The Herd

Chapter 3

Rainbow Dash was woken from her afternoon nap by an odd, rhythmic squeaking sound. Her sleep addled brain first tried to reject the intrusion and return to slumber, but the noise was gradually getting louder and louder, and her efforts to ignore it were rapidly losing ground. She rolled over, pulling a large fluffy section of cloud over her head in a last, desperate attempt to deny the waking world, but the sound refused to be defeated by such an insubstantial barrier.

Sitting up with a groan of frustration, Dash blinked her blurry eyes and looked around for the source of the noise. To her right was nothing but a broad expanse of clear, bright blue sky. Which was as it should be, as she had spent half the morning clearing out all the clouds except for the small bit she had pressed into service as a flying hammock. She glanced to her left…and promptly fell out of her cloud in shock at finding Pinkie Pie’s grinning face only some few inches from hers.

She didn’t fall far before instinct took over and her wings snapped out to catch the rushing air. The drop turned into a sloping glide, and a few powerful wing beats added the extra speed needed to propel her back up to her cloud, and the bizarre helibiketer contraption that her weirdest friend was peddling.

“Hi Dashy!” Pinkie called out.

“Pinkie Pie!” Dash yelled in annoyance as she swooped around. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry!” Pinkie said, though the unwavering grin on her face suggested she wasn’t.

“What do you want?” Dash asked as she dropped back onto her cloud, plopping down on her back.

“Wanted to see what you were up to,” Pinkie replied brightly.

“Nothing,” Dash told her, wiggling a bit to try and settle back into the sky fluff.

“Excellent,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Cause I got a new batch of joke goods I’ve been wanting to try out and…”

“Nonono,” Dash interrupted. “Nothing is what I’m up to. And I’d like to get back to it.” With that she rolled over, facing away from Pinkie.

“Awww, come on,” Pinkie wheedled. “I got some great stuff, mail ordered enchanted things.”

Despite herself, Dash couldn’t help glancing back over her shoulder. “I don’t know Pinkie, I think I’d really rather…”

“I have chalk that makes fun of the person trying to write with it,” Pinkie interrupted in a cajoling singsong, holding out the seemingly innocent white stick.

“No way, that’s hilar…I mean, that’s neat, but…”

The chalk vanished into a bag that Pinkie pulled from…somewhere. Dash wasn’t really sure where the bag had been before it was in Pinkie’s hand, and she wasn’t about to try and figure it out. When it came to Pinkie, Dash had learned long ago it was better to just accept and not question.

“I have an unfillable glass,” Pinkie continued, pulling a wine goblet from the bag.

“Unfillable?” Dashed asked, sitting up to look.

“It teleports whatever liquid is poured in it back into the container it came from.”

“Hahaha! Oh that is…uh, pretty good I guess,” Dash finished with a forced nonchalant manner, which earned her a knowing grin from Pinkie. The glass went back in the bag, and out came a small, black orb with what looked like dragonfly wings.

“What’s that?” Dash asked, unable to keep her interest from coloring her words.

“Exactly!” Pinkie said with a wicked smile.

“Huh?”

“It’s a ‘What’s That?’. It hovers behind the target’s head and keeps darting into their peripheral vision for a split second.”

Even biting her lip couldn’t keep Dash from chortling at the thought.

“Soooooo…” Pinkie cajoled.

“Well…oh fine, let’s do it!”

“Woo!”

Rainbow Dash quickly decided that missing out on prime napping time was more than worth it for the fun that followed. The insulting chalk was a big hit for Cheerilee’s class, who had returned from recess expecting a boring afternoon of math. Instead they were treated to several moments of completely hilarious chaos as their teacher fought an ever increasingly desperate battle, first to try and write the correct answers, then to avoid adding in snarky comments about how boring math was, and then finally just to keep her chalkboard clear of things little foals shouldn’t see as the chalk pried itself entirely from her grasp and began writing all on its own.

Between badly stifled laughs that would have still been perfectly audible if not for the raucous chortling and giggling of the class room, Dash found herself giving Cheerilee a fair bit of credit. For a simple earth mare of a teacher, she could move pretty quickly when motivated. Not quite quick enough to snatch hold of the chalk before it wrote itself down to a nub, but she wielded the blackboard eraser as if in a fencing match, parrying each dirty word or rude commentary with deft if frantic grace.

