//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Gifts, Pinkie Trollie Pie, and the book // Story: When Dating a Sunset... // by ThePinkedWonder //------------------------------// Still in my bedroom, Sunset and I had just finished our make-out session; it was amazing! In my bed, I was lying on my back and she lay on her side, facing me. My bed’s blanket, a blue one, covered us, but our heads and the upper part of our chests wasn’t covered in them. I said, “Well, that was fun.” “It was. You got some good moves, Eric.” “So do you. Well worth the wait of two weeks.” Sunset giggled. “Or one month.” “One month? And here I thought you weren’t ready for a full-blown make-out session back then, or I would have asked you to have it after our first date.” “Oh, so you wanted to do it then too?” “Of course! You’re the hottest mare ever and one of the nicest!” Sunset blushed and her lips curled into a cute as buck smile. “Oh, you’re just saying that, Eric.” “I’m not. I would prove it by having another make-out session, but you tired me out.” “Ha ha, okay, I believe you. But, there’s something I want to ask.”   “What’s that? Ask me anything.” “How long have you had feelings for me?” “How long?” I pulled a hand from under the covers to set a finger on my cheek. “Hmm...I think they started a few days after you tried to help me ask out Diane.” My answer made Sunset form a puzzled frown. “But I got your heart broke, so how did that make you get a crush on me?” “I don’t know. I’ve always thought you were amazing, or at least the reformed you were. Maybe, deep down, I’ve had a crush on you for longer, but when you felt so bad after the Diane thing, it showed that you cared about me even more than I thought. I guess that was the last push for me to ‘notice’ you.” “Really?” “Yep!” I answered. “Now, I’m about to say something that I think will make you happy.” “Or happier. And what is it?” “You said that you’d make up for my heart getting broken, and I think you have more than made up for it by helping me heal from my past and becoming my girlfriend. But now I have a question.” “What is it?” “How long have you had feelings for me?” Sunset gave a nervous smile and seemed like she was close to looking away. “Oh, you don’t want to hear that.” “But I do! Come on, Sunset, tell me. I told you when I felt feelings for you.” “Well…” “If you don’t, I’ll have to give you something.” “What?” “This!” I put my left hand on Sunset’s belly and scratched it, making her burst out in laughter and started to roll away. But before she got anywhere, I rolled to my side and wrapped my right arm around her, held on to her tight, and we were still under the covers. My left arm was pinned between us, but my fingers were free enough to keep the “tickle torture” going. She couldn't focus hard enough to free herself with her magic, so this mare was going to start talking! “Ha ha! I thought you were 'tired'!" "Well, I caught my second wind! Now, tell me when you felt feelings for me!" I ordered with a big ‘ol smile on my face. I was enjoying this! "No! Ha ha! You don’t wanna hear!” Well, Sunset still wasn't going to talk, so I wriggled my fingers faster and she laughed even harder. She had never looked so adorable. “Eric, stop it! Ha ha! Let me go!” “Not till you fess up! I can do this all day because you are looking so cute right now!” “Ha ha! Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!” I let Sunset go and rolled back to where I was before I tickled her, and she panted to catch her breath. As she did, I couldn’t resist chuckling over what I did to her. Something I’ll be doing again if she gives me an opportunity! After Sunset’s breathing was back to normal, she admitted, “All right, but just don’t get mad. It was after I heard you tell Twilight that you liked me.” “Wait, what? When? And how?” “It was when you were talking to her in your room, on the day I came to hang out with you.” “You did? But...oh.” I chuckled. I figured out how she found out, the big sneak. “When I was telling Twilight about my feelings, you were listening behind my door, weren’t you?” “Maybe?” Sunset answered in a cute voice and gave just as cute a smile. Guess I’m not the only one that Twilight’s rubbed off on. “Ha, you sound like Twilight when she let it slip that she and the others were watching us when we were hanging out.” “But I wasn't trying to