//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Sparkle 
// by EquineWhoDoesStuff 
//------------------------------//

I had very sheepishly asked if it was alright to wear my gala dress to the party. My dress. Wow, it feels very strange that that is a true statement, it feels very… something. I like it though. When I asked, Rarity practically tried strapping me into it then and there. At this point I think she might just enjoy dressing me up like a doll. I suppose she feels the same about everypony else too, but directed at me it is admittedly a little flustering. 
“And there we go darling! Perfect!” Rarity says, stepping back from me as I fidget nervously.
“This is alright?” I ask, turning this way and that, making the dress sway as I look down at myself.
“You look beautiful,” She says, looking at me excitedly.
And I mean… What do I make of that?! As difficult as it is to believe, she just keeps saying it! Maybe she’s just being generous with me. “Ok,” I say.
She ushers me downstairs into the main library, and I couldn’t feel more self conscious walking down the steps. Above me the banner reads ‘Dusk Is Non-Binary Celebration Party’, even though everypony in attendance already knows about it.
My friends are all gathered around the table, they turn and look up at me. Fluttershy is smiling, a hoof to her mouth and eyes shining. Applejack seems relieved, an easy smile on her face. Pinkie Pie gasps, breaking out into a grin of excitement that seems to grow perpetually. Spike gives an excited one dragon round of applause. Rainbow Dash stares, eyes very wide, before attempting to regain her composure and letting out a long whistle. I’m stuck between blushing and smiling and rolling my eyes, so I just look down and trot down the rest of the stairs.
“You look amazing Dusky!” Pinkie says, bounding over and hugging me. 
“Thank you.” I say, a little stunned but still smiling. It’s silly, but the hugging feels less awkward now. I’m their friend, it’s ok to get hugged. I breathe. With difficulty. Pinkie’s hug is really tight actually! “Uh, Pinkie, could you actually let me go now?”
“Awww! But you’re such a good snuggle toy!”
“Pinkie!”
“Okkkkkkkk, fine~” She says, releasing me.
The others start to walk over, and soon we’re all chatting. And the party starts in earnest.  It doesn’t end up being very different from our usual parties, at least not for everypony else. For me, I find myself being much less… guarded. There’s so much I had been stopping myself from expressing. 
“I’m sorry my mane is a little disheveled, there was some fuss with my little animal friends before I got here,” Fluttershy says, running a hoof through her mane nervously.
I smile. “Oh! No, Fluttershy. Your mane is always so wonderful and soft! Any mess is just evidence of how hard you work taking care of animals, it just makes you look even nicer!”
Fluttershy blushes, glancing down. “Oh t-thank you Dusk.”  The fact that I made Fluttershy blush is kind of mortifying. But she’s my friend, and I like her. I’m not trying to get anything out of her, I’m just telling her what I feel is true. There’s nothing weird about that right?
Luckily for me I’m saved by Rarity, who saunters over with a glass of punch. “Oh I must agree darling, you could be clad in nothing but rags and twigs, and you would still be a vision of inner radiance!” 
It was maybe not so lucky for Fluttershy, who just blushed even harder and made an adorable squeaking noise. Poor mare, am I a bad pony for finding that cute too?
The conversations moved on, and minutes turned into hours. Until the sun set and one by one my friends departed, giving their goodbyes and their final congratulations. All but two, the party mistress herself and one Rainbow Dash. Spike went to bed a while ago, and is happily snoozing upstairs.
Pinkie is taking down and storing various decorations from the party. I offered to help, but she declined. That might be for the best though, because I’m not quite sure where she’s putting them after she takes them down.
Rainbow Dash is currently sitting on the other side of the couch from me. I’m turned toward her, showing her the guest book I’d prepared for this party, now sporting signatures and small messages from everypony and dragon except the mares who had yet to depart.
“Wow,” Dash draws out the word, smirking at me, “You are such an egghead. Of course you had to make a book for a party.” I want to rebut, but Rainbow cuts me off. “Hey Pinks! Check it out, Dusk made a guest book for the party. It’s got everypony but us now.” She calls over her shoulder to Pinkie, who’s still bouncing between decorations.
“Oooh! Lemme see!” Pinkie says, plopping down on the seat next to me. That was fine, until she scooted over to get a better look, pressing me in-between Rainbow Dash and her. They’re both so close to me I can barely move without touching even more of my body against theirs. The shimmery fabric of my dress is too sheer to provide any real barrier. I try my best to ignore the feeling of their warmth and their coats brushing against me, so I find myself staring very straight ahead. Pinkie peruses the guest book.
