It was late evening in the town of Ponyville, everypony beginning to house themselves up for the night. The sun was still up, but the streets were almost entirely empty. Only Grand, Lightning and Iron were outside, preforming their final patrol of the day while at the Castle of Friendship, many of its occupants were enjoying a new addition to the training room. A video game option.
"Turn left! Turn left!" Spike told Heart as the colt spun the wheel of the controller he was using, causing the cart to take the turn and grab the power up the dragon had pointed out.
"Ha!" Heart cheered, "You're going down!"
"I don't think so!" Flash laughed back.
Ever since Heart had been shown how amazing video games were by Rumble and Button Mash, he had been wanting to play with his sister, mentor and many others in the castle. And since Button had a 'no fillies allowed' policy with his games, Heart had tried to convince Flash and Twilight to get him his own.
And while the two had been open to the idea, Twilight realized they already had a game system thanks to the training room's ability to create anything. So now Heart had near-unlimited access to any game he and the others wanted to play, leading to their current situation: Him and Flash playing a racing game with Soul, Springer, Scootaloo, Ace, Mira and Spike watching from the side.
"Come on Flash!" Springer barked at the pony at the other wheel, "You need a power up to stop his!"
"I know that," Flash replied, "But there isn't one-THERE!" He sharply turned, his cart drifting seconds before Heart's attack hitting him, making him go spinning, "Hey!" Heart laughed as he sped past him, Flash quickly regaining his bearings as Heart got to the finish line, only to say, "Take this!"
"No, no, no!" Heart cried as he was hit by a lightning bolt, causing him to shrink as Flash shot past him, crossing the finish line. He and Springer began cheering, Heart slamming his head on the controller. "Not fair...."
"Totally fair," Soul responded before using her magic to lift him into the air. "Now move, I play winner."
"You're on," Flash chuckled, only for the group to hear the doors opening, all turning to see Twilight trot into the room.
"Flash?" The pegasi smiled back at her, only to grimace as she saw the look on her face.
"What's wrong Twi?"
"It's your turn to do the dishes, remember?"
"Oh, come on!" Soul barked, "I wanted to cream him in a race."
"Can't he do it later?" Heart asked next, Spike and the young jakhowls all nodding.
The princess shook her head, "No. You should never hold off on something that needs doing. Get it done, then you no longer have to worry about it. Besides, leaving those dirty dishes could attract flies and other insects, and then it's everypony's problem."
"Alright, alright...I'll do it." Flash sighed as he got up, putting his controller in Springer's paws, "Win for me bud." Springer nodded back, Flash then leaving the room with Twilight.
Later that night...
Twilight was in her and Flash's room. She was sitting in bed, reading a book on the different types of mineral compilations. Despite the apparently boring subject, her eyes were squarely focused on the material, ready to read for hours...if it wasn't for the blaring music beating from across the hall.
She let out a sigh at this, knowing it was Flash practicing his guitar in his office. She wanted to ask him to stop or go find someplace else to play, but she quickly decided on a better option. The alicorn cast a spell, creating a sound proof bubble around her. But as she did this, she found her now split focus starting to disturb her reading. She couldn't absorb the info as much, or read as fast as she tried to maintain the magic.
An hour or so later, the door of the bedroom opened, Flash slowly walking inside. Twilight noticed this and dropped the barrier before he could see it, now noticing the defender let out a yawn before climbing into bed with her. "Good night," he muttered before kissing her on the cheek.
"Good night," Twilight replied, seeing him roll away so he wasn't facing the lamp light she was using to read. She summoned a pair of earplugs next, already hearing some snores from the pegasi before going back to her book. It wasn't long till she finished a chapter, putting a bookmark in the novel after this.
She clicked the lamp off next, laying down despite not feeling the least bit tired. Despite this, she knew Flash needed to be up for an early patrol tomorrow. She closed her eyes and after about forty minutes of laying on the bed, she felt herself finally drift off.
The next day...
Flash and Springer had just finished their early morning patrol, now leisurely trotting for the castle as the defender spoke up, "So...how long do you think it'll be until Ace and Mira are ready to learn Aura Blast?"
Springer shook his head at this, "I don't know. I think their aura still needs a little more strengthening...though its different for both."
"How so?"
"Well...Mira has the principles down, but she doesn't have the amount of aura. Ace is the opposite though. He has the aura, but he's..." the jakhowl let out a long sigh. "Lazy." Springer then rubbed the side of his head, "At least they're starting to learn to sense and distinguish different auras from ponies they know really well."
"That's good...I think."
"Yeah. Luna and Ruby have already given me a bunch of tips about ways of getting them to understand the principles of the attack, but its not enough. I just...I want them to be able to defend themselves against Shade. When he finds out about them-"
"I know, and you'll be ready." Flash interrupted, patting the jakhowl's shoulder with her wing, "Say, is there anything I can do to help?"
Springer opened his mouth to answer, only for a cloud of green ash to suddenly fly up to them. The ash spiraled around, morphing into a note with a loud pop. Flash quickly caught it, opening it up as Springer asked, "What's up?"
"Twilight needs me back at the castle ASAP," he replied, taking to the skies with Springer hopping on his back.
And as they got to the building, Springer scanned it over, "Map room!" They flew through the corridors, getting to the room to find Twilight, Spike and Starlight staring at the map.
"Twilight! What's wrong?!"
"The map!" Twilight instantly replied, "It's not working!"
"What?!" Springer hopped off of Flash as he stared down at the crystal table, which would have normally activated by now since it could usually sense if anypony wanted to see it. "What happened? Did somepony spill grape jelly on it...again?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. I just realized it now, but the map hasn't worked since..."
She hesitated at this, Starlight letting out a sigh, "Since I used it to travel back in time?"
The group exchanged glances at this, Twilight slowly nodding before Springer asked, "So the spell you used damaged it?"
"Maybe," Twilight responded, "Or the amount of times I used it to go back in time drained its energy. Either way, the table won't work."
"Now that you mention it," Flash commented, "None of us have been summoned for a friendship mission since I got back."
"Exactly. I hadn't realized it either until just now," she then held up a scroll and floated it over to Flash. "Princess Celestia sent this."
Flash took the scroll, reading it out loud, "Dear Princess Twilight, I am writing in regards to a recent discovery involving a small town south west of Ponyville. In the recent weeks, the productivity of the town's outgoing products have drastically fallen. I sent an envoy to see what caused this and their report was...worrying. While I was originally planning to solve the issue myself, I realized the cause was close in nature to a friendship problem you and your friends usually find yourself going on."
