//------------------------------// // Ch.9 Purple Hearts // Story: Discord's Reign // by chief maximus //------------------------------// DISCORD'S REIGN Chapter 9-Purple Hearts Rainbow flew low over the treetops, her normally erratic flight pattern replaced by a straight shot to the edge of the Everfree forest. Her thoughts swirled in a mix of ego stroking self congratulations for making out with the smoking hot celebrity mare of her dreams, and nerve shattering fear of how Applejack would react to those circumstances. Rainbow Dash was as brave as they come, but Applejack wasn't some monster she could beat up, or some arrogant punk she could race and win. She would require something of her that scared even the fearless Rainbow. Talking things out. She recalled how upset she got over her brother getting stood up, ready to stomp Twilight into the ground without even getting her side of the story! She could only imagine how incensed she would become if it were her feelings at stake. Rainbow swallowed in apprehension at the thought, a small cottage coming into view below her. She glided gently down to an open second floor window and perched on the sill. Fluttershy was hovering about, dusting her wooden furniture and various other antiques happily humming to herself as Angel helped as best he could. Rainbow knew she could go on like this for hours, so she cleared her throat to get the shy pegasus' attention. She nearly startled her out of the air as she settled on her hooves softly. "Oh! Hello Rainbow. Is there a shower planned this afternoon?" she asked as Angel hopped down the stairs to continue dusting the first floor. "The swamp is getting a little low on water, and the frogs are running out of places to soak." "I dunno, I have the day off today." she answered climbing inside. "That's good. You weather pegasi do a really good job, you should take more days off...I mean...if you want..." she said getting back to her dusting. She felt as though her oldest friend had something on her mind, but decided as she often did, not to press the matter. Fluttershy certainly wasn't one to pry. "There's some tea downstairs if you'd like some." she offered, "I just made it a few minutes ago, it should still be hot." Rainbow accepted, going downstairs and buying herself some time to think about what she was going to say. She had spent her flight over so worried about how Applejack would react, she hadn't thought about what she was going to tell Fluttershy! She sat on the rather stiff hoof-carved couch in her living room. Technically, Applejack hadn't ever told her not to tell anyone about their relationship, still young though it may be. In order to tell her about Spitfire, she first had to do something she had often rehearsed to herself. Tell her friend from flight school about her, preferences. Though she would never admit it, when she was a filly she had quite a crush on Fluttershy. Though at the time, she was still uncertain what the feelings she got in her belly when she looked at her canary yellow friend meant, so she never acted on them. That had long since passed however, and now she looked at Fluttershy as more of a sister than anything. Still, she felt like just telling her about herself and Applejack would be a betrayal of the earth ponies trust, and she felt sure she had done enough of that today. 'I don't want to just tell her...but maybe I can make her guess it out of me! There, then I can say I never told anyone!' she thought, leaving herself a loophole and agreeing with herself that faulty logic was the best kind of logic. She smiled to herself as Fluttershy came down the stairs and sat on the couch next to her. "Didn't want any tea?" she asked noticing the teapot was still on the counter where she left it. "Huh? Oh! Nah I wasn't thirsty." she answered, not having to think too hard about her words, as the present company was easily the pony she was closest to in all of Ponyville. "Anyway, I came here to ask you something." "Okay." the pegasus asked curiously as she tossed her pink mane out of her eyes, "What is it?" "What do you think I'm into, Mares or Stallions?" she asked bluntly. Fluttershy blushed profusely and recoiled slightly, not expecting such a personal question from her friend out of the blue like that. "Well...Um...I..." she looked up to Rainbow's waiting eyes only to break contact a second later. She never liked being put on the spot like this, especially not with a potentially loaded question. "I...I don't know..." the bashful pegasus said softly, feeling enough embarrassment for two ponies. "C'mon Fluttershy, I think you know the answer to this one." she said getting a little impatient with her. Fluttershy had always suspected Rainbow of being a filly fooler, but would never dream of asking her if it were true. Like many things, she kept her assumptions to herself most of the time. "Um...Mares?" she replied meekly, searching her friends expression hoping she had chosen the