Sunset was staring intently into the chocolate swirls of her hot fudge sundae, lost in what could generously be considered thought—but was really more of a messy mixture of half-comprehended emotions and remembrances—when Applejack's voice caught her attention.
"You alright, Sunset? I mean, I know you're not alright alright, but I figured ice cream might be the right kinda pick-me-up. Or at least a way to drown your feelins and all."
"Oh," Sunset replied, trying to fake-smile her way past her glumness, "I'm just not really the 'eat your feelings' type. That's more a Rarity thing, I guess."
"You better eat it soon," Pinkie Pie interjected, "cause it's getting all melty and stuff. Which is the best time to eat it! Especially when it's hot fudge because it's so ooey and gooey and..." Pinkie trailed off as she furiously licked her lips, her mind appearing to take a brief detour into the Land of Chocolate.
The three of them were at a booth in the local ice cream parlor whose name none of them could ever remember, despite being frequent visitors. Sunset sat across from Applejack and Pinkie Pie, the former of whom was working through a banana split while the latter had finished her double-scoop cone minutes earlier and was clearly eager for more.
Sunset could feel Pinkie's dessert-lust infect her somewhat, and her smile turned slightly real as she giggled and picked up her spoon. "If you insist..."
"Ya probably should, she's got some pretty amazin' restraint goin' right now," Applejack said with a smirk. "Half the time she'll start swipin' from my bowl while I'm still eatin'."
"Oooooh, good idea!" Pinkie, back in reality, pulled out a plastic spoon and and stole a hunk of banana right from under Applejack's gaze, eating it before Sunset could finish blinking.
"Where did you even get that spoon from? You had a cone!" Sunset asked.
"She always keeps one taped inside her sleeve for ice cream emergencies," Applejack growled, then turned to Pinkie. "Seriously?"
"Whaaaat, it was just one bite!" Pinkie smiled with false innocence.
"Yeah... of my dessert! Gimme that!" Applejack seized Pinkie's now empty spoon and crushed it into atoms with her geode-enhanced palm.
"Remember," Pinkie whispered to Sunset as Applejack dusted off her hands, "she says she's the mature one in the relationship." Sunset snorted as Applejack looked indignant.
"Really? You're talkin' about maturity when you're stealin' my ice cream like a little kid?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes with a wry grin. "I'll make it up to you..." She leaned over and gave Applejack a smooch on the cheek, causing the other girl to blush furiously.
"I suppose that'll do."
"Love you, Jackie..."
"Love ya, too, just quit touchin' my dang food!"
Sunset was trying not to laugh and choke as she worked through her sundae, but the couple's antics were making that an increasingly tall order.
"Anyways," Applejack said as she turned back to Sunset. "What's got ya down, Sunset? Can't just be a bad date, right?"
"Well..." Sunset hesitated, swallowing another spoonful. "I'm not sure... umm—"
"WE'RE TRYING TO HELP YOU, SUNSET!" Pinkie's voice burst in, taking everyone else at the table (and adjacent booths) aback. "WE CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL US WHAT'S WRONG!"
As Sunset recovered from the shock, Applejack elbowed Pinkie in the ribs. "Did you really have to do that?"
"I just wanted to give her some help moving things along!"
"She literally just started talkin'!"
"Um, thanks, I guess," Sunset cut in. "Anyway... it wasn't just the one date. It's, um, all of them. That was my fourth date in less than a month, and they all were just... awful. I-I don't understand it."
Applejack tilted her head slightly. "Remind me who you were with?"
"This one was Sandalwood. He seems like a decent enough guy, but... we just didn't click at all. We were over at the coffee shop and... we just struggled to find something, anything to really talk about. It never even felt like something even close to a date, it was like we were there to do a group project or something but forgot to bring anything to work on."
"Eww," Pinkie replied. "That does sound awful."
"It kinda was. And what's worse is it was probably the least awkward of the four. Flash was just so excited to be on a 'real' date with me that he just blathered on and on about how cool it was to have a second chance and how everything was totally gonna work out this time; I didn't even get a word in edgewise the whole date. I just couldn't deal with that. I had to let him down and tell him it clearly wasn't gonna happen. And then there was the thing with Muffins... I'm really not sure what even happened on that date."