"That's what made me realize the table wasn't working," Twilight chimed in, "Even if she's wrong and this isn't a friendship mission, it still got me thinking that the map hasn't been working since our little adventure."
Flash nodded and kept reading. "As I cannot call myself an expert in determining these things, I would like for you to go and see for yourself whether this would qualify as a friendship problem. If it does, please find a way to solve it so that the town may return to normal. If it isn't, you may decide whether to stay and deal with it, or allow somepony else to get involved."
"She wants you to go?" Springer asked, Twilight nodding back.
"Not just me." Twilight replied as Flash continued to read.
"I would suggest taking Flash with you. If you want to take the rest of your friends, I understand, but I have a feeling this is a matter best solved by the two of you."
"So what do you say?" Twilight added. "I know it's not an official friendship problem-"
"If Celestia wants us to go check it out, then I'm in."
Twilight showed a small smile at this as Spike turned to her, "You gonna bring the others?"
The alicorn shook her head, "Not right now. Flash and I will go on our own to check things out, and if we decide we need help, then we'll call the others in."
They all nodded in agreement before Flash and Twilight began to make preparations to leave. Within an hour and a half, they were all packed. Springer, Starlight and Spike saw them off at the train station, Heart, Soul and Scootaloo still being in school, with Flash and Twilight thanking them for looking after things before climbing onto the train. The two got to a compartment as it pulled away, Twilight taking out a map and a few scrolls specifying the little information known about the town.
"Blinkermane…a small farming community known for its yarn distribution. First built by the late Mister and Mrs. Blinker a hundred and fifty years ago. The farm that the town originated from started off as a small plot of land that the two were gifted as a wedding present. Through their hard work and team unity, they managed to make their business grow into a bustling town."
"So it's kind of like how Sweet Apple Acres helped create Ponyville," Flash commented.
"Exactly," Twilight responded, "I wonder what the problem is that's causing the town to not have any outgoing distribution."
"No point is speculating," Flash replied while laying back on the seat, putting his wings and hooves behind his head. "If this is a friendship problem, it'll turn out like the other ones we've been on. Either the problem will be obvious when we first get there like when you went to the smokey mountains, or we'll have to look around and solve as many problems as we can find until our cutie marks glow."
"Our cutie marks aren't gonna glow Flash," Twilight reminded him, "This isn't a map quest, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
"Besides, it doesn't hurt to be prepared. We'll figure it out a lot quicker if we make a list of possible problems we could find in this town." She took out a scroll and quill, Flash rolling his eyes at this before closing them to take a nap.
He didn't get to rest too long. Ponyville wasn't far from Blinkermane, the duo soon hitting the station by the town. And as the conductor announced the station, the two walked off the platform...only to see there was nopony else there. "Not a lot of hoof traffic," Flash commented while Twilight checked the map.
"The town's just down that path." She pointed at the path, the adjusting their saddlebags as Twilight took the lead. They found themselves walking into an empty forest, just a few stray birds flying around as Twilight chimed in, "Huh. This place is...kinda cozy. Surprised there's an issue."
Flash nodded at this, "I don't think the problem's wildlife based. Might not need me, at least for fighting."
"Don't worry meathead. We'll find something for you to exercise on by the end of this."
The defender rolled his eyes again, both walking into a clearing next. And as they went through it, they saw an entry sign arch for the town...only to see it had two signs. They stared at them, both hanging side by side from the arch, the two focusing on the left one. It was a simple brown wooden sign with words that looked like they had been written by a five year old.
Welcome to Stallimane
No Mares
They shared a glance before turning to the right one. The letters on this one looked much more professional, with well done calligraphy and a pretty pink backdrop and flower patterned trim.
Welcome to Blinkermare
Stallions Prohibited
"Stallimane?" Flash asked.
"Blinkermare?" Twilight added with a raised eyebrow before looking back and forth at the signs. "And what's with the rest of the signs? Stallions prohibited?"
"That means banned, right?" She nodded back. "So...both sides have a certain type of pony banned? Why?"
Twilight shrugged before they looked past the arch, now seeing a white line painted on the ground, one just like on tennis courts. The grass on either side of the line was very different. On Stallimane's side, it was short and well kept, but there was little to no flowers on this side. Meanwhile, the Blinkermare side of the grass was so long it went up to their knees...but while it was unkempt, there were several flower beds filled with beautiful flowers.
They stepped past the archway, now noticing the place was like looking at two sides of the same coin. The Stallimane side had buildings that had filthy windows and trash cans overflowing with bags, while the Blinkermare side's houses were falling apart, though their streets were clean. And at the center of the town...towns, a lone tree stood on the dividing line. The duo turned to the stores that lined the streets, Flash reading the labels out loud for Stallimane, "Sports pony outfits and equipment emporium? Fast Food Taco Stand? Hey, and there's a batting cage!"
Twilight stared at the stores in Blinkermane. "Shoe store, perfume store...Oh, chocolate!" As she said this, she then saw several spas and hooficure buildings.
"What is with this place?" Flash asked. "One side looks like it's taken right out of Bulk Bicep's wet dreams while the other side-"
"Looks like it's out of Rarity's," Twilight finished before holding up the map. "There isn't anything about two towns being here."
"And where's Blinkermane?"
"Blinkermane is no more!" They turned to one of the buildings in Stallimane, only to spot an olive green earth pony with an orange mane and tail that had a shearing razor for a cutie mark. "It has been dissolved to create something better."
"Better?"
"That's right!" he replied, nodding, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Blinker, Woolly Blinker. Mayor of Stallimane."
Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. "Blinker? As in, the Blinkers who first founded Blinkermane and-"
"STOP!" Woolly yelled, quickly running up to Twilight and flashing a hoof up to her face, "Not another step further, please." They raised an eyebrow, only to look down and saw that Twilight was one step away from entering Stallimane. "I'm sure you've seen the sign when you first arrived here."
"Yeah..." Flash commened, "No mares. Very clear message."
"Then please abide by it. As mayor of Stallimane, I have declared this town a colt's only location. Should you enter the town now, you'll be breaking that law."
"Like she'd ever want to step hoof in that pigsty!" a voice rang out, the three turning to it to see a reddish orange unicorn mare with a bluish green mane and tail. She was wearing a blue woollen cardigan and half-moon glasses with a spinning wheel for her cutie mark.
