Pinkie clops her hooves on the table, “A pony in Chicago? This changes things! Well, I think it does, Twilight does this change anything?”
Twilight steps closer to the picture and looks at it, “Well, now we know that there are other people out there in the same spot as us...”
Rarity nods, “More ponies out there, who knows how many there are too. They could be in every city.”
Pinkie starts hopping in circles around us, “That’s great news! More people are ponies!”
Twilight says something but I don’t hear it. I’m too distracted by Pinkie jumping in front of me. You see, unlike Rarity, Twilight, and myself, it appears Pinkie is perfectly happy prancing around in the nude. I guess this normally isn’t a problem since she has a puffy tail, but when she’s hopping around like this, things tend to get exposed.
“Yeah, ponies in Chicago, crazy.” I mumble as I hold up a hoof to block my vision of her exposed back half.
“Wait!” Pinkie suddenly stops jumping and her tail thankfully falls down to cover her rear, “Is this good news or is it sad news? More people are ponies, but maybe they didn’t want to be ponies?” Pinkie sits down and taps her chin, “Good news for us, bad news for them? I don’t know if we should be celebrating, hmm...”
Twilight sighs, “I don’t know if this is good or bad, but it certainly complicates things. It was hard enough figuring this all out when only four of us were ponies, knowing that there are ponies thousands of miles away just makes this all the more confusing. How did they get there? How many are over there? Are there more ponies in other cities? Are there more ponies in this city?
I add, “And how are all of those ponies connected to you?”
Twilight’s eyes dart towards me, “Wait, why would they be connected to me?”
I bite my lip for a moment as I try to recall all the facts in my head, “Let’s face it Twilight, your childhood describes the ponies these humans are becoming. You told stories of a pony with red ears, and now someone in Chicago grows red pony ears. Besides, everyone we know so far that became a pony is connected to you. So where does pony from Chicago come into play? Surely he must be connected somehow.”
We all fall silent for a moment as Twilight thinks, and then Pinkie claps her hooves excitedly, “Maybe he isn’t directly connected! Maybe he just belongs to another group of four ponies who all happen to share a birthday on May 1st!”
Rarity scoffs, “Yeah... I'm pretty sure that isn't the reason.”
Twilight rolls her eyes at the reference, “Guessing randomly is no way to find answers. We need to do some research.”
The three other ponies in the room groan in unison. I speak for all of us, ”Sis, we just spent the past four hours doing internet research on Equestria Girls. We need a break from that sort of work, please.”
Twilight frowns, “But we have to track him down.”
Rarity sighs, “Easier said than done, isn’t it?”
I tilt my head, “Well, what do we know about him? What sort of things do we know that we can use to find him?”
Rarity chuckles, “We know what he looked like as a human, which is useless now that he’s a pony.”
“Assuming he’s still male right now.” Pinkie adds.
Rarity continues, “And we know that he left no trace whatsoever.”
“And even the police have zero leads on who he is or where he went.” Pinkie happily contributes.
Rarity continues once more, “And we know he lives in the Chicago area. Or, well, he at least passed through there yesterday.”
Twilight rolls her eyes, “The Chicago metropolitan area has over twelve million citizens.”
I can’t help but laugh, “So you want us to find someone who, like twelve other million people, happened to be around Chicago yesterday. And we have no idea who he is, where he went, what he looks like now, or if he is even still a he.”
“And don’t forget he is actively trying to hide! He certainly won’t be advertising his location on social media! We honestly have no chance of finding him.” Pinkie says with a smile.
Twilight groans and looks at Pinkie, “Pinkie, this is all terrible news, why are you smiling?”
She claps her hooves together, “Because that means we don’t even have to bother trying right now! Which is great, because I do not want to spend another four hours doing boring research on the computer. Bleh, doing research sucks! Talk about worst possible activity anyone could ever do.”
Twilight grits her teeth and I step in before she turns Pinkie into a cactus. “Hey, guys, calm down, we have other things we can do that would be productive. How about we get back to looking through the show bible? We practically killed ourselves getting that thing--”
“Not to mention made all of Washington State think there was a terrorist attack in Seattle.” Rarity winces.
