An Unconventional Challenge

Chapters

The Bet
Bubble's Shy
The Working Mare
Thoughts on the Matter
Breaking Hearts and Eggheads
Learning New Things
Guilt and Apples
Morning Company, and Evening Delights
Hint Dropping
Truth Slips Out
Sweet Moments

The Bet

Another ordinary day in Ponyville, the autumn sun was shining down on the bustling streets, the ponies were busy with their day doing whatever it was they needed to do, and three stallions were sitting inside the local bakery, talking about their other three closest friends.

A stallion with a rainbow colored mane placed down his mug of cider. "I mean seriously when have we ever seen one of them with a stallion, or mare for that matter?"

The white stallion opposite of the rainbow stallion placed down his cup of tea. "Well... I can't say I have." He glanced over to the pink stallion that just joined them at the table. "Bubble! On your lunch break I assume?"

The pink pony sat down at the table. "Yup! What you two talking about?"

The white unicorn gave a small half shrug. "The same thing that Blitz has been going on about for the last week."

Bubble Berry gave a wide grin to Blitz. "AJ, Flutters, and Twilight? I was kinda thinking about them too, but my thoughts were about throwing an amazing party."

Blitz gave his wings a small flap. "Yeah. Seriously, why is it they haven't dated? I think it’s because they might think there's no stallion good enough." The unicorn gave a small chuckle. "What? Elusive, why are you chuckling like that?"

Elusive placed his cup back on the saucer. "Well I think the reason you are so bent out of shape over this is because you lack the ability to be that stallion, as it were."

The pegasus across from his rose in his seat slightly, his wings unfolding in indignation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Elusive brushed a small portion of his mane out of his eyes. "Well, to be quite plain, I think you're mad because you think at least one of them should be heads over hooves for you and they're not. You lack the ability to 'charm the mares' as the phrase goes."

Blitz rose from his chair. "Oh really?" The fancy pony nodded with an amused smile. "And you think you have 'charm?'"

The unicorn picked the tea up once more. "My dear Blitz. I know I do."

The pegasus stood there for a moment fuming before he was struck by a brilliant idea. "Alright. Let's see you prove it."

The tea was almost to his lips when Elusive's eyebrows rose. "Pardon?"

The rainbow pegasus smiled mischievously. "I bet you that you can't get one of them to date you. I bet you they will shoot you down almost instantly."

Elusive placed the cup down with an annoyed look on his features. "If I must defend my honor then I will but I fail to see why I should be the only one participating in this bet actively. I say you should also have to woo one of the mares in question."

Bubble waved his hooves in the air. "Ooo! Ooo! Can I join in?"

Both of the stallions looked over at the pink pony and spoke the same question. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, sounds like fun."

Elusive and Blitz shared a confused look and shrugged. It was Bubble being Bubble. Elusive cleared his throat. "Very well, I think we should set up some ground rules then if we are going to do this." Blitz nodded as the mischievous smile returned. However Elusive sat there for a moment and a small frown came across his face. "No. We shouldn't do this. This is wrong and degrading to ourselves and our friends like this."

Blitz gave him a small sneer. "Knew it. You don't have any of that charm. You're scared that I'm right."

Elusive's ear twitched in anger. "Blitz this would be crossing a line. We can't do this sort of thing to our friends."

Blitz's voice gained a taunting tone. "Scared. S-C-A-R-E-D. You don't want to lose."

Elusive's hoof slammed on the table which drew attention form some of the nearby patrons. "I'll not be spoken to like that. I'll take this bet." He brushed his mane back and apologized to the other ponies nearby. "Very well. What exactly is it that this bet will entail?"

Blitz took a sip from his cider. "First one to get a date wins?"

Both Bubble and Elusive shook their heads. Elusive took a glance at Bubble wondering why he was shaking his head. Bubble gave him the answer. "That can't possibly work at all. I mean they are all different mares and that means that they might say no for different reasons. That would work if they were all the same mare but they’re not the same mare. Ooo we could take them to the mirror pool and make some clones... no wait, that didn't go to well when I did it."

Both of the other stallions at the table shared another look and a shrug. Elusive gave a small cough. "Bubble holds a point. Very blunt but it is a point. I think we should make the wager on who can have the longest lasting relationship. Last couple standing, if you will."

Both of the other stallions nodded. Elusive sighed. "I think if we are going to do this then we need some rules."

Blitz leaned back in his chair. "Rules?"

The unicorn nodded. "Yes. First: We won't interfere with each other. No trying to sabotage each other’s dates or attempt to make their relationship fail. Second: Well, I think it goes without saying that this stays between us."

Blitz nodded. "Alright. Now my favorite part of any wager." He rubbed his hooves together. "The winnings. If I win this then you two have to buy me a pair of VIP tickets to a Wonderbolt show. One for me and one for my date."

Elusive gave a small sigh. "Fair enough. If I win you two have to model for me for a week and the time table is to be set up by me and me alone." Blitz was about to protest but he lifted his hoof to silence the cyan flyer. "Either that or you have to babysit Sweetie Belle and her friends three times." The stallion across from him brought his hooves up in a passive gesture.

Blitz shook his head. "I think the modeling is just fine. Okay then." The flyer turned to the pink baker. "What about you?"

Bubble sat there for a moment. "Well... I want..." He tapped his hoof to his chin. "For you two to help me here for a whole day!" He made a grand gesture around the bakery. Again the unicorn and pegasus shared a confused look.

Blitz leaned forward in his seat a little. "Really? That's it?"

Bubble nodded, practically bouncing in place. "Just the three of us together for a whole day! Cooking and talking and hanging out all day. Won't that be fun?"

Both of the earth pony's friends gave him forced smiles and nodded. Blitz turned his attention from the now humming baker to the fashion minded unicorn. "So anyways how are we gonna split them? I mean we can't all try to date the same mare. Things could get awkward."

Elusive regained the annoyed look and glared at his friend. He did however see what the cyan pony meant. "Okay but I hate the term split. I think we should simply call it... random allocation." He noticed the blank looks on his friend’s faces. "Well, I think we should… ‘pick’ who dates who but I think we should make it random."

He opened a small saddle bag beside his seat and pulled out a drawing pad and a quill. He scribbled down the three names of his friends but as he did his mind drifted as he tore it into three even pieces. This isn't right. None of us should be even considering this. However a different portion of his mind defended the action they were taking. He infringed on my honor as a gentlecolt and I must defend myself. Besides what's the worst that could happen, we all fall madly in love and get married?

He gave a small chuckle as he laid the three pieces name-down on the table. He used his magic to shuffle them for roughly a minute. "Alright, in the name of fairness I'll let you two pick first. The name you pick is the mare you must attempt to woo. If this all goes south I hope all six of us will remain friends."

Blitz looked over to Bubble. "So how do you wanna decide this?"

Bubble shrugged and started eating a cupcake he produced from nowhere. "I dunno, you go first."

Blitz shrugged as well at the random nature of his friend. "Alright. Let's see." He studied the pieces of paper on the table for a moment. "That one."

He reached over and grabbed the piece of paper lying in the middle. He brought it up to is face so he could read it. He let out a small groan. "Twilight. It's gonna take a month for her to realize that I'm even hitting on her and another for her to decide if she will flirt back."

Elusive let out a amused chuckle and looked over to Berry. "Well, now it's your choice."

Bubble Berry looked between the papers with a look bordering on panic. He bit his lip and moved his hoof to hover over one piece than the other. "Oh, which one should I pick? What if I choose the wrong one and then they fall in love with me but I don't fall in love with them? Oooh, that means—"

Blitz let out an irritated groan. "Just choose one dude!"

Bubble closed his eyes and slapped his hoof down on one of the pieces. He lifted the paper to his eyes and a look of unbelievable relief and joy came across his face. "Fluttershy! We are gonna have such a great time together!"

Elusive picked up the last piece more for show than anything else as all three of them knew who was on the last piece. A small smirk took hold of his mouth. "And that leaves me with Applejack. Well gentlecolts the 'game' is afoot. Shall we say it begins first thing tomorrow or should we wait longer?"

Bubble shook his head. "Tomorrow is perfect for me. I have a day off." The white and pink stallions looked over to Blitz to see if he had any objection.

He sighed. "I'm gonna need as much time as I can get. Tomorrow it is. Let's seal this deal." He started to form a good spit wad in his mouth but felt his lips being forced shut by Elusive's magic.

He shook his head. "None of that. A good hoof shake is all that is needed. We are all stallions of our word." He held his hoofs out to each of his friends. Blitz took the hoof in his own grip and offered his free hoof to Bubble. Bubble was looking at the piece of paper he had grabbed like it was the single most amazing thing he had ever seen. He looked up and noticed their out stretched hooves, placed the paper on the end of his nose, and crossed his arms to grab his friend’s hooves. They all gave a single firm shake.

Bubble looked at each of them for a second with a knowing look. Blitz and Elusive sighed with a smile and spoke along with him.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." With a small chorus of chuckle the group left the bakery, ready to begin the challenge that they had set up for themselves.

Bubble's Shy

Bubble Berry couldn't stop smiling. Now this wasn't something that was out of place as he was almost always smiling but today he had something new entirely to smile about. He was headed towards a certain small tree cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville and was thinking about a certain yellow pegasus. His mind drifted off as he walked to the first time he had met Fluttershy.

Another normal day in the Sugarcube Corner for Bubble Berry. He was working the counter at the moment and was wiping it down, humming a small tune he had made up himself, when he heard the door open. Just like every time he heard the bell on the door, his smile grew warmer and he looked up. The first pony that walked through the door was a tall pegasus stallion with a rainbow colored mane. He instantly recognized the new weather captain Rainbow Blitz.

The mare that walked in behind Blitz took his breath away. She was beautiful in every meaning of the word that he could think of. If it was any other mare he would have walked over and said hello but something about her rooted him to the spot. Blitz glanced over at him and waved to him with a small smile.

"Hey Berry, I have somepony I wanted introduce you to. She's a dear friend of mine from Cloudsdale." He walked over to the counter and looked to his side only to discover that the mare had stayed put, hiding behind her mane. He walked over to her and started talking to her in a quiet voice. She nodded then walked behind the weather pony to the counter where Berry was waiting. "Bubble Berry meet Fluttershy. Fluttershy this is Bubble Berry."

Fluttershy whimpered something Berry hoped was a hello as he walked around the counter as his instincts for meeting new ponies kicked in. "Hiya Fluttershy! Are you visiting Ponyville or are ya planing on moving here?"

She let out a small squeak that Bubble couldn't help by chuckle at. His chuckle caused her to retreat further behind her mane. Berry looked at Blitz for a second only to notice that he had walked off to talk to Elusive, who had just walked into the bakery with his sister, leaving them alone. Berry shuffled a little in his spot as the mare stood there silently.

Berry pointed to the counter. "I work here. I sometimes help bake the goods and stuff like that because the Cakes get really busy and need some help... would you like something to eat?"

She nodded silently and took a tiny step closer to the counter. Berry walked around and placed his elbows on the counter.

"What would you like? We have cake, cupcakes, rolls, sweet rolls, wheat rolls, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies, brownies, and, well... pretty much everything that can be made in the oven. Except vegetables, we don't really do that but we could have a milkshake machine if I can convince Mr. Cake to get one."

Berry pointed each of the items he mentioned as he spoke. When he finished looked at Fluttershy with a warm smile that faltered a little when he noticed she was hiding behind her wing now.

She spoke in a soft voice, the softest he had ever heard. "I d-don't have any money on me."

Berry waved his hoof dismissively. "It's on the house. Have whatever you want." He noticed that she came out from behind her wing looking slightly shocked. "No need to thank me it's what friends do."

Her soft voice reached him once more. "I-I would like a sweet roll please... if that's okay..."

He dove down behind the counter and grabbed one of the rolls on display. He gave it to her and watched as she took a bite of it, her mouth pulling into a wide grin and she let out a small hum of satisfaction. Berry sat there silently waiting as he wondered about how he was going to get this mare to talk to him. While his mind was wondering he happened to glance at her cutie mark.

Struck with sudden inspiration. "Hey you like animals! I'll be right back!"

He ran off leaving the timid pegasus both startled and confused at how he had known her love of animals. Blitz did say he was strange but I wasn't expecting that. He seems nice enough though. She managed to catch the sight of his tail vanishing up a stair case as she looked at him again. She glanced over to see Blitz and a white stallion arguing about something. She was about to walk over to them to find out when Berry jumped from behind her.

"Surprise! Meet Gummy!" He sat down in front of her and pointed to a small, bright green alligator that was hanging from his mane. "What's the matter?"

Fluttershy was breathing heavily as she tried to recover from the dual shock of the pink stallions shout and the fact his mane was being eaten by a small creature. She stared at him and his pet for a moment then realized that the alligator was just hanging there.

She moved closer to the pair and her voice gained an almost motherly tone. "Doesn't that hurt?"

The pink earth pony shook his head, causing the alligator to smack his face a few times with a soft *pap*. "Nope. He has no teeth."

Fluttershy stood there for a moment confused. She knew a lot about alligators and knew that the definitely needed their teeth. "How does he eat? What does he eat?"

Berry grabbed the alligator and held it in his hooves. "He mostly eats... well just about anything. I mostly feed him veggies but sometimes I give him sweets when he's a really good gator. Wanna hold him?"

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment. Berry noticed and gave her a reassuring smile. "He doesn't bite and he really likes hugs."

Fluttershy placed the small reptile on the ground and returned her attention to the pink pony in front of her. They stood their silently for a moment. The silence was broken by Berry, "So are you visiting Blitz or..."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I've bought a small cottage outside of town; Blitz helped me move into it."

Berry took a moment to think about that then decided to press on. "Are you and Blitz... well, what I mean is, are you two a couple or...?" Once more he drifted off at the end to let her fill the gap. Please let them be friends, please let them be friends.

Fluttershy shook her head almost vigorously. "No!" She blushed deeply and moved her mane in front of her face. "I mean, we've been friends since flight camp but that's all we are. He's really nice but we don't think of each other like that."

Berry let out a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he was holding. "Oh, well that's fine. Was just wondering because a lot of mares really seem to like him. So what kind of animals do you take care of?"

Fluttershy came out from behind her mane to speak once more. The rest of the afternoon pasted rather quickly, more quickly than Berry would have liked, Berry and Fluttershy talking about pets, baking, and Ponyville. However after a while Blitz mentioned that he and Fluttershy needed to get some of the furniture for Fluttershy's cottage.

As they left Berry couldn't help but watch Fluttershy leave. She was just so beautiful that he couldn't look away even after the door closed. He spent the rest of the day unusually calm and quiet. Finally near closing Mr. Cake walked over to the daydreaming Berry.

"Hey there kiddo, what you thinking about?"

Berry jumped a little at the sudden interruption of his thoughts. "Oh, I was just thinking of a new friend I made today."

His gaze returned to the door that Fluttershy had walked out of. Mr. Cake gave his shoulder a soft pat. "Why don't you go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I'll close up for tonight."

Berry threw the apron he was wearing off and gave the older stallion a quick hug. "Thanks Mr. Cake! I have some planning to do now."

He raced up the stairs to his apartment to begin planning. After all no pony that moves to Ponyville did so without a Bubble Berry party.

A smile spread across Berry’s face as he recalled the party he threw for Fluttershy. Most of the town had showed up for it and much to his surprise Fluttershy opened up to a few of the ponies in town, one of which was Elusive. They had spent much of the party talking about everything and for a moment Berry was worried Elusive was making a move on Fluttershy but he later found out from Elusive that he was trying to get her to model for him. I almost cried from relief.

Berry's thoughts of the past were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Fluttershy's cottage ahead of him. He stopped for a moment as he felt his heart beat a little faster. After years of knowing her he would finally confess his feelings. He took a steadying breath as he recalled every time he had tried to in the past and was unable, whether something prevented him from talking to her in private like his job or he got cold hooves. He always remembered what his Granny Pie always told him. "Laugh at what you fear because when you do it makes it no longer scary."

He had lived up to those words strongly in his life but the only thing he couldn't remove his fear of was his fear of Fluttershy rejecting him. Today however he was going to laugh at that fear and tell Fluttershy the truth of his feelings for her. He had made a Berry Oath and he was going to keep it.

He walked up to the front door and knocked on it rapidly. He heard Fluttershy's voice come from behind the door. "Who is it?"

Berry gave his answer in an almost sing-song way. "Just somepony that wants to talk."

The door opened and Berry saw the warm smile on the mares face. "Berry! Please come in." She ushered him in. "Would you like something to drink?"

Berry gave a small nod. "Sure, but I kinda wanted to talk to you about something important."

She motioned for him to sit on the couch and nodded. "Sure. Would you like some tea?"

Berry nodded and Fluttershy left him in the living room alone. He looked around the home he had visited plenty of times but he had never really taken the time to study it. He was always in a hurry to do something or he was moving around too much to take in the finer details of the cottage but now for some reason it was the most fascinating thing in the world to him.

He watched the birds that moved around on the many bird houses near the stairs. A few perched on the houses watched him as well, curiosity in their eyes. He looked at the rug on the floor for a moment then got up and poked it. As he did his mind was once more slipping away from what he was doing and focusing on the mare in the other room. I'm about to confess to her. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she hates me for asking her?

His attention was torn from the rug when he heard the soft sound of Fluttershy clearing her throat. He looked up from the rug to see her standing there with a tray with the tea on it and a curious look on her face.

"What are you doing?"

Berry straightened up. "Nothing just studying the rug." He walked over to the couch and sat down on it. Fluttershy placed the tray down on the small table near the couch and served them both some tea. They both sat there for a moment in silence as they drank their tea.

Fluttershy cleared her throat again. "Well... you said you had something you wanted to talk about. What is it?"

Berry swallowed. Here's the moment of truth. He looked in the eyes and braced himself for anything. "I have something I need to tell you. I've been wanting to tell you this for so long but I just couldn't." He paused for a second to take small steadying breath.

"I... I love you."

Fluttershy felt as if she had just been struck by a lightning bolt. "W-what?"

Berry pressed on despite seeing the slow look of shock spreading on his friends face. "I've felt this way since I first met you. I thought you were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and as I grew to know you I found that your personality fits your looks."

Fluttershy blinked slowly as she absorbed this sudden change in information. She just couldn't think for some reason. Her hooves started shaking as her mouth finally started to work. "You're in love... with me?"

Berry nodded. "Yes. I came here today to tell you this and... I was hoping that you would allow me to take you on a date."

Fluttershy didn't know what to say or what to do. A moment of silence passed between the pair of them as she tried to think. That moment was the longest and most terrifying one Berry had ever experienced in his life. She doesn't love me! I've just made our entire friendship awkward for her and now she's not gonna want to be near me! His worst fear was coming to life in front of him as Fluttershy placed the tea cup down and scooted away from him.

Fluttershy tried her best to breathe deeply but only managed a shaky gasp. "Why me? I've been mean to you in the past and you could have almost any mare in town. I'm nothing special."

