A True Surpriseby Garbo802Chapters2. It's About Time3. Dreams4. Learning to See1. When It's Love2. It's About TimeWithin an hour, it seemed that half of Ponyville occupied Sugarcube corner. It was one of the largest parties that Pinkie had thrown, even larger than the one on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration. The air was filled with laughter and a hundred different conversations all going on at the same time. In the corner, Vinyl Scratch was talking to Spike, asking him what songs he wanted. After all, it was his party. Fortunately for the party-goers, Spike was a young dragon and not a young pony. If he had been, he probably would’ve chosen something by Oat Direction, or some other type of tasteless modern music. But Spike was in to another type of music. While Earth Ponies had country and Unicorns had classical, it was the Pegasi who had created what he considered the greatest genre: Rock n’ Roll. A few months ago, Rainbow Dash had taken Spike to a Nickerback concert, and Spike had loved it. But soon after, the young dragon found out that Nickerback - as rock bands go - was pretty lame. After being exposed to some of the older classic rock bands, his love of the genre grew tenfold. So of course, his requests were all classic rock songs. Currently, there was a song playing by Pony Jett and the Blackcolts, and the Pegasi and Earth Pony dominated room was loving it. Some of the unicorns weren’t, but it was a pretty small number. As good at the music was, it wasn’t a very fitting soundtrack to the scenario playing out between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. They hadn’t talked nor seen each other since the party guests had started arriving, and they’d had plenty of time to think it over and second guess themselves. Currently, Pinkie was sitting at the drinks table taking shots of Sarsaparilla to try and take her mind off of Twilight. She sat alone until a certain daredevil pegasus noticed her lack of company. “Hey Pinkie, what’s up? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sit still at one of your parties. Well, except that one with the bucket of radishes, but I’d just like to forget that one, personally.” Rainbow Dash’s attempt to lighten the mood went unnoticed. “It’s nothing, Dashie. Why don’t you go enjoy the party? You love Pony Jett, don’t you?” “Yeah, but how am I supposed to enjoy the party without Ponyville’s premier party pony?” “You have been so far,” commented Pinkie, pouring herself another cup. “Well, yeah, I guess I was, but I don’t feel like partying right now. Seriously, what’s going on? I know it’s something, or you’d still be out there doing your thing.” Sighing, the depressed mare downed her glass before answering. “Dashie, have you ever had a crush before?” Pulling up a chair, Rainbow sat down next to her distressed friend. “Well, yeah, a few, but not too big. How bad to you have it?” “Really bad.” “Oh. So, you haven’t told her yet?” For a second, Pinkie was going to ask Dash how she knew she was into mares, but she remembered that she’d told a Dash a while ago. “No, I haven’t.” “Well, why not? It can’t be that bad, right?” Pinkie thought her response over. She didn’t really want Rainbow Dash knowing she had the hots for Twilight, at least not yet. And if she said it was a friend, she knew the cyan pegasus might be able to guess. The earth pony went for a more vague approach. “Well, I’m afraid she won’t like me. Heck, I don’t even know if she’s a fillyfooler or not.” “Huh,” said Rainbow, pondering Pinkie’s dilemma. “Well, is she an earth pony?” “No.” “Well, that helps. As long as she’s not some unicorn nobility, I doubt she’ll be a homophobe, right?” Rainbow joked. Pinkie laughed nervously. Technically, Twilight was part of the nobility because of Shining Armor’s marriage. “And also, let’s just get this part out of the way. Would you be okay telling me who it is or is it a secret?” “Secret.” She answered quickly. “Oh, okay. Well, I get why you don’t want her to hate you. You’re friends with everypony here, and I wouldn’t want to ruin that. But sometimes you’ve got to take risks, Pinkie.” “But what if she does hate me?” Rainbow sighed, putting a hoof around Pinkie’s shoulder. “I’m not too good with this romance stuff, but I do know what it means to be a friend, Pinks. If this mare is really worth being friends with, would she ever hate you?” Would Twilight ever hate me? Pinkie wondered. Looking back in her memory, all she ever found were good times. Twilight had never really been angry with her. Sure, exasperated once or twice, but never angry. And she couldn’t imagine that mare hating her either. “No, she wouldn’t. A true friend sticks by your side, no matter what!” Dash smiled in triumph. “That’s right!” Pinkie stood back up, determination in her eyes. “I should tell Twilight how I feel!” Running away from the table, Pinkie didn’t get to see the shocked expression on her friend’s face. “Wait, we were talking about … Twilight?” =-=-=-=-= At about the same time, Twilight was seated on the other end of the room. Unlike Pinkie Pie, she had genuinely tried to enjoy the party, but after a few conversations she gave up. She didn’t feel like talking with anypony. Her fear of telling Pinkie how she felt was irrational, after all, could that always-happy ready-to-party pony ever hate anyone? Sure, the mare had a slight case of split-personality disorder, but that was rare, and only triggered by people not liking her. Twilight doubted Pinkamena would make an appearance if she told pinkie she liked her more than anything. But science doesn’t always work consistently, Twilight reminded herself. And even if it did, Pinkie still might feel awkward around her, and if it didn’t work out, the unicorn still wanted to be friends. Was it worth holding her feelings in, she wondered. “I can think this over better at the library where it’s quiet,” Twilight said to herself. She didn’t hate rock music; if anything, she respected it for its similarity to her favorite genre: Jazz. But sometimes, it just wasn’t the right type of music for the situation. She even recognized the song playing: Communication Breakdown. More of a jazz link that most of rock had, since it was a hit from the older days of the genre, a decade before her time at least, from what she’d read on the subject. Of course, none of that was enough to make her stay, but as she was about to leave, a familiar voice called her back. “Twilight? Wherever are you going, dear?” “Oh, hey Rarity.” The white-coated mare trotted over to Twilight with a big smile on her face, an expression than became subdued when she saw Twilight’s mood. “Oh Twilight, what’s the matter. There’s a party going on for your little spikey-wikey and you’re just leaving?” Rarity had a point, and Twilight started to feel a little guilty about it. “Uh … maybe.” “Well what’s bothering you, then? There must be something wrong; I can’t imagine another reason you’d want to leave.” “Well, I guess there is something,” Twilight mumbled. Motioning for her to follow, Rarity walked to the sparsely-populated side of the room and sat down at one of the booths, which were the only seats available since the standing tables had been taken down to make room for the festivities. Twilight took the opposite seat. “So, what kind of problem is it Twilight?” Nervously, Twilight fidgeted with the salt shaker on the table. Well, at least it used to be a salt shaker. This one was full of sugar. “Well, I might just … sort of … have feelings for somepony.” “Oh Twilight, that’s wonderful! Now, who’s the lucky stallion … … Or mare? … actually, come to think of it, I don’t know which way you … well … go.” Noticing her friend’s hesitancy, Rarity continued. “If you don’t want me to tell anypony, I won’t. You can trust me. I swear it on all the dresses in my boutique.” “Well, I’m kind of both, really.” Rarity didn’t skip a beat. “Twilight, there’s nothing wrong with that. That must widen the playing field, no?” Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t exactly date around.” “Well, I suppose that’s true, but that’s not really important. So, are they a stallion or a mare?” “A mare.” “Is that why you’re so tense? There’s nothing wrong with it; nopony will think less of you. Well at least, nopony worth listening to.” “It’s not that,” she replied, this time fidgeting with her hooves. “It’s just that we’re kind of friends and I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” “It’s Pinkie Pie, isn’t it?” Twilight was astounded. “How in Equestria did you know that?” “Just a hunch I gathered. I tend to notice the small things, like how you could never look at her for more than a few seconds without turning away, or how every time we were in danger, you always made sure Pinkie was okay first. Until now, I wasn’t really sure of it, but what you just said filled in the gaps.” “I see.” Twilight had always realized how perceptive Rarity was in general, but when it came to romance, she treated it like a science. That was something the studious unicorn could relate to and respect. “So you really are in love with Pinkie. This is very interesting. I take it she doesn’t know yet?” “No, she doesn’t, at least, I don’t think she does. And I wouldn’t really classify it as love. I mean attraction, sure, but not L-O-V-E love.” “But it’s enough for you to want to do something about it?” “Exactly,” said Twilight, glad that Rarity seemed to understand her issue. “This reminds me of a love story I read once,” said the mare thoughtfully. “Actually, it reminds me of a lot of love stories I read, but one in particular. In the story, a stallion falls deeply in love with a mare, but for a while, he’s too shy to admit it. He and her and been friends for years, and he didn’t know how the mare would react. But one day, it became too much for him to hold in and he confessed his feelings. But she didn’t share those feelings.” Twilight blinked. “How is that supposed to make me feel better?” “Ah-ah-ah, you didn’t let me finish. The mare told the stallion she wasn’t really interested in him that way, but she still wanted to be friends and pretend like nothing had happened. He wasn’t exactly happy with the arrangement, but he was happy to spend time with her either way. But during that time, he kept trying to win her heart subtly. And of course, the mare noticed, but she decided to let it go on, seeing no harm. As time went on, he continued his attempts, and do you know what happened?” “What?” “She started to fall in love with him. Then a good deal of other things happened, but in the end, the two got married and lived happily together for the rest of their lives.” Rarity took Twilight’s hooves in hers, staring into the other mare’s eyes. “The point of the story is simple: even if one is rejected by the one they love, that does not mean the rejection is permanent. The stallion didn’t give up and let the mare sort out her own feelings. So even if Pinkie doesn’t like you that way, there’s always the chance her feelings might change. She might even have feelings for you that she doesn’t know about yet. But I’m not going to tell you what to do, Twilight Sparkle. Do what you think is right.” There was no need for that last comment; she’d had Twilight sold from the first few words. “Rarity, thank you so much. I know what I should do now!” “It’s nothing, really,” said the fashion designer, getting up out of her seat. By the time she was out, Twilight was already halfway across the room, searching for a certain pink-colored mare. =-=-=-=-= Scanning the crowd, Rainbow Dash was easily able to find the Pink-maned, pink-coated pony she was looking for. It had been five minutes since the two had talked, and she hadn’t seen any sign of Twilight. Apparently, Pinkie hadn’t either. Rainbow thought that was somewhat odd. Sugarcube Corner wasn’t a big space, so between her and Pinkie, finding Twilight should have been easy. It was unlikely that Twilight would leave the party. After all, it was being thrown for her own #1 assistant. Still, there wasn’t any sign of the mare. Just when Dash was about to give up, she saw Pinkie jump much higher than should have been physically possible. Landing, the excited mare ran over towards the door. Curiously, she looked to see where the mare was going. At the door, she saw Twilight. When Pinkie got there, the two ponies started talking. Wanting to know what was going to happen, Rainbow Dash headed in that direction. =-=-=-=-= After looking for Pinkie Pie for what seemed like forever to the purple mare, Twilight was all of a sudden face to face with the mare in question. Both ponies had gone into this with full confidence in what they were about to do. Both had planned what they wanted to say, and how they wanted to say it. Both plans failed catastrophically. Pinkie, for one, was tongue-tied. It had been so much easier when she went over it in her head: Twilight, I love you. But now that the earth pony was there with her in real life, it was not nearly so easy. Twilight was equally shocked, but was the first pony to get over her fear. It was like jumping into a cold lake: Just get the freezing part over with and get to the relief. “Uh, Pinkie, I have something I need to tell you.” Just like that, Twilight’s mental peanut gallery returned. Yeah, good job. Get right to it! Letting out a deep breath, Pinkie responded. “I have something to tell you too.” Similarly, the voice in Pinkie’s head was back. Okay, good, now go for it. “I think maybe we should go outside where it’s a little … quieter,” suggested the unicorn mare. “Yeah, let’s.” =-=-=-=-= Having followed Twilight back into the thick of things, Rarity saw Pinkie just after Twilight did. She knew it was better to leave them be, but her curiosity compelled her to listen in. Hiding herself in the crowd, she tried her best to listen in. Unfortunately for Rarity, she couldn’t make hooves or tails of what they were saying over the music. “Well it’s not as I if I can just ask them to turn it off, is it? Oh well, I guess I’ll have to get a little closer.” Peeking her head around, Rarity was just in time to see Twilight and Pinkie Pie head out the door. “They must be trying to get away from the music too,” Rarity reasoned. The mare had never been much of a fan of rock in roll, nor music in general. Ponies often thought that odd considering her singing abilities, but she