I nod in agreement, “Yes, exactly, we should really get back to looking through that binder.” I look over at my sister who is still glaring at Pinkie. “Hey, uh, Twilight, let’s go find some new spells to learn? Okay?”
She takes a deep breath and backs off from Pinkie, “Fine, I’ll go make lunch. Afterwards we can split up the show bible and see what we can find.”
Twilight turns around, flicking her tail in the process, and heads towards the kitchen. Once the alicorn is out of earshot, Pinkie rubs the back of her neck with a hoof and mumbles, “Man, what’s her problem.”
I shake my head, “She’s a little tense right now that’s all. And I think you going to her face and telling her ‘research sucks’ might have rubbed her the wrong way.”
Pinkie gives me a confused look, “But doing research DOES suck. That’s a lot of work!”
Rarity answers, “Some ponies like work Pinkie.” She turns towards me, “How was Twilight last night? She seemed pretty fragile in the evening, did you two talk before you slept?”
I smile, “We talked for a little bit, but I actually ended up sleeping on the floor last night. I guess I don’t blame her though.”
Rarity moves alongside of me and rests her head against mine, “Darling, that’s awful, you’re not a dog! These bodies are feral enough without us sleeping on the floor like animals!”
I chuckle, “It wasn’t too bad. Twilight thought, perhaps rightfully so, that it would be strange to share a small bed with me since I’m a stallion, and well, you know.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Pinkie grin, and swish her tail back and forth, “I wouldn’t mind. You can come to my bed whenever you want. I’m always open!” Pinkie blinks, then corrects herself, “I mean my door is always open!”
Rarity smiles and nods at her, “Pinkie, that’s very nice of you to offer.”
“Mmhmm.” Pinkie smiles and looks right at me. “Shining knows he’s welcome in my room anytime! You know, for sleeping!”
I swallow nervously. Pinkie was too crazy for me to want that offer. I mean, sharing a bed would be fine, but what if she wanted to do more than that? I find myself blushing “Yeah, thanks for the invitation Pinkie...” My heart starts to pound faster.
As if on cue, the pink pony turns around and makes for the door. Instead of walking she does the textbook “Pinkie Pie Bounce” towards the door. He tail flops around, once again resulting in everyone behind her getting an awkwardly clear view of parts that are best left covered. I bit my bottom lip.
At my side I can see Rarity also staring ahead at Pinkie, Rarity’s eyes are almost as wide as mine. She raises her eyebrows, “Shining, you are one fortunate stallion. If only I was still male.” She shakes her head, “That Pinkie.”
I breathe deeply and try to calm myself. I glance towards her, “Yeah, I wish you were in this body rather than me Rarity. This body is making me think about things I really don’t want to think about.”
Rarity nudges me in the shoulder, “Oh? Lover boy, shall I move your things to Pinkie’s room then? You two will have a wonderful night knowing her level of modesty.”
I blush, “Hey. that isn’t my idea at all! I’m not that kind of guy!” I sigh and remember last night, “But if Twilight kicks me out, then it’s not really my choice, right? What if I have to find another bed and Pinkie offers?”
Rarity smiles slowly, “Well... you don’t have to go to Pinkie’s bed. We have three beds, sleep in one Pinkie isn’t using.”
I squint with one eye, “But Twilight won’t let me sleep in her bed either.”
Rarity shrugs, “Well then I guess that leaves mine, doesn’t it?”
My throat tightens up. Any of the progress I made on ‘calming down’ was shattered. Did Rarity just offer her bed to me? “Umm... come again?”
She gives me an earnest smile, “I can’t have guests sleeping on my floor, I would feel bad. So come to my bed, I don’t bite.”
I poker face, she just invited me to sleep with her. But does she mean ‘sleep with me’ or ‘sleep with me’? Her face isn’t giving anything away, what is she thinking? I frown as I realize I was never good at reading faces, let alone pony faces. I try to swallow again, “Hey, thanks Rarity, you’re a great host. I’ll keep your offer in mind. If Twilight kicks me out of my room again, I’ll come knocking to yours.”