She then collapsed into her chair as if she’d actually been in a sparring match, the final bit of chalk having been smashed under foot when the magic petered out. Somewhat disheveled and flushed in the face, Cheerilee barely had the energy left to look pleasantly surprised when her class room shifted from roaring laughter to enthusiastic applause, the young foals apparently as impressed with their teacher’s prowess as they had been amused by the prank.

The unfillable glass however didn’t quite live up to expectations. While it certainly worked just as advertised, it only took a second attempt at filling the glass before Berrypunch just tossed the troublesome object aside and took her drink straight from the container. Sadly, the enchantment upon the joke good did not make it any more durable than the average glass, and it did not survive its disposal. It did however shatter with a detonation more akin to a firework than a breaking glass, and thus got its vengeance as Berrypunch snorted half her swig right out her noise as she tried to shriek in surprise. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie agreed that the unexpected but hilarious results meant the glass broke even.

The What’s That quickly and effortlessly picked up the slack though, and was all the better for being easy to use and endlessly reusable. By the time the sun was edging towards the horizon, turning the sky a deep red, both Dash and Pinkie were nearly exhausted from laughing. Half the fun was in trying to guess just how each victim was likely to react, from calmly and nonchalantly trying to figure out what was going on to spinning and flailing wildly in attempts to locate the tiny tormenter. The only dud attempt was on Granny Smith, who never even noticed the What’s That and yet still somehow managed to swat it out of the air with her purse while gesturing wildly at Junebug.

The bewinged little orb went slightly wild after that, buzzing its way through town in a fury as it proceeded to start dive bombing people. The results were a bit more chaotic than either Pinkie or Dash had intended, but none the less it was amusing to watch an entire street grind to a halt as people ducked, dodged, and weaved to try and avoid the angry little orb. The incident only ended when Scootaloo came rocketing down the road on her scooter, and promptly swallowed the What’s That when she failed to duck in time.

“Whoopies,” Pinkie half chortled, half groaned.

“Uh oh,” Dash echoed. “Hope the little squirt’s okay.”

“I’m sure she’s fine…magic’s nontoxic right?” Pinkie asked.

“You see a horn on my head?” Dash asked back. “Heck if I know.”

“…Twilight?” Pinkie inquired.

“Twilight.” Dash agreed.

“She swallowed a what?”

“No, a What’s That,” Pinkie corrected, earning a mild glare. “It’s little magical orb with wings that…” Pinkie started to add, but Twilight forestalled the explanation with a raised hand.

“I know what it is, it was just surprising to…never mind.”

“Am I going to be alright?” Scootaloo interjected.

“You’ll be fine,” Twilight assured the filly. “It’s a solid magical device, nothing in your system can break down the outer shell, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Um…” Pinkie hedged.

“Oh boy…” Dash echoed.

“…of course,” Twilight sighed. “What happened?”

“Well…Granny Smith might of whacked the thing, just a little bit, with her purse,” Pinkie said through a nervous grin.

“Did she crack the shell?”

“No idea,” Dash answered. “It took off wild after that, started buzzing people like an angry hornet.”

“I guess we’d better get it out of her, just to be safe then,” Twilight said, walking over to one of the many shelves of books in the library and searching the spines.

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Scootaloo asked.

“Maybe,” Dash replied.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight admonished, turning to glare at the sky colored woman.

“What!” Dash exclaimed defensively.

“She’s going to be fine,” Twilight grated out. “Right Dash?”

“Right, of course,” Dash agreed nervously.

“Really?” Scootaloo asked.

“Uh yeah, certainly,” Dash told the filly. “And hey, you might end up with a wicked scar.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight repeated with rising exasperation.

“What!” Dash exclaimed again. “Scars are cool.”

“Heck yeah!” Scootaloo agreed happily.

“Ugh!” Twilight groaned. She yanked a book from the shelf and started flipping through it. “I’m not going to cut her open like a chicken,” she told them.

"But then how are you going to…?” Dash began.

“Duh!” Twilight interrupted, waving the book at her. “Magic!”

“Wait, so I swallowed that dumb thing and I won’t even get a cool scar to show for it?” Scootaloo protested.

“Maybe we could get you a magic scar,” Dash suggested.

“No scars!” Twilight insisted, earning a disappointed groan from both pegasi.

Pinkie meanwhile did her best to just stay out of the way and avoid distracting Twilight while she worked her magic on Scootaloo. Sitting still and quiet was not exactly her greatest skill however, and Pinkie thus found herself pacing along the walls and trying not to stare too intently at Twilight’s back. Or backside.