"That's funny!" Pinkie blurted. "That's exactly what Rarity said after her date with Muffins! I think that just happens to everyone!"
"That's comforting, I guess. But the worst one was definitely the date with Fluttershy..."
Applejack stifled a laugh. "I still can't believe that even happened."
"It was such a dumb idea," Sunset moaned. "I mean I was just thinking, um, that you two were friends for a long time before you started dating, and maybe I should give something like that a try. But when I asked Fluttershy, I kinda worded it weird and she ended up thinking I was inviting her on some kind of practice date... and then when I told her I'd meant it to be real, she was just absolutely mortified. She looked like a deer in headlights. I seriously haven't seen her look that terrified of me since I was shoving her into lockers on a daily basis. This may have been even worse."
"Ohhhhhhhhh..." Pinkie said as something seemed to click inside her. "So that's why you didn't sit with us at lunch last Thursday and Friday!"
"I just felt so embarrassed, I left her so many apology texts and calls. We talked about it few days later, she said she just kinda freaked out because of how unexpected it was and she didn't understand what it meant. We're fine, now, but wow that was a mess... maybe I'm just not meant to find love."
Applejack grimaced. "That's hogwash, Sunset."
"How so?"
"Well..." Applejack thought for a moment. "It kinda seems to me like you're just finding people to date for the sake of datin'. You asked Flash because you dated him before, you asked Fluttershy because you're her friend, and you asked Muffins and Sandalwood probably just 'cause you figured they'd come if you did. But at least part of the datin' process has to come before the actual date, Sunset! You should at least have an idea of why this person is someone you'd want to be romantic with!"
"...But how did that happen for you? You've talked a little bit about it with all of us, but I was still kinda surprised. How did you really get to be this... couple that goes on dates and really loves each other and has these silly little arguments before kissing and making up?"
Now it was Pinkie's turn to look oddly at Sunset. "We never told you?"
"I mean I got the gist of how you got started, but even still, lots more has happened since then, right? Anything you're willing to tell me, I'll listen."
Applejack and Pinkie Pie turned to each other for a moment, apparently trying to decipher each other's thoughts on the matter solely through their expressions. They turned back to Sunset. "Yep!" Pinkie declared.
"Lay it on me," Sunset said, smiling.
"Well," Applejack began, "it all started in February, when Pinkie, up and outta the blue, asked if I wanted to go out to a mini-golf course with her that night. At first I figured y'all were comin' too, but she said no, it was just the two of us. When I asked why in tarnation she wanted to go to a mini-golf course with just me on a cold February night, she was completely upfront about it. She said... uh, maybe I should let Pinkie say it."
Pinkie cleared her throat and put on an oddly flat voice. "Applejack, I like you. You're my friend, and I think maybe you could be more than just my friend. So I thought this would be a fun thing to do where we could get to hang out and be alone, since there won't be too many people there tonight, and start to figure out if we like each other."
Applejack gawked at Pinkie. "How in the heck can ya be that bad at doin' an impression of yourself?!" She turned back to Sunset as Pinkie shrugged. "Anyway, imagine that, but in the way Pinkie would actually say it. Like, real excited, but also a little nervous. And I was definitely a bit surprised. I can't say I'd ever really thought of Pinkie that way before. But I figured, why not? I wasn't worried things would be awkward enough to hurt our friendship. Worst case, it'd just be an odd little memory we'd have."
"Wish Fluttershy had shared that sentiment," Sunset mused.
"I mean, that's why Pinkie told me before the date started."
"I tried!"
"I ain't blamin' ya, just sayin' is all. Anyway, we went, and we were bundled up out there. But it was fun, we played all the holes and Pinkie won easily. Ain't never been much of a golfer, even mini-golf. And we were talkin' and stuff out there, but it didn't ever really feel different from how we'd always been. Afterwards, though, we went over to Tip-Toppings for frozen yogurt, because Pinkie Pie doesn't know the meaning of the word winter..."
