Unexpected Confessions

Chapter Twenty Six

Applejack simply dropped the basket and blanket from her date next to the door once she was safely inside the warmth of the farmhouse. She crept across the living room, navigating the furniture by heart, and ascended the staircase up to her room. She stepped cautiously, making sure to avoid any steps that would—

“Consarnit, not another one.” She muttered under her breath. She gradually shifted her weight, slowly pulling her leg off of the squeaky step and moving up to the next one. “That makes five now… when Ah get mah hooves on Mac…” She made it to the top of the stairs without making any more noise, but drew a squeal from the rusty hinge on her bedroom door as it closed. She stepped over to her dresser to take the hair ties out of her mane before belatedly remembering that she wasn’t wearing them. She smiled turned to climb into her bed, but a splash of color caught her eye. Turning back, she saw a piece of parchment laying on top of her dresser, so she grabbed it and took it to the window.

Applejack,

I’m soooo super excited that your date went well!
Or, I think it did. It was fun, wasn’t it?
Oh! You should totally come by before the party
tomorrow so we can talk about it.

Pinkie Pie

Applejack chuckled and tossed the note onto her nightstand. She was sure that Pinkie would be happy to hear how well the evening had gone, even if she had accidentally slipped a bit. Luckily, Twilight hadn’t seemed too offended by her mistake. Even though she knew she only had a mere few hours before the rooster would crow, she couldn’t help but smile as she drifted off to sleep.

Sure enough, a few hours later the rooster’s piercing cry yanked Applejack back to the land of the living. She briefly considered ignoring it and going back to sleep for a few more hours, but knew she’d never hear the end of it from Granny Smith if she did. Big Mac wouldn’t say anything, but he’d give her that look, the one that silently told her he expected better. She had half a mind to give it right back to him for not fixing the stairs like he had promised. Ultimately, she resisted the call of sleep and drug herself out of bed, shuffling over to the dresser to affix her hair ties. Once they were in place, she made her way downstairs, this time making sure to step on every creaky stair. The aroma of sizzling soy bacon and apple fritters wafted up to her as she walked down, erasing some of her less-than-pleasant mood.

“Mornin’, Applejack.” Granny Smith called from her place at the stove top. She paused to flip a few pieces of bacon. “Ah missed ya comin’ home last night.”

“Yeah.” Applejack sat down at the table and pulled a few apple fritters onto her plate. “We were out a little later than Ah thought we’d be.” She took a bite before continuing. “Pinkie—” A stern look from Granny silenced her long enough to finish chewing her food. “Pinkie set up a walk through Whitetail Woods for us. Even found a pretty little grove fer us to have dinner and watch the sun set.”

“Pinkie?” Apple Bloom raced into the kitchen and jumped into her seat. “But Ah thought ya were goin’ out with Twilight.”

“Ah did.” Applejack reached over and mussed her little sister’s mane. “But Pinkie helped me out by plannin’ out what we were gonna do for us.” She grabbed a couple pieces of soy bacon off the plate just as Granny Smith set it down on the table.

“That’s awfully nice of her.” Apple Bloom reached up and fixed her bow, which her sister had knocked off to the side. “Wait, yer not datin’ her too, are ya?”

Applejack nearly choked on the piece of bacon she had just taken a bite of, spending several moments coughing before she finally managing to clear the traitorous bits from her windpipe. “N-no! Just Twilight. Pinkie was just… excited ‘bout it and offered to plan it for us.” She looked out at the brightening sky and shoveled another fritter into her mouth, getting up and heading for the door. “Ah gotta get an early start. Pinkie’s got a party this afternoon, and Ah gotta swing by beforehand.” With that, she headed out to greet the laundry list of chores than greeted her every morning.

Several hours later, Applejack passed the edge of the farm on a familiar trek into town. She had finished her work earlier than even she expected thanks to a little help from Big Mac, who was suitably apologetic about not fixing the stairs yet. Her legs still burned a little from the morning’s work, but she had a spring in her step and for now she couldn’t wait to get to Sugarcube Corner and talk to Pinkie.

By the time she arrived, balloons were already tied to every available corner. Pushing her way into the bakery, she found the main room even more thoroughly decorated than the exterior. The party planner herself was nowhere in sight, but a distinct humming drifted out from the kitchen. “Pinkie?”

“Applejack?” Pinkie peeked over the swinging doors into the kitchen, a confused expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“You, uh… asked me to come by early, remember?” Applejack walked further into the bakery, examining the festive decorations. “Really outdid yerself this time, sugarcube.” She heard the squeak of the kitchen doors and the clip-clop of her friend’s hooves moving across the floor, but couldn’t bring herself to look at the other mare yet. She had to talk about her little mistake, but she had a feeling Pinkie would take it worse than Twilight had last night. Well, no sense puttin’ it off. “Pinkie, Ah made a… mistake last night. We were havin’ fun swappin’ stories and eatin’ dinner.” She paused and grabbed the basket and blanket from her back, placing them on the floor.