still wasn’t a fan. It would be a relief to get away from the noise. After waiting a few seconds for Pinkie and Twilight to get a head start, Rarity casually walked out the door, but as she did, somepony walked out right beside her. It was somepony she recognized. “Rainbow Dash?” “Wait, Rarity? What are you doing leaving the party so early?” “Well I should ask the same of you. And for your information, I found the music a tad bit loud for my tastes.” Rainbow wasn’t buying it. “You’re following Pinkie and Twilight, aren’t you?” Sighing, Rarity gave in. “You too?” she asked. “Yeah; me and Pinkie talked and she told me she had the hots for Twilight, so I figured I’d follow along to make sure everything went alright.” “As if, Rainbow Dash. You and I know perfectly well that you are just as curious about this as I am.” Rainbow didn’t meet Rarity’s gaze, instead scratching at the ground with her hoof. “I’m … well, I guess … maybe. You know, it’s not like I’m … opposed to the whole romance thing, or anything. I’m not really in to it like you, or anything, but even I like a little romance every once in a while, you know?” “We all do, darling. There’s no reason to be so nervous about admitting it, and I certainly didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” “No, it’s fine Rares. I’m fine,” she said, apparently perking back up. “Oh, good. Now let’s hurry and find them already, or we’ll lose them.” Taking to the air, Dash started flying down the street. “Way ahead of you!” =-=-=-=-= Twilight had planned on speaking up right away, she truly had. But as time – and the walk – went on, Twilight found she enjoyed the silence. Before, the only emotion she’d felt when she was around Pinkie Pie was nervousness. Just for once, it was nice to share a calm moment with the mare, especially considering how stressful the last few hours had been, and the emotional roller-coaster she’d led herself on. Pinkie Pie was feeling differently. As much as the walk was nice, she was still anxious to say what she wanted to say. Her regular personality, which in their last meeting had been buried under her stress, was surfacing once again. Instead of the mask of seriousness she’d been before, she was starting to drift back to a more hyperactive attitude. One thing hadn’t changed, however: she was still a little nervous; nervous enough to hold back what she wanted to say, even now, when she was almost certain that Twilight shared her feelings. After all, why else would she be on this walk? As she thought it over, Pinkie forgot her desire to speak, becoming somewhat withdrawn. After a while, the walk led the two mares far away from the lights and sounds of sugarcube corner, and even out of Ponyville itself. When the two finally stopped walking, it was only because there was a body of water in the way and there wasn’t an easy way to get around it. But then again, maybe they wouldn’t want to even if they could. Stretching out like a mirror before them, the water beautifully reflected the slowly rising moon, which shined in full glory in the cloudless dusk. Other than a few frogs and water striders, nothing interrupted the smooth surface, and even those things barely did anything to ruin the image. Both ponies sat down, gazing at the sight. It was then that Twilight surprised herself by breaking the silence. “Pinkie, you remember what you were telling me about Lyra and Bon Bon, right?” “Yeah, I do Twilight.” “You said you probably wouldn’t be able to tell somepony if you loved them, especially if you were their friend. And I said I wouldn’t be able to either, but now that I think about it, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t say anything.” Pinkie felt a warm feeling rising in her chest as her nervousness was replaced with a deep contentment. “You know, I think I would say something too.” Twilight subtly slid herself closer to Pinkie until they were touching flank to flank. “So that’s how Lyra did It: just went up to her and said it?” “That’s what she said,” whispered Pinkie, leaning in just a little. “Well, I’m saying something right now,” said Twilight, also starting to lean in. “Me too,” replied Pinkie, leaning in even farther. The two stayed that way for a moment - inches apart and able to feel each other’s breathing - before they the closed the gap between their lips, quickly losing themselves in the kiss. It wasn’t a deep kiss, but it didn’t need to be one. With it, both mares felt the last inklings of doubt and fear fade away, and that feeling was much better than the kiss itself. Even though it was a somewhat tame kiss, that didn’t mean it was a short one. The two stretched it out for tick after tick of the imaginary clock, having no reason to stop or reconsider. In the end, they only broke it off because they could only survive on shallow breaths for so long before one of them fainted. Taking a moment to catch their breaths, they couldn’t stop smiling at each other or staring into each other’s eyes. =-=-=-=-= Meanwhile, in the bushes a dozen yards away, two mares watched the scene with awe. “Wow, they’re really going at it. I’ve never seen anypony hold one kiss that long!” Rarity nodded in agreement. “How long has it been now … a minute? Oh, there they go, they’re splitting up.” Silence fell again before Rainbow piped up. “You know, I bet they’d be able to hear us if they weren’t so busy staring at each other.” “Yes, they probably would. But Rainbow, I have a question.” “Yeah?” “What would you do in their horseshoes? I mean, if there was somepony you liked, what would you do?” Rarity could see Rainbow Dash’s blush in the moonlight. “Well … uh … I … I have to go somewhere. Bye Rarity!” Keeping to her word, the athletic pegasus sped off silently into the night, leaving Rarity alone in the bushes to figure out what had just happened. It took her a while, but she finally came to a conclusion. “Does Rainbow Dash … have a crush on somepony?” 3. DreamsPinkie Pie had never thought she could have such a great time standing still, and yet here she was, doing nothing but staring a few inches in front of herself, having the time of her life. Despite her lack of motion, she was doing something, and the entertainment in the moment was found not in the staring itself, but what she was staring at: Twilight Sparkle, the sexiest mare in the world - at least to Pinkie. In her mind, there was nothing that could ruin this moment. During and after the kiss, the pink-coated party-mare had felt herself relax, both physically and mentally. Even now, minutes after the kiss, the usually chaotic cluster of nerves in her head was as calm as the night sky above her. That was a great feeling, a feeling Pinkie wasn’t used to, and a feeling that wasn’t about to last forever. If Pinkie’s brain was like the pond to her right, then it was as if somepony was skipping stones on the opposite shore. At first, there was a single impact, barely noticeable in her mind’s eye. It did little to break the inanimate surface of the pool. But after a second skip, and a third skip, and most afterwards, the amount of ripples made the small pond look like a violent ocean, or a frothing root beer float, a drink Pinkie often served at Sugarcube Corner. The single thought in her head was like that one stone: a small object that caused a large disturbance. And as much as she wanted to savor the moment, she couldn’t push the thought aside. She didn’t want to think about it, yet she did. Twilight seemed to notice her sudden change in mood and came out of her own love-struck state. “Pinkie, what’s the matter?” “Nothing; there’s just something I feel like I should be remembering, like something tingling in my brain. It’s really important, Twilight!” “Is it your Pinkie sense? Should I be running for the bushes?” “No, not that kind of tingling. It’s something about tonight …” Sighing, Twilight grudgingly accepted the fact that the romantic mood had been completely derailed and that there was nothing she could do about it. “Well, let’s go through tonight. What were you doing before I came over?” “Just running the shop like usual. A few customers came in, nothing important.” “Well, okay, then that’s out. What about when we were setting up the party?” Beyond just helping Pinkie out, Twilight was curious about what had been going through her head at the moment, although at this point, she had a pretty good idea. Pinkie obliged happily, although she felt herself blushing at the thoughts. “Well, I was mixing up all the sweets and stuff. But mostly I was just thinking about you.” Now it was Twilight’s turn to blush. Maybe the mood wasn’t completely dead after all. “Really?” the unicorn asked. “Yeah, I was really nervous, you know. Like when I went back to get that flour and I didn’t grab any. I wasn’t really getting flour; I was just really super-duper scared was all.” “I was too,” said Twilight, grinning as she leaned in for another kiss. Pinkie leaned in too, but just when their lips touched, she remembered something. “THE PARTY!” Jumping in fright, Twilight found herself in the air one second, then cold and wet the next. Flailing around, she was unable to find her bearings. A few seconds of confusion later, she felt a hoof lift her up and out of the cold. When she surfaced, her ears were instantly bombarded with a chorus of apologies from Pinkie Pie. “Oh, Twilight, I’m so, so, so, so, so sorry. I just got really excited, cause I remembered, Twilight; I remembered what I was trying to remember!” After shaking the water out of her mane and drying off her eyes, Twilight figured out what had happened. She’d fallen into the pond by accident. At first she was angry, but after rationalizing the situation her frown turned upside down. Well, sort of; technically frowns don’t turn upside down. They invert. “It’s okay Pinkie. It’ll take a lot more than that to ruin this night.” Pinkie smiled shyly, giving Twilight a warm hug. It wasn’t really warm on Pinkie Pie’s end, but it was on Twilight’s, and it was pleasant for both of them. Twilight would have loved to stay out there for a while in Pinkie’s embrace, but even though it warmed her up, the cold nighttime wind was making her anxious to get inside. As much as she wanted to rekindle what had been going on before she took a dive, she didn’t want to wake up with a cold the next morning, either. Still holding the hug, Twilight asked: “So Pinkie, what were you saying about the party?” “Oh yeah.” Letting Twilight go, Pinkie continued. “Well, we’ve been gone awhile, and I bet everypony’s wondering where we are.” “Oh goodness, you’re right!” As she usually did when she got nervous, Twilight started pacing. “If we go back and ponies ask where we were, we’ll have to either tell them what happened or lie.” “But why would we lie, Twilight? It’s not like we did anything wrong.” “Yes, but if we tell them, it’ll probably take all the attention off of Spike, and this is supposed to be his special night!” Pinkie had to admit that Twilight had a point. “Huh … you’re right.” “Of course I’m right; how could I have missed this? Ugh, I feel so selfish!” Now the absent party host was conflicted. In more ways than one, she’d just ruined her first kiss with Twilight, and now she was missing from a party she was supposed to be running. Part of her wanted to rekindle what had been going on between her and Twilight, but abandoning the party was starting to make her feel a little selfish as well. “Hey Twilight?” “Yes, Pinkie?” The mare stopped pacing. “Maybe we should figure this out on the way back to the party.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re right! Let’s get going!” At that the two mares galloped along the shortest possible path back to Sugarcube Corner, having a rushed discussion about what they would say when they returned. =-=-=-=-= Thankfully for the two mares, nopony had noticed their absence except of course for Rarity, who, having come to the same realization as Twilight, hadn’t said anything at the party. Now that the party was over, the two went their separate ways. Twilight, who had since dried off from her spill in the pond, was walking back to the Library with Spike and Rarity. Rarity lived only a few buildings down from Twilight’s, so they took the same route back. As they walked, Spike was busy talking the two mares’ ears off about the party. “So then Lyra was like, Spike, you’re such a hero, and I was like, Yeah, I guess I am. That was the best part about the whole thing; everypony was calling me a hero and stuff. It was great!” “Uh-huh,” both mares mumbled in unison. Oblivious to the fact that neither his crush nor his guardian was paying any attention, the young drake continued. “And almost everypony was like that. Well, actually there were a few weird ones. Like Davenport. I don’t really know what he was doing. He said he wanted me to set him up with Lily or something. What does that even mean?” Although Rarity already had a lot on her mind, the issue of Davenport trying to exploit Spike’s newfound popularity and innocence made her pay a little more attention. She looked over to Twilight, who was still deep in thought. She wanted to ask the mare what was wrong – she could tell something was bothering her – but with Spike there, she couldn’t really. And with her out of it, somepony needed to answer Spike’s question. “Well, Spikey, apparently Davenport was trying to use you to get a date with Lily.” “Oh, well that’s okay I guess.” Rarity gasped. “Spike, that is not the least bit appropriate, and I’m going to have to talk to him about it later. It’s not right to use children as a proxy for romance and that’s that.” “Rarity, it’s fine, really.” “No, it is not fine, and I’m going to have him apologize to you.” “Do you really think that’s necessary?” the dragon asked, wanting to avoid an awkward encounter with the stallion. “Yes, Spike, it is indeed necessary. He’s done some distasteful things before but he’s gone too far this time!” Knowing there was no way he was going to get what he wanted, Spike caved. After all, it was Rarity he was talking to. As the group walked on, Rarity kept Spike’s attention away from Twilight by talking about the party, hoping the dragon wouldn’t notice how off Twilight seemed. This tactic could only last for so long, however, as Rarity had to go into her house while the dragon and his guardian would continue on to the Library. Saying her