Romance, or Something Like It - Ch. 8

Chapter 8 – Night

"You know what we should do?" Pinkie Pie asked Fluttershy.  They had all but forgotten about the awkwardness of the fortune teller's fortune.  Instead, the decided to play games all night.  At one point, they ran into Rarity and Fancy Pants, for which Pinkie Pie happily took credit for them having such a nice night, and even saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo race by, saying hi to them as they passed, before being chased by Spike, who was carrying some dolls they had won from the game booths.  Pinkie Pie herself had won several dolls, and gave a little Daring Do doll to Fluttershy, since she seemed sad not to have won any games.  Pinkie Pie was still a little buzzed from all the wine, but Fluttershy was still caught off guard by how stumbling and giggly drunk Pinkie was compared to her sober self.

"You know, the bonfire looks nice," Fluttershy said.  She was exhausted by now.  Between her dress that she felt uncomfortable in, and keeping up with Pinkie Pie, she didn't want the night to end, but she needed it to slow down, that was for sure.

"Sure!  We can totally tell some stories by the fire," she said, trotting along happily.

The bon fire was surrounded by couples of all types.  Pinkie Pie sat down next to Lyra and Bon Bon, then patted the ground next to her to have Fluttershy join her.

"Um," said the earth pony next to the pink pony, "The bon fire is for couples. Not just a couple of ponies."

Pinkie Pie smiled broadly to Bon Bon.  "OH, we're soooo a couple!  We're each other's date for the holiday!"

"Really?" asked the earth pony.  "Because I've never seen you two together without your friends before."

"We're totally a couple!" Pinkie Pie said, Fluttershy blushing bright red.

"Um, Pinkie, if they only want romantic couples at the bon fire, maybe we should leave."

"See?" Bon Bon said.  Lyra nudged her date and made a face at her.  "Well, she's going to ruin the mood!"

"Excuse me?" Pinkie Pie said, frowning.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lyra sighed, but Bon Bon continued.  "You're here just to have fun, but we're here to be with our special somepony, okay?"

Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped. "I AM here with my special somepony, okay?" She said, pointing to Fluttershy, who had shrunk down at the undue attention.  "We are totally a couple tonight!  Do I have to PROVE to you that she's special to me?"

"Oh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly, "You don't have to prove anything to them.  I know I'm special to you just like you are to me."

"No, no, no, no, no," Pinkie said, waving her hoof.  "She's trying to make you feel bad for sitting at the bonfire, like she owns it.  You don't own it, Bon Bon!"

"I never pretended to own it," said the earth pony.  "I just want to sit here and enjoy the bonfire without SOMEPONY making it into a joke hanging out with her friend."

Pinkie Pie pulled Fluttershy close to her, and put a forearm around the mare.  "Well, I don't know what you're talking about, unless you mean mare friend, because we are totally a couple tonight."

"P-Pinkie," Fluttershy said, blushing.  

Bon Bon scoffed.  "If that's what it means to you to be in a relationship, then seeing ponies standing next to each other must be risky behavior to you!"  She leaned back against Lyra, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh?" Pinkie Pie said, before turning to Fluttershy and kissing her on the cheek.

"…Oh, my," the Pegasus said, turning even more red.  "Maybe…we should just leave before this gets…"

"Shh, it's okay, I got this," the earth mare whispered in the Pegasus ear, but there was a brightness in her eyes that wasn't there before she pecked Fluttershy on the cheek.

"Oh, wow," Bon Bon said, unimpressed.  "You kissed her like a filly greeting their grandmother.  Hot."

"You want hot?" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes wide, accepting the challenge.

"Uh, Pink—"  Fluttershy wasn't able to finish her statement as Pinkie Pie leaned in and kissed the Pegasus full on the lips.

Whether she meant it as a joke, or felt playful because she was still a little tipsy, or was just determined to win her argument, didn't matter after a moment.  The world fell away, as Fluttershy's eyes went from wide in shock to closing to fall into the kiss.  Pinkie Pie pulled the mare closer as she deepened the kiss.  Fluttershy felt her heart pounding hard.  She would have thought of such a situation to feel weird or awkward or horribly embarrassing, but as her mind went numb and all that existed was the other mare's feel, taste, warmth, she didn't think about any of that.  She really didn't think about anything at all.

Finally, the two pulled away from each.  Fluttershy opened her eyes around the same time as Pinkie Pie.  

Then they realized what they had just done.

"Whoa," said Bon Bon.

"Goad them some more," Lyra whispered. "Maybe they'll do that again."

