//------------------------------//
// The BIG Question 
// Story: The Irish Man 
// by The Irish Brony 
//------------------------------//

I look up at the giant blue and purple crystal castle that houses the princess, Twilight Sparkle. The castle will always be oversized in my eyes for who lives here. I hear the door open and look over to see a pink unicorn with curly purple bangs and two streaks of light green going throw her hair and a cuity mark of a shimmering shooting star walking out of the castle. She gives me a small forced smile and a wave.
I give a small wave as she passes me walking down the road towards sugar cube corner. The atmosphere between us has always been weird since I arrived. I think it started when a few miscommunications between Twilight and her happened before I met her. I shake my head to get rid of the thought as I grab the door and walk-in. I make my way down the overly sized hallway towards the library. I made it there after a few wrong turns and an accidental walk into the bathroom to see spike... to put it nicely, flexing. 
"Twilight really needs to make a map for this place," I think as I open the door to see Twilight skimming throw a book before closing it and lightly tossing it aside as she grabs another book with her purple magic. She has a small smile plastered to her face as she opens the other book. She seems well-rested this time, but books still litter the floor like grass after the lawn was mowed.
“Good afternoon Twilight, did you sleep well after the fire?” I ask as I pull a chair out and sit down.
“After a little sleep magic I was out like a log,” Twilight says, her eyes never leaving her book. “Are you ok after what happened last night?”
“Honestly,” I take a shaking breath, trying to remeber what happed last night. “Not good, I didn't think my first intercourse here would be with a dragon,”
“Technically it was with me at carousel boutique,” Twilight says, lightly blushing as she puts the book down. My face heats up at the event that happened the day after I had landed here.
“I-I don’t count that,” I say, taking a few deep breaths. “There's a difference between the V and the mouth,”
“Why don’t you say vagina?” Twilight asks, wipping around to face me, almost sounding offended. “We are all grown ponies here,”
“Because it feels wrong to say it,” I say, shrugging, not really know the reson I call it the V. “Anyway, you asked me to come here after I got some sleep. So what’s up?”
“Oh!...” Twilight says, her eyes drifting away from me and into the table. “Ya… that...” Twilight’s face slowly turns a little red as she drags her hoof across the hard crystal seat of her chair she was sitting in.
“If it was just a drunk episode I can leave,” I say, trying to quickly comfurt her and get out of the wired situation. I started to stand up, but was quickly stopped by Twilight's hoofs grabbing my waist.
“No!” She yells like a clinging child does to their parents when they drop them off for school while looking up at me with those big eyes. “I mean,” Twilight says, letting go and shrinking back into her chair. “Please stay, I do have something to ask,” I slowly sit back down in my chair, unnerved by her reaction, as Twilight taps her hoofs together nervously.
“So what do you want to ask me?” I asked shortly before I got my answer.
“Do you love me more than just a friend?” Twilight asks at the speed of Pinkie Pie. This catches me really off guard. My heart rate starts to rise as I try to formulate a response to the very serious question she has presented me.
“Twilight I..” I swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. I could feel myself shiver as the room suddently turned cold. I take a deep breath in and slowly let it go, trying to slow down my heart rate. Twilight watches me with great interest, waiting for me to answer. “Twilight, I like you as a friend, nothing more,”
Once the words left my mouth Twilight’s ears flopped down against her head as her smile plastered on her face said the opposite. She has a small smile on her face as I stare into her eyes. They are a mix of sadness and joy.
“Thanks for being honest,” Twilight says, standing up on the chair and embarrassing me into a hug. I smile and hug her back, suspicious of her joyful appearance. “In all honesty, I knew you would say no,” Twilight says, sitting back into her seat. Her ears were back to their perky position on top of her head.
“So, you're not going to run into your bedroom and cry for three days?” I ask in a very sarcastic tone. Twilight lets out a chuckle as her smile widens. My smile widens in respons to her smile. It's good to know she is taking this well.
“Of course not, that would be silly,” Twilight says, waving her hoof in the air like she was brushing the joke away. “It does hurt a little, but I know you’ll find some pony you love that loves you back, maybe more than me,”
I simply lean over and give her another hug. She gently wraps her hoofs around me as the two of us stay there for a few seconds. “Thanks for understanding Twi,” I say, standing up. “I’ll see you tomorrow for our regular meeting?” I ask as I slowly start to walk towards the door.
“Of course!” She exclaimed as I walked out into the hallway. I close the door and lean my ear against it. I suspect she might not be telling the truth. I hear nothing for a few seconds before sobbing starts.
“Knew it,” I think as I frown. “I hope she can rebound from it. I’m just not ready for a thing like that.” I start to walk down the hallway slowly. The empty corridor echoing the sounds of my footsteps against the crystal floor. “I also don’t like her like that...” I stop in my tracks as my mind runs like a cheetah on drugs.