Berry was expecting anything but this. He recalled the painful incident where Fluttershy had taken self-improvement classes from a rather imposing minotaur. It was true that she had spoken to him rather harshly but in the end she had apologized to him.

He moved closer to her and took her hoof in his. "You're special to me. You are the sweetest mare I have ever known, and I know sweet because I work with lots of sugar." Fluttershy let out a small giggle which sounded like music to Berry. "No other mare means as much to me as you do." He lifted the hoof and gave her a pleading look. "Please let me show you how much I care. One simple date is all I ask."

Fluttershy blushed as she realized that everything he was saying was true. His eyes spoke louder than his words ever could. She gave voice to one doubt that filled her mind. "I'm not special. I'm not good enough for you."

She tried to pull away but found that Berry's grasp on her hoof was unyielding. He moved closer to her and wrapped one leg around her. "Never say that. You are too good for me, not the other way around. I'm lucky just to be friends to you."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know..."

Berry silenced her with a gentle hug. As he did Fluttershy felt waved of relief and comfort from the simple action. Berry spoke softly in her ear. "All I ask is one chance. If you don't want to be with me after that we can go back to just being friends. Seeing you happy means more to me than seeing myself happy."

Fluttershy pulled away slightly from her friend. "You mean that?"

He nodded and gave her a dazzling smile. "Yep."

Her affection for the stallion sitting next to her increased immensely as she looked into his eyes and saw that he was once more telling the truth. He was really willing to let her go if it meant that she would be happy if she said so just blew her mind. She gave him a small nod. "Okay. It's a date."

The Working Mare

Elusive walked along the road with his gaze to the clouds. It wasn't often that he spent time cloud gazing but this was a special occurrence and he was going to make the most of it while he could. He felt confident as he made his way to the familiar farm where a familiar mare was, most likely, hard at work bucking apple trees. She always had a work ethic I could get behind. Never met a mare quite like her, hardworking and willing to take as much of the burden as possible to lighten the load for others. A simple smile spread across his face as he remembered the first time he and Applejack had really spent time together.

"That silly sleep over. I still can't believe that Twilight insisted that I stay for that event."

Almost the entire night had been consumed by Elusive and Applejack arguing. They had only stopped after the intervention of a tree through the window. Only after that did they both stop their pointless bickering and just enjoy the company of each other and Twilight.

Elusive spotted a group of three fillies that normally would put him on edge but today he saw them as they were, three friends playing. The white filly in the group looked over in his direction and ran over to him.

"Elusive! What are you doing at the farm?"

Elusive hugged his sister with his smile growing wider and warmer. "Just came to talk to Applejack. You three have been staying out of trouble, right Sweetie Belle?"

The filly rolled her eyes. "Yes. We were just playing. Wanna join after you're are doing talking with Applejack?"

He shook his head but the smile remained. "I can't. I have a lot to plan out today and I have that spa appointment with Fluttershy. I'll tell her that you said hi for you if you want."

The three fillies nodded and thanked him. They ran off and Elusive swore he heard Scootaloo mention something suspiciously close to 'Cutie Mark Crusader Acrobats' as they left. Elusive sighed and went towards the farm house.

His journey to the farm house was put to an end when he heard the distinctive sound of hooves hitting wood. He followed the sound until he spotted a stallion he knew but wasn't looking for.

"Hello there Big Mac. Do you know where your sister is?"

The large stallion glanced over at him and kicked the tree with one leg. "Hello there, Elusive right?" An affirmative nod was his answer. "Applejack is in the barn stackin' hay."

Elusive nodded. "Thanks Big Mac."

Elusive walked away as Big Mac gave his usual response. "Eyup."

Upon reached the barn Elusive heard grunting inside and when he opened the door it confirmed that Applejack was hard at work stacking bales of hay. She was tossing bales into a large pile that was well over three times her height. For a moment he just watched her work and marveled at how she made such menial labor look easy. She added a sort of grace to it that he could quite describe.

He cleared his throat to alert her to his presence. "Applejack hard at work today I see."

The farmer tossed a hay bale perfectly in place on top of the large stack next to her. "Well howdy there Elusive. What are you doing out here on the farm. I thought you 'abhorred' the dirt and grime of farm work."

Elusive gave her an amused smile. "Well to tell you the truth I was here to ask something of you."

Applejack lifted another hay bale on her back. "Ask away sugarcube."

Elusive took a small breath before he began. "Well you see I'm designing a new fashion line for the working mare and well..." He paused just long enough for her to notice.

She turned and looked at him. "Well what?"

Hook. He looked away as if he was embarrassed. "Well I was hoping that you would model for me."

Applejack was in mid throw when he finished. She lost her grip on the hay bale and ended up throwing the hay bale over the pile entirely. She turned to him quickly as a *Thump* came from behind the bale pile.

"What?"

Line. He cleared his throat. "Well I would be honored if you would model for me. You have a perfect body..." He let a small pause make it seem like a slip up on his part. As if on cue Applejack began to blush. "For modeling this clothing line I mean."

Applejack opened her mouth and closed it a few times before she found her voice. "What about Fluttershy or Twilight? Couldn' they model for you?"

Elusive took a few steps closer. "Well I would have Fluttershy but I need a mare with more muscle to her. I do enjoy the time I get to spend with Fluttershy but she doesn't have the body type I'm looking for. Twilight on the other hoof," He let a small sigh. "I love that mare to death but she modeled for me once and nearly talked my ears off. Got to learn the history of sewing while I worked though."

Applejack let out a small chuckle as she imagined Twilight talking a mile a minute with Elusive working around her. "I guess, but I'm certain that there are other mares in town that can help you."

Elusive moved closer once more. "None of them have the perfect form I need for this. Please, consider this a small favor that you can hold over me if you want. I'll event treat you to lunch."

Applejack walked up to him and rested her hoof on his shoulder. "Settle down there sugarcube, you don't need to sell me on this. I'll be happy to do this. What time do you want me and my perfect body over there?"

She gave him a sly smile that he wasn't expecting. "Wuh... oh, right the time." He collected himself with a small cough. "Shall we say eight thirty in the morning?"

She gave him a nod. "Sounds good to me. Mind keeping the flirting and buttering to a minimum while I'm there?"

With that she turned around and walked back to the pile of hay bales, flicking her tail to brush against Elusive's cheek softly. He felt his jaw drop for a fraction of a second before he caught himself and looked at the mare in a new light. She had seen through his rather simple flirting and that impressed him.

He walked out of the barn but not before giving the farm mare another quick look and watching her toss the bale she missed onto the top of the pile. She caught him looking and gave him a small wink. He returned it with a smile and walked out of the barn. Once outside his face split into a self-satisfied smile. Sinker.

Elusive made his way to the spa for his weekly appointment with Fluttershy feeling rather good with himself. He walked into the building and spotted the yellow mare smiling and talking excitedly to Lotus Blossom. When she spotted Elusive she ran over to him.

She was practically bouncing with joy as she talked to him. "You wouldn't believe what happened to me today!"

Her voice was peaking at almost Elusive's normal tone. Whatever it was really had her going with excitement. Elusive calmed her down a little and told her to wait until they were in the steam room before they started on the usual gossip and news. For her part Fluttershy was using every ounce of self-control to not tell Elusive right there but she respected his wishes of getting some privacy before they started talking.

That self-control ended the moment the door to the steam room shut. "Berry asked me out!"

Elusive sat there as two thoughts ran through his mind. The first was that Fluttershy seemed to be beaming with happiness at the news and the second that he was impressed at how quickly Berry had asked her.

Already? Well I'll be... He recovered from the small shock quickly. "Really? When did this happen?"

She smiled and moved closer to him as her voice became more excited. "This morning. He came over and told me that he had feelings for me since he met me. Then he asked me for a chance to let him show me he loves me."

Elusive gave her a small hug. "Congratulations. I think you two will be very happy with each other."

Fluttershy nodded and they began to talk about the normal gossip but Elusive minds was elsewhere. He knew that Fluttershy liked Berry, more than just a friend. She had confessed her feelings for Berry to Elusive after a few of their spa sessions but had made Elusive promise to never tell him. Elusive bit his lip at the thought that Berry might be faking his emotions to win the bet. I'll have to talk with that stallion very soon.

"And so I think I might need your help with getting ready. I've never been good with my mane." Fluttershy noticed his distant look. "Elusive?"

He shook his head and looked at the yellow mare. "Sorry. Thinking about something I need to do. Yes I'll more than happy to help you with your mane. I have some ideas in mind for your date." He scolded himself inwardly for losing focus like that.

Their talked wandered after that and Elusive found himself on one of the massage tables thinking of ideas for Applejack's outfit. Ideeea!

The Carousel Boutique, the premier fashion center of Ponyville and the destination of Ponyvilles premier farmer. Now Applejack had rather mixed feelings for the place. She was never a fashion conscious mare like most of her friends were so she wasn't entirely fond of the building or what it represents. However she did like Elusive due to his rather kind nature and he was a good friend. He always did what he could to help her and her friends whenever he could.

Ah reckon hes probably got some sort of over the top fashion line ready for me. This should be a good laugh or two. She chuckled to herself at the possible ideas of what Elusive had come up with. She knew he could get rather eccentric with his outfits but hopefully he wouldn't use to many gems on her.

"All the flirtin' yesterday was just plain ridiculous as well. If he wants to ask me somethin' he should just do it. No need to butter me up like Granny's warm Sunday biscuits."

She reached the door to the boutique and walked in. Her arrival was ushered by the jingling of the bell on the door.

"Applejack I'm so glad you made it. Come in, come in." The white stallion walked up to her while wearing a pair of red glasses that were perched at the end of his muzzle. "I have a wonderful design that I think even you will love."

Applejack shrugged. "Ah don't really know if that'll happen but Ah'm willin' to do this for you."

Elusive shrugged and gave her a small smile. "We'll see. Now onto the dais darling, let’s get this magic flowing."

Applejack did as he instructed and stood on the dais. Elusive began his work by glancing over to several drawings sitting on a table and muttering to himself for a moment or two. Once he finished that he began taking measurements of Applejack.

While he was measuring her chest and waist she made a complaint. "Ah thought you did all this when all of us headed up to the Gala. Why you takin' them again?"

Elusive wrote the numbers down then glanced at Applejack. "Sometimes the numbers change. Ponies don't remain the same size all their life. They tend to get bigger as they get older."

Applejack's eyes narrowed and a small frown appeared. "You saying Ah'm bigger than Ah was a year ago?"

Elusive had turned back to his drawings when Applejack replied. He remained silent for a moment as he realized the dangerous position he had just landed in. "Uh, What I meant was... well, that is to say—"

Applejack began snickering at him. "Ah'm joking sugarcube. Ah know exactly what ya meant."

Elusive rolled his eyes and walked back to the mare with some cloth. "Hilarious. Now if you don't mind I want to make this dress."

As the stallion worked the pair talked about the local gossip. One of the last things to come up was the relationship of Berry and Fluttershy.

Elusive adjusted the glasses at the end of his muzzle and bit his lip as he worked on the dress at Applejack's middle. "You won't believe what happened yesterday."

Applejack tried to turn to face him but he forced her back to her forward position. "What happened? You prick yerself with a pin?"

While the farm pony chortled Elusive tightened the cloth. "Nothing so... simple. Berry asked Fluttershy on a date."

The farm pony felt her jaw drop. "What? Really?"

Elusive hummed the confirmation as he walked back to desk with the drawings. He shuffled the papers for a moment until he found the one he wanted. "Fluttershy told me yesterday at the spa. She was beside herself with joy."

Applejack let out a low whistle. "Well Ah'll be. Ah kinda had a feelin' that Berry liked her but... wow." She looked over at Elusive as he walked back to the dais. "Ah think they'll be happy together. Never known a nicer pair of ponies in my life."

The stallion nodded. "Agreed. It'll be nice to see them happy with each other. They have their first date this weekend. I think she mentioned something about a picnic. Berry's planning it so it’s bound to be wild."

Applejack nodded. Silence fell between them as the fashion pony set about working some more. Applejack watched from the mirrors and saw the bolts of cloth slowly change into something close to a dress as the hours passed. She was impressed at the passion and speed her friend worked with. She couldn't help but smile when he stopped and took a moment to look her over to make sure he was doing everything right.

The silence was broken when Elusive began work on the chest of the dress for what seemed like the thousandth time. "I really do enjoy our conversations you know."

She glanced down to see him with a needle and thread. "What?"

He gave her a quick look then returned to his work. "Our talks. I actually enjoy them."

She gave him a short laugh. "Hun, almost every time we talk be argue, and if we ain't doin' that then we're about to. Yer tellin' me you enjoy yellin' at me and me yellin' at you?"

He nodded in silence and cut the edge of the string. "I do. It's nice to have somepony to talk to and see a different point of view from." He got up from where he was and looked her in the eyes. "Can I be honest with you?"

She nodded. "Anytime."

He gave her a small smile that faded almost the instant it appeared. "Sometimes I... well, to be blunt I get lonely sometimes."

He removed part of the dress from her and walked to the sewing table. Applejack watched him with confusion on her face. "Lonely? How can you be lonely? You have Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, and, heck, half the darn town that you talk to on a regular basis."

He nodded. "True, but none of them understand what I do. Whenever I talk to them about making a dress or a suit they just nod along and pretend to understand. I have nopony to talk to about the finer parts of my craft. None of them get it."

Applejack remained silent which prompted Elusive to continue. "I'm the only tailor in town and a majority of the ponies here don't even wear clothes normally so they don't even buy from me, unless it’s something special. What makes it worse is that every other pony seems to have somepony they can relate to when it comes to their talent."

Elusive stopped sewing and removed the glasses from his nose. "And when I talk about fashion they all look at me like I'm insane or something. I try my hardest to create something and they don't really care to ever think about it. To think about the time and effort I put into each piece. They just nod their heads and agree to get me to move onto something else."

Applejack walked off the small platform and went over to the fashion pony. "So what is it that you do? Tell me in yer own words."

Elusive looked at her for a moment and gave her a small smile. "I create, simple term but it means so much more. It's easy to make cloths but to create something that when they look in the mirror and think 'I look amazing.' That's what I do. I create to see them smile, to make them think that the world will look at them and tell them that they look wonderful." He stopped for a moment and gestured around the room. "That's always what it’s been about. To make them happy. Fame and fortune are merely benefits, side effects of doing the job well."

He looked at the orange mare and sighed. "Here I am rambling to you about something pointless when I promised to make this quick. I do apologize."

Applejack placed her hoof on his shoulder. "Don't. I understand what you mean. When somepony tells me that all I do is gather apples it makes me wanna buck 'em into next year. It's hard work to produce the food we do and to see it making ponies happy is the greatest accomplishment a farmer could ask for. It's an art making ponies happy."

Elusive nodded and beamed at the mare. "Well said. Thank you. Now, let’s finish this dress. I did promise you lunch and it’s almost one o'clock."

The pair walked back to the platform and shared a look with each other. Applejack smiled and blushed when their eyes locked. Elusive guided her back to the center and began the final touches on the dress. All the while he worked he noticed that Applejack kept glancing at him and he found that he couldn't keep himself from doing the same.

As the clock neared two o’clock Elusive covered the mirrors and pulled out a make-up kit. Applejack looked at the mirrors then at him with her eyebrows raised.

Elusive noticed this and gave her a knowing look. "The big reveal is always best when they can't see the final steps."

He moved in front of her and started working on her make-up. Applejack gave a small groan. "Do you really need to use that stuff on me?"

Elusive gave a small nod as he applied a small amount of blush on her cheeks. "I believe that make-up helps highlight the natural beauty. The less you need the more beauty the mare or stallion has."

He moved on to the Applejack's other cheek and applied very little blush. He looked at both sides of her face and gave an approving nod. As he put the brush away Applejack look confused.

"Yer done already? Why?"

Elusive looked at her with a look that simply stated 'You already know.' He waited for a second as the confused looked became one of realization then of affection. She began to blush and looked away.

"Yer such a flirt."

He chuckled and circled around her as he replied. "Only for you."

If her cheeks weren't red before they definitely were now. She tilted the Stetson hat down to cover her face so he couldn't see how red she was getting. After Elusive finished his circle around her he used his magic to remove her hat and place it on his own head.

She reached for it but he stopped her. "I just need to do your mane real quick then we can move on to the finale. After that we can head out for lunch."

She gave him a stern look. "Just don't do anything to fancy with my mane. Ah don't want it to be in my way when Ah work."

Elusive nodded. "Not to worry. I had something very simple in mind." His horn lit up once more as he removed the band holding Applejack's mane in a ponytail. He ran a pair of brushes through her mane a few times until it was relatively straight then moved it all to one side.

He stopped for a moment and muttered to himself. "Now that's perfect. No..." He brushed the straw colored mane behind Applejack's ear. "That's perfect."

He took a few steps back and looked at the transformed mare. He was stunned to say the least. She looked wonderful as the dark green dress hugged her curves in all the right ways. He looked at her for a few moments unable to really do anything than stare at the beautiful mare in front of him.

She looks amazing. I can't believe how beautiful she looks. Maybe I should try to get her to model for me more often. As the thought passed through his head a tiny voice at the back of his head told him it wasn't because of his dress or the make-up. It was because she always looked that way but it was drowned out by his mumbled speech.

"Wow... just wow."

He felt his heart warm at the smile she gave him. She spoke and he failed to catch it. "Come again?"

She shuffled in her place and spoke much louder. "Ah said can Ah see what Ah look like. You're gawking awfully hard at me right now."

It was Elusive's turn to blush. He gave a small cough and nodded. "Of course. Get ready to be amazed."

He used his magic to grab the covers on the mirrors and he pulled them off. Applejack gasped as she saw herself in the mirrors. She stood there with her hoof on her chest as she looked at each of the mirrors in turn to look at herself at every angle.

"Ah... Ah... Ah look amazing."

Elusive walked next to her and tilted the Stetson hat on his head back. "Indeed you do. However I think there something missing to make this complete."

Applejack looked over at him. "What's that?"

The stallion didn't respond. Instead he placed the hat on her head so it fell in her face. She lifted it up out of her eyes with a small chuckle and was about to respond to him but he was suddenly very, very close to her.

He smiled at her and moved even closer. "A dashing stallion to be your escort."

And with that he leaned in and kissed the surprised, blushing mare.

Thoughts on the Matter

Citrus. That was the first thing that Applejack could taste when the white stallion had kissed her, their tongues wrestling for domination. He tasted like citrus. Must be his tooth paste. Ah would have thought him a mint kind of pony. Applejack closed her eyes and gave herself up to the kiss for what felt like a small eternity with Elusive but as she reopened her eyes she pushed away from him.

She tried to regain control of her breathing for a few moments as she noticed the disappointed look on the stallions face.

"What in tarnation was that about?"

Elusive took a small step closer to her. "I was showing you how I felt about you." A worried expression came over his face. "You don't feel the same way?"

Applejack was about to tell him no but her mind had gone to the almost bliss like sensation of his lips on hers. She bit her lip for a moment and looked off to the side to avoid his gaze.

"Ah... Ah kinda do."