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, an awkward smile spread across her face, but nothing came out.  Her face was as red as Fluttershy's face felt.  The Pegasus put her hooves up to her mouth, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Uh, are you two okay?" asked the earth pony who was watching them.

"I gotta go," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, me too," Pinkie Pie said.

And they both ran off in different directions.

-=-=-=-=-

Rarity trotted next to Fancy Pants, who had his usual serene smile on his face.  "What do you think of Ponyville?  I know it's no Canterlot."

Before he could answer, a voice chimed out, "RARITY!" and the mare was tackled to the ground by a pink flash.  "I have to talk to you! Right now!"

Stunned, the white unicorn stared up at her friend, her wide eyes narrowing in annoyance as she realized what had just happened. "Pinkie!" she breathed.  "Do you KNOW how hard grass stains are to get out?"

"This is more important than grass stains!" Pinkie Pie said, flailing her forelegs around in a panic.  "This is a disaster of epic proportions! The likes of which may destroy our friendship for years to come!"  She leaned in so close, their noses squished together.  "The fortune teller said so!"

Rarity's eyes shifted over to Fancy Pants, who was looking at the pink mare curiously, an eyebrow raised in scrutiny over his date's situation.  Rarity wondered if he was trying to figure out if he was enjoying the situation or not.  One mare pinning another mare to the ground, their noses so close together, they might as well be kissing?  Upperclass or not, he was still male…

"Uh, would you excuse us for a moment, darling?" she asked, smiling awkwardly as her nose was still being pressed into by her friend's nose.

"It's alright, Rarity," he said.  "I should probably catch the train back to Canterlot.  The last train out will be running, soon."

"No!" Rarity practically screeched as she shoved her friend off of her and got to her feet.  "I mean, there's no need to rush.  Uh, can you meet me at my shop?  This shouldn't take too long."

"That sounds fine," he said, smiling his gentile smile to Rarity.  "It was a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Pie."

"Please, call me Pinkie," the earth pony said in her best attempt at a posh voice, standing proudly in her formal outfit.  

As Fancy Pants walked off and out of sight, Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie and gave her a fierce look.  "This better be impor-"

"I kissed Fluttershy!"

"….tant…."  Rarity's mouth dropped after she finished her sentence.  The pink pony danced from hoof to hoof as though she needed to use the bathroom. "So…it truly was a date!" The unicorn's eyes lit up.  "This is…"

"Bad?" Pinkie Pie finished.

"INCREDIBLE!" Rarity said in a high voice.  "I never even thought of it!  Fluttershy is so shy, it never occurred to me that she would be…well, that's besides the point! Oh, my goodness!  You simply have to tell me all the details! Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"No, this is bad, bad, bad!" Pinkie said.  "The fortune teller said this would ruin our relationship!"

"She did?" asked the mare, stepping back.  Rarity put a lot of stock in what the fortune teller had to say – she had talked to her so many times before.  But this, she didn't want to believe.  "She said exactly that?  That you kissing one of your best friends, who you care deeply about, and who would never do a thing to hurt you, would end your friendship?"

"W-well," the mare stopped her dancing and furrowed her brow in thought.  "Well, no…she said we would have a hard time, but once we get through it, we'll be stronger than ever."

"Sounds like any relationship to me," Rarity said with a knowing smile.

Then Pinkie changed her attitude to one of annoyance, waving a hoof around to emphasize her words, "But this wasn't supposed to happen!  I just wanted to take her out so she would forget about Angel!  And yeah, we had a nice time, and she looked really cute in the dress I bought her, and it felt nice using her like a pillow, and she doesn't lose patience with me like everypony else does when they have to be around me so long, but I thought that was just because she was such a good friend!"

"…using her like a pillow…?"

"And she didn't exactly pull away when I kissed her," Pinkie Pie continued, "which I don't know if she was just being nice like Fluttershy is, or in shock, or really liked it, but she ran away afterwards! But what does that say, because I ran away too, but I have to say, I kinda liked it!  I mean, I don't feel that strongly about anything else. Except for maybe candy, but who doesn't like candy?  And I know, the circumstances weren't that great – I mean, Bon Bon was really just getting on my nerves and I just wanted to sit by the fire with Fluttershy, and she was being pretty mean about it.  Why did she have to be that way?  I wasn't going to ruin anything for her!  But then I kissed Flutters, and now she's run off somewhere, and I ran off too, and I don't know what to do!"