goodbyes to the two, she opened the door to her boutique, barely noticing the chiming of the bell over the door. Inside, there were a dozen incomplete dresses laid out on mannequins, waiting to be finished. Often, Rarity would try and work on them, even this late, but she had far too much on her mind to focus on the dresses. She knew she shouldn’t be so fixated on Twilight and Pinkie Pie’s romance, but she couldn’t help it, since she had no idea what had happened to make the purple unicorn so upset. Although she’d seen the kiss from her hiding place in the bushes, she hadn’t seen what had gone on afterward because she’d made a futile attempt to chase down Rainbow Dash, who had seemed even more distraught than Twilight was now. That was another issue: what had made Rainbow Dash so upset? Those two issues were easily enough to keep the mare lying awake in bed, which she was now doing. Her mind was a mess of incomplete thoughts, but after giving herself a moment to calm down, she was able to regain some focus. “Well, I might as well try and figure out what happened to Rainbow Dash,” she said to herself. This was a simpler problem than Twilight’s, because the romantically-savvy Rarity had already figured out the most likely cause of the pegasus’ actions: jealousy. It wasn’t something she would’ve expected from the mare. Rainbow had never expressed any interest in romance, at least not to her. “Ponies do change, though,” she reminded herself. “After all, nopony can just go on ignoring romance forever.” So now she knew the motive, but an even bigger issue was still unaddressed. Who was Rainbow Dash jealous about? The two most obvious candidates were Twilight or Pinkie Pie. It was possible that she’d had a crush on one of the two, and was angry at herself for not acting sooner. However, Rarity could not rule herself out as a possibility. She had been there with Dash behind the bush, after all. But when she thought about it, that didn’t make much sense. The mare had left the scene seemingly in response to the kiss, and that wasn’t something Rarity had done. On the other hoof, Rarity had also asked her what she would’ve done if she were Pinkie or Twilight. If that was the cause, there was no way for Rarity to know which it was, and the only way to figure that out was asking the pegasus herself. Realizing that she was getting nowhere, Rarity refocused her attention to Twilight’s feelings. On the way back from the party, she’d seemed … subdued, for lack of a better term. Thankfully, she didn’t seem sad, which meant that nothing catastrophic had occurred. Conversely, the fact that she wasn’t overjoyed meant that something had happened. And of course, the only way to find out these things was to ask Twilight herself. “Well, I guess I’ll be paying a visit to Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the near future, won’t I?” Rarity asked of nopony in particular. Finally letting herself relax, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep. 4. Learning to SeeAt around the same time that night, Pinkie Pie was still wide awake. Although she wanted nothing more than to go to bed, she still had to clean up Sugarcube Corner enough for it to be presentable the next day. That was the problem with parties: it might be fun to have them, but setting them up and tearing them down was a lot of work. It reminded Pinkie of her night. There had been a bit of hard work in the beginning, a really fun part in the middle, and a bittersweet ending. The only problem was that the party usually lasted much longer than the set-up, while her romantic experience with Twilight had lasted only five minutes. That fact had her worried. Romance wasn’t exactly something she was used to – in fact, she’d never had a marefriend before. “But is she really my marefriend?” she asked Gummy, even though she knew the alligator could not respond. Sighing, she walked over to the other side of the room and started cleaning up. “I feel like I ruined everything. That was my first kiss, too!” Reaching down to grab a fallen streamer, Pinkie was surprised to see a much larger, hoof-shaped object in its place, and instead of the purple of the streamer, the new thing was bright blue. Soon, the mare noticed that the hoof connected to a leg. And that leg connected to … “Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Grinning shyly, the speedy pegasus answered. “Well, I was just coming by to see if the party was over.” “Really, Dashie? All of my parties end two hours before midnight. You know that.” “Well what time is it now?” asked Dash, scanning the wall for a clocks but not finding any. “It ended an hour ago. And you know what’s fishy, Dashie? I didn’t see you at all after we talked. And then I looked for you, and when I couldn’t find you I looked for somepony who knew where you went, and the only pony who knew anything was Rarity, and all she said was that you left and she didn’t know why.” “Well, yeah, I left the party. That’s all there is to it.” Rainbow was surprised that Rarity hadn’t already told Pinkie about how they’d followed her and Twilight to the pond. She knew she would have to think everything through if she didn’t want to give herself away. “Why’d you do that?” Desperately, Rainbow tried to think up a lie, but as the seconds ticked on, Pinkie was still there, because as much as Dash wanted her to disappear at that moment, she knew that wasn’t happening. She also knew she was taking too long to answer. “Dashie, did something bad happen?” That was it. She had to tell Pinkie the truth, because at that point, anything else she said would sound like a blatant lie. She had to come clean, at least partially. “Sort of, I guess.” Pinkie smiled comfortingly, leading Rainbow Dash over to a table with a few standing chairs around it. Ironically, it was the same table at which Pinkie had asked for a friend’s advice earlier that evening. “Okay, so tell Auntie Pinkie Pie what happened.” Not in the mood to point out that Pinkie was not her aunt, Rainbow responded. “Well, It’s actually been going on for awhile.” “Uh-huh…” It seemed as if Rainbow was determined to set the Equestrian record for most meaningless words said in one sentence. “I, uh, well … this is kinda, well, hard to say. I’m sorta embarrassed and stuff.” Pinkie just laughed. “Oh silly, you can tell me anything. I can keep a secret!” “You know what? You’re right,” Dash admitted, taking a calming breath. “I can trust you; I’ve always been able to trust you. I should just get this out of the way, cause I’m not going to wimp out of this now.” “That’s the spirit!” said Pinkie, cheering her on. “Okay, here it goes … I have, um, a crush on somepony.” Pinkie’s face lit up even more than it normally did. “Oh my gosh, that’s so exciting! I mean, I figured this would happen eventually – I mean everypony falls in love right? – but it’s so awesome!” “Wait, what have you been waiting for, exactly?” “One of my friends to fall in love, silly!” Pinkie could tell that Rainbow didn’t understand, so she explained herself. “Well why wouldn’t I want that, Dashie? Love makes everypony so happy; it’s, like, the greatest thing ever!” In response to this, Dash gave only an empty chuckle. “Pinkie Pie, I really wish that was true.” Now it was Pinkie’s turn to stare in puzzlement. “It’s just that, well, I can’t tell her how I feel. I’ve tried to a bunch of times, and I just … can’t say it. And now with this stuff that’s happened between you and Twilight … I just think I should’ve done something a while ago.” “Aw, you don’t need to feel pressured by me asking Twilight. Besides, I’m not really sure how much is going to happen between us.” “Really? Everything seemed to be going fine at the pond,” said the athletic pegasus without thinking. “Dashie, how do you know what happened at the pond?” Rainbow’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “I … uh … what pond? I have no idea what you’re talking about Pinkie!” she out for a few seconds, hoping the pink mare would drop the subject. However, as the seconds ticked by, she knew she’d been caught red hooved. “Okay, fine, we followed you there.” “Did you say we, Dashie?” Rainbow made a mental note to start thinking things through before she said them for what seemed like the thousandth time in her life. Fortunately for her, this one was easier to worm her way out of. Besides, fessing up to it herself was one thing, but pointing a blaming hoof at Rarity wasn’t something she was prepared to do. “Oh, sorry, I meant to say I.” “Oh, okay then. So why were you hiding in the bushes watching me and Twilight kiss?” Rainbow shifted around in her seat nervously. “Well, I saw you find Twilight after we talked … and I was curious. Also, I left right after you started kissing,” she said truthfully. “But you never answered my question.” “What’s that?” “So you know that I know what happened. But everything seemed to be going awesome when I left. What happened?” “Oh, it’s nothing bad … I just sort of … accidentally pushed her into the water.” Dash’s attempts to control her laughter failed spectacularly within seconds of being put into action. It took awhile for her to control herself, but when she did, one look at Pinkie’s angry expression deadened it. “Um … sorry about that, I just … y’know … couldn’t help myself. You know what I mean, right?” Instead of answering her, Pinkie just stared her down, which in turn, made Dash feel very uncomfortable. “Yeah … so, Twilight’s okay, right?” Pinkie was unable to hold the glare after that comment, looking down at the table rather than into Dash’s eyes. “Yeah, she’s fine … but I still feel like I ruined everything.” Rainbow put a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Do you really think you ruined it? Like, really?” “I don’t know. I mean, one minute we were both super happy about it, and then that happened, and then Twilight wasn’t that happy and I wasn’t either and then we had to rush back to the party because somepony would’ve noticed we were gone … and I didn’t see you at the party when I got back. Where were you?” Ignoring the second part of her friend’s statement, the pegasus continued. “Pinkie, I’m no good at this romance stuff, but I guess what I’m trying to say is you didn’t really ruin it.” “But how could that not have ruined it!?” Pinkie’s voice was steadily rising in volume as her anxiety increased. “The mood was great, and everything was perfect-” she banged a hoof on the table angrily, a stray tear running down her face. “-and then I made Twilight fall into the water, and—” “Pinkie Pie—” “I messed up, okay?!” She stood up, screaming the last words. Soon after, she slid back into her seat, having apparently let out all of her anger. Meekly, the repeated her former statement: “I messed up.” Rainbow could only stare wide-eyed as she took in what her friend had just said. She wanted to say something to make Pinkie feel better, but at that moment, she was drawing blanks. “Where are the Cakes?” she asked, giving Pinkie a weak smile. “Taking a vacation for the next week. On some island resort...” For a moment, Pinkie’s expression went back to normal as she tried to remember. “It was the ... Marebean, or something like that.” As quick as her face had changed, it went back to the somber and teary-eyed look she’d worn moments ago. “Pinkie, look at me.” A pause. Seeing that her words hadn’t fostered a response, Rainbow grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders and tried again to get her attention. “Look at me!” Pinkie looked up, sadness in her eyes, and in that moment, Dash knew exactly what to say. “Pinkie, love is just like that. You said it makes everypony happy, but a lot of the time, it doesn’t. But with you, at least you sort of know how Twilight feels; I’ll bet she probably feels the same way. If I were her, I’d feel like it was my fault for falling over. I mean, I never lose my balance, but this is just an example, I guess. And either way, it’s loads better than spending every day thinking about a mare and trying to build up the courage to just say something for once and then not being able to do it!” Dash banged her hooves on the table, burying her face in them soon after. Belatedly, Pinkie realized how derailed the conversation had become, and remembered why Rainbow was at Sugarcube Corner in the first place. Putting a hoof on Dash’s shoulder, she slowly coaxed her friend out of her despair. “I’m sorry Dashie,” Pinkie offered, not able to release Rainbow’s face from the prison that was her front hooves. “Sorry for what?” Dash said, her voice muffled by her hooves. “I completely forgot why you came here in the first place. You needed somepony to talk to, but I made it all about me.” “It was kinda my fault for bringing up the pond,” she replied. Just when Pinkie thought Dash would lift her head, she buried it even deeper, much to Pinkie’s disenchantment. “Yeah, I know,” said the pink mare dismissively, not letting on about her disappointment. “But still. I really want to help you, because you were right: I really haven’t ruined it with Twilight.” After a second’s pause, the pegasus lifted her head a little. “So you’re saying we should pick up where we … uh … left off?” “Yepperoni Pepperoni!” “Okay, then,” said Dash, leaning her cheek on her hoof and staring off out the window. “So I was saying I have, well, y’know…” “You can just say it, silly!” “I don’t want to.” “You already did.” “So why say it again.” “Just do it for me!” “No.” “Just say it!” “But I don’t want to!” “Say it, say it, say it!!” Pinkie chanted. “Fine! I have a crush on Rarity! Happy?” As soon as she said it, Rainbow covered her mouth with her hooves, but the damage was already done. Pinkie gasped. “Wait, you’re in love with Rarity? Wow, I didn’t see that coming!” Meanwhile, Dash’s eyes were so wide that they looked like they were going to pop like balloons. Shaking her head, she started beating her hoof against it, punctuating each impact with the chant of “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” Before she could do any serious damage to herself, Pinkie grabbed Rainbow’s hoof and forced it down. “Dashie, it’s okay. I’m not going to tell anypony.” Rainbow sighed, blowing a strand of her mane out of her face. “I know Pinkie, it’s just that, well, I didn’t want anypony to know, y’know?” “Well of course you didn’t. That’s really hard to say. I mean, if you hadn’t