A Wish Come True

Joseph fiddles with his thumbs as he sits on the couch, staring straight ahead at one of the many bookcases. He taps his foot impatiently as he stares. "...Probably one of the many thing I miss right now...is television." Joseph stares a bit more before reaching out with both of his arms and forming a box with his fingers. "...Now all I need is a script, an acting crew, a camera, some film, a lot of stuff I don't have, a can of nuts, a fancy chair, etcetera..."

Twilight starts down the stairs and sees Joseph in his 'picturing' pose. She walks over to the couch and sits down next to him on the floor, staring at the bookcase with him. "...Hey."

"Hey."

"Whatcha doing?"

Joseph puts his arms down. "Finding a way, a safe way mind you, to keep myself occupied."

Twilight doesn't take her gaze off the bookshelf, and neither does Joseph. She flaps her left ear. "...So no more working on that...thing outside?"

"Not for today," Joseph answers.

Twilight finally looks at him. "Joseph, you've been in that same spot staring at the same wall in the same position for hours now. It's almost eight o'clock and I haven't seen you eat anything. Are you alright?"

Joseph keeps his gaze on the shelf for a moment longer before glancing at her. "...I'm okay–wait...did you say eight o'clock?"

Twilight nods. "Yes. Why?"

Joseph looks up at the ceiling, a smile creeping across his face. "I wonder...it always works on TV." He looks over at the door. "Twilight, watch this." He points to the door with his fingers in the shape of a gun. "Three...Two...One..." Joseph 'fires' and a knock on the door is heard. "Oh my God, it worked...Unbelievable." Joseph stands up and goes over to the door.

He opens it and behind it sits a calm-looking Rainbow Dash. "Hey Joseph, you ready?"

Joseph flaps the sides of his yellow vest against his bare chest. "Yeah, I guess."

"Wait, wait, wait," Twilight says in quick succession. "You are taking Joseph out?" she asks in Rainbow's direction.

Rainbow rubs the back of her neck. "Well, yeah, I am. It was kinda my idea, but..." Rainbow Dash raises a single eyebrow, or at least the outline of one. "...That doesn't bother you, does it Twilight?"

Twilight looks as if she's taken aback; wide-eyed, blushing, and her mouth small. "...N-no." She looks at Joseph, but keeps her gaze a bit more on his chin. "You go out and have fun Joseph. Rainbow, don't do anything drastic, or overcomplicated, or...or whatever you call it.

"Extra spectacularific," Dash answers. "And don't worry, this is nothing romantic," she says with a taunting look in her eyes. "Come on Joseph, let's go."

"Uh, sure." He waves as he turns. "Bye Twilight, be back soon." He closes the door behind him and bends over, hands on his knees. "Oh shit."

"What?" Dash asks, fluttering right in front of him.

Joseph slowly raises his head to look at her. "...Nothing. Lets just get this over with."

…

Joseph has his head slouched between his shoulders and his hands in the pockets of his new pants, trying to walk fast. Rainbow has her pace set in a semi-trot, and even with her legs being shorter than Joseph's she makes him work to keep up.

Dash flushes her wings and slowly returns them to her sides. "We're here."

Joseph scans the building they've stops at. It is a low-roofed structure with neon lights in the front reading 'OPEN'. The door isn't even a door really, its a pair of swinging saloon doors. "...You brought me to a bar? I didn't even know a town this nice had a bar."

Dash nods. "Yeah, a bar. I come here all the time."

"So why did you bring me here?"

She smiles. "Oh, you know. Get a few drinks, sing some karaoke, hook you up with a nice mare for the night..." Dash sees the expression on Joseph's face. "I'm kidding. The pony you can relate to, as I said earlier, is inside. He's pretty cool." She walks into the establishment, the doors swinging on their hinges after she pushes through them.

Joseph spits off to one side and walks in after her. The interior of the bar is almost exactly how Joseph pictured one as a kid. A nice spruce wood counter with a matching barkeep polishing beer mugs, stools, tables and chairs, some bench tables in the corners, music playing from some unknown source, and a door leading to some other room, and by the sound of it, that room had a pool table in it.

Joseph looks around and sees Rainbow Dash sitting in on a stool at the far end of the counter. He walks over to her just in time to hear her order. "Hey Carrot Top, shot of whiskey, two hooves." The mare behind the counter dunks her head under the counter, returns with a bottle and glass, then turns her back to them.

Joseph sits down on the stood next to her, his knees almost hitting the counter's edge. "I hate being tall here." He looks around. "So, who am I supposed to talk to about my girl trouble?"

Rainbow looks up at him as her drink slides to her hoof. "Girl trouble? I thought you said it was something el–" She cuts herself off. "...Girl trouble?"

Joseph plants his face in his palm.

Rainbow Dash stays quiet for a while longer. Someone changes the music in the room to something slow and slightly sad. She taps her hoof on the counter thinking, and then her eyes go wide. "...No."

Joseph looks from his palm. "What?"

"No!" she repeats. "No, really!" She leans in real close, almost touching her chest to his. "You're here to get another male's opinion on what to do if you like a mare, aren't you?"

"I'm here because you brought me here...But yes," he says, agreeing with her, "that too...I guess."

Rainbow narrows her eyes. "It's Twilight, isn't it?" Dash flies back onto her stool and swivels around. "Oh it all makes sense now! That way she looked at you! Her face from before! You...you had that look too!"

"Rainbow Dash, keep your voice down!" Joseph whispers sternly. "I don't want the whole town to know about this."

Rainbow Dash calms herself. "Well, good thing you didn't listen to me before."

Joseph cocks his head. "Why?"

Dash closes one eye in a wink. "Because I don't know nothing 'bout true love. I just go around, pick up a stallion or two, and bring him back to my place if I feel like it. I'd just be teaching you about mindless, meaningless sex."

Joseph stands up. "Alright, that's it, I'm leaving." He turns to the door.

Dash downs her drink in a fast gulp and hurries after him after paying. He is almost five yards from the building when she catches him. "Hold on there Big Ben, where are you going?"

"Home." He shakes his head. "No, Twilight's house. I have a wonderfully comfortable couch dent the size of me waiting."

She pushes him back in a challenging manner to get him to stop walking. "What about Soarin? He's in there, you can talk to him about Twilight."

"I don't care anymore. I don't care about meeting this Soarin, and I don't care about hearing about anything about the subject." Joseph huffs. "...Just had to say it, didn't you?"

"Say what?" Dash asks.

"Sex..." Joseph begins walking, but very slowly now. Dash doesn't try to stop him. "That is something you never...ever say to a person in my predicament. I just had my family ripped away from me, and now Twilight is gaining land in both my mind and my heart, and...forget it." He sticks his hands in his pockets. "I just pretty much needed to know the genuine thought of another male of if I should wait or act." He stalks off.

Rainbow Dash calls out. "Joseph!" He turns to face her again. Rainbow sighs. "...I'm not a male, but I know this...Don't act...Don't wait...Just Act when you heart tells you you're ready." Rainbow Dash turns around to enter the bar again, but stops. "...I won't tell Twilight about any of this."

Joseph smiles. "...Thanks...I guess." He looks around the darkened land. "I guess I got what I needed, so I'm going back to the library to catch some Zzz's. What about you?"

Rainbow Dash smiles as well. "I know well what I'm going to do. Since my heat cycle is over, I'm going to get myself laid." She disappears into the bar once again, leaving Joseph with a shuddering thought.

Joseph turns and begins walking, but then stops. "...Which way did I come from?"