I was going to say something, right? C’mon Dusk, you’re great at t-thinking things! All kinds of really important smart things! “Well. Um,” I say eloquently.
Pinkie shifts, leaning in. “What was that Dusky?”
A shiver passes through my whole body. Our cutie marks are touching. Our cutie marks are touching our cutie marks are touching!! Aaaaaaa! 
The flanks of these two mares are pressed against mine and they’re acting so calm! Ok. Ok, I’ve lost my train of thought from earlier, but I’ve got to say something! I guess I could— Ah. “Rainbow Dash, I actually had a question for you.”
“Oh? Sure, I’ll hoof over some of my incredible wisdom,” She says, leaning back in the seat, which puts her face a little further from mine at least.
"Well... why did you start calling me a girl, just like that?" I ask tentatively. 
Rainbow responds, grinning. "I thought you were kinda hot, so no way you were cis."
That! That isn’t right at all, oh my goodness! “Rainbow Dash! That is a completely irresponsible way of judging somepony’s gender—
A beat.
“ —Wait, you think I’m hot?” I squawk out, interrupting my own lecture. “But I’m a— But you’re a lesbian!”
“Yeah, and you aren’t exactly a stallion, are ya sparkles?” She says, rubbing a hoof over the sparkly fabric of my dress’s cowl, “No reason lesbians can’t be into enby ponies.”
Pinkie makes a squeeing noise, chiming in from way too close to me “Dashie’s right!” I don’t understand why Pinkie’s so excited by this. Dash means like, theoretically hot, in a friend kind of way! She must! Like the way me and Rarity say Fluttershy is pretty. Because we’re friends! That wouldn’t make any sense! But still, that— Why is she saying that while she’s sitting so close to me? My cheeks are on fire. I can’t seem to look at her, but I also can’t seem to look away. As my blush deepens her smirk grows, until she’s grinning smugly at me. I say, “Is that— Is that really the whole reason?”
“Does it matter? My guess was pretty close!” She says. I suppose it was, but still! Rainbow must’ve seen my frustrated expression and taken pity on me.
"Okay, fine. When we first met, I thought 'oh, who's this twinky little guy?' and when I learned you were just a huge dorky egghead, I figured I should look out for you. You know, take you under my powerful lesbian wing."
I blush furiously. “T-twinky?"
Pinkie throws a hoof around me, putting the mare even closer to me, “You were pretty twinky as a stallion, but I think you’re even cuter now! More you!” 
“Yeah.” Rainbow agrees. “Like, you’re way sexier when you stop hiding yourself all the time.” She looks away, seeming like she’s contemplating something. “And, like…” she trails off.
I blink, curious. “Like what…?”
“Nah, nothing.” She grins at me. But now I know she’s hiding something, and not very well, she never does.
“It doesn’t sound like nothing, Rainbow Dash.” I prod.
Pinkie plops her head right on my shoulder, speaking over to Rainbow, “Yeah Dashie~! We embarrassed Dusky enough that fair is fair!”
Wait, they were doing that on purpose? Why— No, not getting distracted right now. Rainbow Dash has always made me want to discover, to see, made me want to pry her open and see what’s inside, and this is that chance. Rainbow is staring at us, like she wasn’t expecting this turn of events. “Rainbow Dash.” I stretch out her name, saying it a little chidingly. 
She looks at me strangely, then rolls her eyes. “I don’t know. You kinda reminded me of Fluttershy. Not your personality, you were pretty cool for a nerd or whatever. I mean it felt like you needed somepony by your side.” Her voice gets wistful, unsure. “And that night with the Elements… it was… you were… there was something special about you.” She looks away, blushing. “Or something. I don’t know!”
Something wells up inside me at the sight of her like that. “It sounds like you do know Rainbow Dash. You think I’m special.” My snark turns into something else as it leaves my mouth. With every word her eyes grow wider. I lean in closer, moving into her space this time. “Now what does that mean?” 
She stammers, eyes flicking to me and away. “It’s— I— I can’t make the words all pretty like you.” 
It’s uncoiling like a snake, in my heart, in my blood. The disgusting part of myself that I keep safely locked away from my friends. But Rainbow Dash looks so vulnerable. And I— I want this, I want her. 