She nods politely and starts walking forward to leave. As soon as her fur leaves mine I let out a deep sigh of relief. What has gotten into us, sheesh. Well if worst comes to worst and I have to sleep in one of their rooms, I would probably pick Rarity. She is a great host and a sophisticated pony, she won’t do anything I don’t want to do.
In any case, as I watch Rarity make her way toward the door I think about her offer. I don’t know why I was so worried, this is Rarity we’re talking about, she must have meant her offer of a bed in a platonic, non-sexual way. She’s just a good host and is offering me a soft bed. No way she would want to do anything with me. We’ve only been ponies for like 12 hours, why should she want to do anything intimate with a stallion? Pinkie I can write off for being Pinkie. But Rarity? No way, too much class.
I blink as I realize something. Unlike the other rooms, Rarity’s bed is a twin size. It’s only big enough for one person! “Hey Rarity.”
She stops and turns back around to face me, making a strange face upon seeing me laying on my stomach like this. “Yes?”
“I was just thinking, if we slept together... would I even fit?”
Her eyes go wide, “Pardon?”
I look up at the ceiling and picture her bedroom in my mind, it was such a small room. “You’ve never had a stallion in there before, and I’m pretty big...”
I look back down to see Rarity blushing harder than thought was physically possible. Her entire face was just glowing red.
I blink a few times, oh god, that innuendo. “THE BED! I MEANT THE BED! I’M TOO BIG TO FIT ON YOUR BED!”
Rarity laughs nervously and fans her face with a hoof, “Oh course! Yes, that’s what you meant! Silly me for thinking of something else.”
I cover my face in my hooves, I could just die of embarrassment right on the spot. “I just mean your bed is small, I was worried we wouldn’t be able to fit two ponies on it...”
Rarity shakes her head and forces herself to laugh, “We can manage, don’t worry.”
~~~~~~
Lunch was uneventful. My sister was never really known for her cooking, and now that we couldn’t eat meat our food options were quite limited using this fridge. Woohoo, a few carrots and some water! Meal fit for a king!
Twilight levitates the show bible over and plops it on the table. “Alright people--”
“Ponies.” Pinkie corrects her.
She rolls her eyes, “Alright, ponies, we’re gonna split this thing up and see if we can find anything interesting. I just wish I knew where to start.”
I swallow the mouthful of vegetables I was chewing, “If you want to try and learn new spells, start by going through any notes regarding the Trixie episodes. Those episodes were overflowing with new spells Twilight and Trixie were casting.”
Twilight looks down at the binder and blinks, “So... those are which episodes?”
I smile, “Good to know my expertise has a use. Here, allow me. ” I magic the binder over to me and flick open the rings. I then use my horn to start selecting all the notes pertaining to magic heavy episodes. “There, here’s everything in the binder pertaining to the fifteen episodes where the most magic being used. Go nuts.”
Twilight just nods thanks and excuses herself from the table.
Pinkine bounces in her seat, “Oh, oh! Do me! Do me next!”
I pick out the main Pinkie episodes, pausing as I see something in the first main one. Included in the notes for Pinkie Keen is a completed ‘Table of Pinkie Sense’. There were about thirty things listed that Lauren said Pinkie could predict. I scan it over, damn, if these were true it would be very, very handy. “Hey Pinkie, I want you to memorize this table.”
She groans, “I hate studying.”
I stare at her until she makes eye contact. I crease my eyebrows, “Look, I’m not asking, I’m telling. This stuff could save our lives in the future, Pinkie’s body probably has more power behind it than most unicorns do, but you gotta learn how to use it.”
Her hair deflates slightly, “Fine, fine, I’ll study it. It won’t be fun though.”
I smile, “You can have fun later, this won’t take long.”
Pinkie leaves the table with the paper held in her mouth, and Rarity moves next to me. “So, what’s left in there?”
I enjoy having her at my side, but focus on the task at hand, “Well, we have another fifty episodes in here. ”
Twilight trots back in and starts to fill a glass with water using her magic. Rarity nods at me, “Which chapters do you want to do?”
I scratch my head, I guess Rarity and I can split these? That makes sense. “Okay, I’ll take these chapters.”
