//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Fine Dining. // Story: Making It Work // by Perfectly Insane //------------------------------// I couldn’t say with a modicum of confidence how I actually expected Pinkie to respond. With a ‘sure, why not’? Seeing it from her perspective, I'd just told her I wasn’t interested in relationships and that I needed to think about dating her. She gave me all the time I wanted, and then I messaged her the same day asking if she wanted to be in a relationship with a third girl she didn’t even know.  ‘Wut’ was a completely valid response.  I slowly rose in my bed, mentally preparing myself for the direction I knew this conversation would lead.  You know, like, a relationship between me, you, and a third person. As I texted her, I stood up and made my way to my console, trying to ignore my growing nervousness. I briefly debated whether I should play something, but decided I didn't want to ruin my sleep schedule again. Instead, I decided to put on some random show for background noise. The hard part was choosing.  It took about a minute of her texting before she called me, which I should have expected since Pinkie's mentioned on multiple occasions she wasn’t a big fan of texting with how impersonal it feels.  “So, are you being serious right now? No offense, but I didn’t peg you as the type who’d be into a polyamorous relationship.” She didn’t sound angry or upset at all, just confused. Which she had every right to be. “Well, yes and no,” I murmured as I scrolled through my options before eventually settling on a random cartoon that looked vaguely familiar. “I’d be happy to explain it to you better at a later time, but my brain isn’t functioning too good right now. Let’s just say I have a female friend who has apparently liked me a while and recently made me aware of it, and I can’t say I’m against dating her either. At the very least, I figured we should talk about the possibility.”  “Uh huh, and I’m sure it has nothing to do with wanting to see us kiss or something. Next, you’re gonna tell me your goal in life is to become the harem king.” Her voice had the perfect blend of sarcasm and skepticism—I could almost hear her roll her eyes. “Ha ha. I’m serious, Pinkie. I know I said I wasn’t really interested in dating anyone, and that was true. Mostly because I thought she’d be way out of my league and couldn’t be interested in me, until she was. It’s not a sex thing, I pinkie promise. I’ll even do the gestures if you want.”  “Nah, I believe you. Hm, I’m not entirely against it per se. It just depends. Can you explain why you think a poly relationship can work here? I’ve only had this discussion with one time, and her reasoning doesn’t entirely,” her voice trailed off, getting distant as I could make out the sound of a door closing. “Apply here.”  I raised my eyebrows as I struggled to understand what was going on in the cartoon I was watching. Everything was a talking centaur and enjoyed bursting into song, which was a stark contrast from the intro taking place in a war-torn world. I turned my subtitles on and tried to see if there was even a story here.  “I haven’t put much thought into it, but I don’t think it’s too different from normal friendships. Most people have more than friend, a lot of the time different friends they like for various reasons. Why can’t the same apply here? I like both of you for different reasons, and I think this way works out for everyone. You don’t need to like each other if you don’t want to. However, if you wanted to make out, I wouldn’t be against it.”  The last part I tried to make obvious was a joke, hopefully easing the tension a bit. Which was admittedly a lot harder to do over the phone than in person.  “Makes sense. I hope you know that relationships can be a big commitment though. Most girls want to spend a lot of time with their partner. If you think you can manage, you’re either in way over your head or have a concerning amount of free time.”  “I mean, I do have a lot of free time, but you’re right.” The relationships I had before were always surface ones, practically not existing out of the time we spent at school or texting. That didn’t mean I wasn’t aware that an actual relationship was more than that, with dates and late-night conversations. Even so, they both deserved nothing short of my best.  “It would be a lot of work, but it's the kind that I’m prepared to put in. Like I said before, I like both of you. Whether or not I feel like I deserve it, you both like me. Picking just one is just unfair no matter how I put it. Odds are, it would ruin my relationship with the other. No matter what you say, I know you’d be bothered if I turned around and dated her, and she wouldn’t be much better in the reverse. This way, while I’m aware of the chance that I might end up ruining both relationships, it’s also the only option I can think of that can save both of them. Maybe I should have slept on this, but you’ve always been fantastic at pointing out the flaws in people’s logic and coming up with alternatives. Please, Pinks, I need every wrinkle in that big brain of yours.”  