I reach out a hoof, it feels like it belongs to somepony else. But at the same time, it feels so real. My hoof reaches under Rainbow’s chin, guiding her head over to look me in the eyes. “I believe in you Rainbow. Say it. I want to hear it.” I can’t believe I’m doing this I cannot believe I’m doing this what’s happening—
Something tense inside Rainbow seems to relax at my touch and command, she makes a little gasping noise. Oh! Oh. Pretty.
She speaks, just barely meeting my eyes, “You know that spark thing you talked about, with the elements. I saw it in you, I felt it. I wanted to be near you, to see that again,” Her voice is soft, almost reverent. Then she blushes furiously and looks away, pulling away from my hoof ”And I don’t get that way about Stallions! So there! That’s why.” She says, crossing her forelimbs firmly and turning away.
The spell is broken.
The hyperreality of the situation fades, and I become self conscious of myself again. Finally looking away from Rainbow Dash, I see Pinkie.
Pinkie’s looking between me and Rainbow like we’re her favorite and most entertaining show, a look of pure delight and glee on her face. She giggles. Why would the way I was talking to Rainbow— I struggle to understand why she found it exciting. 
Rainbow Dash takes back my attention, with a  question for me this time.
“Why were you so curious about it anyway? Are you that desperate to be my marefriend~?”
“M-marefriend—?” My eyes go very wide.
“Ah sorry, just teasing ya. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna call you a mare if it bothers you.”
“I… I never said it bothered me, per say.”
Rainbow slowly raises an eyebrow. “Does it?”
“Well, I mean, I don’t exactly have a big enough sample size to tell! “ I rub one foreleg with the other. “I don’t exactly get called a mare all the time, you know? That would be a pretty good problem to have!”
Rainbow stares at me with amusement. “Dusk. Is that what this whole fucking conversation has been about? You wanting me to call you a girl again?” 
“N-no! That would be silly!” I protest.
Rainbow looks at me, tilts her head in consideration, and then says, “Nah.” The teasing tone is gone. “I don’t think it is silly.” She puts her hoof over mine, and I’m too stunned to do anything. “I think that’s actually a pretty cool and reasonable thing to ask for. An awesome pony like me would make sure you were safe, if you did want that.” 
She squeezes my hoof reassuringly. “So, Dusk. Do you want me to call you a mare again?”
Hearing it makes me want to melt, so is that a yes? Do I want that? I want her to keep looking at me like this. I—
“I— well, I mean I don’t think I could! It would be far too soon and a little disrespectful”
“Disrespectful?” Pinkie sounds baffled “Why is that?”
“Well, this is a non-binary coming out party! And well, you know, some ponies view being non-binary as merely a phase, or a transitional stage. I don’t want to abandon what I have and reinforce that stereotype!” I flounder a little, feeling like my explanations are falling short. 
“I just. Don’t want to do anything bad.” I sigh.
Pinkie disappears from my side, and springs up from underneath me. “The first thingie is easy! You, know parties are pretty super important—” and squishes my cheeks. “but not nearly as important as the ponies the parties are for!!” She says, and gets up, moving away from the couch and rooting around for something. She finally produces a long cloth from somewhere. She bounces up and pins it directly underneath the main party banner. On the new cloth was a subtitle, which made the full banner now read. “Dusk Is Non-Binary Celebration Party; Now featuring extra fun miscellaneous gender exploration!”
“See! Now it’s official! You’d be doing exactly what the party is for!” Pinkie bounces back to me, smiling. “And the second thingie? Sorry Dusky, but that might be the silliest excuse I’ve heard in a long time! And I know silly! You can’t disrespect your own gender, it’s there to make you happy! Not the other way around! Besides, it’s not like you have to give up being non-binary to try out being a mare!”
“Yeah, c’mon, relax. You’re already wearing a dress, like, right now.  It won’t be anything bad, it’s just some words. I heard you like those or something!”
This is— This is really happening, they’re offering it, asking me for it. Oh wow. Right, ok sure. I just have to get my beating heart to understand that it’s just words, terms of gender expression. Because it feels like I’m going to drown in molten honey, sweetness and choking anxiety mixing inside me. 
But. I believe my friends. I believe them when they say there isn’t anything to worry about. 
“I do. Like words.” I swallow. “Ok. Yes. Uh. P-please try calling me a mare.”
I’m pressed back into the couch and Rainbow is leaning a little bit above me. She looks me in the eyes, really looks at me, and like it’s the most natural thing in the world, says, “Hey girl.”
“Hey.” It comes out as a sharp intake of breath.
“You’re a pretty cute mare, huh?”
