//------------------------------// // I got it! You're doing WHAT with Twilight?! // Story: Golden Love // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Applejack looks across her fields, smiling proudly. "Yep, one heck of a harvest season this year." “Oh, I know!” The pink pony beside her giggles. “You’ve been excited about this for a while!” She taps her chin. “Of course, that was before Big Mac and Flick got injured, so...” "Yeah... gonna be a bit tough, but, Ah was raised to handle this type of work." She nods firmly. Pinkie looks out over the trees that spread out for miles, vast enough to make her head spin. “...you know you can’t do this on your own, right? It’s like trying to eat a whole seven layer cake all by yourself; you’re only gonna be in pain by the end.” "But ya still manage to do it, right?" “Only because I’m me.” She shakes her head. “Think of your birdfriend, and how you care about him. Get some help with harvesting.” The farm mare turns to her friend. "One date doesn't make him that." “No, but a long hug and a peck on the cheek afterwards might.” She grins at her cheekily. "...how do you know about that?" “Word travels fast in this town.” "So Ah've seen." AJ sighs. "They haven't stopped talkin' about him and every mare since he came to town." “Yeah, but it’s really strange, since only you, Dashie, Twilight, and that bat pony have been spending much time with him.” She shrugs. “I dunno why Fluttershy and I are among those rumors when we only had one conversation.” "Maybe we just got a bunch of romantics in town." Applejack shrugs as well. “There’s also ponies saying that you and Twilight share him as a pet?” She looks at her curiously. "That one's on him." She says directly. "He started that one and it got out of control." “...yeah, I’m more worried that foals might hear it?” She grins nervously. “Maybe we should do something before it gets worse...” “It’s probably too late,” a voice says, the griffon who owns it walking into view. His left wing twitches in its bandages as he draws to a stop beside the farmer. “Besides, it’s already worse.” "Oh no..." AJ groans, pulling her hat down. "That is not what Ah wanted to hear." “Yeah, apparently I’m property of something called the elements of harmony, too?” He shrugs slightly. “I don’t get it, but they were saying it.” She blinks. "Well, umm... that's all six of us." He stares off in the distance. “...it’s a lot of work ahead of you. You sure I can’t help you, somehow?” Pinkie frowns and leans closer to the other mare. “You saw that, right?” She shakes her head to both of them. "You heard Fluttershy, gotta stay off them wings for a week so they heal." “But Big Mac said it’s too much for one pony...” He sighs, then looks to her, his eyes full of concern. “I just... don’t want you getting hurt, too...” "I'll be fine. Ah've worked long hours before." She smiles at him. "Don't you worry." “...that’s like asking you to stop being a beautiful shade of orange.” He shakes his head. “It’d be impossible.” "It'll be fine. I'll just be a might tired." She laughs nervously. His beak forms a line as flat as his stare. "Ah can do it!" She sounds insistent. “...how long does it normally take you to do it, with Big Mac’s help?” "Umm... a week?" He quietly nods. “How long until the apples go bad?” "Maybe... a month." “I don’t-“ “Oh, wow, you have to do all those fields in a month, on top of your chores?” Pinkie shakes her head. “I don’t know if you can do that, Applejack!” The farm mare frowns, puffing her chest out. "Now don't you worry, Ah can handle it." “But what about all those promises you made with me and the girls?” She points out. "Ah can handle it." She snorts. "Ah'm just gonna be busy." “But that’s like a million apple trees!” Flick interrupts, “Pinkie, I don’t think they own-“ “It’s way too much for one pony!” AJ sighs. "We only have a few more trees than last year." She flings her forehooves in the air. “You can’t make promises your legs can’t keep!” She pauses briefly. “Unless those promises include Flick, then you might be able to.” "He's injured." She reminds her. He scratches his cheek, blushing slightly. “...I must have a dirty mind, because that made me think of something other than harvesting...” Pinkie just looks confused, then shrugs. “If you’re sure. Just make sure to come to us if you need help!” She bounces away, humming to herself. Applejack sighs. "Whew... Ah almost thought she'd wear me down." The griffon gently pulls her into a hug, resting his chin on her head. “I’m not going to stop you, Applejack. Goodness knows if I’d be able to come close.” He runs a claw tenderly through her mane. “I just... want you to be safe, okay?” She nods, smiling at him as she hugs him back. "Thanks. Ah'll be careful. We'll see how things look after a few days." “Alright.” He looks to her with a playful smile. “Can I get a kiss for the road?” "Hmm... promise to not hurt yourself?" “Again, you mean?” He gives a small nod, cupping her cheek and looking in her eyes. “I promise.” She smiles, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He pouts for a second, then lets out a chuckle. “Guess I walked right into that one, huh?” "Earning it will make it sweeter." She retorts sagely. He frowns, rubbing her cheek as he thinks. “...so... picnic after you’re done with the harvest?” "Ah'd