“But I do like her,” I think as I smile at the memory of a close friend. I shake my head as I look back down the hallway. “She’s just not the mare I’m into,” I start walking down the hallway again as I hear the distant sound of a door opening and closing along with some sniffing.





I lay under the tree at the top of the biggest hill in ponyville park. On the other side of the tree sits Rainbow Dash. We have been napping for a good hour just enjoying the sun on our faces. I was half awake and half asleep as I heard Rainbow move around.
“Did you have a good nap?” I ask as I hear her joints pop and crack from her stretching.
“I slept like a cat on drugs,” Dash says. I turn to look at her while she shakes her entire body like a dog. Her wings extended slightly as her fur puffs up in response.
“I would scold you, but in that context it makes sense,” I say as Dash looks over at me with half-closed eyes as her fur returns to normal and her wings close. She gives me a soft smile in response to my comment.
“Do you keep forgetting we don’t have those types of drugs,” She says, emphasizing those.
“Honestly, I do sometimes,” I say, turning back around as I close my eyes. "Trying to remeber what I learned from Twi over two mounths ago can be hard," I say as I hear Rainbow Dash move around to my side of the tree. I feel her warm body against my side as I feel her head lay against my lap.
“You're comfortable,” Dash says, sleepy.
“You sound drunk,” I responded without opening my eyes. This was the routine we had fallen into every day. We would meet underneath the tree. Go play pranks, do some running, maby help the CMC with whatever they are doing at the time. We would return to the tree and nap for an hour or two. Then both of us would wake up and insult each other with good intentions. She would then walk over to me and sleep on top of me. It was nice to just relax with her for a bit instead of doing some sport she wanted to introduce to me all the time.
The peaceful moments with Dash were rare but nice. We sat there as I gently pet the top of her head. I get a happy, almost cat purring sound out of her while she pushes herself closer to me.
“This was perfect, now all we need is Pinkie Pie to make it better,” I think, remembering the time I had cuddled with Pinkie Pie inside her room. Pinkie is the softest pony I had cuddled with so far. Though I haven’t really had a lot of ponies cuddle with me. The only other ponies that had cuddled with me were Twi, Pink, Dash, and Flutters on occasion after we had gotten done with the animals.
“Brogan, can I ask you something?” Rainbow asks.  I open my eyes and look down to see her looking up at me.
“Sure,” I say hesitantly. I was slightly afraid of what she had to ask me. The memory of what happened earlier that day burns in my head. Dash looks back down at the ground as she taps her hoofs together.
“Nervous, looking at the ground.Thats not a good sign. She’s definitely in love with me,” I think as I nervously await her response. She sits up on my lap with a determined look on her face, a flair in her eyes I've only seen when we compete in games to see who is the best. She grabbed the sides of my head and pressed her lips against mine. I freeze with the sudden kiss. My mind trying to keep up with what just happened.
Her lips were soft but very ruff with a hint of dirt, the kiss was definitely her first-ever. If I’m honest to you, it felt amazing to feel her lips against mine. I immediately shook that thought out of my head as I remember who I loved, sadly it’s not her.
She releases me from her grip while leaning back. She keeps her eyes closed while her head drops down to look at the ground. “How do I put her down gently? I know her, and she can have very violent reactions to new situations,” I try to think of a way to keep my friend.
“Rainbow Dash..” Even before her name had escaped my mouth Dash had silently gotten up and started to walk away from me.
 “No need to tell me, I know now that I was stupid to even think you loved me,” Dash says sadly while not looking at me, spreading those magnificent wings of hers.
“Dash, please hear me out before you go off and cry in your house,” That gets a reaction out of her.
"Three, two, one.." I was expecting an explosion from her, and she delivered. If I was scared of her before, now I'm extremely scared. She violently turned around and stared at me angrily. My heart starts to rise at a few hundred beats per minute as her eyes start to water with anger in her big irises.
“How dare you!” Dash yells at full volume. I take a sharp breath in while my heart rate rises and my palms get sweaty. “You have no right to a soom anything from me! I am Rainbow Dash, the best and coolest pony in ponyville and the best flyer in the entire world!” I sat there as I see the bold and angry Rainbow Dash start to slowly dwindle into a crying mess. Dash lets out all of her anger before the tears got too much for her and started crying.
She sits down with waves of tears rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes were firmly planted on looking at the ground. I get on my knees and hug her. She flinches at my touch, her wings flaring up ready to take off, but she accepts it. She leans her face against my shoulder. Her tears rolled down my side while we sat there for a few minutes. I pat her on the back, rubbing my hand up and down her back, allowing her to let it out. Finally, she stops crying and just sniffles as her wings fold back onto her back. She pulls back, but still refusing to look at me.
“You good?” I ask, letting go of her and leaning back to look at her. She nods slowly, still not looking up. “Rainbow, you are a wonderful mare, but I don’t like you that way,” I gently grab her chin and pull it up so she is looking at me.