right answer. "Right. I...I got this problem." Rainbow continued, Fluttershy breathing a sigh of relief that her time having to answer uncomfortable questions was now over. She sat back comfortably on the couch as Angel jumped into Fluttershy's lap. "Okay, you know I'm always here if you want to talk about it." she said as the cyan pegasus' face twisted up in conflict, still trying to find the right words to explain her situation. "I...I have this marefriend..." she began, a brief pause allowing Fluttershy to express her happiness that her best friend had found somepony. "Oh that's wonderful Rainbow!" she chimed smiling at her, beginning to pet the restless bunny in her lap, "Who is she?" The cyan pony paused for a second, still wanting to assuage her guilt by seeing if Fluttershy could just guess who it was without her having to tell her directly. "Whose the last pony you'd ever think I'd end up with?" she asked, the pink maned pegasus still not sure why she wouldn't just tell her instead of making her guess like this. "I...Uhm...Rarity?" Rainbow stopped herself from scoffing at the very suggestion that she would ever consider a overly dramatic fashionista like her. Although she did ask for the last pony she would suspect. "Nope. Try again." she said leaning back against the couch as Fluttershy nibbled on her bottom lip in thought. "Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow put her hoof on her forehead in mild frustration as she figured she might as well come out with it. If there was anyone she could trust to keep a lid on things, it was her old buddy Shy. "Applejack! Applejack is my marefriend!" she nearly yelled causing the meek pegasus to shy away from her, Angel jumping off her lap, startled. "Sorry Fluttershy...It's still kinda on the down low." she admitted, her inflection expressing a sadness Fluttershy had rarely seen in Rainbow. "She isn't comfortable letting other ponies know about us yet..." "Well...I suppose that's kind of a problem...But you don't have to worry about me, I'll keep your secret." she assured softly. "I know you will, but that's not the problem. Do you remember Spitfire?" she asked, recalling that during her short time as a model, Fluttershy had met all sorts of celebrities at her fashion shows and after parties. "Oh yes. She was very nice, she said I had an excellent runway walk." she added innocently. 'She would...' Rainbow thought getting back to her original point. "Yeah...she came over to my house today..." she began, pausing to gauge Fluttershy's reaction, her sea green eyes waiting intently on her every word. "And we...kinda...made out." she said almost in a sigh of relief, looking back to the yellow pegasus. A look of surprise coming over her normally shy features as her almost natural blush took hold of her cheeks. "You...cheated on Applejack?" she asked softly. "No! I mean...well technically, but it wasn't my fault! We were playing tag for a shot at becoming a Wonderbolt and she tried to lose me by going straight up, but I followed her and passed out, and when I woke up we were on my couch..." she explained, taking a deep breath as the last sentence probably sounded like one long word. "Kissing..." she completed with a look of shame in her eyes, her ego having long since lost the battle with her feelings of guilt for betraying Applejack's trust. Fluttershy was speechless. This wasn't uncommon for her, but she was not expecting this kind of revelation from her flight school buddy. She honestly thought she just had some bird problems or came by to warn her of some upcoming weather, not admit to a secret relationship and follow up by telling her she was concerned she may have just ruined said relationship. "Oh..." she whispered to try and buy herself some time to think about how she would respond to such news. "I had to tell somepony! I just...figured you would understand..." she said looking to the still silent Fluttershy as she blushed, flattered that she was Rainbow's go to gal, even though she knew she had been for quite some time. "Yeah...Um, I don't suppose you've told Applejack this have you?" she asked regaining her faculties. "I still have a face don't I?" Fluttershy giggled at her joke and sat back against her end of the couch. "Are you going to?" "I don't know...I don't want to lie to her, and it was just a kiss...It didn't mean anything to me. But I don't want to break her heart like that. I kinda came over here hoping you could help me decide." Dash admitted as she stared down at the floor in shame. Fluttershy raised her hoof to her mouth as she tried to think of the best course of action for her friend to take, before finally settling on one. "Well, lying doesn't do any good for anypony, and if she find's out not only that you did it, but then lied to her about it, she'll probably be twice as upset." she advised, putting a foreleg on Rainbow's shoulder in support. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But...I don't know if I can look her in the eye and...hurt her like that." she said looking up into Fluttershy's sea green eyes with something the yellow pegasus had absolutely never seen on her face. Fear. It was almost enough to scare her into not speaking, but she knew she had to help her friend in her hour of need. "I know it'll be hard...but you have to tell her. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get. She needs to know." she said as sternly as the normally soft spoken pony could manage. Rainbow took a deep breath as Fluttershy withdrew her foreleg and stood up. "You can do it Rainbow. Just be honest." she said taking a walk toward the kitchen to feed Angel. "You're right. Wish me luck." Dash said as she gathered her nerve and left through the same window she had entered, scattering any loose papers about as she took flight. Rainbow's heart was in her throat as she flew. She had never been more scared before in her entire life. No challenge she had ever faced began to compare with what she was about to attempt. Her greatest fear, ruining something that made her so happy, and by her own hoof no less. The thought was like a swift kick to the gut as she slowed her normally fast flight to try and buy her some time to think about what she was going to say. Try as she might, she couldn't even concentrate on that, her thoughts dominated by the crippling fear of rejection she knew was only moments away. Sweet Apple Acres orchards appeared over the horizon and she stopped, gathering a low hanging cloud beneath her as she sat just outside their property line. 'What am I gonna say? I cheated on you? I made out with my 'what if' mare? She'll never trust me again!' She imagined how angry she would be after she told her, figuring she would need to be ready to fly out of there at a moments notice. She took a deep breath, and remembered her best friends words. 'Just be honest.' She jumped off the cloud and headed towards the farmhouse in the distance, her heart still thumping madly in apprehension as she flared her wings and landed in front near the porch. "Howdy Rainbow! What're you up to today?" a voice from her left said as she turned to see Applejacks bright eyes greeting her from the side of the house. She swallowed hard and tried to put on her most normal face as her conscience tore her up inside. "Not much...uh, listen...Is there someplace we can go and be...alone?" she asked, the earth pony looking around for her family members before lowering her voice. "Rainbow, can't you wait until nighttime?" Applejack whispered, the cyan pegasus getting a quick laugh out of her comment. "No, I don't mean like that...I, need to tell you something." she responded, her knees feeling a bit weak as the moment she was dreading drew nearer and nearer, while she was helpless to stop it. "We can talk in the barn. Big MacIntosh is out in town, so he won't be back for a while." she said still completely oblivious to the bomb that the rainbow maned pony was about to drop. She followed her into the barn, Applejack stealing a look back expecting to embarrass her lover again, but instead seeing her magenta eyes focused squarely on the ground. They reached the barn as Applejack now shared the same worried expression as her partner. "What'd ya want to talk about sugarcube?" she asked softly, figuring it was something important to have her acting this way. 'Oh Celestia, I'm not ready for this.' Rainbow looked into Applejacks eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but was only able to produce a single letter. "I..." Applejack was getting increasingly worried, she had never seen Rainbow like this in all her years of knowing her. She walked over to her and put a hoof around her shoulder, bringing her in close for a hug, only exacerbating Rainbow's already hard choice. "Whatever it is, you can tell me." she whispered as the lightning fast pegasus pushed her away, to her surprise. Applejack noticed a narrow stream running down Rainbow's cheek as she asked again for her to tell her what was making her so upset. For nights afterward, she would wish she hadn't. "I...I cheated on you..." she mumbled, barely above a whisper; all that her normally confident voice could muster under the heavy emotional toll this was taking on her. Applejack knew she couldn't have heard what she thought she had, so she asked her to repeat. "I said I CHEATED on you!" Rainbow Dash shouted in a mix of anger and frustration at herself, the word 'cheated' echoing through the mostly empty barn. Applejack felt like she had just been bucked in the face. The words alone were enough to knock her on her flanks in stunned silence. Rainbow couldn't bear to see her like this. She wished she would yell, she wished she would get angry, she wished she would try and throw things at her. All of those responses she could deal with, but not this. The look on the orange pony's face was one of unrivaled devastation. Her expression was burned into the back