//------------------------------// // Blast From the Past // Story: Unexpected Confessions // by Dianwei32 //------------------------------// Unexpected Confessions Chapter Twenty One         Blast from the Past         Applejack shook her head to try and clear the vision of Rainbow Dash from her mind, but the beautiful pegasus remained fixed firmly in her head, looking off to the side as a light blush colored her cheeks. She closed her eyes and rubbed them vigorously with a foreleg. Dagnabit girl, Ah got work to do and you ain’t exactly makin’ it easy to concentrate. After trying and failing to remove the image from her head a few more times, she leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.         Maybe Ah could... She shook her head again, harder than before. No. Ah made mah decision, and Ah’m gonna stick by it. Ah promised Pinkie after all. *         The bell above Sugarcube Corner’s door rang out as Applejack pushed her way into the shop, before having to jump out of the way of a mass of bags moving in the opposite direction. When it passed, she caught a glimpse of grey flank, a blond tail, and a bubble cutie mark before the door swung shut.         “Applejack!”         The farm pony saw two blurs of pink, then felt the crushing force of Pinkie hugging her from behind. Just before she started to fear that her friend might break something, the pressure disappeared, leaving Applejack gasping for breath.         “Land sake’s, girl, ya almost—” She turned to see Pinkie standing behind the counter on the other side of the bakery. “How...” After a second, she sighed and simply walked over to the counter.         “Morning, Applejack, what can I get you? Just please don’t say ‘muffins.’” Pinkie gestured the display case, where nearly a third of the trays held only crumbs. “I thought six dozen would be enough, but Derpy bought them all... again. She even managed to eat six while walking from the counter to the door.” Shrugging, she pulled a couple empty trays out of the case and replaced them with full trays of scones and cupcakes. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to make even more tomorrow.”         Applejack could only stare at the empty trays for a moment, unable to comprehend why anypony would want that many muffins. Giving up on the idea, she shook her head and glanced over at the door behind her. “Say, Pinkie, could we talk fer a bit?”         “We’re talking right now, silly.” Pinkie responded, smiling broadly.         “Ah meant maybe somewhere a bit more... private?” Applejack jumped as the sound of a pan falling came from the kitchen.         Pinkie cocked her head to the side, her smile shrinking a bit. “Okay.” She stepped out from behind the counter, heading for a staircase nestled in the back corner of the room. When she reached the base of the stairs, she called back to the kitchen. “Mr. Cake! I need to run upstairs for a few minutes.”         “Alright, Pinkie.” Carrot stuck his head out of the kitchen, glancing around the lobby for any customers. “Do we need any— Oh, hello, Applejack.”         “Howdy, Mr. Cake.” The farm pony tipped her hat to him and started for the staircase.         “We’re out of muffins... again.” Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin. “But, I think there are some cookies in the oven that should be done right... about... nnnnnnow!” As soon as she finished speaking, the timer on the oven buzzed, and Carrot Cake ducked back into the kitchen to tend to it. Pinkie turned and bounced up the stairs with Applejack hot on her heels. When they reached the former’s bedroom, she closed the door, hopped onto the bed, and patted the spot next to her. “Come on, AJ, let’s turn that frown upside down.”         Applejack trudged over to the bed, climbing onto it and staring at her hooves while she tried to think of a way to bring up her problem. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t find any words, so she just closed it and looked over at her friend, who was just smiling and waiting patiently. After nearly a minute of silence, she managed to voice the source of her problem. “It’s about Rainbow Dash... and Twilight.”         "You mean Fluttershy, and Rainbow, and Rarity, right?" Pinkie tapped her chin again. "Twilight's a new one, I thought it was just those three having trouble..."         "Rarity and ‘Shy? No... well, kinda." Applejack took her hat off and played with it nervously, wringing the edge in her hooves. "Ah know Dash's got her thing fer 'Shy, but... Ah..." The words lodged themselves in her throat. Swallowing to clear them, she took a deep breath and forced them out. "Ah'm in love with Dash."         "Oh my gosh! We need to throw a party!” Pinkie sat up, bouncing with excitement. “How do Fluttershy and Rarity like you? I know they like you, but I mean do they like you like you? Wait, did Dashie and Rarity stop fighting over Fluttershy?” She slowly inched forward as she spoke, her smile growing larger with each question. “Tell me, oh please tell me!"         "Ah don't know." Applejack leaned away from the torrent of questions. "Ah ain't seen 'em recently, and Ah don't think 'Shy and Rarity know, anyway—" She looked down at her hooves again, unable to bear the incessant grin her friend wore. "Ah've only told Dash herself and Twi... but it's that second part that's kinda the problem."         "Twilight too? I am so out of the loop! You guys work fast!” Pinkie leaned back. “Next time the Cakes need a sitter, I'm gonna have to tell them I can't do it for too long because I get busy and suddenly all my friends are kissing without me!" Her smile slipped slightly, then firmly reasserted itself. "Um... I know I was busy, but the next time you all get together I really, really, really wanna come. Unless... you don't want me to..."         "I— You— What?" Applejack stared at Pinkie in confusion for a moment. "Nopony's kissin' anypony, leastways not that Ah know of." Rubbing a hoof against her temple, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Ah think we're gettin' off topic. The thing is... Ah told Twi that Ah'm in love with Dash, but... it turns out that Twi's in love with...” She drifted off, her mouth working silently for a few seconds before she sighed. “Well... me."         Pinkie gasped, drawing in so much air that Applejack was surprised she didn’t puff up and float away. "What?! Nonono you're all doing it wrong! When a pony and a pony and a pony and some more ponies all love each other very much they all get a great big bed and have happy times together!” She fell back onto the bed, rolling around and hugging herself. After a few seconds, she stopped and sat back up. “You're not even kissing? Didn't your parents— Oh... sorry. Um... well, I mean, your Granny must have told you, right?"         Applejack just looked at Pinkie, her mouth hanging open while her brain futilely tried to process what she had just heard. "It... It ain't that simple, Pinkie. Ah only got feelin's fer Dash. Ah can't just turn 'round and be with Twi."         "That's silly, you can't not have feelings for Twilight, she's one of your bestest friends!" Pinkie pursed her lips, deep in thought for a moment. "Besides, Dashie is kinda busy with Rarity and Fluttershy, they might not like it if you stole Dashie away. Trust me... you don't wanna make ‘Shy mad..." She shivered, then smiled again.         "Well, Ah suppose." Applejack slumped down, her ears flattening back. "Ah'm talkin' 'bout romantic feelin's, though. Ah like Twi well and all as a friend, but Ah don't... love her."         "Oh, I know how that is. Well, not exactly that.” Pinkie looked down, a light blush bleeding through her coat. “I think Twilight’s kinda cute! But she's always so busy with her books and her princesses!” Bringing her gaze back up, the edges of her mouth twitched back up into a small smile. “You know, one time I gave her a whole plate of cupcakes with 'I really really like you, Twilight' written on them... and she just smiled, hugged me, and said she liked me too, but no kisses! All of you are doing it wrong!" She huffed and crossed her forelegs. Applejack pressed her hooves to her temples. This was a mistake. "Pinkie, yer missin' the point here. Ah—" She stopped as what Pinkie had just said finally registered. "Hold on a sec, you like Twi?"         "Yep!” Pinkie’s annoyance evaporated and she smiled broadly again. “Honestly I'm kinda glad to hear she likes somepony." Her smile cracked again and her mane deflated a bit, but she kept going, even though it was clear that it hurt her to do so. "Don't worry, I won't get in your way. I was starting to worry that I might have to throw an intervention party and explain that there’s more to life than friendship. I mean, you don't have to have a special somepony, but it makes things super nice and she should at least be aware of it!” The pink mare looked out the window, where the tree top of the library poked above the rest of the buildings. “Twilight's kinda weird like that; she gets too wrapped up in stuff and misses the important things. You should make her happy!” She looked back at the farm pony, a stern expression on her face. “But you need to start with the kissing, that's important!"         “Pinkie, would you forget the kissin’ fer a bit?” Applejack rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache start to throb behind her eyes. “Are ya sayin’ Ah should be with Twi? What ‘bout Dash? What ‘bout you?”         Pinkie sighed, her mane falling slightly. “Applejack... I like Twilight, a whole bunch. It would make me super happy if she wanted to kiss me—” A dreamy smile crossed her face. “—but she wants to kiss you! I want her to be happy, and you’re the one she wants to be happy with. Same with Dashie, you want her to be happy, right?”         “Of course!” Applejack sat up, then slumped forward. “But is it too much to ask that she could be happy with me?”         "Of course not, silly! Dashie's just thinking about Fluttershy right now, just like you're thinking about her, and Twilight about you, and me about Twi— " Pinkie shook her head mid sentence, "Phooey, this is making my head hurt. When you get together with more than one pony, you kinda have to like all of them or everypony ends up being a Grumpy McGrumperton. Do you love Fluttershy and Rarity too?”         “No.” Applejack felt the conversation was starting to circle. “Like Ah said earlier, Ah only got feelin’s fer Dash.” Pinkie nodded in understanding. “So, what will Dashie think when she finds out you want her to stop being with ‘Shy and maybe Rarity?”         Applejack winced. “She... kinda already does.”         Pinkie whipped a couch from out of nowhere and set it down in front of the bed. She picked up Applejack and laid her down on the couch. “I see...” She said, blowing bubbles out of a pipe that had apparently come with the couch. “And how did that happen?” Applejack blinked for a moment, still adjusting to her new position on the couch. “Well, she kinda came to me fer advice on impressin’ ‘Shy.” Her words trailed off as she went, causing Pinkie to lean in closer to hear her. “And Ah might’ve told her to get ‘Shy some magnolias.”         Pinkie gasped again. “But Applejack, Fluttershy is allergic to those!”         “Ah know.” Applejack replied shamefacedly, unable to bring herself to meet the other mare’s gaze. “Ah also told her that ‘Shy was lookin’ fer a certain book, and she ran herself ragged flyin’ to Vanhoover and back just to get it.” She buried her face in her hooves.         