Colors of Loyalty

I wake up in my bed. Everything seems foggy, almost like I have a hangover, but without the earthquake in my head.

I roll onto my back and regret it when I fall directly into the sunlight.

"Ugh, why me?" I say, groggy.

I put my hand on the edge of the bed to get myself up, but I pull it back when I feel something wet.

"What the hell?" I say immediately waking up.

"What is th-" I cut myself off.

"Oh yeah."

I sit there and stare at the wet spot, not moving. The smell of after morning shame finally hits.

Brain functionality booted.

"Oh hell!" I yell as I jump out of bed.

I scan the room. Nothing on the bed. No pony in the corners. Not a single soul to be found.

I almost feel a tinge on sadness. Would she really leave like that?

I grumble to myself not sure what to think. I grab some clothes for the day and head into the bathroom to bathe. Best to just get the routine over with before I try to fry my brain.

I don't take long. I just want to go for a run.

I make a stop at the mirror before I leave. Have I always been able to notice the details this well?

I recall the night before. When Twilight filled my body with magic it raised all my senses to a higher level. Was the magic still inside of me? Was it affecting me even now?

I take a small step back to make sure.

Yep, I can see without glasses now.

I notice the remaining dampness in my shorter brunette hair. It is only about an inch and a half in length with a cowlick on the right side of my forehead giving my hair a somewhat natural style.

I examine my face, noting the faint scar beside my lip from ages ago. I can't even recall when or how I got it. All I can remember is I wasn't even in grade school yet.

The tattoo I got not even a year after I joined the Air Force seemed more vivid now. The tribal swirls always reminded me of flowing freely, to take things as they come and how life continues regardless of circumstances. I trace the outline from the end of my half sleeve, up to my shoulder, then across the portion on my left peck.

I've always been an active person. I was in karate for a few years, ran some track, and was always outside causing trouble with friends. Looking at me, you honestly couldn't tell. I had a fairly smaller frame, no visible abs unless you looked hard enough.

I realize I've been distracting myself from the thoughts I need to be focused on.

I get dressed in a sand tee and some tiger stripe cargo shorts. I've gotten used to the pockets which I tended to use quite a bit.

I really should go see Rarity. I haven't talked to her as much I should, especially since she made so many clothes for me.

I head into the main room of the library. I make sure I grab my phone from my backpack in the kitchen where I left it, along with an apple from yesterday.

As I head toward the door I see a piece of paper folded into my headphones. My heart sinks the second I lay eyes on it.

I put the headphones around my neck and unfold the letter. I can tell it's Twilight's writing.

'Dear Swith

I know a letter probably isn't what you want to see first thing in the morning, but I didn't want to wake you. I've been called to the castle on an important errand. I brought Spike with me since I know I'll need the help. We will return within a week's time. Be careful, Swith.

Your Dear Friend,

Twilight.

P.S. I'll call you tonight. We really need to talk about some things.'

Damn it all. This really wasn't what I wanted to see this early in the morning.

I put my white shoes on, ready to run so I can get a grasp on what I'm doing.

There is a chilled wind as I pass through the doorframe. It's still decently early, maybe around eight. I shiver as the initial coolness breaks the barrier of warmth from the cozy library.

"Just a few laps, that should give me time to figure out what exactly I need to do." I say with a sigh. This wasn't how things were planned at all.

The park comes into view after a short walk. The all too familiar trees seem almost new today. I can pick out hoof prints in the dirt from the many ponies who walk the paths. The dirt feels nice underneath me. I can see the wonderful clouds above my head predicting a nice day.

I guess I can't really complain about my life now. It's not been bad since I arrived here, just strange.

"So, I need to figure out facts. One: I slept with Twilight last night." My pace slows as the truth passes my lips. I shrug off whatever feelings I have. "Two: Maybe Rainbow does like me. It would break her heart if she found out." A terror seems to gloom over my chest at the thought. "Three: I'm not even a pony! I'm a completely different species."

I sigh angrily. Would this society really accept something like this? Could I, myself, come to terms with it?

"Fuck..." I mutter underneath my breath. I sometimes don't even know why I ask myself these questions. I already know the answer in my messed up cloud of rationalizations.

"Yes, I had sex with Twilight, yes, I know I at least care about Rainbow and yes, I don't give a single care that I don't even belong to this universe."

Unbeknownst to me, there happened to be a quiet, almost creamy colored Pegasus with a pink mane nearby that just so happened to overhear me.

I see the shy mare and smile. She was always pleasant to talk to once you got her talking.

My slow self takes off the headphones and I give her a perplexed look. "Good morning Fluttershy, what are you doing out this early?"

Wait, did she just hear me?

My face goes pale as I add two and two together. "Fluttershy, why do you look so surprised?" I question with the most sincerity my voice can muster.

"Oh my." is all I can hear pass with the wind.

I rush up, taking a knee beside her. "Shy, please, whatever you heard come from my mouth you never heard at all. Please, I just made a mistake that I plan to fix as soon as possible." I say, sweat dripping from my brow.

"Did you and Twilight, really...do that?" She says meekly, hiding part of her face.

"Yes, but I can't talk about it here. If I randomly pass you then who knows who else can hear us." I check around my shoulder just in case. I shake my head. I swear I have the worst luck with everything.

I know Fluttershy is a pretty skittish pony, but the little that I've been able to talk to her has let her warm up to me. I could never be mean to somepony as nice as her.