of Rainbow's eyes as it only piled on more guilt to her already heavy heart. Applejacks mouth hung open slightly, but no words escaped. She was absolutely crushed. How could she have done this to her? Was she not good enough for her? Not pretty enough? Not competitive enough? These thoughts raced through her head as anger was the farthest emotion from her mind. She took no notice of the tears forming in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks as Rainbow stared at her, remorse across her face, her eyes begging her to say something. Anything. After what felt like years of silence, Applejack found her unsteady, hurt voice. "How...how could you..." she began, but trailed off as the terrible news still hadn't sunk in all the way. "It was an accident, I was passed out...when I woke up, Spitfire was kissing me-" "Spitfire? You cheated on me with Spitfire?" AJ said, a slow anger beginning to build inside the burnt orange earth pony. "She came over to give me a chance to join the Wonderbolts, I had to-" "I don't want to hear anymore. I hope she was worth it Rainbow." she snapped coldly, tears still streaming from her soft emerald eyes. "Please...Applejack, she didn't mean anything to me-" "I said I don't want to hear it! How could you do this to me Rainbow!? I thought you cared about me?!" she shouted through her pain. "She came on to me! I'm telling you she meant nothing-" "Go. Just get the hell out of here before I say something I regret you treacherous..." Applejack trailed off, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from hurling insults out of pain. She couldn't even look in her direction as she turned her back to the cyan pegasus who had just stepped on her heart. Both of the headstrong ponies natural defense mechanisms shielded their egos as Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in frustration and stepped toward the barn door. "Fine. Have a nice life." she said bitterly, taking off into the clear blue sky. Not even able to enjoy the cool breeze around her because of the shattered heart within her, tears streaming across her face as she flew. Applejack wanted to stop her, but her stubborn pride held her hostage, just as Rainbow's ego had done to her. Once they were apart, the hurt truly began to set in for both of them. Applejack cursed herself for thinking she could trust anypony with her feelings, and allowing that snake Rainbow Dash to get close to her like that. She knew she should have called her out when she mentioned Spitfire was her 'what if' mare, but didn't think it was anything other than some silly game. Most of her anger boiled down to the simple fact that she had found something that made her happier than any thing in her life before that, only to have it ripped away by some big shot celebrity. She laid back against a hay bale and clutched the hat her father had given her before he passed, picking up a habit she thought she had dropped when she was a filly. She laid silently in the barn as tears flowed from her closed eyes, understanding now how somepony could die from a broken heart. Twilight lay quietly on her bed, anger and frustration at her predicament feeding a seemingly endless cycle of silent tears. Spike hated seeing his best friend like this, but didn't really know what he could do to help her. He couldn't make Big Macintosh forgive her, and he certainly couldn't make him believe Discord was responsible for her missing their date. He stood on the edge of the steps quietly looking at his roommate stare out the window into the steadily approaching night, wishing there was something he could do. She had followed his advice, so he felt somewhat responsible for her situation. A gentle knock at the door stirred him from his thoughts as he nearly tripped walking backwards down the stairs. 'Who would need a book at this hour?' he thought reaching the door to find a large red stallion waiting behind it, a purple flower in his mouth. Spike was slightly surprised to see him, thinking he would never have believed Twilights seemingly ridiculous story. "Hey Big Macintosh. Come by for a book?" he asked politely, but assumed he was here for a bookworm. He shook his head, not wanting to drop the flower as Spike stepped aside to let him in. "I'll get Twilight." he said taking a short trip up the stairs as the workhorse took a seat on the same couch he had asked her out on the first time. This time however, he wasn't nervous. In fact, he was more sure of himself than he had ever been before. He heard some fumbling upstairs and a few hoofbeats as he waited for Twilight to make her appearance. After a few minutes, she came down the stairs. Try as she might, her eyes were still a little red and her cheeks somewhat puffy from the crying she had been doing. Big Mac felt terrible for making her so upset, his chivalrous sensibilities overpowering his disbelief of her reason for standing him up. If there was one feeling he hated besides hurt, it was