The unicorn had given a moment’s hesitation and what might have been a slight blush when Pinkie had shown back up on her doorstep, but that instant had passed quickly enough when Dash had held Scootaloo out towards Twilight like the poor filly had some kind of horribly contagious disease that she was afraid of catching.

Since then Twilight had been behaving as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred between them, and Pinkie wasn’t going to push the issue, not until Scootaloo was seen to anyway. Once the filly was better and on her way though…that thought however just made it all the more difficult to remain quietly in the background, until she was practically vibrating with all the impatient squirming she was going through.

“And there!” Twilight said with modest pride, as the What’s That suddenly materialized in a white and pink flash right in her outstretched hand. “Ewww…” she added, dropping the wet and sticky object onto the table.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie exploded in celebration and general relief at not having to hold herself in check anymore. “Knew you could do it Twilight!” She bounced about the room, tossing handfuls of confetti into the air.

“Uh, thanks?” Twilight replied, somewhat bemused. “It wasn’t that difficult really.”

“So…” Scootaloo began. “That was it? No…”

“No,” Twilight interrupted. “No scar. You’ll have to earn one falling off your scooter doing some crazy trick or something.”

“Oooo, good idea. Thanks Twilight!” Scootaloo said cheerfully, making a dash for the door.

“Whoa! Hey! That was not a suggestion!” Twilight called after, her horn lighting up. Her attempt to yank the young pegasus back was thwarted as Pinkie bounced between her and her target, and she ended up snagging the hyperactive mare instead.

“Whoahohoho!” Pinkie exclaimed as she floated in midair, her momentum sending her into an off center spin. “This makes…the room…look all…” she remarked as each rotation brought her around to face Twilight. “…lopsided…and I can…”

“Pinkie!” Twilight admonished, turning her around right side up and dropping her to the floor. “We need to go stop her before she does something dangerous!”

“Chillax Twi,” Dash spoke up. “I’m sure the little squirt isn’t going to really fall off her scooter on purpose.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Cause I’ve been where she is. Trust me, crashing on purpose is lot harder than doing it by accident. Your body fights you when you try it.”

“I’m kind of worried that you say that like you have firsthand experience.”

“Is Spike around?” Pinkie broke in before Dash to reply, earning a momentarily baffled look from Twilight as her brain took a second to process the sudden change in topic.

“Uh, no. He’s helping Rarity. Something about custom cutting some gems or…” she trailed off as her addled mind came back up to speed, and took note of both the smile on Pinkie’s face, and her proximity. “Um…why do you ask?”

“Silly,” Pinkie cooed as she bounded to her feet, landing decidedly well inside Twilight’s personal bubble. “Wanted to make sure we don’t get interrupted again.”

“Again?” Twilight managed to squeak out as Pinkie’s arms found their way around her hips, pulling the two of them firmly together.

“Again!” Rainbow Dash echoed with startled disbelief.

“Oh, right…Dashy…” Pinkie commented as if she’d forgotten all about the other mare.

“Wait a minute!” Dash exclaimed. “You two are…you and Pinkie are…how long has this been going on!”

“Uh…about five hours now I think,” Twilight replied.

“Five…hours?” Dash repeated at a more moderate tone. “So you just hooked up…”

“Today!” Pinkie finished brightly. “I’m starting a herd.”

“You’re…you…whoa…” Dash managed.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Twilight said drily.

“So uh…who all is in this herd?” Dash pressed.

“Well so far it’s me and Twilight,” Pinkie supplied. “And Big Mac”

“What!”

“Well after we slept together, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” Pinkie continued calmly.

“No way, you got some of…you…YOU bagged Mac!” Dash exclaimed in disbelief, just staring wide eyed at the beaming pink mare. Then she gave a sudden laugh. “Whoa girl, you are awesome!” She walked over to the pair and stuck out her fist, which Pinkie promptly rapped with her own knuckles.

“Awww, thanks Dashy.”

“So…you, Twilight, and Mac…”

“And you,” Pinkie quickly interjected.

“…me?” Dash asked, taken aback.

“If you want to,” Pinkie said with uncustomary softness.

“Uh, duh, yes!” Dash exclaimed.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie burst out, making Twilight flinch and clap a hand over one ear. The bubbly mare practically launched herself from one friend to the other, catching Dash up in a sudden rib bruising hug. “Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!”