Pinkie held her pipe over Applejack and whacked her on the nose. “No! That’s not how you treat a friend, much less how you treat somepony you are in love with. What if Fluttershy had a bad reaction and had to go to the hospital? What if Rainbow got hurt flying all that way? How can you say you love her if you treat her like that?”         Applejack just stared at Pinkie for a second, still stunned by the bop on her nose. “Ah know. It was stupid... Ah was stupid.” She went back to toying with her hat, as if hoping that it held answers for her. “Ah just thought that maybe... if Dash had messed up with ‘Shy, that Ah mighta been able to, ya know, comfort her.” She saw Pinkie about to speak and held up a hoof to stave it off, if only for a moment. “Ah know, Ah know. It was downright despicable of me, but Ah already got two earfuls about it from Granny and Big Mac.”         “You... You... Fine!” Pinkie threw her hooves in the air, then pointed the tip of her pipe at the other mare. “But that was still mean! Love means you want them to be happy, not trying to mess them up just so you can be happy! If that had worked you would have had an unhappy Flutters and and an unhappy Dashie! That’s so... selfish!” Pinkie looked ready to bop her on the nose again, but instead shoved the pipe in her mouth and blew bubbles angrily.         “Well, ‘Shy’d’ve had Rarity...” Applejack trailed off, her excuse sounding pathetic even to her own ears. “No, you’re right. Ah should want her to be happy, even if it ain’t with me.” The words left a sour taste in her mouth, but she knew they were true. Crossing her forelegs behind her head, she glanced over at Pinkie, who had a veritable eruption of bubbles blasting from her pipe. “Ah guess that just leaves Twilight. Pinkie, how could Ah be happy with Twi, knowin’ that you ain’t happy that she’s with me?”         Pinkie paused in her bubble blowing, taking the pipe from her mouth. “I just want to see her smile. I thought I could do that for her, but I guess she had her heart set on you already. That’s okay! But... do you think you can love her, AJ? I know Dashie is all whoosh and zoom and wowzie, but Twilight’s wowzie too, it’s just a different kind of wowzie.”         She laid the pipe down on the bed, where it immediately tipped over while she herself leaned back, resting on her elbows. "I go to the library all the time. Twilight isn't a very good librarian, I don't think she's even noticed I've been checking out the same two books over and over. They’re really interesting books! But they’re not the really important thing that I’m checking out." Pinkie giggled and snorted at her own joke. "She gets these funny little wrinkles when she's thinking really really hard, like... if she squints at something long enough the answers will pop off the page and kiss her." Her usual manic grin gave way to a more subdued smile, maybe even a serene one. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to think like Twilight. You know—" She made a few flailing motions, “This doesn't make sense! I must research this!" Pinkie fell silent after that, the strange un-Pinkie-like smile still plastered on her face as her eyes glazed over. Applejack simply stared at the other mare, struck speechless by her impassioned soliloquy. As the silence stretched on, she cast about for something to say. Just as she opened her mouth, however, the pink pony continued. "I wonder if she could make everything in the world make sense. I know it's silly, but she tries so hard...” Pinkie’s lips twitched and her smile grew a little bigger. “You should see her smile when she solves a problem." "She ain't doin' a lot of smilin' right now, Pinkie." Applejack said morosely. "Well, she's cute when she's frustrated too!" Pinkie replied. "And besides, that’s where you come in! Now you can look at her and see all the wows! and zaps! and booms!"         “Ah... don’t know.” Applejack gazed up at the ceiling, trying to imagine having a relationship with Twilight, but every time she tried to picture it, the unicorn sported a rainbow mane and a brash, cocky attitude. Several times, her mental image even sprouted wings. Eventually, she pressed her hooves to her temples and huffed in annoyance. Come on, girl. Twi ain’t Dash. She pictured Twilight and Rainbow standing next to each other, forcing herself to keep them separate. In her mind’s eye, Dash looked over at Twilight and said something, causing the unicorn to blush and giggle into a hoof. Twilight stuttered some reply, focusing mainly on the ground but occasionally glancing up at Rainbow. The pegasus stepped closer, draping a wing across Twilight’s back and brushing her wing tip along the other mare’s cutie mark, causing her to shiver. Twilight leaned into the embrace, inching her muzzle ever closer to Dash’s as a final few words tried to force their way out. Without warning, Dash lunged forward and closed the last few inches, locking her lips with Twilight’s. “Gah!” Applejack bolted upright, her hat falling off with the sudden motion. She scanned the room frantically, only finding a rather confused looking Pinkie staring at her. Taking several deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart, she grabbed her hat. A wave of jealousy knotted her stomach, but she couldn’t tell at whom it was directed. She swung her legs over and hopped off of the couch, planting her hat back on her head in the process. “Ah don’t know, Pinkie... but Ah’ll try. Twi deserves that much, at least.”         “Good!” Pinkie picked up the couch and shoved it into her mane, then wrapped Applejack in a rib-crushing hug. “Thanks, Applejack. Twilight's going to be so super duper happy if you take care of her. That's what she wants, and she... she should get to be happy.”         