•)14(•

After Tonight

After discovering that Sugarcube Corner was closed, she mentally slapped herself. It was after midnight, so of course it would be closed.

She still needed somewhere to go, though, and after giving it some thought, she decided that the park would be sufficient enough.

As she approached the entrance, she saw a good spot to sit and think. A bench, close to a small creek, sat alone, away from all other things in the park. She saw as the perfect place to ponder on things that troubled her. The last thing she needed in this case was another problem boarding train of thought.

She imagined herself with a sign on her head that read "ALL ABOARD". She laughed at the thought at first, but then she became more annoyed by it. Pushing the thought aside, she hopped up on the bench and laid on it, folding her forelegs into a comfortable nest-like state and carefully resting her head on them.

She let her mind wander as she remained lying on the bench. The strange relationship between her fellow Crusaders seemed to bother her. The other new couple bothered her as well, but not nearly as much as her two best friends'.

She had her own opinion on relationships. She knew that they were only supposed to be between one stallion and one mare. It didn't seem possible for two mares to fall in love with each other. She was assured that it was certainly possible now, but that didn't make it seem right. Sure, they were adorable. Yes, they fit perfectly with each other. But the fact that they were both fillies was still a restless thought. She didn't know why, but it seemed... unnatural.

It seemed wrong.

This was one of the many things that bothered her. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did.

She then wondered which gender she herself found to be attractive. She had always thought that colts were gross and clumsy, but that didn't mean she liked fillies. The colts at school always left a bad impression on her, and the fillies were the same as she was. She was at a complete indecision.

She began to feel tears building up, ready to let loose. She held them back for a little longer while she thought about what she would do about all of this. Would she accept it, or would she reject all filly-foolers as her friends?

She tried to think of a way that would make everything right, but her mind was too clouded with uncertainty in every path.

Feeling tired, uneasy and hopeless, she stopped holding back her massively accumulating tears. She desperately hoped that nopony was nearby to see cry like this; it would just make life more difficult for her.

She didn't know what she would do after tonight. It was late, she was tired, and she needed something to calm herself.

"Hey," she heard an unmistakable voice. "What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?"

She looked up at him without even wiping away her tears. He stopped walking toward her for a second before continuing again. He could see the pain she was holding inside and partially outside. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head lightly and rested it on her forelegs again. "No..." she said shakily. "What brought you here?"

Spike could now see that she needed something. He sat down on the other side of the bench so Sweetie Belle was facing away from him. "A guest at the library," he said. "After Sugarcube Corner closed, I headed back to the library. When I opened the door, I couldn't believe my own eyes! Twilight actually had a date going on! A real date! But that's not what surprised me the most..."

Sweetie Belle turned around to look at him. "What surprised you the most?" she asked.

He sighed heavily. "Her date..."

"Who was it?"

He sighed again. "P--..." he hesitated. "Pinkie Pie..."

Sweetie Belle was as shocked as finding out that a toaster wasn't waterproof. A short silence followed before she shouted "What!?" She spring up onto her hooves. "That's--"

"Shhhh!" he shushed her. "Ponies are sleeping!"

She lowered her voice. "Sorry..."

"Anywho..." Spike continued. "I decided not to intrude so they could be alone. I still needed someplace to be until it was over, and so I, uh... I came here."

Sweetie Belle didn't turn back around, but she did lay back down on her front, resting her head in the same way as before. She was becoming exhausted from all these occurrences involving love, and what she would do about it. This was one of the times where she really didn't want to think about anything.

But how would she wake up in the morning, as well as every morning to come? How would she sleep, knowing that six good friends of hers were filly-foolers? Would she just have to pretend she was cool with it? 'Hey, Twilight! Good to know that you and Pinkie Pie are dating each other, even though I don't support it worth a bucket of oats!'

She would never be able to forgive herself if she pretended to be proud or even comfortable around them.

Then she had an idea...

She wouldn't be around them.

She would hide.