"Did you want to talk about it, maybe? If not, I understand. I promise not to tell any pony." She says as she shrinks away with each word.

This could be an opportunity to get this off my chest. I believe Fluttershy wouldn't bring it up if she knew exactly how much it meant to me.

"You want to help me find out what I should do, huh? Well, I guess I don't see why not now that you know. It might be better to tell you now anyway so you don't get the wrong idea." I say while lifting myself to my feet.

She seems to perk up a bit. "Okay, let's go to my cottage. Nopony will hear us there."

I smile, relieved that I'm not alone. "Thanks, Fluttershy. You are a great help."

I turn around to step back onto the trail.

"Wait!"

The sudden shout makes me fumble. I look down to see a little squirrel family directly in front of me. I can't stop my momentum so I leap into the air. In my mind I was about to do an action roll like you see in games or movies. In reality, I end up having the side of my arm and leg catch my fall.

I lay on the ground, not wanting to get up. All I want is to fall asleep right here and wake up from this dream.

Fluttershy flies over to me. "Goodness, you aren't hurt are you?" She lifts my arm to examine the wounds from my battle against gravity.

"I'm fine. I think I hurt my dignity more than anything." I look at my arm before I even get up. Just scratches.

I rise and clean the dirt off me the best I can. My shirt isn't that bad, it blends in with it well. My shorts however could be better.

I put my hand through the tear where my cargo pocket hangs.

"This was my favorite pair too." I say with genuine disappointment.

"Oh, we can stop at Rarity's. I'm sure she wouldn't mind to fix it for you." Fluttershy suggests.

"You know, that sounds like a great idea actually."

If it was any other pair I'd just say forget it.

I did want to go see Rarity anyway. I may have grown up with a southern family, but seeing such refinement from somepony was always a welcome pleasure.

We march to the Carousel Boutique, my hand holding my pocket in place. The town was beginning to truly awake from its slumber. There were a few vendors out and about, selling everything from fruit, grains, veggies, clothing, you name it.

A few ponies still had a hard time getting used to me and gave me weird looks as I walked by. It didn't bother me since I learned long ago to not let others opinions get in my way. Fluttershy was greeted a few times on the trek through town.

We finally arrive at the building, the sun fully above the horizon now. It was a fairly large building that looked out of place in Ponyville. To me it seemed a little too much, but I've never been huge on up to date fashion so what did I really know?

A sign on the door says open so we enter, a bell ringing off as the door swings ajar. The interior is easy on the eyes. It's a large room with different dresses and accessories. It had a small platform area with mirrors surrounding it and even a stage on the far end of the room. In one corner a few blank mannequins rested against the wall.

I hate mannequins.

A pony appears from one of the rooms in the back. She has a styled purple mane and tail with fur as white as the cleanest snow. Rarity always looked nice, even when she was hard at work.

Speaking of things easy on the eyes.

I shake my head of the thoughts before she speaks.

"Fluttershy! It's delightful to see you, dear!" She trots over and gives Fluttershy a small nuzzle. Why was it always so adorable when they did that?

"Hello Rarity. I hope we weren't interrupting anything." Fluttershy says with her small smile.

"Nonsense! I always have time to see my friends." Rarity notices me standing near the doorway. "Swith, please come in! What brings you here tod-aye oh my stars, what have you done with your shorts?" She says with horror in her tone.

I chuckle a little, her reaction being a little over the top for a ripped pocket. "Well, actually, that's kinda why we stopped by. We thought if you had a moment you'd be able to fix my pocket here." I reach my hand through to emphasize how bad it was.

"This is a disaster! Give them to me so that I may fix this crime against fashion!"

Not that I would care all that much, but I don't have another pair to wear in the meantime.

"That would be an outstanding idea, but as you see I don't have anything to really wear. I'd rather not run around in my boxers." I state, knowing that even if I did it wouldn't have been my first time.

Or my last certainly.

"You must hurry, such a horrible fate must be fixed as quickly as possible!" Rarity says as she grabs the pocket, looking over the damages.

"Fine fine, it doesn't matter anyway." I sigh knowing this is a losing battle.

I undo the torn shorts and slip them off. I notice the two watching me as I do it and blush. "Geez, you don't have to stare at me at least. Here, please hurry, Ms. Rarity."

She grasps them with her magic. "This won't take long if you want to have a seat. I don't get many customers this early so you should be fine, darling."

I take a seat in the corner of the room feeling almost as awkward as I did with Dash.

Fluttershy takes a seat nearby as well. "So Swith, didn't you mention something about Rainbow Dash?" She says a little suddenly.

"Huh? Oh, that. Well yeah I did. I guess when I start to think about it, I really like her. She's fun, adventurous, and she's beautiful to boot."

"What about Twilight?" Fluttershy asks.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Twilight was an amazing pony. She was smart, independent, and apparently I thought she was pretty good looking too. Feelings though? That was still on the borderline.

"I look up to her in a sense. She's her own person and I like that in someone." I admit. No point in lying to her.

"How did you two get so close together, if you don't mind telling me that is?" Fluttershy almost squeaks.

"Let's wait till we get to your place, I don't want anypony to hear something. I want to stay as incognito about it as possible for now."

"Incognito? Why that sounds absolutely scandalous! You must tell me what you two are talking about." Rarity chimes in. Neither of us had heard her enter the room.

Crap, how did she sneak up on us like that? I really need to pay more attention.