Elusive stood there for a moment. "Kinda? What do you mean?"

She looked back up at the stallion that was now within hoofs reach. "Ah liked the kiss but..." She paused and tried to think of why she couldn't like the kiss and the way she felt when he had done it. She glanced up and saw a look of pure concern on Elusive's face.

She swallowed and spoke with a shaky voice. "Ah just don't know. We've been friends for years now but Ah just don't know if this can work."

Elusive stood there for a moment before his ears fell. "Oh... I see. You're right. This was foolish of me."

The stallion turned away and walked back to the small table with the drawings and sat down. He felt as if his heart had been punched through. Where is this coming from? It's just a simple bet and even if I don't win there's always the chance that Berry will. So why does her rejection hurt?

He sighed and glanced back at the mare in the wonderful dress. "Of course this couldn't work. Between your farm work and my fashion line we hardly get to see each other as it is but setting aside time for something romantic like a date or even something like this would cause some sort of backlash eventually."

He looked back at his designs for a moment. "I would take up too much of your time anyways and you farm must come first. Perhaps it is best we just stay—"

A strong hoof grabbed him by the jaw and spun him around. Next thing he knew his lips were locked with Applejack's. He sat there stunned for only a moment then wrapped his legs around the wonderful mare’s neck. The kiss ended much too soon for the stallion but the look in the mares eyes was set.

"Ah don't want to hear nothin' like that from you again. We'll figure somethin' out but for today it's just you and me fancy boy, we may not be datin' yet but that don't mean we can't have some fun together today. Ah do recall you sayin' somethin' about takin' me out for lunch."

Elusive could only smile at this radiant mare as he held her. He gave her a sly smile as he spoke. "Of course, let's get you out of that dress first."

Applejack punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Ah ain't that kind of mare." She gave him her own playful smile. "But Ah might make an exception for you."

Elusive and Applejack found themselves at a small, outdoor restaurant eating and talking happily. Neither of them had realized how much they truly had in common. Both of them practically raised their younger siblings, they both ran complicated and, at times, incredibly stressful jobs, and they both loved to read in their spare time.

"Ah reckon that if we had spent a few minutes just talking instead of yellin' we might have done something like this a long time ago."

Elusive chuckled. "I think you're right. This day has been wonderful. But alas after this I think you might be heading back to the farm. I'm certain that Macintosh and Apple Bloom might need you for something."

Applejack leaned back in her seat a little. "Well they might have to wait. Ah have no intention of leavin' just yet. You just started getting interesting."

They both laughed and continued to talk about anything and everything. As they talked Elusive found that he was beginning to care less and less about the bet and more about the wonderful mare in front of him. He felt more comfortable around her than he had in years. He didn't care that he might lose the bet, or that he may have to pay up to either of his male friends. At the moment the only thing on his mind was the fun and conversation he was having.

I really should have asked her to do something like this a long time ago.

Applejack cleared her throat after a while and gave Elusive a small worried look. "What about Spines?"

Elusive's eye brow rose. "What about... oh..."

Elusive felt his smile fade as he thought about the small purple dragon that had developed a crush on him. His fell into a deep frown once he realized that by spending time with Applejack, and ultimately dating her would break the small dragon’s heart.

Elusive sighed. "This is going to be rather unpleasant isn't it?"

Applejack could only nod. "Do ya want me to break the news to her?"

The stallion shook his head. "No. I'd think it'd be best if I did it. Better to have her angry at me than at you."

"When will ya break it to her?"

Elusive took a sip of his water and look thoughtful for a moment. "After this Saturday. Berry and Fluttershy have a date and I had planned to help Berry with ideas for it."

Applejack nodded. The pair moved on to much less worrying topics, paid for their meal and walked along the streets of Ponyville without a care in the world.

Elusive found himself inside the bedroom of his friend Bubble Berry and trying his hardest not to scream in terror. The room was covered in bright pink wall paper, confetti, party streamers, and balloons of every color. All of them the very stuff of nightmares for a fashion pony. He focused his attention on the small alligator that was sitting next to him on the bed. His mind was drifting off to the day he had experienced so far with Applejack and the wonderful kisses they had shared.

Berry was talking, unaware that his friend was only barely aware of him doing so. The pink stallion was bouncing around the room with a dreamy smile on his face. "And then she said yes! I can't believe she said yes! I think she might like me just like I like her!"

Berry stopped bouncing for a moment and looked over at Elusive. "Sooo?"

Elusive came back to reality and looked at the expecting eyes of the stallion. "Soo... what?"

The pink stallion gave a small snort and waved his hooves in the air. "DUH! You and Applejack! I saw you two talking a lot today and I was wondering how it went! Did you ask her out or were you two already on a date?"

Elusive smiled a little at his friends rather animated actions. "We did share the day with one another but I think that for now we can say that it really wasn't a date. Not yet at least. We both still have some small reservations. At the moment we are in limbo. Our jobs do take a lot of time and effort to maintain."

The white stallion waved his hoof passively. "That doesn't matter at the moment. What does matter is you and Fluttershy. She told me that you have had feelings for her since you both met. Is that true or are you just saying that to win the bet."

Berry frowned at the accusation. "I would never lie to her like that. I really do like her and I have since we met. She's the prettiest mare I've ever even seen." He stopped for a moment as his ears drooped. "You think I would do something like that?"

Elusive shook his head and gave the pink pony a small reassuring smile. "Oh course not. I was just worried about Fluttershy's feelings. I can see that my worries were misplaced and I do apologize for doubting your character."

Berry's ears perked back up and he beamed at his friend. "Well of course you would be worried about your friend. She is your spa buddy."

Elusive nodded then gave the baker a more serious look. "However this does bring up a question. If you felt this way about her all this time why did you wait until now to ask her?"

Berry's ears dropped back down and his gaze fell to the floor. "I... I wasn't brave enough. Every time I tried I kept getting scared that she would say no or reject me. When you and Blitz started talking about the bet I joined in so—"

"—So we would force you to at least try." Elusive finished for him. "In case you got cold hooves we would be there behind you to help you. That's rather brilliant but still, if you needed help you should have come to one of us. We all could have helped you out. I could have set you and her up at the spa so you two could have some time alone in a quiet place."

The pink pony stayed silent for a moment then spoke in a heavily embarrassed voice. "I didn't want you all to think less of me. I mean what kind of stallion is scared of talking to a mare."

Elusive got off the bed and walked next to his friend. "None of us would think less of you. It's natural for a stallion or mare to be afraid of rejection. Besides didn't your grandmother tell you to laugh at the things that scare you?"

Berry looked at his friend as if he was crazy. "You want me to laugh at Fluttershy? Isn't that kinda mean?"

Elusive facehoofed and sighed. "No. What I meant was that you have always had the ability to talk to her and face your fears but you needed some confidence first. Now let's focus on something much more fun, your and Fluttershy's date in a few days."

The pink stallion smiled widely at the thought. He nodded and sat down on the bed as Elusive began to tell him things that Fluttershy might like to do. His mind wasn't in the room however as he imagined himself sitting with Fluttershy and just holding her close to him.

Two days had crawled by for Bubble Berry but at the moment he thought that the wait was more than worth it. The sun was shining brightly on the small path he was walking on as a gentle breeze blew along. It was the perfect balance of warmth and coolness to keep the day from becoming uncomfortable, which was great for Berry because he was going on a simple picnic. He held the basket and blanket upon his back as he whistled a merry little tune.

He stopped on the path when he spotted the familiar cottage. Sitting beside the cottage at work on her garden was the mare of his affections. The pink maned mare glanced up when she heard him whistling and spotted him staring at her. They both blushed and glanced away from each other in embarrassment.

Berry walked up to her as she blushed behind her curtain like mane. "Uh... hi. I brought some stuff for a picnic. I hope you don't mind."

Fluttershy looked out from her mane with one of her large, beautiful eyes. She was still finding it hard to believe that this kind and happy stallion and herself were now about to go on their first date. Her first date. "Th-that sounds lovely. Where did you have in mind for us to go?"

The pink stallion smiled at her kindly and pointed off to the side. "I know of this great little spot near the meadow. It's really quiet and nopony really goes there much."

Fluttershy swallowed and smiled back at her friend. "Lead the way."

They set off down the path for a little while then turned of onto the large field beside the path. They walked in silence for the most part until Berry pointed at what looked like a small pair of trees standing together.

"There it is. I'll set the blanket down for us."

While Berry set the blanket down for them Fluttershy inspected the pair of trees. She soon discovered that they shared the same trunk that split into the separate trunks she had seen. She took a few steps closer and realized that is wasn't on tree with two separate trunks but two trees that had grown in the same spot and were inseparable due to this growth.

Fluttershy turned to the stallion as he laid out a few plates for them. "How did you find this spot?"

Berry looked up at her and gave her a sheepish grin. "Actually a friend told me about it. Said that they used to come here all the time."

Fluttershy looked back at the tangled trees. "It’s lovely."

Berry walked up next to her and gazed at the tree. "So are you."

Fluttershy began to blush furiously and she hid behind her mane. She managed to get out a small squeak. "Thank you."

Berry smiled at her and nodded toward the blanket. "I brought some food and drinks for us. Would you like some?"

The mare only nodded as she lay down on the blanket. Berry pulled out a small loaf of bread, some jam, a mincemeat pie, and plate full of vegetables. He then produced a small group of thermices.

"I didn't know what you would like so I brought a few things. I have tea, cider, and some punch."

Fluttershy came out from behind her mane long enough to look at the three thermices. "Tea please."

Berry filled a small cup and placed it down in front of her. Berry filled his own with some of the punch and sat there silently. The moments stretched out and became almost painfully awkward as they looked everywhere but at each other. Berry gave a small cough and Fluttershy jumped a little.

She glanced at him for a second. "Did you say something?"

He shook his head and gave her a small smile. "No... just a cough."

Silence fell on them once more. Berry cleared his throat and looked directly at Fluttershy. "So... How have you been?"

Fluttershy moved her mane out of the way slowly and looked at the still smiling stallion. "I guess I've been fine. I was looking forward to this a lot. It really is a lovely spot."

Berry nodded. "Yeah. I have been looking forward to this a lot as well."

Fluttershy placed a small slice of bread on her plate and spread jam on it. Berry was already through his second piece of pie as the silence stretched on. Fluttershy watched him for a moment as he gazed up at a small group of clouds drifting through the sky. She hadn't really noticed the way his smile seemed to brighten his face and the energy that he seemed to give off. It made her feel safe and happy, just by being near him.

Berry glanced over and spotted her smiling at him. He smiled back and tried his hardest not to chuckle as she blushed and hid behind her mane. He scooted closer to her and nudged her gently.

"Hey come on, don't hide that smile. It's really pretty and should be seen by everypony."

Fluttershy felt his hoof moving her mane out of the way so he could look her in the eyes. "See? Much better."

Fluttershy returned the smile. "You think my smile is pretty?"

The pink stallion nodded. "Of course. You never smile enough for my liking but every time I see it I can't help but smile all the wider. It's like a balloon just swells up inside of me and it's filled with happiness or maybe that funny gas that makes your voice go all squeaky."

Fluttershy began to giggle as Berry tried to make his voice go really high. "I think this is the sound. Close enough?"

Fluttershy couldn't respond as she was laughing at the stallion’s voice. Berry joined her in the laughter and the pair soon found themselves just looking into each other’s eyes as they stopped laughing. Berry pointed to some of the pie after a few moments of them just silently looking at one another.

"There's still some pie left..." He glanced back and noticed that Fluttershy had moved next to him and she laid her head on his shoulder. The pair laid down on the blanket and watched the cloud roll gently across the sky, talking about baking, animals, and news that Elusive and Applejack might have be dating. Berry knew the true reason to why the pair had been seen together but remained silent on it.

Fluttershy snuggled close to him and spoke softly. "Do you think they might start dating, like us?"

Berry gave a small cough as he tried to think of an answer. "Well... I think they might try to date but I really can't say how it will go."

Fluttershy laid her head down on his chest and let out a small sigh. "If they do we could go on a double date."

Berry nodded and looked down at the mare. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his warm coat. Berry felt his heart swell for a moment and he hummed his approval. "Yeah. That would be nice."

The pink stallion closed his eyes and together the pair fell asleep under Celestia's sun.

Breaking Hearts and Eggheads

Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw a sky of a deep purple greeting her from her nap. She shifted a little and felt something lying across her chest. She looked down and saw the pink leg of her friend Berry draped across her. She followed the leg to his chest and she stopped at that for a moment studying it. It was broad like all stallions as well as surprisingly defined. Maybe all that hopping is good for you. She giggled and continued up the stallions body to look upon his smiling, but sleeping, face.

Fluttershy rolled over off of her back and was now facing the stallion. She nuzzled him gently for a moment then pulled away. Berry was still sleeping. He's really cute when he smiles. Fluttershy smiled as she nuzzled him again. She had never felt so safe outside in the growing dark. Normally she was already at home at this time but with Berry she felt no need to go anywhere.

Oh, I don't want to wake him but we should get headed back to town. Mr. and Mrs. Cake would be so worried if he didn't return.

Fluttershy poked him softly, barely even touching him. She poked him again a few times but stopped as she watched him breathe deeply. She cuddled close to him and sighed contently.

"I don't want this to end but we should head back. Please wake up."

As if by magic Berry's eyes snapped open and he gave a small snort.

"Pancacks!"

Fluttershy jumped slightly at his sudden outburst but quickly began to laugh at his word of choice. Berry smiled down at her and hugged her a little tighter.

"Hey there Flutters. I think we dozed off there."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yea... I think we should head back. If you want to I mean."

Berry started to get up. "Well I would like to stay here with you but I think I should get you home. It gets cold out here at night."

As the pink stallion helped Fluttershy up he noticed that she was muttering to herself. "What was that?"

Fluttershy blushed deeply. "I think we could stay warm together."

Berry felt his cheeks warm as he smiled at the yellow mare. "I would like to but I couldn't keep you from your animals."

Together they packed the basket and set off down the road. It was far too short of a walk for both of them as they spotted Fluttershy's cottage in the distance. As they walked over the small creek in front of her home Fluttershy stopped the stallion on top of the small bridge.

She looked into the bright eyes of the pink stallion and smiled at him. "This was a really nice day. I know we sorta slept through most of it but it was still very thoughtful and kinda cute. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you."

Berry smiled back and waved his hoof as his cheeks grew red. "I had a great time. I can't remember the last time I had such a great nap. Maybe we shou—"

The pink maned mare placed her hoof on his lips to silence him. "Next week, meet me here. I want to show you something really special to me."

Fluttershy leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Hold onto that for me?"

Berry stood there unable to do anything more than mumble a simple response. "Sure. No prob."

Fluttershy blushed and gave him a second kiss on his other cheek. "You can keep that one. Return the other to me next week okay."

With that she left the dazed and now smiling Berry standing there and headed towards her house. She took one last glance at him before she walked into the house to see him rubbing the cheek she kissed second. She let out a content sigh and decided that the following week couldn't pass fast enough.

Elusive wasn't feeling that good. He felt sick to his stomach as he looked out the large windows of his shop. He watched from the distance as Berry walked across the street with a loaded basket, heading for Fluttershy's cottage for their first date. Under any other circumstance he would be happy for his friends but at the moment his mind was focused on the purple dragon that would be arriving soon to help him.

I... can't do this to her but if I don't then she'll have her heart broken by somepony else. I have to do this to soften the blow as much as I can.

The snow white stallion sighed and walked over to a small work table that held a tiny chest. He opened it and looked at the amulet that was made from a large heart shaped ruby. Elusive picked it up gently and smiled as he thought about how Spines had given it to him despite the fact that she had spent years aging it so she could eat it on her birthday.

"And she gave it to me out of kindness and love. A love I can't return to her."

Elusive felt his heart tighten a little as he put on the amulet. He knew he had to do this and it wasn't because he was in the middle of a bet. He had been meaning to do this for a long time but could never bring himself to do it. Elusive heard the door to the front of his shop open with the ring of a bell.

"Coming!"

Elusive moved to the front of the store and was met with the beaming smile of a young purple dragon. "Hi Elusive! Twilight said you wanted some help and that you needed me to help you, so here I am."

Elusive forced a smile to his lips. "Perfect. I needed some help with cleaning the back room."

The stallion followed the young dragonesses gaze to the amulet on his chest. She smiled at him with her large emerald like eyes. "I like the necklace."

Elusive smiled back, this time a little less forced. He had picked up on the joking tone she had used. Of course she liked it. She was the one that gave it to me. Elusive turned towards the back room as one of his hooves rubbed the ruby absent mindedly.

"I do too. Now come along I still have a room to clean."

The pair walked into the back room. Spine noticed that the room wasn't to dirty beyond the normal clutter that Elusive had while he worked. She didn't mention anything as they started cleaning the room. Minutes passed in silence as they cleaned and re-cleaned the room.

Elusive kept walking around the room moving things slightly then moving them back. Spine noticed the worried look on his face and saw that he was muttering to himself.

"Elusive, are you alright? You seem kinda tense."

The white stallion stopped where he was and shook his head. "I'm not. I need to talk with you about something and it's not going to be pleasant for either of us."

The stallion pointed for them to move into the kitchen. They both sat down at the table as Elusive looked at her with his eyes misting.

"Spine I don't know how to say this and I really wish I did. I know about your crush on me."

Spine's eyes went wide for a moment as she began to wring her claws together. "Wh-What crush I-I don't ha—"

Elusive held up his hoof and his eyes became slightly misty. "Please. I know that you've had a crush on me since we first met. You have been so kind to me and generous with your time since we became friends that it was impossible for me not to know."

He paused for a moment and took a steadying breath. "And that's why this is hard for me. I know that this isn't something you want to hear but it has to be said. I can't be the stallion you want me to be."

Spine's eye grew frightened. "What do you mean?"

Elusive sighed heavily and swallowed. "We can't ever be together. I just can't be the stallion you deserve, even if I tried my hardest we just couldn't work."

The dragoness's eyes began to water as her world came crashing down. She felt her heart tighten almost painfully as tears spilled down her cheeks. This couldn't be happening to her, not after all the time they had spent together.

Elusive used every ounce of control he could muster to keep himself from crying as well. He hated himself for making her cry like this.

"This isn't because I don't like you. You have been the kindest friend I could ask for and it hurt me to say this but I think you deserve a stallion or even a dragon that will treat you the way you really deserve. They could show you love that I just can't and I want you to be as happy as possible."

Spine placed her head into her hands and sobbed silently. Elusive got up from his chair and moved to the side of the crying dragon. He gently placed his hoof on her shoulder and a moment later he felt her hug him tightly and she cried into his coat. He hugged her tightly and lost control of himself. Tears came down his face as well.

"I'm so sorry I had to cause you this pain. Please forgive me."

Spine looked up at him and spoke in a choked voice. "I-Is is because I'm a dragon?"

Elusive shook his head. "No! I would never turn down true love on something as stupid and simple as species. If I fell in love with a griffon then I would love them no matter what. I can't return the feelings you have for me and... I've been so selfish lately. I've taken advantage of your kindness and for that I can never be sorrier for my actions."

