Pt. 2, so no quote. Unless you want to know about the last part of pt. 1...? You know, with Dash? Do you? Ask in the comments, then.
It wasn't going well. More awkward silences occurred and conversation lasted less than how long it took Rainbow to clear the skies. Mike wasn't doing too well in switching the conversation from animals to singing repeatedly, either. Flutters was looking a little uninterested, but still also did her best o keep it going.
Occasionally Rainbow and I would give him hand... er, paw-hoof signals to give hints, but he usually didn't get them.
When Applejack brought them their food, they both looked at theirs with unpleasant looks. Mike -and Fluttershy- both didn't really eat their food at all.
“So…um…” Mike again tried to end their all-too-long silence. “Has…anything interesting happened lately?”
“No…not really,” Fluttershy shook her head. She looked out the window, at Rarity and Twilight's bush. “Oh…um, I’ll be right back…again…” She went out to the bush. Mike took the chance to see us. He somehow didn't see Fluttershy's bush rustling as they spoke.
“Okay, seriously, I need some major help here,” he pleaded. “There are more silences between us than in a graveyard, and I’ve exhausted my very limited supply of conversation topics. And your weird motions aren’t helping either.” Hey, not our problem if you can't understand charades.
“We’re trying to help,” Rainbow said. “It’s not our fault you both have nothing conversation-worthy in common.” I'll second that.
“I think the main problem here is you’re trying too hard,” I tried to be helpful. “You’re thinking too much about what to talk about, rather than acting natural. You need to find a way to loosen up. And fix your mane.”
“Don’t have a brush.” I summoned one. “You do it. You saw what happened the last time I brushed my hair.”
Rainbow tried, and failed, to fix his hair. When she was finished, it poofed back into its messy place.
“Dear Celestia, it’s just like Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow groaned and facehoofed.
“Screw the hair. Just calm down somehow. I don’t know how, so don’t ask.” I added before Mike could ask an obvious question that I couldn't answer.
“Okay…I’ll see what I can do,” Mike nodded. He went back inside, unnoticed by the other three mares.
Mike sat down and looked at his meal in disgust. Finally he turned to the cider by the window. Rainbow and I drew in breath sharply and anticipated the sip.
When he took a tentative sip, Mike instantly looked calmer. Good thing, too. I thought.
Fluttershy came back a few minutes later. Mike smiled, but she didn't.
“Are you okay?” Mike asked.
“Oh…I’m fine,” Fluttershy said, giving a small smile. She looked out the window, as if she had seen Rainbow and me. “Hm? What’s that?”
Mike looked slightly annoyed as he looked out with her. Just then, Shy picked up her glass of cider, took a few sips, and quickly placed it back down. It made a clanking noise, which drew Mike's attention back to the table, taking his confused look away from our bush. He stared at her glass in mild interest before starting a conversation.
“So…any interesting stories?” He asked.
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“…his skeleton was missing, and the doctor was never heard from again!” Mike finished. Fluttershy giggled lightly. “So yeah, that’s how my grandpa lost his medical license.”
I shuddered, "That was the oddest story. Ever." Rainbow nodded agreement, then scooted outwards a little bit, "Looks like their getting a little drunk," she said.
A good fifteen minutes had passed, and Mike and Fluttershy had begun exchanging stories from their past. They both looked slightly awkward still, and they did indeed look like the alcohol was getting to them.
I frantically gestured at Mike. When he saw me, he said something to his date and came out to us. Let's just say that being drunk made his excuses even worse.
“Okay, good to know you took our advice on the cider,” I began. “But aren’t you overdoing it a bit? You seriously look like you’re losing your grip on consciousness.”
“I could never hold that stuff,” Mike shook his head, as if confused. “At least I’m finally loosening up, right? That’s what you wanted.”
“We wanted you to calm down,” Rainbow interrupted. “You and Fluttershy were calm after the first two sips. Now you’re half a glass away from slurring your words.”
“If memory serves, I’m actually one-quarter of a glass away from slurring my words,” Mike corrected. “Half a glass would knock me out.”
“My point still stands!”
“Rainbow, calm down. Mike, there’s another reason we called you over. That waitress who’s been serving you? We’re pretty sure that’s Applejack.” I said, needing a change of topic.
Mike blinked. "Why would she be disguising herself and serving us?”
“Don’t know. Maybe Fluttershy asked her for help too, or something. Just letting you know. You can go back now.” I thought about that. Maybe she had just somehow heard and decided to get in on it too.
“Any new conversation ideas, first? The calming effect of the cider is wearing off, and now I’m just feeling tired.”
"Uh..." I looked around, as if the trees around would give me ideas. My eyes finally rested on Rainbow's... flank. I almost screamed in frustration. What was I doing? Then an idea came to me. "Cutie Marks?" I suggested.