made me all confident at the party, I never would’ve told Twilight how I felt either.” “Yeah, it’s a lot easier giving advice than doing it yourself,” Dash grumbled. Pitifully, she stared down at the table rather than meet Pinkie’s gaze. Pinkie Pie saw the other’s lack of confidence, and after looking for a better option but not finding one, enveloped her in a supportive hug, trying her best to give some equally supportive advice. “Hey, you’ll be alright. I mean, I’m new to this romance thing, but your advice worked for me, and I bet it’ll work on Rarity too!” Rainbow looked up at Pinkie with hope. “You really think so?” “Well, I can’t see the future Dashie … well, at least, not without my crystal ball … but I lost that so yeah, I don’t really know. There’s one thing I do know: you can’t just keep going on feeling like that. Rarity’s always going to be your friend either way. You have to believe!” “But I don’t even think she likes mares!” “Either way, you’re going to have to do it eventually, or do you really want to go on like this forever?” Dash couldn’t think of an answer right away, so she took a second to think about it. “I could just move away,” she whispered. “And leave all your friends behind?” asked Pinkie. “Come on, where’s the good ol’ fearless Rainbow Dash I’m used to?” Jumping up into the air, the pink mare took in a deep breath as background music started to play in the background. Just when she was about to belt out the first note, Rainbow muffled her with a hoof. “I don’t really need a song right now … but you’re right. I think it’s about time I get this off my chest.” Pinkie, who had been getting hang time for the last five seconds or so, dropped to the ground, as if on cue. “Really?” “Yep,” said Dash with renewed confidence. “I mean, I’m not just going to go over to the boutique and say it. I’m going to build up to it … and stuff … but I’m not sure how to do it. I think I’m going to need a wingmare.” For the first time since she’d come, the mare smiled for a second, only to be captured in one of Pinkie’s bone-crushing hugs. “Of course I’ll help set you up with Rarity! I mean, I basically owe you for helping me with Twilight.” Dash’s smile widened. “You’re a great friend, you know that, right?” Pinkie nodded, offering a hoof for a hoof bump. Rainbow returned it without hesitation. “Let’s do this!” =-=-=-=-= From all the excitement at Sugarcube Corner, the two mares inside had probably forgotten how late it was. But across town, a young dragon was all too aware of this fact. The time wasn’t the only thing he was keen to, because despite the late hour, his guardian had not yet gone to sleep. She was lying in bed, but there were a few things that told Spike she was awake. Firstly, she wasn’t moving, and she always shifted around a lot when asleep. He’d always thought it was stress-caused, although he didn’t think about it too much. Also, her breathing seemed off. Spike wasn’t an expert on sleep, but he remember that back when he’d started having night terrors, the mare had forced him to sit through a two-hour lecture on oneirology. The terrors had gone away eventually, but from lesson, he knew that she should be in deep sleep by now. Of course, he should have been too, but Spike hadn’t been able to sleep since arriving at the library. On the way back from the party, he had failed to notice Twilight’s state. But when they’d gone in, she hadn’t said a word to him, even when he’d asked her a question. That had finally clued him in that something was bothering her. It wasn’t an imminent threat to pony civilization or a new, malevolent arrival to Ponyville like usual; if it were one of those, Twilight would be pacing. It was something more trivial, but at the same time, something worth worrying about. The first thought that had come to Spike’s mind was that it was a friendship problem, but again, her response didn’t match up with that. If it were a friendship problem, Twilight would probably have confided in him as she usually did. Also, it would have to have happened at the party, and Spike didn’t remember anything particularly bad happening there. So he was still left with the question: What was wrong with Twilight, and why wouldn’t she tell him? Sighing, he pulled the covers a little higher over his head, shifting around in his basket. Closing his eyes, he hoped he could find an answer in a dream, although at the moment, that seemed as unlikely as him getting any sleep at all. Shifting around some more, he hoped that whatever was bothering Twilight would work out in the end. . 1. When It's Love“So then Lyra was like: Pinkie, I think I might be in love with Bon Bon.” Twilight nodded, using her magic to lift a party streamer into place. At the same time, Pinkie Pie was rushing to get the last of the baked goods ready for the party the two mares were setting up. Normally, Pinkie would just set up the party with the help of her trusty party cannon, but the Cake Twins had somehow gotten into the closet where it was stored. By the time Pinkie had gotten there, it had been reduced to a pile of scraps. Twilight had been glad to help, especially considering who the party was for. “So what happened next?” Twilight asked, continuing the conversation. “Well, I didn’t really know what to think, Twilight. I mean, I’m not really a love councilor or anything. That’s Rarity’s thing.” “That’s true.” “So I just said the first thing that came into my head,” said Pinkie as she mixed up another batch of muffins. “You didn’t sing her a song, did you?” joked the purple unicorn. Pinkie laughed. “No, not at a party, silly; she wouldn’t be able to hear. No, I just said: Do whatever you think is right. That was a toughie, though. I mean, how are you supposed to know when to cross that line? Bon Bon and her were bestest buddies and she didn’t want to ruin her friendship. I can see how hard that would be.” Twilight’s ears perked up at this. “You do?” “Well, yeah. How are you supposed to choose between love and friendship if you don’t know how it’ll turn out?” “Yeah,” said Twilight nervously. She looked up and Pinkie, who was too busy with her pastries to shoot her a look. If she had, she would’ve seen a very nervous unicorn. Trying to keep her breathing under control, she finished hanging up the one streamer and started the next. “Hey Twilight, I’m going to get some more flour,” said the mare, walking into the storeroom. “Okay,” replied Twilight. She waited until Pinkie closed the door behind her, and then let out a sigh of relief. Being in the same room with Pinkie wouldn’t normally make Twilight as nervous as she was now, but then again, all the talk about relationships wasn’t helping. Twilight knew that the mind didn’t always think rationally when romance was involved, but she still couldn’t tell if Pinkie was really dropping subtle hints or if it was just paranoia. Sighing, she floated another streamer over and put it up, letting her thoughts wander. It wasn’t as if she was deeply in love with Pinkie. Twilight classified it as a crush, although she knew little of the technical terminologies of romance. Just a crush, plain and simple; not something she ever planned on acting on. It had all started that day that Twilight had first found out about Pinkie’s twitches and how they somehow had the ability to transcend time and predict obscure events. She’d hooked Pinkie up to a machine, done research, and had a delivery truck full of supplies dumped on her head, but she’d never been able to explain how it was possible. For some reason, those events had brought out a romantic interest. She remembered reading somewhere that romance often starts for strange reasons, and it was apparently true. It had been a long time since that day, though, and Twilight had buried those feelings under friendship reports, epic quests, and all the other parts of her life. In fact, she’d forgotten about them before she and Pinkie had started up that conversation. Lyra and Bon Bon’s situation shared striking similarities to her own. She didn’t know what to do. She could just bury her feelings like before, but for the first time, she didn’t feel like doing it. She wanted to tell Pinkie how she felt, and even though it was unlikely that the ever-happy mare would ever reject her as a friend, the prospect still frightened her. “What in Equestria am I supposed to do?” =-=-=-=-= Meanwhile, Pinkie was in the supply room alone. But she wasn’t getting flour. “Oh, I hope Twilight didn’t notice how nervous I was. I bet she did, didn’t she? Oh, what am I going to do?” Pinkie Pie’s feelings were very similar to Twilight’s, but different in that they were newer. And Pinkie hadn’t had any time to bury those feelings, feelings that had come up when the two were in the Crystal Empire. Pinkie hadn’t thought of Twilight in any romantic light before that day. She hadn’t really ever felt that way about anyone, actually. But seeing the normally plain-looking mare transformed into a gorgeous, shining definition of equine beauty had changed her feelings drastically. Ever since she’d seen the studious mare in her crystal pony form, she couldn’t get her out of her mind. And now she was with her, alone, talking about romance. “Ugh, I just can’t figure it out! I mean, if I do tell her, it might work out and that would be great. But what if she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore? And even if she is, she wouldn’t think about me the same way.” “But if I don’t tell her, then I have to keep all these feelings inside,” desperately, she turned to her pet alligator for advice. “Gummy, what do you think I should do?” The lizard just sat there, gumming on an orange he’d found. Somehow, Pinkie interpreted this as an answer. “You think I need to get back out there and go for it? That’s a great idea! I should be more confident!” Striding back out the counter, her confidence lasted all of one second after she saw Twilight. “Pinkie?” “Uh, yeah Twilight?” “I thought you said you were getting some flour.” “Oh, well I didn’t really need it because … uh, you know … reasons!” “Okay,” said Twilight skeptically, hiding her anxiousness behind a shield of sarcasm. She was sure she could see Pinkie Pie’s nervousness. She was fidgeting more than normal, her pupils were dilated, and she was wearing a very artificial-seeming grin. But again, Twilight didn’t want to discount her own paranoia as the reason. But either way, Twilight didn’t want to make this awkward for them both, and tried to salvage their former conversation. “So, Pinkie, you were telling me about Lyra and Bon Bon before, right?” Pinkie gulped. “Right. Well, Lyra decided to take my advice. She never told me exactly what happened, but she basically walked up to Bon Bon and told her she had feelings for her.” “And how did that end up?” Twilight asked, genuinely curious. “Well, I found them making out outside. They both thanked me for helping Lyra, even though I didn’t really do much. They’re still thanking me, and it’s been a week now. It’s kinda funny,” Pinkie chuckled nervously. Twilight nodded calmly while her brain went into hyperdrive. She could’ve sworn Pinkie was just as nervous as she was. Meanwhile, the mare in question walked around the counter and out into the main room, surveying the decorations Twilight had put up. She sighed. “If she liked me, she would’ve made a move already,” Pinkie whispered to herself. “What was that, Pinkie?” Asked Twilight, following right behind her. The mare froze. She hadn’t thought Twilight would be able to hear her with her back turned. “I … uh …” For the first time since she’d arrived, Twilight was hopeful. “You said something about somepony making a move, right? What’s that about?” Now’s your chance, the pastry chef thought to herself. Go for it. “Well, you know, Lyra and Bon Bon.” “What about them?” Come on, don’t lose this chance. You’ll probably never have anything like this again. “Well, I was just thinking about Lyra, and how brave it was of her to just tell Bon Bon her feelings. I mean, if I was in love with somepony, I know I wouldn’t be able to do that.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and not unlike Pinkie, a little voice in her head was cheering her on. Paranoia be damned. What else could that possibly mean? She’s in to you; go get her. You can do it! “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t be able to either.” No, don’t do that! What are you thinking? She just gave it to you on a silver platter! Pinkie turned around to look at Twilight. Maybe she’d given up too soon. The possibility that Twilight had feelings for her was leaving her speechless, which wasn’t something that happened too often to the normally energetic mare. She wanted to say it, but she just couldn’t say it. It could be a candlelit room with romantic music playing in the background, and she still probably wouldn’t be able to say it. “I … uh-“ “Pinkie Pie! Twilight! What’s up!” Startled, the two mares quickly backed away from each other. They’d been practically muzzle to muzzle without realizing it. “Oh, hey Spike,” said Twilight, greeting the new arrival. “Yeah, hi,” Pinkie added. Spike shot them a quick smile before noticing the decorations and sugary sweets that adorned the walls and tables of Sugarcube Corner. “Who’s the party for?” he asked. Momentarily forgetting the mare next to her, Twilight answered. “… It was for you, Spike.” “Really?” Now that she had something else to focus on, Pinkie felt much less nervous. “Yep. You did such a good job with the crystal heart and all, so we decided to throw you a surprise party.” Spike blushed. “Aw, you guys didn’t have to do that. It was nothing!” Smiling, Twilight went over and gave Spike a warm hug, saying: “No, it wasn’t nothing, Spike. You were really brave.” “Well, thanks,” he said, a look of concern spreading across his face. “Wait, I ruined the surprise, didn’t I?” “Spike, its fine. It didn’t really need to be a surprise party.” “Oh, good, ‘cause I don’t want to feel like I ruined anything.” Twilight and Pinkie Pie laughed that one off, even though it wasn’t that funny. In their minds, Spike had ruined something, and even though both knew deep down they wouldn’t have done anything, they were eager for an excuse to blame it on rather than themselves. Meanwhile, Spike was oblivious to the romantic tension that he’d just broken. Surveying the decorations and food with glee, he said: “So, when’s the party starting, then?”