“Thank ya kindly fer the food, by the way, it was some serious good eatin’. Anyhow, Ah’d gotten kinda tired after workin’ all day and walkin’ through the woods, and Ah mighta… accidentally… called Twilight ‘Dash’ while we were watchin’ the sunset.” She slumped down, she hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but saying it out loud put into stark contrast just how much it might have hurt Twilight, making her feel like a worse pony by the second. “Ah… don’t know why Ah did. Heck, Ah had more fun than Ah thought Ah would with her, Ah just…” She let out a snort, frustrated with her inability to properly express her feelings. “Anyway, that don’t matter none because, well… Ah was wondering, could ya help me make it up to her by settin’ up another date?”

Pinkie had been silently fuming, imagining Twilight crying into her shoulder because of Applejack the previous night. “Help you? Why would I want to help such a Meanie McMeaniepants go on another date with—” She froze as the meaning of Applejack’s request fully sank in. Her anger evaporated, leaving her standing there with her mouth hanging open in confusion. “Wait, you… you had fun? You want to go on another date with Twilight?” She sank to the floor, her eyes darting about endlessly.

“Yeah. Ah mean, Ah feel horrible ‘bout… what Ah said, but…” Applejack watched her friend warily, her concern growing the longer Pinkie just sat there. She’d figured Pinkie would’ve been ecstatic to hear that she wanted to go out again. “Uh, sugarcube? You alright? Ah thought ya wanted me to go out with Twi, but ya look like ya seen a—”

“Twilight asked me out.” The words were out of her mouth before Pinkie even realized they’d escaped her brain. She belatedly clamped a hoof over her mouth and looked up at Applejack, who was staring back at her slackjawed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Applejack, but I was so super excited yesterday that I waited for you two to get back to the library so that I could talk to you, but then only Twilight came in and she…” Her ears folded back against her head. “She was crying because she thought you didn’t have fun on the date, and because you called her ‘Dash.’ Then her crying made me cry, and…” She looked up at the other mare and gave a tiny, apologetic smile.

Applejack could only look at the other mare in confusion until the pieces clicked into place. “She figured ya out, huh?”

Pinkie nodded cautiously. “Mmhmm. I don’t know how, though. I was just trying to make her feel better, and she asked me out of the blue if I liked her.”

Applejack chuckled briefly, shaking her head. “Well, what can ya say? The girl’s a smart cookie.” She looked back to Pinkie, and they simply watched each other for a few moments, each waiting for the other to take the lead. Eventually, she cleared her throat. “So, uh, what do we do now?”

“W-well…” Pinkie hung her head. “If you want to go out with Twilight again, then I think you should.” She looked back up, meeting the other mare’s gaze again. “It’ll make her happiest and… she deserves to be happy.”

“Ya already told her you’d go out with her, sugarcube. Ain’t no goin’ back on it now, ‘less ya wanna hurt Twi even more.” Applejack shook her head, laying a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “‘Sides, she may deserve to be happy, but so do you, Pinkie. And Ah ain’t about to get in the way of that.”

“But… what about you?” Pinkie held onto the hoof on her shoulder. “You deserve to be happy, too.”

“Maybe, but Ah had mah chance… Heck, Ah’ve had more’n mah share of chances, and Ah blew ‘em all.” Applejack pulled the other mare to her hooves and led her over to at table. “Now, let’s figure out what yer gonna do to make it the best date Twilight’s ever had.” She flopped down into the seat across from Pinkie. “Maybe you can even make her forget about what Ah did.”

“Well…” Pinkie tapped a hoof on the table, knocking around some bits of confetti. “Vinyl’s playing at The Drunken Princess tonight, we could go there.” She glanced across the table. “You could come too, if you want.” An idea struck her, and she perked up. “Ooh! You could ‘accidentally’ run into us there, then you could apologize to Twilight.” Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but never got the chance.

“And then maybe you can stay and hang out with us!” Pinkie continued, her enthusiasm slowly building back to its normal overwhelming level. “Then we could all talk and have some cider and be happy and—”

“No.” Applejack cut off her friend’s rampaging train of speech, pounding a hoof on the table for emphasis. The sudden noise shocked Pinkie into silence, along with rattling the salt and pepper shakers. “Ah’ll apologize, but Ah ain’t intrudin’ on y’all’s date. Wouldn’t it be better if Ah just apologize to her here?”

“I guess, but... don’t you like Twilight?” Pinkie sank back into her seat, her hooves meekly folded in her lap.

"Ah reckon Ah do." Applejack took a deep breath. Her mind screamed at her not to go through with what she was about to say, but some new more-than-friendly feelings toward the unicorn urged her to surrender, rather than fight. If she wasn’t who Twilight needed, she’d bow out gracefully. "But if she's moved on, Ah ain’t gonna go and drag her back. Ah'd have no right to call mahself her friend if'n Ah did."

The bell above the front door rang out, drawing their attention. They turned to see Rainbow Dash trotting through the doorway, with Rarity and Fluttershy right behind her. “Hey girls, sorry we’re a little late. It took forever to get a turn in the shower.” She glanced back at her marefriends as they came through the door. They smiled at her, and her wings rustled on her back. She looked back at the pair of earth ponies before her, only to find both of them sporting blushes. “What are—” She belatedly realized the alternate meaning her statement about the shower could have meant, and she waved her hooves as if trying to physically dispel the idea.