She let out a slight chuckle, but fell into a silence that I couldn’t help but hang onto, waiting for her next words. I barely even paid attention to the show, having improvised most of my explanation to her. This was undoubtedly the moment of truth. She ultimately would decide whether this could work. She hadn't said anything yet, though, which meant she was considering the possibility. Or was trying to think of the best way to say ‘no’, either one.  “As much as I’d like to tell you otherwise, rationally, you’re correct. I’m not going to lie and tell you I could keep chugging along if you dated her, and most girls I know wouldn't be able to either. No one would just be ‘okay’ if they confessed to their crush, got told they’d think about it, and then got to watch as they started dating someone else. This way benefits everyone. I just…” There was the quick sound of a sink turning on and off, then her exhaling like she’d just got home from a long day off work. “Of course I’ve thought about being in a relationship with another girl, and even in a relationship with more than one person a few times. I just never thought I’d be in a situation where that would be a genuine possibility. Not until clown college, at least.”  At that point, I’d completely lost interest in whatever was playing on my TV. I shut everything off and laid back on my bed, hanging all my hopes on Pinkie would say next.  “Maybe, maybe, this could work. I’d have to spend a lot of time thinking about it, write a pros and cons list, probably. Might even have to ask Maud for some big sister advice. Although, I need to meet her, the other girl. I just can’t be in a three-way relationship without knowing her, assuming I don’t, anyway. What’s her name?”  “Fluttershy. She spends most of her time at the shelter. It’s where we met, actually.”  In all honesty, I wouldn’t have been surprised at all if she did know her. Pinkie knew basically everyone at the high school, if only at a surface level. I’d seen her hang out with that bacon-haired girl and a few others often, so I knew she had some actual friendships. Fluttershy didn’t seem particularly social; the handful of times I’d seen her at school had often been outside with whatever animals she'd managed to sneak in, so Pinkie not knowing her wouldn’t have surprised me either.  Then again, Pinkie also worked at the most popular bakery in town, and Fluttershy had mentioned that Angel always gets carrot related pastries for his birthday. It was a coin toss, really.  “Nuh-uh,” she whispered, so muffled I barely picked it up.  “Yuh-huh. Do you know her?”  I waited for her to follow up, only to be left with an even more intense quietness. Before, I could hear her breathing, or her absentmindedly tapping her fingers against something, but there was absolutely nothing this time. I had to actually check to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected.  “Do I know her? Fluttershy is the sweetest, most kind person I’ve ever met!” she squealed, an energy to her voice I didn’t entirely recognize. “I talked to her earlier today with Rarity! She didn’t mention you though, only some guy at the shelter that she’d…oh. Oh, I’m dumb. I don’t even need to go to college, since I’m already a clown for not connecting these dots.” My apprehension transformed into concern as I heard a smacking sound, one I could only assume was her slapping her forehead or something. “My brain must be getting smooth. How did I not see this? You guys both go to the same shelter, of course you’ve met. Fluttershy and Rarity have been talking about relationships more often than usual lately, but I never in a bajillion years thought she’d confess to someone. Would she even think about being in a three-way relationship? Especially,” her voice lowered to barely audible, "with me?”  “Pinkie?” I interjected. The near panic in her voice worried me more with each word. “You’re ranting, and kind of worrying me. You alright?” She deeply inhaled and exhaled for a moment. “Yeah, yeah. That’s just…quite literally the last person I expected you to say. I’m not even sure what to say, which is super rare for me. I don’t know, Eight. This kind of changes a lot; I don’t even know if she’d be open to talk about that. Oof.”  “You’re not exactly making me feel any better here, Pinkie. You don’t need to overthink this. Is it that big of a deal? Fluttershy seems pretty open-minded to me; I don’t think the idea would appall her or anything.” I said as I rubbed my head, sinking deeper into the pillow I was resting my head on.  “Well, probably not, but she’s…actually, you’re right. It would be better to talk to her about it. Are you free tomorrow?”  “It’s a Saturday, and I’m a total loser, so of course I am. Why?”  “Because, even if I decide I want to give it a try, that won’t mean anything if she doesn’t want to. It’s not fair to not include her in this. Meet me at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow around ten: it’s usually pretty dead that time of day. This feels like something we should talk about in person.”  “Sure. I don’t have Fluttershy’s number, though. We only really talk at the shelter.”  I didn’t realize how odd that sounded until actually saying that, but we really do only talk at the shelter. I had always thought any genuine relationship meant spending a lot of time with each other, not once a week for two or three hours at most.  Maybe my idea of a ‘genuine relationship’ wasn't as accurate as I thought.  “I do. I’ll make sure she’s there. Don’t worry about it. Night.”  “Night.” She hung up right after, a tad more abruptly than usual. I let out a relieved sigh as my heartbeat finally simmered down; exhaustion setting in to remind me how tired I actually was. A final thought hovered in my mind as I drifted to sleep.  I have carrots in the fridge, right? ________________________________________ While I’ve heard plenty of good things about Sugarcube Corner, I’d never actually gone myself. Nothing against pastries or candy, but I’m not the type who indulges in sweets too often if I can help it.  I’m afraid if I give in too much, I won’t be able to stop. I got there earlier than I probably needed to, and I was immediately woken up by just how startlingly good the place smelled: Sweet, cinnamony, and over all extremely pleasant—lmost intoxicatingly so. Any leftover grogginess was snatched right out of me. It was getting harder to resist buying something.  There were also fewer people than I thought. Hardly anyone, actually. There was a bored-looking woman behind the counter, waiting for someone to place an order, and a guy in the back, sitting at a table by himself with nothing but open jars filled with jam and a manic smile. He kept dipping his hands in the jars until they were completely soaked in purple jam. I kept my distance and avoided eye contact. Luckily, I spotted Fluttershy immediately after, sitting at one of the booths in a corner away from the windows. She was wearing the same thing she always did, yet she was somehow even more beautiful than usual.  Like I had expected, and planned for, she had Angel with her. I could see his adorable little head poking out from her unzipped backpack, chattering something to her as she listened. I reached for the bag of carrots resting in my pocket, smoothly sliding into the seat opposite of her. She jumped, letting out a slight yelp.  Angel only glared at me, evidently less impressed.  “Oh! Hello, Eight, what are you doing here?” “Pinkie called me. Didn’t she tell you?” I asked as I slid the bag of carrots over to Angel. Who greedily swiped it out of my hand, squinting at me with his beady little eyes.  “No. She just told me she wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know you’d be here. N-not that I mind.” she stammered. Her face got noticeably brighter, hiding behind her hair while twirling a strand of it. Her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to look anywhere but at me.  I almost forgot that she had confessed yesterday, and that I had told her I’d think about it after. Fluttershy must have been worried about it after that, and hadn’t expected to see me again until at least Friday.  I pursed my lips, scanning over the table and trying to think of some subject to ease the tension. A half-filled milkshake sat on the table in front of her, which raised my curiosity.  “Huh. I thought you were a vegan.”  She turned her attention back to me, bringing the milkshake closer to her, absentmindedly stirring the straw. “Oh no, I don’t remember saying that.”  “Well, you never said it. I just thought since you spend a lot of time with animals that you would be.” “Hm.” She furrowed her eyebrows, using her free hand to push her hair out of her face. “I suppose that’s fair, and I understand why some people may feel that way, but I don’t. Humans are omnivores. Not eating meat or anything produced by animals can be very unhealthy, even with the alternatives made. Many of them lack the nutrition we need. Plus, many don’t even mention that in the animal kingdom, it’s actually quite natural for herbivores to eat meat.”  “It is?” I asked, a hint of fear in my voice as I peered down at Angel, who was nibbling on a carrot with scary efficiency.  “Oh, yes!” she responded gleefully, smiling and nodding her head. “Horses have been known to eat smaller animals like birds, and cows sometimes eat snakes. Most of the time, it’s because they’re lacking something like protein or calcium, which is harder to get in plants or fruits. Of course, I can’t say I like how people treat poor animals like a commodity. However, I don’t think risking self-neglection is the way to go about it. Especially when it doesn’t prevent those things from being made in the first place, only that more of them go to waste.”  “Wow. You’ve put a lot of thought into this, huh?” I asked sarcastically, stroking one of Angel’s ears. Judging by his scowl, he was very tempted to bite me. “I agree with you for the most part, except that I actually think enough people going vegan would make a difference. The alternatives are made out of plants, and if most people refuse to eat animals and animal products and only those alternatives, there would be more demand for plants and less demand for animals. So most farms would be converted to growing plants, instead of animals.”  “Hm, you’re not wrong.” She admitted, taking a sip from her milkshake and tapping her fingers against the glass. “The problem is, you’re not—”  “OH! Hi, Eight! Hi, Fluttershy!”  I swiveled my head over to the counter, where Pinkie entered from a door that I presumed led to the kitchen. She was wearing something similar to a dress, with a band wrapped around the center and a black and white apron underneath. What was less surprising was that, instead of shoes, she was wearing rollerblades. She skated to our table and slid into the seat beside Fluttershy.  