I pick up my chapters and take a step away from the table, only to see Rarity take a step after me. She speaks up, “Ok, let’s go. Maybe go to the living room? I have a nice couch in there.”
I stammer, “Uh, but, the other half of the chapters...?”
Rarity blinks, or was that a wink? “They can wait, let’s go look through these together, then when we finish we can do the next set.”
Across the room, Twilight lowers her drinking glass and stares at me, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
I grin awkwardly and give her a ‘hey, it wasn’t my idea!’ expression, then turn back to the most attractive unicorn I have ever seen. “That sounds lovely Rarity, lead the way.”
~~~~~~
Like any study session involving a boy and a girl, we didn’t really study that much. Sure we went through the material, but our heart wasn’t really in it and we just went through the motions of reading the pages. We had some small talk through the work and the afternoon rapidly began to pass. We finished the first stack of chapters and were about halfway through the second when I finally built up the confidence to ask her a question I needed answered.
I look up at her. I could just watch her sitting there reading for days, everything about her just captivated me. But eventually she notices my staring and looks up, “Yes?”
I point at the two of us with a hoof and ask my question, ”What are we. I mean the two of us, the pair. We were just co-workers before, but what are we now?”
Rarity puts down the page she was reading from. “I don’t know, we’re... something? I’m not really sure how this works from the female side of the fence, if I was in your hooves I imagine I would have a better idea for how things stand. But that being said, I like you. You’re the only one I really know. Don’t get me wrong, your sister and Pinkie are great, but things are very chaotic right now and you’re the only one here I really know.”
Rarity scoots closer to rest her head on my shoulder, I let out a happy sigh and lean into her. Then I realize I should probably ask her something first, “Um, did you have a boyfriend back before all this started?”
She laughs, “I think you mean girlfriend darling. And no, I’ve been single for a few months now actually.” An awkward silence fills the air as the question’s massive connotations just float there for both of us to think about. Rarity clears her throat, “And you? Did you have a, what’s the word they used in the show, a special somepony back when you were a human?”
I chuckle at the word choice, “Nah, I’ve been single for a while. For a long while...”
She turns her head to face mine and grins mischievously, “Wait, if you’re Shining Armor, aren’t you married to Cadance now? Oh my, you totally are! You’re in a relationship with that pink pony! If we find her, are you going to kiss her? Hmm? Your long lost wife?”
I find myself blushing and I bat the idea with a hoof, “What, no, come on Rarity, I’m in the body of Shining Armor, but I’m not actually him! I have nothing to do with the ‘real’ Shining, so Cadance has nothing to do with me. I just happen to look like her husband, but nothing else is there.”
She leans back into me and says just two words. “Oh, good.”
My heart skips a beat and I glance at Rarity, “And why is that, why would you be so pleased to hear that news?”
She just rolls her eyes and leans back on my shoulder. I smile to myself, I was in heaven here. I’ve wanted to be with Tom for almost a decade now, and now not only are we pretty much a pair, but I’m more attracted to him than ever. Well, sure, he might be a girl now, but hey, this relationship is still quite legit. There’s nothing wrong with homesexual couples, but the fact is, we’re as hetero as it gets. Any way you look at us, we’re a male/female couple. Sure things get confusing if you think about them too hard, but hey, who said love is--
“Dinner’s ready... urgh, are you two even trying to work?” I glance up to see Twilight glancing over at us. I look down and realize Rarity and I are romantically cuddling, our bodies and hooves all intertwined with each other.
We both scramble to separate ourselves, I clear my throat, “Oh, hey, we were just um...”
“Studying the show notes.” Rarity answers calmly.
Twilight rolls her eyes, “Look, I don’t care, you’re both grown ups, you can do what you want. Now come on, dinner is ready, and it’s hot.”
I trot after Twilight and we arrive at the kitchen table where Pinkie is in the middle of setting out the food. It looks like Pinkie will be having two bowls of kids cereal for dinner, and the rest of us will be eating broccoli and cheese. I shrug as I look at it, it’s not that bad with our new taste buds. Eager to change the subject from what were just talking about, I ask Twilight about her progress, “So, learn any new spells?”