“No no no! Not like that! It was—” Dash paused and pressed a hoof to her forehead, letting out a sigh. “Harry showed up saying that the water in the lake was too cold, and he wanted to use ‘Shy’s shower.” She glanced over at the mare in question as she joined the group.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy scuffed a hoof on the floor, crouching down and letting her mane fall over her face. “But it is getting awfully cold out, and—”

“There’s no need to apologize, darling. It’s quite alright.” Rarity cut into the conversation, leaning over to nuzzle her marefriend. The nervous mare leaned into the contact for a moment before her eyes darted over to Dash, who merely smiled. “Besides, it appears we’re still short a guest. Where’s Twilight?”

“Dunno.” Applejack shrugged. “Ah figured she’d be here by now.” She looked to the clock, relieved to see that it was only about five minutes past the party’s appointed starting time. “She ain’t too late, yet. Still, no reason the rest of us can’t get started. Can Ah get anypony some punch?”

“Um, yes, please.” Fluttershy nodded, standing up from her half-crouch. “I-If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”

“Allow me, dear.” Rarity darted in for a light peck on Fluttershy’s cheek, drawing a surprised squeak from her, and walked over to the punch bowl. With a thought, five cups floated into the air, followed swiftly by the punch ladle. Once all five cups were full, the unicorn made her way back over to the group, bringing the cups down slowly so that her friends could take them in hoof. “Here we are.”

“Thank ya kindly, sugarcube.” Applejack grabbed her offered cup and took a sip. “So, RD, what’s it like havin’ two marefriends?” Dash devolved into a fit of coughing as some punch tried to visit her lungs. Fluttershy patted her marefriend on the back while Rarity glared playfully at the farmer. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s—” Dash gave a final cough. “No, it’s cool. I just…” She glanced back and forth between her marefriends. “It’s kinda… weird, but totally awesome. Honestly, it all still seems a little… unreal, but…” She flared her wings and draped one over each mare’s back, pulling them in closer. “I think it’s something I can definitely get used to.”

“I’m glad to hear that, darling.” Rarity leaned into the embrace for a moment before continuing. “I have to agree. It’s simply wonderful, but it feels… almost like a dream.” Next to her, Rainbow smirked and chuckled to herself, prompting Rarity to swat at her playfully with a hoof. “Oh hush, you.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on her marefriend’s cheek. Dash started to move in to give the unicorn a kiss in return, but paused partway, her brow creasing for an instant. “Now, darling, as I’ve told you before, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. I understand.”

“No, it’s not— I just—” Dash huffed and shook her head, then leaned over and planted an awkward-looking kiss on Rarity’s cheek. She pulled back and gave a smile. “See?”

“Thank you, darling.” Rarity leaned in for one last nuzzle, then ducked out from under Rainbow’s wing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I do believe I shall sample some of the simply delightful looking pastries over there. Fluttershy, dear, would you like some?”

“Oh, no, thank you.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m fi—” Before she could finish, her stomach growled, causing her to squeak and duck behind her mane. “Oh, um, I’m sorry.”

“Geez, ‘Shy, if you were hungry, you should have said something.” Dash chuckled and kissed her marefriend on the cheek, then pulled her wing back while giving the other pegasus a nudge. “Now go on, go get a snack.”

“Yeah! I made everypony’s favorites!” Pinkie bounced excitedly. “I made vanilla cupcakes for Fluttershy, scones with cranberries and raspberries for Rarity, and sugar cookies with zap apple icing for Dash.” She pulled a hoof off of the floor to count each snack on, leaving her balancing precariously on one hoof for a few moments before she dropped back onto all fours.

“Thank you, darling, they sound delightful.” Rarity stepped up next to Fluttershy, pausing to give her a quick nuzzle. “Shall we, love?” The pair headed over to the snack table, chatting about an upcoming fashion show in Canterlot.

“Oh, I also made apple fritters for you, Applejack, and some strawberry jelly-filled doughnuts for Twi… light.” Pinkie slouched down, pouting, and looked at the clock. Almost half an hour had passed since the party started, and Twilight was still nowhere to be seen. Pinkie sat down and pawed at the floor. “You… you don’t think she forgot, do you?” She perked up a little bit, a hopeful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe that’s it. Maybe she’s just sitting at the library with her nose buried in a book, and if we go over there and remind her she’ll come have fun with us.” She hopped back to her hooves, taking a step toward the door.

“Ah don’t think so, sugarcube.” Applejack laid a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder to hold her in place. “Ah think we should just leave her be fer now. She’ll come ‘round when she feels like it.” She looked at the clock, then out the window, where the canopy of the library peeked over the nearest line of buildings. Sighing, she shook her head, her hat sliding forward a bit and covering her eyes. “At least, Ah hope she will.”

“Uh, did I miss something?” Rainbow looked back and forth between the two earth ponies, an eyebrow cocked up in confusion. “I mean, yeah, Twi’s late, and honestly I figured she’d be the first one here, but you guys are acting a little… weird.” Before either of them could respond, a round of laughter broke out across the room. They all turned to see Rarity and Fluttershy giggling together before the latter leaned over for a quick kiss. After a moment, she perked up and dashed across the room, skidding to a stop and planting a light kiss on Dash’s lips.

“Um, s-sorry.” Fluttershy mumbled, slightly out of breath from her brief sprint across the bakery. “I didn’t mean to, um, intrude.”

Dash chuckled and draped a wing over her marefriend’s back, the tip dipping down to brush over her cutie mark for a brief moment. “Flutters, we keep telling you that you don’t have to do that. You don’t have to worry about treating us evenly.”

