...the buckets, that is, set out and positioned correctly beforehoof, and bring them in afterward”.

Twilight's magic levitates the map in front of the Earth Pony's face as they stop to sit out-front of the farm-house, as though to fully illustrate the proposal. Applejack stares at it for a long few moments with a look that suggested bubbles were going to come out of her nose at any second, but ultimately submits a slow shake of her head.

“Does soun' like a mighty helpful idea there, Twi” she reports, still visibly trying to wrap her head around it, “but th'aint no way we c'n pay all them Ponies for the work. We ain' doin' so bad jus' now, but that's a long ways off doin' great”.

“Oh, that's the best part” the Unicorn retorts with an illustrative gesture of her hoof, “you wouldn't have to pay them. When the idea of making the Run longer was put up as a potential for this year, the overwhelming majority welcomed it quite enthusiastically. Technically, they'd be paying you back for letting them use your land as an extension of the track”.

She still didn't really grasp how it all worked, but the latter part of it at least, did make plenty of sense to the practical orange mare. She brings a hoof up to rub her chin and slants an eye skyward in thought over it. “All them hooves through the orchard would do a bit'a damage we'd have'ta fix after, but ah cain' ver' well argue how much time 'n work it'd save us...”

After another moment or two of consideration, the orange one submits a shrug of her shoulders, “tell ya what, leave it with us fer now. Ah'll talk it over with 'Mac, 'n we'll get back to y'all about it”. The Unicorn seems satisfied with this, her magic rolling the map back up and setting it down on the work-bench near the farm-house door. “In the meantime, y'all c'n tell me what y'came by to pick up”.

“Oh, of course” Twilight returns, inherently having momentarily about it. She takes a carefully measured warm smile and looks away, “I'm having a little private lunch date with a certain Pegasus today, and I was just looking to grab something nice for us to eat together. You know – nothing fancy, just a nice little personal meal to share...”

The Unicorn trails off, bringing a hoof up to rub the back of her neck. “Well, I'm sure you don't need all the details. But good old Apple family home cooking was the first thing that came to mind”.

Applejack slowly looks back and forth between Twilight and Fluttershy for a few moments of visible surprise, but ultimately gives another shrug of her shoulders and presents a warm smile. “Well shucks, y'all. Ah had no idea y'all had it in ya. Of course, y'just go right in 'n pick out whatever nabs yer fancy”.

“Thanks...AJ...?” the Unicorn returns with a tilt of her head in confusion at the sudden shift in disposition. But she shrugs it off and reaches out with her magic, opening the farm-house door and proceeding through it.

The orange one nudges the brim of her hat up with a hoof as she watches this, then turns back to the daffodil mare and gives an amused shake of her head. “Ah didn't realize y'all were so close. But fer what it's worth, ah think it's Jim-Dandy”.

“Oh, thank you, Applejack” the yellow Pegasus returns, seeming to calm out of her withdrawal a ways. “I mean, it's true. We don't talk very often, and we never seem to hang out much, but it turns out we're even better friends than I thought”.

“Y'dont say...” the Earth Pony returns with a subtle sarcasm, raising an eyebrow.

The Pegasus, however, seems oblivious to it, sagely nodding in reply. Just a moment later, Twilight comes back out of the farm-house, her magic simultaneously slotting a small bundle of apple fritters and an apple pie into her saddlebag. “I left a dozen bits on the table. Is that okay, AJ?” she inquires, pausing between the two.

“W-...a dozen? Now ah told ya 'bout over-payin' me fer-” the orange mare begins in polite protest, but the Unicorn simply raises a hoof to it, indicating she isn't going to hear it, which the Earth Pony hesitantly accepts with a slight mumble under her breath. “Well, alright...y'all just enjoy yer lunch date, y'hear?”

The Unicorn returns a warm smile with a nod of her head in reply, before starting back toward the gate out of the farm. The yellow Pegasus lingers a moment to tilt her head at the Earth Pony curiously, but ultimately turns and takes to a low flutter to follow the lavender one, leaving Applejack stood out the front of the farm-house. She waits for her friends to be a bit too far away to see it, and relents a concerned look with a slow shake of her head.

“RD ain' gonna take this well...”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Twi? Bookworm Twi?”

Applejack rubbed the side of her head with a hoof, visibly still trying to process the information. “We're talkin' 'bou th'same Twilight that makes to-do lists t'manage her free time, right?'

The Earth Pony sat in the shade of a tree under the glaring orange sun of a summer long since passed, wearing a mask of confusion and skepticism as she looked up at Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus hovered a short distance off the ground just in front of her, submitting an exasperated augh! emphasized with a forward gesture of both front hooves.

“I know, okay? I know. It's totally bananas” Dash retorts, floating down closer to her friend and nudging at her own head with a hoof. “But it's like, I just can't get her out of my head. I keep thinkin' about her all the time. And then I try to be...you know, cool around her...”, she slumps her shoulders and head heavily, “but she thinks I'm being a show-off”.