Applejack stood in the embrace, watching a pony she cared for give up her love to somepony else like it was no big deal. "Pinkie, this whole thing ain’t fair. It shouldn’t have to be like this.” The farm pony winced as Pinkie pulled away, a hurt expression on her face. “Tell you what, Ah'll do my best to make Twi happy, and maybe now Ah’ll be able to see her like you do. Heck, you could even help me come up with some ideas fer things we can do together."         Pinkie smiled. Not one of her normal exuberant smiles, but a small soft one that was full of warmth and hope. “That sounds like fun.” *         Applejack stood up and adjusted her hat, a confident smile on her lips. She belatedly noticed a thumping sound coming from around her hooves. Looking down, she saw Angel Bunny standing in front of her, tapping his foot impatiently and scowling at her. When he saw that he had her attention, he pointed to the kitchen with one paw and into his mouth with the other.         “Alright, quit yer bellyachin’.” She walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing a head of lettuce and a couple carrots. After tearing a couple leaves of lettuce off of the head, she dumped them and the carrots into a bowl and slid it over to the waiting rabbit. “Eat up, sugarcube.” Angel stared at the bowl for a moment, then looked up at the farm pony with an incredulous expression before pushing the bowl away. Hopping over to an open cookbook, he pointed at an ornate salad and nodded, then pointed at the bowl of vegetables and stuck his tongue out.         Applejack looked at the salad instructions for a second, then shook her head. “Sorry, sugarcube, but Ah ain’t makin’ that. You got a perfectly good bowl of food, so just go ahead and eat that.” She headed for the door leading to the back yard, but stopped as a carrot hit her in the back of the head. Picking it up, she walked back over to where Angel was glaring at her and pointing at the cookbook.         “Now listen here, ya little varmint.” She leaned down to eye level with him. “Ah ain’t makin’ you no fancy salad, and if’n ya throw anythin’ else at me, Ah’ll truss you up like Hearth’s Warmin’ dinner.” She stuck the carrot in Angel’s mouth and trotted back to the door, sparing one last glance over her shoulder to see him eating the carrot, still glaring at her.         Once she got outside, Applejack sighed and looked off to the north, where she could just make out Cloudsdale. After gazing at it for a few moments, she set about checking up on the various animals scampering around the yard, wondering in the back of her mind how much Rainbow was enjoying herself. *         Rainbow was not enjoying herself. Having unbelievable tickets to see the Wonderbolts was awesome and all, but having to wait outside the stadium while the maintenance crews finished setting up and cleaning bordered on cruel and unusual punishment. Luckily, she had a distraction in the form of her beautiful marefriend, who was presently very interested in studying the hem of her dress. “You doin’ okay there, Flutters?”         “Oh.” Fluttershy looked up guiltily. “Um, I-I’m sorry. It’s j-just—” She stopped and ducked down as a group of ponies passed by and a few looked in their general direction. “T-there are t-too many ponies. I’m just worried that somepony will recognize me from when I was a model.” Grabbing the hem of her dress again, she toyed with it while her eyes darted between it and Rainbow. “If I don’t look, I can pretend they’re not here.”         “Sorry, ‘Shy. I didn’t think about that.” Dash stepped closer and draped a wing over her marefriend’s back. A commotion from near the stadium drew her attention, and she stretched up to see what was going on. “Hey, it looks like they’re letting everypony in. You wanna head in?”         Fluttershy shivered, but looked up. “Yes.” Together, they made their way toward the stadium. As they got closer, the crowd of ponies pressed in to fit through the entryways, and Fluttershy began breathing more rapidly, her eyes darting around nervously.         Rainbow noticed the other mare’s discomfort and started weaving off to the side, toward the edge of the mass of ponies. Stretching her neck up again, she saw a sign labelled ‘General Admission’ with an arrow pointing the the left and one reading ‘Private Boxes’ with an arrow to the right. After a couple minutes of maneuvering through the crowd, she and Fluttershy emerged from the throng and into a nearly empty hallway. Dash looked over to see her marefriend squeezing her eyes shut and walking blindly, guided by nothing more than the cyan wing across her back. “Hey, you can open your eyes now.”         Fluttershy slowly opened one eye, then the other, looking around warily. “Wh-where are we?” She looked behind her, back at the sea of ponies still pouring into the stadium. Leaning against Rainbow for comfort, she took a couple deep breaths and turned back to her marefriend. “Okay, we can go back in.”         Dash smiled and started walking down the hallway, away from the crowd and down the empty hallway. “We don’t have to. Our seats are over here.” She motioned down the hallway with her head and started walking, pulling the other mare along with a wing.         “B-but...” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at the sea of ponies still pouring into the stadium, breathing a sigh of relief as it got farther and farther away. Turning back to the front, she saw that they weren’t alone in the hallway anymore. A pair of unicorns were walking a ways ahead of them, and both of them were dressed in formal attire. “Dashie, where are our seats?”         Rainbow smiled again. “We’ve got box seats. Sweet ones, too.” She sped up a bit, a spring in her step that forced her marefriend to break into a canter to keep up. After a minute of walking, they reached a dead end with an elevator set into the left wall and a white pegasus stallion wearing a tuxedo shirt and coat.         