“Oh, right.” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly, then ducked down a bit. “Sorry… um, again. Say, um, where’s Twilight? Isn’t she coming?”

Applejack rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck. “Ah don’t think so, sugarcube. She’s… a might cross with me right now.” She held up a hoof to keep either of the pegasi could ask the obvious question. “It’s… complicated. Pinkie kinda… set us up on a… date.”

“A date?” Rarity cooed as she rejoined the group. “With whom, might I ask?” She floated a plate of zap apple icing cookies over to Dash, who happily accepted it and began munching away.

“With Twi.” Rainbow volunteered between bites of cookie, though a few stray crumbs flew from her mouth. “Good choice too, Pinks. Twi’s got a serious crush on AJ.”

“Really? Oh, that’s wonderful.” Fluttershy exclaimed before wilting under the sudden attention of her friends. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just, um…” She retreated a bit under Dash’s wing, her voice growing a little quieter. “Well, it’s nice that Twilight likes her, since Applejack likes Twilight, too.”

“Is that so?” Rarity smiled at the farmer. “Well, I’m sure that the two of you will be very happy together.” She took a sip of punch before continuing. “Though, I confess that I am confused. If you and Twilight have feelings for one another and you went on a date, planned by Pinkie Pie no less, why in Equestria would she be mad at you?”

“Ah kinda…” Applejack drifted into silence for a few moments. “Ah messed up. Ah ain’t lookin’ to go into it right now, though, Rares. Ah messed up, but Ah’m gonna make it up to her.”

“Say, ‘Shy, do you think you could go get me some more punch?” Dash held up her empty cup. “Those cookies made me thirsty.”

“Oh, um, o-okay.” Fluttershy grasped the cup with a wingtip and stepped out from under her marefriend’s wing. “Does… um, does anyone else want some more?”

“That sounds lovely, dear. Thank you.” Rarity passed her cup over to the pegasus as well, shooting a quick glance at Rainbow. Once Fluttershy was out of earshot, she leaned in and whispered to her marefriend. “Is something the matter, darling?”

“Not really, it’s just…” Rainbow turned to Applejack. “Twilight? Really? I thought you said you… liked me.” Next to her, Rarity made a small gasp and from one mare to the other. Dash nudged the unicorn and motioned for her to be quiet, pointing at Fluttershy.

“Ah do. Did.” Applejack hastily corrected herself. “And Ah told ‘Shy the truth at first, but the poor girl looked like she was gonna have a heart attack, so Ah… pretended Ah was jokin’ and told her Ah liked Twi’ instead.” She could see confusion written clearly on Rarity’s face, so she quickly kept talking before Fluttershy could get back. “Y’all were still at each other’s throats, and Ah didn’t wanna throw mah hat into the ring and mess things up any more.”

“But, whatever was so horrible that she wouldn’t show up at Pinkie’s lovely party?” Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin. “You and Twilight get along well, even if you still had feeling for Rainbow…” She gasped. “You didn’t let her pay the bill did you?”

“No.” Applejack shook her head. “Pinkie set us up with a nice picnic, there wasn’t a bill to pay.”

“No. Err… well, not really.” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “There were plenty of flowers, but Ah didn’t think to stop and pick a few.”

“Told her that her dress didn’t suit her?” Rarity leveled a slight glare at the farmer. “I know that she doesn’t have the best fashion sense, but you should have appreciated that she—”

“Dagnabbit, Rarity!” Applejack stamped a hoof. “Maybe if’n ya’d give me more’n a few seconds, Ah could tell ya what happened.”

“Tell us what?” Fluttershy asked, rejoining the group. She held a full cup of punch with each wingtip, which she quickly passed to her marefriends. She looked around to see all of her friends acting strangely. “What’s wrong?” She ducked down a little, pouting. “Should… should I go away again?”

“No, sugarcube. It’s fine.” Applejack swallowed nervously. “Ah guess you were gonna find out sooner or later. On the date…” She stopped, the words stuck in her throat. After a few seconds of silence, she tried again. “Ah had fun… more’n Ah thought Ah would, bein’ honest. We were watchin’ the sunset after havin’ dinner and Ah… guess Ah was a little tired from workin’ and got kinda sleepy. Ah…” The words caught in her throat again, but Pinkie laid a hoof on her back and she forced them out. “Ah called Twilight by Dash’s name.” As soon as the words were out, she dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to watch her friends’ reactions.

Shocked silence reigned in the bakery for a few moments, but it was broken as Dash burst out laughing. “Are you serious? Oh man, I knew you were into me but isn’t that a bit much, AJ?” Rarity and Fluttershy glared at her, and her laughter slowly petered out until she wilted under their combined stares. She cleared her throat and turned back to the farmer, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, AJ.”

“Poor Twilight.” Fluttershy let her head fall until the end of her mane brushed the floor. “She must have felt so unwanted, not even being able to keep her date’s attention.”

“Indeed. How could you be so insensitive, Applejack?” Rarity stuck her nose in the air, letting out a huff.

Applejack slumped down as their words washed over her, reinforcing all of the terrible things she felt about herself; hearing them from her friends made it even worse. She wanted to say that she knew they were right, that she already felt horrible enough, but she couldn’t find her voice.