The Pegasus floats back up, giving the air a frustrated kick with a hing leg and taking a more serious look. “I don't know why. I just...need her to like me back. But it's like, nothing I do works!”, she brings her hooves up to hold her head, “man, it's crazy! I've tried...everything! Being nice, being cool, being honest...but we have like, nothing in common besides you guys...”, she releases her head and shrugs her shoulders, letting her forelegs dangle down her sides. “So we don't really spend much time together...you know, just the two of us. I keep trying to convince her to come to my training sessions, but...”

“She ain' bitin'?” the orange mare offers, taking a thoughtful tone. “Y'know, RD...Twi don' really strike me as...havin' much in the way'a sense in these things yet...”. She can't help but give an ironic laugh, “probably th'only thing she ain', fer that matter. What ah'm sayin' is she jus'...might not be ready fer that”.

“Well I am” the Pegasus retorts, perhaps a little childishly, crossing her forelegs over her chest and frowning. “So I guess I've just gotta make sure I'm right there when she is ready”.

The Earth Pony can't help but bring a hoof up to her face, pressing her forehead into it and straining to hold her patience. “It don't jus' work that way, RD. It might be some other Pony that gets throu-”

“No way” Dash interjects, landing on the ground and pointing a hoof at her friend, almost challengingly. “Rainbow Dash does not loose. There's no way I'm lettin' some nopony beat me to what I want. You should know that by now”.

“Thas' what ah'm afraid of...” Applejack returns, brushing the pointing hoof aside with her own. “How y'all gonna deal with it if yer wrong?”

The Pegasus didn't need to answer, though. That almost intolerably egotistical self-assurance was written all over her face as she turned away and lifted off the ground again in a hover. She was Rainbow Dash – she wasn't going to loose.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The walk back to the library was no shorter than the walk from it, naturally, but it was in largely different circumstances. With the lunch date she was so looking forward to now looming closer and closer, one could swear Twilight Sparkle actually had a slight proverbial spring in her step. The weather wasn't perfect, the day already featured an awkward experience, she had absolutely no idea how the date itself was going to play out, and she didn't care – that curious gentle inner-whisper continued to assure her everything was going to work out.

Fluttershy walked alongside her friend, rather than riding on her back for the return trip. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still embarrassed it hadn't occurred to her to climb off at any reasonable point earlier, and couldn't really work out what had possessed her to stay. She also noted, with no less understanding, that comforting “aura” she'd perceived from her friend was still there, but notably weaker at a distance, giving her enough “shy room” to actually wonder what it was.

“You're not planning on trying to attend my lunch date, are you?” the Unicorn jibes, albeit gently and with a smile, as she noted how close they were getting to the library with the Pegasus still following her.

The yellow mare promptly began to blush. “O-oh...no, I wouldn't do that” she insists, looking across at Twilight, “I just got distracted. Do you want me to leave now? I don't mind...”

“You mean to make the trip almost all the way back we just came?” the lavender one replies with a returned glance, “Derpy and I didn't set an exact time, I could have two and a half hours to go yet. I mean, I'd rather not have to kick you out when she shows up, but I'm not about to tell you to scram, either. So if you want to hang out a bit more, I'm not going to say no”.

“Well, I would like to talk about...” the daffodil one begins to return, her natural shyness steadily creeping in and lowering her head, “...you know...what we were talking about earlier, some more that is...if that's okay”.

The lavender mare visibly contemplates over this a moment with a thoughtful look, until a spark of conception alights her features and she looks across at her friend once more. “Actually, I have a better idea. What you need is a positive experience, something to help you gain confidence that you can do it...”, she smiles thoughtfully, “how about we go on a date tomorrow?”

An unintelligible squeak of shock escapes the Pegasus as she nearly trips over her own hooves in double-take. Twilight submits a gentle laugh, holding her thoughtful look. “I meant as friends, Fluttershy – that's exactly why I think it would help you more than just talking about it”, she gestures her head at the daffodil mare, “it obviously wouldn't be the same, but it's a start. Something to get you started”.

Her blush refused to dissipate so quickly, but Fluttershy took the idea in with a tilted look of consideration – it made a lot of sense, really. Self-confidence was her first and foremost problem, it always has been. Twilight was a mare, one who's own confidence and status she found similarly, if unintentionally intimidating, but came with the safety-net of being her friend no matter what happened. If she could make it through a “date” with her, it wouldn't seem so much of a great hurdle moving forward.

“Oh...but...”, the yellow Pegasus' composure weakened, taking a lightly concerned look. “Is that really okay? I mean, are you sure Derpy won't mind? I wouldn't want to be a bother...”, her eyes open widely in mild panic, “or cause a problem. Oh goodness, I couldn't ask you t-”

“Fluttershy” interjects Twilight with a carefully measured firmness, arresting the daffodil one's building panic. She relaxes to a reassuring tone afterward, presenting a smile to match, “it's okay. Really. I'll explain the idea to Derpy, I'm sure she won't mind. We'll just have to meet up later to work out the details”.

She didn't look completely convinced, but the pink-maned mare submits an appreciative smile all the same. “W-well...if you're sure...why don't you stop by my house for dinner, and we can talk it over then...”, she lowers her head a little, “...I mean, if that's okay”.

~ To Be Concluded in Side C ~