She trotted up to them, only to gasp at Twilight's horn and wings, "You...you must be a princess!"
"Err...yes," Twilight replied, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship."
"Oh," she trotted on the spot, "It's such and honour to have you here!" She ran up and placed a hoof around her neck, "I'm Lace Blinker, mayor of this sweet village. And welcome, your majesty, to the most serene town in all of Equestria!"
"Um...thank you," Twilight slowly nodded. "It's...very nice to be here." But as she said this, Twilight realized something, "Wait, your name's Blinker too?"
"Yes," she sighed before turning to Woolly, "You've met my husband already." The two shared a glare at one another, Flash and Twilight's eyes darting between the two as Lace added, "I apologize for him not realizing your royal status. Stallions, am I right?"
Twilight slowly opened her mouth at this, "Well...I can understand his haste. I was about to break a law, though it's quite a confusing one."
"I'm guessing it's also against the law for me to enter your fair town?" Flash inquired.
"Finally," Lace groaned, "A stallion with brains."
"Well uh..." Twilight giggled before the two mares laughed.
Flash rolled his eyes with a smile while Woolly growled at this, "Like he would want to be anywhere near your overly girly town when he can spend all the time in the world in the stallionliest town Equestria." He threw his hooves around Flash's neck. "Come on bro, let me show you around." He began to drag Flash over to the building he had come out of, Lace gesturing to Twilight to follow her.
"Right this way princess. I'm sure the rest of the girls will be excited to meet you." Twilight followed after her, only to glance back at Flash.
He did the same, the two locking eyes and having a mental conversation one could only have with somepony they've known and trusted for years. "Try and get back here in an hour?"
"In an hour," Twilight silently replied, the two turning back to their new...friends as they were dragged into the houses.
Flash stared at the building, now seeing that Woolly wasn't kidding about the place being stallions only. Every inch of the place was filled with the kind of things one would only see in a colt's room. Posters from action movies and comics on the wall, cider signs and framed sports clothing and sports equipment beside them. There were tons of vending machines lining the walls, along with popcorn, nacho, and churro machines. Speakers systems were in every top corner, blasting out awesome rock music.
He spotted a bumper, pool, ping-pong and air-hockey table around the room and one corner was filled with arcade machines. Flash would have thought it was awesome, if not for the stains covering the walls and loose pieces of trash scattered along the floor.
"Hey guys!" Woolly yelled out to the multiple stallions using the facilities, "We got us a new stallion in town!" Everypony quickly turned and ran up to Flash, introducing themselves by slapping him on the back or hoof bumping. Once that was done, they asked what he was doing here.
"We actually got called here to find out what's going on in this town," he replied, "Apparently, you haven't been distributing your product like normal."
Several of the ponies all sighed. "Typical of a princess to come and try to spoil everything," one of the stallions sighed, "Why can't there be any male alicorns? They would get us."
Flash chose not to say anything at this, now remembering almost becoming that very alicorn a few months ago. But as this happened, Woolly placed his hoof around Flash's neck again, "My friend, we're still in a transitional period. You see, the sheep farms are all here in Stallimane. We can sheer all the sheep we want, but it's a manner of finding somepony who wants that wool."
"Can't you just sell it to the ponies that normally buys it?"
"Well...that's the thing," another stallion replied, "All our previous clients only want...yarn."
"So?"
"So, we can't make yarn," another responded, "Everything we need to make 'em is over in that girly town."
Another one nodded at this, "And even if we had what we needed to make it, making yarn is a mare's job. We only do stallionly jobs here in Stallimane."
Flash blinked at this, "Well that's a bit cliché. So you're saying any job you see as something mares are supposed to do...you don't do?"
"Now he's getting it," Woolly chuckled, patting Flash's back.
"And that includes...cleaning up?"
"Who wants to waste their time cleaning up?" One asked, "When we could be playing video games instead. I'm racing the new guy." With that, they pushed Flash to a couch with a console set up in front of it. Before Flash could say anything, he suddenly found himself racing against one of the stallions and being offered a drink from the mini-fridge and some pizza.
He had to admit though, this was kinda fun.
"Welcome to our mare's only paradise," Lace announced as she and Twilight walked into a large building full of mares.
The place was spotless, pink painted walls that were covered in fine art and many bookshelves. Calming classical music was being played by a record player that was perfect to listen to while reading. To Twilight, it was perfect...though she couldn't help but feel like it was a little...stuffy. Like all the excitement had been sucked out of the room.
"Girls, we have a special guest." Lace called out, everypony looking up from their books or knitting to see Twilight. And the moment they noticed her wings and horn, they shot up and one by one, Twilight was greeted with bows and hoof-shakes.
"Very nice to meet you all," Twilight replied, trying to give big smile, "I have to admit, this is a very nice place you have."
"You honor us princess," Lace commented while showing to over to a couch. "We have everything a mare could possibly need to survive in the stallion run world."
"I wouldn't really call it stallion run," Twilight responded before sitting down. "The rulers of this land are all mares after all."
"Maybe so, but most of the ponies in the royal court are stallions. And if enough of them agree, they can over turn any law the princesses can make." Twilight opened her mouth at this, but didn't say anything despite knowing that was true but didn't think that meant anything really. "Now princess, what brings you to our fair town? Come to see how amazing everything is when colts are taken out of the planning process?"
Twilight shook her head, "No. Princess Celestia sent me and Flash because apparently this town's product quota hasn't been fulfilled."
This caused Lace's smile to drop, sighing at this, "Yes, that has been a problem. Please tell the princess we're sorry, but we've been unable to fill that quota due to...circumstances."
"You mean the town's gender split?"
"No. That has had nothing but positives for us. We're talking about those ruffians across the border who refuse to sell us their wool."
Twilight raised an eyebrow as another mare explained, the unicorn pouring Twilight a cup of tea, "You see princess, Blinkermare has all the equipment needed to make all the yarn Equestria needs. But we've run out of the wool needed. And since the wool farm is on the stallion side of the border, we have no way to secure more."
"Can't you just buy more wool from someplace else?"
"We considered that," Lace replied, "But the closest place that produces wool is miles away, and the cost of buying and shipping it here over and over means we wouldn't even be able to break even on our best season."
"You could always buy some sheep and make the wool yourselves."
"Absolutely not!" Lace yelped, "Do you know how much dirt and sweat that would drench us in?! Sheering sheep is a stallion's job, and we mares will not partake in it."