“Hold on now,” Twilight complained, still rubbing at her abused ear. “Just like that?”

“Just like what now?” Dash half gasped as she tried to loosen Pinkie’s death lock.

“Just like that! Without even a moment’s thought?”

“Uh…” Dash said, managing to slide her wings down inside Pinkie’s arms and lever them slightly apart. “What is there to think about?”

“…ugh! You two are made for each other,” Twilight grumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dash asked defensively.

“Girls girls,” Pinkie broke in. “No fighting, this is time for a celebration!”

“But…but she…” Twilight protested.

“Do you not want Dashy in our herd?” Pinkie asked sweetly.

“No, I mean yes, I mean…of course I do!”

“Well now she’s in, so why fuss?”

“I…she…because…agh!” Twilight sputtered, throwing her hands up.

“Geez, how long did you have to discuss things before she agreed to join?” Dash asked Pinkie.

“Oh, I gave up talking with her and tried some alternative methods,” Pinkie answered.

“Like what?”

“Uh…like this!” Pinkie stated, and promptly kissed Dash. In turn, Pinkie was nearly knocked on her butt as Dash’s wings snapped open in surprise, flinging her arms up and back and leaving her windmilling for balance.

“Whoops!” Dash quipped, grabbing hold of Pinkie’s shirt and pulling her back to firm footing. “Heh, sorry about that, you just surprised me.”

“I swear,” Pinkie complained playfully. “I cannot get a good kiss today without something interrupting it.”

Dash’s response was to pull Pinkie in close and lay her own kiss on the bubble mare. Which she broke off after just a few seconds.

“Awww…” Pinkie whined.

“Hold up,” Dash said, running a tongue over her own lips. “Okay, please tell me you have on flavored chapstick or something, because if you actually taste like cupcakes…well that’d just be a little weird, even for you.”

“Hehehe,” Pinkie giggled. “Why don’t you get another taste and find out?”

“Well…” Dash said, leaning back in…and then paused to glance over at Twilight, who was watching the pair with a certain degree of wide eyed, rosy cheeked interest. “You just going to watch, or are you going to join in?”

“Well I…uh, isn’t this going a little fast?” Twilight muttered.

“Fast is my middle name,” Dash replied.

“I thought it was Danger,” Twilight retorted.

“Rainbow ‘Fast Danger’ Dash!” Dash agreed, earning an eye roll. “And why wait? I mean come on, you telling me you’ve never thought about doing something like this with one of us?”

Twilight’s response was to glance down at the floor as her face heated.

“Thought so,” Dash smirked.

“Yeah well, there’s a lot of a difference between a bit of day dreaming and the real thing,” Twilight mumbled.

“Yeah, the real thing is way better,” Dash said.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight sighed. “Have you even given any consideration to just what joining a herd, a herd formed of friends no less, really involves?”

“No Twilight,” Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “I’m jumping into this with my eyes shut and my fingers in my ears. Of course I have.”

“Yeah, and?” Twilight demanded.

“And the idea scares the feathers off me alright,” Dash said stiffly. “You think I don’t know what could happen if this falls through? Why do you think I haven’t jumped any of you before now?”

“Uh…” Twilight said, taken aback. “Well I don’t know. I mean, I guess I figured I wasn’t really your type, and as for the others…”

“Not my type?” Dash interrupted. “Twilight, first off I don’t have a type. Second off, why would I have been checking you out all this time if you didn’t…”

“Doing what now!” Twilight broke in.

“…wait, seriously?” Dash asked, looking stunned. “You really never caught me sneaking a peek at you?”

“No!” Twilight said abashed. “When…when have you…”

“All the time,” Pinkie jumped in. “She really likes your butt,” she added in a loud whisper, to which Dash nodded unashamedly.

“How did I keep missing that?” Twilight asked, stunned.

“Probably because your butt is behind you,” Pinkie provided helpfully, earning a sigh from Twilight and chuckle from Dash.

“So you…really think I’m…”Twilight struggled for the words.

“Twilight, you are the hottest nerd I know,” Dash proclaimed.

“Uh, thanks?” Twilight replied uncertainly.

“No prob,” Dash said, oblivious.

“…I’m sorry,” Twilight sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “This is just…kind of a lot for me.”

“Really?” Dash asked. “Huh, I would have figured Celestia would have gotten you more…”

“Whoa!” Twilight broke in. “What does the princess have to do with any of this?”