"Pinkie…"

"I mean, come on!  Yeah, it makes me feel good when she smiles and I try to be there for her, and I'm not bothered when she gets scared or nervous…hey, sometimes I'M the one that makes her scared or nervous.  She really doesn't take surprises well, does she?  And maybe that's why she ran off, I mean, it WAS a surprise.  But I have these weird feelings inside about what just happened, and I've never felt this way before, certainly not with a mare, that's for sure!  And one of my best friends?  I—"  The pink mare squeaked as Rarity put a hoof to her mouth to make her be quiet.  
"Pinkie, please, I didn't get any sleep last night," she said, rubbing her temple with her free hoof.  "Now, I'm going to make this quick, because I don't want to leave Fancy Pants waiting.  Now tell me…in as few words as possible…are those weird feelings your feeling good?"
"I don't know," said the mare once her mouth was freed.  "I feel…" She tried to scrounge up a good word.  "Like I swallowed a whole bunch of Fluttershies…BUTTERFLIES!" she quickly corrected herself.  Then she giggled softly, followed by a snort.  "Oh, I get the name, now."

"Well, from what you were saying before and the fact that she gave you butterflies in your stomach," Rarity broke into a wide smile as she finished her sentence, "Well, it sounds like it could be…serious."

"Bad serious?" Pinkie Pie said, putting hooves up to her mouth in fear.  "Because I'm not good at being serious! Especially bad serious!"

"Like wake-up-in-the-morning-next-to-the-one-you-love serious," Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie blushed at the notion, her eyes getting a far off look as she tried to picture what that kind of serious would be like in practice.  Slowly, the panic ebbed away and a serene look came onto her face.  "I like that kind of serious," she said.  Then she looked panicked again.  "But what if she doesn't feel the same way?!"

"Yes, that's always a risk with that kind of serious," Rarity said, nodding, wondering about what kind of serious she and Fancy Pants were on, and how she truly felt about their night together.  "And Fluttershy is very shy, but you have to treat it seriously. No kidding around or parties or anything.  Just go and talk to her.  Maybe with flowers."  Then Rarity was taken aback by the grave look on Pinkie Pie's face.  "Darling, what's wrong?"

"Well…" she said, looking as though she were on the brink of tears.  "What if she doesn't want that kind of serious?  I…I don't know if I could take it."

Seeing the pain on her friend's usually happy face made Rarity feel like her heart was breaking.  She put a hoof around Pinkie Pie and gave her a small hug.  She was actually a little proud of her friend at that moment.  Pinkie was always so happy, so energetic, and sometimes obnoxious, that Rarity almost forgot how sensitive she truly was.  And for her to feel so strongly about one of her friends, it just reminded the fashionista how serious she can be.  "Pinkie, you can handle anything.  And your friends will always be there for you both, no matter what.  But I think you should talk to Fluttershy before you begin to panic.  And if anything bad happens, you just come to my house, alright?"

Faced with her dread, Pinkie Pie nodded, wiping the tears that were forming from the corner of her eyes.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Rarity walked back into her boutique to see Fancy Pants examining some of her dresses.  She took a deep breath before walking up to him.  The stallion turned to look at her, smiled, and looked back at the dresses.  "Did everything work out okay with your friend, there?"

"She just needed a little advice," Rarity said.  "I hope I didn't keep you too long."

"Well," he said, looking at the time on his pocket watch.  "I should leave soon to catch the last train."

Rarity nodded.  "So, you never answered my question," she said.

"Ah, yes," he said, nodding.  He wasn't looking at her. "Rarity, I'm afraid I have a confession to make."

"Oh?"  Rarity's stomach clenched.  "You hate it here.  I'm so sorry!"

"No, quite the contrary," he said, turning to the mare.  "I'm very glad I came here tonight.  It's actually a relief to be here."

"Really?" Rarity asked, her eyes getting bright.

"Really.  I should really thank your friend for suggesting it."  Then he smiled sadly. "But I'm afraid I have to confess.  My original reason for asking you to be my date tonight was not the best reason."

Rarity furrowed her brows.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see," he said, losing any hint of a smile on his face.  "I had a very upsetting public break up with Fleur about a month ago, and I needed to find somepony who was willing to be my date tonight.  You see, I was invited to many soirees, and I know that Fleur would be at many of them, as well.  I couldn't go alone, but finding somepony in Canterlot to go with me was…difficult, despite whatever status I may hold."

Rarity frowned.  "You used me as your date to get back at Fleur?"  Her stomach felt as though it had dropped away from her body.  "And what?  You decided you didn't want to be seen with me after all, and jumped at the chance to go to Ponyville? Is that it?"

"No! My dear! It's nothing like that," he said, backing up as Rarity leaned in close, scowling at him.  "I was having such a good time with you.  I had all intentions of showing you off as my date tonight, my dear! I could ask for no better companion."