like that." She leans lightly against the touch. “...yeah, I’d be alright with that.” He touches his forehead to hers. “...what was Pinkie talking about, by the way? Those promises?” "Oh, Pinkie needs my help with a bake sale and Dash wants help with a stunt." His talons drum on the trio of apples decorating her hip as he considers this. “...any chance our next date can be around then, then? Since you’re taking a break, after all...” She flicks his talon off reflexively with her tail, smiling sadly at him. "Sorry, Flick, but ah'm gonna need to get right back to work once I get done with these favors." He sighs dramatically, hugging her tight to his chest. “Oh, woe is me! Separated from such a natural beauty for such a long time!” She playfully beats him off her. "Alright alright, any more of that and you can give Rarity a run fer her bits." He chuckles, shrugging quietly. “What can I say? I like you.” The griffon looks off to the side, continuing to rub her back. “Dunno what I’m going to do while you’re working, though.” "See the rest of the town aside from mah farm?" She offers. “...I guess.” He kisses the top of her head and pulls away. “I guess I’ll see you after you’re done.” He suddenly yelps when the ground starts to shake, gripping her once more as he looks around frantically. “What is that?!” Her ears are standing straight up as she runs a few feet, looking over the hill. "Stampede!" Recovering from the surprise of how easily she dragged him along, Flick lets go and looks off in the distance. “...oh, that can’t be good.” She nods once before taking off and letting out a sharp whistle. “Then she said to ‘steer clear of Ponyville’, next time!” Flick chuckles, rubbing the top of the bookish unicorn’s head. “And you know the rest.” The two of them sit on the balcony of the library, looking out over the fields behind the tree house. They sit close to each other, enough that the feathers of his good wing tickle her side. She nods. "I only heard about it after the fact, but it sounds amazing to have been there." “Oh it was.” He smiles, rubbing her head affectionately as he continues. “But I’m sure you have some great stories, too. Probably even ones I haven’t heard about!” "Umm, not really..." she looks down. "I'm pretty boring." “Hey, come on now,” he gently tilts her head up, smiling warmly at her, “I’m sure that’s not true.” "All I really do is study and read." She blushes. “Oh?” He chuckles, pulling her against his side with a wing. “Maybe you’d be willing to share one of those books? Or we can grab a nice novel to read together?” "Well, I do have a library now..." she giggles at the thought. “Well, I don’t have much else planned for today.” He nuzzles her cheek, a soft purr escaping him. “I think I’d be up for that, if you are.” She squeaks, adjusting her mane. "Yes! I mean, yes, that would be nice." He chuckles, gently pulling away as he scratches behind her ear. “You’re absolutely adorable, you know that?” She doesn't say anything, just leaning against the touch. Flick smiles, pulling her onto his back as he turns to walk inside. “Where’s the fiction section?” She points downstairs. "The right side near the door." He nods, walking over and carefully going over the lone bookshelf of stories. “...you should probably expand this section, Twilight.” "Well, I usually focus more on non fiction and reference guides..." “But those fillies and colts deserve a good adventure or fantasy, too.” He taps her nose. “And maybe you could read them to relax.” "Maybe... Spike does like them, too." She nods. "I'll see if I can request some." “Great! So let’s see what we have here.” He browses the selection before he stumbles, pulling a book out with her first name on it. “...you write fiction?” "Wait what!?" She quickly yanks it out of his talons. "How did this get into the circulation?" He stares at her, baffled by her reaction. “What? What’s wrong?” She blushes. "This is something I wrote when I was a filly and just messing around... it's supposed to be sorted into my personal collection." Her eyes narrow. "Spike..." The griffon takes the moment of distraction to gently pull it back to himself. He opens it up, humming thoughtfully as he begins to read. “Once upon a time, there was an alien spaceship and it was going looking...” He trails off, frowning in confusion as he pulls the thin book closer to his face. “...going looking...” She tries to tug it away. "I got on a sci fi kick! Please don't!" He lets her take it, turning to her in confusion. “...what’s sci fi? And what’s a spaceship?” "Umm, well, think of it like fantasy, but focused in the stars." She looks up. “Okay... and spaceships? Or aliens, for that matter?” He reaches over to rub her hoof with a claw. "You know, like airships, but in space, and aliens are beings from other worlds!" She throws up her hooves dramatically. He flinches back at the sudden movement. “...alright?” Her eyes sparkle with excitement. "It's about thinking of how far magic and technology could go along with infinite possibilities." “Oh.” He nods once, smiling to the mare on his back. “That actually does sound interesting.” He chuckles, touching foreheads with her, at least as well as he could with her horn in the way. “Makes me wish I could use magic.” She blinks. "Do griffons not have passive magical abilities like earth