"It's, um..." I stammer and trip over my words. "It's a secret!"

Fluttershy gives me a puzzled look.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise is all."

"You have a surprise? Hmm." Rarity gives me a look that shows she doesn't buy it.

"I can guarantee you will love it once it's done!" I BS through my teeth.

Rarity pulls out my shorts and hands them to me. "Why you must tell me, it would be rude to lie to a lady." She says as elegantly as ever.

I look at Fluttershy for a hint of what she might think.

She gives me a little smile and nods her head. I guess I always did believe in being honest with people from the start.

I put the shorts back on and sigh deeply. The cat was gonna have to come out of the bag eventually.

"Alright, so," I pause, thinking of the most careful way to place my next words. "Well, let's just say I may have had a sort of fling with Twilight, maybe." I rub my stubble anticipating for an intense answer.

It doesn't come.

"Well, that certainly caught me off guard." Rarity says. Her face doesn't change much. This seems suspicious to me, but I'm not in a good place to follow this for now.

"Yeah, it got pretty heated. Is Sweetie Belle around? I don't want her to hear any of this." The little fillies are troublesome, but they are innocent at heart. Speaking of which, I remember I had to go to Applejack's on Sunday for some work, and I promised to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders get their cutie mark. That would be two days from today.

"No, her and her friends went out already. How exactly did you two end up, becoming intimate? It seems very sudden." Rarity asks, unsure how to take the situation.

"It was sudden. Very sudden even." I stop myself from speaking, knowing I have to think before I just speak about everything in the wrong order. "Let me start with Dash."

"Rainbow Dash? What does she have to do with all this? You didn't have relations with her too did you?!" Rarity says finally showing the surprise I was initially expecting.

"No, no! No. We actually had a small encounter in Applejack's barn. Nothing serious. We were just play fighting like always and I ended up breathing into her ear. She reacted and we just kinda stared at each other and parted ways." I stare at the floor for most of the conversation. I always had a hard time looking at the eyes of the person I was talking too.

"What about, Twilight? Tell me what happened with her, dear." Rarity asks with more pep then I'm really comfortable with.

"I guess there isn't much to say. I came back right after Dash ran out. I had a lot on my mind, so I asked Twi if I could do some research with her. I said she could do an experiment or two on me. She filled me with magic and I just couldn't help myself. I had the primal urge to just, well, you know." I say. I find it a little difficult to mention since I'm openly admitting to it.

"That certainly does sound very sudden. She didn't mention anything out loud, did she?" Rarity asks.

"What do you mean? Was she supposed too?" I finally look into her eyes. That was an off question to ask.

She averts her gaze and fidgets with her hooves. "Why of course not, why would I ask such a thing?" She says nervously.

There was something she was fishing for. I deiced not to press her on the issue, for now anyway. That is until…

"Rarity, maybe we should tell him. I don't want anyone getting hurt if something goes wrong." Fluttershy says. She's been pretty quiet all this time.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I look back and forth between the two ponies beside me.

Rarity sighs. "Darling, Twilight seems to have had a thing for you for quite some time. She wanted to tell you when she got the chance, but I'm afraid Fluttershy might be right." She says. "It sounds more like you got lost in the throes of lust."

"You mean to tell me that she has a crush on me? Like, she seriously has some sort of deeper feelings toward me?" I say. It doesn't really surprise me in a way, but I don't really want to believe it.

"Did she really never hint to it at all?" Rarity questions.

"No, not that I recall." I try my best to remember if the hints were actually there. Aside from being a little sad when I leave or wanting to spend time together, I never really saw any signs.

"Poor Twilight," Fluttershy says "She must not know how to express her feelings very well. Not that I would know, I've never had a special somepony." She adds quickly shrinking back behind her mane.

The silence grows.

"Swith, are you alright?" Rarity asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This is just kind of a mess is all. She left this morning to go to Canterlot for some reason. I'm not sure why yet. She did leave me a little note saying she was going to call me tonight. What should I do?" I look up at Fluttershy.

"You should probably tell her the truth." She says.

"Well, I guess it would be better in the end." I say as I rub my stubble again.

"You do actually have feelings for her, don't you?" Rarity questions.

That was honestly a trick question at the moment. I knew I had something for Dash, but Twilight really was beautiful in a completely different sense.

The delay in my answer makes both the mares uneasy. I knew they liked me as a person, but they didn't want to see Twilight or Rainbow Dash hurt either.

"Of course, why else would I have done what I did?" I say. It wasn't a full lie. I mean, I did like her.

The tension in the air drops instantly. "Good, that really is pleasant to hear. Now about you talking to her tonight." Rarity mentions.

"Hey, don't worry, I can handle that on my own. I'd rather tell her in person."

"I understand." Rarity says with a smile.

As she finishes the sentence the bell rings and in walks a gray colored Pegasus with a blonde mane. She had the strangest eyes that were sometimes hard to not stare at.

"It seems I have a customer. I'll let you two go for now. Make sure to keep me informed on how everything goes, Swith! Au revoir!" She says as she trots off.

"Let's get out of here, Fluttershy. I've been sitting down for too long." I get up and head for the door.

"I should probably get back to my animals, It's almost lunch time." She says when we pass into the warm spring day.

"Has it already got that late?" I check my phone. It's almost noon by now. "Well, I guess so. Thanks for the help today, Shy. Promise not to tell anyone, please?"

"I won't, Swith. I Pinkie promise!" She goes through the motions to show she actually means it.