"Nope!" Pinkie chirped.
Sunset smirked. "I didn't realize Pinkie wasn't banned for life from there after the little incident with the wild animals."
"Hey!" Pinkie shouted. "Fluttershy was the one who brought them right outside the store, it wasn't my fault she didn't tell them not to run right in!"
"Whatever you say."
"Gettin' back on topic," Applejack cut in. "We'd skipped dinner, so we both ate a whole mess of yogurt and got ourselves a bit hyped up there. By the time we drove back to Pinkie's place, we were both havin' ourselves a sugar crash, so we just kinda sat there for a little bit.
"Anyway, Pinkie asked how I felt, but it still didn't feel like we'd done anything different. But that was when it hit me—maybe we were already halfway there to begin with. Maybe bein' a couple doesn't really have to all that feel different, at least most of the time, than bein' friends, especially if they were already your friend to begin with. So, I figured, if I was gonna really find out if we should go further, then I had to go further. I leaned over and asked if she wanted to kiss."
Pinkie lit up. "And I kissed her right on the lips!"
Applejack blushed again. "She sure did. And I kissed back, and... it was somethin' really special in that moment. I don't wanna get too mushy if that'll make you feel weird, but..."
"Go ahead," Sunset said.
"Well... it was still Pinkie, the same Pinkie I've known for so long, but almost instantly I felt like I knew her on a whole other level. Like she was in all my different senses, all at once, and the whole world was one big Pinkie Pie. And I just didn't want to let go, to let that moment ever pass, and right then I knew, I knew exactly what we were gonna be."
"Geez, she's such a sappy romantic, isn't she?" Pinkie giggled. "I just thought she was a really, really good kisser."
Sunset and Pinkie busted out laughing as Applejack lowered her face into her cupped hands and groaned. "Yuk it up, you two..."
"No, it's cute!" Sunset exclaimed. "It's just so funny to me that the two of you can still have this kind of... dynamic, I guess, even when you're dating."
Applejack lifted her face up. "I guess that's a bit of what I love 'bout her. She keeps me from takin' myself too seriously."
"Awww," Pinkie replied. The two of them leaned their heads together, and Applejack took the opportunity to give Pinkie a peck on the cheek, then watched her face sprout a giddy grin.
"So," Sunset asked, "what happened next?"
"Wellllll..." Pinkie answered. "The first date was mostly stuff that I really liked, so for the second date I wanted to do something Jackie really likes! So I took her to a cider mill!"
Sunset giggled. "Really? A cider mill?"
"Now Sunset," Applejack said with an eye roll. "Just because you don't like apple cider—"
"Fizzy apple cider. I don't like fizzy apple cider. There's a difference," Sunset responded with a slight gagging gesture.
"Still weird."
"But that wasn't the point. I just meant... you live on an apple orchard and make cider. What's so exciting about a cider mill?"
Applejack frowned. "There's a whole heck of difference, Sunset! It's a completely different—"
"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Pinkie leapt up and shouted the two of them down. "DID YOU MISS THE PART WHERE I WAS TELLING A ROMANTIC STORY!!" Her wayward left hand slammed into the remains of Applejack's banana split, and her powers sent ice cream splattering onto both of her boothmates' faces.
"Oops, sorry about that," Pinkie said with a sheepish smile as she sat back down, Sunset and Applejack wiping themselves off with their napkins. "I just knew that was going to go on forever if I didn't say something."
"No, it's my bad," Sunset said. "Sorry, Applejack."
"Naw, I shouldn't have reacted like that," Applejack replied. "The short version is, even if I prefer our own cider, it's still excitin' to see how it's done on that kinda scale. Makes what we do feel important, I guess, to see it like that."
"Anyway..." Pinkie said with a slight grumble, before perking back up. "It was really fun! I got to see some cool stuff, and I got to see Jackie get all excited and rambling about all this stuff that she's really interested in! I was happy just to listen, but I learned a few things too, like the difference between apple cider and apple juice!"