"Well that's a bit old school," Twilight responded while taking a sip of the tea, "Mares can do anything a stallion can."
"Just because we can do all that stuff, doesn't mean we should have to." She gestured to several ponies that were either reading or knitting, several looking like they were having trouble doing the latter. "Some of these mares were once workers on the farms. Day in and day out they would toil away feeding, cleaning and shaving the sheep. And by the end of it, they were so exhausted that they didn't have the energy to do anything until the next day when they repeated the process."
"Sounds like normal farm work," Twilight added.
"Except the stallions didn't have this issue." Lace hissed, "They would work the same hours and do the same work, and afterwards they would still have the energy to do foalish things like play silly games or hit a ball on a table with a stick!"
"So...the stallions have more stamina than mares?" Twilight replied, "So what?"
"So why should they get to enjoy free time while the mares barely have the energy to walk home afterwards?!" Lace exclaimed before leaning up to the alicorn's face, "And do you know what those stallions said when we brought this up to them?! That maybe the mares shouldn't be doing as much work as them!"
Twilight leaned slightly back at this, "Well...they might not be wrong."
"Nonsense," Lace scoffed, waving a hoof, "The mares can do just as much work as any stallion. They just need to be doing the right work. That's why I had all the mare farmers quit their jobs and had them join us at the yarn factory."
"But won't that mean the farms are understaffed?"
"That's why I sent the stallions who worked at the factory to work on the farms." Lace smirked as she said that, Twilight trying to hide a frown as she heard those words. She then remembered back to the incident that resulted in her ascending into an alicorn, when Applejack was given Rarity's cutie mark. She doubted a pony used to working on a farm would have much luck doing something as delicate and refined as spinning yarn.
She also started to imagine what it would be like if Rarity had to work on Applejack's farm, the bookworm doubting Rarity could ever handle the more rough and tough jobs needed to be done on a farm. The alicorn let out a small gulp, "Are you sure doing that was a good idea?"
"Of course! This way the mares aren't exhausted, so they have the time to have fun reading or even trying new things they've never got to try before."
"But you still have the issue of not having any wool to make anything."
"Only temporary. Pretty soon those silly stallions will come to their senses and start selling us the wool. Then, Blinkermare will be truly independent." The rest of the mares cheered at this, the group offering Twilight more tea and biscuits. And despite the very serious situation, Twilight couldn't help but let the calm atmosphere of the place overwhelm her into a state of serene bliss.
"Go! Go! Go! Go! GOOOOO!" Woolly cheered as Flash overtook his last opponent before crossing the finish line. "YEAH!" He and the other stallions howled while his opponent looked away, pouting.
"Right on bro!"
"Thanks!" Flash laughed before another stallion offered him a fizzy soda. Flash took it and gulped half the drink down, only to suddenly burp before he had a chance to put his hoof over his mouth. The others heard this, staring at the defender as he slightly blushed, "Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about," Woolly chugged his own drink before letting out his own burp. The rest of the stallions did the same thing, everyone laughing once the round of belches came to an end. "Aaah..." Woolly laid back on the couch, "This is the life. With the mares gone, there's nothing to get in the way of us being who nature intended us to be."
"Slobs," another stallion added while the others cheered at that. Flash turned to the stallion that said, now seeing a disgusted look on his face...though that was possibly because he had just stepped in some cheese pizza somepony had dropped on the floor.
"Is being a slob really the best thing?" Flash asked, "I mean...it kinda smells in here."
"Smells like stallions," a pony yelled.
Flash turned to the kitchen, seeing a bunch of dirty plates in the sink with tons of flies over them, "And those bugs flying around can't be healthy."
"It's fine," one of the ponies exclaimed. "The bugs are helping us. They can eat all the leftover food and leave the plates free and clean."
"And possibly filled with eggs," Flash added.
"Those mares have really brainwashed yah," Woolly told him. "You're sounding just like Lace used too." He then started speaking in a high pitched voice, trying to mimic his wife. "Don't leave that plate in the sink. Clean it up and put it away. If those chips fall on the floor, don't eat 'em, throw them away! The floor isn't where your coat goes, hang it up!"
He and the others laughed, Flash blinking as he remembered Twilight telling him the same in the past. However, these thoughts made him stand up and slowly go over to the door. But as he did this, Wooly turned to him, "Hey, where're you going?"
"Err...just need to stretch my legs. Plus, I haven't seen...all of your amazing town yet."
"Oh!" Wooly replied, "Would you like me to show you around?"
Flash shook his head, "No, I'd rather see for myself and um...while I'm out, find out which of you is the best racer. I wanna play 'em when I get back." They all nodded and looked back at the game, letting Flash get outside.
Twilight was on her third cup of tea and had already gotten through half of her book. With no distractions and a surprisingly calm atmosphere, she was really getting into the reading groove. Not since her days studying in Canterlot had she been able to really focus on a book without needing to rush for fear of somepony interrupting her. But despite this, something seemed...off.
She looked up from the novel, seeing all the mares surrounding her were focused squarely on a book, knitting, drawing or whatever else was considered girly enough to be allowed. And because of that focus, none of them appeared to even be acknowledging the pony right beside them. None had said a word to one another in the near hour she had been there.
The sight made Twilight blink, remembering that when her and her female friends were hanging out, they would always be chatting when they were together. Even if they were doing things completely separate from what the other was doing, they would always be talking. Was ignoring each other considered mare-like or was it just a byproduct of living in this town?
The music was also starting the sound boring as well. Every song sounded almost exactly the same, the same melody, the same rhythm, the same shift in keys. There was no variety.
Twilight's gaze went around the room at this, catching one or two mares acting...differently. Unlike the other mares, who were sitting perfectly still as they focused on what they were doing, these ones were fidgeting. They kept shifting the way they were sitting, looking away slightly and even one of them yawning.
She had seen this many times before. Flash, Rainbow, Applejack and many of her other active friends would find certain work boring, unable to sit still as they needed something to keep them active. The 'phrase ants in their pants' was a fitting example of their current issue, knowing that if those mares didn't do something soon, they would likely go stir crazy.
Twilight shut her book and stood up, catching the mare's attention. "Princess? Is something wrong?"
"No," Twilight lied, "I just...need to continue my inspection so I can send a proper report to Princess Celestia."
"Of course," Lace replied as she began to stand up.
"No, no!" She told her. "I'd like to look around for myself without a guide. Help me draw my own conclusions. I'll come find you if I need any help."
"If that is what you wish," Twilight nodded before heading outside.