Aaaahgh— What? I— that— I— 
What comes out my mouth is similarly coherent, somewhere between a sigh and an Eeeep, accompanied by furious blushing. I just— She’s talking about me. She’s talking about me. And she’s looking at me so— Aaah!!
“Wow. Woooowww.” Rainbow Dash is grinning. “That’s really all it takes, huh?” She takes a hoof, and puts it on the side of my head, smiling wickedly at me. 
I’m about to ask what she’s doing through the haze of blush but then Rainbow just looks at me and says, “Mare.” I shrink into myself, squeaking and looking away. Except her hoof gently blocks my head from turning, so the result is just me weakly pressing my head into her hoof, trying to dodge her gaze. But she’s so close that nowhere I look is free of those burning magenta eyes. 
“R-rainbow Dash!” It sounds whiney even to me.
“What do you mean? I’m just doing what you asked and calling you a mare.” She smirks “Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” I cough. “I mean, uh, not yet.” I’m facing Rainbow on the couch, trying to act casual with my hindlegs curled in front of me.
“Hey Pinkie, you see this mare right here—” Rainbow leans in, putting a hoof down on my chest fluff. “She’s really pretty, huh?”
“She sure is~” Pinkie replies. I meep, leaning back as she leans in. Except in my current state, I failed to register that Pinkie had gotten back onto the couch behind me. So when I lean back, instead of laying back on the couch, I am now laying back on Pinkie pie’s stomach. She’s laying back against the side rest, with my head now on her chest. Oh my goodness she is so soft, oh wow, can I just stay here forever—
Oh Celestia I’m on her stomach my back is touching so much of her! I freeze, waiting for her to tell me to get off.
“Ooooh, Dashie! Look what I found!” She says, wrapping her hooves around me. “Can I keep her?” She makes puppy dog eyes at Dashie, and despite the silliness it makes me blush.
Pinkie is holding me and snuggling me like a large stuffed animal “Pinkie…” I say, squirming a little. “I’m not a pet!”
“Well not with that attitude, you won’t be!” Then Pinkie starts giggling. 
Dash chuckles as well, leaning over me, and with that I’m firmly sandwiched between the two mares. I could just move! I could just get up right now and stop this! That’s what I should definitely do, as a responsible friend!
Rainbow smiles at me. “Hey~ Seems like you make a pretty good mare, huh?”
Good… mare? The rest of the sentence evaporates in favor of burning those two words into my mind. I whimper. But not in a bad way— It isn’t like anything I’ve felt before. Rainbow Dash lights up at the noises, spurred on. She reaches down and runs her hoof from my withers around to my neck. And it feels real in a way little has before, it’s like I’m here. Really here. As she does it she says, “Good mare.” and again. ”Good mare.” Each repetition brings a new and interesting noise from me, which just makes the delight on her face grow. While Pinkie’s breath on the back of my neck is making my coat stand on end.
Rainbow Dash is staring down at me, and softens. Instead of her usual teasing expression there’s something else. Something I can’t explain or categorize. She looks at me and says, “Can I kiss you?”
I look around frantically, confused. Dash laughs softly, “Yeah sparkles, I’m talking to you.” She’s looking at me like I’m something precious.
What. 
My endocrine system goes into full emergency mode, convinced I’m about to die, or burst into flames. “But Pinkie’s r-right here!”
Pinkie gives me a little squeeze. “Trust me, ol’ Pinkie Pie is fine with it~”
This doesn’t make any sense. “Wha— Why?” I ask Rainbow.
She puts her hooves on either side of my head. “Because you’re beautiful,” She says simply.
”I— Aah— Yes!" I squeak, then softer, “Yes."
Dash leans closer than my mind can comprehend. My heart is beating. I feel Rainbow's thighs on top of me, lean and solid, while Pinkie's thighs cradle me from below, soft and warm, and the gentle pulse of her breathing, and I feel the frizzy hair pushing up around my shoulders, and the tickle of feathers as Rainbow Dash's body closes with mine, and hooves cradling my head, and I feel—
—Lips on mine. A tingle of electricity—
—And that's... about it, actually. I had expected the kiss part, our lips touching, to be what felt good. That is nice, I mean Celestia I can taste her. But what's intoxicating is Rainbow Dash being as close as she possibly can. Feeling her against me, all around me. I want her, more of her. I press myself against her needily.