2. It's About TimeWithin an hour, it seemed that half of Ponyville occupied Sugarcube corner. It was one of the largest parties that Pinkie had thrown, even larger than the one on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration. The air was filled with laughter and a hundred different conversations all going on at the same time. In the corner, Vinyl Scratch was talking to Spike, asking him what songs he wanted. After all, it was his party. Fortunately for the party-goers, Spike was a young dragon and not a young pony. If he had been, he probably would’ve chosen something by Oat Direction, or some other type of tasteless modern music. But Spike was in to another type of music. While Earth Ponies had country and Unicorns had classical, it was the Pegasi who had created what he considered the greatest genre: Rock n’ Roll. A few months ago, Rainbow Dash had taken Spike to a Nickerback concert, and Spike had loved it. But soon after, the young dragon found out that Nickerback - as rock bands go - was pretty lame. After being exposed to some of the older classic rock bands, his love of the genre grew tenfold. So of course, his requests were all classic rock songs. Currently, there was a song playing by Pony Jett and the Blackcolts, and the Pegasi and Earth Pony dominated room was loving it. Some of the unicorns weren’t, but it was a pretty small number. As good at the music was, it wasn’t a very fitting soundtrack to the scenario playing out between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. They hadn’t talked nor seen each other since the party guests had started arriving, and they’d had plenty of time to think it over and second guess themselves. Currently, Pinkie was sitting at the drinks table taking shots of Sarsaparilla to try and take her mind off of Twilight. She sat alone until a certain daredevil pegasus noticed her lack of company. “Hey Pinkie, what’s up? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sit still at one of your parties. Well, except that one with the bucket of radishes, but I’d just like to forget that one, personally.” Rainbow Dash’s attempt to lighten the mood went unnoticed. “It’s nothing, Dashie. Why don’t you go enjoy the party? You love Pony Jett, don’t you?” “Yeah, but how am I supposed to enjoy the party without Ponyville’s premier party pony?” “You have been so far,” commented Pinkie, pouring herself another cup. “Well, yeah, I guess I was, but I don’t feel like partying right now. Seriously, what’s going on? I know it’s something, or you’d still be out there doing your thing.” Sighing, the depressed mare downed her glass before answering. “Dashie, have you ever had a crush before?” Pulling up a chair, Rainbow sat down next to her distressed friend. “Well, yeah, a few, but not too big. How bad to you have it?” “Really bad.” “Oh. So, you haven’t told her yet?” For a second, Pinkie was going to ask Dash how she knew she was into mares, but she remembered that she’d told a Dash a while ago. “No, I haven’t.” “Well, why not? It can’t be that bad, right?” Pinkie thought her response over. She didn’t really want Rainbow Dash knowing she had the hots for Twilight, at least not yet. And if she said it was a friend, she knew the cyan pegasus might be able to guess. The earth pony went for a more vague approach. “Well, I’m afraid she won’t like me. Heck, I don’t even know if she’s a fillyfooler or not.” “Huh,” said Rainbow, pondering Pinkie’s dilemma. “Well, is she an earth pony?” “No.” “Well, that helps. As long as she’s not some unicorn nobility, I doubt she’ll be a homophobe, right?” Rainbow joked. Pinkie laughed nervously. Technically, Twilight was part of the nobility because of Shining Armor’s marriage. “And also, let’s just get this part out of the way. Would you be okay telling me who it is or is it a secret?” “Secret.” She answered quickly. “Oh, okay. Well, I get why you don’t want her to hate you. You’re friends with everypony here, and I wouldn’t want to ruin that. But sometimes you’ve got to take risks, Pinkie.” “But what if she does hate me?” Rainbow sighed, putting a hoof around Pinkie’s shoulder. “I’m not too good with this romance stuff, but I do know what it means to be a friend, Pinks. If this mare is really worth being friends with, would she ever hate you?” Would Twilight ever hate me? Pinkie wondered. Looking back in her memory, all she ever found were good times. Twilight had never really been angry with her. Sure, exasperated once or twice, but never angry. And she couldn’t imagine that mare hating her either. “No, she wouldn’t. A true friend sticks by your side, no matter what!” Dash smiled in triumph. “That’s right!” Pinkie stood back up, determination in her eyes. “I should tell Twilight how I feel!” Running away from the table, Pinkie didn’t get to see the shocked expression on her friend’s face. “Wait, we were talking about … Twilight?” =-=-=-=-= At about the same time, Twilight was seated on the other end of the room. Unlike Pinkie Pie, she had genuinely tried to enjoy the party, but after a few conversations she gave up. She didn’t feel like talking with anypony. Her fear of telling Pinkie how she felt was irrational, after all, could that always-happy ready-to-party pony ever hate anyone? Sure, the mare had a slight case of split-personality disorder, but that was rare, and only triggered by people not liking her. Twilight doubted Pinkamena would make an appearance if she told pinkie she liked her more than anything. But science doesn’t always work consistently, Twilight reminded herself. And even if it did, Pinkie still might feel awkward around her, and if it didn’t work out, the unicorn still wanted to be friends. Was it worth holding her feelings in, she wondered. “I can think this over better at the library where it’s quiet,” Twilight said to herself. She didn’t hate rock music; if anything, she respected it for its similarity to her favorite genre: Jazz. But sometimes, it just wasn’t the right type of music for the situation. She even recognized the song playing: Communication Breakdown. More of a jazz link that most of rock had, since it was a hit from the older days of the genre, a decade before her time at least, from what she’d read on the subject. Of course, none of that was enough to make her stay, but as she was about to leave, a familiar voice called her back. “Twilight? Wherever are you going, dear?” “Oh, hey Rarity.” The white-coated mare trotted over to Twilight with a big smile on her face, an expression than became subdued when she saw Twilight’s mood. “Oh Twilight, what’s the matter. There’s a party going on for your little spikey-wikey and you’re just leaving?” Rarity had a point, and Twilight started to feel a little guilty about it. “Uh … maybe.” “Well what’s bothering you, then? There must be something wrong; I can’t imagine another reason you’d want to leave.” “Well, I guess there is something,” Twilight mumbled. Motioning for her to follow, Rarity walked to the sparsely-populated side of the room and sat down at one of the booths, which were the only seats available since the standing tables had been taken down to make room for the festivities. Twilight took the opposite seat. “So, what kind of problem is it Twilight?” Nervously, Twilight fidgeted with the salt shaker on the table. Well, at least it used to be a salt shaker. This one was full of sugar. “Well, I might just … sort of … have feelings for somepony.” “Oh Twilight, that’s wonderful! Now, who’s the lucky stallion … … Or mare? … actually, come to think of it, I don’t know which way you … well … go.” Noticing her friend’s hesitancy, Rarity continued. “If you don’t want me to tell anypony, I won’t. You can trust me. I swear it on all the dresses in my boutique.” “Well, I’m kind of both, really.” Rarity didn’t skip a beat. “Twilight, there’s nothing wrong with that. That must widen the playing field, no?” Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t exactly date around.” “Well, I suppose that’s true, but that’s not really important. So, are they a stallion or a mare?” “A mare.” “Is that why you’re so tense? There’s nothing wrong with it; nopony will think less of you. Well at least, nopony worth listening to.” “It’s not that,” she replied, this time fidgeting with her hooves. “It’s just that we’re kind of friends and I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” “It’s Pinkie Pie, isn’t it?” Twilight was astounded. “How in Equestria did you know that?” “Just a hunch I gathered. I tend to notice the small things, like how you could never look at her for more than a few seconds without turning away, or how every time we were in danger, you always made sure Pinkie was okay first. Until now, I wasn’t really sure of it, but what you just said filled in the gaps.” “I see.” Twilight had always realized how perceptive Rarity was in general, but when it came to romance, she treated it like a science. That was something the studious unicorn could relate to and respect. “So you really are in love with Pinkie. This is very interesting. I take it she doesn’t know yet?” “No, she doesn’t, at least, I don’t think she does. And I wouldn’t really classify it as love. I mean attraction, sure, but not L-O-V-E love.” “But it’s enough for you to want to do something about it?” “Exactly,” said Twilight, glad that Rarity seemed to understand her issue. “This reminds me of a love story I read once,” said the mare thoughtfully. “Actually, it reminds me of a lot of love stories I read, but one in particular. In the story, a stallion falls deeply in love with a mare, but for a while, he’s too shy to admit it. He and her and been friends for years, and he didn’t know how the mare would react. But one day, it became too much for him to hold in and he confessed his feelings. But she didn’t share those feelings.” Twilight blinked. “How is that supposed to make me feel better?” “Ah-ah-ah, you didn’t let me finish. The mare told the stallion she wasn’t really interested in him that way, but she still wanted to be friends and pretend like nothing had happened. He wasn’t exactly happy with the arrangement, but he was happy to spend time with her either way. But during that time, he kept trying to win her heart subtly. And of course, the mare noticed, but she decided to let it go on, seeing no harm. As time went on, he continued his attempts, and do you know what happened?” “What?” “She started to fall in love with him. Then a good deal of other things happened, but in the end, the two got married and lived happily together for the rest of their lives.” Rarity took Twilight’s hooves in hers, staring into the other mare’s eyes. “The point of the story is simple: even if one is rejected by the one they love, that does not mean the rejection is permanent. The stallion didn’t give up and let the mare sort out her own feelings. So even if Pinkie doesn’t like you that way, there’s always the chance her feelings might change. She might even have feelings for you that she doesn’t know about yet. But I’m not going to tell you what to do, Twilight Sparkle. Do what you think is right.” There was no need for that last comment; she’d had Twilight sold from the first few words. “Rarity, thank you so much. I know what I should do now!” “It’s nothing, really,” said the fashion designer, getting up out of her seat. By the time she was out, Twilight was already halfway across the room, searching for a certain pink-colored mare. =-=-=-=-= Scanning the crowd, Rainbow Dash was easily able to find the Pink-maned, pink-coated pony she was looking for. It had been five minutes since the two had talked, and she hadn’t seen any sign of Twilight. Apparently, Pinkie hadn’t either. Rainbow thought that was somewhat odd. Sugarcube Corner wasn’t a big space, so between her and Pinkie, finding Twilight should have been easy. It was unlikely that Twilight would leave the party. After all, it was being thrown for her own #1 assistant. Still, there wasn’t any sign of the mare. Just when Dash was about to give up, she saw Pinkie jump much higher than should have been physically possible. Landing, the excited mare ran over towards the door. Curiously, she looked to see where the mare was going. At the door, she saw Twilight. When Pinkie got there, the two ponies started talking. Wanting to know what was going to happen, Rainbow Dash headed in that direction. =-=-=-=-= After looking for Pinkie Pie for what seemed like forever to the purple mare, Twilight was all of a sudden face to face with the mare in question. Both ponies had gone into this with full confidence in what they were about to do. Both had planned what they wanted to say, and how they wanted to say it. Both plans failed catastrophically. Pinkie, for one, was tongue-tied. It had been so much easier when she went over it in her head: Twilight, I love you. But now that the earth pony was there with her in real life, it was not nearly so easy. Twilight was equally shocked, but was the first pony to get over her fear. It was like jumping into a cold lake: Just get the freezing part over with and get to the relief. “Uh, Pinkie, I have something I need to tell you.” Just like that, Twilight’s mental peanut gallery returned. Yeah, good job. Get right to it! Letting out a deep breath, Pinkie responded. “I have something to tell you too.” Similarly, the voice in Pinkie’s head was back. Okay, good, now go for it. “I think maybe we should go outside where it’s a little … quieter,” suggested the unicorn mare. “Yeah, let’s.” =-=-=-=-= Having followed Twilight back into the thick of things, Rarity saw Pinkie just after Twilight did. She knew it was better to leave them be, but her curiosity compelled her to listen in. Hiding herself in the crowd, she tried her best to listen in. Unfortunately for Rarity, she couldn’t make hooves or tails of what they were saying over the music. “Well it’s not as I if I can just ask them to turn it off, is it? Oh well, I guess I’ll have to get a little closer.” Peeking her head around, Rarity was just in time to see Twilight and Pinkie Pie head out the door. “They must be trying to get away from the music too,” Rarity reasoned. The mare had never been much of a fan of rock in roll, nor music in general. Ponies often thought that odd considering her singing abilities, but she still wasn’t a fan. It would be a