"I'm not your arm candy, Fancy Pants," she hissed, venom in her words as she unconsciously moved forward, backing Fancy Pants into a corner.  He looked genuinely scared, now.  He had probably never had a mare like Rarity get quite so angry with him.

"Yes, I know, I apologize, Rarity," he said quickly. His monocle dropped from his eye hung from the chain that held it in place.  "I wasn't thinking right.  And that's why I needed to apologize to you!"

"Why even bother?  You've been using me all night, anyway!"

"No, please, Rarity, you must understand," he said, putting up a hoof to try and calm her down.  "I already enjoyed spending time with you.  That's why I was so happy to see you in Canterlot! It meant I didn't have to invite somepony I didn't care about to be my date tonight."

"Well, how WONDERFUL for you," she said, turning away and putting her nose up. "I'm glad I was convenient enough for you to be a date on a holiday meant to couples!"

"Rarity, please," he said, putting a hoof to his temple.  "If I could just finish explaining."  Rarity turned away from him, but looked back at him as an invitation to keep going.  "You are willful, beautiful, strong.  You know how to be yourself, to take care of yourself, and even take care of your friends when they need you.  I don't often get to meet anypony like you, and I'm glad that I got to know you better tonight.  When your friend suggested coming to Ponyville, I admit, there was a part of me that didn't want to see Fleur at the parties tonight.  But you have to remember, a pony like me is expected to be at those parties no matter what.  Instead of thinking about any social status, all I could think about was that I would actually get a chance to spend time with you instead of running around talking nonsense at some stuffy party."

Rarity didn't want to admit it to herself, but he was right.  His social status will probably be hurt by not going to any of the Canterlot parties that night.  She hadn't even thought about that until then.  So maybe…just maybe…he was telling the truth.  "Go on," Rarity said, still turned away from the stallion.

"I did genuinely enjoy Ponyville," he said.  "I can see how you get such creative designs from living here.  And I am honestly intrigued by you, Rarity.  I hope you can forgive my initial intentions.  I never meant to harm you."

Rarity furrowed her brow, turning around to look at the stallion.  He looked disheveled, reprimanded, very different from how he looked the rest of the night.  She walked up to him, looked him in the eye.  Just as she opened her mouth to say something…

BAM!

The door slammed open, causing both ponies to jump.  In ran three screaming fillies, followed by a baby dragon carrying a load of toys won at the booths that night.  Apple Bloom was chasing after Sweetie Belle, who was chasing after Scootaloo, yelling over each other about one thing or another.  Rarity couldn't tell what they were yelling about, or why they felt compelled to chase each other around while yelling such things at each other, but by the third time they circled Fancy Pants and Rarity, she certainly wanted them to stop.

"Girls…girls.  Girls!  GIRLS!"  The three fillies looked up to Rarity.  "WHAT are you doing?  Can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation?"
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle whined.  "Scootaloo says that the dolls that she won are all hers, but some of them we won together, and Apple Bloom doesn't want the one doll that Scootaloo wants, but Scootaloo doesn't even play with dolls!"

"Pssh, that you know of," Scootaloo said.   "I could be an avid doll collector, for all you know."

Apple Bloom chimed in, "By takin' only one doll?  If that were true, why doncha have a doll for a cutie mark?"

"She just wants the dolls to impress Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie Belle said, pointing an accusing hoof at her.

"Hey!  Just because Rainbow Dash HAPPENS to like Daring Do, and it HAPPENS to be a Daring Do doll, doesn't mean that I don't want the doll for myself."

"Oh, really?" Apple Bloom said.  "Okay, since you're such a fan, what was the fourth book in the series?"

Silence.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes.  "You win this round, Apple Bloom."

"GIRLS!" Rarity screamed again.  "I have a guest here tonight.  Can you please take you argument outside?"

The three fillies lined up in front of Fancy Pants, practically pushing Rarity out of the way.  "Hi!" Sweetie Belle said.  "I'm Sweetie Belle.  I'm Rarity's little sister. This is Scootaloo and Apple Bloom! They're my friends.  And that's Spike."  She pointed a hoof at the dragon, who dropped the toys he was holding and narrowed his eyes in suspicion before giving a strained, "Hi."  Then Sweetie Belle beamed up to the stallion.  "Who are you?"

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity said warningly.  "This is Fancy Pants.  We were just--"

"Is she your special somepony?" asked the filly, smiling knowingly at the stallion.  

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said between grated teeth.

Fancy Pants gave a soft smile.  "I'm afraid that's yet to be seen.  We were just talking about something important before you came in."