As she did this, she saw Flash stepping out of a building across the street. Both locked eyes, quickly trotting up to each other before going to the town's borders.
"So let me guess. Everything considered girly or un-stallion-like is banned?"
"Yup," Flash nodded. "And the mares over there refuse to do anything they see as uh...un-mare-like?"
"Unfeminine is the best word." Twilight sighed, "But it's all dialed up to eleven. It's like these towns have been thrown back a few hundred years to a time before any gender equality."
"Only instead of one gender forcing the stereotype on the other gender, they're forcing it on themselves. I guess Celestia was right about this place having a friendship problem."
"I'm not so sure," Twilight hummed, "I'd say this is more Cadance's field of expertise then us. Too bad she's not here. She could fix everyone with a single wave of her horn."
Flash's eyes shrunk at this, "Um...don't tell her this, but I've never been a big fan of her love magic." Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, "How is it any different from what Discord did to you girls when we met him? Like, remember when we were young? The three of us were walking through town when she noticed a couple arguing about something. She didn't know anything about their situation, but she just dove right in and used her magic on them."
"And it stopped them from arguing."
"But it didn't solve whatever problem they were arguing about," Flash pointed out. "I bet you anything the moment the magic wore off, they went right back to fighting."
"Maybe, but Cadance is a lot older now! She had just become a princess back then. Cadance would probably know how to fix this without resorting to magic, just like how most of our friendship missions are fixed."
Flash tilted his head at this, "Yeah...that is true. She did go a bit love crazy back then compared to now. You think her failing to put me and you together made her calm down her love magic?"
"Probably. Especially since magic doesn't work on you, that's why she did all that stuff like the-" Twilight stopped and shook her head, "We're going off topic! We need to figure this out Flash!"
"Sorry."
"Its fine." She put a hoof to her chin, "Now...I doubt she'd be able to come, mainly because I'm betting she wouldn't want to be away from Flurry too long."
"Yeah..." Flash turned to point at a smashed soda bottle on the ground, "And we can't just wait for her. If we don't do something soon, some of these stallions are gonna get really sick because they're not cleaning up after themselves."
"And a house is either gonna fall down or the grass on this side's gonna grow long enough that you could reenact a Viet-neigh scene."
"So what do we do?" Flash asked as he turned to the tree in the center of the line. A sign was also stuck in the ground, this one also on the border.
The seed of this tree was planted by the founders of our great town. May it stand forever as a monument to their love, which is what birthed this amazing community.
"We've got to find a way to help the mares and stallions see this is insane," Flash commented, Twilight nodding before the two hoof-bumped, breaking off and heading back to their gender's chosen houses.
"So..." Flash asked a few hours later, "What got you all to split off from the mares?"
He and three other stallions were tending to the sheep farm, herding them over to a padded fence filled with grass, one of the stallions looking up, "Oh, it was Woolly's idea."
"So what prompted this exodus?" Twilight added as she helped a few of the mares with cleaning the dishes while others were dusting.
"Ah, that." a mare who was drying replied, "It was Lace's idea to ban all stallions."
"He made us realize just how constricted we were with the mares around," another stallion explained to Flash as he came in while pulling a sheep dog behind him. "We work really hard all day, only to go home and have to do a bunch of chores that eat up the rest of our energy."
"Don't the mares have to do the same thing?" Flash asked.
"That's what we asked Woolly," another told him. "But then he brought up a good point. None of us cared that there were a few dirty dishes in the sink, so why should we waste time cleaning them?"
The stallion with the dog whistled, the animal running off to gather the stray sheep. "It's like this: If you wanted the ceiling of your house to have a mural on it, would it be your girlfriend's job to paint it?"
"No," Flash replied.
"Exactly!" the other stallion responded. "So if the mare doesn't want there to be any dirty dishes, then why is it suddenly our job to clean them?"
"You should have seen the graphs and pie charts she showed us," a mare said while Twilight was helping re-shelf some books. "Did you know that seventy-three percent of the waste Blinkermane put out in its last year came from stallions?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow, "That's a lot."
She nodded at this, "Exactly. And that thirty-eight percent of the recyclable waste was thrown in the trash. Do you realize what that means for our planet."
"I can understand that."
"And they have no intention of going through that trash and finding out what can and can't be recycled. It's always up to us mares. That's one of the reasons Lace suggested we get rid of the stallions. No stallions in Blinkermare, less waste created."
"But aren't you just shifting all that waste over to Stallimane?" She asked while passing her another book. "And if they're not going to sort the trash and the recyclables, doesn't that just mean there's gonna be even more trash than before?"
"Why should we have to clean up after them?" the mare shrugged, "If global warming destroys the world, we're making it clear that it wasn't our fault."
"It's like we're their slaves or something," a stallion sighed as Flash gave him some sheers. "If we're not doing something constructive, they automatically think we're wasting time. Every time I would sit down to try and play a game, she'd walk into the room and tell me about some new chore she wants me to do. It's like she waits until I'm comfortable and about to start playing before giving the job to me."
"It's like we're their mothers or something," a pegasus mare complained as she and Twilight vacuumed. "They can't think for themselves. The minute they finish a task, their brains switch off and then try to sit down and play those silly games. Then they get annoyed when we come in and tell them to do a job they should have realized needed doing. It's like talking to a six year old."
"We were going insane from all the work they were making us do."
As he said this, a loud scream caught their attention, all turning to see a pony being chased by a charging sheep. Flash saw it was the colt who had accidently stepped in the slice of pizza before, this one being a cream colored unicorn with white beneath his knees and running from between his eyes down to his nose. His mane and tail were a slightly light cream with strands of green, while his cutie mark was a ball of yarn.
"Help!" He yelled before Flash flew over and grabbed the sheep, allowing the young stallion to hide behind another.
"Geez Fibre," the stallion sighed while rolling his eyes, "What is this, the eighth time?"
"Sorry," he whimpered out, "I'm just...not used to them yet."
The stallion rolled his eyes again. "This is another thing Woolly made us realize. Fibre Stitch here used to work in the yarn factory, but all that time away from doing stallionly work has made him soft!"
"All those years letting the stallions treat us like maids, and that isn't even the worst part!"
She took Twilight over to another area of the building, the alicorn now seeing an etiquette class going on. There a brown earth pony mare with a short blond mane and tail that had a sheep cutie mark was trying to balance a book on her head, Twilight recognizing her as one of the mares she saw fidgeting as she read a book.