"Thanks, Flutters. If you need any help with your animals just give me a holler." I give her a smile.

"I will. Bye for now." She waves as she walks toward her cottage. Why she always walked everywhere instead of flew was still beyond me.

As I watch her walk away I hear my stomach growl.

"Oh jeez, it really is lunch time. I know exactly where to go too."

I start off in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner. I know it wasn’t a healthy choice for lunch, but sweets were always a good choice for your sanity.

The walk isn't far. As I look at the building that is seemingly made of desserts itself, I'm ambushed by a pink blur of a pony who appears from nowhere.

"Heya, Swith! Whatcha doin? Have you come to get some yummy snacks?" Pinkie asks in half a second timeframe.

"Fuuuu-" I catch myself. "Pinkie you scared the living bajeebus out of me." My stomach growls again. "You are right that I'm here for something to snack on, though." I pause for a moment. "Wait, Dash said you were gone with the cakes, when did you get back?"

"I've been back since yesterday silly! What do you want, some cupcakes, or chocolate, candies, or some cake-"

"Pinkie, I'll take some cupcakes is all." I smile at her. Her deep pink fluffy mane bounces as she literally hops through the door. That pink pony has way to much energy.

"What kind of cupcakes do you want? We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint, banana-"

"I'll take some vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icingAND it doesn't matter what color." I say before she continues on her list.

"Okie doki, I'll be back in a jiffy, Swithy." She says skipping to the back.

I look around the room to occupy my time. There is a minty looking unicorn with a beige earth pony in the corner of the room.

Is that one sitting down like a human?

Pinkie jumps up from underneath the counter and spooks me again. I grumble under my breath but it fades quickly as Pinkie's smiles are contagious.

"Here you go! A dozen cupcakes for Swithy Reece!" She says excitedly.

I pause and look at her with questioningly. "How did you know my last name? I've never mentioned it before."

"Oh you silly, you know that I know every pony in Ponyville! I also know every human in Ponyville too!" She says as she spins the box of sweets around on her nose before placing them on the table.

Twilight said it was best not to question Pinkie, so I'm going to stick with her word.

"Thanks, Pinkie." I give her two bits from a small pouch I have in my pocket.

It might not be that manly, but who was going to judge here?

"It's no problem, Reecie! Come back when you want some more snacks! Auntie Pinkie always has delicious goodies for everypony!" She says as she dances around the room.

As crazy as Pinkie was, she was always fun to be around. Her joyful nature never failed to make everyone smile.

I head for the door and turn around to take one last look at Pinkie before leaving. Right before she goes into the back to grab something for someone else my eyes avert to her rump. It was an eyeful to say the least, just the right amount to grab onto.

What? Did I really just think that? I must be a little off today. I guess I am kind of stressed out.

As the door closes behind me the sun's rays are weighing down on me. The coolness of the morning has finally given way to the afternoon heat. I realized I didn't have anything left to do today and I had no plans.

"I could go see what Dash is up too. Hope she still wants to hang out.." I say aloud.

I shrug and head toward Dash's house. It wasn't hard to find since there aren't that many flying houses nearby.

I put my headphones on to help pass time. I turn up some dance music to lighten my spirits. There was something about bass that just made me happy.

I wonder what time Twi will call. I'm not even sure what to tell her. If I tell her I don't want to take it any further, I doubt she'd take it well. I could tell her I need some time to think, but that's dangerous. She could lose all hope and knowing her she'd probably assume she will get an answer she doesn't want and worry herself to death.

"I wonder if I could get them both?" I think out loud. Now I know I was just dreaming. How could I get both of them to agree to that? I didn't want to test their friendship like that. I know they had a big role to play with the elements so that was out of the question.

I open the box of sweets, tempted to take a bite of one, but a better idea forms in my head.

I could always share them with Dash as a sort of peace offering. Brilliant!

As her house comes into full view something dawns on that was a pretty important issue.

I had no way to actually get up to her house.

"Blegh."

I recall the apple I had got this morning and put in my pocket, luckily the good one.

"It's worth a shot." I say as I grab for it.

I look the apple over. It was vibrant red and felt ripe, but not soft. I rear my arm back in hopes of hitting something through the cloud floor. I aim for the middle of the house and let it fly. To my surprise it flies a lot further then I thought it would.

It disappears into the bottom of the floor.

Silence.

I look around for something else to throw. I search around some nearby trees for anything that would actually make it up to her house, but wouldn't break anything. As I lean down to pick up a tiny rock I'm tackled from behind.

the ground meets me yet again fall, barely able to catch myself before my assailant's weight is put fully upon me. The taste of dirt didn't do much for me either.

"Oh come on, I have a fragile parcel." I say. I turn my head to find that my attacker was Dash, who must have not been happy about being hit in the head by something since she has a small bump on the side of her forehead.

"I ought to beat the hay out of you! Why were you throwing things at me?" She inquires with anger in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to actually hit you. What are the odds?"

She rubs her head. "Apparently pretty good." We both share a friendly laugh.

"How about a peace offering? Hopefully nothing got ruined." I say as I open the box and lift it behind my head so Dash can have a cupcake.

"Well, I guess I could forget about this if you are offering something." She takes a bite out of one of the cupcakes.

"As pleased as you are, madam, would you mind to move your butt off of me?"

Not that I mind it there.

As she gets up I can feel her toned rear lift from my body. "Oh yeah, sorry about that." She says as she flies eye level to me.