“…well I mean…” Dash said, her mind working to catch up with the unexpected words. “You and her were…you know…”

“No, I don’t ‘know’,” Twilight retorted.

“I always thought you two were lovers,” Dash told her.

“What!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Hey, I was impressed,” Dash said defensively. “I mean come on, Celestia? Perfect ten. No, scratch that, beyond perfect twelve.”

“No Dash,” Twilight groaned. “Just…no…”

“Oh…well then who was your first?”

“…nobody.”

“What!” Dash exclaimed. “You’re still a virgin?”

“Why is that so surprising?” Twilight demanded.

“Uh, cause you’re like, hot,” Dash supplied.

“Yeah, sure…” Twilight scoffed.

“Hey, I’m being serious!” Dash said hotly. “I mean yeah, you’re a bookworm egghead and all that, but you are a fine looking mare, and you got serious chops girl.”

“Serious what?”

“Chops. Talent, skill, mojo,” Dash elaborated. “Celestia’s number one student? Even if you and her never hooked up, that’s a major endorsement. I mean really, what was wrong with everyone in Canterlot that no one made a move on you?”

“I…I think they thought the same thing you did,” Twilight said softly. “That Celestia had claim on my love life, and no one wanted to risk messing with the princess’s property.”

“Oh…”Dash said simply. “Okay yeah, fair point…but you could have set them straight.”

“Yeah well…” Twilight hedged. “Maybe…maybe I didn’t want to. Maybe I liked having everyone think I was special to the princess like that. Maybe…maybe I wished it might really happen…” she finished somewhat bitterly.

“Twilight…” Dash faltered.

“But that was just a dream,” Twilight plowed on. “A silly filly dream. I’m not good enough for her.”

“Hey, you’re good enough for anyone,” Dash insisted.

“Oh come on Dash, you’re just saying that.”

“Am not!” Dash shot back, stepping up to Twilight and jabbing her in the sternum with a finger. “If I say you’re hot, I mean it! And if I say you’re good enough for a princess, I mean that too!”

Twilight’s expression cycled through shock, annoyance, and consideration before slowly returning to bitter acceptance.

“Yeah, then how come all she ever saw of me was my horn?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Dash said sarcastically. “I didn’t realize.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Hey Pinkie, you got any balloons and streamers for a pity party? Cause Twilight’s hosting a big one here.”

“Dashy,” Pinkie said in shock.

“Excuse me!” Twilight protested.

“You heard me,” Dash told Twilight, jabbing her in the chest again.

“Stop that!” Twilight yelled, swatting at Dash’s hand, but missing.

“Then you stop being all pathetic and ‘poor me’. You are incredible Twilight, and I will not have anyone saying otherwise, not even you.” Dash poked Twilight again. “So there!”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight grated, her horn lighting up.

“Try me bookworm,” Dash taunted, a sudden grin on her face.

“Girls!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Duck and cover Pinkie,” Dash warned, and poked at Twilight again.

The jab never reached its target. Halfway there, Dash’s hand was seized by a gentle but powerful force that quickly immobilized her entire arm.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing,” Twilight said crossly.

“I’m trying to get through that thick head of yours,” Dash said, blowing a raspberry. Then she kicked out, catching the side of one of Twilight’s feet and sweeping it right into the other. The surprised unicorn dropped on her butt, and she lost her hold on Dash’s arm.

“Dash!” Twilight snarled, rubbing her behind as she struggled back to her feet.

“Pokey pokey pokey,” Dash said cheerfully, tapping Twilight on the head with each word, and then darting off to the side as the glow of magic erupted around the purple mare’s horn again. Dash hopped, her wings beating in a trio of rapid strokes, and she alighted upon a bookcase on the far wall. “Too slow!”

“Arrrgh!” Twilight growled, and half the books on the shelves behind her floated into the air.

“Come on, right here!” Dash taunted, turning sideways and slapping herself on the rump. “Take your bestwhoa!” She barely managed to dodge the first barrage as Twilight hurled a good dozen heavy tomes her way. Dash sprang off the shelf, hugging the high ceiling as another blast of books shot her way in a rapid fire stream.

Rainbow Dash folded herself near in half as she streaked at the wall, flipping at the last second to plant her feet firmly on the surface, and paused just long enough to let gravity start pulling at her. Then she kicked off, now oriented partway downward. Books slammed into the spot she vacated just an instant later, but the stream failed to follow her immediately, and Dash smirked. Twilight had been expecting her to keep up high, and had thrown the next few books anticipating where she thought Dash would be, not expecting the sudden change.