“Hey!” Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Applejack and pulled the other mare into a hug. “It was an itty bitty mistake. She didn’t mean to do it, and she didn’t do it to be mean.”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Applejack reached up and held onto Pinkie’s foreleg. She sighed and leaned against the mare next to her. “Not that it makes much of a difference. Ah was hopin’ Twi would be here so Ah could apologize all proper like… but Ah guess that ain’t happenin’.”

Pinkie gave her another squeeze, then nearly bounced into the air. “Oh! I know!” She grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and turned her so that they were facing each other, her face split into a wide grin. “You can come by and apologize to her at our date tonight!”

“A date? Between you and Twilight?” Rarity brought a hoof to her chest, sharing a brief confused glance with Fluttershy. “But, what about Applejack?”

“Yeah.” Dash nodded in agreement, a few drops of punch spilling from her cup from the movement. “I mean, no offense Pinks, but if Twi’s got a crush on AJ, why would she go out with you?” The question earned her another set of stern looks from her marefriends. “What?”

Pinkie blinked for a moment, her grin fading. She dropped her forelegs from around Applejack, tapping the floor with a hoof. “Oh, I… I don’t know. Maybe she thinks that, um, i-if she…” She trailed off into silence, keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

It was Applejack’s turn to place a foreleg around her friend. “Ya want me to do it?” Pinkie merely nodded, and Applejack gave her a light squeeze before turning back to the rest of her friends. “Pinkie’s got… a bit of a crush on Twi.” A round of gasps passed among the three mares. “And apparently after Ah dropped her off when our date was done, Pinkie was waitin’ fer her inside to see how it went. One thing led to another, and Twilight figured Pinkie out. Asked her out right then and there.”

“But, um, what about you, Applejack?” Fluttershy glanced back and forth between the farmer and the baker. “You said that you had fun, so why wouldn’t you—” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Wait… I thought you said that you liked Twilight, not Rainbow.”

Applejack chuckled nervously. “Yeah, that wasn’t exactly… ya know, the truth.” She winced at the shocked expression that crossed the pegasus’ face. “Ah’m sorry, ‘Shy, but you were havin’ enough trouble with Rare and RD as it was. Ah didn’t wanna make things any harder on ya than they already were.”

“Oh, um, well… thank you, then.” Fluttershy smiled, and her marefriends leaned in simultaneously and gave her a kiss on each cheek. “Eep!” Her face lit up in a blush, drawing chuckles from Rarity and Rainbow as they leaned in and hugged her from either side. Once their group hug broke up, Fluttershy pawed at the ground nervously for a moment before voicing a concern. “But… how are you going to apologize to Twilight?”

“Ah don’t rightly know.” Applejack looked out the window again, then . “Ah suppose Ah could swing by the library, but if’n Twi don’t wanna see me, Ah don’t think it’d help much.” The group fell silent while they all pondered how Applejack could make her apology.

“Ah! I believe I have it, dears.” Rarity clapped her hooves together, then turned to the baker. “Pinkie, darling, I assume that you know what you and Twilight will be doing on your date?”

“Yeppers!” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Vinyl’s playing at The Drunken Princess tonight, and we’re gonna go.”

Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “An… interesting choice, dear, but it works perfectly.” She grinned and leaned in closer to the group. “Now, Applejack, here’s what you can do…”

Twilight reached the autobiography shelves and turned around, heading back toward the fiction section again. She knew that when she got there, she would just turn right around and head back over here. She’d been walking the same path for the better part of two hours, after all. Not for the first time, she thought she saw a rut wearing into the floor from her pacing, but she couldn’t be bothered with that now. “Oh, Spike, what do I do? I can’t just do nothing. It’s our first date. I have to make it special.”

“Just calm down, Twilight.” Spike didn’t even look up from his comic book, lazily flipping the page with a claw. “You said yourself that Pinkie’s planning everything. I’m sure all you’ll have to do it show up.”

“I can’t just show up, Spike.” Twilight rounded on her assistant, who still hadn’t deigned to put down his comic book. She yanked it down with a tug of magic, forcing him to look at her. “I have to show her that I’m interested, that I want this to work.” Spike only stared back at her flatly. After a few moments, she huffed and trudged toward the staircase. “That’s it, I’m wearing my dress.”

Spike merely flipped his comic back open, shaking his head. “I told you, it’s gonna be too much.” The unicorn only grumbled in response as she climbed the stairs. After a couple minutes and several loud thuds, Twilight came back down the staircase wearing her Grand Galloping Gala dress. Spike looked up and snorted when she saw her. “Really, Twilight? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“It’s all—.” Twilight nearly slipped after stepping on the starry hem of her dress. “It’s all I had. After Rarity offered to make it for me, I never got her to fix my old one.” When she reached the base of the stairs, she started running her hooves along the skirt, trying to smooth out some wrinkles that had set in while the dress was stored in her closet. “Ugh. I can’t get… these wrinkles to…” She huffed and closed her eyes in concentration. Her horn lit up, and the glow of magic surrounded her skirt. After several seconds, wisps of steam rose from the material, and the wrinkles slowly disappeared. Twilight let out a breath and the magic faded away. “There we g—Ow! Hot, hot, hot!” She freaked out, her hooves tapping against the floorboards at a rapid pace.