ponies?" He shrugs. “We can walk on clouds. That’s about it, from what I’ve been taught.” "That means you have some magic at least." She smiles at him. "I wonder if a study has been done on how much..." “I probably wouldn’t be a good test subject.” He shakes his head. “Without a control or a second test subject, it’d be hard to get a decisive conclusion.” "True... oh well." She shrugs, putting the book on her back. "Science for another time." “Yep. Now...” He points at the journal. “...is that the story we’re reading, or are we getting a different one?” "Different one. I don't even think I had a solid plot." She snorts. "It's the basis of all stories." “Alright.” He pulls out another book, glancing at the title. “Doomwyte?” "Huh... not sure what that one is. We could try it." He shrugs, carrying her over to the table in the center of the room. He sets her down and snuggles up behind her, getting comfy before they start reading. Twilight flips open the book, only to gasp. "Wait, we can't read this one!" He blinks, staring at the mare in his lap in confusion. “What do you mean? Is it not good?” "That's not it, it's the twentieth book in a series!" She lights up her horn, bringing out other ones. "We have a lot to get through first." His tilts his head to the side. "Wait, so... are we going to be on a reading binge or something?" She giggles, kicking her hooves excitedly. "Oh, we can add it to our schedules to have some reading time!" He smiles warmly, hugging her gently. “So adorable...” She giggles, pulling over the first book. "So, do you want to see if we can finish them all over time?" There’s a moment of silence before he grins cheekily, rubbing her chest with a talon. “...you know, if you wanted to have reading dates with me, you only had to ask.” She pulls the book to her, holding it as she looks at the cover. "I didn't know what your schedule was or what books you liked, so I couldn't have, really." He sighs, resting his head on top of hers, his beak barely touching her horn. “Hey, has anyone ever flirted with you, before?” "No, why?" She tilts her head to looks up at him. He turns his head just enough to avoid hitting her horn, then shrugs, playing with a tuft of fur on her chest. “I dunno. Wanted to know if you knew what it was like?” "Not really. Supposedly it's some obvious sign of affection or something." She shrugs. "I'm not really worried about it." His claw draws still. “...so... does that mean you aren’t looking for love? Or maybe just someone to share special moments with?” "Well, I'm not looking, but I wouldn't say no." She shrugs. He slowly nods, gripping her body just a bit tighter. “Good to know.” She looks back at him. "Could you loosen your grip a little, please?" “Oh, sorry.” He scoots close to her once more, his chin on her shoulder as he loosens the hug he’s giving her. “So, starting with the first one, right?” She nods, opening it. "Do you want us to read out loud or internally?" “Out loud, of course.” He chuckles quietly. “After all, I’m pretty sure you’re a speed reader.” She giggles once more as Spike comes down the stairs. "Hey, Twilight, I finished dusting upstairs, would you-" he stops as he sees them. "Oh." Flick turns to look at Spike, silent for a moment before he waves the claw that was playing with Twilight’s chest fluff. He waves back, still processing this. "...yeah, anyway, I'm going out to grab some things for dinner." "Okay, Spike, thank you." She looks over to him, looking as perky as ever. "Don't forget the alfalfa this time, okay? I put it on your list." "I won't, I won't." He heads for the door, revealing a scroll in a tube strapped to his back like a quiver. “...I wonder what he thought of us...” The griffon strokes his chin thoughtfully, then shrugs and starts rubbing the librarian’s belly. “So who is the narrator?” "Maybe we can alternate?" She offers. He chuckles, brushing his cheek against hers. “Sounds like a plan, Twily.” She blinks, looking at him, one ear flicking. "How did you..." She looks at him a bit strangely before smiling once more. He stares back at her, concerned. “What? Did I say something odd?” "Just... nevermind, it's fine." She swishes her tail as she turns back to the book. He immediately tenses up, taking her tail and tugging it towards her side. “Careful with that, Twily.” She yelps, tugging it away from him and curling it around herself. "Hey..." She pouts. He raises an eyebrow at her. “You were the one rubbing it up against me.” "I didn't mean to, I was happy." She holds her tail. "You didn't have to pull it..." “All I did was tug it to the side.” He shrugs a bit. “It wasn’t even that hard.” "Just... don't touch it please." She asks. “What if I...” He tugs her forelegs up and playfully assails her sides with his wingtips. “Did this?!” "Eek!" She quickly rolls away from him, her words punctuated with laughs.. "Hey, we were about to read!" “Alright, alright.” He gently pulls her back onto his lap with a fake reluctant tone. “Forgive me, Twily?” She giggles, pulling the book up. "Sure, let's read. I'm curious what kind fo series needs twenty sequels." “Same.” He rests his talons on her belly, waiting eagerly for her to start. "Okay, let's see here..." As the two of them get lost in a fun fantasy story, neither of them take notice of the eyes peering in through the window...