Dash twisted to reorient herself upright and landed in a shoulder roll, popping up to her feet right next to Pinkie Pie…who gave a shriek of alarm and dove under a chair as Twilight manage to readjust her aim. Dash held her ground, slapping aside the first book projectile with a wing, ducking the second, and catching the third in hand.

“That all you got?” Dash taunted, tossing the book over one shoulder with negligent disdain. The glow around Twilight’s horn intensified. The books on the shelves on either side of Dash, all of them, were suddenly surrounded by the telltale hue of Twilight’s magical grip.

“Whoa!” Dash gasped as well over two hundred books launched at her at the same instant, forming twin walls that sought to catch her between them. Legs and wings snapped into sudden, frantic motion, propelling her forward…right into the burst of fresh bookfire from the stash already hovering around Twilight. Dash brought her arms up to shield her face and plowed on through the leather bound ammo, streaking out from between the crushing walls just as they slammed together in a thundering crash.

Twilight gasped as Dash came right at her through the stream of books. She tried to backpedal, but there just wasn’t time. The pegasus closed the distance before she could take a full step, landing right before her, hands darting out. She tried to grab Dash with her magic, but she was carrying too much weight with it to react with any speed or grace.

Dash seized her, yanking her off balance…and slamming home a kiss right on her open mouth. There was a sudden rumbling as the entire load of books she’d been levitating crashed, her spell broken by complete shock. Twilight was only vaguely aware of the background noise though, as a flood of sensation and emotion slammed their way into her awareness and made a good show of kicking everything else out the door.

Dash didn’t kiss like Pinkie did. Pinkie had been soft, gentle, and inviting. Both kisses she’d gotten from Pinkie had been things of comforting warmth. Rainbow Dash’s kiss was a thing of scorching heat, fierce and nearly overwhelming, a sudden blast of pleasure that shot right through her. The intensity of it literally knocked her on her backside as Dash let her go, and she failed to find her balance again before she found herself sitting in a daze on the floor.

“Whoooo,” Dash sighed, plopping down on the ground right beside Twilight, and looking far too smugly satisfied with herself. “Good show Twi,” she said earnestly, examining her forearms, which were already starting to darken with bruising. “Lucky for me those were just books.”

“I…wha…you…huh…” Twilight replied.

“Feeling better?” Dash asked brightly.

“A little?” Twilight answered uncertainly. “More confused though.”

Dash shrugged. “You seemed to have had some frustrations you needed to work out, given how quickly you got heated up over the princess issue.”

“I do not have any…” Twilight started to protest, but Dash just snorted and turned her gaze upon the room.

Twilight glanced around at the war zone that had replaced her library. “…okay, maybe a little…” She reluctantly admitted.

“Heh,” Dash smirked, laying an arm across Twilight’s shoulder. “Look, I get that whatever happened, or didn’t happen, between you and Celestia isn’t what you wanted. But being all mopey and whiny about it isn’t going to do you any good. Especially when it makes you start doubting your own worth.”

“I know…” Twilight sighed. “But I mean, I just don’t feel all that…”

“Don’t make me poke you again,” Dash warned, cutting her off. Twilight blinked at her, and then gave a small twitch. Another twitch followed, then a sharp exhale, and finally Twilight dissolved into a series of rocking laughter.

“I think you broke her,” Pinkie commented as she cautiously crawled out from under cover, keeping to all fours as she approached the pair. She eyed Twilight uncertainly.

“I-I’m f-f-fine,” Twilight giggled, stuffing her fist against her lips as she tried to bring herself under control.

“You sure?” Pinkie demanded.

“Y-yeah,” Twilight choked out. “I’m okay. And I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Dash asked, perplexed.

“For being down on myself, and for letting myself get provoked so easily.”

“Oh please,” Dash said dismissively. “No harm, no foul.”

“No harm,” Twilight repeated, a bit of distress coming into her words. She took Dash’s hand and used it to turn her arm, showing off the discoloration where the books had impacted.

“Eh,” Dash said lightly. “Done far worse to myself. It’ll heal.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Dash overrode. “I pushed you on purpose, I earned these.”

“Still wasn’t right of me to throw books at you.”

“Could have been worse,” Dash said easily. “Could have been the furniture, or heck, whole sections of the building given how strong your magic is. Or…” Dash fake trembled. “ You could have thrown Pinkie Pie.”