Spike burst out laughing, his comic book falling to rest on his stomach. “Geez, Twilight. I thought you’d learned to take your clothes off before you try casting magic on them. Especially after what happened with those Gryphon envoys and Celestia that one time.”

“Don’t remind me.” Twilight pressed a hoof between her eyes. “I didn’t even know that tomato soup could turn into mist… much less how hard it is to wash out of your coat.”

“Just imagine how hard it would be to get it out of feathers.” Spike chuckled to himself for a few moments before a series of knocks sounded from the front door. He closed his comic and dropped it on the floor next to his bean bag, then hopped up. “I’ll get it.”

“No no. Let me.” Twilight raced toward the door, pausing when she reached it to check her dress one last time for wrinkles. After failing to find any, she pulled the door open to reveal her date on the other side. “Hello, Pinkie.”

“Hiya, Twilight.” Pinkie was hopping from one leg to the other and back, grinning widely. “Are you ready to— to…” She gaped at Twilight for a second before blushing and averting her gaze.

“Pinkie?” Twilight lowered her head to try and look her date in the eye, then went to looking over her dress again. “Is something wrong with my dress? It’s a little tight around the middle, but I figured—”

“No, no, no. It looks great! You look great. It’s just that…” Pinkie drew circles on the floor with a hoof. “We’re going to a club, and it’s like… really, really hard to dance in a dress.”

“Dance?” Twilight swallowed, visions of the Canterlot garden party on her birthday flashing through her head. “I… I don’t know, Pinkie.” She used her magic to undo the zipper on the back of her dress, letting it slide down her shoulders. “Dancing might not be… the best idea.”

“Oh. Um, well, we don’t have to dance if you don’t want to.” Pinkie smiled reassuringly, then looked away when the unicorn’s dress slid further down. She knew they didn’t normally wear clothes, but something just felt… different about watching Twilight undress, like it was something private that she shouldn’t be seeing. “We can just go and talk and hang out. It’s just that Vinyl’s playing at The Drunken Princess tonight, and I thought we could go.”

“Oh, that does sound fun.” Twilight stepped out of her dress and floated it to hang over the back of a chair. “I’ve never been to a club before.”

“No.” Twilight shook her head, then hedged. “Well, there were things like chess club and book club at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but I’ve never been to a nightclub.”

“Well then…” Pinkie trotted over next to her date and linked a foreleg through hers. “It’s about time we change that.” She ran off, pulling Twilight along like a ragdoll.

“Bye, Spike!” Twilight called back as she was yanked through the doorway, her hooves scrambling to keep up with her date’s bouncing. Back in the library, Spike waved a disinterested claw at the slowly closing door, not even bothering to look up from his reading material.

Twilight couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d read about clubs, of course, but she’d never pictured herself actually going to one, especially not with a date. Yet here she was, standing in front of The Drunken Princess with Pinkie bouncing excitedly next to her. Even through the walls, she could feel the pulsing bass resonating in her chest. She couldn’t imagine that it would be any quieter inside, and in the back of her mind, she was running through a number of noise cancellation spells that she knew.

        “Oh, isn’t this exciting?” Pinkie gave an extra high bounce, her hooves kicking and waving in the air.

        “Yeah.” Twilight took a deep breath and smiled at her date. “Shall we?” The other mare squealed gleefully and made for the entrance, waving enthusiastically to a burly stallion next to the door. As soon as they passed through the doorway, the pounding music washed over her. She could see Pinkie talking ahead of her, but there was no chance she would be able to make out the words. Once they passed the bar, the earth pony pointed to an empty booth against the wall and she followed her date over to it, simultaneously trying to decide which spell would best reduce the auditory assault.

Twilight looked across the table to see that her date was once again talking to her, but she couldn’t hear a word of what the other mare was saying. Cycling through her array of noise dampening spells one more time, she picked one and began weaving it. Pinkie stopped talking, looking at her in confusion while her horn glowed. After a few more seconds of concentration, Twilight cast the spell, sighing in relief as the music died away. It took her a moment to realize that everyone in the club was looking around and murmuring in confusion. Even the DJ lifted a headphone from her ear and started tapping the speakers.

Oops. Twilight realized that rather than create a bubble of quiet around their booth, she’d negated any kind of sound for the entire building, including conversations. She quickly undid her spell, startling everypony when the music suddenly sprung back to life in all of its ear-splitting power. “Sorry.” She mumbled to her date, though she couldn’t even hear herself. The earth pony only giggled and slid out of the booth, grabbing the unicorn’s leg and pointing to the dance floor. Twilight’s eyes widened and she shook her head vehemently.

Pinkie hung her head, pouting. Then, she reared up and placed her forelegs on her date’s shoulders, pulling her in close enough to speak into her ear. “Come on, Twilight. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

A shiver raced up Twilight’s spine as Pinkie’s breath played across her ear, but she nodded. “O-okay.” She nearly shouted to make sure her date could hear her above the roaring music. She slid out of the booth and followed the other mare out to the dance floor. They found an empty spot and Pinkie immediately hopped in and began dancing wildly. Twilight merely stood there, unsure of what to do and not wanting to make a fool of herself like the last time she had ‘danced.’