relief to get away from the noise. After waiting a few seconds for Pinkie and Twilight to get a head start, Rarity casually walked out the door, but as she did, somepony walked out right beside her. It was somepony she recognized. “Rainbow Dash?” “Wait, Rarity? What are you doing leaving the party so early?” “Well I should ask the same of you. And for your information, I found the music a tad bit loud for my tastes.” Rainbow wasn’t buying it. “You’re following Pinkie and Twilight, aren’t you?” Sighing, Rarity gave in. “You too?” she asked. “Yeah; me and Pinkie talked and she told me she had the hots for Twilight, so I figured I’d follow along to make sure everything went alright.” “As if, Rainbow Dash. You and I know perfectly well that you are just as curious about this as I am.” Rainbow didn’t meet Rarity’s gaze, instead scratching at the ground with her hoof. “I’m … well, I guess … maybe. You know, it’s not like I’m … opposed to the whole romance thing, or anything. I’m not really in to it like you, or anything, but even I like a little romance every once in a while, you know?” “We all do, darling. There’s no reason to be so nervous about admitting it, and I certainly didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” “No, it’s fine Rares. I’m fine,” she said, apparently perking back up. “Oh, good. Now let’s hurry and find them already, or we’ll lose them.” Taking to the air, Dash started flying down the street. “Way ahead of you!” =-=-=-=-= Twilight had planned on speaking up right away, she truly had. But as time – and the walk – went on, Twilight found she enjoyed the silence. Before, the only emotion she’d felt when she was around Pinkie Pie was nervousness. Just for once, it was nice to share a calm moment with the mare, especially considering how stressful the last few hours had been, and the emotional roller-coaster she’d led herself on. Pinkie Pie was feeling differently. As much as the walk was nice, she was still anxious to say what she wanted to say. Her regular personality, which in their last meeting had been buried under her stress, was surfacing once again. Instead of the mask of seriousness she’d been before, she was starting to drift back to a more hyperactive attitude. One thing hadn’t changed, however: she was still a little nervous; nervous enough to hold back what she wanted to say, even now, when she was almost certain that Twilight shared her feelings. After all, why else would she be on this walk? As she thought it over, Pinkie forgot her desire to speak, becoming somewhat withdrawn. After a while, the walk led the two mares far away from the lights and sounds of sugarcube corner, and even out of Ponyville itself. When the two finally stopped walking, it was only because there was a body of water in the way and there wasn’t an easy way to get around it. But then again, maybe they wouldn’t want to even if they could. Stretching out like a mirror before them, the water beautifully reflected the slowly rising moon, which shined in full glory in the cloudless dusk. Other than a few frogs and water striders, nothing interrupted the smooth surface, and even those things barely did anything to ruin the image. Both ponies sat down, gazing at the sight. It was then that Twilight surprised herself by breaking the silence. “Pinkie, you remember what you were telling me about Lyra and Bon Bon, right?” “Yeah, I do Twilight.” “You said you probably wouldn’t be able to tell somepony if you loved them, especially if you were their friend. And I said I wouldn’t be able to either, but now that I think about it, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t say anything.” Pinkie felt a warm feeling rising in her chest as her nervousness was replaced with a deep contentment. “You know, I think I would say something too.” Twilight subtly slid herself closer to Pinkie until they were touching flank to flank. “So that’s how Lyra did It: just went up to her and said it?” “That’s what she said,” whispered Pinkie, leaning in just a little. “Well, I’m saying something right now,” said Twilight, also starting to lean in. “Me too,” replied Pinkie, leaning in even farther. The two stayed that way for a moment - inches apart and able to feel each other’s breathing - before they the closed the gap between their lips, quickly losing themselves in the kiss. It wasn’t a deep kiss, but it didn’t need to be one. With it, both mares felt the last inklings of doubt and fear fade away, and that feeling was much better than the kiss itself. Even though it was a somewhat tame kiss, that didn’t mean it was a short one. The two stretched it out for tick after tick of the imaginary clock, having no reason to stop or reconsider. In the end, they only broke it off because they could only survive on shallow breaths for so long before one of them fainted. Taking a moment to catch their breaths, they couldn’t stop smiling at each other or staring into each other’s eyes. =-=-=-=-= Meanwhile, in the bushes a dozen yards away, two mares watched the scene with awe. “Wow, they’re really going at it. I’ve never seen anypony hold one kiss that long!” Rarity nodded in agreement. “How long has it been now … a minute? Oh, there they go, they’re splitting up.” Silence fell again before Rainbow piped up. “You know, I bet they’d be able to hear us if they weren’t so busy staring at each other.” “Yes, they probably would. But Rainbow, I have a question.” “Yeah?” “What would you do in their horseshoes? I mean, if there was somepony you liked, what would you do?” Rarity could see Rainbow Dash’s blush in the moonlight. “Well … uh … I … I have to go somewhere. Bye Rarity!” Keeping to her word, the athletic pegasus sped off silently into the night, leaving Rarity alone in the bushes to figure out what had just happened. It took her a while, but she finally came to a conclusion. “Does Rainbow Dash … have a crush on somepony?”
3. DreamsPinkie Pie had never thought she could have such a great time standing still, and yet here she was, doing nothing but staring a few inches in front of herself, having the time of her life. Despite her lack of motion, she was doing something, and the entertainment in the moment was found not in the staring itself, but what she was staring at: Twilight Sparkle, the sexiest mare in the world - at least to Pinkie. In her mind, there was nothing that could ruin this moment. During and after the kiss, the pink-coated party-mare had felt herself relax, both physically and mentally. Even now, minutes after the kiss, the usually chaotic cluster of nerves in her head was as calm as the night sky above her. That was a great feeling, a feeling Pinkie wasn’t used to, and a feeling that wasn’t about to last forever. If Pinkie’s brain was like the pond to her right, then it was as if somepony was skipping stones on the opposite shore. At first, there was a single impact, barely noticeable in her mind’s eye. It did little to break the inanimate surface of the pool. But after a second skip, and a third skip, and most afterwards, the amount of ripples made the small pond look like a violent ocean, or a frothing root beer float, a drink Pinkie often served at Sugarcube Corner. The single thought in her head was like that one stone: a small object that caused a large disturbance. And as much as she wanted to savor the moment, she couldn’t push the thought aside. She didn’t want to think about it, yet she did. Twilight seemed to notice her sudden change in mood and came out of her own love-struck state. “Pinkie, what’s the matter?” “Nothing; there’s just something I feel like I should be remembering, like something tingling in my brain. It’s really important, Twilight!” “Is it your Pinkie sense? Should I be running for the bushes?” “No, not that kind of tingling. It’s something about tonight …” Sighing, Twilight grudgingly accepted the fact that the romantic mood had been completely derailed and that there was nothing she could do about it. “Well, let’s go through tonight. What were you doing before I came over?” “Just running the shop like usual. A few customers came in, nothing important.” “Well, okay, then that’s out. What about when we were setting up the party?” Beyond just helping Pinkie out, Twilight was curious about what had been going through her head at the moment, although at this point, she had a pretty good idea. Pinkie obliged happily, although she felt herself blushing at the thoughts. “Well, I was mixing up all the sweets and stuff. But mostly I was just thinking about you.” Now it was Twilight’s turn to blush. Maybe the mood wasn’t completely dead after all. “Really?” the unicorn asked. “Yeah, I was really nervous, you know. Like when I went back to get that flour and I didn’t grab any. I wasn’t really getting flour; I was just really super-duper scared was all.” “I was too,” said Twilight, grinning as she leaned in for another kiss. Pinkie leaned in too, but just when their lips touched, she remembered something. “THE PARTY!” Jumping in fright, Twilight found herself in the air one second, then cold and wet the next. Flailing around, she was unable to find her bearings. A few seconds of confusion later, she felt a hoof lift her up and out of the cold. When she surfaced, her ears were instantly bombarded with a chorus of apologies from Pinkie Pie. “Oh, Twilight, I’m so, so, so, so, so sorry. I just got really excited, cause I remembered, Twilight; I remembered what I was trying to remember!” After shaking the water out of her mane and drying off her eyes, Twilight figured out what had happened. She’d fallen into the pond by accident. At first she was angry, but after rationalizing the situation her frown turned upside down. Well, sort of; technically frowns don’t turn upside down. They invert. “It’s okay Pinkie. It’ll take a lot more than that to ruin this night.” Pinkie smiled shyly, giving Twilight a warm hug. It wasn’t really warm on Pinkie Pie’s end, but it was on Twilight’s, and it was pleasant for both of them. Twilight would have loved to stay out there for a while in Pinkie’s embrace, but even though it warmed her up, the cold nighttime wind was making her anxious to get inside. As much as she wanted to rekindle what had been going on before she took a dive, she didn’t want to wake up with a cold the next morning, either. Still holding the hug, Twilight asked: “So Pinkie, what were you saying about the party?” “Oh yeah.” Letting Twilight go, Pinkie continued. “Well, we’ve been gone awhile, and I bet everypony’s wondering where we are.” “Oh goodness, you’re right!” As she usually did when she got nervous, Twilight started pacing. “If we go back and ponies ask where we were, we’ll have to either tell them what happened or lie.” “But why would we lie, Twilight? It’s not like we did anything wrong.” “Yes, but if we tell them, it’ll probably take all the attention off of Spike, and this is supposed to be his special night!” Pinkie had to admit that Twilight had a point. “Huh … you’re right.” “Of course I’m right; how could I have missed this? Ugh, I feel so selfish!” Now the absent party host was conflicted. In more ways than one, she’d just ruined her first kiss with Twilight, and now she was missing from a party she was supposed to be running. Part of her wanted to rekindle what had been going on between her and Twilight, but abandoning the party was starting to make her feel a little selfish as well. “Hey Twilight?” “Yes, Pinkie?” The mare stopped pacing. “Maybe we should figure this out on the way back to the party.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re right! Let’s get going!” At that the two mares galloped along the shortest possible path back to Sugarcube Corner, having a rushed discussion about what they would say when they returned. =-=-=-=-= Thankfully for the two mares, nopony had noticed their absence except of course for Rarity, who, having come to the same realization as Twilight, hadn’t said anything at the party. Now that the party was over, the two went their separate ways. Twilight, who had since dried off from her spill in the pond, was walking back to the Library with Spike and Rarity. Rarity lived only a few buildings down from Twilight’s, so they took the same route back. As they walked, Spike was busy talking the two mares’ ears off about the party. “So then Lyra was like, Spike, you’re such a hero, and I was like, Yeah, I guess I am. That was the best part about the whole thing; everypony was calling me a hero and stuff. It was great!” “Uh-huh,” both mares mumbled in unison. Oblivious to the fact that neither his crush nor his guardian was paying any attention, the young drake continued. “And almost everypony was like that. Well, actually there were a few weird ones. Like Davenport. I don’t really know what he was doing. He said he wanted me to set him up with Lily or something. What does that even mean?” Although Rarity already had a lot on her mind, the issue of Davenport trying to exploit Spike’s newfound popularity and innocence made her pay a little more attention. She looked over to Twilight, who was still deep in thought. She wanted to ask the mare what was wrong – she could tell something was bothering her – but with Spike there, she couldn’t really. And with her out of it, somepony needed to answer Spike’s question. “Well, Spikey, apparently Davenport was trying to use you to get a date with Lily.” “Oh, well that’s okay I guess.” Rarity gasped. “Spike, that is not the least bit appropriate, and I’m going to have to talk to him about it later. It’s not right to use children as a proxy for romance and that’s that.” “Rarity, it’s fine, really.” “No, it is not fine, and I’m going to have him apologize to you.” “Do you really think that’s necessary?” the dragon asked, wanting to avoid an awkward encounter with the stallion. “Yes, Spike, it is indeed necessary. He’s done some distasteful things before but he’s gone too far this time!” Knowing there was no way he was going to get what he wanted, Spike caved. After all, it was Rarity he was talking to. As the group walked on, Rarity kept Spike’s attention away from Twilight by talking about the party, hoping the dragon wouldn’t notice how off Twilight seemed. This tactic could only last for so long, however, as Rarity had to go into her house while the dragon and his guardian would continue on to the Library. Saying her goodbyes to the two, she opened the