She smirks, “You bet. I’ve been working on this new spell all afternoon while you two were busy ‘studying’ over there.”
Rarity ignores the last half of her comment, “A new spell? Is it powerful?”
Twilight nods, “Oh yeah.”
I get impatient, “Well? What is it?!”
Pinkie looks up, “I want to know too! Twilight said she would only show me the spell when all of us were here.”
She nods, “I don’t want to alarm the neighbors, so I’m only going to do this once.”
I feel my heart start to race, this is going to be huge. Maybe Twilight was right, instead of cuddling with Rarity I should be studying these spells. Magic is really powerful, who knows what chaotic powers these show notes contain. What did Twilight learn? How to Shoot lightning? Fireballs? Teleportation? How to make a shield bubble? How to summon a violent storm? Open a portal? Heal mortal wounds?
Twilight open a window to gets things started. “Okay, everyone ready?” We all nod eagerly and Twilight takes a deep breath. “Here goes nothing!”
Her horn flashes and her face screws up in pure concentration. I feel my hair start to rise from the static in the air. Twilight’s horn glows brighter and Rarity starts to get flustered, “Um, Twilight, you’re not going to make another explosion are you? This is my family’s condo.”
Twilight strains as she speaks, “No, don’t worry, I got it...”
A gentle breeze blows in through the window, it carries some sound with it, probably some street noise. I look around, waiting for the magic.
Twilight’s horn starts to dim, “There! Got it! Phew.”
Rarity tilts her head, “Um, pardon?”
Pinkie looks around in a panic, “Did she do something to us? Did she make it so I like broccoli? She better not have!”
The last bits of light from Twilight’s horn fade away and she relaxes, “Ah, done. Did you guys hear that?”
I crease my eyebrows, “Hear what, the stereo across the street when the breeze came by?”
She bares her teeth, “That wasn’t a stereo! That was me! I did the spell from the Trixie episode! I created a breeze out of thin air and used it to make a melody through the trees around us.”
Everyone at the table is silent for a few seconds. Rarity leans forward, “Are you sure it wasn’t a stereo across the street? Because it would make a lot more sense if you just used a stereo next time instead of some spell that took you six hours to learn.”
Pinkie nods, “Yep, sounds like you wasted your entire afternoon.”
Twilight facehoofs, “Brother, back me up here. Magic is totally worth learning.”
I bite my tongue, “Well, yeah, magic is good to know, but, uh, I don’t know, maybe next time focus on learning more useful spells?”
Twilight drops her hooves in exasperation, “What’s wrong with being able to summon a breeze that carries a melody?!”
I can’t help but smirk, “Well yeah, next time a giant space bear appears in Canada, it’s good to know you will be ready for it!”
Pinkie laughs, Twilight just shakes her head. “Oh come on, I can summon a breeze of wind! I have power over the air, no human in the history of Earth has had that power before!”
I blink, unimpressed, “Yeah, but you’re not a human, you’re a unicorn. A protégé alicorn princess actually.”
Twilight mumbles to herself, “I learn god like powers, and no one cares.”
Pinkie nods, “Wake me when you can create cake out of thin air or something.”
~~~~~~
The rest of the dinner went well (except for Twilight fuming that her spell wasn’t as well received as she hoped). Afterwards we dedicated a few hours towards searching online for any clues about this pony in Chicago. Nothing came up though, and around 11pm we decided to call it for the night. I elected to head to the kitchen first to get a quick snack before bed.
I yawn as I turn the corner and realize someone else is already in the kitchen. I look down at the floor and freeze in place as I see Pinkie is there. She appears to have put a bag of ice on the floor and is sitting on it with her bare lower half. I don’t know if I should look away or just leave, all I knew is I’m not hungry for food anymore.
Her eyes light up as she sees me, “Oh, hey Shining.”
I can’t help but stare, “What... are you doing?”
She gestures at the ice between her rear legs, “I was boiling some water to make ramen noodles, but it’s actually pretty hard to operate a stove hands. When I turned around I burned the top of one of my back legs on the stove! I wanted to ice it, so I got this this ice to sit on because I have nothing to hold the ice with!
“Oh... Is it a bad burn?” I immediately regret even asking.