guilt. She put on a smile as she walked over to him, taking a seat on the couch next to him before noticing what was in his mouth. He put it back in her mane as she laughed nervously. "You...kept it?" she asked, pointing out the obvious. "Eeyup. Twilight...Ah'm sorry Ah didn't believe you or Spike when you told me you'd been called away on business. Ya see...when it comes to mares, well...Ah'm not the most suave fella there is, so Ah thought that you were just makin' up a story so you wouldn't have to go ta supper with me. Ah didn't think I was good enough for you Twilight, so Ah assumed the worst." he said quietly, looking down at his forelegs as was his nervous habit. Twilight had never felt such hurt one moment then such monumental relief the next. He had come to apologize to her, and she was the one who stood him up! He certainly was somepony she could see herself with for a long time. He glanced up at her, a gentle smile across her lips as he smiled back at her. Before he knew it, her forelegs were wrapped around his shoulders in a hug he slowly returned. She felt his muscular forelegs wrap gently around her as she whispered to him. "Thank you Mac...you don't know how much that means to me." "It's the truth Twilight." she pulled away from the hug as the redness in the stallions cheeks was apparent even through his coat, "Well, Ah also came over ta ask, if you'd like to try our date again tonight?" Twilights eyes shined with happiness for the first time since she was released from Canterlot. "Of course! Just give me five minutes to get ready." she said hurrying upstairs. Thirty minutes later... She descended the stairs once more, her mane elegant and shiny, her tail perky and bouncing with every step she took, the purple flower still in her mane behind her ear. She was simply stunning, as Big Macintosh could only gawk at her with his mouth hanging open slightly from the couch he had nearly fallen asleep on. Needless to say, he was wide awake now. Twilight's ego shot through the roof noticing the stallion of her desire's expression. "Ready to go?" she asked in her most seductive tone. Even though Rarity told her not to worry about trying anything overtly suggestive, she had to admit it was quite thrilling knowing she had that effect on him. He managed a nod as he stood up off the couch and stepped toward the door with her. "I'll be back later Spike, don't stay up too late!" she called over her shoulder in a motherly tone. "Yeah yeah, go have fun already!" Spike responded from upstairs. The night had just fallen outside as they walked toward the center of town. "Ah don't really go into town much Twilight, is there some place in particular you want ta eat?" he asked. She was so excited about all the possibilities the night would bring, food was the farthest thing from her mind. "Oh, um...what kind of food do you feel like Mac?" "Any kind. So long as we get there in the next few minutes." he added, getting a giggle from his lady friend as they entered the town square. "Is there someplace you been wantin' to try?" he asked trying to narrow down the options. One place came to her mind, though it was a bit expensive. "Well, there is a new place on Stirrup street, La Jumet Elegante...but it's kind of expensive-" she began as her date cut her off. "Say no more. Applebuck season was good last year, money ain't a problem." "Are you sure? I mean, It could be-" "Nonsense Twilight. The gentlecolt pays, and Ah'll hear no more of it." he said confidently as she looked to him with a smile. "Alright then Mr. gentlecolt." she answered as she brushed up against him affectionately. She felt his coat spike in warmth as he returned her nuzzle. He could act as confident as he wanted, but she took comfort in the fact that she had the ability to take all of that bravado away with a single nuzzle, or a well placed kiss. They entered the fancy restaurant to the sound of violins and cellos playing softly as the maitre d' with a pointy thin mustache and red vest looked up from his seating chart to greet them. "Welcome to La Jumet Elegante, how many in your party?" he asked in a dry French accent. "Two." Big Mac answered. "There is a forty five minute wait mesure." he added just as dryly, Twilight looking somewhat disappointed as it was a Friday night. "We can try someplace else if you want Mac." she suggested as he reassured her with a grin. "Don't you worry darlin'. You wanted to eat here, we're eating here." he said producing a small brown sack from beneath his yoke and tossing it on the podium, the contents spilling out slightly as some of the bits fell across the waiter's hooves. "I believe a table just opened up! May I take your yoke mesure?" "No thank ya. We'll take our table now." Twilight wasn't normally one to be impressed by stallions throwing money around, but Big Macintosh wasn't some big headed celebrity. He was, in her eyes, the perfect combination of down to earth-ness and generosity. A single candle lit