"Come on Harvest," another mare yelled, "Back straight!"
"This is hard!" She cried while trying to walk forward, only to lose her balance and drop the book on the floor.
"Blooming Harvest!" The mare barked, "Haven't you been practicing?"
"No," she whispered, looking away.
The mare from before pointed at the earth pony, "You see, that young one was working in the field until the split. She'd always come home muddy and exhausted and decide to cut her mane and tail so the sheep wouldn't get to it. She was more of a stallion than a mare, having absolutely no manners at all. But we helped liberate her from that work and now she can become a proper lady as she learns to spin yarn and walk properly."
"Thankfully, Woolly opened our eyes and helped us realize we didn't need any mares bossing us around and turning us into prissy wimps."
"Fortunately, Lace helped us realize the stallions were just holding us back and turning us into unrefined brutes."
"That's why we formed Stallimane."
"And so, Blinkermare was born."
Some time later...
Flash and Twilight were now sitting with their backs to the tree, making sure nopony could see they were talking to one another. "So by the sounds of things, Woolly and Lace are the ones responsible the town's split."
"Looks like it," Flash added, "By the sounds of things, they had some kind of big fight and that lead them to getting everypony to split between their genders. So if we wanna fix everything, we need to find a way to get them to make up."
"Good luck with that," Twilight sighed, "By the sounds of it, Lace isn't happy about all the trash and filth Woolly leaves behind."
"Same. According to him, Lace isn't a picnic to live with either." As Flash said this, he spotted one of the stallions tiphoofing around. It was Fibre Stitch, the young stallion carefully drifting from building to building. He had yet to notice Flash, leaning up against walls as he dodged passing stallions.
"That looks suspicious." Twilight commented as she saw the stallion as well, both now seeing him enter the woodlands. They shared a glance before going into the forest, Flash going first before Twilight joined a little later, making sure both weren't seen together.
Both let out a sigh as they now got the chance to stand side by side, now noticing some broken twigs. "Looks like he went this way." Flash commented as they continued through the woods. As they did this, a certain noise made both prick up their ears. They knew the sound from their own experiences, slight blushes on their faces. Pushing past some thick tree leaves, they found they were right as they came across Fibre Stitch making out with the mare Twilight knew as Blooming Harvest.
The motion of Flash and Twilight moving the branches caught the two's attention, making them pull away and turning to the duo. Both were wearing full blushes, Fibre whimpering, "Oh...its you. Um...uh..."
"Hey there." Flash slowly replied, raising a hoof.
Fibre flashed a hoof in front of Harvest, the mare slightly hiding behind him, "Um...please don't tell anypony!"
Twilight and Flash shared a glance, only for Harvest to blurt out, "Yeah! Especially not Lace or Wooly!"
The duo bit their lips at this, Twilight replying, "Don't worry, we won't. But uh...why are you out here?"
Fibre sighed and looked away, "You've seen how everypony is. The insane idea they've all started following about mares and stallions being separated."
"If anypony found out we were meeting like this, we'd be in serious trouble."
"Why?" Flash asked, "Why does it matter that you two clearly care about one another?"
"Anypony caught fraternizing with a pony of the opposite gender is seen as a traitor," Fibre gulped.
"We're not the only ponies who don't believe in this stupid ideal of Woolly and Lace," Harvest added, "So instead of being forced apart, they just left the town."
"But you didn't?" Twilight asked.
"This is our home," Fibre responded, "No matter how messed up it gets, we don't want to leave it. Although, I do wish I could go back to my real job at the yarn factory. It might not be not be very stallionly to say, but sheep freak me out. And I hate living in that pigsty the others created."
"And I'm so sick of all those etiquette lessons," Harvest growled. "I don't want to be able to balance a book on my head, I wanna do an honest day's work for once. Just because I got a little dirty, I'm suddenly not allowed to work on the farm with those cute little sheep. And all that cleaning we have to keep doing....what is this, the early Celestia era?!"
Flash let out a chuckle at this, "Heh...it is kinda weird." They all turned to him. "You love sheep while you're terrified of them and you hate cleaning while you can't stand things being filthy. You're almost the exact opposites, but you still care about each other enough to sneak off."
"Of course," Fibre nodded. "Harvest might be a little messy, but she's also a lot of fun to be around."
"And Fibre might be a little uptight at times, but he's also really reliable and caring."
They smiled at one another, making Flash and Twilight smile back as well. Twilight did a small nod at this as she chimed in, "You're right." the couple glanced back at her, "Me and Flash here are the same way. He may be messy and plays his music way to loud sometimes, but he's brave, caring and his determination is something I really admire."
"Same," Flash laughed. "Twilight spends way to much time with her nose in a book and she's really quick to go to the worst case scenario. And sure, she can be a little uptight and strict...almost to an infuriating degree. She also has a tendency to fixate on things to the point of driving herself insane, causing headaches for me and the ponies around her at times, and-"
"Please get to the point!" Twilight hissed, causing them all to laugh.
"My point," He skillfully slung his wing around the alicorn, pulling her into a hug, "Is that despite all that, she's an amazing mare to be around, and I wouldn't be who I am without her."
Twilight returned the hug before looking back at the town, "A lot of couples find happiness in having so many things in common, but it's the differences that truly make them special." She turned back to the couple, "Being different can also be a key part of a relationship. Whether it's a friendship, romantic or even work relationship, being different from that pony means the two of you can learn to grow and change."
"But none of these ponies want to change," Flash commented, crossing his hooves, "They're happy staying who they are, even if it means losing ponies they loved." His smile vanished as he asked the young couple, "How did those two do this?"
"Well...things weren't always like that," Fibre replied, "It wasn't until Lace and Woolly starting having troubles that the problem started. Woolly would keep complaining and complaining about things Lace made him do and while the others comforted him...and then they started seeing the same problems with their relationships."
Harvest looked away at this, "The same thing happened with Lace. The mares heard her complaining and started getting more short tempered about their stallion's behavior. Soon enough, almost everypony was arguing."
"And that led to the split?" Twilight asked, the two nodding. "So if we can help Woolly and Lace make amends, then maybe everypony else will see reason and the two towns can return to being one."
"How?" Harvest asked with a raised eyebrow. "What are you gonna do, trick them into having a romantic dinner and get them to remember that they love each other?!"
Twilight bit her lip at this, "True. That would be a good solution...but both have gone to the extreme for this. We need something stronger to make them realize."