"So, have any plans for this evening Dash?" I ask fairly quickly.

"Not really. Why, you didn't want to hang out with the Dash, did you?" She says smugly.

"Please, stop while you're ahead." I say with eyes rolling. "That is why I'm here though, yeah. Twilight had to go to Canterlot for some reason so I'm home alone for about a week, could use some company. I know I'd end up wanting to rip my eyes out from boredom."

"I guess I can for a bit. What did you have in mind?" She asks.

Quoting a hero of mine from my younger days, "Ya wanna dance?" I say with a stupid smirk.

"Dancing? Of all things you want to dance?" She says looking at me like I'm some kind of idiot.

"Yeah. I used to be a pretty good dancer back in my world." I say. In all honestly I wasn't that bad. Not professional, but I knew what I was doing at least.

"You better at least have some good music." She crosses her forehooves.

"I got the music covered. No need to worry about that."

I should get some more to drink while I'm at it.

"Alright, Dashie," I pinch her cheek "I'm gonna go get ready."

She swats my hand away and glares at me. "Watch it." She warns.

"I'll save it for later. Just show up whenever the sun goes down, got it?"

"Yeah yeah, I got it." She turns her back to me.

"Good, can't wait to show you up on the dance floor!" I snicker as I jog away. A faint growl fades into the air behind me.

I did have some cleaning up to do as well, but first...

I head back into town toward a store that doesn't seem to get enough attention as it should, Berry's Vineyard.

The door opens and look toward to counter in the back of the shop. The building has a nice dry, earthy smell. There is a large selection of wines and spirits lining the old looking shelves for such a small place.

"Swith! If it isn't one of my favorite customers!" I hear from a mulberry earth pony with a mane a few shades deeper than her coat. She is setting out different kinds of glasses on a small rack on the counter. Everything from wine glasses to martini glasses to shot glasses.

"Hey there, Berry. How goes the business?" I ask while examining the alcohol closest to her. I honestly didn't like wine in the slightest. Bad experiences and all.

"The same as always I'm afraid. Just the few same customers on the rare occasions they come in." She says.

"Those few must really enjoy the atmosphere then, huh?" I say with a smile as I lean into the counter closer to the mare.

She smiles back at me. "Oh, you are just being nice now. So, what brings you in today?" She says as she places the last highball glass down.

"Well, I plan to have a little company tonight. Something strong, but not overpowering. I know how pegasi can be." I say with a smirk, knowing they couldn't hold their liquor anywhere near like an earth pony can. Unicorns were either hit or miss.

"Hmm," She puts a hoof to her chin. "You could try some Poncardi. That should do the trick."

How this world had such similar things to my own was beyond me, but it was pretty convenient sometimes.

"Alright, sounds good." I glance around the store and lean in close to her ear. The smell of mixed berries from her mane was pleasant, reminded me of home somewhat. "Maybe a little bit of the good stuff too."

She gives me a playful smile. "Is there a special occasion?"

I return the expression. "Isn't everyday special?"

She laughs at the remark "That was just corny. You’re lucky I like you." She heads into a room in the back. I take the time to examine a few things around the room. I check behind the counter and see a small picture with a few ponies in it, including Berry. I can make out Ms. Cheerilee and a long dark maned pony with a grey coat. She is wearing a pink bow around her neck. She seemed to have a certain sense of regality about her as well.

As I set the picture back in place, Berry comes back with a mason jar full of a deep purple liquid. She sets it down with a satisfied smile.

"We should drink again sometime soon." She says cheerfully.

"That does sound fun. It's nice to have someone able to keep up with me." I say smugly. Only reason I was able to stay beside the mare with drinks last time must have been how much bigger my body is compared to her. She could tank the stuff like water.

"When are you free, hun?" She says sweetly.

"Most of the week, I'm gonna be busy all day Sunday and tomorrow I'll have to recover, I know I'll end up taking it way too far tonight." I admit. I knew better then to lie to myself.

She lets out a cute giggle. "Well, I'll stop by sometime when I have a chance. We should get Twilight in on some of the fun too. She should learn to let loose a little."

"Heh, you would be surprised." I say half heartedly. "I should head home though, gotta get ready."

Berry gives a slight frown. "Alright, eight bits, hun." She says as she opens the register.

I lay the correct amount down. "If you are free next weekend Twilight will be around. That'd be perfect."

"I'll stop by Friday to let you know. Don't do anything I wouldn't do tonight." She dogged.

"It wouldn't even cross my mind." I say as I open the door. Berry really was a fun mare. Maybe a little too fun sometimes.

The air once again hits me. It gives me a small chill, the bumps showing on my arms. The sun was beginning to set which gave the sky an orange glow.

"I'll have to remember to take somepony out to see this." I mumble to myself. Even I could be a hopeless romantic sometimes.

I head back to the library. The door opens and I enter the darkness of the room. It was strange not having someone here. Normally at least Spike was around to greet me.

I light only a few candles before it gets dark . The dim glow gives the room a somewhat homey feel.

I head downstairs to get some better clothes. I light more candles down here then I did upstairs. I smell something that brings the actions of the previous night back to my mind as I walk over to the unmade bed.

The sheets are dry by now and there is a small red stain on the bed.

"Oh... that could be bad..." I say to myself. I never questioned about any of their sexual past. It didn't seem right of me to ask. Apparently Twilight didn't have much of one until me, I guess.