door to her boutique, barely noticing the chiming of the bell over the door. Inside, there were a dozen incomplete dresses laid out on mannequins, waiting to be finished. Often, Rarity would try and work on them, even this late, but she had far too much on her mind to focus on the dresses. She knew she shouldn’t be so fixated on Twilight and Pinkie Pie’s romance, but she couldn’t help it, since she had no idea what had happened to make the purple unicorn so upset. Although she’d seen the kiss from her hiding place in the bushes, she hadn’t seen what had gone on afterward because she’d made a futile attempt to chase down Rainbow Dash, who had seemed even more distraught than Twilight was now. That was another issue: what had made Rainbow Dash so upset? Those two issues were easily enough to keep the mare lying awake in bed, which she was now doing. Her mind was a mess of incomplete thoughts, but after giving herself a moment to calm down, she was able to regain some focus. “Well, I might as well try and figure out what happened to Rainbow Dash,” she said to herself. This was a simpler problem than Twilight’s, because the romantically-savvy Rarity had already figured out the most likely cause of the pegasus’ actions: jealousy. It wasn’t something she would’ve expected from the mare. Rainbow had never expressed any interest in romance, at least not to her. “Ponies do change, though,” she reminded herself. “After all, nopony can just go on ignoring romance forever.” So now she knew the motive, but an even bigger issue was still unaddressed. Who was Rainbow Dash jealous about? The two most obvious candidates were Twilight or Pinkie Pie. It was possible that she’d had a crush on one of the two, and was angry at herself for not acting sooner. However, Rarity could not rule herself out as a possibility. She had been there with Dash behind the bush, after all. But when she thought about it, that didn’t make much sense. The mare had left the scene seemingly in response to the kiss, and that wasn’t something Rarity had done. On the other hoof, Rarity had also asked her what she would’ve done if she were Pinkie or Twilight. If that was the cause, there was no way for Rarity to know which it was, and the only way to figure that out was asking the pegasus herself. Realizing that she was getting nowhere, Rarity refocused her attention to Twilight’s feelings. On the way back from the party, she’d seemed … subdued, for lack of a better term. Thankfully, she didn’t seem sad, which meant that nothing catastrophic had occurred. Conversely, the fact that she wasn’t overjoyed meant that something had happened. And of course, the only way to find out these things was to ask Twilight herself. “Well, I guess I’ll be paying a visit to Twilight and Rainbow Dash in the near future, won’t I?” Rarity asked of nopony in particular. Finally letting herself relax, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
4. Learning to SeeAt around the same time that night, Pinkie Pie was still wide awake. Although she wanted nothing more than to go to bed, she still had to clean up Sugarcube Corner enough for it to be presentable the next day. That was the problem with parties: it might be fun to have them, but setting them up and tearing them down was a lot of work. It reminded Pinkie of her night. There had been a bit of hard work in the beginning, a really fun part in the middle, and a bittersweet ending. The only problem was that the party usually lasted much longer than the set-up, while her romantic experience with Twilight had lasted only five minutes. That fact had her worried. Romance wasn’t exactly something she was used to – in fact, she’d never had a marefriend before. “But is she really my marefriend?” she asked Gummy, even though she knew the alligator could not respond. Sighing, she walked over to the other side of the room and started cleaning up. “I feel like I ruined everything. That was my first kiss, too!” Reaching down to grab a fallen streamer, Pinkie was surprised to see a much larger, hoof-shaped object in its place, and instead of the purple of the streamer, the new thing was bright blue. Soon, the mare noticed that the hoof connected to a leg. And that leg connected to … “Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Grinning shyly, the speedy pegasus answered. “Well, I was just coming by to see if the party was over.” “Really, Dashie? All of my parties end two hours before midnight. You know that.” “Well what time is it now?” asked Dash, scanning the wall for a clocks but not finding any. “It ended an hour ago. And you know what’s fishy, Dashie? I didn’t see you at all after we talked. And then I looked for you, and when I couldn’t find you I looked for somepony who knew where you went, and the only pony who knew anything was Rarity, and all she said was that you left and she didn’t know why.” “Well, yeah, I left the party. That’s all there is to it.” Rainbow was surprised that Rarity hadn’t already told Pinkie about how they’d followed her and Twilight to the pond. She knew she would have to think everything through if she didn’t want to give herself away. “Why’d you do that?” Desperately, Rainbow tried to think up a lie, but as the seconds ticked on, Pinkie was still there, because as much as Dash wanted her to disappear at that moment, she knew that wasn’t happening. She also knew she was taking too long to answer. “Dashie, did something bad happen?” That was it. She had to tell Pinkie the truth, because at that point, anything else she said would sound like a blatant lie. She had to come clean, at least partially. “Sort of, I guess.” Pinkie smiled comfortingly, leading Rainbow Dash over to a table with a few standing chairs around it. Ironically, it was the same table at which Pinkie had asked for a friend’s advice earlier that evening. “Okay, so tell Auntie Pinkie Pie what happened.” Not in the mood to point out that Pinkie was not her aunt, Rainbow responded. “Well, It’s actually been going on for awhile.” “Uh-huh…” It seemed as if Rainbow was determined to set the Equestrian record for most meaningless words said in one sentence. “I, uh, well … this is kinda, well, hard to say. I’m sorta embarrassed and stuff.” Pinkie just laughed. “Oh silly, you can tell me anything. I can keep a secret!” “You know what? You’re right,” Dash admitted, taking a calming breath. “I can trust you; I’ve always been able to trust you. I should just get this out of the way, cause I’m not going to wimp out of this now.” “That’s the spirit!” said Pinkie, cheering her on. “Okay, here it goes … I have, um, a crush on somepony.” Pinkie’s face lit up even more than it normally did. “Oh my gosh, that’s so exciting! I mean, I figured this would happen eventually – I mean everypony falls in love right? – but it’s so awesome!” “Wait, what have you been waiting for, exactly?” “One of my friends to fall in love, silly!” Pinkie could tell that Rainbow didn’t understand, so she explained herself. “Well why wouldn’t I want that, Dashie? Love makes everypony so happy; it’s, like, the greatest thing ever!” In response to this, Dash gave only an empty chuckle. “Pinkie Pie, I really wish that was true.” Now it was Pinkie’s turn to stare in puzzlement. “It’s just that, well, I can’t tell her how I feel. I’ve tried to a bunch of times, and I just … can’t say it. And now with this stuff that’s happened between you and Twilight … I just think I should’ve done something a while ago.” “Aw, you don’t need to feel pressured by me asking Twilight. Besides, I’m not really sure how much is going to happen between us.” “Really? Everything seemed to be going fine at the pond,” said the athletic pegasus without thinking. “Dashie, how do you know what happened at the pond?” Rainbow’s eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “I … uh … what pond? I have no idea what you’re talking about Pinkie!” she out for a few seconds, hoping the pink mare would drop the subject. However, as the seconds ticked by, she knew she’d been caught red hooved. “Okay, fine, we followed you there.” “Did you say we, Dashie?” Rainbow made a mental note to start thinking things through before she said them for what seemed like the thousandth time in her life. Fortunately for her, this one was easier to worm her way out of. Besides, fessing up to it herself was one thing, but pointing a blaming hoof at Rarity wasn’t something she was prepared to do. “Oh, sorry, I meant to say I.” “Oh, okay then. So why were you hiding in the bushes watching me and Twilight kiss?” Rainbow shifted around in her seat nervously. “Well, I saw you find Twilight after we talked … and I was curious. Also, I left right after you started kissing,” she said truthfully. “But you never answered my question.” “What’s that?” “So you know that I know what happened. But everything seemed to be going awesome when I left. What happened?” “Oh, it’s nothing bad … I just sort of … accidentally pushed her into the water.” Dash’s attempts to control her laughter failed spectacularly within seconds of being put into action. It took awhile for her to control herself, but when she did, one look at Pinkie’s angry expression deadened it. “Um … sorry about that, I just … y’know … couldn’t help myself. You know what I mean, right?” Instead of answering her, Pinkie just stared her down, which in turn, made Dash feel very uncomfortable. “Yeah … so, Twilight’s okay, right?” Pinkie was unable to hold the glare after that comment, looking down at the table rather than into Dash’s eyes. “Yeah, she’s fine … but I still feel like I ruined everything.” Rainbow put a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Do you really think you ruined it? Like, really?” “I don’t know. I mean, one minute we were both super happy about it, and then that happened, and then Twilight wasn’t that happy and I wasn’t either and then we had to rush back to the party because somepony would’ve noticed we were gone … and I didn’t see you at the party when I got back. Where were you?” Ignoring the second part of her friend’s statement, the pegasus continued. “Pinkie, I’m no good at this romance stuff, but I guess what I’m trying to say is you didn’t really ruin it.” “But how could that not have ruined it!?” Pinkie’s voice was steadily rising in volume as her anxiety increased. “The mood was great, and everything was perfect-” she banged a hoof on the table angrily, a stray tear running down her face. “-and then I made Twilight fall into the water, and—” “Pinkie Pie—” “I messed up, okay?!” She stood up, screaming the last words. Soon after, she slid back into her seat, having apparently let out all of her anger. Meekly, the repeated her former statement: “I messed up.” Rainbow could only stare wide-eyed as she took in what her friend had just said. She wanted to say something to make Pinkie feel better, but at that moment, she was drawing blanks. “Where are the Cakes?” she asked, giving Pinkie a weak smile. “Taking a vacation for the next week. On some island resort...” For a moment, Pinkie’s expression went back to normal as she tried to remember. “It was the ... Marebean, or something like that.” As quick as her face had changed, it went back to the somber and teary-eyed look she’d worn moments ago. “Pinkie, look at me.” A pause. Seeing that her words hadn’t fostered a response, Rainbow grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders and tried again to get her attention. “Look at me!” Pinkie looked up, sadness in her eyes, and in that moment, Dash knew exactly what to say. “Pinkie, love is just like that. You said it makes everypony happy, but a lot of the time, it doesn’t. But with you, at least you sort of know how Twilight feels; I’ll bet she probably feels the same way. If I were her, I’d feel like it was my fault for falling over. I mean, I never lose my balance, but this is just an example, I guess. And either way, it’s loads better than spending every day thinking about a mare and trying to build up the courage to just say something for once and then not being able to do it!” Dash banged her hooves on the table, burying her face in them soon after. Belatedly, Pinkie realized how derailed the conversation had become, and remembered why Rainbow was at Sugarcube Corner in the first place. Putting a hoof on Dash’s shoulder, she slowly coaxed her friend out of her despair. “I’m sorry Dashie,” Pinkie offered, not able to release Rainbow’s face from the prison that was her front hooves. “Sorry for what?” Dash said, her voice muffled by her hooves. “I completely forgot why you came here in the first place. You needed somepony to talk to, but I made it all about me.” “It was kinda my fault for bringing up the pond,” she replied. Just when Pinkie thought Dash would lift her head, she buried it even deeper, much to Pinkie’s disenchantment. “Yeah, I know,” said the pink mare dismissively, not letting on about her disappointment. “But still. I really want to help you, because you were right: I really haven’t ruined it with Twilight.” After a second’s pause, the pegasus lifted her head a little. “So you’re saying we should pick up where we … uh … left off?” “Yepperoni Pepperoni!” “Okay, then,” said Dash, leaning her cheek on her hoof and staring off out the window. “So I was saying I have, well, y’know…” “You can just say it, silly!” “I don’t want to.” “You already did.” “So why say it again.” “Just do it for me!” “No.” “Just say it!” “But I don’t want to!” “Say it, say it, say it!!” Pinkie chanted. “Fine! I have a crush on Rarity! Happy?” As soon as she said it, Rainbow covered her mouth with her hooves, but the damage was already done. Pinkie gasped. “Wait, you’re in love with Rarity? Wow, I didn’t see that coming!” Meanwhile, Dash’s eyes were so wide that they looked like they were going to pop like balloons. Shaking her head, she started beating her hoof against it, punctuating each impact with the chant of “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” Before she could do any serious damage to herself, Pinkie grabbed Rainbow’s hoof and forced it down. “Dashie, it’s okay. I’m not going to tell anypony.” Rainbow sighed, blowing a strand of her mane out of her face. “I know Pinkie, it’s just that, well, I didn’t want anypony to know, y’know?” “Well of course you didn’t. That’s really hard to say. I mean, if you hadn’t made me all confident at the party, I never would’ve told