Elusive paused for a moment. "You have been the most generous friend I could ever ask for."

Spine hugged him a little tighter and muttered into his fur. "I forgive you. Does this mean we can't be friends anymore?"

The white stallion shook his head and returned the hug. "Of course we can still be friends. I wouldn't give up our friendship for the world."

A minute silently passed, only broken by the softening sobs of the young dragoness. Elusive used his magic to teleport a handkerchief to himself. He tapped Spine gently on the shoulder and gave her the cloth. She took it with a small smile.

"Thanks."

She blew her nose on the cloth and wiped her eyes. Elusive sat there for a moment before he spoke in a soft tone. "I wanted to tell you something else as well. I've been trying to start a relationship with a mare in town."

The dragoness looked up at him with surprise in her eyes. "Is it somepony I know?"

Elusive nodded. "You know her pretty well but there's a reason I wanted to tell you first before we go public. It's because I trust you and since I had to hurt you like I did I think you deserve to know first." He paused for a moment and looked into the emerald eyes before him. "Can you promise me that you won't be mad at her in any way? This was my choice and I don't want her to suffer for it."

Spine wiped her eyes again and nodded. "I'm not mad at you a little upset but not mad. Like you said our friendship is really important and I cherish it. I promise not to be mad at her either, whoever it is."

Elusive hugged the dragon fondly and smiled down at her. She really was the most generous friend a stallion could ask for. "Okay. I'm dating Applejack."

Spine looked at him for a moment as a smile made its way onto her scaled face. "That's wonderful. I hope you two are very happy together."

Elusive nodded in thanks. "Me too. I'm still really sorry I had to cause you this harm."

Spine waved it way and placed the handkerchief on the table. "I said I forgive you. Don't worry about it. I need to get back to the library, I'm certain that Twilight will need me to clean something or to rearrange a shelf. I'll cya round Elusive."

As she turned and started out of the kitchen Elusive called out to her. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at him.

"You're still my little Spiney-Whiney to me."

She smiled back at him and nodded. She merely looked at him for a moment then walked out of his sight. The young dragon made it to the door to the boutique before tears began streaming down her face again.

The Following Monday

A cyan pegasus landed on a small cloud just above Ponyville with a small groan. Blitz was mad. Not at anypony that had done something wrong or stupid, Celestia help him his weather team wasn't helping that, but at himself. He had gotten himself into a bet that was time sensitive right as half his team was contracted to help out the Fillydelphia team with a few days of rain.

Now I'm three days behind and Berry is in the lead! He's never even dated a mare before and now he and Fluttershy are a couple. Still I've finally got some time off to get some time in with her and win this bet.

Blitz stretched his legs and spread his wings out as a sly grin came over his face. This was going to be easy. Nearly every mare in town wanted to spend time with him and most of those even wanted to get intimate. The cyan stallion landed in front the tree building that served as the local library.

He walked up to the door and opened it up. After all, the library was open at the moment and Twilight was working there. Blitz strode in with a confident swagger and a cocky grin.

"Hey Twi! You in here?"

The voice of the lavender mare met his ears. "Blitz that you? I'll be right out I just need to finish this shelf."

Blitz made his way towards the back of the library and spotted Twilight using her magic to hold up what looked like a hundred books while she dusted the shelf. Blitz walked up to her and grabbed a feather duster that was lying on a small table.

Twilight looked over and noticed him moving to help her. "Thanks. I can't believe how much dust the books can get in such a short amount of time."

Blitz ducked under a book with the title There and Back Again: A Comprehensive Guide to Travel in the Dragon Kingdoms. The stallion sighed for a moment then began dusting the shelf with her. They finished the shelf quickly and the books floated back onto the shelves in perfect order.

"I thought Spine was the one in charge of cleaning the shelves... where is she by the way?"

Twilight motioned for him to follow him into another portion of the library. They walked towards the kitchen of the tree and sat down at the table. Twilight pointed at the stairs in the other room.

"She's upstairs. She came home Saturday after helping Elusive over at the boutique. She came back crying but wouldn't say why. I asked her if it had something to do with Elusive but she wouldn't tell me anything. I'm worried that they might have had a fight or something."

Blitz looked up the stairs for a moment. Twilight sighed and used her magic to set a kettle on stove and started the fire.

"She's been in her bed crying for the past to days. I'm giving her some space for now but I'm really getting worried."

Blitz shrugged. "Hmm... I hope it's not a fight but we won't know until one of them tell us."

Silence fell between the pair as they looked up the stairs. The moment was broken when the kettle began to whistle. Twilight got up and got a small box of tea bags. She looked over at Blitz and showed him the box.

"Would you like some tea?"

Blitz shook his head. "Not my drink. Do you have any soda?"

Twilight nodded and pointed to a high cabinet. "Up on the top shelf, I keep it out of reach of Spine. She tends to overdo it on the sweets."

Blitz nodded. He remembered the gallons of ice cream Spine had eaten when Twilight freaked out over the whole future Twilight thing. He floated up to the shelf and grabbed a orange bottle. He landed and lifted the bottle to show Twilight.

"Orange soda? I hope Applejack doesn't mind."

Twilight chuckled. "I had her over the other day and she was surprised that I bought it. She said I was helping her aunt and uncle out." She sat back down and watched him as he sat down and opened the bottle. "So what did you come over for?"

Blitz put on a cocky smile and his voice grew suggestive. "I was hoping to... spend some time with you. You know, hang out for a while. Just you and me. Alone."

Twilight took a small sip from her cup and looked at him for a moment confused. After a second her eyes widened and she jumped up from the table. "Ohh! I have a perfect idea of what we should do."

Twilight placed her cup down on the table and ran off into the other room. Blitz sat there for a moment surprised at how easy this had become. I wasn't expecting it to be this easy... I hope she's not like this with all stallions.

Blitz took a sip of the fizzy orange drink and smirked to himself.

"I just got this yesterday and I think you'll really like it!"

Blitz turned and was met with a book cover in his face. He needed to only read the title to get excited. "Is that...?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes it is!"

Blitz gently took the book from her hooves and held it like it was a sacred artifact. "Daring Do and the Temple of Darkness. This isn't supposed to come out for at least another two weeks! How did you get a copy?"

Twilight beamed at him. "Princess Celestia knows the author personally and she gets the newest books before any other pony. When I was younger the princess and I would read them together and talk about the story and characters. I haven't had the chance to do that for three books now."

Blitz quickly read the back cover then looked up at the unicorn. All thoughts of hitting on her and flirting had vanished the moment he saw the book. The small frown on her face made him think for a moment.

"Would you like to read it together Twi?"

Her eyes brightened instantly. "Really? That would be wonderful!"

Blitz smiled at her. "Yeah since neither of us have read it we can find out all of the twists together."

Twilight blushed a little. "Well to be honest... I've kinda read it three times already. I was planning on reading it again tonight actually."

Blitz's smile faded a little. "Oh... well I guess I could read it alone then. I mean if you already know—"

Twilight shook her head and placed her hoof on his. "No! I mean, no I would like to read it with you. Its still fun to read a story with some pony you know. I promise not to spoil anything."

Blitz's smile came right back and he tapped the book. "So where are we gonna read this bad boy?"

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment then glanced over to a door in the main room. "We can head down to the basement. I have an old sofa down there that's really comfortable. Should be nice to sit on and read."

They headed down into the basement of the tree. Blitz looked around at the large room that had a few machines sitting near the center of the room and plenty of sciencey things that he couldn't identify sitting on tables round the room. Off in one corner of the room sat a small red couch that Twilight was settling in on.

Blitz sat down next to her as she levitated the book in front of them. "This one has a small prologue talking about the events of the last few books. Do you want to skip that or...?"

Blitz thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "I guess we could get into the mood before we hit the first chapter."

With that the pair read the book in silence cuddled next to each other as their minds were filled with the deeds of a very daring mare.

Learning New Things

Twilight watched as Rainbow Blitz walked up the stairs to the main room of the library. Their reading time had been cut short when Twilight had remembered that she had a project she needed to finish for Princess Celestia. Fortunately they only finished a few chapters before she remembered.

They reached the top of the stairs and walked into the main room. Twilight placed the book down on a desk and walked next to the stallion as he stood near the door.

He smiled at her in an understanding kind of way. "Sucks you gotta work on that project. We should try to finish it sometime. It was really starting to get good."

Twilight nodded and thought for a moment. "Are you free Friday?" The stallion nodded and she smiled at him. "I'm free too, how about you come over and we can read the next chapter. Then we leave it there like we are now and you come over the next week. We could do that until we finish the book."

The stallion looked at her confused for a moment. "You mean read a chapter a week?" He tapped his chin for a moment and smiled at the purple mare. "That sounds really cool. So I'll see ya Friday then."

The stallion and the mare waved good-bye to each other and Blitz left the library. Twilight watched him launch into the sky then turned to the book lying next to some scrolls. She picked it up and opened to the place they had stopped.

"Only three chapters..."

She smiled and shook her head. She had learned something she had never known about Blitz. He was a really slow reader. They had only made it to the third chapter in the book in the time she could have made it to chapter ten. She had never noticed how long Blitz would take to finish a book. She had always thought he read them a few times before he returned them.

She placed the book back down on the desk and picked up a scroll. She wondered for a moment why he had a sudden interest in Spines and the Library but she put that out of her mind when she started reading the assignment from Celestia.

She giggled after a moment. "Dear Princess Celestia. Today I learn how to be patient with a friend. No matter how slow they read."

Blitz landed on the cloud his home rested on. He made his way inside and flopped down on his bed. He looked up at the ceiling as his mind thought over the past few hours. He had spent the time doing nothing more than reading with his friend Twilight. Friend. That word sent off a small alarm in his head. He sat up instantly and groaned.

"I didn't ask her out! I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have gotten distracted by Daring Do. Stupid, awesome book."

He sat there on the bed and frowned. "She didn't even get the hint. I used the move perfectly and nothing. Any other mare in town would have been putty in my hooves but she didn't even catch the hint."

He sighed and got up from the bed. He moved through his home to the small kitchen. He always thought better with food in his stomach. He rummaged through his fridge and grabbed a small thing of stringed cheese and a gallon of juice.

"Berry had a date with Fluttershy today and by the way that Elusive was talking, he and Applejack might be going on a date soon."

The stallion groaned as he poured the juice into a cup. "At least I can just ask her out this Friday. Maybe I should bring her something nice to warm her up. Flowers or something."

The stallion began to eat as he thought of something. He didn't have a clue how he was going to tell her but he was certain it would be awesome.

Twilight was eating at a local outdoors restaurants with her friends Fluttershy and Spines. Fluttershy had arrived with a big smile and had hugged Twilight before she had sat down.

"What's gotten into you Fluttershy?"

The yellow pegasus sat down next to Spines and hugged the little dragon. "Oh the most wonderful thing, I went on an amazingly romantic date with Bubble Berry yesterday."

Twilight eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know you two were like that. What did he do?"

Fluttershy placed Spines back down in her chair and told both of them about the picnic with a dreamy expression on her face. "... and then he walked me home. I told him that I wanted to show him something really special next week."

Spines showed interest in the final part. "What are you going to show him?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't want to risk him finding out. It's going to be a nice surprise for him."

Spines looked behind the yellow mare. "Speak of the devil."

Fluttershy turned around and discovered a large cake in being held in front of her. Behind the cake was a pink stallion beaming at her.

"Hey Fluttershy! I was on my way to make a delivery and I saw you sitting here with Twilight and Spines, so I thought I should come over and say hi. So... hi!"

Fluttershy smiled back at him and blushed as some of the other patrons of the restaurant looked over and started whispering to each other.

"That's really sweet of you. Who ordered the cake?"

"Elusive's parents. Sweetie Belles birthday is tomorrow and but they wanted to celebrate it with her today because of a trip they are going on. Tomorrow I have a plan to surprise her with a small party."

The yellow mare's eyebrows rose. "Oh a party? Should we all show up or is this just a party for her and her friends?"

Berry shrugged. "I don't know. I think you would be able to show up because I know Sweetie Belle and her friends really love you. I have to show up to host the party so I guess I have to be there, but I have been thinking of a way to have parties where I don't have to show up." Berry got a mystified look for a moment then shook his head. "Anyways Elusive is going because he's family, but the rest of you might need to ask if you can go, or get invited."

Berry placed the cake on the table and moved close to Fluttershy. She blushed at the close proximity and the large smile on his face.

"I know you wanted me to hold onto this but I just couldn't."

Berry leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Fluttershy's face turned redder than any of the Apple Family apples. Most of the mares in the restaurant made a small chorus of "Awww's" at the sight. Twilight smiled and glanced over to see Spines getting out of her chair.

"Spines?"

The little dragon didn't answer her and walked out of the small dinning patio. Twilight was about to get up and go after her but Berry tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Twilight you hear about Elusive and Applejack?"

Twilight gave a last glance at the purple dragon then looked at her friend. Spines walked down the street without looking back at the group.

"What about them? They didn't have another fight or something did they?"

Berry shook his head. "Nooo, I think they might start dating soon. Elusive told me that he and Applejack had lunch together and have been talking lately. I think they might go public soon."

Twilights jaw hit the floor. She shook her head and closed her mouth only for it to hit the floor again. "Wait, you mean Elusive and Applejack, The fashion pony that hates to even touch dirt and the pony that makes a living tilling the earth, are going to start dating?"

Berry simply nodded. Twilight rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile. "Okay I heard about opposites attracting but that is just insane. Those two spend more time arguing than any two ponies I know. It's a good joke there Berry but not that well thought out."

Both Berry and Fluttershy looked at her confused. The couple shared a look then looked back at her. Berry tilted his head to the side.

"What do mean joke? I'm serious. They have been talking a lot. Elusive even went to the farm a few times to talk to her."

Twilight looked at the pair for a moment then smiled at them, but with a little more shaky. "Come on. Really those two are dating?"

The pair nodded. Twilight scratched the back of her head. "I guess opposites do attract. That's still great to hear and it's nice you two were able to fall in love. When did you two know you loved each other?"

Berry and Fluttershy looked at one another and Berry began to tell how he first felt when he looked at Fluttershy.

Spines walked the streets of Ponyville with her head hung low, as to keep any of the ponies from seeing her fight back the tears. Even after a few days the rejection hurt. She wanted to be mad at Elusive but she couldn't. She couldn't be mad at him for being honest with her and trying to let her down gently, and she couldn't be angry with Applejack because she never once did anything mean to her.

Applejack would never do anything to hurt her friends. I want to be mad at her... but I know she would never try to get Elusive to like her just to hurt me. They just fell in love. Stupid, dumb, tragic... amazing love.

She wiped her eyes as she reached the market streets. She looked at all the ponies walking up and down the streets with bags and smiles as they searched for food. She felt so alone and distant from them despite some of them being less than a few feet away as she walked down the streets. She spotted Lyra buying banana bread at a bright blue stand, Sea Swirl selling a small dolphin shaped necklace to a small filly, and she even spotted the mare talking with the stallion that sold cherries.

*WHAM*

Spines ran right into a stand while she was looking at the other ponies, her mind so busy with melancholy thoughts that she failed to notice the rapidly approaching stand. She landed on her bottom and rubbed the now sore part of her head.

"Woah, you okay there Spines? Ah didn't even see ya until the last second."

Spines rubbed her head and looked up at the orange mare. She felt her heart drop a little. Applejack was one of the last ponies she wanted to see right now.

"I'm sorry for running into your cart."

Applejack helped the young dragoness up. "Don't worry about it sugar cube. Why you out and about in the market? Did Twilight send you to get somethin'?"

Spines shook her head and tried her hardest to avoid eye contact. "No, I'm just walking around looking for, um... stuff."

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Stuff, huh? Well Ah could use some company while Ah work the cart. Mind joinin' me or is 'stuff' really important?"

Spines bit her lip. On one claw she really didn't want to talk with Applejack, after all how do you talk to the mare that your crash fell in love with. On the other claw though she didn't want to be rude and she really valued the friendship she had with the apple farmer.

"Sure... I guess I could help you out. That stuff can wait a little bit."

Spines helped Applejack set up the small cart and set up the price list. They were almost finished with setting up the cart before they got their first customer followed closely by another. They spent close to an hour selling apples and apple based baked goods.

When they finally had a quiet moment Applejack gave the dragoness a small water bottle. "So, why were you walkin' around town? Stuff ain't much of an answer."

Spines took a sip of the water and looked anywhere she could, so long as it wasn't at Applejack. "N-No reason. I just wanted to walk around the town. Twilight was busy talking to Berry and Fluttershy about..."

Spines trailed off and glanced down the street. She knew the question was coming but she still was hoping that it wouldn't be said. Her silent prayer was answered in a way she didn't expect.

"This is about Elusive and Ah ain't it?"

Spines looked at the mare and slowly nodded. Applejack sighed and sat next to the little dragoness. The purple reptile should have known that Applejack would know about her and Elusive's talk.

"Ah figured. Can Ah be honest with ya?"

Spines gave her a weak smile. "You're the element of honesty. You're always honest."

Applejack nodded and chuckled. "Well yeah but Ah meant that Ah want to be a little more... open with you. Ah know you liked Elusive, like you really liked him, but Ah'm really just surprised that he likes me."

Spines eyes widened at that. "Really?"

The farmer nodded. "Yeah. Ah mean, have you ever seen us together and not fighting over somethin'? Ah thought we were only friends because he and Ah were friends with the rest of y'all. We come from such different backgrounds and our talents couldn't be any different."

The farmer shook her head for a moment and chuckled. "He's always been prim and proper, and I've always had a love of farmin' and the outdoors."

Spines nodded along and noticed the friendly smile on the mares face. "Spines Ah'm really sorry that he had to break your heart. If Ah could Ah would make it so you didn't have to feel this pain."

Spines moved up to the mare and hugged her. Applejack could feel the tears wetting her coat. The cowpony hugged the little dragon tightly. A few moments passed in silence before the dragoness spoke.

"It hurts. It hurts so much. I want to be mad at somepony but I just can't. Why can't things go back to normal?"

Applejack sighed. "Ah don't know, but we all have to try and live with this change. You know what they say right? Can't help who you fall in love with… hey."

Spines looked up at the mare and wiped her eyes. "What?"

"You and Ah should have a night to ourselves. Something we can do together to get you happy again. Ah don't know about that girly stuff Elusive like to do, the spa and stuff, but we could do something."

Spines smiled. "I would like that."

A few ponies walked up to the stand and the pair quickly re-entered sales mode. It was almost half an hour later before they had a moment to talk again. Spines looked at the mare then took in a deep breath.

"Applejack?"

The mare put her water bottle down and looked over at her. "Yeah?"

Spines gave the mare a smile. "I hope you and Elusive make each other happy."

Applejack moved next to the dragoness and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks sugar cube. Ah really hope we can make each other happy too." She looked the dragoness in the eyes. "Ah also want you to find a stallion or dragon that will make you happy."

The purple reptile nodded. "Me too."