The stallion looked them over, his expression completely impassive. “How can I help you, madams?”         “We’ve got box seats.” Dash came to a stop. “We’re up on the Platinum level.”         The elevator attendant raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. “Might I see your tickets, ma’am?”         Rainbow’s eyes narrowed for a second, but she unfolded her free wing and reached into her dress, pulling the tickets out and presenting them to the stallion. He leaned in closer and looked them over. After a moment, he took them in a hoof and held them up, letting an overhead light shine through them and reveal the Wonderbolts watermark. Once he saw it, he handed the tickets back to Dash, reaching back with a wingtip to press the ‘Up’ button on the elevator’s control panel.         Dash put the tickets back in her dress, but still felt a insulted at his initial skepticism. Ready to make her feelings known, she opened her mouth to say something, but was preempted by the ding of the elevator arriving. The doors parted and the attendant stepped aside, bowing slightly and waving a foreleg to gesture the mares in. Rainbow was still ready to tear him a new one, but a gentle nudge and a meaningful look from Fluttershy convinced her to simply enter the waiting lift.         “Enjoy your show, madams.” The stallion reached in and pressed a button on the console, which stayed lit afterward. “Let your server know if there’s anything you need during the performance.” As he finished speaking, the doors slid closed and the elevator lurched upward. Dash started bouncing on her hooves slightly as the lift rose higher, but stopped and blushed as she heard a stifled giggle next to her.         “Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy muttered around the hoof in front of her mouth. “It’s just that—” She paused as one last giggle escaped her. “—you were so cute with how excited you were.” Her laughter resurged as the blush on Rainbow’s face deepened. Riding her wave of joy, she leaned in to kiss her marefriend on the cheek, making contact just as the ding of a bell announced their arrival on the Platinum level. The doors slid open, revealing a wood-paneled hallway, complete with red carpet and a tiled ceiling.         Dash let out a low whistle as she stepped out of the elevator. “Dang. It must have cost them a fortune to build this up here.” Reaching out with a hoof, she knocked on the wood paneling, as if searching for a hidden compartment. “I mean, Thunderforged Steel was designed to be used for things like this, but I don’t think there’s any in here.” With one last look up and down the hallway, she shook her head and pulled out one of the tickets. “Let’s see, our seats are in Suite 103.” She glanced up at the nearest door, which had a “100” written in gold on a black plaque. Heading back over to the elevator, she wrapped a wing around Fluttershy again and they headed down the hallway, passing two more doors before finally reaching “103.”         As Rainbow reached out to open the door, Fluttershy swallowed nervously. “Oh, I hope there won’t be too many other ponies in here.” She squeezed her eyes shut, as the door swung open, but eventually cracked one open after a few seconds passed and only silence came from the other side. She saw that Dash had already entered the suite and was holding the door open for her, but that it was empty otherwise. Slowly edging her way through the doorway, she glanced around the luxurious room. The dominating feature was a single row of six seats on the far end, facing out of a wall of glass that overlooked the interior of the stadium. A table was set up against the right wall, where Dash was happily munching away at some hors d'oeuvres. Fluttershy walked over to the table and picked up a piece of sauteed asparagus, nibbling on the end while she glanced back at the door every few seconds. “Um, Dashie? Do you think—” The rest of Fluttershy’s question was lost in a fit of giggles as her marefriend looked up with her cheeks stuffed full of appetizers. After blinking for a moment, Rainbow began chewing hurriedly and swallowed the fried okra bites she had been eating. Once the last of the food was gone, she cleared her throat, a light blush staining her cheeks. “Sorry, what?”         "Um... Dashie, this is so nice, but maybe it’s too nice?” Fluttershy looked around the suite, forgetting for a moment that they were in the Cloudsdale Colosseum until she looked out the window and saw the other side of the cloud structure. “I would have been happy just to watch the show with you... You didn't have to go this far for me." She's spending all her bits trying to impress me when I'm the one that needs to make things up to her... She looked down at the carpeted floor, unable to meet Rainbow’s understanding smile. I'm horrible...         "Hey." Dash nudged her marefriend with a wing, then lifted her head to look into her eyes. "Nothing's too nice for you, Flutters. This is just repayment for you being nice to me since like... forever." She leaned in and nuzzled the other mare’s cheek, then turned and made her way over to the seats.         Fluttershy chewed on her lip for a moment before following Rainbow. If only I could be nice to you now, and tell you the truth. As she reached the seats, she realized that the middle two were slightly larger and more plush, and the armrest between them folded up to make them into a loveseat. Dash was sitting in one of the seats and patted the other one, having already folded the armrest up. Fluttershy climbed up into the empty seat, leaving a few inches between them that Rainbow quickly eliminated by scooting over. "Still, this must have cost a fortune! You... don't need to do this. I mean...” Fluttershy stopped, looking back to her marefriend and hoping that her eyes could convey what she was having trouble finding the words for. “I don't want you to feel like you have something to prove. I'm here for you, fancy dates or no." She lowered her gaze, embarassed by her own outburst. "I-I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I just worry that maybe you think you still have to win me over. I'm won, Dashie. It's okay now."         "Don't worry about it 'Shy. It's no big deal, really." Dash draped a wing over Fluttershy’s back and pulled her close, giving her a nuzzle before settling back down, frowning. "Unless, you don’t like it? Geez 'Shy, I'm sorry. I thought you'd like being up here, away from most of the noise and all the crowds. " She looked away, her ears folding back.         "Nonono, I love it!” Fluttershy pulled a foreleg free and wrapped it around her marefriend’s shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “It's so nice and quiet up here.” She let out a sigh and leaned against Rainbow, nuzzling into her neck and smiling. After a few moments, her smile faded. “But Dashie, how did you pay for this? This is a rich pony place! Rarity talked about being in a place like this, and she only got in because that Fancy pony invited her."         “I’m really glad you like it, ‘Shy.” Dash squeezed the other mare with her wing. “And seriously, don’t worry about it. I didn’t do this to impress you, though it is pretty impressive—” She rubbed a hoof against her chest and examined it nonchalantly for a second before smiling. “—I did this because I wanted to, and more importantly, I wanted you to enjoy it.”         “Oh, I am, very much, thank you.” Fluttershy settled back down and looked out the window when her stomach let out a growl. Shifting a bit in embarrassment, she scooted toward the edge of her seat. “Um, I’m still a bit hungry, so I’m gonna get a little snack. Do you want anything?” She snuck a glance over at her marefriend to check her reaction.         “Sure thing.” Rainbow pulled her wing back and folded it at her side. “Oh, can you get me a couple of those fried okra bites?”         “Sure.” Fluttershy climbed down from the seat gingerly. Walking around the far end of the seats, she doubled back along and looked over the table for anything that looked appetizing. As she got closer, she spotted a plate of sauteed daisies and licked her lips. Standing on her hind legs to reach it, she noticed a plaque on the wall. Fan... ‘Fancy Pants’... and Flour, no... ‘Fleur de Lis.’  Fluttershy furrowed her brow and gathered some of the food, piling a number of fried okra bites no top of a layer of the sauteed daisies. Fancy Pants? That’s the pony Rarity met in Canterlot... but why would Dashie have tickets for his suite? Unless... could Rarity have given them to her? She walked back to the seats carefully, cradling the food in one of her forelegs. When she got back, Dash took the okra bites, popping one in her mouth while Fluttershy climbed back up into her seat. But why? She pretended to look out the window at the arena while she nibbled on a daisy. Rarity has every reason to hate me, but instead she made up a story to cover for me, and now she’s helping Rainbow...         “Check if out, Flutters, they’re starting!” Dash pointed out of the window, accidentally spraying a few half-chewed bits of okra in her excitement. Fluttershy jumped slightly as she was pulled from her thoughts, then followed her marefriend’s hoof to where the Wonderbolts were entering the arena... walking?         “Um, Dashie?” Fluttershy cocked her head to the side in confusion while the Wonderbolts huddled together down at one end of the field. “Shouldn’t they be, um, flying?”         “Well, they could.” Rainbow shrugged, popping her last okra bite into her mouth. This time, she waited until she had properly chewed and swallowed before speaking again. “But they really wanna save their wing power for the game.”         “Game?” Fluttershy looked at Dash for a moment, then back out the window, only just now realizing that the normally open arena had a cloud field laid down. After a few seconds of silence, murmurs began to spread through the crowd as the Wonderbolts simply walked around the field, occasionally waving up into the stands.         “Yeah, you know, Stormball.” Rainbow leaned forward, an excited grin plastered on her face. “I just can’t wait to see who they’re gonna play. No team in the Equestrian Stormball League could really challenge the Wonderbolts.” She sat up, her eyes widening for a moment. “I wonder if they finally managed to set up a game against the Gryphish National Team. Say, where’s Soarin’?” Fluttershy looked among the wandering stunt fliers, but she didn’t know the individual members well enough to recognize Soarin’ from a distance. Before she could think too much on this, a booming voice rang over the arena.         “Greetings, fair citizens! Verily, We are most pleased to bid thee welcome to—” Every head in the stadium turned to an open box at one end of the stadium, and some of the closer ponies tried in vain to cover their ears against the auditory onslaught. In the box, Princess Luna stood, coughing into a hoof for a moment before speaking again.         “My apologies.” Luna stepped forward, sweeping a hoof across the crowd. “My sister and I—” Behind her, Princess Celestia smiled and inclined her head. “—wish to welcome all of you to the first Stormball exhibition match between the Wonderbolts and their opponents for this game...” She paused, letting the silence and tension build for a few moments. “The newly-reformed Shadowbolts!” With a crack of thunder, Luna raised her forelegs in a dramatic pose, eliciting a chorus of cheers from the audience.         