She then looked at Spike, wondering what he was thinking, for he hadn't said a thing for a short while now. "Hey, Spike?"

He flinched. "Oh. Yeah?"

"What's happened with you, lately?"

The baby dragon shrugged. "Not much, really. I went to Sugarcube Corner today and got some chocolate milk... There wasn't really much besides that and the date. Oh, wait! I did go to this party that Pinkie Pie was hosting..."

Sweetie Belle lost interest at chocolate milk. That just happened to be the most interesting thing that was mentioned, and it would be for somepony her age.

"You know..." said Spike, mildly regaining her attention, "You should probably get home and get to sleep. I mean, it is awfully late..."

Sweetie ignored him for the moment and just closed her eyes where she was.

"What are you doing here, anyhow?"

She had hoped this question would never come up, and she was on a roll until now. Sighing, she lifted her head up and looked at him with lightly flickering forest-green eyes. He felt somewhat worried for his fairly short life, as if she could reach into the very depths of his soul with her eyes.

She then spoke weakly. "Have you ever been so... unsure of yourself... that you just wanted to run away?"

What kind of question was that? Spike eyed her suspiciously and then asked "What do you mean?"

She hoped he wouldn't go any further with questions. "Well... I... Uhm... I-I, uh..." She shrank back and tried to put her words together correctly. "I, can't... It's not what..."

"Hold on," said Spike, raising his pointer finger. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but... You're running away... aren't you?"

Sweetie Belle swallowed. "Thinking about it," she said shakily, her voice filled with regret, "but yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. How did you guess?"

"I-I just took in all the events of the day. I figured that the only reason somepony would be troubled today would probably be because of all the filly-fooling going on. I myself am troubled, but I'm not scared... or scarred. Whichever. You, however, look to be pretty scared... or scarred, and that's how I came up with the assumption that you were leaving. Turns out I was right."

She nodded shamefully. He looked at her with more sympathy this time. "Look," he said, bringing her chin up, "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let it ruin my life. Sometimes, you just gotta at least play along."

She shook her head away from his hand huffed. "I'm bad at playing along, though. My acting couldn't even fool Pinkie Pie!"

"But you don't have to act, Sweetie Belle. You just have to pretend."

"Pretend what?" She was becoming more irritable with each word that was spoken.

"Pretend that you don't mind."

"Well, that's hard, too! If I really do mind, why would I say, act, or 'pretend' otherwise!?"

"Because you should be happy for them." He put his hand on her shoulder. "They're your friends."

She moved away from him. "Yeah, but it's not like they're related to me or anything. I just don't feel like going with the flow, especially if I'll probably just end up offending somepony..."

Spike felt her pain, but not as brutally. She seemed to have made up her mind by now, but he hoped that maybe she would see his point later on.

"Well..." he said, hopping off of the bench to leave, "your secret is safe with me, but I don't think leaving is necessary. I don't even know where you'd go, but the choice is yours, I guess. I'm gonna go see if Twilight's asleep yet."

He slowed his pace at his own words and shivered at the idea of Twilight sleeping with her date. He hoped to Celestia that it didn't go that far yet.

Sweetie Belle watched as he left the park. Becoming a rebel was not part of her in the least. She knew it, too. But she also knew that going against the grain seemed to be in season.

'How did this happen? How did things change so quickly? How can I change with it and blend in when I wasn't even conscious to see it?'

She closed her eyes and let her had fall on to the cold wood of the bench.

'What am going to do...?'

She lifted her head up and looked out to the open fields, wondering what the rest of Equestria held. She pondered the outcome and consequences of leaving, starting a life on her own.

It would give her opportunity. The time to be away from what she believed to be wrong. The chance to be in a different atmosphere. Besides, maybe she'd find her cutie mark someplace else.

She then made up her mind.

'I need to pack.'

~ * * * ~

"So, Twilight..."

The unicorn looked up from the quarter of her waffle that was left. "Yes?"

The pink pony shifted a bit. "What do you think?"