She leans forward and raises her tail to show my the burn spot, which also ends up showing me far more real estate that I really want to see back there. I bring up one of my forelegs so I can bite my hoof. This isn’t fair, this isn’t fair at all. I’m really trying to ignore my male sex drive, and Pinkie’s crazy antics are certainly not helping! I mean Rarity I can handle. That’s just some nice cuddling and some back rubs. I can totally handle being around girls who like me when that is all they want. But this? How the heck do I deal with someone like Pinkie, to whom there is no such thing as personal space?
As if on cue Pinkie stands up, the melted ice and water dripping off her back half. She flicks her tail to the side, “Can you pass me a towel?”
I avert my eyes, then magic a small towel over to her, dropping it at her hooves.
She glances back and frowns at the towel. “Shining, I don’t have magic. I literally can’t reach my back with these hooves. Can you dry me off?”
I grit my teeth but know she is telling the truth. What’s more, she’s shivering from the ice water. I sigh and walk closer to her, grabbing the towel in my hooves. I start to dry her sides, her tail, and the bottom half of her legs. She just stands there patiently until I finish as much as I dare. Once I drop the towel she looks back at me, “Shining?”
I look at her face, “Hmm?”
She waggles her hips, “You didn’t get in between my legs!”
I poker face, “Uh, Pinkie, isn’t that a little private?”
She smiles earnestly, “Shining, you are my closest male friend, I don’t mind if you get a little personal with me. Now come on, who knows how long you’re going to be stuck as a stallion. You can’t just run away from every mare that asks you to dry her.”
I sigh and realize she has a point. Might as well break this fear of mine right now. I let my eyes take in the sight before and I grab the towel once more.
“I haven’t seen him Rarity, maybe check the kitchen?” Twilight’s voice is heard through the apartment walls.
My ears perk up and I realize I’m mere inches away from a naked Pinkie and were on the floor of the kitchen. “Oh uh.”
Pinkie sighs, “Well, I guess I’ll let that part air dry” She walks forward and lets her tail drop back down. She then picks up the bag of ice and calmly carries it to the sink.
I toss the towel in the sink and give Pinkie a sheepish grin, then shake my head. “Pinkie, you’re crazy.”
“Hey, you’re the one that was rubbing a towel on me.” She grins, “Oh, that reminds me, have you thought about my offer for tonight?”
I bite my lip, I still hadn’t really fully decided which bed to sleep in tonight. “Well, I can’t sleep in Twilight’s bed...”
Pinkie nods, “And you won’t really be sleeping in mine.”
I hear the hoof steps of Rarity coming down the hall. I tilt my head at Pinkie, “Really? Oh, that’s probably for the best. Makes things easier for me. See, Rarity already invited me to her bed, and I was going to have to somehow pick between--”
Pinkie gives me a coquettish smile, “I meant you wouldn’t really be sleeping in mine because we would probably be too busy doing other things. We need to remove your fear of mares somehow, right? You know, we would have total privacy for an entire night. Wouldn’t that be fun? Just the two of us, no one else would ever know what we did.” Pinkie walks past me, still smiling. “I’m telling you Shining, come to my room tonight and you’ll make memories that will last a lifetime..”
I can hear my blood pounding in my ears as Pinkie takes the last steps out of the kitchen. At the same time Rarity enters through the doorway. “Oh! Hello Pinkie.”
“Hi Rarity! Goodnight!” Pinkie exclaims happily. Then walks down the hallway whistling the theme song to The Andy Griffith Show.
Rarity turns to watch her leave. “Ah, Pinkie is always in such a good mood.”
“Mmhmm,” I whimper, trying to block the recent thoughts out of my mind. “So, Rarity, what brings you here?”
She walks up along side me and rests her head against mine. I close my eyes, I love it when she does that. She speaks up, “Well I told Twilight I wanted to ask you something about the show bible, but in reality I came in here to save you from Pinkie.”
I raise my eyebrows, “Oh, what makes you think I needed saving?”
She takes a step away from me and moves toward the puddle on the floor left behind from the ice. She stares at it, “Woman’s intuition.”
I chuckle, “Tom you have only been a girl for like, 24 hours.”