The pair continued to work the cart into the afternoon. It was a little past three o'clock before Applejack called it a day. As the orange mare and the purple dragoness packed the cart away Applejack gave Spines a last piece of advice.

"Ah would like you to know that Ah'm kinda nervous about this. Ah have never dated before and Ah really don't know what to do or say. Ah've never been good with the mushy stuff but Ah do know this. Ah would never have been able to get this far without my friends."

Applejack paused for a moment as they packed away the final part of the cart. She looked at the dragoness for a moment and placed her hoof on her shoulder.

"Ah think you should talk to Twilight about how you've been feelin'. Ah can give you as much help as Ah can but she's known you the longest and Ah think she should know about the feelin's you've been goin' through."

Spines looked at the ground for a moment then looked up at the mare. "Okay, but promise me that we can talk like this some more too. I like talking to you."

Applejack and Spines shared another hug. Applejack set off down the road with the apple cart in tow and Spines made her way back to the library she called home. It was a short journey back to the library and during which she was able to think about the whole situation.

She wanted to see Elusive happy and she loved both Applejack and the white stallion. She knew that what they both had told her was honest and caring. She reached the door of the library and stopped with her claw on the door.

You can't help who you fall in love with.

She opened the door and walked into the library. Twilight was working at her usual spot and glanced over as she walked in.

"Spines! I was worried about you when you walked away at lunch. What happened?"

Spines took a deep breath. "Nothing. I talked with Applejack for a little while. I need to tell you something."

Twilight closed the front door of library and picked the dragoness up. "Sure. You can tell me anything."

Spines hugged the unicorn tightly. "I know I can."

Guilt and Apples

"Thank you for walking me out here. You didn't need to though, I walk out to the farm alone all the time."

Elusive gave his sister a fond smile. "Oh I know that. I just wanted to come out here to talk to Applejack some more. Plus we could always spend more time together, even if it's just a short walk."

Sweetie Belle looked up at her brother for a moment and slowed down. "Is it true that you and Applejack are dating?"

The white stallion nodded. "Yes. We have become a couple. I should have told you sooner but we didn't want to say anything until it was official."

Sweetie nodded. "Well I'm happy for you two anyways. If you and Applejack got married would that make me and Apple Bloom sisters?"

Elusive stopped for a moment and blinked a few times in shock. Never a simple question with her. The fashion minded stallion took a breath then looked at her waiting eyes.

"I suppose it would, but let us not focus on that right now. After all we just started dating."

The white filly nodded. "That's great! Me and Apple Bloom—"

"Apple Bloom and I." Elusive gave his sister a small, slightly annoyed, smile.

"You and Apple Bloom what?"

The stallion rolled his eyes and moved next to his sister. "I was just... never mind. Let's get to the farm so you and your friends can play."

The pair of ponies made their way down the small road and came upon the fenced off border of the orchard. As the unicorns made their way to the gate a large red stallion walked up to the fence. Sweetie was the first to spot the large stallion.

"Hiya Big Mac! How are you doing today?"

The stallion gave the filly a small smile. "Ah'm doing mighty fine. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are at the tree house. Why don't you run on over there and let me talk to yer brother?"

The filly nodded and ran off through the open gate, leaving the two stallions alone. Macintosh gave Elusive a look over for a moment then spoke again.

"Ah heard ya fancy muh sister."

The white pony nodded. "I wouldn't put in such simple terms, but yes. I happen to have grown extremely fond of her over the past few months." The white stallion paused for a moment. "I don't want to be rude, but, is this the intimidating big brother routine? I hope you don't think I'm anything like what that form of protection is needed for."

The larger stallion shook his head, "Not at all. Ah think yer a good stallion if even half of what Applejack says about you is true. She ain't ever talked bad about you even when she was upset with ya. Sure she didn't agree with yer life style but never anything mean."

Elusive stood there with a surprised look on his face. Surely this wasn't the same Applejack that had called him 'fru-fru' for so many years and the very same Applejack that always found something to argue about with him. He gave the crimson stallion a stern look for a moment.

"This is the same Applejack we are thinking about, right? If so then I think you might be confused. She always finds something to tell me that I'm doing wrong."

Macintosh merely shrugged. "Opposites attract. She's in the barn if y'all want to talk to her." Without another word the stallion walked off onto the orchards.

The white stallion stood there for a moment and moved along the small dirt path towards the large barn and the comfortable looking house. Elusive walked pass the house and spotted an elderly mare working near the back door of the Apple home.

"Well, howdy there Elusive. What brings you round these here parts?"

The stallion stopped and gave the older mare a friendly smile. "Just came over to talk to Applejack. How have you been doing?"

The old mare walked over to the stallion. "Oh, Ah've been busy with baking mostly. So you're the stallion that has muh grand-daughter all in a huff. Ah thought she'd go more for the beefy type but what do Ah know, Ah'm an old fashioned mare. Y'all make her happy and that'll be all I want from ya. Deal?"

Elusive was surprised at the rather stern look Granny smith was now giving him. He nodded. "Of course. I'll do whatever I can to make her happy."

The elder mare gave him a fond smile. "That's a mighty fine thing to hear. If you and Applejack want a slice of pie I have a few ready for eatin'."

The white pony gave her another nod. "Thank you. That's a very kind offer."

The mare gave him a small smile and walked back into the house. Elusive stood there for a moment. Such a wonderful family. So supportive, loving and protective for each other. Applejack is lucky to have such a family. The white pony moved across the small yard to the barn. He walked through the large open doors and spotted Applejack sitting in the middle of several baskets of apples. She lifted one up and inspected it, completely unaware of the stallion’s presence. Elusive made himself known by using his magic to lift the apple she was holding up into the air and moved it over to himself.

"What in tarnation... Oh, Elusive you scared me for a moment. Ah thought for a second that something else had grabbed the apple. What are you doing all the way out here anyways? If this is to get me to model more dresses Ah'm gonna have to say no."

The stallion gave the apple a quick look and placed it in the approved pile. "Actually I wanted to help you. I know how much time and effort it takes to run this farm so I thought maybe I could help you, to make up for the day I borrowed you."

Applejack gave a small chuckle. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with Elusive? The stallion Ah know would never offer to get all dirty and sweaty. Not in a million years or for a million bits. Anyways don't you have dresses and stuff to make?"

The stallion shook his head. "I'm between orders at the moment. Besides I figured that since you helped me I could return the favor. After all if this is going to work we have to be able to understand each other’s jobs." A mischievous grin came across his face. "I'm willing to help right now but this offer might just disappear in a few moments if you don't accept it."

The orange mare got up and walked over to the purple maned stallion. "If that's the case then Ah accept the offer. I need to get all the apples sorted and then we can find something else to do."

Elusive gave her a smile. "I like the sound of that. Shall we get started then?"

The orange mare turned around and flicked her tail so that it lightly struck Elusive's chin. "Let's. You handle those baskets and Ah'll get these ones over here."

Elusive sat down and began working but couldn't help but glance over at Applejack as he worked. The way she held the apples and the look of careful inspection on her face caught his eyes. He smiled as he watched her work. It was close to half an hour later before she noticed him looking over at her as he sorted the apples.

"What?"

The stallion got up and walked over to Applejack. "You look really beautiful when you're working."

The mare blushed a little. "Aww stop it. Ah ain't that pretty."

"Yes you are. You are an amazing mare and you should be proud of that." Elusive began to nuzzle the mare. Applejack returned the affection with a smile.

"We should be workin'. All these apples ain't gonna sort themselves."

The white stallion nodded. "True, but I'm happy doing this." He leaned forward a little and pressed his lips to hers. Applejack gave a small gasp of surprise then pressed back into the stallion’s lips. They held the kiss for a few moments then broke apart. The orange mare placed her hoof on Elusive's chest.

"We'll continue this after we sort the apples."

Elusive nodded. "Of course. I'll hold you to that."

"Ah'm depending on it sugarcube."

The pair worked in the barn over the next few hours sorting the apples. They finished placing the rejected apples off to the side and stored the good apples away. Applejack glanced over at Elusive and noticed that he had a smile on his face. He was looking at the sorted apples.

"What you thinkin' about Elusive?"

He looked over at Applejack. "I was just surprised at how good it feels to have done all that sorting. Feels good to do some work like that."

Applejack moved next to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Ah wanna show you somethin'."

"What is it?"

"Follow me and Ah'll show ya."

Applejack turned and once again brushed her tail along Elusive's chin. Elusive followed the mare his gave fixed on her as he studied the way she walked, from the way her mane bounced to the sway of her hips. They reached a ladder and climbed up into the loft. Elusive spotted the mare sitting on a small pile of hay looking at a small opening. He moved next to her and sat down.

"Ah always come up here whenever Ah want to just think in peace. It's nice being able to just look out over the farm like this."

The stallion followed her gaze and saw that from the loft they had a wonderful view of the orchards. He could only imagine how the sunset would look over the trees. Applejack settled her head on Elusive's shoulder and let out a low hum. The purple maned stallion gave her a kiss on the forehead and snuggled close to her. Normally he would have hated sitting in hay as it was always uncomfortable and itchy but with Applejack with him he just couldn't care less about something so small.

"Elusive, can I tell you somethin'?"

The stallion nuzzled against her straw colored mane. "Of course, anything."

"Sometimes... Ah really like being treated special. Like when you made that dress for me or when you did my mane and outfit for the Grand Galloping Gala. It's nice to be taken care of a little and to be a little... fru-fru." She paused for a moment and looked up at Elusive. "You tell anypony that they won't even be able to find the body."

Elusive chuckled and nodded. "Fair enough." They leaned in towards each other and their lips locked. Their lips parted and their tongues began an intimate dance. They held onto each other tightly, as if they might never see each other if their grip loosened. They rolled over so that Elusive was now pinned on the floor.

Lips parted for a moment. Elusive looked up at Applejack and noticed the fiery look in her eyes, and a sudden realization that her hooves were wandering south on his body.

"Don't you think we're moving a little fast? We've only been dating for a week."

The mare gave him another smile and tossed her hat a few feet away. "Sugarcube, we've known each other for years. Ah think we've known each other long enough to reach this stage. Now shut up and kiss me."

Elusive was all too happy to oblige.

The lavender mare known as Twilight Sparkle made her way to a small field to the north of Ponyville. The reason for this visit had her slightly upset but as she thought about it she realized that it wasn't out of the normal. He never was punctual. Always a little late for everything. She adjusted the small bag on her side and looked up towards the sky. For a moment she could only see the bright blue sky dotted with a few small clouds. She couldn't help but smile as the memory of what Blitz had called them came to mind. He had called them 'Nappers' due to the perfect size for a pegasus to sleep on.

A moment passed and she caught a glimpse of a rainbow mane. "BLITZ!"

The mane moved a little then moved over the edge of the cloud, followed quickly by the face of the stallion attached to it. He blinked a few times then yawned.

"Oh, hey Twi. What brings you out this way?"

Twilight answered him by digging into her bag. She pulled out a book and levitated it in front of her. "Did you forget about this?"

The cyan stallion looked at her confused for a moment then his eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I guess I took a longer nap than I thought."

The mare rolled her eyes and watched the stallion land a few feet ahead of her. "Well, it's alright. Let's head back to the library so we can read the chapter. What were you doing out here anyways? I thought you slept over the west field."

Blitz shrugged. "I wanted some new scenery and a place to think."

"Think about what?"

Blitz cursed inwardly. He had been thinking of a new way to get Twilight to date him. "Uh... just thinking about the weather schedule and the duty roster." The stallion gave a mental sigh of relief. It's a good thing that I'm weather captain or that would have been a horrible lie...

Twilight nodded and placed the book back into her bag. "Makes sense. So I was thinking we could read it in my room this time. My bed is much more comfortable than the couch. Any objections?"

Blitz couldn't believe his luck. This is going to be easier than I thought. Just need to turn the charm on a little higher than last time and she'll be dating me in no time. He gave her a small smile.

"No issues at all. So where did we leave off in the story. Just after she landed the blimp right?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah. For a moment when I read that I thought that she wouldn't be able to save it but she did in the end."

Blitz nodded. "Yeah. Daring Do is just amazing. Reminds me of a mare I know."

Twilight's smile stayed the same. "Oh? Who is it?"

You're kidding me... that was blunter than a hammer. Okay need to crank the Rainbow charm up. He gave her a warm smile.

"Only the single greatest magic mare I happen to be friends with."

He gave her a gentle pat and the lavender unicorns face gained a small about of blush. "Thank you. I wouldn't have been able to do half the things I've done without you or the rest of our friends."

"That's true I guess. So I think we could make it to the library much faster if we went in a straight line. Hop on."

Blitz lowered himself so that his shoulders were even with Twilight's hooves. Twilight took a small step back. "I don't want you to strain yourself. We can just walk."

"It's not an issue, c'mon just hop on so we can get reading."

Twilight stood there for a moment with a look of hesitation. She noticed the friendly smile and swallowed. "Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now make sure you hang on tight to that book."

Twilight finished settling on top of the pegasus and held onto him tightly. Blitz took great effort to make the lift off as gentle as possible. They reached a fair height and started off towards the town. Blitz took a quick look back and noticed the almost frightened look on his passengers face, her eyes tight shut. He slowed down so she could hear him.

"Hey, you okay?"

She opened a single eye to look at him. She mumbled something and closed her eye again. Blitz stopped moving forward and held his spot in the air.

"Twilight, are you okay? Do I need to land?"

The mare shook her head and spoke while keeping her eyes closed. "I'm fine. You can keep going."

"You can open your eyes. The view is really beautiful."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Why? You're not scared of heights are you?"

She shook her head again. "It's not that." She opened her eyes and looked at Blitz. "When I was young I went to a fair with my brother. We went on one of the rides and it really scared me. I don't like fast moving things. It's why I prefer the hot air balloon."

The sky born stallion was surprised at the confession. After all the things they had been through, it was something like this that scared her near speechless. She tried to hide her face in embarrassment. Blitz gently took her hoof into his own.

"You are safe with me. I won't let you fall or get hurt. I never leave a friend hangin'. Trust me."

Twilight looked into the stallions eyes and nodded. The pegasus started flying forward slowly and picked up speed as he saw the look of fear become one of joy. The flight only lasted a few minutes but by the end of it Twilight was practically acting as a young filly.

They landed down on the balcony of Twilight's room. Twilight hopped off and looked at the stallion with a look of wonder.

"That was amazing! Now I see why you love flying, and why Elusive liked the wings I gave him for the Young Fliers competition. Flying must feel amazing when you're not carrying a pony."

Blitz gave a half nod and a half shrug. "It does but sometimes it gets lonely. Still it was nice to see you're reaction to flying. It must have been hard to admit that fear though."

Twilight shuffled a little. "It wasn't all that hard. I really trust you so it was easy."

The cyan stallion stood there stunned. She trusted him a lot, enough to confess something like a fear like that. He felt a sudden pang of guilt as he thought of the reason he started trying to spend time with her. Twilight walked up to him and grabbed his hoof.

"Now, come on. We have a chapter to read."

The pegasus gave her a small nod and allowed her to pull him into her room. Twilight sat jumped up onto her bed and patted the spot next to her as she lay up against the back board. Blitz moved up next to her and she scooted in close to him. She levitated the book in front of them and opened it to the marked page.

"Alright just let me know when to turn the page."

The stallion nodded and shifted a little closer to the unicorn. He began reading the chapter with her. At some point of the reading his wing had wrapped itself around Twilight and held her even closer to himself. Halfway through the chapter Twilight laid her head on his shoulder and let out a small content sigh, and just before the chapter ended Blitz rested his head on hers.

They finished the chapter and the books slowly closed. Twilight sat up and moved away from Blitz. The stallion felt his mind scream in protest the absence of Twilight's body close to his.

"So, what did you think of this chapter?"

The cyan pegasus gave his head a small shake. "It was really good. I can't wait for next week."

A small silence fell over the pair. Twilight placed the novel on her small bedside table and looked over at the stallion. Blitz gave her a friendly smile and motioned for her to rejoin him. Twilight gave him a small giggle and moved back across the bed. She snuggled back up to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

The cyan flyer wrapped his wing around her and held her close. "Hey Twi, I have a free day in a week. Would you like to get lunch or something?"

Twilight gave a small nod. "Sure. Sounds like it would be fun. Can we lie down? I've sorta had a long day, really big project is due in a few days and I have a bit of work to finish it up."

Blitz answered her by moving himself and her into a laying down position. Twilight moved her head onto his chest and let out a small sigh. They adjusted slightly, little by little, until they were perfectly comfortable. Twilight broke the comfortable silence in a low voice, barely awake.

"Celestia and I used to do this after we read the books as well. I hope this is alright with you? I know that stallions aren't big fans of cuddling."

Blitz gave a small shrug. "It's fine. Besides a great stallion like myself can spend a little time cuddling and not be bothered by it. Just let me know if you’re uncomfortable."

She answered him with a small movement of her head. She spoke again after a moment. "I'm fine the way I am."

The minutes ticked away and slowly the breathing of the two ponies deepened. They soon drifted off to sleep, content with merely holding each other.

Rainbow Blitz awoke from his nap. He gave a small yawn and tried to stretch his legs and wings but found that there was a weight there holding them down. He turned his head and spotted a sleeping Twilight Sparkle gently breathing while cuddled close to him. The stallion just sat there watching her back rise and fall with her breathing and enjoying the feeling of her breath tickling his chest fur.

He took a quick glance over at the clock on the bedside table and noticed it was almost midnight. He sat there for a moment unable to think of what to do. Part of his mind told him to just tuck Twilight in and head to his own bed, but another part of his mind was telling him to stay there. He liked the way she felt against him and the way their body heat mingled together to keep them warm.

I can't just leave in the middle of the night. That would look bad if anypony saw me leaving and this isn't a one night stand. This is two friends cuddling in one of their beds...

The pegasus sighed and slowly removed himself from the grip of the mare holding him. He placed her head on the pillows and gently placed the blankets over her. He took a few steps towards the balcony door and opened it. He paused for a moment and looked back. The content look on Twilight's face had changed. It was still peaceful but lacking the happiness it had contained a few moments ago.

A sudden wave of guilt washed over him. As much as he liked seeing her like this he knew that the only reason he could see her like this was because of the bet he had made. He bit his lower lip as he thought about it.

I can't just leave like this. That's not something a friend would do.

He sighed and looked up towards the night sky. The wind beckoned him to soar through the air but his heart told him to do something better. He closed the balcony door and moved back to the bed. He slipped under the covers after putting out the lamp and moved close to Twilight. This time he was behind her, so he hugged her close pressing her back to his chest. Under the covers he wrapped his wing around her, and placed his head above hers on the pillow.

I could get used to this. Blitz drifted off and rejoined Twilight in a wonderful sleep.

Morning Company, and Evening Delights

With the precision that only the sun could have, a single beam of light pierced through the leaves of the libraries branches and into the room with two sleeping ponies. The light landed upon the closed eyes of the lavender unicorn cuddles up to the light cyan stallion. Her mind slowly awoke as the warm light roused her from the pleasant slumber she was enjoying.