I take the sheets off and put some clean sheets on. I jump onto the bed, not able to resist that freshly made bed feel. I let out a relaxed sigh and just lay there for a minute.

I've always been a simple guy, the small things in life are what really mattered to me. Things like laying in bed a little longer than normal on a day off, or being able to joke around with your co-workers, or even that first puff from a cigarette.

I jump back to my feet and rid the bed of any wrinkles, grab the dirty sheets and take them out back to a large barrel. I lay them down and grab a small bucket nearby and fill it from a spout near the door. The barrel fills up to let them soak for a day or two. Red was a serious pain to get out of anything, especially blood.

I proceed downstairs to grab the drinks I had bought and put them in a makeshift fridge. I check my phone again out of habit.

Nothing, as always.

"Twilight was going to call me sometime tonight. I hope she does it soon." I say with worry. I've been pushing it to the back of my head all day. I hate knowing something is going to happen, yet not knowing when.

I grunt in irritation as I go to my dresser, grabbing the first shirt that's in the drawer to change. It's a black spandex like shirt. Wearing things like that isn't bad after you get used to it, so it didn't bother me any.

I head back upstairs to wait, there wasn't anything else I really needed to do except have a certain pegasus here to enjoy the evening.

I take a seat and lean back. I cross my legs and put my hands behind me head. For as small as some of the furniture was, it could be quite comfortable at times.

I kick my shoes off and toss them beside my door. That was one benefit of being home alone, not having to worry about Twilight's neat freakiness. I mean, there is a line between being neat and just plain obsessed. Twilight, though, she seemed to cross that line back and forth.

I hear tapping at a nearby window. I jump out of the seat I found myself in and open it up.

The wind rushes by me as Dash flies inside. The smell of night time air and the coolness it brings was one of the simple things I mentioned earlier.

"Evening, Dashie." I say with a smile.

She strikes a cheesy pose. "The one and only is here!"

"Well, one and only, come on down as we can have some fun. I got some stuff downstairs that you'll like." I say with a movement of my hand.

She follows behind me as we go through the door to my room. "So, you remember yesterday in the barn, right?" I mention, looking down from the top of the steps.

She seems to freeze."Yeah, I remember." She says nervously.

"I bet you won't have such good luck pinning me again!" I say as I nudge her in the side.

She jumps as the tickleish feeling shoots through her. "Augh!" She fumbles and spins fully sideways.

Before she can get back at me I leap down the stairs. I hit the ground and roll, prepared for the onslaught I just unleashed.

Dash flies toward me. "Round one!" I shout.

A streak of rainbow color rushes around the room behind me. I turn with arms open as she plows into me. I grab hold of her hooves as she flies in front of me, matching me in strength.

We stay like that for a moment before I drop my weight, causing her to lose balance. I wrap my arms around her waist.

"I got ya now, Dashie!"

"Not a chance!"

I plant my feet down for a German Suplex. I lift with my body and torque my body backwards.

"Eee!" She squeals.

She squirms and flaps her wings enough for her to get loose from my grasp. I've already passed the point of no return.

She flails out of my hold and lands on the ground beside me. I end up having my head crash into the hardwood floor beneath me with a startling thud.

I lay still with my hands on my head. I let out a long winded grunt holding back the many curse words that play at the end of my tongue.

"Swith! Are you alright?" Dash says as she scrambles to get up. She nudges me with a hoof.

When I feel the touch of her against my skin I lunge up and grab hold of her.

"You win this time, that really hurt." I say with water in one of my eyes.

"Hey! Leggo!" She squirms to break free of me. "Just imagine if that had been me, instead."

"I know better than to slam you, I would never do such a thing." I say. I mess with her mane as my grab has turned more into a hug. "Although, that squeak you made was adorable." I tease.

Her face heats up. "No it wasn't, shut up." She retorts.

I let go of her and stand up. I dust myself off for no real reason. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

"Ha, there wasn't any luck to it!" She smirks.

My roll my eyes. "Oh please, I believe I'm the one that has the higher score anyway." I smirk.

"Yeah, well, I've just been off is all. Been too focused on my flying." She says.

"Whatever the case," I head to the fridge and grab the bottle I purchased earlier. "Cheers!"

She gives me a slightly confused look. "Cheers? For what?"

"Well, ever since I've been here I've had a lot of time to think about things." I grab some shot glasses from a miniature cupboard. "I've been in this world for about three months now. Three months and twelve days to be exact." I unscrew the lid to the half chilled glass and pour each of us a single drink. Dash merely stares at me, unsure where I'm headed with my words. "I'm sure you remember my first day here, correct?" A stupid smile appearing on my face as I pass a glass to her.

"Of course, we all freaked out when Twilight called us all here. She had you locked in the basement with the door sealed." She starts laughing lightly which brings a smile to my face.

"Yeah, I mean I know I'm a pretty strong guy, but a locked door with furniture and books behind it was too much even for me," I raise the glass in the air. "but I've met some really nice peopl- err, ponies, that have made this a very nice experience at least. So I propose a toast, to a good friend that accepts me for what and who I am. One that is loyal to herself, and all of her friends."

She gives me another smile. She has been very quiet through my speech. As her glass hits mine, the drink splashes and mix as some hits the floor.

"To a friend I'll never forget, and to the future!" I shout.

We both slug back our drinks. I wince, but in the back of my mind it feels good. The fire burns away any worries that are scattered around my head.