Sweetie Belle turned to her sister.  "But weren't you two on a date tonight?  Rarity! Are you playing hard to get?  I don't think you need to…"

Rarity narrowed her eyes at her sister, battling with the inner struggle of whether she should get into a screaming match with her little sister or get back to the conversation she was having.  

"Well, Rarity," Fancy Pants said, "I'm afraid if I don't leave now, I will never get to the train before the last one lets out.  I will…see you around, perhaps, next time you're in Canterlot?"  Rarity parted her lips to respond, but the sadness in his voice threw her off and the right words failed to come out.  "Alright, then," he said, fixing his monocle and standing up straight.  "I best be on my way, now."

The stallion turned and walked towards the door as everyone in the room watched him.  The door opened. He stepped out.  And with a soft click, the door shut behind him.

"Well!" Spike said, his eyes getting bright as a wide smile split across his face.  "Now that he's gone, we can go on with our lives! Right?"

The three fillies glared at Spike, but Rarity looked to the door, staring at it for a moment.  Then she looked down to the little fillies who were staring up at her.  Sweetie Belle looked sad at what had transpired.  "Well," Rarity said.  "You know, I think I may have some cookies in the kitchen."

"Cookies!" The three fillies chirped, before turning and running to the kitchen.  When Spike didn't move, Rarity opened a chest full of jewels and took out a sapphire with her magic.  "Oh, Spikey Wikey!"  She held it up enticingly.  

"Aw, for real, Rarity? You're going to give me one of your jewels?!"

"Go join the girls in the kitchen.  I'll be in soon."  She lowered the jewel to his height.  With a joyful giggle, he raced up to the sapphire, took it in his claws, and skipped off to the kitchen to join the others.

Then Rarity looked to the door.  She took a deep breath.  Standing there, with her pink dress that had been slightly muddied when her friend tackled her, and a rose in her hair from earlier, she knew what she had to do.

Rarity raced out the door, running at a full gallop.  She ran down the streets lined with rose petals, past couples who were going home for the night, and towards the train station.  He couldn't have gotten too far – she didn't spend too much time dawdling behind with her sister and her friends.  She just needed to tell him.

She had a wonderful time that day.  He was kind and gentle, and though his initial intentions hadn't been good, she felt truth in what he was saying, and frankly could forget all that and just think about what had happened that night.  She couldn't let him think she was mad at him.  If she let this moment pass, they may probably never get that moment again.  And who knew if they could survive it!  Sure, Rarity had a flair for the dramatic, but that was far too dramatic a blow for her love life to take.

Rounding the corner, she saw Fancy Pants walking near a fountain.  "Oh, thank goodness!" she said to herself.  Then she called out, "Wait! Fancy Pants!"  The stallion turned around, surprise apparent on his face at seeing the mare.  

Rarity started running towards him, running through her head what she was going to say, or at least how she was going to start it.  She understood how social status worked.  She knew how important it was for a pony of his stature to accept invitations to and attend parties.  She had been through this in her head when she was in Canterlot.  The fact that he would risk that to spend time with her meant something to her.  And while she would have to make him earn her trust back, she did appreciate him for telling her the truth.  He didn't have to do that.  

Yes, that was a good thing to say.

She reached the stallion.

He put out his front legs as though to catch her.

Rarity ran into his forearms, and without even thinking about it, she kissed the stallion.  His lips felt so soft.  Her heart was pounding harder than it should have been from when she was running earlier.  She felt her face flush.

The kiss lingered for just a little too long when Rarity finally realized what she had done.  She pushed away from the stallion, putting a hoof to her mouth.  "Oh, dear," she said.  "That wasn't my intention at all!  I'm so sorry, Fancy Pants!"

The stallion smiled, seemingly content with the entire situation.  "I take it you forgive me, then?"

Rarity opened her mouth, but she completely forgot what she was going to tell him.  Then she laughed and looked down to the ground.  "Perhaps we could meet again soon and …talk about this?"

Fancy Pants nodded his head, "That sounds lovely."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Applejack yawned as they walked through town.  Rainbow Dash trotted along, looking at her date for the night.  "What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"Not this late," she said, "Gotta get up early to work on the farm."

"That sounds…like torture."

Applejack nudged her date with her hoof.  "Not everypony can take naps in the middle of the day and still finish their work on time.  That's how things are done on the farm."

"Yeah…Maybe I'll try it out someday.  MAYBE."

Applejack furrowed her brow.  "Why would ya wanna go and do somethin' like that?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash said, blushing slightly.  She took a moment to think about what she was going to say.  "You know, if you ever need help or something like that, you can count on the Dash."

"You've never offered to help before," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes.  "Last Ah remember, you went and took a nap rather than help me out."