Every time... I swear Celestia does that on purpose.

The lavender mare turned slightly and felt something soft brush along her cheek. She giggled at the feeling then nuzzled closer to it. She felt even more of the softness and found that some of them started to poke her. Confused, she opened her eyes to see a cyan wing draped over her. She followed the wing over to the sleeping stallion she was sharing the bed with and was cuddled up to.

Twilight noticed that Blitz's mouth was open slightly, lightly snoring next to her. The mare giggled at the image in front of her then cuddled closer to him. A smile made its way across her face as she pulled the blanket up a little.

This was also something Celestia and I did... wow, Blitz is kinda soft. Wonder how he got his fur and feathers like this. Twilight put that thought out of her mind and glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. It was almost seven o'clock. Maybe I should make him a nice breakfast. I do have some of that apple tart that Applejack gave me the other day...

A smile came across the mares face as she slowly got out of the bed and made sure not to wake stallion. She stretched for a moment before she noticed the third occupant in the room. In a small basket near the base of the bed was Spines deep asleep, sprawled out and snoring lightly.

"No wonder I woke up, her snoring is ridiculous."

Twilight giggled for a moment then tucked the little dragon in. She made her way down the staircase and into the kitchen to make breakfast for her two sleeping friends.

With a groan and a slight kink in the neck Blitz opened his eyes. A wooden ceiling greeted him as a warm scent reached his nose. The stallion sat up and noticed that his bed-mate had disappeared.

She must be downstairs, making whatever smells so good.

A small sound at the foot of the bed caught Blitz's attention. He slowly shifted over and glanced over to see Spines waking up in her little basket bed. The purple dragon looked up and noticed the cyan stallion sitting on the bed looking down at her.

"Morning, Blitz. How was your night?"

The pony watched the dragon yawn and rub her eyes. "It was pretty good. I'm surprised that you aren't asking how I got here or anything."

"I saw you and Twilight asleep when I came to bed last night. You both looked really comfortable, so I didn't want to wake you up. What were you two up to before you fell asleep?"

"We were reading the newest Daring Do... then we sorta fell asleep. Was a pretty good chapter, and we talked about for a while... then yeah... you know the rest."

Spines stretched for a moment then sniffed the air. "Who's cooking downstairs?"

"Twilight is, I think."

The dragoness's face fell a little at hearing that. Blitz noticed her expression change and he felt something was off. The stallion took a second of looking at the worried expression on the dragons face before he connected the dots.

"That bad, huh?"

The purple dragon nodded. "She once burnt frozen waffles, before they were in the toaster."

Blitz laughed for a moment before he noticed that Spines wasn't joking. "Oh boy..."

"This will be interesting to say the least. Hope you like burnt food."

Blitz and Spines shared a small laugh before they heard hooves on the staircase. A moment later the door opened and a tray filled with pancakes, apple tarts, orange juice, milk, and what looked like bowls of oatmeal. Following the tray was a humming Twilight.

"Morning! I hope I didn't wake you."

Blitz shook his head. "No, I woke up a few minutes ago."

Spines took no time in digging into the food. With her mouth full, she finally responded almost a minute later.

"Uhm mmmfph mhood."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Swallow before you speak please."

A quick, but hard swallow later Spines spoke. "I said that you didn't wake me. Also this is pretty good. Were these frozen?"

The lavender mare shook her head. "No, I made these just now. The tarts were from Applejack a day ago, but aside from that most of this is fresh."

The small dragon stopped mid chew. "You made all of this?" She turned to Blitz. "You need to start staying the night more if it makes her cook like this."

The trio shared a small laugh, but at the last moment Twilight noticed the small smile that Blitz gave her. It wasn't a look she had ever seen him give, and she couldn't read it, however she felt a small warmth from the look. A moment later it was replaced by a larger, cocky grin that she was more familiar with. The group knew it was going to be a good day.

One week since she had given him that kiss, five days since they had bumped into each other and shared a small laugh, three days since he spotted her from the bakery window, and yesterday he had made a order just for her. Berry couldn't believe how quickly the week had just flown by.

The bubble gum pink stallion walked along a crowded market road, and made his way towards a small flower cart. Stopping to tell a quick joke and to buy a lovely bouquet for the mare he had a date with, the stallion smiled to himself as the scent of the country and the violets mingled together.

Can't wait to see what Fluttershy wanted to show me. I bet she has something really cool to show me, like a trick her animals know, or maybe a cool way to sing and whistle at the same time... that would make parties so much funner!

With a large grin the stallion trotted along the country path. He came upon a cloud with a prismatic tail hanging over the side. Berry made his way over to the small cloud and pulled out a nearby trampoline he had stashed around for trampoline emergencies. With gentle care he placed the flowers down then leaped with all his might onto the bouncy surface.

The pink stallion reached the apex of his jump with his head being even with that of the dozing stallion. He hung in the air long enough for him to draw in a deep breath and shout.

"Hi Blitz!"

The image of the cyan stallion jerking awake with a slight cry of alarm was all Berry got to see as gravity finally grabbed him and pulled him back down. The pink earth pony landed on the trampoline and with a loud *boing!*, he sailed back up to the cloud in the air. He reached the top of the jump and hung there a little longer than he should have.

"Hi Berry, what brings you out here... and up here?"

"Just going to my date with Fluttershy. Whatcha up to Blitzy?"

The cyan pegasus rolled over on the cloud and looked over the edge to watch his pink friend bounce up and down.

"Thinking mostly. Twilight can't seem to catch my hints. I mean, I gave her all the right signs, and heck yesterday I brought her flowers... and still nothing from her at all!"

Still bouncing up and down Berry gave Blitz a thoughtful look. "Have you tried asking her out?"

Blitz was about to answer the bouncing stallion but stopped himself. Maybe he should ask her out. Everything else had failed so far, and he was starting to get desperate. He couldn't lose this bet, and he would never live with himself if he lost to Elusive.

"I... might have to take the direct approach soon..."

"Well, you might need to get on that. After all, I know you hate losing and I know that you get really mad when you lose to Elusive."

The prismatic stallion nodded. "Yeah... I don't want to hear about it for the rest of my life."

The two stallions gave a quick good-bye before Blitz soared off. Berry took a moment to stash the trampoline away, just in case he needed it again, and picked up the flowers. The remaining trot to Fluttershy's home was uneventful for Berry, but he didn't mind. He was more focused on what Fluttershy might be showing him.

He arrived at the small tree cottage and spotted Fluttershy busy with a small group of birds under a tree with low branches. Getting a quick idea, the pink earth pony crept up behind Fluttershy. The birds spotted him and looked ready to notify the yellow mare, but a quick wink and smile from Berry kept them quiet. The stallion got into position and gave the unaware mare a quick kiss on the cheek. Her reaction was not what he was expecting. A loud squeal and a leap into the air were all he got in return.

"EEEK!" The yellow mare looked down from the tree she had now latched onto. "Berry! You scared me... what was that for?"

Fluttershy slowly descended from the tree and gave the stallion an embarrassed smile. Berry smiled back. "Well, you told me to hold onto that kiss until today, so I returned it to you."

The mare could only blush as she smiled at him. "Thank you for returning it..."

As the pink stallion stood there grinning, Fluttershy noticed the flowers sitting on his back. She clear her throat softly and point to them with a small smile. She had to repeat the action a few times before he followed her hoof to the flowers.

"Oh!" Berry gave the flowers to Fluttershy. "Here, I got these for you as well. Sorry about that, I was distracted."

"It's okay..." Fluttershy gave him a warm smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I think I can forgive you. So, you're a little early, but that's okay. We need to wait until the sun is almost set before we head out."

Berry felt his face go really warm and he was certain that he was blushing. "Where are we going?"

"That's a surprise."

"I love surprises!"

The yellow mare led Berry into the cottage with a small giggle, and they settled down on the couch. Berry and Fluttershy exchanged stories about how their day went and local gossip. The stallion was busy playing with Angel when he told Fluttershy about Blitz's plan to ask Twilight out.

"Wait, so Blitz is in love with Twilight?"

Angel gave Berry a skeptical look for a moment as the pink pony looked over and saw the surprised look on Fluttershy's face.

"Yeah, I guess so. He's going to ask her out so why wouldn't he. Stallions don't just ask out a mare after spending two weeks trying to tell them."

The yellow mare nodded but still looked surprised. "Hmm, that's kinda interesting. First you ask me out, then Elusive and Applejack start dating, and now Blitz is asking Twilight. Did you three have a contest or something?"

As Fluttershy had a small laugh, Berry felt uncomfortably warm. He gave an awkward laugh and couldn't look at the mare next to him for a moment.

"Yeah... it's really funny that these things happened so close to each other..." He cleared his throat and licked his lips nervously. "How long until whatever you are showing me?"

"Only an hour or so. Are you hungry? I could make you something real quick."

The stallion shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I ate before I came here, besides, when we come back from what you are showing I can make us a nice dinner."

"Okay, but if you get hungry let me know." Fluttershy nuzzled Berry and let out a content sigh. "So, Elusive and Applejack... I never would have thought they would have fallen in love. They always seem to be butting heads."

Berry nodded and felt a small bead of sweat form. "Yeah, they really argued a lot... maybe it's an opposites attract thing, I mean, look at us! I'm really loud and very open and stuff and you tend to be all quiet and cute."

The yellow mare nuzzled the stallion and smiled at the compliment. "Yeah, and even Blitz and Twilight are opposites in a way. Blitz isn't the smartest stallion..." Fluttershy blushed in deep shame. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be mean like that. I know that you and Blitz are really good friends."

"It's okay. He can be a little bit; um what's the word... slow? He can be smart some of the time, like super-duper good with weather stuff and he's a super cool flier, but on other things he knows next to nothing, like one time I tried to teach him how to bake a really nice cake but he just couldn't figure it out. I think by the end of it he wanted to punch the ovens."

Much to Berry's delight the mare cuddled up to him let out a laugh. He laughed with her for a good minute and the two began talking about baking, to Berry a finer part of life, and the foods at the Sugarcube corner. From how the cupcakes were made to how the Cakes managed to keep up with Berry and the twins.

Time slipped by, and much to the ponies surprise, the time to head out came upon them. Both ponies rose from the sofa and headed outside. Fluttershy took in a deep breath of the evening air, and then gave the stallion a small smile.

"What I'm going to show you is something I found when I had to visit Zecora for some herbs to cure Angel. I got a little lost and stumbled upon them."

"What are they?"

The mare only smiled and shook her head. "That's part of the surprise. Come along please."

Fluttershy took Berry's hooves and gently pulled him along the path towards the forest. The stallion walked alongside the mare and could only watch her as she grinned and hummed as she led him along. A minute passed before the pink pony joined along with the humming. The mare looked at him and together they hummed a merry tune in perfect time with each other.

The humming ended when Fluttershy made Berry stop in the middle of a small glade. "We're here."

The pink stallion looked around for anything that would stand out but saw nothing. "Umm... I don't see anything..."

"Well, we're a little early, but I wanted to do something before it happens."

Berry looked into the eyes of the yellow mare in front of him and saw the loving look in her eyes. She was leaning closer and before he could even think of saying anything, their lips met and the world turned to bliss for the pink stallion. He caressed Fluttershy gently and closed his eyes as he gave himself to the kiss. Their lips met and playfully danced as their hooves held each other.

To Berry, time had stopped for this one moment and he never wanted it to ever end. However, a sudden light caught his attention, right as Fluttershy broke the kiss. Looking up Berry saw hundreds of bright purple flowers blooming around him. His jaw dropped as he heard what almost sounded like gentle flute notes emanate from the flowers.

"I found these when I got lost... they kept me from freaking out, and well, they are very pretty to look at. I don't come out here often to watch them bloom, but when I do it's always worth."

Berry glanced back down to see the yellow mare bathed in a deep purple light. She was beaming at him and she moved close to nuzzle him.

"I hope you like them."

The stallion could only smile and nuzzle the mare back. He hugged her close and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes.

"Was worth the wait."

The pair kissed again and held each other closely and listened to the flowers as they played softly. Berry knew that they couldn't sleep out here in the forest but he was willing to wait until the last second before he had to leave this place with Fluttershy.

Hint Dropping

A cyan pegasus let out a small groan of impatience as he sat in the waiting room of Ponyville's only spa. He was waiting for a yellow mare that had invited him to a day of relaxation. He looked around at the pictures of streams and forests hung on the walls and grumbled for a moment. I hate this frou-frou stuff... but this is for Shy, so... Another small groan escaped his lips, and he noticed a stern look from the blue mare behind the counter.

If she's not here in five minutes I'm splitting. Barely a moment had passed after that thought when the mare he was waiting on walked into the waiting room.

"Hey Blitz, sorry I'm late... Berry spent the night, and I didn't want to wake him..." She smiled and walked over to the stallion.

Blitz's eyebrow rose slightly. "He spent the night with you?" He stood up, stretching his wings and walked towards the mare. “Why was he at your place so late?”

“Oh, well, we were on a date in the forest, but by the time we got back it was way too dark for him to walk home.” The yellow mare smiled and blushed. “I invited him to stay and he did.”

The pair was greeted by a pink mare, who led them through the spa to a steam room.

“You two relax, and enjoy ze steam. We vill be back later to begin ze massages.” The earthpony bowed, and left the pegasai alone.

The pair settled on a bench, and Fluttershy spread out her wings. Blitz sat on the bench opposite of her and chuckled.

“What happened after you invited him in?”

The yellow mare blushed again. “Well… we kissed… cuddled, and he gave me a nice little massage.” Her smile became warmer, fonder, and her blush deepened. “They we um… went to my room… “

Blitz’s ears perked up, and he grinned as he spoke in a taunting, yet playful manner. “You two did the dirty tango!”

“No!” She shuffled for a moment, embarrassed at her raised tone. “I mean… no… we just got into my bed, cuddled and kissed… and then fell asleep…”

The stallion gave her a raised eyebrow, and a stern stare. “Was that all that happened?”

The pink maned mare nodded. “Yes… oh… and um… he sorta called me all sorts of nice things the whole time.” She blushed. “And called my flank cute…”

Blitz let out a short laugh, and smiled at his friend. “Looks like he really likes you.”

The mare shuffled and nodded. “I know… and um… I like him too… Blitz… do you have…“ She paused, and shuffled, clearly embarrassed about what she was trying to ask.

“Have I what?” The stallion sat at attention now, seeing that she was in need of advice.

“You know… have any tips on how to do the ‘dirty tango’…” She covered her face with her wings after uttering the phrase ‘dirty tango’ and shuffled behind her makeshift barrier.

The stallion sat there for a moment, astonishment covering his features. “Well… um… I didn’t think we would ever have this conversation… but… just do it with someone you care about, and take it at a pace you are comfortable with…”

The yellow mare peeked out from behind her feathers. “It’s not too soon?”

“Shy… You know well enough how soon I’ve done the tango with a mare…” He let out a small sigh. He and the yellow mare had known each other since that fateful day at the summer camp and since then confided everything to each other.

He had even told her of his first time with a mare, and the heart break that had caused. She had been there to comfort him, and help him through it. Now she was asking him how to avoid that same mistake.

“Berry’s a good stallion. You won’t have the same problem I did.” He got up and sat next to his friend and hugged her gently. “Besides, if he screws this up, I’ll make him regret it. Okay?”

“Thanks Blitz.” She hugged the stallion and smiled. “Can I tell you something?”

The cyan stallion nodded.

“You’ve always been like a brother to me.” She blushed and hugged him again. “You’ve always been there, and always knew what to say. Thank you.”

Blitz beamed at her words and returned the hug. “I always will be, Shy. It’s what brothers do for their sisters. “

Shy cuddled close to the stallion and rested her head on his shoulder. “So… I heard that you’ve been spending Friday nights with Twilight.” Fluttershy looked up to watch the stallion smile and nod. “What have you two been doing?”

“We’ve been reading a book together.” He said with a tone she couldn’t quite read. It was a mixture of happiness, excitement, and another emotion she couldn’t quite put her hoof on.

“What book have you two been reading?”

Blitz smiled with a hint of pride. “The next Daring Doo novel.”

“But… I thought that didn’t come out for another month…”

The stallion nodded and chuckled. “It doesn’t, but Twilight got an advanced copy from Celestia, and the princess gets a copy in advanced because she is a fan.” His expression softened and his smile grew very warm. “Twilight offered to let me read it with her… she’s pretty awesome…”

It was at that moment that Fluttershy knew what the third emotion was. She saw the same expression in Berry’s eyes, and she knew Berry saw it in her own when they looked at each other. It was affection, and a deep one that only those in love could have.

However, it was the sigh that escaped his lips a moment later that connected all the pieces for the yellow mare. He was in love with her friend, but it was an unrequited love.

“Blitz… are you… trying to date Twilight?”

It was the stallions turn to shuffle. He swallowed for a moment and cleared his throat. “I… um… I kinda am…”

“Does she know?” She sat up and looked at her friend. “Because if you don’t tell her, she might not catch the hint… you know how she can be.”

The cyan pegasus nodded and sighed. “I don’t know how she can’t have caught on though… I mean, we’ve cuddled, we’re reading a book together, I even slept in the same bed with her, while cuddling, and made her breakfast!” The stallion let out a small annoyed groan and then a sigh. “What more do I need to do to show her what I am trying to do?”

The yellow mare’s eyes widened. “I… you slept with her?” She realized the connotation that phrase could have. “I mean in an innocent way… You really want to date her then. Maybe the old fashioned way is best…”

“What do you mean?” The stallion’s expression became curious, but very interested.

“Well, if you want to make the message clear to her, then be as blunt as possible. Give her some nice flowers, and ask her on a date.”

The stallion tapped his chin for a moment. “I guess so…”

Blitz remained silent as Fluttershy laid down on the bench, soaking in the warmth of the steam. He was not about to let Elusive win a bet, but another part of him nagged at him from deep in his mind. Why was getting Twilight to date him so important? It was nearly consuming his thoughts, and worse, he feared rejection, not for loss of a bet, but for the fact she might simply not like him.

Am… am I falling in love? He swallowed at the thought and leaned against the wall of the steam room. Is this what love actually feels like... or am I over thinking this… He looked over at his friend and smiled as she gently flapped her wings, enjoying the moment of silence. I can think about this later. I have a friend... no, a sister to spend time with.

Rainbow Blitz had waited for a week for this night, the night he got Twilight to date him. Failure was not an option for the blue stallion as he flew into town. He landed softly in front of a small flower cart and flashed a smile as he spotted a small bouquet of red, purple, and blue flowers.

Perfect. She'll love these. He placed the bits down on the cart and took the flowers. Okay, that's the first part of the plan... what else do mares like... He moved down the street and stopped at the corner looking around at the shops. Come on... at least one of those books I read have to have had some romance crap in them... He spotted Sugarcube Corner in the distance and he smiled.

"Perfect! I could use a shake to help me think." He chuckled and walked down the street, moving around the occasional group of ponies doing their own daily routine. He reached the shop and made his way inside and to the counter where a familiar pink stallion was working.