their table in the low light atmosphere as the soft music set the scene for quite the romantic dinner. Big Macintosh had never felt more out of place in his life. He would have just as soon stayed at the farm and had Twilight over for supper, but Granny Smith insisted the first date had to be someplace where, to quote her: 'Tha cookin' an tha cleanin' were done fer ya'. "You'll have ta excuse my ignorance Twilight, but Ah can't read a thing on this menu. Ah don't know a lick a French." he said slightly embarrassed. Twilight couldn't help but giggle at her dates honesty as she took a look at her menu. Her French was a little rusty, but she figured a rough translation should still get her point across. "What do you feel like eating?" she asked. "They got any hay?" he asked simply, Twilight finding it adorable that he would take her to the fanciest restaurant in town and order hay. "Uh lets see...they've got a...soup with eight different kinds of hay! And whatever d-dugere am frie is..." she said looking back up at Big Mac with a perplexed look on his face. "Tell ya what. Ah'll just get what you get. Ah trust ya Twilight." She couldn't help but laugh at their situation as the waiter took their order. "Applejack didn't give you too much grief did she?" he asked, knowing she had to have gone through his fiery sister to even get a shot at talking to him. "No, she was actually pretty understanding after I got through the yelling..." Twilight admitted through a nervous laugh. "That's good...She was mighty upset when she found out." "I understand her being that way...She didn't want you to get hurt." she added as their eyes met across the table. "She was looking out for her older brother." "Yeah, she thinks she needs to." he added through his own apprehensive chuckle. "It's not that Ah don't appreciate it, but it often times does more harm than good." The dinner was everything Twilight could have hoped for. In that short time, she learned more about the red stallion and his family than she had ever known in years of being friends with his sister. The fact that he opened up to her that much was pretty astounding, only further convincing her that Big MacIntosh could be her perfect match. The happiness in her heart reminded her that maybe there was a small chance that Discord could be defeated even after everything he had tried to do to break her spirit. Unfortunately the thought only resurrected her worry about the fate of Equestria, especially since he was still sitting on the throne, known only to her, Spike and maybe Applejack and Big Mac if they truly believed her. She continued her worry as they left the restaurant, Big Macintosh noticing the smile she had carried all night had now vanished. "Somethin' the matter Twilight?" he asked earnestly. "No...just got a lot of other stuff on my mind, thats all." she answered with a sigh. "Ah'm all ears if you want ta talk 'bout it." he said walking back with her toward the town square. "That's okay. It's nothing major." 'Just the end of civilization as we know it...' "All right then. Is there anything else you wanted to do?" he added a little embarrassed, "I'm not too sure how many things you're 'sposed to do on a date b'sides dinner." "Well that makes two of us." she said rubbing her horn gently under his chin. He reddened even more than usual as they came into the town square. "It's a beautiful night tonight...We could go back to the library and stargaze...I mean...if you wanted..." Twilight added in a Fluttershy like manner. Big Macintosh's heart skipped a beat. She was inviting him back to her house. After a date. He didn't know volumes about dating by any stretch, but every stallion friend he had who was more experienced with mares always told him; mares only have one reason for letting you inside their house after an evening out. He gulped as the nervousness he had thought he had defeated returned to him with a vengeance. "Um...sure." he said quietly as they began to walk toward the library, the big stallion's heart racing as they got closer to something he had only known about through hearsay and speculation. And now on the first date he was possibly going to get a chance to do...that with Twilight? He couldn't help but grin to himself, his normally small ego now somewhat swollen at the thought. Twilight was having a debate with herself as to wether or not to go through with what she had planned. 'I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions about this kind of thing! It's my body I can do what I want with it! I'm probably the oldest mare in ponyville who still hasn't been with a stallion!' she thought confidently, though she almost instantly replaced that confidence with uncertainty. 'But what if he doesn't want to? Or what if he thinks I'm easy? What if I'm no good at it?' 