"Well, that was then," Rainbow Dash said, looking away, still blushing.  "This is now."

Applejack couldn't understand why the Pegasus was acting the way she was.  Rather than think about it too much on a tired mind, she just shrugged and continued on.  That was when she saw Apple Bloom walking with Scootaloo and Spike.  The mare's eyes shot open, before she called out to the filly.

"Applebloom!" she said, trotting up to the filly and her friends.  "What are you still doing up?  You should have been in bed hours ago!"

Scootaloo tried to hide a laugh, but ended up snorting.  Rainbow Dash scoffed.  "Geesh, way to cramp her style, AJ."

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom said, blushing.  "Ah'm not a baby anymore.  And it's a holiday!"

"But tomorrow isn't," Applejack said.  "Why are you still out so late?"

"Aw, Ah was just walkin' with Scootaloo and Spike back to their place before I went home," she said.

But she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who noticed something Spike was carrying.  "Is that what I think it is?" she said.

Spike looked at the toys he was carrying, before realizing what she was talking about.  "Oh, you mean the Daring Do doll?"

At this, Scootaloo jumped in front of Spike and smiled a broad smile up to Rainbow Dash.  "I won it at one of the game booths!  Pretty cool, huh?"

At this, both Applejack and Apple Bloom sighed, but Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide like saucers.  "I was trying to win it all night, but I couldn't get that stupid ring over that bottle!  I would have tried to sneak one away if miss Honesty over here would have let me!"  

"Are you still harpin' on that?" Applejack asked.  "Don't go tellin' the fillies about how you wanted to steal a doll.  You'll give 'em ideas!"

"Alright, kid," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back on her haunches, looking down at the smiling Pegasus filly.  "What's it going to take to get you to part with that doll?"

"Oh, for pete's sake!" Applejack said.  "Look, Rainbow, you take Scootaloo home while you negotiate or whatever.  I'll take Spike home and head back to the farm with AB."  Rainbow Dash looked over to the mare, a little shocked and looking slightly disappointed.  Taken back by her reaction, she realized what was wrong and gave a soft smile.  "You can join us later on the walk home, if you'd like."

Rainbow Dash gave a little smile before nodding before turning back to the Pegasus filly.  As Applejack guided her sister in the direction of the library, she could hear Rainbow Dash saying, "So, what's it gunna take to get you to give me that doll, kid?"

Her attention was brought away from the conversation when Spike said, "You know, I don't need somepony to walk me to the library, right, Applejack?"

"Ah know, Spike, but that don't mean two friends can't walk together, does it?"

"Ah, well," Spike said, shrugging.  "It would be nice if I could have hung out with my friends tonight.  I feel like I was a babysitter all night."

"Hey!" Apple Bloom said, frowning. "We let you play the games with us."

"You LET me carry your toys for you," Spike said.  "If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does."

Applejack chuckled.  "A baby dragon babysittin' a filly.  Ain't that somethin'?"

In front of the library, Spike placed a claw on the door, frowning at the two sisters in front of him.  "Well, this wouldn't have happened if Twilight hadn't decided to go on a date instead of hanging out with me tonight."

"Date?" both ponies said at the same time, to which Applejack continued, "Who is she dat—"  She stopped when Spike opened the door and all three of them were staring at Big Macintosh asleep on the floor, a blanket laid over him.

All three jaws dropped simultaneously.

"Mah brother?" Applejack said in a harsh whisper.  "Twilight was on a date with mah brother?  Mah best friend was dating mah brother? "  She creeped up to her brother's sleeping form, trying to come to terms with the oddity of the her brother being in a location she wasn't used to seeing him in, and of all things, sleeping.

Apple Bloom tried to quiet her giggling.  "Well, she was around him a lot this mornin'," she said softly.

Then a voice came from upstairs.  "Uhhh…"  All three sets of eyes looked up to the pony.  "H-hi, AJ…"  Twilight was smiling sheepishly.

The farmer narrowed her eyes at the unicorn and pointed a hoof to her brother.  "And what in the hay is this?"

"Well, er, you see," she started in a soft voice as she made her way down the stairs.  "We were reading a book, but he's not used to staying up this late, and I guess he can sleep anywhere, because next thing I knew, he had fallen asleep."  By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she finished her explanation, then once again gave her sheepish smile.

Applejack opened her mouth to say something else when a voice came behind her.  "Success!  I am now the proud owner of a Daring Do doll!"  Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash trotting up to them, the doll tucked under her wing.  "I just….have to have lunch with the kid every weekend for a month."  The Pegasus looked at the doll under a wing, concern on her face, probably wondering if it was worth it.

