//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Birds of a Feather Shy Together 
// by Emperor 
//------------------------------//

“And then Blueblood revealed all the pineapples had been dyed pink!”

That got a giggle out of Fluttershy. I would have said she tittered, except that word sounded so fake to me. Giggled was a much better description for her.

“What did you do then?”

“Oh, we shoved them all onto a single slice of cake and gave it to Auntie Celestia.” I leaned forward conspiratorially and said, “Don’t tell anypony I said this, but Princess Celestia loves cake.”

I got a cross between a snort and a repressed sound of laughter out of that one.

“Another main course for you sir, madam?”

We looked over at our server. “No thank you, waiter. We will take a dessert, however.”

“I see,” Spike said, twirling the mustache he had donned for the occasion.

In actual fact, Spike and Pinkie Pie had outdone themselves for tonight, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to the two. They had quickly decided that Fluttershy and I would be better off not going out to one of the fancy restaurants in Ponyville, and instead insisted on the two of us dining-in at the castle. In turn, however, they had gone all-out with the effects. Spike wore a dress-suit to serve, and cooked up an excellent home meal.

Meanwhile, Pinkie was incredible with the piano, having played romantic tunes non-stop.

At least, until now. “Oooh, my turn,” Pinkie said, hopping away from her piano and leaping and bounding her way down to the table. “I can take over from here Spike. What would the two of you like for dessert?”

Fluttershy and I traded looks. It was sad to say, but it didn’t feel like the chemistry was really there. Whether that was because we were only on a first date or because we truly didn’t click, I didn’t know. Still, it was one of the most pleasant meals I had had in years with another pony, and I didn’t want to ruin it at this point. “What would you like, Fluttershy?” I asked, trying to be mindful of her own desire.

“Make it a surprise, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.

Those seemed to be the magical words. “A surprise?! One Super-Duper-iffic Surprise Dessert coming up!” Pinkie said, and then she was gone into the kitchen, as Spike took the stage and started playing violin. I really needed to get out more. I had no idea the fellow could play an instrument.

I turned back to Fluttershy, gazing into her turquoise eyes. Thankfully, Fluttershy hadn’t changed her mind when I fainted in front of her. Rarity and Twilight and Pinkie Pie weren’t kidding about Fluttershy being, well, shy as well, and she had taken the fainting in stride.

“So your parents named you Garnet Graphite after your colours?” She asked while we waited on dessert, finding new topics to discuss every few minutes.

I nodded. “Yes. It was apparently a surprise to them to have an alicorn colt. I didn’t get to see them too often, as they felt I would be better off if Princess Celestia raised me, considering, you know.”

Fluttershy looked from the horn on my head down to my dark-grey-going-on-black wings tucked in at my side. “I knew you were living in town. Twilight had mentioned you a few times, and Rarity later said she had fitted you out, but the rest of us never saw you. Pinkie wanted to throw a party for you multiple times, but Twilight always put her hoof down.”

We looked out at the banner Pinkie had hung in the dining room. ‘Welcome to Ponyville Garnet Graphite!’ it said, in pink lettering. Pinkie had finally gotten her party, even if it was only for two of us. Any port in a storm, as the saying went.

“At least Pinkie has it out of her system,” I said. “I’m grateful to Twilight for keeping her off my barrel. Both her and Discord.”

That was the other reason I didn’t think this would work out well. I still had the occasional nightmare of Discord. Auntie had wanted me to move out on my own earlier, but after Discord’s brief freedom and reign of terror, I had required several months of therapy before I could even fathom living by myself. I found myself enjoying Fluttershy’s company, but the fact she was friends with Discord was close to a deal breaker. I wasn’t certain I would last five minutes in the same room as Discord.

“Would you like a pet, Garnet?” Fluttershy suddenly asked me out of the blue. “I have many animals at my place that would love a home of their own. I’m sure some of them would be perfect for you...um, if that’s alright with you,” she added, hiding behind her mane.

I looked at her. Gaster really did get her right, I thought. “What sort of pets?” I asked.

“Um, some of the smaller ones? I have hamsters and crickets, ladybugs, maybe some goldfish? None of them require too much attention, and you don’t need to take them outdoors very often.”

I clicked my tongue in apprehension. “Th-thank you, Fluttershy. I, ah, will consider it. S-sorry, I’m still j-just a little hesitant to take care of a pet.”