Flash closed his eyes at this, only for a bulb to go off in his head, "I've got it." the others turned to him as he opened his eyes, "This idea sounds crazy, but hear me out."
The sun was starting to set when Flash and Fibre arrived at the stallion's hangout. When they walked into the building, they both had to duck in order to avoid a flying slice of pizza. They then rolled forward, avoiding some donut shurikens before jumping behind an upturned table to dodge several baguette javelins. There they found Woolly filling a slingshot with frozen peas.
He turned to them, "Ah, there you two are! Where yah been?! You've been missing an awesome food fight!"
"Nowhere special," Flash replied, "But we are glad you haven't eaten." He took out a blindfold, "We've got a surprise for you." This made Wooly raise an eyebrow, only to shrug as Flash told him it was 'stallion surprise'. Happily letting them blind him, he called a halt to the chaos so they could leave the room.
"So where're we going?" He asked as Flash and Fibre pushed him through the town.
"You'll see. Just keep your eyes closed and don't say anything until we get there."
And as they drew closer to the border, the un-blindfolded ponies saw Twilight and Harvest leading an equally blindfolded Lace Blinker toward them. They got closer and closer to the tree, right as Twilight sparked her horn and caused a clothed table to appear on the line with a pair of chairs sitting opposite one another. The two blinded ponies were sat down before Twilight and Fibre took off the blindfolds.
"SURPRISE!" The four yelled as the two stared at one another, both going wide-eyed at the sight.
"What is he/she doing here!" They yelled while trying to stand up, only for a magic aura to cover both, keeping them locked in place.
"Hang on there! You two aren't going anywhere just yet!" Flash yelled as flew above them both, turning to glare at both towns as the stallions and mares began to exit the buildings. "Same with the rest of you! Stay where you are! Please!"
"He's right! Just hear us out!" Twilight added before walking between Lace and Wooly, "I know your towns aren't getting along right now, and as the princess of friendship, it's my duty to help solve that issue. That's why we've set up this meeting." She sparked her horn again, this time summoning several lit candles as the light from the sun grew weaker. "Simply eat one meal together and try to work out your differences."
The two glared at one another, Lace turning to Twilight as the alicorn glared back at her. A silent nod came next, making Lace let out a long sigh, "Well, if the princess believes this is a good idea, then I'll be a grownup and give it a try."
"Ha!" Woolly barked, "Well, I'm even more of a grownup! Alright, let's do this!" Fibre and Harvest let out silent sighs of relief as Twilight teleported away, returning a few seconds later carrying two platters of food.
"I asked around and learned you're both a big fan of this recipe." She placed the platters down as Fibre walked up to them with two glasses and a bottle of fine wine.
"Would you care for a glass?" Lace nodded while Woolly glared at the drink, only to sigh as he did a small nod. Fibre slowly poured him a drink, Lace glaring at the stallion's reaction.
While this happened, Harvest leaned up and whispered to Twilight, "Are you sure this is gonna work?"
"Well, I asked around and this is how their first date went, including the meal."
"Hopefully we can spark some old embers of romance between them," Flash added, "And if it doesn't work, we go to plan B."
"You mean plan bomb," Harvest gulped, "Since that's a good chance it could blow up in our faces." They watched as the pair removed the dome covering off the top of their meals before their eyes went wide. The meals consisted of mashed potato filled with cheese and onion, along with a side order of beans and a fried egg.
"That's what they ate one their first date?" Fibre asked, "Not very romantic."
Twilight giggled at this, "To be fair, me and Flash had ramen on our first date, and I was already a princess at that point." Fibre and Harvest went wide-eyed at this as she continued, "I mean, that's not romantic, but the food still reminds me of the time."
"Same," Flash chimed in. "And it looks like they feel the same way."
Everypony turned to the two, seeing them focus on the food, their eyes filled with memories of times long ago. "Been a while since I had this," Lace commented as she dug into the food. "It's such a messy dish."
"And it takes forever to cook," Woolly added, both taking a first bite. And as they did this, they sighed at the taste and continued eating.
The sight made the four smile, Twilight whispering, "That's a good start."
"Now for phase two," Flash commented before flying up and sitting on one of the tree's branches, the pegasi seemingly pulling out an acoustic guitar from out of nowhere.
"Where'd he get that guitar?" Fibre asked as Flash began playing a calm song. Woolly and Lace heard this and looked up, seeing Flash and smiling at the music. They ate together as other ponies walked outside of their houses, all now hearing the music.
Woolly let out a sigh, "This takes me back."
"Yes..." Lace replied, nodding, "The two of us, here, eating this food."
"Yeah..." Woolly whispered as he glanced up at the tree they were under. Lace followed his gaze, both feeling memories surface at the sight.
"Why was this tree so special?" Lace asked, Wooly shrugging. But as he did this, Lace clapped her hooves, "Oh, that's right! Now I remember...it was because of your father."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do! You getting yelled at by your father because you carved my name into one of the branches with a heart around it."
"I did not," he barked back.
"I bet it's still there."
Flash heard this and looked away, now spotting an old carving in the bark of a larger branch that had the words 'Lace Ivory' carved into it. Flash couldn't help but smile at the sight.
The 'date' continued for several long minutes, the pair eating slowly while talking to one another. Lace let out a sigh as she started cutting up the egg. "I admit, this has been fun. Most fun I've had in a long while."
"Yeah..." Woolly added, nodding, "And I gotta admit, I missed the intelligent conversations."
Lace smiled as she took a bite. "It's strange. I've spent the last few weeks saying I'm better of without you, but now that I'm spending time with you..."
"You're only now realizing you missed me?" Lace nodded, "Me too."
And as if something in their heads clicked, they looked around at the divided town before bursting out laughing.
"What have we done?"
"I know," Woolly folded his egg up. "We must have been completely mental." With that, he shoved the whole thing into his mouth. This made Lace's laughter die down as he chewed the mouthful, bits of the egg yok dribbling out. She couldn't help letting out a sigh, catching Woolly's attention before speaking with his mouth full. "What?"
"I know you have a big mouth, but that isn't a license to try and stuff as much food as you can in it."
Woolly rolled his eyes as he swallowed, "Here we go. You just can't help yourself, can you?"
"Excuse me?!" Lace yelped, frowns now appearing on the others' faces at this.
"Pointing out every little thing wrong with me. You just can't leave it be."
"Well excuse me for wanting you to be the best version of you that you can be."
"Why does everything have to be perfect with you?!" Woolly yelled while slamming his hooves into the table.