“She wouldn’t have,” Pinkie gasped, eying Twilight suspiciously. “…right?”

“Of course not,” Twilight assured her as Dash chuckled to herself.

“So, now what?” Dash asked.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked back.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dash prompted.

“…no,” Twilight said after a heavy pause. “Not just yet anyway.”

“S’cool,” Dash said. “Whenever you feel like it though…”

“Yeah. Thanks Dash.”

“What are friends…” Dash paused. “What are herd-wives for?” She amended.

“Getting a little ahead of yourself there,” Twilight said, though with a smile. “We still need to be Bonded first.”

“Bah, details,” Dash said dismissively.

“You can’t ‘bah’ a detail like that,” Twilight insisted.

“B…ah,” Dash repeated, enunciating extra heavily.

“Holy Sun and Moon!” Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, so loudly that both other girls jumped. “The Bonding Ceremony! I completely forgot about that!” She beamed at them in that way only Pinkie Pie can. “Do you have any idea how awesome of a party that’ll be!”

“Uh, totally amazariffic?” Dash ventured.

“With you involved Pinkie, I’m sure it will be a celebration no one will soon forget,” Twilight said brightly.

“Oh oh oh oh oh!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Ideas! So many ideas, I should start planning! No! Wait, I need to finish gathering our friends! But, ideas! What if I forget! Mustn’t forget! Must! Give! All!”

“Ahem,” Twilight coughed. “There’s a quill and some parchment on my desk…”

“Good thinking!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding over to the indicated furnishing and seizing the writing implements.

“Well, that’ll keep her busy a while I guess,” Twilight said.

“Probably,” Dash agreed. “Soooo…guess we’ll have to find some way to pass the time.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said with complete obliviousness to Dash’s tone. “I think I’d better get started picking this mess up. Spike will have a complete fit if he comes back and finds…”

Twilight cut off as Dash leaned in and planted another kiss on her. It wasn’t the blazing inferno of the first kiss, but it carried plenty of heat. Her heart, which had just managed to calm down after the book battle, nearly thumped its way out of her chest as Dash pulled her in tight, the pegasus’s arms snaking around her body, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other resting firmly against the small of her back.

“Rain…” Twilight managed to pant out when Dash released her lips some indeterminate time later, only to break off in a sharp gasp as the mare’s lips came down on the side of her neck. Her body tried to jerk away from the sudden intensity of the sensation, but Dash held her in place with surprising strength.

“…bow…” The word came out in a quiver as Dash left a heated trail of kisses, nips, and licks down the length of her neck.

“Dash!” Twilight shuddered as the Pegasus bit down upon the slope of her neck. One of Dash’s hands came around and hooked a finger into the collar of her shirt, tugging it slowly down. Those delightful lips followed the line of descending cloth, kissing the freshly exposed skin. Buttons popped open with precise twists of Dash’s fingers, parting the obstructing fabric.

“Wait…” Twilight gasped, writhing gently under the sensation. “D-dash…wait…I’m…” The line of kisses reached her sternum, and started to drift to one side. “Wait!”

“Whoa!” Dash cried indignantly as she was suddenly hauled up several feet into the air. She struggled for a second before reason caught up with her shock. She glanced down at Twilight, whose face was glowing nearly as brightly as her horn, one hand pressed against her heaving chest as she tried to slow her breathing. “…so, too fast?”

“Sorry,” Twilight panted. “Yeah, a little fast for me.”

“My bad,” Dash said. “It’s just...really been wanting to do something like that with you for ages now.”

“That’s okay,” Twilight replied levelly, though her blush didn’t lighten at all. “Do you think, maybe we could try that again? From the beginning?” She gently lowered Dash back to the floor.

“Sure thing,” Dash answered with a wicked grin. “I’ll let you lead this time, k?”

“Okay,” Twilight whispered, scooting over to Dash and tentatively placing her hands on the mare’s shoulders. She leaned in slowly, hesitantly, her eyes locked on Dash’s, utterly focused on the other woman.

Which is why it was a complete surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, and warm breath spill across her ear.

“Hey now,” Pinkie said in a soft, cheerful voice. “Don’t forget about me.”

“Wait your turn,” Dash admonished playfully. “This kiss is mine.”

“Alright, but I get the next one,” Pinkie allowed.

“…well?” Dash prompted, and Twilight took a deep breath. Then, with Pinkie still pressed to her back, she leaned in, and her lips found Dash’s…