Twilight how I felt either.” “Yeah, it’s a lot easier giving advice than doing it yourself,” Dash grumbled. Pitifully, she stared down at the table rather than meet Pinkie’s gaze. Pinkie Pie saw the other’s lack of confidence, and after looking for a better option but not finding one, enveloped her in a supportive hug, trying her best to give some equally supportive advice. “Hey, you’ll be alright. I mean, I’m new to this romance thing, but your advice worked for me, and I bet it’ll work on Rarity too!” Rainbow looked up at Pinkie with hope. “You really think so?” “Well, I can’t see the future Dashie … well, at least, not without my crystal ball … but I lost that so yeah, I don’t really know. There’s one thing I do know: you can’t just keep going on feeling like that. Rarity’s always going to be your friend either way. You have to believe!” “But I don’t even think she likes mares!” “Either way, you’re going to have to do it eventually, or do you really want to go on like this forever?” Dash couldn’t think of an answer right away, so she took a second to think about it. “I could just move away,” she whispered. “And leave all your friends behind?” asked Pinkie. “Come on, where’s the good ol’ fearless Rainbow Dash I’m used to?” Jumping up into the air, the pink mare took in a deep breath as background music started to play in the background. Just when she was about to belt out the first note, Rainbow muffled her with a hoof. “I don’t really need a song right now … but you’re right. I think it’s about time I get this off my chest.” Pinkie, who had been getting hang time for the last five seconds or so, dropped to the ground, as if on cue. “Really?” “Yep,” said Dash with renewed confidence. “I mean, I’m not just going to go over to the boutique and say it. I’m going to build up to it … and stuff … but I’m not sure how to do it. I think I’m going to need a wingmare.” For the first time since she’d come, the mare smiled for a second, only to be captured in one of Pinkie’s bone-crushing hugs. “Of course I’ll help set you up with Rarity! I mean, I basically owe you for helping me with Twilight.” Dash’s smile widened. “You’re a great friend, you know that, right?” Pinkie nodded, offering a hoof for a hoof bump. Rainbow returned it without hesitation. “Let’s do this!” =-=-=-=-= From all the excitement at Sugarcube Corner, the two mares inside had probably forgotten how late it was. But across town, a young dragon was all too aware of this fact. The time wasn’t the only thing he was keen to, because despite the late hour, his guardian had not yet gone to sleep. She was lying in bed, but there were a few things that told Spike she was awake. Firstly, she wasn’t moving, and she always shifted around a lot when asleep. He’d always thought it was stress-caused, although he didn’t think about it too much. Also, her breathing seemed off. Spike wasn’t an expert on sleep, but he remember that back when he’d started having night terrors, the mare had forced him to sit through a two-hour lecture on oneirology. The terrors had gone away eventually, but from lesson, he knew that she should be in deep sleep by now. Of course, he should have been too, but Spike hadn’t been able to sleep since arriving at the library. On the way back from the party, he had failed to notice Twilight’s state. But when they’d gone in, she hadn’t said a word to him, even when he’d asked her a question. That had finally clued him in that something was bothering her. It wasn’t an imminent threat to pony civilization or a new, malevolent arrival to Ponyville like usual; if it were one of those, Twilight would be pacing. It was something more trivial, but at the same time, something worth worrying about. The first thought that had come to Spike’s mind was that it was a friendship problem, but again, her response didn’t match up with that. If it were a friendship problem, Twilight would probably have confided in him as she usually did. Also, it would have to have happened at the party, and Spike didn’t remember anything particularly bad happening there. So he was still left with the question: What was wrong with Twilight, and why wouldn’t she tell him? Sighing, he pulled the covers a little higher over his head, shifting around in his basket. Closing his eyes, he hoped he could find an answer in a dream, although at the moment, that seemed as unlikely as him getting any sleep at all. Shifting around some more, he hoped that whatever was bothering Twilight would work out in the end. .
1. When It's Love“So then Lyra was like: Pinkie, I think I might be in love with Bon Bon.” Twilight nodded, using her magic to lift a party streamer into place. At the same time, Pinkie Pie was rushing to get the last of the baked goods ready for the party the two mares were setting up. Normally, Pinkie would just set up the party with the help of her trusty party cannon, but the Cake Twins had somehow gotten into the closet where it was stored. By the time Pinkie had gotten there, it had been reduced to a pile of scraps. Twilight had been glad to help, especially considering who the party was for. “So what happened next?” Twilight asked, continuing the conversation. “Well, I didn’t really know what to think, Twilight. I mean, I’m not really a love councilor or anything. That’s Rarity’s thing.” “That’s true.” “So I just said the first thing that came into my head,” said Pinkie as she mixed up another batch of muffins. “You didn’t sing her a song, did you?” joked the purple unicorn. Pinkie laughed. “No, not at a party, silly; she wouldn’t be able to hear. No, I just said: Do whatever you think is right. That was a toughie, though. I mean, how are you supposed to know when to cross that line? Bon Bon and her were bestest buddies and she didn’t want to ruin her friendship. I can see how hard that would be.” Twilight’s ears perked up at this. “You do?” “Well, yeah. How are you supposed to choose between love and friendship if you don’t know how it’ll turn out?” “Yeah,” said Twilight nervously. She looked up and Pinkie, who was too busy with her pastries to shoot her a look. If she had, she would’ve seen a very nervous unicorn. Trying to keep her breathing under control, she finished hanging up the one streamer and started the next. “Hey Twilight, I’m going to get some more flour,” said the mare, walking into the storeroom. “Okay,” replied Twilight. She waited until Pinkie closed the door behind her, and then let out a sigh of relief. Being in the same room with Pinkie wouldn’t normally make Twilight as nervous as she was now, but then again, all the talk about relationships wasn’t helping. Twilight knew that the mind didn’t always think rationally when romance was involved, but she still couldn’t tell if Pinkie was really dropping subtle hints or if it was just paranoia. Sighing, she floated another streamer over and put it up, letting her thoughts wander. It wasn’t as if she was deeply in love with Pinkie. Twilight classified it as a crush, although she knew little of the technical terminologies of romance. Just a crush, plain and simple; not something she ever planned on acting on. It had all started that day that Twilight had first found out about Pinkie’s twitches and how they somehow had the ability to transcend time and predict obscure events. She’d hooked Pinkie up to a machine, done research, and had a delivery truck full of supplies dumped on her head, but she’d never been able to explain how it was possible. For some reason, those events had brought out a romantic interest. She remembered reading somewhere that romance often starts for strange reasons, and it was apparently true. It had been a long time since that day, though, and Twilight had buried those feelings under friendship reports, epic quests, and all the other parts of her life. In fact, she’d forgotten about them before she and Pinkie had started up that conversation. Lyra and Bon Bon’s situation shared striking similarities to her own. She didn’t know what to do. She could just bury her feelings like before, but for the first time, she didn’t feel like doing it. She wanted to tell Pinkie how she felt, and even though it was unlikely that the ever-happy mare would ever reject her as a friend, the prospect still frightened her. “What in Equestria am I supposed to do?” =-=-=-=-= Meanwhile, Pinkie was in the supply room alone. But she wasn’t getting flour. “Oh, I hope Twilight didn’t notice how nervous I was. I bet she did, didn’t she? Oh, what am I going to do?” Pinkie Pie’s feelings were very similar to Twilight’s, but different in that they were newer. And Pinkie hadn’t had any time to bury those feelings, feelings that had come up when the two were in the Crystal Empire. Pinkie hadn’t thought of Twilight in any romantic light before that day. She hadn’t really ever felt that way about anyone, actually. But seeing the normally plain-looking mare transformed into a gorgeous, shining definition of equine beauty had changed her feelings drastically. Ever since she’d seen the studious mare in her crystal pony form, she couldn’t get her out of her mind. And now she was with her, alone, talking about romance. “Ugh, I just can’t figure it out! I mean, if I do tell her, it might work out and that would be great. But what if she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore? And even if she is, she wouldn’t think about me the same way.” “But if I don’t tell her, then I have to keep all these feelings inside,” desperately, she turned to her pet alligator for advice. “Gummy, what do you think I should do?” The lizard just sat there, gumming on an orange he’d found. Somehow, Pinkie interpreted this as an answer. “You think I need to get back out there and go for it? That’s a great idea! I should be more confident!” Striding back out the counter, her confidence lasted all of one second after she saw Twilight. “Pinkie?” “Uh, yeah Twilight?” “I thought you said you were getting some flour.” “Oh, well I didn’t really need it because … uh, you know … reasons!” “Okay,” said Twilight skeptically, hiding her anxiousness behind a shield of sarcasm. She was sure she could see Pinkie Pie’s nervousness. She was fidgeting more than normal, her pupils were dilated, and she was wearing a very artificial-seeming grin. But again, Twilight didn’t want to discount her own paranoia as the reason. But either way, Twilight didn’t want to make this awkward for them both, and tried to salvage their former conversation. “So, Pinkie, you were telling me about Lyra and Bon Bon before, right?” Pinkie gulped. “Right. Well, Lyra decided to take my advice. She never told me exactly what happened, but she basically walked up to Bon Bon and told her she had feelings for her.” “And how did that end up?” Twilight asked, genuinely curious. “Well, I found them making out outside. They both thanked me for helping Lyra, even though I didn’t really do much. They’re still thanking me, and it’s been a week now. It’s kinda funny,” Pinkie chuckled nervously. Twilight nodded calmly while her brain went into hyperdrive. She could’ve sworn Pinkie was just as nervous as she was. Meanwhile, the mare in question walked around the counter and out into the main room, surveying the decorations Twilight had put up. She sighed. “If she liked me, she would’ve made a move already,” Pinkie whispered to herself. “What was that, Pinkie?” Asked Twilight, following right behind her. The mare froze. She hadn’t thought Twilight would be able to hear her with her back turned. “I … uh …” For the first time since she’d arrived, Twilight was hopeful. “You said something about somepony making a move, right? What’s that about?” Now’s your chance, the pastry chef thought to herself. Go for it. “Well, you know, Lyra and Bon Bon.” “What about them?” Come on, don’t lose this chance. You’ll probably never have anything like this again. “Well, I was just thinking about Lyra, and how brave it was of her to just tell Bon Bon her feelings. I mean, if I was in love with somepony, I know I wouldn’t be able to do that.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and not unlike Pinkie, a little voice in her head was cheering her on. Paranoia be damned. What else could that possibly mean? She’s in to you; go get her. You can do it! “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t be able to either.” No, don’t do that! What are you thinking? She just gave it to you on a silver platter! Pinkie turned around to look at Twilight. Maybe she’d given up too soon. The possibility that Twilight had feelings for her was leaving her speechless, which wasn’t something that happened too often to the normally energetic mare. She wanted to say it, but she just couldn’t say it. It could be a candlelit room with romantic music playing in the background, and she still probably wouldn’t be able to say it. “I … uh-“ “Pinkie Pie! Twilight! What’s up!” Startled, the two mares quickly backed away from each other. They’d been practically muzzle to muzzle without realizing it. “Oh, hey Spike,” said Twilight, greeting the new arrival. “Yeah, hi,” Pinkie added. Spike shot them a quick smile before noticing the decorations and sugary sweets that adorned the walls and tables of Sugarcube Corner. “Who’s the party for?” he asked. Momentarily forgetting the mare next to her, Twilight answered. “… It was for you, Spike.” “Really?” Now that she had something else to focus on, Pinkie felt much less nervous. “Yep. You did such a good job with the crystal heart and all, so we decided to throw you a surprise party.” Spike blushed. “Aw, you guys didn’t have to do that. It was nothing!” Smiling, Twilight went over and gave Spike a warm hug, saying: “No, it wasn’t nothing, Spike. You were really brave.” “Well, thanks,” he said, a look of concern spreading across his face. “Wait, I ruined the surprise, didn’t I?” “Spike, its fine. It didn’t really need to be a surprise party.” “Oh, good, ‘cause I don’t want to feel like I ruined anything.” Twilight and Pinkie Pie laughed that one off, even though it wasn’t that funny. In their minds, Spike had ruined something, and even though both knew deep down they wouldn’t have done anything, they were eager for an excuse to blame it on rather than themselves. Meanwhile, Spike was oblivious to the romantic tension that he’d just broken. Surveying the decorations and food with glee, he said: “So, when’s the party starting, then?”