A wave of fog spilled out from a tunnel directly below Luna, followed shortly by the Shadowbolts, who flew a quick circuit of the stadium before landing on the opposite side of the field from the Wonderbolts. The cheering of the crowd ebbed as ponies slowly realized that the Shadowbolts were made up of the batponies of the Night Guard, save for one pegasus with the Captain’s “C” embroidered on his chest. As the crowd noise continued to fade, some of the Shadowbolts began to glance at one another uncomfortably, except for their captain, who stood tall and confident. Even Princess Luna looked worried at the sudden shift in the arena’s attitude. In the growing murmurs of concern, a lone anonymous voice called out from the stands.         “That’s awesome!”         The declaration was followed by a smattering of cheers and applause scattered throughout the stadium, but it quickly grew into a deafening roar that Luna couldn’t have talked over even if she wanted to. The Princess of the Night merely looked out over the stadium, her smile growing as she watched the crowd cheer for her Shadowbolts. After some time, Luna raised a hoof and the arena slowly fell silent. “We're looking forward to a spectacular showing of speed and skill today. Remember, gambling is discouraged—” Luna paused, and a few ponies either looked off to the side or rubbed the back of their necks. “—but those of you who choose to ignore that must be prepared to levy the house royalty on any winnings.” A shrill whistle cut through the air, drawing attention to the center of the field where a referee was standing with the captain from each team.         “Hold on a sec...” Dash hopped down from her seat, walking over to the window and pressed her nose up against it, peering down at the field. “Is that... Whoa, Soarin’s the captain of the Shadowbolts!” “Behold, the referee has tossed the coin, and...” Luna trailed off as the coin soared through the air and down to the cloud field, only to vanish through it, followed shortly by the referee. “And it seems to have fallen through the cloud layer. Apparently, there are still a few details that need to be addressed for these games.” A wave of laughter washed over the crowd, dying out when the referee reemerged a minute later, coin in hoof. “Ah, it appears they have found the coin, and the toss is plot side up!” Luna leaned off to the side as a nearby unicorn galloped up and whispered urgently in her ear. “Pardon, my assistant has informed me that despite seeming to display my sister’s backside, the coin merely depicts her cutie mark and is in fact called ‘tails.’” Another wave of laughter coursed through the stadium, and Luna looked back at Celestia, who was giving her a playful glare. “You all have my apologies. In any case, the toss dictates my own Shadowbolts have the advantage and shall receive the kickoff! Huzzah! Let the fun commence!" The stadium erupted in cheers as the two teams broke their huddles and lined up on each end of the field. The Wonderbolts arrayed themselves near a ball set up on their end of the field. After a whistle from the referee, Spitfire, judging by the fiery mane, galloped toward the ball, flaring her wings at the last moment to flip and kick the ball with a hind leg.         “Can you believe this?” Dash turned from the window and hopped back to her seat. “Luna reformed the Shadowbolts! Oh this is so awesome!” Once she was settled back in her seat, she looked down at the field just in time to see one of the Shadowbolts catch the ball and streak down the field, dodging a pair of Wonderbolts before finally being brought down near midfield. “I just can’t believe they broke up Spitfire and Soarin’... they were unstoppable as a combo.” Fluttershy smiled and laid her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. She didn’t understand Stormball, but she enjoyed seeing Dash so excited.         “Throw it, Soarin’... Come on, throw it! Just throw—” Rainbow stopped, pressing a hoof to her forehead as Soarin’ was sacked by one of the Wonderbolts. “Oh come on! That... one guy—” She waved a hoof at one of the batponies who was making his way back to the huddle. “—was totally open!”         “Um, Dashie, I don’t think that he can hear you.” Fluttershy giggled behind a hoof, but it didn’t seem like her marefriend heard her. Down on the field, the next play had started, and the ball arced through the air, landing in one of the batponies’ outstretched hooves just as he crossed the goal line.         “Huzzah! The Shadowbolts have scored the first point of the contest!” Princess Luna leaned down as the unicorn spoke to her again. “My assistant has informed me that this so called ‘touchdown’ is indeed worth six points. And now they line up for... some sort of kick.” True to her words, both teams lined up near the goal line and Soarin’ sent the ball sailing through the goalpost with a well-placed kick. “Six more points for the Shadowbolts!” More urgent speaking from the unicorn to the princess. “Hmm... It seems that the kick was worth only one point. As such, the score stands at Shadowbolts seven, Wonderbolts zero.”         “Did you see that pass?” Dash shifted in her chair, causing Fluttershy’s head to slip from her shoulder. “I mean, everypony knows that Soarin’s the best quarterback in the ESL, but that—” She let out a low whistle. “That pass went sixty yards through the air, and it hit the receiver right in the hooves!”         “Oh, yes, it was very, um...” Fluttershy cast about for some way to describe it, but she didn’t know why it was so impressive to Rainbow. “It was very, um, nice?” When her marefriend looked at her and raised an eyebrow incredulously, she smiled sheepishly. “I mean, um, it was awesome.”         