Big Macintosh jerked awake at the blue mare's loud voice, and stared dumbly at his little sisters, then at everypony else in the room staring at him.  His eyes went wide as he looked around where he had woken up.  Then his eyes fell on Twilight Sparkle, and he shot up to his feet as fast as possible.  The unicorn smiled and bit back a laugh.

"Uh," Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her brow.  "Did I walk in on something?"

"Been hanging out with Rainbow Dash all day, Applejack?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a knowing smile.

"Uh," the orange mare said, blushing.  "What about you and mah brother here?" She pointed a hoof between the two.

"…maybe we should just stop asking each other question."

"Agreed.  Come on, Apple Bloom."  Applejack ducked under her sister and scooped her up onto her back.  "Time for you to go to bed."  Apple Bloom started to complain, but was interrupted by her own yawn.  She started trotting off past Rainbow Dash, who was looking around, confused.

"Wait, what's going on?  What did I miss?"   The Pegasus asked.

Applejack called back to the mare, "Come on, sugar cube.  Walk me home, will ya?"

"Oooh," Rainbow Dash said, turning away from the Library and trotting up to Applejack.  "With pleasure."

-=-=-=-=-

Twilight Sparkle was chuckling at the shocked and confused expression on Big Macintosh's face.  "You alright, there?"

He raised an eyebrow to the unicorn said, "Eeyup."

Spike walked up to the stallion and nudged him with his claw. "Sheesh, what were you guys reading that put you to sleep?  I mean, just about any of Twilight's books can put ME to sleep.  But I didn't think that happened to everypony!"

"Spike," Twilight said, raising her eyebrows.  "Shouldn't you be getting to sleep, too?  I don't want you falling asleep on the stairs again.  I nearly broke my neck last time I tripped over you."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," he said.  "You were busy reading a book! Who reads a book while walking down stairs.  I'm surprised you haven't had more book related accidents!"

"Spike," Twilight Sparkle said sternly, narrowing her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone to say goodnight to your DATE, then," he said, grumbling as he walked past the mare and up the stairs.

Twilight glared at Spike as she walked up to Big Macintosh, before turning to him and smiling.  "Sorry about all that.  They came home with Spike, and I was upstairs at the time."

"S'alright," he said.  "Applejack's not gunna let it go, though."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the stallion.  "Maybe if you didn't tease her so much, that wouldn't be a problem."  Then her ears fell back against her head. "You don't think she's mad at me, do you?"

"Naw," he said, walking over to his pastry cart.  "She's just surprised.  And she might give ya a talkin' to 'bout treatin' her family right, but that's 'bout it."

"Um, Big Macintosh?" The stallion stopped just as he was about to try and push the cart around so he could get it out the door.  "I had a really nice time today."  She felt herself blushing, and looked down to her hooves.  "I was wondering if…if maybe we can do this again, sometime?" She glanced up to the stallion, who raised his eyebrows at her.  

She felt her stomach tighten in dismay.  Of course, he didn't have time to just go running around with his sister's friend.  How stupid was she to ask him that?  She didn't often think of herself as stupid, but now it felt like she had just stepped in something she should have walked around and forgotten about after she passed it.  But no, she decided to walk right into it, and now she was standing there, feeling ridiculous, with a handsome stallion that probably has no interest in her was scrutinizing her.  

Big Macintosh walked up to the unicorn, and she forced herself to make eye contact with him.  She didn't want to hear what he had to say, but there was no avoiding that now.

"Ah'm busy durin' the day," he said. "But maybe we can finish that book.  Ah promise Ah won't fall asleep next time."

Twilight Sparkle broke into a wide smile and responded with a voice too high, "Yes, that sounds perfect!"   At this, Big Macintosh smiled.  He then bowed his head and kissed her on the cheek.

The unicorn's cheeks blushed bright red.  

Big Macintosh backed up and smiled at the unicorn.  "Is tomorrow alright?"

"Well," said the mare, looking off to the side, not able to get the smile off her face.  "That only makes sense.  It's a long book."

She helped the stallion out with his cart, both silent, both with a smile on their face.  After he fastened the cart back onto his back, he turned to Twilight Sparkle and smiled, before heading on his way.

The unicorn closed the door with her magic, and turned to lean against the door.  She sighed with content.

Then she was filled with regret.  

She should have kissed him on the lips…

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Fluttershy tried to busy herself with cleaning in her cottage, feeding the nocturnal animals, and making sure she had food for the next day.  She had long taken off her dress and laid it across her bed.  Then she told herself she couldn't hide from the world and had to do something as not to think about what happened that night.