"If it's clear and yella, you got juice there, fella!" Applejack recited. "If it's tangy and brown, yer in cidertown! Now, there's two exceptions—"
"She gets it, Jackie," Pinkie interrupted. "It was fun, but afterwards, I felt really tired. So I asked her if she could just use her super-strength to carry me!"
Applejack smiled at the memory. "And I sure did. I sat ya down in the passenger seat and you just looked so cute after you fell asleep in my arms there. I coulda just watched you like that all day."
Pinkie giggled. "That'd be seriously weird in any other context."
"Good thing it was this context, then." And Applejack leaned forward and gave Pinkie another kiss.
"So sappy..." Pinkie whispered.
Sunset stifled a giggle. "So it was happily ever after from there?"
Applejack smiled. "Sure has been so far!"
"Well..." Pinkie added, "I think our third date was pretty important too."
"Huh?" Applejack stared blankly for a moment, before her eyes went wide. "Oh, Pinkie, um, we don't really have to talk—"
"You see, Jackie wanted to reintroduce me to her family now that we were dating, so after school one day she took me back to her place! Except we'd forgotten that Apple Bloom had gotten herself in detention the day before and Granny Smith was having to wait at the school to take her home! So we knew we'd have a lot of time before they got back, and we didn't really know what to do, but I suggested that maybe we could try having sex, and so we did, and it was great!"
Pinkie beamed as both Sunset and Applejack stared at her, mouths completely agape.
"Pinkie," the words trickled slowly from Applejack's brain to her tongue. "Was that really a thing we needed to tell Sunset about?"
"It was an important bonding moment! She asked how we got to be such a close couple!"
"Not like that!" Applejack exclaimed. "Pinkie, ain't you ever heard of a little thing called privacy in a relationship?! We don't need to go announcin' everythin' we've ever done together to all our friends!"
"Oh. I'm sorry. I just thought it'd be weird if Sunset thought we weren't having sex."
Applejack slammed her head onto the table and groaned loudly as Sunset mentally fumbled for an appropriate reaction.
"I mean it's not like I go around telling people for no reason!" Pinkie went on. "I just thought it made sense—"
"Hey," Sunset finally spoke. "I know you meant well telling me that, Pinkie, and it's not weird or anything. Just... maybe listen if Applejack seems uncomfortable with you saying stuff like that?"
"I knowww..." Pinkie sighed, then turned to her girlfriend. "I'm really sorry, Jackie."
Applejack lifted her head. "It's okay, Pinkie. Sometimes I forget that we're both still learnin' about some of this relationship stuff. We ain't perfect."
"Nope! And that's what makes us special!"
Applejack smiled softly. "Yeah, it is. We'll talk a little more about boundaries later." She looked over at Sunset. "Point is, though... we're together because we understand why we'd want to be together. Pinkie had a crush on me, and when I thought about it, I realized I liked her back. Sure, it helped that we were friends already. But we understood that we love each other's company in a really special way. Even if we get on each other's case a little sometimes.
"I don't think the fact that you had a few bad dates means you're bad at love or somethin', Sunset. Maybe it just means you're good at recognizin' when you don't have that kinda chemistry with someone. I ain't an expert, but maybe you should just take some time to really think about who you'd want that kind of relationship with, and why. It don't have to be someone as close to you already as we were. But it shouldn't be somethin' ya have to force, either."
"And don't hide yourself, either," Pinkie cut in. "Just let the person you're with know who you are! It'll make everything way easier."
Sunset beamed. "Thanks for the tips, you two. And thanks for sharing."
Applejack reciprocated the joy. "We're always happy to help, Sunset. You're our friend, too."
Sunset nodded. "I'll keep what you said in mind."
"Good luck!" Pinkie added. "Oh wait, no, I'm not supposed to say that, am I? BREAK A LEG!"
Sunset laughed again. "Sure thing, Pinkie. Should we head out?"
Applejack looked at her phone. "Yeah, it's gettin' pretty late. You wanna go, Pinkie?"
"Hmmm..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "If we're not getting more ice cream, I do want one more treat."
She turned and kissed Applejack full on the lips. Sunset couldn't help but snicker as Applejack flailed a bit in surprise, before eventually wrapping her hands around the other girl and reciprocating.