"Hiya Blitzy!" The stallion waved and smiled widely at his friend. "You here to hang out?"

The rainbow maned stallion shook his head. "No, I'm on my way to Twilight's. I need a chocolate shake... and um..." He looked over the menu for a moment. "What does Twilight normally order?"

The pink stallion thought for a moment. "Well, she gets a vanilla milkshake, and a dozen chocolate cookies." He began ringing up the total in the register. "Why?"

"I'm on my way there right now. I'm going to get back on track with our um..." He looked around and lowered his voice. "…wager. I can't risk losing to Elusive."

"Oh, you want her to go on a date." The baker smiled and chuckled. "So, you are going to ask her right? I mean, that's how I got Fluttershy to say yes."

Blitz nodded. "Yeah, but I'm saving that for last if she doesn't get it with all the gifts I'm giving."

The stallions finished the transaction, and Blitz moved towards the door, but stopped for a moment as a pink haired mare walked in. "Hey Shy." He smiled. "Berry is working the counter."

Shy smiled at Blitz. “Hey Blitz.” She spotted the food and flowers he was carrying. “Going to ask her soon?”

“I’m on my way there. Wish me luck… I’m going to need it.”

The stallion rushed through the doors as the mare giggled and moved to the counter. Berry beamed at her and quickly kissed her on the cheek from over the counter.

“Hiya Fluttershy.” He bounced back into place. “I didn’t know I was going to get a sweet treat today.”

The yellow mare blushed and giggled. “Well, I wanted to see you, and well…” She rubbed her foreleg for a moment and smiled. “I was hoping we could go on a little date. If that’s okay…”

Berry smiled and kissed her on the cheek again and nodded. "Sounds super!" He went back to the kitchen and returned with a cupcake for her. "Where we going?"

"I was um... thinking we go for a nice walk... then come back here, and just spend the night together... if that's okay." She blushed and continued rubbing her leg. "I mean... you are probably busy and don't have time—"

The pink stallion stopped her by putting a piece of the cupcake in her mouth and kissed her on the nose. "I have plenty of time for you." He chuckled. "I get off work in an about a half hour. Can you stay around till then?"

The mare nodded, and took the cupcake from the stallion and began nibbling on it. "I can do that."

Blitz stood outside the home of a certain purple mare that had filled his thoughts for the week. He took a breath and slowly walked to the door, and placed his hoof on the door handle. After this night, whatever happened, he would know where he stood with the bet.

He opened the door and walked inside. "Twilight? You home?"

Silence reached his ears for a moment then a sound of a door opening from up the stairs. "Blitz? Is that you?"

"Yeah!" He moved into the building and to the foot of the stairs, seeing the mare at the top with a towel on her head.

"What are you doing here so early? I just got out of the shower."

Blitz smiled and motioned to the gifts on his back. "I wanted to give you a few things... and I could have been here sooner to help you with that shower." He gave her his best 'if you know what I mean' smile. There is no way she missed that one.

"Really? I guess I could have used you to get me a towel." She smiled innocently. "I was searching for this one for nearly ten minutes. I could have been ready by now if I had your help."

The cyan stallions face was frozen in the smile, but on the inside he wanted to scream in frustration. HOW DID SHE MISS THAT!?

"Yeah... well, anyways..." He walked up the stairs and presented the flowers to her. "I got you these."

The purple mare looked at the flowers for a moment. "These are nice." She looked at the second package on his back with curiosity. "What are those?"

Blitz gave a small chuckle. I got this. "Well, I was thinking we could use a small snack while we read."

He presented the sweets to Twilight and she smiled and let out a small squee of joy. "I have been wanting these all day!"

Score. I'm as good as dating now. Blitz smiled and motioned to the bedroom. "Shall we begin reading?"

The unicorn nodded and walked in, and as she did, she removed her towel, her wet mane falling free. Something about how the mane caught the light, and the way she flipped her mane took the stallions breath away. He stood in the doorway and watched her, spellbound as time seemed to slow, letting him drink in every detail he could.

A moment passed and the unicorn bounced on the bed, cookie in mouth. "Um... Blitz... you coming into the room?"

The stallion nodded and looked at the unicorn. She was already laying on the bed, relaxed and ready to read. He stood there for a moment, and made up his mind. It was now or never.

"Twilight, I need to tell you something."

Her ears perked in interest. "Okay."

Blitz strode to the bed and was at the side in a matter of moments. "I want to show you instead."

The mare let out a small squeak of surprise as Blitz got onto the bed, stood over her, and took half of the remaining cookie into his mouth. He spotted the confused look, and smiled warmly.

"Open your mouth. Trust me." He spoke around the cookie.

Twilight nodded and looked confused, but opened her mouth. Blitz lowered his head and placed the other half into her mouth until their lips met. The next moments were filled with the sweet taste of chocolate, cookie, and the pleasant sensation of kissing. Twilight's eyes widened as it finally dawned on the purple pony exactly what was happening. She pulled her head away and looked up at the stallion.

"Twilight, I want to go on a date with you."

Her blush deepened and she shuffled. "You... you find me attractive enough to court?"

Blitz chuckled and thanked the goddess's that she was using words he understood. It was a good sign to him, as normally she began using much larger word when she got nervous.

"I do. I want to have a relationship." He watched her smile a little and look away from him, shuffling and blushing. "If you will give me that chance, that is."

"I..." She looked at the small bag of sweets and made another cookie float between them. "Could you teach me to kiss better... I could always learn... and a coltfriend that can teach me would be nice..."

ABOUT DARN TIME! Blitz nodded. "I can do that for you."

And without a moment’s hesitation, he began her first lesson in kissing.

Truth Slips Out

Bubble Berry placed a tray of fresh cupcakes on the counter as he watched the yellow pegasus sitting at a small corner table in the bakery. He admired the way she seemed to have grace with every action, even simple ones like eating a smoothie, or smiling and waving. The pink stallion returned the wave and beamed at her. The last few weeks had been the best of his life, and everypony around him had noticed. His smiles had been brighter, his jokes funnier, and his ability to defy the laws of nature even more bizarre.

The reason was simple, Mr. Cake, the skinny yellow stallion that owned the place, watched from the kitchen doorway with a small chuckle. His employee was in love, and deeply to boot. The elder stallion chuckled and spotted his wife, a plump mare of light blue, walking towards him.

"Honey, we have orders to fill. Why are you just standing there?" She asked while picking up an empty tray from the display case.

Mr. Cake pointed to the pink stallion then to the mare sitting in the corner. "Berry is in love with that shy mare that comes in a lot."

The blue pony looked over to Fluttershy and then to Berry. "He is. I heard they are dating." She smiled to her husband and walked over to him. "Remember when we were that young?"

"It wasn't that long ago." The stallion chuckled and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Young love."

The pair shared a smile and watched Berry work hard as the mare watched him. Mrs. Cake giggled as the pink stallion glanced over to them and blushed lightly and continued working.

"He reminds me of you." The blue baker smiled and nuzzled her husband.

A moment passed and the two ponies looked at each other, their faces becoming worried. Mr. Cake cleared his throat and gave a weak chuckle.

"Time for the talk?"

"Time for the talk."

The yellow stallion nodded. "Got it. So, go finish the order in the kitchen while I handle this?"

"Good luck." Mrs. Cake kissed her husband one more time before she walked into kitchen, leaving the stallion in the doorway.

The baker took a few steps forward and cleared his throat. "Berry. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The pink pony nodded. "Sure, just let me finish cleaning the counter."

Mr. Cake moved towards the office of the bakery, and waited near the door until he spotted the pink stallion walking towards him. He motioned for the stallion to come close and then quickly checked the front counter. Seeing no customers, he returned his gaze to Berry.

"Whatcha want to talk about boss?" Berry quipped cheerfully.

"I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

Berry nodded and smiled at the older stallion. "Sure thing Mr. Cake."

"Well um..." The older stallion paused, swallowing as he tried to think of the words needed. "You are at the age where mares are very interesting to you now."

"Mares have always been interesting." Berry smiled. "Everypony is interesting in their own little ways."

The innocent smile made the Cake nod. "Well, yes, but I meant in a different way. Like how I find Mrs. Cake interesting."

"I thought you loved her?" Berry turned his slightly, confusion crossing his brow.

The yellow stallion rubbed the bridge of his nose and nodded. "Right, no subtlety." He looked to the pink pony before him. "I noticed you and the lovely mare out in the dining room sharing smiles. You like her right?"

The smile bounded back to the face of the pink pony and he nodded rapidly. "Of course! She's pretty, nice, and super-duper cute."

Carrot Cake chuckled and gently stopped the stallions nodding. "Great to hear.” The elder stallion let Berry’s head go. “Now... also know that at your age, you have certain um..." He shuffled. "Interest in actions with her, which you might want to try."

Berry tilted his head once more. "Like kissing?"

A sigh passed from the lips of the older stallion. "Well, yes." He shuffled and motioned for Berry to enter the office. Once inside he closed the door, and sat at the small desk. "Look, I know that you are a really smart stallion, a bit reckless at times, but smart. I want you to be safe when you date Fluttershy. She's a good girl, and you're a great guy."

The stallion held up his hoof to keep Berry quiet, and was amazed it worked. "I knew a mare that made a mistake when she was your age. It cost her a lot, and though she is happy now, the mistake was a heavy trial for her."

"Who was it, and what did they do?" Berry asked, shuffling in his place. "She didn't eat ten triple fudge brownies without milk did she?"

"She was in love, and thought she was ready to take a step in their relationship, but once they did, the stallion left her, and well... she got pregnant from it." Carrot Cake leaned back and sighed. "You've met her, and her daughter several times."

The pink pony tapped his temple as his face scrunched in thought. A moment later his eyes snapped open and the face of the younger pony brightened up.

"Derpy and Dinky!" He smiled but it fell after a moment. "She had sex with her coltfriend then he ditched her? What a jerkface!"

"Well, the foal was Sparkler, but yeah, the stallion was a jerk." Mr. Cake nodded. "Still, she has a good life now, but..." He sighed gave the stallion a fond look. "Berry, you've been our tenant for years, and you've become like a son to Cupcake and I. We don't want you to make a mistake, but we want you to be happy as well." He smiled to Berry. "I won't tell you that you and Fluttershy can't be together, or do what you will... but please, be safe, and be smart."

Berry smiled back fondly, and walked over to the stallion. "You got it." He hugged the stallion tightly. "I like being in this family. You and Mrs. Cake are amazing parents."

The pair hugged for a moment. Carrot Cake chuckled. "Well, I hope I gave this talk well, because I'll have to give it one more time when Pound and Pumpkin get older." He chuckled for a moment then moved to the door of the office. "Well, that's it mostly. Use a condom or whatever you two can. Just... be safe, okay?"

"I promise." Berry walked out of the office and moved back to the counter.

The rest of his shift passed far to slowly for the stallion, but once it ended he ran to the table where Fluttershy sat. The yellow mare gave a small squeak of surprise at the rather sudden appearance of her coltfriend next to her.

"Ready for our date Flutters?"

The mare took a moment to control her breathing, and nodded. "I am."

"Perfect. Where we going?" Berry kissed the mare on the cheek and sat next to her.

Fluttershy blushed as she spotted the Cakes watching them, smiling and whispering to each other. "Well, we could go to the park and enjoy the scenery. Once we do that, we could come back here and cuddle with each other, like we have done before."

The pink smiled and kissed the mare on the cheek, then beamed at her. "Sounds like the perfect date to me."

The pair shared a giggle and Fluttershy offered her stallion a sip of her milkshake. Berry accepted and nuzzled her after he took a mouthful of the minty sweetness, and unbeknownst to the stallion, some of the shake dribbled onto his chin. The yellow mare spotted this and wiped it away and giggled at the stallion.

"You always make a mess. How do you manage to stay clean everyday?"

Berry chuckled. "Years of practice."

The couple shared another laugh and made their way to the exit, stopping for a moment to wave to the Cakes as they walked out.

Mrs. Cake turned to her husband. "So... how did it go?"

"He considers us to be family, and thinks I'm a great father." Mr. Cake nuzzled his wife with a proud smile and he chuckled. "Oh, and he promised to be safe with Fluttershy."

The married couple smiled to one another, and looked out the window to catch the last glimpse of their tenant and his marefriend before they turned the corner. The younger couple made their way to the park and walked slowly, the mare giggling as Berry placed head on her shoulder, and nuzzling into her warm, soft fur.

"How do you get so soft?"

The mare blushed and giggled as the breath of the pink stallion tickled her neck. "Well, I use shampoo... and years of practice."

Berry chuckled and gave the mare a kiss on the cheek. He watched her blush at his public display of affection, and noticed that a passing mare smiled to them both as they walked by. The stallion turned back to the embarrassed mare and smiled to her. In silence he guided her to a small portion of the park that was between a pair of hedges, creating the perfect small nook for couples to sit in peace.

The ponies laid down in the evening rays of sunlight, and Berry rolled onto his back, basking in the warm rays. Fluttershy giggled as the stallion next to her lolled his tongue out and let out a long, happy sigh.

"You must be tired from working all day." She laid down next to him.

Berry gave a small nod and grinned to the mare. "A little, but it's so much fun to work there that you never really notice."

Fluttershy nodded and cuddled up to the stallion, rolling onto her side and hugging him lightly. The stallion's smiled grew wider, and he moved closer to the mare. They rested in the open air, the rays of the sunlight warming their fur, and the feathers of the pegasus. The simple act of being together was enough for the couple.

The warmth of the sun slowly began to wane, the time blurring as the pair talked about the clouds, watched the pegasai fly by, and finally they fell quite as the evening wore on. Fluttershy looked up to the sky to see that the evening was quickly approaching then over to the stallion she was with. She was surprised, but amused, to discover that Berry had fallen asleep. She sat up and stretched her legs, and her wings with a soft flap.

"Berry, it's getting late." She turned to her companion, and spotted a small dribble of drool going from his wide open mouth to the grass. She giggled and moved closer to him.

He let out a snore and muttered something unintelligible. The yellow mare gently poked him as she spoke a little louder. "Berry, wake up, if you don't mind I mean..."

The stallion snorted and sat up, his mane poofing to nearly twice it's normal size. "Whus goin' on?"

The pegasus fought the urge to laugh and began fixing the stallions mane. "It's getting a little dark; we need to head back to your home... I can stay the night right?"

Berry yawned and nodded. "Yeah, you can stay. You and I are sharing my bed..." Another yawn left the stallions mouth. "We need to be a little quiet though... we don't want to wake the twins."

Berry stood up and smiled and offered his hoof to the mare. Fluttershy took it and they began their trip back to the bakery. They walked along the streets, the lights of the shops and streetlamps keeping them company.

"Hey Berry?"

"Yeah Fluttershy?"

The mare kissed him on the cheek. "I'm really happy we are dating now."

"Me too." The stallion blushed and smiled to her.

Fluttershy rested her head on his pink shoulder. "I can tell you anything, right?"

The pink stallion nodded. "Of course."

"And, you would tell me anything?"

The stallion nodded once more. "Absolutely."

Fluttershy smiled and let out a small hum of happiness. "We can be open to each other. No secrets between us."

The pink stallion stumbled for a moment and came to a halt, the ground beneath his hooves screeching as he stopped. Fluttershy stumbled pasted the stallion and looked back to him. The stallion bit his lip and began rubbing his neck.

"Berry, is something wrong?"

The stallion gave a small cough and looked up to the sky. "Um... kinda sorta maybe..."

Crap... no secrets but the bet... if she finds out I am a single stallion again, and worse, I will lose my friend! He shuffled and kicked a small pebble nearby as the mare walked closer to him.

Fluttershy gently took his hoof into her own and moved his face so they locked eyes. "Berry... is there something you want to tell me?"

He swallowed and felt sweat breaking out all over his body. His eyes were locked to the mares, and he felt his brain go fuzzy as he tried to think. Think! I can't lie to her, I love her and lying is wrong... He nodded slowly and bit his lip.

"Remember how I said I have had a crush on you since I first saw you?"

The mare nodded, unsure where this was leading.

"Well... um..." He swallowed. Now or never... do it! He let out a small breath. "Well, I asked you out because of a bet... but let me explain before you get mad!"

"For... a bet?" Fluttershy's eyes widened and she took a step back. "So... all of that was a lie?"

The stallion nodded and his ears pinned backwards. "Well... yes to the bet, and no to the lie." He cast his gaze to his hooves as he sat down on the curb. "I only took the bet because I couldn't build up the courage to ask you out. I always stopped myself because I was so worried and scared you would say no."

The stallion swallowed after taking a small breath. "I needed somepony to hold my hooves to the fire, to force me to do it, because I was too much of a coward to do it without that sort of motivation."

He looked up for a moment and saw the mare staring at him, her expression in disbelief at what she was hearing. He waited for her to speak, but when she merely shuffled he continued.

"I really really really really do love you, and I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't trust you, and love you. I want to be your special somepony, but I can't do that if you don't trust me as well..."

The mare grabbed his chin and slowly lifted his head up, and he found himself looking right into The Stare. He felt his body freeze and he began to panic. He had never seen Fluttershy use The Stare on her friends before.

"Tell me everything."

The stallion felt himself nod and spoke in a shaky voice. "Well, a few years ago you walked into Sugar Cube Corner and when I sa—"

Yellow hooves moved to his mouth and stopped him. Her Stare intensified. "I know that part. I meant the bet. Tell me about the bet."

Berry nodded and waited for her to remove her hooves. She sat down and let his muzzle go, and he told her everything that had happened a few weeks ago in the bakery. From the insult Blitz gave the white stallion to his joining the bet, and their setting the rules. He shuffled as he reached the end, unable to read the mare's expression.

"And so, we took the Berry oath, and then we left and I spent a few days planning on how to ask you..." Fluttershy watched the stallion look to the ground again as he sighed heavily. "I know you must not like me anymore but, I just had to know. I couldn't be alone anymore, and not know if you and I could be something."

She watched him wipe away a tear and heard him speak barely above a whisper. "I didn't want to be alone anymore..."

The poofy pink mane slowly began to deflate, and Fluttershy knew where his mind was going. She had seen him like this before, and she wasn't going to let it happen. Without a word she gently hugged the pink pony and held him close to her. Her voice was gentle as she spoke to him.

"Berry... I don't hate you, or dislike you." She brushed his mane, and felt him hug her. "I'm upset you and the others would do something so... mean, and stupid, but I'm disappointed in you most of all."

She felt the stallion shuffle, and his grip on her loosened. She spoke softer to him.

"You know what you did was wrong right?"

He nodded.

"And you will never do anything this mean again?"

Another nod answered her and he looked her in the eyes. "I promise. I'm sorry..."

She hugged him once more, and motioned for them to keep walking. "I forgive you." They walked in silence until the bakery reached their view. "So, what about Applejack, and Twilight?"

Berry chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought. "They won't take it as well as you did." He swallowed. "Applejack would buck Elusive into neck year, and Twilight might disintegrate Blitz..."