Twilight raised her eyebrows. "This is the bestest--... I mean best waffle I've ever had." She then continued eating. "That's like, what? The seventh time you've asked now? How many times do you need it confirmed? Your waffles taste like they're made purely of doughnuts! I love doughnuts! Only these are shaped like waffles and--..." She stopped herself from her rapid talking. "...Sorry..."

Pinkie Pie held her giggles in. "It's okay, Twilight. It's just that every time I take a bite of my own, I always wonder if you had a bite like that, and that's why keep asking. You know, you sound alot like me when you talk fast like that..."

"I do?"

"You do!"

"Oh, dear..."

"What?"

"I sound like you."

"Hey... That's not nice, you know..."

"I mean, I... No, it's not that... I mean sound like a nut. A complete psycho!"

Pinkie's smile was starting to have trouble staying up. She hoped her friend wouldn't go too far with this.

"I must have sounded ridiculous!"

Twilight's words were beginning to bring her down. She could feel an itchiness beneath her mane, but she ignored it and kept eating.

"Lots of ponies already see me as a psycho!" continued the unicorn.

"Twilight..." Pinkie looked up from her waffle. "Please stop..."

"But do you know what it feels like to be seen as a psycho!?" Twilight waved her hooves in the air frantically

Pinkie felt like crying or maybe leaving. 'Does Twilight really see me as a complete nut job?' The itchiness was really reaching a high level now.

Twilight put her head in her hooves. "I'm not a loon," she mumbled.

Pinkie's smile had disappeared now. She didn't want to be here anymore. This was all too saddening for her, and Twilight had no clue what was going on. She silently stepped onto the floor and quickly headed for the door.

"Do you think I'm a loon, Pinkie?" Twilight looked up from her hooves at nopony on the other side of the table. "Pinkie?" She looked around, trying to find her. She then heard the door closing and a muffled popping noise from outside.

"...Pinkie?"

Thinking quickly, she hopped off of her seat and dashed out the door, intent on righting whatever she had wronged.

As she burst outside, she looked around frantically for the pink pony, the cold chill of the dark becoming noticeable.

'What did I do?' she thought.

After galloping and searching around several blocks she saw her date crying next to a fountain. She was leaning over the edge of it, letting her tears drop into the water. She wasn't as she normally would because she knew it would wake up ponies who were sleeping. Instead, she was just sniffing here and there, wiping her nose every now and then. Twilight saw this and suddenly felt guilty for a reason unknown to herself. She also saw something she'd only seen once before. She saw that her mane had 'deflated'.

This meant bad news.

Carefully she walked behind her and raised her hoof hesitantly to tap her shoulder. Her hesitation got the best of her and instead, she decided to go about it a different way.

As Pinkie looked at her sad excuse for a reflection, it startled her when she felt two hooves wrap around her. She knew who it was, due to the fact that there wouldn't be anypony else up this late.

Would there?

She checked her watch. Twelve-thirty-six. Definitely nopony else awake. It just now occurred to her that this was one of the oddest times to be having a date.

Gently, she looked over her shoulder just to make sure it was who she though it was. She was right. "Twilight..."

"Pinkie..."

"Why did you follow me?"

"I didn't know what happened. I assume I said something offensive to you, though. I still don't know what I said, but I figured you probably had your feelings hurt anyway."

"Twilight." Pinkie broke out of the hug and looked at her sincerely. "If you're gonna be my fillyfriend, you should watch what you're saying."

Twilight felt even more guilty than before. "What did I say, Pinkie?"

Pinkie looked down. "...I-it started when I said you sounded just like me... and you thought you sounded like a nut job... and a few other ways to put it..."

Twilight knew where this was going and also knew what she had done.

Pinkie continued. "You kept going on and on about how you're not a crazy-dazy psychopath and I could clearly see that you saw..." She sniffed and let a few more tears fall. "You see me as one. And I am. I'm just a crazy-wazy, loopy-doopy, psycho-pony who works at a bakery and throws parties as a lifelong hobby!" She turned back toward the fountain and looked at her reflection some more.