She glances back at me, “Call me Rarity dear. Hearing the name Tom and being reminded I was a guy when I’m in this body is strange. Especially when I’m reminded about it while I’m thinking about things.”
I bite my lip, “Things? What are you thinking about?”
She smiles, “Not important!”
I nod slowly, “Okay...”
We awkwardly stand there for a moment and I notice Rarity avoids eye contact, “So, should I prepare the bed for two?"
I poker face. I honestly don’t know. How can I possibly turn down Rarity? She’s the girl of my dreams and the prettiest thing I have ever seen. But at the same time, how can I possibly turn down Pinkie’s offer? I blink, no, wait, what am I doing, I shouldn’t want EITHER of their offers. Oh god, what am I supposed to do here? Temptation and awkwardness either way I choose. I want both offers, and I fear both offers!
Rarity laughs, “Are you okay darling? You're sweating bullets! I didn’t mean to intimidate you.”
I stammer, “I just don’t know... if Twilight will be okay with me leaving?” Yeah, that! I just don’t know if she would be okay with us, you know.”
“Pfft, we’re just sharing a bed. Who says anything special is going to happen?”
Another awkward silence falls between us. I finally decide to just clear it up once and for all, “Um... will it?”
Rarity ignores my question entirely, “If your sister would prefer that you stayed in her room, that’s fine. I would not be insulted in any way, and I really don’t want to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do. I’m just letting you know that I’m going to bed now, and if you need a place to sleep, you are more than welcome to join me there.”
Rarity does a polite bow and takes her leave. I say goodnight and tell her I’m going to check on my sister. A short trot later and I enter my bedroom to find Twilight wearing her lower pajamas and stretching her wings.
She glances up at me, “Oh, what are you doing here?”
I look around as she works to get her wings to fold back down comfortably. “I’m just checking if you’re okay with me not sleeping here.”
Her wings folded, she looks over at me. “What? Why would I care? Rachel, I’m not your mom. You can do what you want, you don’t need my permission.”
I’m a bit taken aback from hearing my original name spoken. “Yeah. Well okay then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She pauses for a moment, then looks up to see me already halfway out the door. “Where are you sleeping?”
I screech to a halt and slowly turn around, “Oh, um, Rarity said she doesn’t want me sleeping on the floor, so she offered...”
Twilight smirks, “Rarity huh? Yeah I can see why. Well, I’m sure you two will--”
I blush, “Whoa, whoa, Rarity never offered that, she just wanted to give me a place to sleep! Pinkie is crazy one that actually wants--” I cut myself off, but I think I said too much already.
Twilight stammers, “Oh, wow. Well Pinkie is good too, I’m sure you two will--”
I hold out a hoof, wanting to tell her that I didn’t confirm that offer because I was still debating if I wanted Rarity more. However. I’m pretty sure I dug myself in a deep enough hole as it is already. I force a laugh, “Ha, yeah, right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
My sister just shakes her head, “Ah, have fun.”
I close the door behind me and trot down the hall, my heart already pounding from the choice before me. Well, at least I have some time before I have to decide. I won’t have to commit until I make it to the fork in the hallway where--
I blink, I’m at the fork in the hallway already. Damn, I sort of wish I had more time. I look left and right, seeing that for both Pinkie and Rarity’s rooms the doors are closed but the lights are on. I swear under my breath, I’m really going to have to choose here aren’t I? I was sort of hoping for some extenuating circumstances that would force me to pick one over the other, and then give me an excuse in the future as to why I turned one of them down. But nope, I’m not seeing that happening here. It’s all on me and what I want.
I look left, there’s Pinkie’s room and behind it is a night full of more craziness than any man could ever dream of. I look right, there’s Rarity’s room and an evening of cuddling and forming a bond with an old crush. I close my eyes and think about what’s happened so far and who I am right now. With my mind made up I take a deep breath and start walking towards the mare I’m going to spend my night with. I get to her room, then take a second to confirm my choice. Satisfied, I push open the door...
I smile at the pony waiting for me on the other side and she grins back, “Thanks for coming.”
I nod, “The pleasure is all mine Rarity.”