"Why can't you ever try and improve yourself?" Lace hissed before let out a 'hmph' and looking away, "When you were younger, all these annoying little habits were okay because I thought you'd grow out of them. But instead you've actually gained more of them."
"Oh please, like you haven't gotten worse-"
"I haven't! I'm still as I was back then." Lace interrupted before pointing at the stallion, "Its you that's gotten worse. What happened to the stallion I loved back then? Why did he become a slob?!"
Wooly crossed his hooves at this, hissing out, "I've always been like that. I've never changed, meaning that stallion you loved was something you thought I would become." He looked away at this, "You know what, I just remembered why Stallimane doesn't need any annoying mares in it."
"And you've only reaffirmed to me that Blinkermare would be better without you disgusting stallions!"
"Why you-"
Flash and Twilight shared a glance at, both nodding as they knew it was time for plan b. "Alright then," Twilight yelled, getting both ponies' attention, "Before you two decide to go into a full argument, I'm going to solve this problem right now!"
Before either could react, she summoned a scroll on the table between them, unfurling as she gave the two quills. "This is a document for divorce. Simply sign here and it'll fix everything."
This made both go wide-eyed, the rest of the town gasping as Lace stuttered out, "D-d-divorce?!"
"Why?! Wait...you have that kind of power?!" Woolly yelped.
"As a princess, I hold as much legal right as any judge. And since neither of you want to be around one another, I see no reason you should remain married." She placed an ink pot on the table. "Now if you'll just sign here, we can make it official."
The two shared a glance, unmoving at the command the princess had given them. As they did this, Flash hopped off the tree and landed beside the princess as he spoke up, "Don't just stand there. You two are responsible for what's happening in this town. This will separate the town for good, just like you two want."
Wooly and Lace shared another glance, as if asking if this was what the other wanted. They then dipped the quills into the pot, moving over to the paper...only to stare at it. Everypony saw them freeze up, the quills shaking as ink splattered onto the document.
And in unison they both pulled away and yelled, "I can't do this!"
Twilight and Flash shined big smiles at this as both froze and looked at each other in shock, the princess asking, "Why not? If you can't stand to be in the same as one another-"
"Separating from him is one thing," Lace interrupted, twiddling her hooves, "But..."
"I don't want to lose her," Woolly finished. "I...can't lose her."
They stared at each other at this, for Harvest to speak up, "Why do you two get to stay together if we have to be apart?" They turned to her, watching as she and Fibre stood side by side.
While this happened, Flash glanced at both towns, "She's right. How many more of you are regretting letting yourself get swept up in these two's argument?"
Everypony shared several glances, all having minor mental conversations. And as they did this, Twilight stepped up to the pair. "If you can't be apart from one another, what right do you have to separate others?" Woolly and Lace looked away at this, only to hear Twilight tap the table with her hoof. And as they glanced back, she asked, "Do you want to stay married?"
"Yes," they both said in unison.
"Then you've got to work past these issues, Consider this your wake-up call." Twilight told them before turning to Lace. "You've got to accept that he is who he is. He decides the kind of pony he wants to be." She then glanced over to Woolly. "And you've got to grow up and act your age at least some of the time. Washing a dish isn't going to kill you."
"Heck, it'll probably save your life in the long run." Flash added. "Trust me on that one."
Twilight's gaze shifted between the two. "So what's it gonna be?! Are you gonna keep acting like foals, or are you going to put aside your pride and agree to try and accept the little things about them that annoy you?! Because as much as you hate those things, it's clear you hate being apart even more."
Woolly and Lace shared one last look, both thinking the same thing. And then, both stood up from their chairs and passed the line so both were standing in the other's town. "I have missed you," Lace told her husband.
"And I've missed you," he replied before the two kissed one another. This caused the other members of the town to cheer while others crossed the line to be with the one they loved. Twilight and Flash smiled at one another, Flash pulling Twilight close with his wing.
Twilight then sparked her horn and in a flash, the white paint separating the town vanished. Stallimane and Blinkermare were gone, with Blinkermane in its place.
The next day...
It was amazing what a single day could do to change a place.
As soon as the mares and stallions made up, they got to work fixing their damaged town. The stallions began cleaning up their side of the border, Twilight swearing she speed counted almost a thousand trash-bags while the mares cut the grass and fixed the houses. All the wool that had been sheered without selling had been sent over to the factory, and soon enough, it was turning out ball after ball of yarn.
And as this happened, the mares and stallions spent time discussing ways to improve their relationships, what they were willing to let slide and what they really wanted the other to improve on. It was difficult for everypony, but compromises were being made.
Now Flash and Twilight stood side by side, under the archway leading into the town. The two signs had been removed and replaced with a single sign showing the town's true name. "Well..." Twilight said to the two couples they had gotten to know well, "It's time we were off."
"Thank you for all you've done," Lace replied.
"Sorry for making you have to come out here," Woolly added.
"It's no problem," Twilight assured them.
"Just remember there are other ways of dealing with relationship issues," Flash chimed in, "Maybe you should see a relationship counsellor or something. Maybe have one move here, as I think they'll get a lot of business."
"We'll look into it," Fibre said as Flash and Twilight gave the group one last nod before turning away.
"Goodbye!" Harvest yelled as they waved goodbye, Flash and Twilight mirroring the action. And once they were out of sight, the two let out a two long sighs.
"Well, that was an unexpected adventure," Flash moaned.
"I'm just glad we were able to fix everything," Twilight added before coming to a stop. Flash did the same, seeing his lover turn to him, "Flash, I want you to promise something for me. Promise me that if I start doing anything that really, really annoys you, you'll tell me. Don't keep it locked up. Tell me about it."
Flash smiled and nodded, "Okay, but only if promise the same thing. If I do anything you absolutely despise, tell me. Even if you think I'll get upset."
"Promise," Twilight replied before they shared a kiss. And as this loving motion was done, she let out a giggle, "Though...are you asking me to make a list?"
"No." Flash deadpanned, both then laughing out loud at this. And as they continued on, the defender then asked, "By the way, I didn't ask before cause we had other issues, but can you legally divorce somepony if they signed a document?"
Twilight did a small shrug, "I have no idea. I'll look into it later...but I do know I can legally marry somepony. I wonder who my first wedded couple will be?" The two hopped onto the train as they began talking about which of their friends would be the first to tie the knot, all the while wondering about a possible future in which they were standing at the aisle.
But something like that was a long ways off for them...right?