be nosey or anything, Eric, I promise. I was just worried, and I knew something was on your mind that day and I wanted to help.” “It's okay, and I’m not mad. Did that have something to do with you leaving and then coming back?” “Yep. When I heard, I didn’t know what to think, so I asked the other girls for help and advice. At first, I thought I felt no feelings toward you and even tried to come up with a way to tell you without breaking your heart.” “You did?” I asked. “Yeah. But then I thought about the fun we had that day, how alike we are, and how you thought you didn’t ‘deserve’ me. I had never felt so...special, and I think that made me start having feelings towards you.” “Hmm. So we started liking each other around the same time. But I want to say something else, and it’s important.” With bigger eyes than usual, Sunset asked, “What?” In a serious voice, I said, “Don’t ever think that you haven’t changed or that you don’t deserve me or anyone again. Okay, Sunset?” “Okay, as long as you don’t think that you’re still the selfish kid you used to be or that you’re not worthy of me or anyone. Promise?” “Promise.” “Good.” Sunset’s horn glowed, and a feather materialized in midair, which she held in her magic. “What’s that for?” A smirk appeared on Sunset’s face. “To show what I’ll do if you break your promise.” Next thing I knew, my muscles froze. Sunset, with a big ‘ol grin, used her magic to move the covers off us. At the same time, with her magic, she lifted my shirt to expose my belly, then the feather that she materialized moved to my belly and made contact with it. The tickling was unbearable and I burst out in laughter. Because I can’t break a Unicorn’s magical grip on me, I wasn’t going anywhere till Sunset Shimmer lets me. “Ha! You get the point, Eric? I could keep doing this all day because you are looking so cute right now!” “Ha ha! Okay, I get it, I get it! Let me go!” “I will, but first, who’s the prettiest pony in Equestria?” “It’s you! It’s you! Ha ha!” “Not good enough! I want to hear you say her name!” “Ha ha! Okay, her name is ‘Sunset Shimmer’! And she’s the cutest being in the whole Multiverse! Now stop it!” Sunset stopped with the tickle torture and I could move again, but still needed to catch my breath. As I did, Sunset was giggling, similar to how I did it after I stopped my tickle torture on her. Once my breathing was back to its usual rate, Sunset said, “I thought you would have yelled ‘Sunset’ first, not my full name right away.” “If not for Twilight doing something like that once to mess with me, I probably would have. She even made me say ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle’ before she stopped with the ‘big surprise’ as she called it.” If you’re wondering what that “big surprise” was, one time, when I was still bite-sized, Twilight put me in a VERY tight hug with one of her forelegs. Twi wouldn’t break her “hug” till I said that I liked being on her head the most at that size, which I do. “She did? I didn’t know she had such a playful side to her.” “Me neither, till she showed it. Anyway, what do you want to do now?” “Oh! I forgot that a movie that the others and I want to see starts soon. I should go back in another fifteen minutes, but you want to just talk before I go?” “Sure.” As Eric and Sunset chatted, Twilight Sparkle paced in her room. After overhearing Eric’s and Sunset’s “make-out session”, she felt that she couldn’t keep waiting. There was something that she had wanted to do for a while, but she kept delaying it out of worry about how Eric might react. “Okay, Twilight, it’s time. Eric needs to know. Besides, it’s not like he’ll get mad if you do it.” Twilight stopped pacing and looked down at a “special” book lying on a dresser in her room. She usually keeps her books in her library. However, she didn’t wish for anypony but her or Eric to see this book. She also didn’t want Eric to stumble across it before she could give it to him proper. But nervousness forced Twilight to pace again. “Or should I? I want him to know, but I don’t want to risk making him uncomfortable, so maybe I shouldn’t. But if I don’t give it to him...” Twilight continued to pace, debating with herself if giving Eric the book was the right choice. In front of the portal in the library, Sunset was preparing to leave. I was standing beside her.  