After a few moments, Pinkie noticed her date’s trepidation and walked over to stand next to her. She smiled at the worried unicorn and began swaying lightly in time with the music. She made sure to keep it simple, moving only her hips and shoulders while keeping her hooves in one place. Her swaying slowly grew until she was bumping into her date’s hips each time she swung to the left.

Twilight watched the earth pony sway back and forth for a while, then started doing it herself. She tried to focus on Pinkie, but her eyes kept darting around to see if any of the other patrons were watching her sad excuse for dancing. However, everyone else on the floor was too engrossed in their own goings on to pay any attention to her. Slowly, she began to loosen up and move around more, occasionally bumping into her date while they both swayed back and forth. As she let the beat flow through her, she couldn’t help but smile, and soon both she and Pinkie were giggling uncontrollably.

Applejack couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d never had any desire to go to a club, and tonight was no exception. It was way too loud, the cider was low-quality but ludicrously expensive, and the masses of ponies made the crowded building too warm for her tastes. But, Pinkie had chosen this place for her date with Twilight, so it was the least she could do to suffer through an hour or two until she could properly apologize. She groaned when the music somehow reached a new and even more deafening level. Grabbing some napkins from the table, she crushed them into little balls and shoved one in each ear to try and block out some of the sound. Her makeshift earplugs failed miserably, falling out of her ears and onto the table before rolling off the edge.

She lifted her mug and took a swig of her cider. It was sour and tasted watered down, but it was the only thing on the menu that wasn’t hard liquor or some frou-frou mixed drink. She scanned the walls for a clock again, but she still couldn’t find one. Waiting for Twilight and Pinkie to arrive was proving more difficult than she’d imagined thanks to the raucous music, and she regretted that she’d passed on Dash’s offer of company. But, the damage was done, and she supposed a headache was a small price to pay for setting things right with Twilight.

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Pinkie hop in through the door with Twilight close behind her. The pair headed for a booth out of her sight on the far side of the room, and she thought about following them so that she could get out of the club as quickly as possible. Ultimately, she decided to stick to the plan and wait for the signal from Pinkie. Taking another drink, she watched as the wall near where Twilight and Pinkie had disappeared glowed a familiar lavender for a few seconds. When the color vanished, the music cut out, along with all other sound. After a few seconds of blissful silence, the thunderous beat returned, and the farmer chuckled to herself.

About a minute later, Pinkie and Twilight reappeared, angling for the dance floor. Applejack raised an eyebrow while she watched them walk, wondering how Pinkie had convinced the unicorn to dance. The answer quickly became apparent as the party pony began flailing about wildly while her date simply stood in place. Applejack shook her head and lifted her mug to drain the last dregs of cider, but paused when she noticed Pinkie’s erratic bouncing stop. She watched as the baker walked over and stood next to Twilight, swaying in much more subdued manner.

Applejack smiled and leaned back in her chair, watching as Twilight slowly started to sway alongside Pinkie, the two eventually losing themselves in the music and giggling. When the song finally ended, or at least the volume dropped to a somewhat more reasonable level for a bit, they left the dance floor and headed back for their booth. However, Twilight turned and looked in Applejack’s direction, forcing her to duck down so she wasn’t seen. After waiting a couple moments, she sat back up a little, seeing the unicorn nowhere in sight, and let out a sigh. She drank the last of her cider and settled back into her chair as the music built back up to a deafening level.

When the music finally died down a little, Twilight and Pinkie headed back to their booth, leaning on one another while the last of their giggles dissipated. While they walked, Twilight turned to the bar, trying to see if anything sounded appetizing, but a splash of orange caught her eye, drawing her gaze to the far wall. She could have sworn she’d seen Applejack over there, but the only pony in sight was a drunken pegasus who was laying face down on his table. She felt her date pulling on her leg, so she gave up and kept moving toward their booth.

Once they were seated again, Pinkie began talking animatedly, but her words were drowned out by the music. Picking a different spell this time, Twilight summoned her magic and quickly cast a sound dampening spell.

“—fun! Oh, I’m so glad that you—” Pinkie stopped, surprised that she could suddenly hear herself. After looking around for a bit, she focused back on her date. “Um, Twilight, did you turn down the music again?”

“No.” Twilight chuckled. “I just put a sound dampening field around our booth. It’s quieter in here for us so that we can talk without shouting, but the music is still going outside.”

“Really?” Pinkie immediately stood up and leaned out of the booth, jumping when the full force of the music hit her. She pulled back into the bubble, rubbing a hoof in her ear. “Silly Twilight, that’s not how you enjoy yourself in a nightclub.” Twilight gave her an embarrassed smile, but before she could light up her horn again, Pinkie waved at her with both hooves. “No, no. It’s super duper fun… and it does make it easier to talk.” She smiled bigger, drumming her hooves on the table. “Okidoki! You need a drink, and I want a drink. What do you want?”

“I uhh...” Twilight tapped her hooves together below the table. She swallowed nervously and put on her bravest face. “I’ll have some red wine. Marelot if they have it.”

Pinkie giggled, with an occasional snort mixing its way in. “Silly Twilight, they don’t have wine here.”

“O-oh. Well then, um…” Twilight floundered, only able to stammer out half-formed words for a few moments.