Then all too soon, we pull apart, both of us panting. My ego is hazy, forgotten in sensation and body and emotion. I expect the need to be assuaged. But it's still there, unable to be hidden once revealed, a facade shattered. I want her just as bad, I want all of her, I want her to consume me.
"Wow. You look pretty out of it." She grins between breaths. "I mean, I am pretty great.”
If she had asked this— If any of this had happened a few months ago, I would have shut it down immediately. The idea of being some stallion chasing after mares made me sick to my stomach. Romancing one of my friends, being their coltfriend… it was just… icky! It felt invasive and ugly and— it was impossible to imagine myself in that role.
But Rainbow wasn’t asking to kiss Dusk the stallion, or even Dusk the agender pony. She was asking to kiss Dusk the mare. The idea of being with one of my friends as a mare… it was entirely different. It sounded nice. Really nice. Really really nice.
"You are..." I say, staring at her with wide eyes, "Could we. Do that more?"
In response, she leans down and kisses me, off center on the side of my mouth, nipping lightly. I gasp, and she moves over, planting another square on my mouth, pressing it in gently. Tingles run through my body, and these kisses are just as real. This is happening.
I hear squeeing, and realize it's coming from Pinkie, I half turn my head and she giggles excitedly, "Awww! Now I want to kiss the cute mare too!!" She nuzzles at me from behind. "Cutie mare, can I kiss you too?"
That is finally outrageous enough to pull my head out of the haze of bodies and sensation. “W-what!?” 
But the scary thing is that I want to. I want her too. So bad. I want— all of it. All of the love they could possibly give. Any of them, all of them. I would take it all in like a black hole, and still want more. What’s— What’s... wrong with me? 
But they’re the ones asking this of me, so it’s ok, right? I’m not seducing them, or taking advantage of them. Who knows when I’d ever get this chance again? And just like that, the balance of the scale tips, leaning towards desire.
“I— Yes. Kiss me.” My muzzle says airily. Is this— lust? My mind notes with a hint of disgust.
That’s washed aside when Pinkie kisses me. She kisses me on the cheek, and at first I think it’s going to be a little more chaste than Rainbow’s. Then Pinkie kisses me again, lower this time. Then lower, right on the curve of my jaw. My head rears back to give her access, and the next kiss is planted on the underside of my muzzle. Her muzzle slides right into the crook of my neck, planting a kiss and then trailing them all the way down my neck.
My back arches, electric, held down only by these two mares. “AAaaa!” I whimper, breathing hard. Pinkie’s kisses just keep meandering, not letting up, exploring me.
Rainbow presses her muzzle close over mine, nuzzling into me, her hoof wraps around my barrel. She whispers directly into my ear, “So soft, such a pretty mare.” She presses her hoof into my back, pressing us close together. “You’re good, aren’t you? So good. Do you want to be our good mare?”
“Yes— Yes yes yes—” I murmur. “Yes please, please.” Her wings drape around me and Pinkie. And they’re so close, they’re giving so much to me, and I love them I love them I love them. I’m— I’m their good mare. I— I— A flustered needy noise bubbles up my throat.
Except what comes out is a sob, a wracking choking thing. It takes me, and the two mares, by surprise. Rainbow Dash pulls back, worried. “Hey, you ok?”
It takes me a moment to put the words together, thrown off by suddenly having to fight through tears. “I d-don’t know!”
Dash’s hoof is a gentle reassurance on my side now. Pinkie scoots back, until she’s out from under me, holding me loosely from behind. She speaks softly, “Hey, hey, it’s ok. Is something wrong? Did we do something you didn’t like?”
“No!” I try to say it definitively, but it comes out as a squawk. “No, it’s good!” I falter into tears. “It’s too good, It’s too much, I can’t— I—“ I squeeze my eyes shut. I love this, I love them. But it’s like a dam broke in my chest, and now I’m feeling it all at once. My brain is still telling me I can’t have this. I finally let go, and now all that tension I’d been holding inside had to find it’s way out. “I don’t want to stop— But— It’s too much.”  My voice warbles, “S-sorry.“
Pinkie pats me gently. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, silly filly.”
“Yeah, I’m glad you told us how you feel. We’ll cool it off for a bit.” Rainbow Dash says, “Do ya still wanna keep cuddling?”
I nod, holding onto her, tears prickling my eyes. The two mares adjust so I can lean back comfortably, held loosely between them. Rainbow Dash has a soft wing around me, while Pinkie is slowly rubbing my foreleg. My friends have comforted me before, but this still feels a little new. It’s comfy though, even through my overwhelm they make me feel safe. They bear it out as I cry with shaky breaths, a tremor in my gut and in my spine. And they’re still here, protecting me.