Silence followed for a good amount of time before Twilight stepped toward her, looking at her apologetically. "Oh, Pinkie... I'm so sorry... I didn't even realize you thought I was implying that. I feel so dumb now. How could I not have seen that?" She hung her head. "...Now I won't say you're not a little loopy..."

Pinkie tried to shut her out by hiding her head in the water. Twilight heard the splash, assuming she was probably playing or dipping her hooves in it.

"I don't want you to be mad, Pinkie... I just hope you're still my friend, okay?"

When she heard nothing in reply, she looked up and saw Pinkie had dunked herself... and was still in the process.

"Pinkie...?"

Still nothing. She was getting worried now. She quickly used her magic to pull the pink pony's head out from under the water and face her towards herself. "What are you doing!?" yelled Pinkie.

"Saving you from drowning!" Twilight yelled back.

Pinkie curled up on the ground and folded her forelegs, showing nothing but ungratefulness. Twilight levitated her up onto her hooves again, looking her in the eye.

"Look!" she said, "You may be the only pony in Equestria who loves to throw parties and just be random all the time, but that's not a bad thing!" She stopped levitating her, letting her stand on her own. "You also may be a crazy-wazy, loopy-doopy, psycho pony, but you're not the only one..."

Pinkie Pie looked away, trying to pretend she wasn't listening.

Twilight sighed before braving through her next sentence. "...You may be one... but in all honesty... s-so am I..."

Pinkie Pie turned toward her again.

"I really am a nut job," Twilight finished, hanging her head.

Pinkie frowned. "No you're not..." she argued.

"Yes, I am," Twilight argued back. "I'm just a crazy-wazy, loopy-doopy, psycho-pony who reads books and plays with magic as a lifelong hobby."

Pinkie felt bad now. She knew she wouldn't have made Twilight feel this way if she had not been offended so easily.

She had some mending to do.

She slowly walked toward the unicorn, lifted her chin up with a hoof, and smiled warmly. Twilight stared back like a scared filly. "You may be a loopy pony, Twilight..." Her mane re-inflated, causing the darker pony to become wet, also. "...But you're my loopy pony."

She then closed her eyes, leaned in and kissed her softly, catching the unicorn by surprise, but Twilight soon fell into the kiss and returned it fully, closing her eyes as well.

Pinkie's lips were still wet from the fountain, so the kiss was a little more slippery than the ones prior to it, but this time it meant more than kissing just for the sake of kissing. They could feel each other's emotion being put into the kiss. They could tell that they both felt apologetic and grateful toward one another. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. To feel another's emotion through their actions could change one's life forever.

Twilight had learned that she needs to watch her words, but she also learned that Pinkie Pie is more sensitive than she thought.

Pinkie Pie learned that kissing can help both of them feel better in two ways.

As they became more in need of breathing, they made the most of the end of their kiss before pulling apart for air. They kept their eyes closed and foreheads together until Pinkie thought of something.

"Twilight?" she whispered.

"...Yeah?"

"...Should we crash at your place?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay... I think I'm in love with you, by the way..."

Twilight giggled at her words. Who passes I love you as talking about the weather?

Pinkie Pie does.

"I think I feel the same, Pinkie."

As they began walking back to the library, she came to the conclusion that it would take somepony slightly loopy. With this in mind, she finally realized that what she needed more in her life was a little more Pinkie Pie.

And after tonight, she would have just that.

~ * * * ~

If it weren't for Rainbow Dash, dinner would have gone completely uneventful. She had made their meal of mashed potatoes, gravy, and asparagus into the newest Wonderbolt routine.

"Rainbow Dash... Stop playing with your food...! And... mine, too, please..."

Dinner was supposed to be quiet, or at least not as rowdy as it had become.

Rainbow Dash stopped making swooshing noises and looked where she was standing. She was currently on top of the table with a piece of asparagus in one hoof and a spoon full of mashed potatoes in the other. She then looked at Fluttershy sheepishly.