“You probably hate me for crying like a bitch,” Dash says, looking away from me.
“No, not at all. I think that's what makes you great,” Dash’s ears perk up while her eyes slowly look back up at me. I lower my hand as I stand up. “You’re just too fast for me, if you know what I mean,” I say, cracking a cheeky smile.
She smiles and sniffs at the same time. I extended my hand out in front of her. She grabs it and I help her up. We stand there looking at each other for a few seconds before we both crack a big smile.
“So, if not me, then who is the lucky mare?” Dash asks, jumping into the air and flying to eye level with me. She wipes her eyes of tears as I talk.
“I’m not telling you that,” I started to walk away from her before she stopped me with four simple words.
“Are you a chicken?!” Dash yells at me. I slowly turn around to face her. She has the smuggest grin in the entire universe.
“Checkmate,” I think, already knowing she has me.
"No one calls me a chicken," I say, calmly but firmly.
"Then prove it, tell me who you love," Dash says, flying up next to me and whispering into my ear. She was so close I could smell the dried sweet from her fur. She pulls back to look at me with that bold grain.
“You have to Pinkie promise not to tell anyone,” I say, pointing at her sternly.
“I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Dash says, going through the motions.
“Ok, the mare that has my eye is...”





I open the door to Fluttershy’s home while I knock on the door frame. I had scared her once by coming in unannounced. She says I don’t need to do it, but I still do it out of habit. I look behind me as I enter the house. I see Dash behind a tree giving me what I can only assume to be a thumbs up.
“I’m in the kitchen!” Fluttershy yells calmly and somehow quietly. I smile at Dash and close the door, before turning around and strut into the kitchen to see Fluttershy placing a bowl on the window sill. One green bird and a yellow bird flew to the bowl and started to peck at the food that was laid out for them.
“Fluttershy, I have to ask you something,” I say, slowly walking over to the table while brushing my hand against the icebox nervously. My heart started to speed up as Fluttershy turned around to face me with that sweet smile. Her fur bright yellow fur glows in the beautiful rays of Celestia's sun.
“What is it, Brogan?” Fluttershy asks as she sits down at the table. I kneel down at the table while my head runs through all the things I could say back.
“I have a few things...” I hesitate. “Maybe it’s best if I ask Twilight,” I say hastily as I quickly stand up and walking over the door frame before Fluttershy stops me.
“I can’t make you do anything, but if there’s something you want to ask, don’t be shy,”
“How Ironic is it that I’m being encouraged by a mare named FlutterSHY,” I think as I look over at the window above the couch I first woke upon. Dash’s eyes are peeking over the window sill. I smile and chuckle at her. She ducks back behind the wall after we make eye contact.
I take a deep breath in and turn around to face Fluttershy. “Is it weird I fell in love with a pony?”
“Smooth one Brogan,”
“Shut the fuck up, I don’t have time for you know,” I think at the voice in my head while Fluttershy shifts slightly uncomfortably.
“You fell in love with a mare?” Fluttershy asks, almost disaportantly.
“Ya?” I ask, taking a few steps towards her. ”Is that bad?”
“No! Not at all, it’s wonderful,” Fluttershy quickly clarifies. “You deserve a mare who loves you, and no, it’s not strange at all,”
I smile at her, but internally I hurt like the rings of hell are burning inside me. “Thank you, for everything,” I say with a shaking voice.
“If you don’t mind.. May I know the name of the mare?” Fluttershy asks, slowly pulling herself into her hair. She’s trying to avoid my eyesight, shrinking into a little ball of fur.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy, that’s a secret even a Pinkie Promise can not hold,” I say, stepping back words like Michael Jackson at a concert.
“Oh, I understand, dinner will be in an hour,” She says while standing up. I nod, then quickly walk out of the house. My heart is threatening to pump out of my body. I stopped by the tree me and Twilight had talked under the first night on this planet.
“Damit!” I yelled, punching the tree as hard as I could muster. I leaned my head against the tree while rubbing my hand in pain. I look down to see splinters in my fingers as tears start to roll down my face, bluring my vision, but it's not from the pain from my hand, but in my heart.
I turn around and lay my back against the tree and slide down to its base. I sit there looking up at the sky as my heart calms down. I hear and feel the wind change next to me.
“How the hell did you do it?” I ask, turning to look at the blue pegasus that landed next to me as my tears slowly stop. Dash sits down next to me and looks at the ground.
“Technically I didn’t ask you,” Dash retorts, pointing a hoof at me as she looks up at me.
“Don’t get smart with me now,” I say, looking into her eyes. I see a burning passion within her eyes. I have never seen anyone, or anypony look at me like that before. She truly loves me more than I could imagine.
“Brogan, I still love you, which means I will do anything to see you happy, even if it’s not with me,” Dash says standing up, her eyes lighting up with determination. A small smile starts to creep onto my face, seeing a different side of Dash I have never seen before. “I think I know just the pony to help us,”