“Teehee. Don’t worry, sillyhead.” Pinkie leaned across the table and booped her date on the nose. “I’ll take care of it.” She dug into her mane and pulled out a small jingling sack of bits. She scooted to the edge of the booth, hanging her rear hooves off the edge but leaning back to keep her head in the noise-dampened bubble. “Back in two shakes! Maybe three.” With that, she hopped down from her seat and headed for the bar, her hips swaying in time to the pounding beat.

Twilight caught herself staring as her date walked away and quickly redirected her gaze down to the table. Now that it was at a more tolerable volume, she realized that the music permeating the club was actually quite catchy. After a few more seconds of listening, she identified an underlying pattern in the song and began tapping her rear hooves in time with it. Her mind drifted back to the walk back from the dance floor and when she had thought she had seen Applejack.

I can’t believe it. She shook her head, her hooves slowing and falling off of the beat. The entire point of asking Pinkie out was so that I wouldn’t fixate on Applejack while she sat on the sidelines. She slumped down, her nose nearly touching the table. I shouldn’t have done this, Pinkie deserves better. No, I can’t think like that, I’ll just have to be better for her. She looked around with newfound determination, letting her eyes wander over the crowd while she waited for her date to return. It faltered when she looked past the bar and caught a flash of a blond ponytail.

“Ugh!” If not for the soundproofing bubble the entire club would have heard her frustration. She slumped down, banging her nose into the table. It hurt, but the physical pain didn’t come close to the mental anguish she was experiencing. Why can’t I forget about Applejack? Am I going to see her out of the corner of my eyes for the rest of my life? Maybe I should break things off with Pinkie now, it’s not fair of me to lead her on like this. A small corner of her mind whispered to her, fueling her doubts. What if Applejack really is in the club? “No.” She shook her head vehemently. Applejack doesn’t even like nightclubs! The chances that she would choose to go to one, much less the same one and at the same time, are tiny. Infinitesimal even! I just need to—

“Here we go.” Pinkie stepped back into the bubble and gently placed two drinks on the table, sliding one toward her date, causing her to jump a little. She slid back into her seat and pulled her own drink closer, taking a quick sip. She looked back to the unicorn, but her date wasn’t meeting her gaze. “Twilight? Is everything okay?”

“Hmm? Oh, everything’s fine. It’s just…” Twilight stared at her drink for a few seconds, a red slush in what looked like a martini glass. She tried to figure out what it was, but she couldn’t make out anything beyond a pleasantly sweet aroma. “What is it?”

“It’s a strawberry daiquiri.” Pinkie smiled and leaned over the table. “It’s blended up ice cubes and strawberries with some lime juice, but it’s got a little bit of rum in there too. Oh, and this—” She reached out and ran her hoof through some sugar along the edge of the glass. “—is just sugar, to make it extra tasty.” To prove her point, she licked the sugar off of her hoof. “Mmm! Tasty.”

“Hmm…” Twilight examined her drink for a little while more, then lifted it in her magic and took a sip. The taste strawberry, mixed with a dose of sugar, washed over her tongue, ending with a bite that she assumed was from the alcohol. “Mmm. That’s good. Thank you, Pinkie.” She took a longer drink, motioning toward her date’s glass when she was done. “What did you get?”

“This is a mudslide!” Pinkie crouched down, staring intently at her drink, a tall rounded glass filled with light brown liquid interspersed with darker brown layers. “It’s got all kinds of yummy stuff in it like chocolate and cream and more chocolate!” She took a long drink, letting out a happy sigh afterward. “Mmm. That’s tasty!” She smiled at the unicorn, who smiled back, but something was off about it. She couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, mainly because it would be rude to just stick her hoof on Twilight’s mouth, but she had a feeling she knew what was wrong. “Twilight… how do you feel about Applejack?”

“What?” Twilight faltered, nearly dropping her glass. “Pinkie! I don’t— Why would—” She paused, taking a breath to compose herself. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well, you still seem a little… sad.” Pinkie’s smile faded, and she tapped a hoof idly on the side of her drink. “I just want you to be the happiest you can, and if Applejack can do that for you, then…” She trailed off, keeping her eyes on drink for a few seconds.

When the earth pony finally looked up and met Twilight’s gaze, her heart bled. Pinkie’s eyes were just so… sad. “Pinkie, I…” She began, taking her time to ensure she chose her words carefully. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really, truly, be able to get over Applejack, but I think that I can be happy with you. I think that maybe…” She finally tore her gaze away from her date’s, feeling her cheeks burning while she kept talking. “I… I think I might be able to fall in love with you.”

Pinkie immediately perked up, her smile returning in force. “Really? Oh, Twilight, that’s so—” She froze, her eyes darting around randomly. After a few seconds of silence, she swung her legs over the edge of the booth. “I have to use the little fillies’ room! Be right back!” She blurted out before dashing off in the direction of the bathroom.

Twilight could only stare at the seat her date had occupied mere seconds ago, then slowly followed her path toward the rear of the club. “What… What just happened?” She tried to find the earth pony among the shifting sea of ponies, but couldn’t find any sign of her. She was about to give up and go back to her drink to ponder what could have possibly gone wrong, but she caught a flash of a familiar Stetson in the corner of her eye. Letting out a grunt of frustration, she turned back and clearly saw Applejack heading toward the bathroom. She watched as the farmer disappeared through the same door that her date had passed through moments ago.

Unexpected Confessions

by Dianwei32

Problem Solvent