We hit the bottom of the glasses down on the floor.

"One!" We yell.

I pour us another. Dash doesn't seem bothered yet.

"You gonna keep up this time?" I stab.

If looks could kill I'd have been ripped in half. "I'll outdo you tenfold! Let's go!"

I shrug and pound another. It goes down a little better then the last.

The glass hits the ground again. I give Dash a questionable look.

She glares at me and downs hers like nothing. I see her body shiver from it and I smirk.

"Alright, Dashie, that was round two. How about one more to get us started?"

"I could do ten more and be fine." She says. I knew better then to believe that.

"Well, in that case." I get up and go for the good stuff that Berry made. I know this is going to be a horrible idea, but what fun is there by playing it safe all the time?

"This stuff is something Berry makes herself. It's volatile and could probably eat through your stomach. This should be perfect, am I right?" I say. I can't help but play mind games sometimes.

"Yeah, I can take it. The real question is if you can or not!" She points a hoof at me.

I shrug at the mare and give her a blank look. "I doubt I can to be honest."

She seems to shrink away a little as I slowly pour the new substance.

"Cheers, again, to livers that will hate us!"

"Cheers." She says nervously as our glasses clack.

I hesitate before I take this drink. The glass meets my lips. The smell hits me pretty hard, some kind of black berry or something mixed with rubbing alcohol it feels like. I notice Dash is making as much progress as me.

We both give each other an unsure look. "How about on three?" I say.

"Sure."

"One." I tense up a bit.

"Two." The glass raises. The smell fills my nostrils.

"Three!"

The fire slides past my tongue and slithers down my throat. I hit the glass against the floor again and cough a few times.

Dash handled hers about the same as me. I give her a smirk before I start laughing.

"What's so funny?" She questions.

"You. You did better than I thought." I say, my laugh turned into giggles.

"I could take some more if I wanted, you know." She scoffs

I shrug, another smirk alight my face, grabing the mason jar and reaching for her glass.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" She exclaims quickly. She leans forward and puts her hooves in the way.

"Oh, I was just playing Dashie. Come on, let's dance!" I say as I jump up.

I reach for my phone and see no new messages. My music slides across the screen until I find something I like. I finally decide on something classy to start off with.

As my toe is tapping to the beat, the affects of the volatile liquids start to surface. I rub my eyes for a moment before grabbing a hold of Dash, who was lazily hovering in the air. "Come on, let's dance!"

"What are you doing?" She asks as she follows along to my simple steps as my arms hold her up.

"What's it look like?" I say with a smile. I put my hand on her hip and spin her around.

She laughs as she twirls with ease. I wasn't actually used to having a partner. I let her go to begin my own footwork. Dash quickly joins in as best she can.

"It still seems weird to see you dance like that." Dash says watching my feet.

"Doing this stuff is weird to a lot of people back home. I had some think it was pretty cool while others called me gay for it." I laugh at the memories and add some upper body movement.

"They called you gay?" She laughs at me. I give her a friendly glare.

"I'm sure you'd know all about that, Rainbows." I taunt as I moon walk away.

Dash flinches for a moment before lunging at me playfully with a smirk. I can't jump out of the way in time, but I brace myself. She grabs me around my waste. It merely knocks me back a few steps.

I mess with her mane as she leans against me with a hoof. It seems the liquor is taking its effect on her as well. I smile as those big eyes of hers look up at me. "Yeah, so what if people think I like mares. I'm totally into stallions."

I grin at her comment. "Yeah, yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."

She gives me another angry look. I couldn't help but love it every time she made that face.

"Ya know, Dashie, you always look so cute when you get angry."

What?

She opens her mouth to speak, her cheeks turned red. She hits me in the stomach with her hoof.

"No I'm not!" She says as she turns away and back to all four. I can see the crimson on her face even still.

I take my chance to lean down and seize her in a big hug. Her coat is a lot softer then I thought it might be for some reason. It feels good against my not so sober body."It's okay to admit you're pretty, Dash."

She doesn't make any gestures. I can tell she feels uncomfortable, but she feels so good I don't want to move. I put my face into her mane.

"I really like your mane, Dashie."

Before she can hit me again there is a sudden vibrating noise and some strange jingle playing.

My heart sinks into my stomach when I recognize the ringtone.

It was Twilight calling.

"Uhm, hold on, Dash. I gotta take this call. Twilight needed to talk to me about something." I say scrambling for the cheap device, Dash in hand.

Dash breaks free of my hold and faces me, her eyes staring me down with concern. "Huh? Is something wrong? Your face just got beat red." She asks raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah! Everything is great, she probably just needs me to reference something. I'll be back in just a minute, promise" I say as I fumble up the stairs and into the main room of the barely light library.

The breeze hits me again, feeling like a god send for how warm I currently felt. I count to ten before answering the wailing phone.

"Swith speaking." My voice cracks. I clear my throat directly after.

"Swith! Sorry to left on such short notice this morning." She says. Her voice sounds a little nervous, yet professional as always.

"Hey, it's no biggie, I can relate to that." I say. In all honesty I could.

"Are you busy right now?" She asks quickly.

"Naw, I got time to chat. What's up, Twily?" I say as smoothly as I can. I examine everything in the room as I pace around aimlessly.

"I-" She cuts herself off. "Swith, I really want to talk to you about what happened last night." She says letting the nervousness slip from her voice.

I sigh and put my fingers on my temples. "What do you want to talk about?" I say defensively. I wasn't sure which direction to take this conversation yet.