As she cleaned up a few more items in her cottage, she heard a knocking on her door.  

Well, that was odd.  Why would someone be there so late?

"Fluttershy?"  The Pegasus' heart jumped into her throat.  Pinkie Pie was outside her door.  And they had…they had…and now she was at her house?! What did she want?  She was hoping they would come to a mutual "this never happened" agreement.  "Fluttershy, I know you're in there!  Just can we talk? Please?"

She looked around for Angel Bunny to get some sort of advice from him, but she had completely forgotten that he was at the vet.  A tinge of sadness creeped up on her before she looked to the door.  Slowly, she walked to the door, then opened it up just enough to peek outside.

Pinkie was still wearing her dress, though slightly disheveled.  She carried a bouquet of daffodils in her mouth.  Her expression – pained and sad.

Feeling for her friend, Fluttershy opened the door and let her in.  The pink mare trotted inside, and pushed the flowers into the Pegasus' forelegs.  "These are for you!" she said, her eyes wide as though she were in a panic.  "And I just wanted to say…"

"It's okay, Pinkie," Fluttershy said.  "You don't have to apologize.  Everything was…unexpected."

Pinkie's mouth fell open.  "Apologize?" she asked.  "No, no, no!  I didn't come to apologize!  Well, maybe a little.  I didn't mean to run off on you like that.  I apologize for that.  But not for the kiss! Never for the kiss! I mean, it was a good kiss, right, Fluttershy? "

Fluttershy turned bright red.  "Um…"

"It wasn't good?  But I'm a GREAT kisser!" Pinkie Pie said, frowning and throwing her hooves up in the air.

"That's not what I…"

"Oh, I know, you were nervous the first time.  All those ponies watching.  Here, let me do it again," she grabbed Fluttershy and before the Pegasus could utter a protest, they were kissing again.

When Pinkie Pie pulled away, Fluttershy squeaked, "PINKIE!" before putting her hooves to her mouth, looking anywhere but her friend.  She had nowhere to run to.  She was at her own home.  And surely Pinkie would follow her wherever she went.

"What, was it bad?!" Pinkie Pie asked, getting more panicked with each passing moment.  "Because I felt it.  I don't know if you felt it, but I did!  Oh, no," at this, Pinkie Pie stepped back and shrunk down.  Her eyes were wide, a frown spread across her face.  "You don't feel the same way about me…"    

Pushing aside her embarrassment and confusion, Fluttershy could only think of her friend after seeing the effect it was having on her friend.  "Oh, Pinkie, no," she said, coming up close to the pink mare, who was looking away from her.  "It's not that.  I-i-i-it was a…very nice…kiss."  She didn't think she could turn any more red.  Her cheeks were burning.  "It's just that everything happened so fast.  And you know, I'm not good with surprises."  

Pinkie Pie sniffed.  There were tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes.  "Really?" she asked, daring to look at the other pony.

"Really," Fluttershy said.  She hated the idea that she might have made Pinkie Pie cry.  She was older than the earth pony, and though Pinkie went out of her way at times to try and take care of her, she knew there were times when she had to take care of her friends.  She just didn't think it would involve something like…being in love with one of them.

Really, Fluttershy didn't know what to say.  She was flattered that Pinkie kissed her.  Sure, she was mortified at first, but she certainly couldn't say it was a bad thing.  She was often happy to see the earth pony, and they always got along just fine.  It always made her feel warm and cozy when Pinkie Pie would defend her.  And when she pushed aside the feeling of dread and panic over what had transpired earlier, she could find that she certainly didn't hate either kiss.  In fact…

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, inching closer to the earth pony, who was looking at her with big, watery eyes.  "I-I-I don't really…understand what's happening here.  I don't usually feel strongly about anything aside from taking care of my animals.  I usually….well, I often only feel…afraid."  She lowered her head, letting her mane fall over her eyes, trying to escape into her own cocoon as she formulated what she was about to say.  "But a day like today…it was so wonderful!  And it was because I was spending time with you."  

Before she could look up, Pinkie Pie had hugged Fluttershy, spun her around, and squeezed her so tight; she thought she would never be able to breathe again.  "Oh, Fluttershy!  You don't know how happy that makes me!"  She leaned forward to give the mare a kiss on her lips, but Fluttershy pulled back.

"Uh, Pinkie," she said with a small panic in her voice.  "Can we…at least take it slow.  It's all so…new."

"And exciting!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling widely.  Then she cleared her throat and tried to look serious.  "Take it slow. Got it."

Fluttershy smiled at that, still being tightly embraced by the pink pony.  She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose.  Then she felt her face get red again.