Flitter stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. She sighed as she thought back to earlier in the day. It had been five years since she and Cloudchaser had started dating. In that time, as far as they knew, their parents hadn’t figured anything out.
Tonight was the night of the senior prom. Cloudchaser had insisted that they go separately and meet each other there.
Flitter’s bedroom door hit the opposing wall, causing her to jump slightly. “C’mon, Flitter, I just finished making your prom dress.” Her mother had light bags under her eyes and her hair was ruffled, but she was smiling.
“Okay, mom.” Flitter turned and followed her mother to the living room, shaking slightly along the way.
When they arrived, Flitter cooed at the sight of her new dress. “Wow, mom, this is some of your best work yet.” She ran a hoof across the raspberry-colored silk.
Her mother helped slip the dress over her shoulders.
“Hmm...” Flitter scratched her head while her mother smoothed out the dress.
“Something wrong, Flitter?”
“Hey, mom, why did you start making dresses?”
“Oh, haven’t I told you that story already?”
Flitter shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Well, I remember starting just before you went to kindergarten.” Flitter’s mother brought out a brush and started to fix up Flitter’s mane. “I took you out to go shopping for school supplies. As we went by the stores, you saw a dress in the window that you really wanted for your first day of school.
“Now this was a couple of years after your father had passed, and—with my job as a weather pony—I couldn’t afford to buy you the nice clothes you wanted. So I started making dresses for you myself.” She chuckled a little. “The first few designs didn’t turn out so well, but you liked them anyway.”
Flitter glanced up at her. “But these new ones are really good. Why didn’t you ever quit your job and just design clothes full time?”
“Because if I did, then I wouldn’t have any to give to you.” She put the brush down. “Maybe someday, after you move out.”
“I guess so...”
Flitter’s mother held up a hoof mirror. “What do you think?”
“It’s wonderful!” Flitter said, turning and spinning as she gazed at her smiling reflection.
“So, who’s the lucky pony that’s taking you to the prom?” her mother asked, hopefully.
“Nopony—I’m going by myself.”
Her expression deflated a little. “Oh... Well, I guess that way you can dance with all of them?”
“Huh? Yeah, sure.” Flitter glanced away. “I’ll be back later tonight,” Flitter said, trotting toward the door.
“All right.” Her mother waved goodbye.
Flitter took off for the dance.
~~~~~~~~~~
Flitter sat alone at the table in the gym. Around her, loud and furious rock and roll music was playing. Her classmates were dancing wildly, flailing their hooves about every which way. Flitter rested her head on the table.
While she had arrived a little early, she wasn’t the first one there. She had been waiting for Cloudchaser for over two hours by then. Despite the fact that she hadn't seen Silverspeed much at school anymore, she still hadn’t made any new friends besides Cloudchaser. So nopony had asked her to dance.
As she sat there, Flitter thought back to when Cloudchaser had taken her on their first real date. They had gone to see Ralph Buckshi’s animated film adaptation of Ponies of the Five Rings. Cloudchaser had bought a large bag of popcorn. When the movie had started, they both reached for it at the same time. They had just sat there with their hooves touching in the bag. When the movie ended, they noticed that their hooves were still in the full bag of popcorn. After a bit of nervous laughter, they decided to see the movie again the next week and actually pay attention this time.
Cloudchaser had taken Flitter on many other dates after that. They went to the amusement park a few times, to Wonderbolts shows, and even to a concert or two. But Cloudchaser only had so much money. So they usually just hung out at the park.
Flitter could almost feel her hooves around her. She could almost hear her voice.
“Flitter?”
Flitter looked up from the empty cup on the table to see Cloudchaser extending a hoof to her. She was wearing a white suit with a black bow tie that highlighted her curves nicely. The sight made Flitter’s heart skip a beat. The band started their next song; a much slower tune, this time.
Cloudchaser bowed. “You look lovely in that dress, milady. Would you care to dance?”
“H-here? Where everypony can see us?” Flitter’s heart was racing.
“The only one I see here is you.”
The blood in Flitter’s face rushed to her cheeks. “O-okay...” Flitter lifted a hoof and Cloudchaser took it. Cloudchaser brought Flitter out onto the dance floor and they danced.
Flitter let out a soft yelp when she felt the grip of Cloudchaser’s hoof on her upper-back. She rested her head against Cloudchaser’s chest. They stepped back and forth across the gymnasium floor, each step in time with the other. The moment seemed to last a blissful eternity as they moved with the music. And when the song ended, they stopped and just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes.
Before either of them could speak, they heard the sound of hooves clapping the floor. They turned to see that it was Silverspeed who was making the noise. She was quickly joined by the rest of their classmates and soon the whole gym was cheering. The sight made Flitter put on a bright, beaming smile.
~~~~~~~~~~
Cloudchaser and Flitter danced for hours. When they came out of the prom, they were exhausted.
“Do you want a ride home?” Silverspeed asked, once she saw them.
Huffing, Flitter and Cloudchaser nodded. They staggered over to Silverspeed’s chariot and sat down. Silverspeed sat across from them with her date, Thunderlane, shutting the door behind them. The chariot drivers took off. The four of them sat in silence, with Flitter glancing at anything but Silverspeed.
Finally Silverspeed spoke: “I... Uh...” She scratched the back of her silver mane. “I’m sorry about how I treated you and Cloudchaser all these years.”
Flitter looked up at her.
“I acted very foalish. All this time, we could’ve been friends. Can you ever forgive me, Flitter? Cloudchaser?”