'No! Twilight! The world could end tomorrow with Discord in charge! You want to be alone forever? You're just going to have to take a risk, and play it cool.' she thought, though she knew how good she was at playing it cool, her heart beating rapidly as they reached her front door. She opened it quietly and stepped into the darkened library, lighting a single candle and guiding it in front of her as she climbed the stairs, letting Big Mac follow close behind her. She opened the door slowly to her balcony as she extinguished the candle and grabbed the blanket they had laid on the first time they had agreed to go out, spreading it flat on the hard floor of the balcony with her magic. 'Okay Mac, just be cool, and let whatever happens, happen.' he thought nervously as he lay down on his back on the blanket, only to be quickly joined by the lavender unicorn he found himself increasingly sweet towards. He put a foreleg around her shoulder as she snuggled close to him, much closer than the last time they had laid together. They looked up at the stars, though they were the furthest thing from either of their minds. Big Macintosh found his heart feeling like it was going to escape from his chest as fast as it was beating, and Twilight's wasn't far behind. They didn't say a word as they lay there in minutes of silence, both of them far too nervous to do anything but breathe. After what felt like hours, Big Mac decided to take the initiative to see where this invitation would lead. He turned his head to face her as she felt him move and did the same. They looked into each other's eyes as they held themselves close. Neither said a word, Twilight simply knew what she would do next. She pressed her lips against his and closed her eyes, not caring what any book said about waiting till the third date to try anything intimate. She would later swear she felt electricity flowing through her as her first real kiss was something more pleasurable than anything she had ever before experienced. The sheer thrill of not being afraid to take what she wanted excited her more than a thousand successful experiments or a million first edition books ever could. She clumsily played with his tongue as he returned the motion, letting go of his worldly concerns with her. The deep kiss lasted maybe a few seconds before Twilight decided to make her intentions clear. Emboldened by her successful kiss she rolled on top of him, now sitting directly atop a rather sensitive area for stallions. As soon as he felt her weight on him, he broke the kiss and stared into her beautiful sapphire eyes as they glistened in the moonlight. "Are you sure this is what you want?" he whispered, always the consummate gentlecolt. She leaned down onto him, their chests meeting as she whispered into his ear. "Yes, I'm sure." She kissed him again as she felt his hoof run through her mane gently. She broke the kiss and slowly climbed off of him. Twilight took a few steps toward the door back to her bedroom and cast the most seductive glance she could muster at him as he still lay on the blanket, shifting his hind legs to one side to cover a rather embarrassing development. She couldn't help but giggle as she slowly opened the door, beckoning him to follow. Spike was sound asleep in his basket as she gently levitated him and his bed outside her bedroom door, closing and locking it from the inside. "There, now it's just you and me." she said softly as the still unbelievably nervous Big Mac sat back on her bed as she joined him. Her magic levitated the yoke from his strong neck and onto her bedpost as she sat on his lap facing him, using her same magic to brush the shaggy blonde mane from his eyes. Discord had tried his best to ruin her relationship, but despite everything, she guessed he didn't count on Big Macintosh being so forgiving. She felt him take hold of her hooves looking deeply into her eyes. She made one last attempt to find a reason why she shouldn't bed the stallion that was nearly twice her size, but couldn't think of a single one. His forelegs wrapped snugly around her back as he pulled her into another passionate kiss, Mac's turn to take some initiative as they resumed what they had started on the balcony. A feeling of security warmed her as his strong, commanding forelegs enveloped her upper body. Twilight put her forelegs over his shoulders to help hold herself up. After a few more blissful seconds, Big Mac pulled his lips away, their noses gently rubbing as they both caught their breath. "T-twilight...Ah've never really...done this, before..." he admitted shyly. Even though she was just as inexperienced, she had at least occasionally read a few books on the subject whenever Spike was out running errands. "It's okay, I haven't either. But we have all night to figure it out." I know I've been Mr. Rapid fire update lately but that is going to stop, at least for this weekend. I'm going out of town and there is a 100% chance I will be hammered most of the time, so not much writing will get done. A new chap should be out on monday or tuesday. Thanks for staying with me and my overly shippy fic! Cheers!