Mike thought about it, then nodded. "…why not.” He headed back inside, where Fluttershy was finishing up her food, which truly didn't look too appetizing.
“Hi,” she said when he came back. Mike looked at me and I nodded.
“Hi…um, I have a question... How’d you get your cutie mark?”
Fluttershy blinked. “Oh…well, it’s not a story I like to recall much,” she said softly.
“Oh…you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Mike apologized, just like Fluttershy.
“No, it’s fine. Well…it was a long time ago, back when I lived in Cloudsdale…”
Fluttershy explained the story I had heard before, which didn't seem too bad, but then Fluttershy said something surprising. “…and that’s when my cutie mark appeared. But…that’s where my story kind of…gets bad.”
Mike started slightly. “Bad? How?”
She hesitated, obviously nervous. Dash and I were leaning forward intently. I guess she hadn't heard this either.
“After I got my cutie mark and made it back up to Cloudsdale, I got teased a lot. The ponies said I wasn’t a real pegasus if my talent was focused on something on the ground. All of their talents involved flying or sports. I was the only pony in the entire city with a talent involving animals." She took a breath.
“Rainbow stood up for me, but there were times when she wasn’t around, so I was left to take care of myself. Eventually, I decided I didn’t want to be in Cloudsdale anymore, so I left. I came down to Ponyville. Rainbow stayed in Cloudsdale for a while longer, visiting me every now and then. She didn’t move to Ponyville for a few more years, when she got a job as a weather pony.”
Mike blinked. “Um…that didn’t sound too bad,” he said. “I mean, it’s bad that you got teased and all, but…I thought it was going to be worse than that, if I’m being honest.”
“That’s not the whole story.” Fluttershy sighed sadly. “While living in Ponyville, I spent all of my time taking care of animals. Bunnies, squirrels, birds, and all sorts of other animals. For a year or two, all the company I had was my animal friends and the occasional visit from Rainbow. But then…”
A tear rolled onto her cheek, and Mike moved to wipe it off. The endearing gesture was was excepted with a shared blush and a smile. I noticed a few people from the other tables with D'awww looks on their faces.
“Thank you…” Fluttershy whispered.
“If you really don’t like talking about this, you don’t have to,” Mike said comfortingly. “I don’t want to make you cry just so I can hear a story.”
“It’s fine…I think it’d be good for me to get this off my chest.” Fluttershy continued. “So I had been taking care of several animals for a year or two now. Then, one day, I was heading into town to shop, but I left my door open a bit without meaning to. When I came back, several of the animals had run away.
“I looked all over for them, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I thought they had run off because they didn’t like me, and I began to get sad. I started doubting my special talent and told the animals who hadn’t run off to leave. I ended up alone. I never went outside. When Rainbow came by to visit, I kept the door closed and locked and the windows shut. She would stay around and knock for an hour or so before leaving. I was all alone, and I started hating my cutie mark. I thought it ruined my life. I even tried to get rid of it a couple of times…”
“Cutie Mark Rejection Syndrome?” Mike asked, eyes wide.
I turned to Rainbow Dash, "What's that?" I asked.
Rainbow turned to me, and I realized how close our faces were. Dammit, your over six thousand years old! Stop thinking like that, Mobius! I scolded myself.
"It's something Mike had." She whispered. "Shy helped him get rid of it. I'll explain it later." She turned back to the two pegasi, who's conversation we had partly missed.
“What happened?” Mike was asking.
“While I was shopping, one pony came up to me and asked about my cutie mark. I didn’t want to talk about it, but she insisted, so I finally told them what happened. She was upset by my story and tried to cheer me up, but it didn’t work. I went back home, ignoring her. The next day, she came to my house and gave me a bunny.”
"A bunny?" Mike asked, confused. I realized that that must have been Angel Bunny (though he was anything but an Angel). “Why?”
“She said she wanted to help me. As soon as I saw the creature, I instantly wanted to help him. I forgot all about how I hated my cutie mark and took care of him. The pony came by to check on me every day, and after just a few days my cutie mark had gone back to normal.” Fluttershy smiled at last.
“Wow, Fluttershy,” Mike smiled back. “That’s pretty neat.” I had to agree. I had never heard this about Shy.
“It was. The pony and I became friends, and I continued to take care of the bunny she gave me. I started taking care of all sorts of animals again. I didn’t doubt myself anymore. It felt good.”
“So we’ve both had experiences with Cutie Mark Rejection Syndrome that ended happily,” Mike said, looking slightly bewildered. “Wow. That’s…nice.”
“You sound a lot like me,” Fluttershy giggled. That he does, Shy.
“Yep, that proves it. Everypony is gonna say it.”
“How is everything here?” Mike looked up to Applejack, who looked ready to take their bill... or, whatever.
“Um…” Mike looked at his barely touched food. Fluttershy did the same. “…I think we’re done.”