After a moment, Dash chuckled and leaned over, giving Fluttershy a peck on the cheek. “You’re right, it was.” She nuzzled against her marefriend’s cheek for a couple seconds, then went back to watching the game. They watched the contest in silence for the most part, simply enjoying each other’s company. Unless, of course, Dash decided that she needed to tell the professional athletes and stunt fliers how they were playing incorrectly.         Midway through the second quarter, the Wonderbolts had gotten deep into the Shadowbolts’ end of the field, but their drive stalled and they were forced to kick a field goal. As both teams lined up, Princess Luna took a break from chatting with some fans below her private box to comment on the game.         “Ah, it seems that the Wonderbolts have chosen to kick an extra point!” As it happened almost every time Luna commented on the game, her assistant leaned over and spoke to her for a moment. “I have been informed that this kick is, in fact, called a ‘field goal.’ A strange name. Regardless, Fleetfoot has lined up, and the kick will be from sixty cubits.” More whispering. “It seems that the customary unit of measurement is yards. Very well, the kick is thirty yards. The ball has been snapped, the kick is up, and it is good! One point for the Wonderbolts!” Even more whispering. “Hmm... Apparently this ‘field goal’ is worth three points.” Leaning on the edge of her box, she crossed her forelegs. “This seems an odd number of points for a mere kick, but the score now stands Shadowbolts seven, Wonderbolts three.”         Rainbow, along with a majority of the crowd, chuckled at Luna’s commentary. “Oh man, I had no idea that Princess Luna could be so funny. Remember the coin toss?” She clutched at her ribs while she laughed. Once her mirth died down, she licked her lips and looked around the room. “Hey, ‘Shy, I’m gettin’ pretty thirsty, is there anything to drink in here?”         “Oh, um...” Fluttershy looked over at the hors d'oeuvres table, but there were no drinks on it. “No, I don’t think so.” Turning back, she noticed a button on the armrest of her seat. Despite studying it for several seconds—missing a great play in the process, based on a sudden outburst of cheering from Rainbow—she couldn’t figure out its purpose. “Hey, Dashie, what do you think this does?”         “Hmm?” Dash stood up and leaned over Fluttershy to get a better look. It was just a simple brass button sticking up from the armrest, with no accompanying explanation for its purpose. “Dunno. Let’s find out.” Extending a wing, she reached out and pressed the button, but nothing happened.         After a few seconds, a crackle of static burst from a speaker that neither one of them had seen up on the back of the chair, followed shortly by a stallion’s voice. “Was there something you required, monsieur Fancy Pants?”         “Whoa, cool.” Dash scooted closer, leaning further over Fluttershy and giggling as the other mare’s wings tickled her belly. “Yeah, can we get something to drink?”         “Of course, madam.” The voice responded. “Was there anything in particular you would like?”         Rainbow put a hoof to her chin, thinking for a moment. “Do you have any Apple Family Cider?”         “Indeed we do, madam.”         “Sweet.” Dash licked her lips. “Alright, a mug of that and...” She looked down at Fluttershy for a second. “A cosmarepoltian.”         “Very good.” A buzz of static emanated from the speaker for a few seconds. “Those will be to your box shortly.”         “Huzzah! Another touchdown for the Shadowbolts!” Luna’s booming voice drew their attention back to the field, where the Shadowbolts had just scored again. As the extra point sailed through the goalpost, Luna recapped the score. “With the extra point, it now stands Shadowbolts fourteen, Wonderbolts ten, with two minutes left in the first half.”         “Ten?” Fluttershy looked up at the scoreboard, where the Wonderbolts did indeed have ten points. “Oh, goodness, did the Wonderbolts score?”         “Yeah, a few minutes ago.” Dash turned to face her while the teams lined up for another kickoff, a huge grin on her face. “Spitfire made this amazing one-hoofed catch with, like, three Shadowbolts hanging off of her. Didn’t even phase her. She just whipped a hoof out and bam! Touchdown.”         “Oh, my, that certainly sounds exciting.” Fluttershy tried to watch the game, but quickly lost track of the ball on most plays. After a minute or two, she heard the door to their box open, and she looked back to see a pegasus mare with a sky blue coat, a light orange mane, and wearing a tuxedo top come through the door with two drinks balanced on a tray. Normally, Fluttershy would have ducked down and burrowed into the seat cushions, but something about this mare made her feel at ease. Peering between the seats, she watched as the waitress made her way across the room, and she caught a glimpse of her cutie mark: a bright yellow sun with a puff of cloud barely covering a bit of it.         “Come on... go... go, go, gogogogo! Yes! Tou—” Dash’s cheering was cut off by sputtering and the sound of cider spilling on her dress, followed shortly by the clang of the drink tray hitting the floor. “What the hay? What’s the big idea?” Rainbow and Fluttershy both turned to look at the waitress, who was standing frozen in place, her hoof in front of her mouth and her eyes looking like she had seen a ghost.         “Da—” The waitress swallowed before trying to speak again, extending a trembling hoof. “Dashie?”         Rainbow recoiled as if the waitress had struck her, her eyes running over the other mare’s face, mane, and cutie mark in rapid succession. After a moment, realization dawned on her face, and she slowly climbed down from her seat, taking a cautious step forward.         “M-mom?”