A broad grin appeared on Flitter’s face. “Of course I can, Silverspeed!” She leaned over and wrapped her hooves around her old friend, who in turn hugged her back.
Thunderlane snickered. Silverspeed heard this and glared at him.
When the two of them let go, Flitter noticed her cloud-house up ahead and pointed to it. “Oh, stop there!” The drivers flew up to the porch and stopped. Flitter stepped out of the carriage. “Bye, Silverspeed, Thunderlane, see you in class next week!”
Thunderlane nudged Cloudchaser. “Aren’t ya gonna show her to the door?”
“Oh!” Cloudchaser’s eyes widened. “Right!” She joined Flitter on the porch of her house and they trotted to the door. They stood at the doorstep for a moment. Cloudchaser’s gaze ran along the railing.
“Uh, Cloudchaser...” Flitter said.
Cloudchaser shook her head. “Yes?!” she said, stiffening up, eyes widened.
“Your ride home just left.”
“Huh?” Cloudchaser turned to see the chariot flying away. They could hear the faint sounds of Silverspeed shouting at Thunderlane, calling him a pig.
Flitter giggled. “Hey, Cloudchaser, I guess we’re alone...” She shifted from side to side on her hooves.
“Yeah, I guess we are.” Cloudchaser smirked.
“So... Do you wanna sit down?”
“Absolutely! I’m beat.”
After a moment of sitting on the bench and looking up at the stars, Flitter leaned against Cloudchaser, smiling. Cloudchaser grinned, then wrapped her hooves around Flitter and kissed her on the cheek. With a yelp, Flitter fell on her back. Cloudchaser lay on top of her, hugging her and peppering her face with kisses.
Flitter giggled. “Oh, Cloudchaser, stop... What if somepony sees us?”
“Let ’em.” Cloudchaser moved to Flitter’s neck and started nibbling.
“Really, Cloudchaser.” Flitter laughed. “What if my mom wakes up and sees us?”
Cloudchaser stopped. “You have a point...” She sat up, frowning.
Oops... Flitter thought. Another moment of silence passed as Flitter stared down at her hooves. “Cloudchaser, I...” She turned to see Cloudchaser with her head hung low and her eyes closed, breathing softly.
Flitter sighed. She’s asleep... Moving in front of her, Flitter pulled Cloudchaser onto her back and took her to her bedroom where she laid her down on her bed. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Goodness, Cloudchaser is heavy. It’s times like this that make me glad I started flight training. Too bad Cloudchaser never did. She crawled onto the bed and yanked the covers out from under Cloudchaser, who still snoozed.
As she rested the covers on top of them, Flitter thought: Guess I’ll go sleep on the couch... She was about to get up when Cloudchaser rolled over and hugged her. “Gah—” Flitter clamped a hoof over her mouth. “Cloudchaser?” she whispered, turning to face her. Cloudchaser still slept soundly. Or I could stay here. Flitter chuckled, and she soon fell asleep in Cloudchaser’s warm hooves.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Flitter? Your breakfast is almost ready!” called Flitter’s mother.
“Huh, what...” Flitter opened her eyes; her vision was still blurry.
Cloudchaser sat up. Her eyes were wide. She spotted an open window. From the kitchen, they could hear breakfast cooking. Cloudchaser leapt from the bed. She unfurled her wings. Just as Flitter’s mother trotted into the room, Cloudchaser flew through the window and out of sight.
Flitter’s mother carried two plates of veggie eggs and veggie bacon, beaming. “Rise and shine, Flitter!”
Flitter blinked, her vision clearing. “G’morning, mom. W-why do you have two plates?”
“Oh... Uh...” She glanced away for a moment. “I wanted to join you. It feels like forever since we’ve had a meal together.”
Flitter’s heart raced. “G-gee, mom, I skip out on one meal to go to the prom, and you think the world is ending.” She stood and took her plate. “L-let’s sit at the table...”
“Oh... okay.”
Flitter half-pushed her mother as they went out of the room. She felt like her chest was going to burst. They sat down at the kitchen table and started eating. A few seconds passed without either of them saying a word.
Her mother was the first to break the silence. “So, Flitter—”
Flitter dropped her fork on her lap. “Y-yes?”
“How did it go last night?”
“Huh?!” Flitter’s eyes widened.
“Did you have fun at the prom?”
“Oh, right... The prom...” Flitter stared down at her breakfast. “Y-yeah, it was a blast.”
Flitter’s stomach hurt. She wasn’t sure if her mother had seen Cloudchaser or not. Not wanting to look suspicious in case she hadn’t seen her, Flitter kept eating.
“Is something wrong, Flitter?” Her mother tilted her head, eyebrows upturned.
Flitter gulped. She felt like her heart was going to leap out of her breast. “N-no, of course not, Mom. Why do you ask?”
“Well, you hardly ever bring friends over to visit anymore. You used to bring one home almost every day before.”
“O-oh...” Flitter looked down at her fork. “C’mon, Mom, I’m eighteen. I’d rather go out with friends than play here at home.”
“Oh, I guess so...” Her mother gazed down at her plate, sighing.
Flitter shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth and gulped down her milk. “Whelp, see you after school, Mom.” She stood and headed for the door. She was almost free.
“Flitter?”
Flitter’s heart skipped a beat. Her vision blurred for a moment. She turned around. “Y-yes?”
“Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“No,” Flitter said, and she wasn’t lying. “Nothing at all.”
“All right, then.” She took the breakfast dishes from the table. “Have a good day at school.”
“I will!” Flitter took off, out the door and to the air.