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Mike had one of his wings draped over Fluttershy when they came out. There was no hesitation in the reply. Fluttershy gave Mike a nuzzle.
I quickly jumped from my cover, "I knew would happen!” I declared, landing next to them. Rainbow came out of her cover, also.
“How did it go, darling?” We turned our heads and saw Twilight and Rarity walking up, trying to look like they had just stumbled into the area. Considering that they had twigs and dirt all over them, they did indeed look like they had been hiding in the bushes, so they had failed. Rainbow and I miraculously had nothing on us. “Oh, I see it went magnificent!” Rarity continued. They fell into place beside us and we began walking down the street.
"It got a lot better when I told Mike about how you helped me when I got Cutie Mark Rejection Syndrome," Fluttershy said to Rarity. I thought about that. Rarity certainly seemed to have a connection with Fluttershy.
“Oh hey, I just remembered something,” I spoke up. “We need to stop by Sugarcube Corner.”
Mike gave me a withering look again. "Why?”
“I need my muffin fix. Now.” That was only half the truth. Remember when I went to see Pinkie?
Mike sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine."
We walked to the pastry shop, making small talk along the way. When we arrived, I held open the door, and motioned for the others to stay. Mike and Shy walked in, not seeing my signal.
“SURPRISE!” The shout erupted from the doorway, and the two pegasi jumped in fright.
Mike turned to a grinning cat. Me.
“Oh yeah…did I mention I talked to Pinkie Pie?” I said, chuckling wickedly.
“You…son…of…a…griffon,” Mike growled.
"I prefer son of a muffin, but that will do." I said. The other four of us filed in and the party had already been put in full swing.
I turned to the others, "Well then, let's party, and party right!" They all grinned and went to their own respective areas. Pinkie bounced up to me.
"Was this what you meant?" She asked happily.
I rubbed her head. "Of course Pinkie. You do know what this is for, right?"
She nodded, "Yup! This is for the founding of Equestria, right?"
I facepawed. "No, it's for Mike and Fluttershy's first date."
She nodded vigorously again, "Oh yeah. That!"
I sighed and sent her on her way. When I looked around, I recognized many of the ponies I had met at home. Everyone was just talking, dancing, or surprisingly in corners, making out. That was something i would never have expected to see. Oh well, different reality, different aspects. I looked around and sadly didn't see Meg. I would give anything to see her smiling face again. I sighed for a moment, only to be shaken out of my reverie by Mike.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
"Hm?... Oh, yeah... sure." I said absently. Mike looked like he could tell something was up, but he didn't press. I looked around, seeing Fluttershy hobbling around, a cider glass abandoned on the ground. I nodded in her direction, "Uh, Mike..." I began, not sure how to continue.
"What?" He turned his head, saw the poor shy pegasus, and immediately ran over to her. I felt a pang when I looked at them. Mike was looking at her with true, pure love in his eyes. Fluttershy did the same, even if a little drunkenly. I was once able to do that. But not anymore. That was a long time ago.
Shaking my head again, I listened to the pounding party music. It wasn't really to my liking, but it was something to listen to. I found a chair and sat down, drifting away...
Then a bowl of punch was thrown in my face. I mean an ENTIRE bowl. I sputtered and looked up to a blue pegasus with a yellow mane grinning down at me, an exact copy of my evil grin on his face. I glared at him and just merely chuckled.
Fluttershy was there too, if still drunk. It was... quite odd, but slightly funny, to watch her sway, and then pass out. Her face was stuck in a silly grin the whole time.
Mike immediately came to her attention and began fussing over her. I laughed, loud and deep, causing everyone to look our way. Mike looked around, horror spreading on his face, and I said, "Dude, you just let your date get drunk and pass out... on your first date. Not a good way for relationships to begin."
He glared and the other five came up, Applejack still in a waitress outfit. "What happened to Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, a little panic in her voice.
"Drunk." Mike and I replied at the same time. I grinned, while Mike's face went all wonky with rage. The others just stared at the yellow pegasus mare and then back to us. We shrugged, and they went back to the party, which had all but ignored the scene that had just happened.
I looked at Mike, "So... what are you going to do with her?" i asked.
Mike glared at me and spat, "Don't you get any ideas!"
I held up my paws again. "Hey, hey! I didn't mean that! It's a little too... early for that, anyway." Mike sort of eased up, then I turned back to the party. I'll leave him to figure out how he'll handle a drunk marefriend.
I walked around some more, then found Twilight... reading... okay, that's too much. I went up to her and yanked the book away with my magic.
"Twilight!" I scolded, "What do you think you're doing!"
Twilight looked up at me, "Oh, I'm just reading on how to make Mike and Fluttershy's relationship go smoothly." she said.
I looked at the cover of the book; Making Relationships Successful was the title. I sighed, tossing the book into the nearest trash bin. Twilight gasped in shock.