"...But Rainbow Dash hasn't even finished her super awesome, mind-blowing horizontal tornado yet..." She shook the spoon lightly, indicating that it represented herself.

"It doesn't matter, Rainbow. You shouldn't play with your food..." Fluttershy attempted to convince her.

"...And Fluttershy hasn't finished her awesome cheering either..." She shook the asparagus lightly, indicating that it represented Fluttershy.

Fluttershy blushed, but she still wasn't going to tolerate her lover's behavior at the dinner table. "That's very flattering, Rainbow..." She hovered up next to her and softly took hold of Rainbow's forelegs. "...But you're not using good manners... Please stop now..."

Dash's eyes darted all over her lover's face, finding it beautiful, disciplined, and almost threatening in a way. She then realized that she was acting rather childish anyway, so she hung her head and hopped off of the table, sitting back in her chair. "Sorry, Flutters, I..." She looked at Fluttershy. "...I guess I... got carried away."

Fluttershy hovered back over to her chair and sat in it. "It's okay, Dashie... It's just that it's dinnertime right now, okay?"

"Fine..."

Fluttershy could see her disappointment. "You know I still love you, right?"

"Yeah, I know..." Rainbow continued eating.

Fluttershy finished the last of her food and took care of her plate, surprised that she actually finished her food first. She then trotted over next to Rainbow. "What's wrong, Dashie?"

Rainbow continued eating. "Nothing..."

Fluttershy observed how she ate. "I really do love you, Rainbow. You can tell me if there's something bothering you..."

Rainbow swallowed and stopped eating. She then looked at her solemnly. There was a long pause before anything else but the occasional chirp or squeak from an animal that had been up too late. Crickets could be heard, also.

Fluttershy had a lightly sickening feeling coming from her belly and breathing had unintentionally become harder.

Rainbow swallowed again, this time without any food. She took a deep breath before beginning. "I-I'm... I'm worried..." she stuttered.

"What about?"

"...About our friends," she continued.

"Why are you worried about them? They seem just fine, don't they?"

The athlete Pegasus looked slightly askew. "Well, not about them personally..."

Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder. "What do you mean, then?"

Rainbow readjusted her anxiety-filled gaze toward Fluttershy. "I'm worried about what our friends think of us... Applejack looked angry, Twilight looked confused, and Rarity fainted for crying out loud. The only ones who seemed to be okay with it were Pinkie Pie and maybe Spike. We're completely surrounded with ponies who don't feel comfortable around us!"

"Shhhhh!" Fluttershy shushed her. "I'm letting Angel Bunny sleep inside tonight, and I don't want you wake him...!"

Rainbow was startled by her quiet but sudden outburst and, feeling sheepish, hung her head.

Fluttershy had thought this over many years before, and after much experience with her friends, she came to know something she really appreciated.

She then hugged her and told her sincerely, "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart... But you know what? If they really are our friends, they won't care who we like or what we wear. If they're our friends, they'll be as supportive as they can. They may prefer a different way of doing things for themselves, but that doesn't mean they think everypony else has to do it that way, too. Otherwise, everypony would be the same. Nopony is exactly the same as anypony, Dashie... They'll treat us just the same as they always do if they know we're still their friends."

Rainbow sat there, finding it amazing that the shy yellow pegasus would see it in such an uplifting way.

As Rainbow took her words in, she began to smile. Maybe things would be alright, after all. "I think you're right, Fluttershy... Everything will probably be fine."

Fluttershy could feel the cyan mare's heart beat slow, indicating that she had calmed down. As she continued hugging her fillyfriend, she felt her hug back. "I just never really thought about all of this until now," said Rainbow, leaning back to look at her. "Thanks, Fluttershy. I love you..."

Fluttershy smiled back. "I love you, too."

Rainbow felt a strong urge to kiss the yellow Pegasus in her hooves. It was something about the way she smiled that caused this urge. She wanted to gently smother her with all of her love, hoping that she would know how much she truly appreciated her. All of the things she does, everything about her was both lovable and adorable. She also knew that this urge could not be resisted.