The pair shared a nervous look and they reached the stairs of the bakery. It was as they reached the door that the pink stallion bounced up and smiled to Fluttershy.

"I got it! I could try to convince them to call off the bet, and just continue with dating Applejack and Twilight. From there, the relationships go where ever they need to, and if they stay together, then the six of us can go on triple dates all the time."

He beamed with pride, and looked to the yellow mare for approval. She bit her lip for a moment while she mulled over the idea. If it worked, the three pairs would be very happy, and triple dates would be fun. On the other hoof, if it went south and the other two mares found out then the friendship they all shared would be damaged, or worse destroyed for years, maybe forever.

"It... might work."

Berry nodded and his smile waned. "It has to... if not, then things might turn out pretty bad."

The yellow mare nodded and the pair walked into the bakery and silently made their way to the stairs leading to the apartments on the second floor. Berry led his marefriend through the hall at the top of the stairs to a small room that was his own. Fluttershy had been in his room a few times before, and was heading to the four-poster bed that sat at the center of it.

She watched as Berry fluffed a few of the pillows and motioned to the bed. "Well, here it is. It's all yours."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "All mine? Where are you sleeping?"

"The couch..." He shuffled. "I don't deserve to cuddle you."

Fluttershy walked over to her stallion and kissed him on the nose. "Berry, I need someone to cuddle. Get in the bed please."

Berry nodded and quickly got in the bed. The pegasus quickly followed and they began getting under the sheets. Berry cuddled up behind her and nuzzled her cheek.

"So, we are okay right?" He spoke in a soft tone.

Fluttershy looked back at him and nodded. "We're okay. Let's get some sleep."

Sweet Moments

Fluttershy awoke with something large, pink, and surprisingly warm pressing on her barrel. She shuffled in the bed for a moment and looked down to the stallion she had fallen asleep with. Berry's head was snuggled up to her neck, a small smile on his face as he nuzzled it, and cuddled closer to her.

Berry.... you are like a giant foal sometimes. She giggled internally and kissed the stallion on the forehead and wrapped her legs around him. The smile on his face grew a little wider and he cuddled up to her a little more. The yellow mare nuzzled the stallion while she slowly rubbed his back. He really likes his cuddles. Good thing I am a pro cuddler as well.

Minutes slowly passed, and the stallion lifted his head. "Pancakes..."

"What?" Fluttershy watched the stallion sit up.

He looked to her then kissed her on the cheek. "I'm making pancakes. Do you want some?"

The slightly confused mare nodded. "Sure, that sounds lovely."

Berry smiled and chuckled. "Awesome. Wanna help me make them?"

The pegasus nodded and slowly sat up on the bed. "Sounds kinda nice." She looked to the clock. "It's Five A.M..."

"It is. I used to get up on the farm at this time to get chores done." Berry nodded and smiled. "Old habits, and all that sorta thing."

The pair got up and Berry moved to the bathroom connected to his room. He paused at the doorway. "Do you want to go first?"

Fluttershy blushed. "I suppose I could, but... what will you be doing?"

"Waiting for you to get done... maybe make the bed." He shrugged and moved from the doorway towards her.

The yellow mare was suddenly visited by a very strange thought, but she found it somewhat endearing. "What if you stayed in the bathroom and we talked while we showered?"

Berry paused and tilted his head. "Like... we just talk while we clean?"

Fluttershy nodded and gave her wings a small flap. "We talk, while we shower."

"Dokie Okie..." He let out a yawn and shook his head after he finished. "Loki."

The mare giggled and kissed the stallion on the cheek. "Come on. We need to get you awake."

The stallion nodded as the pair moved into the bathroom, and Fluttershy moved to the shower. She took a moment to figure out how to work it, which she was certain, was a law of universe, then looked to the stallion. He was sitting, watching her with a small smile.

"What?" She smiled back.

"You're really pretty." He simply stated as his grin widened.

The mare blushed and hid behind her mane. "You don't mean that... plenty of mares are prettier than me."

"But none of them are you." He walked over to her and kissed her gently. "And I would rather be in my bathroom with you, than any other mare in the world."

Fluttershy smiled and kissed the stallion. "Thank you. So... who goes first?"

The stallion nuzzled the mare gently then yawned. "You can go first. Ladies first after all."

Fluttershy nodded and stepped into the shower and drew the curtain across it but left a small portion over so she could look at her stallion. She moved under the water and began rinsing her body off. As she did that, Berry moved to the side and sat next to the shower.

"Hey Flutters?" His voice was low, but carried over the water hitting the floor. "About last night..."

Oh no... I thought we could wait before we talked about this... She swallowed nervously, then sighed. "Yeah?"

"If the roles were reversed, and you were a stallion and I was a mare, would you have taken the bet to date me?"

She opened her mouth to answer but paused. She didn't know what to say to that. Wow... that's not at all what I thought he would say. She poked her head out to directly look to the stallion.

"I... don't know." She sighed. "I might have been too shy to take it, but I would hope the mare version of you would take it and ask the stallion me out." She smiled, and then blushed as a thought entered her mind. "Hey, we could get to the pancakes sooner... if you help me clean up in here."

Berry's eyes widened a little. "Like... we share the shower? I, um, don't know. I mean, your naked in there... it would be weird."

"Berry, we are naked all the time." She giggled. "Besides, we shared a bed, how is sharing a shower any weirder?"

The stallion tilted his head then nodded slowly. "Oh yeah!" He smiled and jumped up to his hooves. "I can clean us both super-fast and then make pancakes!"

Fluttershy smiled as she pulled the curtain back to let the stallion in. He got into the shower quickly, and slipped, causing the pair to fall into a slightly tangled mess as the water rained on them. Fluttershy slowly lifted herself up, and spotted that she was on top of the stallion. The pair looked into each other’s eyes and chuckled for a moment.

"So... where should we start washing?" The mare asked as she began to stand back up, but she was stopped by the gentle hoof of the stallion.

"Right here." Berry kissed her on the lips.

The pegasus blushes and smiled as the gentle hooves of the pink pony brushed her wet mane out of her face. The pair parted after a moment and stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you." Berry spoke softly.

"I love you too." Fluttershy smiled then shuffled. "Is it okay to say that so soon?"

Berry tilted his head then shrugged on the floor of the shower. "I dunno, but I like saying it." He slowly got up and nuzzled the soaked mare. "And it's true. I really do love you."

Fluttershy nodded and beamed at the stallion. "I know it is." She nuzzled him back then fanned her wings out. "Could you please clean my wings for me?"

He nodded and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. "Of course."

As the stallion began applying the shampoo the yellow mare looked to the bottle. "Is that feather shampoo?"

"No... should it be?" Berry froze then shuffled.

She shook her head and smiled to the stallion. "It doesn't have to be. For a moment I thought it was, and I was wondering why you would have feather shampoo in your shower."

"Oh... okay then."

Fluttershy was surprised at the incredibly gentle touch of the stallion as he worked with her wings. She smiled at the pleasant sensations his hooves caused. The pair continued their shower, occasionally stopping to nuzzle, kiss or simply to smile to one another. Once they finished a few minutes later, the pair stepped out of the shower and Berry began drying off the mare.

"So, what sort of pancakes should we make?" He asked as he dried her legs.

"Blueberry sounds very nice." She said as she smiled. "Oh, can we also make whipped cream? I've always wanted to try it."

"You've never made whipped cream?" He smiled and kissed her cheek. "We can make a lot of it today then."

He moved the towel to her wings and he watched her spread them out. She blushed as she saw the awe filled look in his eyes. She gave her wings a gentle flap, showering the pair in water droplets.

"Um... Berry, could you please dry my wings, gently." She wiggled her wings again and gave a small smile to the stallion as he began drying her off.

"You are way to pretty..."

"You keep saying that."

Berry reached her mane with the towel and after a few minutes of drying her, he kissed her on the cheek. "Because it's true." He tossed the towel into a small basket. "Now then... pancakes and whipped cream!"

The mare giggled as the stallion grabbed her hoof and began leading her to the stairs. The pair moved quickly down into the closed restaurant and then into the kitchen, and Fluttershy stopped in the doorway when she spotted the Cake family eating breakfast. Mr. Cake was cooking at the stove, the smell baked goods reaching her nose while the pegasus shuffled. Mrs. Cake looked up to the mare and stallion and smiled.

"Good morning Berry, and good morning to you as well Fluttershy. If we knew you were spending the night we would have made muffins for you."

Berry bounced over to the twins in their high chairs and nuzzled them. "We were going to make pancakes, so no harm done."

Mrs. Cake smiled to the stallion the got up from her chair. "Oh, then I suppose you two will need the kitchen for a little while then?"

Fluttershy nodded as she watched the pink stallion feed the foals their breakfast. "I hope I'm not imposing... I really should have asked permission to spend the night."

The elder mare walked over to Fluttershy and gave a small giggle. "Dear, it's okay. We trust Berry, and if he trusts you, then we do too." She leaned in and whispered. "Did you two... you know..."

The older mare looked to Berry then to Fluttershy and gave pegasus a look of motherly worry. The yellow mare looked to the stallion then Mrs. Cake a couple of times.

"Did we what?" She shuffled, feeling as if a spotlight was shining on her.

Mrs. Cake swallowed and kept her voice low. "The deed that requires... protection..."

"Protec—" Her eyes widened and she blushed as she retreated behind her mane. "We... aren't to that yet..."

The earth mare nodded and gave the younger mare a smile. "It's okay dear. I just want you both to be safe." She looked to Berry and then to the mare. "He is a good stallion, and I know you must be something really special to make him fall in love. You both are family as long as far as I am concerned."

Berry walked over and smiled to the pair. "Hey Shy, we need to make those pancakes." He took her hoof and nuzzled her. "And I need to teach you how to whip cream."

Mrs. Cake giggled as the young couple moved to the cupboards as her husband moved to her side. "Young love."

The stallion nodded and chuckled. "They remind me of us. So, how long until one of them throws flower or batter at one another."

"Think we have ten minutes." The mare kissed her husband on the cheek, and heard a small squeal of fright, and jump as she heard the clatter of a few bowls.

Fluttershy was holding her chest while her mane, face, and part of her wings were covered in flower, and Berry was holding the remains of a flour bag, his fur covered in the white powder. A moment of silence passed before the laughter of the two foals filled the air.

Twilight scribbled in her notebook at the kitchen table when Spines walked in.

"Morning Twilight."

"Morning Spine." She sang back, and grinned as she closed her book. "Guess what happened to me last night!"

The small dragoness looked to her friend and shrugged as she yawned. The purple dragoness moved to the cupboard and began rummaging for the cereal. "You discovered something that Celestia was impressed by?"

"No, well maybe, but that is neither here nor there." She beamed to her friend. "Blitz is now my coltfriend!"

Spine froze in the cupboard and slowly looked out from behind the door. "Come again?"

"Blitz and I are now dating." She smiled and got up from her chair. "We just started last night."

Spine slowly closed the door and carried a box of cereal as she moved to get a bowl. "Like... dating?"

The purple mare nodded and levitated a bowl down to the dragoness. "Exactly. He came over yesterday and we talked, kissed and then we agreed to date."

"That... I gotta be honest, even with how much time he has been spending here, I wasn't expecting to hear that come from your mouth."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, her expression becoming curious.

Spine pointed to Twilight. "Well, you two have like... nothing in common." The purple dragon leaned against the cabinets. "He's all about brawn; you're about brains. He's all about competitions and feats of strength; you're about projects, and doing experiments." She gave an apologetic look to the pony. "You're a genius, and he... well, he's not."

"Well, that may be true, but we do have things in common." Twilight said as she tapped her notebook. "We share a passion for literature, and we both are very loyal to our friends."

Spine nodded. "I suppose... still, not to be mean to him or you, but I never thought you two would hook up." She smiled and walked towards the table.

Twilight moved a chair out for the little dragon and smiled. "I didn't either, but he makes me feel happy, and special. I like that."

Spine nodded slowly as she placed the bowl and box on the table. "Any chance he is here, so we can have a cooked breakfast again?"

Twilight nodded. "He is upstairs, asleep. I'll go see if he is awake."

The purple mare rose from her chair, and giggled as she moved towards the staircase. She quickly ascended up to the bedroom, and opened the door quietly. Laying on the bed was the cyan stallion she was looking for. His leg was hanging off the side and his mane was a complete mess as he snored gently. The unicorn giggled slightly and moved to the bed.

Wow, he snores worse than Spine... how did I sleep through this noise? The mare moved to the side of the bed, and gently nuzzled the stallion. "Hey Blitz, wake up please."

The cyan stallion snorted and slowly shifted on the bed.

"Make me..." He grumbled at the mare.

Twilight's horn glowed softly and pulled the blanket away from the stallion’s body. "I may take you up on that."

Blitz opened one eye and looked at her for a moment, then sighed heavily and yawned.

"Come on Blitz, I want to make breakfast for you, Spine and myself."

"Five more minutes?" The prismatic pegasus whined.

Twilight shook her head. "No. You need to get up. You are making us wait on you."

The stallion let out a small groan. Twilight moved closer to the bed and grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, or I will use my magic t—"

The unicorns world became a blur as she was dragged onto the bed by the strong grip of the stallion. They rolled to the center of the bed, and were wrapped in the sheets from their waists down, with Twilight on top of the stallion.

"Five more minutes." He chuckled and kissed her deeply while gently running his hoof her mane.

The purple mare blushed. "I... don't want to keep Spine waiting..."

The pagasus nodded and kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his wings around her. "I think she can wait another few."

Twilight blushed as the stallion brought her close and their lips and tongues played the dance they had practiced the night before. His morning breath moved across her tongue, but she found it rather endearing. Something that normally would have been gross from him was now something loved about him. Like his snoring.

They pulled apart a few moments later and both stared into each other’s eyes. Blitz chuckled and slowly sat up.

"Spine is waiting on us now." He grinned to the mare. "Besides, breakfast is sounding pretty good right now."

Twilight nodded and kissed the stallion again. "I guess it does... we can practice kissing later."

The pair went downstairs, and into the kitchen where the waiting Spine was playing with her spoon. She looked up and gave the stallion a small wave.

"Hey Blitz." She smiled. "I know I said you should spend the night more, but I didn't think you would actually go the extra step."

The stallion chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, it just sorta happened." He sat at the table a yawned. "Still, at least we are going to have breakfast."

Twilight nodded and her horn glowed softly as she started her oven. "I'm thinking muffins, with blueberries."

Both the stallion and the dragon let out cheers at her choice of breakfast.

Elusive walked around the dais of his store, admiring the work set upon it with intense focus.

"How in tarnation did you convince me to do this again?" The orange mare on the dais asked.

Elusive chuckled and rubbed his chin as he inspected the bright blue evening gown his marefriend was wearing. "Because you adore me, and I offered you dinner afterwards."

The mare let out a small huff and blew some of her mane out of her eyes. "Yer so darn lucky I love you."

The stallion chuckled and his aura surrounded a small portion of the dress and began adjusting it. "I know I am."

Applejack nodded. "So, how much longer are you gonna keep me in this fru-fru stuff?"

"Long enough to make a perfect dress, and I need a perfect model." He chuckled and gave the mare a quick kiss on the cheek. "And you are more than perfect."

The farm pony blushed and nodded to Elusive. "Thanks sugar."

As the stallion worked on the dress, they heard the bell of the front door ring, followed quickly by the voice of a young mare.

"Elusive! I'm home from school!" Sweetie Belle called out. "Is there any snacks?"

The stallion sighed, and Applejack giggled at his expression. He called out to his sister.

"I restocked, so there are plenty of snacks in the cabinets."

"Thanks! Love you!" She called back, and her hoof steps could be heard heading towards the kitchen.

Elusive smiled fondly for a moment then adjusted the glasses on his nose. "She's sweet but I swear she could eat me out of house and home."

"Ah know the feelin'. Apple Bloom is gettin' to that phase too." The mare looked towards the kitchen, and giggled. "Teens never stop eatin', and those three girls in one place..."

The ponies shared a shudder and chuckled together. Elusive continued his inspection of the dress, stopping every few moments to adjust the fabric, while Applejack stood there and watched his expression.

Ah love when he gets all focused on stuff. Her smile warmed and she watched as the stallion pursed his lips as he inspected a portion of the dress covering her barrel. Only other time he gets this way is when we cuddle... and roll through the hay. She suppressed a giggle as he began measuring her chest.

"I need to get a few things from my workroom upstairs. Go ahead and remove the dress. We can call it here for the day."

Applejack was more than happy to hop off the dais and began removing the dress. "Thank ya kindly sugar."

As the white coated stallion ascended the stairs, Applejack spotted the white and pink of the young filly that had recently come home.

"Hey Applejack." Sweetie smiled as she held a juice box. "You look really pretty in that dress."

The mare smiled as she began slipping the dress over her head. "Well thank ya dear. Yer brother is mighty good at making a pony look their best."

Sweetie nodded and smiled as she sat on the floor and sipped her juice. "I heard him call you a 'muse'... Do you know what that is?"

Applejack finished removing the dress and carefully placed it on a small table nearby. "Ah can't say Ah'm familiar with the term." She picked up her Stetson hat from a nearby mannequin. "But Ah think it means something or somepony that inspires you."

The white filly smiled and sipped from her juice once more. "Then... that means your Elusive’s muse."

Applejack blinked a few times. "Ah am? What makes ya say that sugarcube?"

"Because he has been designing a lot lately. Like, way more than normal, and a lot of his new stuff is much prettier." The filly grinned. "And he told me that you inspire him to make things. I think he really really loves you."

The farm pony blushed lightly. "Well... Ah mean, we have been datin' a few weeks now."

"Are you two gonna get married?"

Applejack's cheek grew redder. "Ah... don't know, but Ah think it's a little early to say yes or no on that one."

Sweetie nodded and smiled. "It would be so cool if you two married, because then Apple Bloom and I would be sisters, and we would be family."

The sound of hooves on stairs reached them and Elusive came back into the room, a few designs floating behind him as he adjusted his sewing glasses.

"Oh, hello Sweetie. What were you two talking about?" He smiled at them.

"Just talking about how pretty Applejack was in the dress." Sweetie answered with a smile.

Elusive smiled. "She does look amazing in a nice dress."

The farm pony blushed some more, and tilted her hat to hide her face. Elusive chuckled as he walked over to her and gently nuzzled her. Applejack gladly returned the affection as the young filly let out a dwaa of delight.

"You two are so cute!" She squealed, her voice threatening to crack.

The mare chuckled and nodded. "Ah suppose we can be." She kissed Elusive on the cheek. "Now, you owe me a nice little dinner."

As the stallion nodded he gestured to the kitchen. "I do indeed. Would you perhaps allow me to cook for you?"

Sweetie smiled to the pair then waved as she left the room. Applejack smiled and nodded. "Ah guess that sounds like a very nice night. Thank ya."

Elusive lifted the hat of the farm mare and kisses her deeply. She responded in kind and gently caressed his pearl white cheek. They pulled apart an inch so they could breathe and the stallion smiled.

"I'm so in love with you."

She chuckled and nodded. "I know that feelin' sugar."