I said, “Well, guess this is bye, for now.” “‘For now’ is right. But I’ll be back tomorrow.” “Well, till then. Wait, where’s your pack?” Sunset gasped and looked to her sides. There was no pack there nor the strap that she wore around herself that had the pack attached to it. “Oh, I think it's still in your room, and I almost forgot to give you your ‘one-month anniversary’ gift!” My eyes got big, because I forgot about something big! “Oh, you uh, did?” “Yep! I’ll be right back!” Sunset sped out of the library. And oops! This day marked the “one-month anniversary” of our first date, and I forgot to have somepony get something for Sunset while I was laid up in the hospital! Oh, no! I was sweating on what to do. But suddenly, pink sparks ran down the portal’s cords, making me jump back from it. It couldn’t be Twilight or Starlight, so what the buck was going on?! But what came out of the portal was a necklace, with a gemstone in the shape and color of Sunset’s Cutie Mark. Immediately afterward, a piece of paper flew out. I picked up the paper and read what it said. Give this to Sunset for your one-month anniversary. You can thank me later and think of this as your early birthday present, so don't worry about paying me back. The sound of Sunset’s hoofsteps was coming, so I didn’t question how I got this reprieve. I just picked up the necklace, and hid it behind my back. Sunset ran through the doorway with a big smile, levitating in her magic a necklace with a green geode. “Here it is! Happy one-month anniversary!” “Wow, thanks, Sunset! That geode on that necklace looks a little like your geode, but green.” “Well, maybe I can’t make you an Element of Harmony like Princess Twilight, but think of this as your ‘honorary’ Element, which I will call ‘selflessness’.” Sunset wrapped my new necklace around my neck. “Wow, I’m...touched. Thanks so much, Sunset!” I gave my amazing girlfriend a kiss. She made me promise never to think she was too good for me, but I couldn’t help it this time. “You’re welcome, Eric, and I’m glad you like my gift!” “I don’t just like it, I love it! And here’s your gift!” I showed my hidden hand to Sunset with the necklace. “Oh, Eric, it’s beautiful!” With a big grin, Sunset picked up the necklace with her magic and wrapped it around her neck. I commented, “And now it has a beautiful owner.” “Oh! I know you told me to never think it, but you are too good to me, Eric.” Thinking about how I forgot our one-month anniversary, I admitted, “I’m really not.” “Heh heh, still modest as ever. But I will wear this necklace every time I come to Equestria. But I better go before the movie the others and I want to watch starts.” “Okay, and I’ll wear my new necklace all the time from now on. See you, Sunset, and I love you.” “See you, and I love you too, Eric.” After our usual goodbye kiss, Sunset walked through the portal with it glowing pink as she walked through it. After the portal stopped glowing, I wiped my head. I got bailed out of forgetting to get Sunset a gift! Wasn’t going to do that again! “I don’t know how it happened, but whoever or whatever did it, thank you!” The portal glowed again, and another piece of paper flew out. I picked it up and read it. You’re welcome!! Signed, the human Pinkie Pie Well, that explained why that necklace came through the portal. But I had another question. How did the human Pinkie Pie know what was going on?! As if “answering” my question, the portal glowed yet again, and more paper came out. As you would say, it’s because I’m Pinkie Pie, Eric-berry! Signed, the human Pinkie Pie Of course that’s how she knew: human or pony, Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, and both versions have random moments of omniscience. But, wait, “Eric-berry”? Hold the phone. Could the Pinkie that called me those names had been the human Pinkie in pony form?! Now another piece of paper flew out of the portal. Wouldn’t you like to know, Eric-cherry? Signed, the human Pinkie Okay, now she’s just using her “Pinkie Pie” powers to mess with me! I decided to stop asking those mental questions and was about to leave the library. Then another piece of paper came out. Good idea, Eric-merry. Signed, you-know-who Yeah, I just ran out of the library before Pinkie Trollie Pie could troll me again. But once in the hallway, I ran into Twilight, literally, and we both hit the floor with a grunt. Oops! She