She then slowly leaned forward, closed her eyes and hoped that Fluttershy wouldn't mind. Fluttershy saw her small desire and accepted with gratitude. She kissed back softly and held her close, never wanting to let her go.

Rainbow's wings opened and fluttered against the back of the chair. Fluttershy could tell she was uncomfortable with the small amount of wing space she had and, in turn, decided to give her some by hovering a bit, hinting for her to follow. Rainbow did so on instinct, breaking their kiss for a half second, only to reconnect when they were both in the air. Rainbow added her tongue into the mix, sweetly asking for entrance by gently prodding at her lips. Fluttershy, being last one who would deny her request, opened and allowed.

Their sweet show of affection and emotion turned into a playful game of dominance, neither pony feeling very competitive at the time. As their game ensued, their altitude grew higher and higher until--

Bonk!

The last thing that Rainbow expected was to hit her head on the ceiling while kissing her most favorite pony in the world. "Ow..." She broke their lip-lock and rubbed the top of her head.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." said Fluttershy, feeling guilty. "I didn't realize we were getting so..." She looked down toward the table beneath them. "...far up..."

"Don't be silly, Fluttershy..." Rainbow assured her. "It's not your fault. You just weren't paying attention and neither was I. It's nopony's fault, really."

Fluttershy giggled. "I guess it's not..."

"Here," said the enthusiastic Pegasus. "Let's go somewhere a little comfortable..."

She then dashed up the stairs and into Fluttershy's room with the shy mare in her hooves, being careful not to bump into or break anything on the way. She then gently laid her down on the bed, eyeing her with loving yet hopeful eyes. Fluttershy knew what she was about to make happen. She sat up halfway and looked at her with a knowing gaze.

"...Rainboooow..."

Rainbow Dash pouted again. She had known it was probably a long shot, but she had figured she would at least try again since she already had the mare in her hooves. She had felt the desire and longing so much at the time that her wings just extended almost involuntarily and started beating against the chair she had been sitting in. Oh, well... Fluttershy still denied her, and that was that. Maybe tomorrow or another--

"Don't forget to close the door first..."

Rainbow raised both eyebrows at that one. "Huh? What?"

Fluttershy blushed hard. "...You... f-forgot to close the door..."

Rainbow was inwardly ecstatic but dumbfounded, nonetheless.

She was mentally becoming a giddily-entranced loon.

Yes, she was mentally B.A.G.E.L.'d.

She was excited of course, but was Fluttershy?

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked the pony lying under her.

Fluttershy blushed harder and nodded unsurely.

Seeing her uncertainty, Rainbow felt a little guilty. She then put her hooves on the timid mare's shoulders, asking with sincerity, "Fluttershy... You don't seem very sure about this... Do you not want to do this tonight?"

Fluttershy finally felt her feelings pour out. "Oh, Dashie...! I don't want to hold you back anymore... I want you to be able to live your dreams, as well as... other things, too... It's very considerate of you to take my feelings and opinions into account, but I do want this. I do...! I don't want to be blocking your way anymore." She spread her forelegs out across the bed. "I'm all yours now, my sweet, beautiful Rainbow..."

Seeing she wasn't hiding anything, Rainbow smiled and lowered her body onto Fluttershy's so they would be chest-to-chest and tummy-to-tummy. "If you say so, 'Shy." She then leaned in to kiss her, but was stopped by a hoof on her lips.

"But first... would you mind getting the door?" whispered Fluttershy.

Rainbow nodded quickly and flew over to quietly close the door, denying anypony else or any animal from seeing them.

Throughout the entirety of one single day, their brand new bond had grown to be one of the strongest that Equestria still had yet to see.

And after tonight, it would only be stronger.

Author's Note

Please let me know if you any kind of mistakes. This chapter was written at a rather quick pace. Also, you don't have to be nice to me if you don't want to be.