At first, I thought she was her usual peppy self. As she sat down, though, it became obvious from the twitching of her lips that her smile wasn’t as natural as usual. She rested her head on one hand, rapidly rapping her fingers against the table with her other. She couldn’t seem to stop her knee from bouncing a little, either.  To me, it looked like Pinkie was nervous and trying to hide it. I didn’t need three guesses to know why.  “Hello, Pinkie. Are you ok?” Fluttershy hesitantly placed a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder. “You look worried about something.”  “Who, me? No, I’m just…” she frantically skimmed the room, searching for some excuse. “Just a little antsy cuz there are no customers, ha.”  I’d never seen Pinkie like this before. It was…jarring to say the least. I didn’t understand why; what was she so afraid of Fluttershy saying? The worst she could say is no.  “Oh, ok.” Fluttershy, clearly not believing her, muttered as she pulled her hand away. “So, what did you want to talk about?”  “Uhm, well,” she visibly stiffined, shifting her eyes to me. “It’s really Eight who wanted to.”  “I…” I was caught off by the sudden attention to me, but I shouldn’t have expected Pinkie to carry the conversation in the first place. This was my idea, after all. “Well, Flutters, after what happened yesterday, I talked to Pinkie. After some consideration, we talked about the possibility of…well.” I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. “How would you feel about being in a polyamorous relationship with Pinkie and me?”  Angel completely halted his eating, moving his stare to me, then to Fluttershy, then to Pinkie. Without a sound, he walked over to the salt shaker and leaned against it, taking his time to nibble on the carrot.  “As in…” her head dropped, voice gradually becoming more meek. “All three of us…oh, oh my. I didn’t know you were that kind of man, Eight.”  Her face got redder, but not nearly as much as yesterday. I leaned forward, clearing my throat and pulling on my shirt to air it out. “What kind of man?”  “A—” she tensed up, her cheeks rosy red as she tried to vanish behind her hair. “A womanizer.”  “No, I’m not!” I expressed, a bit louder than I intended to, and hissing as my knee slammed against the underside of the table. “I promise, I’m not like that. I don’t…collect women like Pokémon or anything. It’s just, I like you and Pinkie for different reasons. The same way some people have multiple friends, despite some of them being different, that’s it. I swear.”  “Oh.” Fluttershy whispered, partly covering her mouth with her hand. “That…makes sense. I’m sorry, I misunderstood.”  “No, I’m sorry.” I hung my head, awkwardly rubbing my wrist. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice; I know how it sounds, but I’m being completely serious—this is not a sexual thing at all. I mean it.”  Pinkie was being eerily quiet; behavior that bothered me coming from her. I had hoped she would back me up, not sit there quietly like she was afraid to speak. It wasn’t like her at all.  “I’m…not sure what to say. Everything Rarity and I talked about was in a monogamous relationship, not a polyamorous one. I don’t even know how to feel about being in a relationship with…” she didn’t finish her sentence, staring at Pinkie out of the corner of her eyes for a moment and then down at her milkshake.  “If—” Pinkie’s hair got a bit droopier then usual as she straightened up. “If you don’t want to be in a relationship with me, you can just say so. I’ll understand.”  “What? No, no, that’s not what I meant!” Fluttershy defensively raised her hands, rapidly turning to Pinkie. “I didn’t mean to come off that way. Only that, while I have no problem with girls who want to date other girls, it’s not something I’ve ever thought about. I’ve never even dated, I’d have to think about it.”  It was tempting to mention Pinkie's ‘sexuality radar’, but I couldn’t help but think that butting in on this would be really rude and lose me some points with both of them.  “Why,” Fluttershy’s voice became so low, I could hardly hear it. “Would you think it was because of you?”  “I thought, well, since we’ve never hung out just us, that you didn’t like me as much.”  “That can’t be right. What about at Camp Everfree when we…well no, Rainbow was there.” Fluttershy thoughtfully tapped her chin, nervously biting her lips as she desperately tried to remember something. “I guess we really haven’t. That doesn’t mean I don’t like you! I just..well, you’re always so busy hanging out with your other friends, I didn’t think you’d have the time.”  “Are you kidding me? Of course I’d have time for one of my favoritest people I know!” she grabbed Fluttershy’s hands, scooting closer to her and beaming a small smile. “All you had to do was ask. I would have loved to make time for you. We can do whatever you want, anytime.”  “Oh, well, if you don’t mind. I really appreciate it, Pinkie. Although, I don’t really know what we’d do. You’re outgoing and social, and I’d rather spend time with quiet animals.”  Pinkie shook her head. “Don’t worry about that, I promise we’ll find something. Bird watching, or picnics, or—”  “You guys know I’m still here, right?” I spoke up.  “Eight? When did you get here?” Pinkie asked jokingly as she turned to me.  “Ha.” I scoffed, completely monotone. “Fluttershy, if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand. But it’s not like you have to date Pinkie, too. If you don’t want to do anything with her, you don’t have to.”  “So,” she turned back to me, letting go of Pinkie. “It’s more like we’re sharing you? I don’t know, that sounds like it’d be a lot of work for you. Are you sure that wouldn’t be too hard to manage?”  “I’m certain it would be, actually.” I leaned forward, trying to take a carrot from the bag I gave Angel. He stared me straight in the eyes as I grabbed one, not even blinking, but not trying to stop me, either. “I think I got it, though. Free time is something I have plenty of, and I owe it to both of you to try. This is the only way I can think of where nobody gets hurt. At least, not yet.” “That’s,” she pressed her lips together, "True. I just can’t shake the feeling that sharing you is treating you more like property than a person, or a kid after their parents have divorced.”  “I don’t feel that way at all.” The carrot tasted cold and kind of bland, but it wasn’t bad for something to chew on. They’re much better warm and caramelized. “It isn’t really that different from balancing a romantic relationship and friendships, which I don’t think I’d struggle with at all. I barely even talk to my friends outside of school. I don’t think I’d have any problems with this. If I do, we’ll deal with it then.”  She silently sipped her milkshake, lightly blushing. “I…I’d have to think about it. I know it’s not uncommon for animals to have multiple partners, but this is…can I have some time?”  “Of course!”  “Take as much time as you need.” I echoed Pinkie. While I would have preferred an answer now, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it this weekend, I figured Fluttershy would need a bit. In fact, I expected her to be against the idea immediately. “I want you to know that neither of us will hold it against you if you say no. Don’t say yes just because you don’t want to hurt our feelings, either. Your opinion means just as much to me as Pinkie’s does.”  “I know, thank you. I—”  A group of people entered the bakery, most of which had a very disgruntled appearance, like they’d just recently woke up and were heading to work. They made a beeline for the counter, waking the woman behind it out of her stupor as she took their orders.  “Welp, there goes my only downtime for my shift,” Pinkie chimed in, getting to her feet and losing her balance for a moment as she readjusted to her roller skates. “While you’re here; Fluttershy, you are officially invited to the party I’m throwing for Sunset and Wallflower, aka Sunflower, getting together. Here from eight to ten, with cake and refreshments.”  “Oh, you’re throwing a party for them already?” Fluttershy stood up, extending her hand for Angel to jump onto. “I’d be happy to go.”  “You’re free to come, Eight.”  “Nah, I’ve—” I tried to come up with something. Telling them that I actually intended to spend it playing video games wasn’t very cool sounding. “Got chores to do.”  “Oh! Before I forget.” Fluttershy reached into her bag, pulling out a piece of paper and pencil. Scribbling something on it and then handing it to me. “Here’s my number. I try not to use my phone if I can help it, but I’ll try to respond to you if I can. And… I’ll make sure to text you if I decide anything.”  With that, she waved goodbye, taking that spoiled brat of a rabbit with her. I slipped the paper in my pocket, making a mental note to put it in my phone later.  “That went better than I thought it would. Do you think she’ll say yes?”  “Honestly? I’m not sure.” Pinkie’s smile dropped for just a moment, so briefly I barely noticed it. “I’m not even sure if I want her to yet. It’s best to just wait it out and not push her; getting put on the spot like that makes her uncomfortable. Well, I’ll see you Monday. Bye!”  “Bye.”  _______ On Sunday, I beat the final boss.  It took a lot of sweat, tears, and self-control to not suplex my TV, but I did it, and left myself withmore free time than I knew what to do with in the process. Well, more than usual anyway.  As I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling like I expected it to grow a mouth and start talking to me, that gnawing anxiety creeped in on me like shadows to a flame. It was easy to use video games as a distraction, but now that there was nothing to keep me preoccupied, it was hard to not think about what Monday might bring; Fluttershy’s answer was the final hurdle. Even if she said no, I was going to still be friends with her and Pinkie, as difficult as that might end up being. However, that meant I’d be right back to choosing between them.  I really couldn’t say if I’d be able to do that or not; it’s unfair to the other no matter what happens. All I can do now is sit on my bed and wait; riddled with anxiety like it was a disease. A chime from my phone thankfully ripped me from the confines of my mind, which I reached for with nigh desperation. It was from a number I didn’t recognize at first. Then I remembered I had Fluttershy’s number now and had sent her a message.  Eight? Are you awake? Sorry if you aren’t, or are doing anything important.  I wasn’t. What did you need? My heart began to beat harder as I sat up in my bed, watching the texting icon pop up and go down several times.  I think… I want to give it a chance.