was carrying a book in her magic, but dropped it when I crashed into her. I got to my feet. "Oh, I am so sorry, Twi. You all right?” I reached out my hand to help Twi up. But Twilight sprung to her hooves on her own. “Oh, uh, y-yeah, I’m all right. Yep, yep, I’m a-all right.” “Okay, what’s wrong? I know you, big sis: anytime you stutter like that, you’re not ‘all right’.” “But I am! I just wanted to, uh...give you this book.” Twilight levitated her book off the floor towards me. “Oh, well, thanks.” I reached out to pick up the book Twilight wanted to give me. When my hand got close to the book, Twilight grimaced and pulled the book back to her. “T-Then again, maybe I should give this to you later.” “But why would you want to give me it later and not now?” Before Twilight could answer, Starlight called out, “Hey, Twilight, Buggie.” “Eep!” Twilight jumped, dropped her book again and turned to Starlight with a nervous grin. What was making her so jumpy? Figuratively and literally? “Twilight? What’s wrong?” Starlight asked. “Oh, I remembered that I, uh, got to...make a list, yeah, that’s it, so I'll be back, bye guys!” Twilight sprinted down the hallway and I could have sworn I heard her mutter, “What was I thinking?” Both Starlight and I stared at Twilight as she ran off, then back to each other. Sometimes I don't understand that mare. “Okay...Starie, do you have any idea what’s up with the Princess of Weirdness? Did she lose a checklist or stressing out about something again?” “No idea.” Starlight formed a smirk on her lips. “But where did your favorite Unicorn go? She left?” “What do you mean? She didn’t leave.” “Huh?” Starlight turned her head back and forth. “But I don’t see Sunset anywhere.” “Well, sure Sunset’s gone, but you asked where did my favorite Unicorn go, remember? That’s you, big sis!” I poked Starlight with my elbow and made her chuckle. Even if I now love Sunset Shimmer, she could never take Starlight Glimmer’s place as my favorite Unicorn. Or favorite Alicorn/princess if Sunset ever ascended to Alicorn status. “Aw, thanks, little bro." Starlight wrapped a foreleg around me with a smile. "And you’re my favorite human.” “Thanks, but it’s not like you know many other humans.” “But you’re still my favorite, and you always will be. But, I’m going to go look for Trixie to train her in some spells.” “Okay. See you, Starie.” Starlight moved her foreleg off me and walked down the hallway. As for me, I planned to go to my room -- I wanted to stay away from that portal for a while so Pinkie Trollie Pie couldn't troll me again. But the book that Twilight wanted(?) to give me was still on the floor and it caught my eye. I picked up the book to take a look at it. Maybe this could explain why she was acting so weird. “‘Secrets to Intimacy’. What?” I opened it to see what this book was about. “Setting the mood…how mares like it the most...positions...WHAT?!” I dropped that book and stared in the direction that Twilight ran off in.   When and where did that pony get these kinds of books?! And why was she trying to give it to me?! No wonder she was acting so nervous! I stood there, wondering if I truly knew Princess Twilight Sparkle. Then I wondered if she thought that I might want to...get intimate with Sunset sooner or later, and figured the book would make sure I knew how to “do it right” or something.  Big sister of the year people. Now, if only the Princess of Romance could figure out how to let me pass through the portal so I could hang out with Sunset in “her” world. But, there was something else I had wanted to do since Sunset became my girlfriend, but hadn’t been able to do it. Two days from now, Twilight and Starlight were going to use a special spell they mastered that lets me talk to a member of my family in my old world. When I did, I was going to talk to Erica, one of my two human big sisters. I planned to ask Sunset if she could come along so I could "introduce" her to Erica. If not for being laid up in the hospital for three weeks, I would have told my human family about Sunset by now. I would have introduced her to my dad when I talked to him during the first week Sunset and I were a couple, but she was too busy to come with me on the day I talked to him. I wanted Sunset Shimmer by my side when I told him, or any member of my family, that I have a girlfriend in Equestria.