"I'm sorry. I'm not sure if that was meant to happen. I don't know what came over me."

I think I did.

Now is *not** the time for that!*

"Well, Twilight, I can't say it was all just you."

"You aren't mad about what happened, are you?" She says, her worry seeping into her words.

"Me? How could I be angry with you, Twily? It's not like you forced yourself on me." I say with a light tone.

I hear nothing, but silence for a few moments.

"Wait, you didn't do something with your magic to make me do that, did you?" I say. Normally I did well with keeping my cool, but the alcohol already had a grasp on my reasoning.

"Well, I had a thesis that it might cause some of your more primal instincts to take over. I didn't know that would end up being the result though." Her voice trails off.

I sigh. If I think about it, yeah the want for her was there. Of course, me actually acting upon that want would have taken me a long time to do, if I even did it at all.

I hear the door to my room open. Rainbow Dash steps out and gives me a puzzled look.

"Come on, Swith, I'm getting bored! We need another drink!" She shouts.

Nonono, not right now Dash.

"Is that Rainbow Dash I just heard? Did she say you were drinking" Twilight's voice raises.

"Yes?" I say Skittishly. I can already feel the sweat on my forehead race its way down my face.

I hear a small gasp. "What? You knew I needed to talk to you about something important tonight! Why would you be getting drunk with somepony?"

Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Twilight, please, don't be mad at me-"

"I'm not mad at you, I'm more disappointed than anything else."

Fuuuuuuuck. I change my mind, please be mad at me.

"Twilight, come on. I just need to blow off some steam."

"You should have thought about that before you started drinking." She says angrily. "Don't bother calling me."

"Wait!"

It was too late. All I hear is the click of the phone.

I toss the phone down, not caring to watch where it lands, my fists clench.

"Swith? You alright?"

"What do you think?" I say in a harsh tone.

Aye, I need to cool my jets. I know better than that.

I sigh and release my death grip on the poor air that just so happened to be in the way of my palm.

"Sorry, Dash. I didn't mean to be a smartass." I say, turning to face the mare.

I can tell she isn't happy. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out when she was mad.

"I'm just trying to help! Why did you throw your phone anyway? What happened between you and Twilight?" She cocks her head sideways. Her gaze seemed to pierce my very soul, locking me in place.

I knew the truth would have to slip out sooner or later. I don't really feel ready to tell her yet. It's only been twenty four hours for Christ's sake! This was escalating too fast for me.

"Listen, Dash. I may have made some pretty hasty calls the other night."

I avoid any form of eye contact. It's too embarrassing for me to admit one of my own mistakes like this.

"I'm listening." Dash says irritated.

"You gotta hear me out, alright? There is kind of a lot involved, kinda." I move my hands with my speech, a habit of mine when I attempt to explain things.

A quick sigh to give me another moment to get my gears turning.

"Alright, so last night after you left, I came back here, got something to eat, and started studying with Twilight."

I could feel my stomach turning. The alcohol was starting to kick back, but I held it down with only a mild bit of sweat rolling down my face.

"Well, I finally let her try an experiment on me, right?" I let out a nervous laugh and wipe sweat off my face. Dash was getting impatient.

"Well, she tried filling me with some magic. After that, well, It's kind of hard to recall."

Don't lie now.

"Dammit." I whisper.

"What happened, Swith? What was so bad that you can't even tell me? You know you have friends here, we'll do what we can to help. Remember what you said not that long ago?"

That really didn't help at all.

"Well, whatever happened, when I was filled with magic it caused me to kind of lose control, I guess it made me more in tune with my instincts or something." I swallow what little I can. The room itself seems to be heavy. Cotton mouth was setting in nicely.

"I, um, ended up sleeping with Twilight."

My eyes drift all around the room. I can feel the alcohol mixing with the nervousness. The room starts spinning and my abdomen feels like it's about to take flight.

"I'm gonna be sick." I slur as I head toward the back door.

"You did what?!" I hear behind me.

I don't wait for her to follow up as I burst through the door and fall to my knees. Even the grass between my fingers was unsteady.

I hear the door open again, as I assumed she would follow.

"How could you do that, Swith! What do you mean instincts took over? You pull what you did yesterday to me, then end up sleeping with one of my best friends? How low down can you get?"

I could almost physically hear the trust being shattered at that very moment.

"I didn't mean it, It must have been the magic." I say. There wasn't much more I could add to build onto my defense.

"So you sleep with Twilight, and you didn't even mean too."

Women, I swear.

"You disgust me, Swith. I thought you would be different." Her voice can't hide her sadness any longer.

"I'm sorry, Dash." Is all I can muster to say.

"Don't bother telling me any more lies. Don't bother trying to find me either."

What?

I feel the wind rush by as she flies off into the night.

"Wait, don't leave. You could ge-"

I'm interrupted by my stomach voiding itself of everything.

My breath is short and heavy. Chill bumps run up and down my arms. Berry must have made that last batch stronger than before.

I pick myself up and make my way back inside. I take my shirt off and toss it aside. My room was slowly approaching, as I tried my best to stay upright.

"Fuck." I say to myself.

I lean against the wall in the door. I clench my fist and punch the doorframe. I am way too drunk to attempt any more talking or thinking.

I head down to my bed and fall face first into the new sheets, my body numb enough to feel nothing but the room moving in circles.

Tomorrow is going to be a real shitty day.