“Oh. Um, that’s alright, then.”

We fidgeted, each trying to think of something more to talk about. Then Spike hit a loud tune on the violin, as if he was trying to startle us into talking again. I shifted, trying to find something else to talk about. Really, when one spent most of his life indoors hiding from others, there weren’t very many hobbies or interests for me to speak about.

Fortunately, Pinkie Pie saved us as she finally came back into the room, with a small cake on a trolley. “Here you go, Fluttershy, Garnet!” Pinkie announced with an ebullient tone. She set the cake down on the table. I looked it over, my eyebrows furled in confusion. It wasn’t that I was unhappy with Pinkie Pie. Really, I was grateful to her for setting this up. But really, what kind of pony baked a half-and-half cake? “One half is for you, Garnet, a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, and for you Fluttershy, a raspberry velvet cake!”

Both of us stared at Pinkie Pie, mystified as she sliced the cake perfectly in half. Pinkie giggled. “Don’t feel too pressured to eat the whole thing. I can take any leftovers home with me!”

As Pinkie Pie moved away, we both rolled our eyes. Both of us then caught each other’s motions, and shared a laugh over Pinkie’s mannerisms. I had been worried over nothing. Fluttershy’s reputation as the Element of Kindness had been well-deserved, and she had been nothing but understanding of my anxiety issues as we sat down, ate, and chatted.

Even if nothing more came out of this, I was certain that we could continue to be friends. Friends. That was such a nice term to my ears, now. Fluttershy was a kindred heart and soul to my own, and while I was beginning to realise how much our near identical personalities would clash, I would treasure every date we could have like this for the rest of my long-lived life.

I took a bite of the cake. The multiple rich layers of chocolate came together perfectly with the whipped cream and cherry filling, along with the hint of liquor. If nothing else, I would at least have to order more cakes from Sugarcube Corner, if this was the calibre of desserts that Pinkie Pie could whip up on short notice.

Fluttershy noticed my tears of joy. “Is it good, Garnet?” The lemon-yellow pegasus asked, sounding curious.

I nodded, not trusting mere words to explain how much I loved the cake.

Fluttershy took her knife, and sliced off a piece of her own half of the cake. Putting it on a napkin, she pushed the piece of raspberry velvet cake to me.

I looked at it for a few seconds, before some faint memory of the social etiquette training I had been given kicked in, and slicked off a bit of my own side of the cake, and gave it to Fluttershy.

The raspberry velvet cake was...different. It was sweeter, yet not as thick was what my tastes typically trended to. Yet I felt I understood Fluttershy a bit better now, seeing what her favorite pastry was like.

We made small talk thereafter, finding common interests. Books were a common point, though I had had more free time in the last few years to read than Fluttershy did, between her animals and having a solid group of friends that she hung out with on a regular basis. 

Then just like that, the feeling in the air shifted, and we both knew the date was over. I was startled to look out the window and realise how late it was.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight, Fluttershy,” I said, happy my nerves had disappeared for the time being. “It meant the world—no, it really meant the world to me!”

I was glad to see the smile on her face, showing she reciprocated the feeling. “I enjoyed it as well, Garnet,” said Fluttershy. “I wouldn’t mind having dinner again in the future. Don’t be afraid to ask. I might be busy holding tea parties with Discord or Tree Hugger or all my animals, but I can always find free time for a friend.”

Not for the first time, I cursed my lack of social experience. I had no idea if I was being ‘friendzoned’ or if Fluttershy was expressing further interest. What I would give to be Gaster right now. Still, foal steps. “Alright. Thanks again, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy rose to her hooves. She took a quick look around her, turning her head left, then right, then left again. Then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

“Bwa—” I tried to form words, but all the neurons in my head misfired all at once.

“Have a good night, Garnet,” Fluttershy said, her own face flushing red, before she turned around and galloped away.

I brought a hoof up to my cheek, where the pegasus had just kissed me.

Spike, who had seen everything that had just occurred, put his violin down. He walked over to me and asked, “Dude, Garnet, what just happened?”

“I don’t know, Spike,” I admitted, eyes still staring straight ahead. “I feel like I might go home, curl up, and just die of embarrassment, but at least I’ll die a happy stallion.”