When the tears have slowed and my breathing is almost back in focus, Rainbow’s voice cuts into the comfortable silence, “So, do you like, know if it was the kissing that did it, or calling you a mare, or what?” 
“That’s… a good question.” I look down, contemplating. “Both, maybe?” I take a deep breath. “It was so many things I hadn’t… allowed myself to want, happening all at once.”
Rainbow smiles at me, and her eyes are hopeful. “Does that mean you liked us calling you a mare?”
A part of me wants to back off, but the warmth of being in their arms is more convincing. “I… I loved it.” Then I wince. “But I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if it means I’m a…” I swallow. “A mare. Or if it just means I liked being called a mare while ponies are… k-kissing me.” I look up at her. “You’re a lesbian. Won’t you be… disappointed, if I’m not a mare?”
“I mean, I don’t really know what means what with your gender, that’s the kinda thing you should talk to Shy about.” She smirks. “But what I do know is cute enbies are definitely on my smooch list. I like you for who you are, not what you are. And you’re cute, and I like you. So there!” she says triumphantly. I can’t help but smile. 

Then another thought crosses my mind, and my smile simmers. “Does... does this mean we’re not friends anymore?” I ask, anxiety creeping into my voice, "Because we, you know. Kissed." 
Rainbow Dash looks at me, clearly holding something back. Then a chortle bursts out of her as she attempts to cover her mouth.
 My fear turns to indignation. "Rainbow Dash! This is serious!"
"Sorry, sorry!" She squeaks out between wheezing laughter, "I know! I just can't get over how innocent you can be." The laughter starts to pitter out, enough for her to keep a straight face. Her voice is more sincere, putting a hoof on my shoulder, "Hey, of course we're still friends!"
"But— Friends don't kiss! Not like... that."
"Sure they do!" Pinkie says enthusiastically, "I do it all the time!"
I stare, feeling vertigo. "You do?"
Pinkie nods. "Friends can kiss each other, Dusky!"
"You... " My eyes are the size of dinner plates. I speak with awe, "... you can kiss your friends?" My voice pitches up, on the verge of yelling, "That's allowed?!" 
"Of course you silly filly, as long as both ponies want to!" She giggles, "For me, it's just another way of having fun with my friends! If I like them, and it feels nice, why wouldn't I?"
I continue staring at her, eyes sparkling.
Dash puts a foreleg around my shoulders. "Keep in mind here, Pinkie has a pretty relaxed view on messing around with other ponies. Lots of ponies have the same stuffy ideas about relationships you do, Sparkles. Pinkie Pie's thing is like, a thing. Right?"
"The relationship anarchy thingie, or the polyamory thingie?" Pinkie asks.
"Yeah that." Rainbow Dash waves a hoof.
"That's—  a whole lot of terms I'm going to have to research." I say, stunned. I'd heard of polyamory, but didn't really know about it. But now Pinkie's given me a direction I can look in.
"Don't worry! I'll teach you all about ‘em~!"
"Will..." I blush. "Will those lessons involve more... kissing?"
"Well, if you want extra credit..." Pinkie says, waggling her eyebrows.
I can't help but giggle. Pinkie and me are... doing things, but it's still just the same old Pinkie. The one who's silly and friendly and makes me laugh. Maybe things don't have to change. Not in a bad way. 
I turn to the pegasus draped over the sofa. "Are you... the same way Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow shrugs. "Eh, you know. I guess I kinda just do what feels right." She smirks. "And kissing you felt right."
I look away, unable to keep from smiling.
"We don't have to make a big deal out of it or anything," she says, with too much nonchalance, "Unless you just can't resist me, egghead." She postures.
"I— I don't know what it would be." I look away. "And I don't want to hurt you. But..." I reach and put my hoof over hers. "But I'd like to have... something with you."
Rainbow freezes, and then slowly relaxes. "Uh. Yeah. That'd be pretty cool."
"Cool." I say, smiling softly. Then, unable to resist, I reach out and wrap my hooves around her, nuzzling my head up against her. She squawks in surprise, and I make a rumbling noise into her side. Then a smile spreads across her muzzle, and she wraps her hooves around me as well. I hear a soft giggle that must be Pinkie, before her hoof starts stroking my mane. I sigh, tension running out of me as my… friends? Take care of me. And for a while, the world is right.