"No. Ah ain't talkin' to him 'til he apologises for what he said!" Applejack replied to Rarity's question.
"Come now, darling. It couldn't be that bad." Rarity comforted.
"No, it was bad. Ah never thought he'd ever say anythin' so hurtful!" Applejack replied in an offended tone.
"I have to admit, for as long as I've known him, I never thought he'd say anything like that." Twilight said.
"Thank you! Ah know Ah'm not overreactin'!" Applejack replied, exasperated.
"Have you seen him since last night?" Rainbow asked.
"No. But, maybe that's what's best for now." Applejack replied. As she said that, Phoenix entered Sugarcube Corner and the girls' attention. He slowly walked towards the table and asked to take a seat. When they allowed him to sit, he seemed to slump down and have no energy in him at all. His fedora's brim was draped over his eyes, hiding them from sight as he sluggishly moved.
"Phoenix, are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked uneasily, knowing what was wrong.
"...Couldn't sleep." Phoenix replied.
"...Where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked.
"...She's out playing with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo." Phoenix replied a little gloomier than before. Applejack sighed before speaking again.
"C'mon, Phoenix. Talk to me. You know Ah don't believe what Big Mac said." Applejack said soothingly. Phoenix visibly flinched at her words.
"What happened? Why did Big Mac say what he did?" Fluttershy shyly asked. Phoenix sighed quietly to himself as Applejack placed her hoof on his shoulder.
"Ah'll tell 'em, sugarcube." Applejack said softly. After Phoenix nodded, Applejack cleared her throat.
Phoenix and Applejack entered the farmhouse to see Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith all gathered in the kitchen. As Applejack and Phoenix entered the kitchen, Applejack greeted the family.
"Howdy y'all." Applejack greeted.
"Howdy, Applejack. Little Apple Bloom here says that you've got somethin' to tell us?" Granny Smith asked.
"Yeah... Y'all remember Phoenix, right?" Applejack asked to which the family nodded. Applejack and Phoenix took a seat before Applejack continued.
"Well.. He an' Ah are... seein' each other." Applejack said softly.
...Ting...
That was the pin dropping.
"...How long?" Granny Smith asked.
"About a month now." Applejack replied.
"Why not tell us sooner?" Granny Smith asked.
"Well... After Caramel... Ah wanted to be sure that the relationship would work before tellin' you." Applejack said uneasily. Phoenix opened his mouth in Applejack's direction before closing it and looking up in thought. After a few seconds later, his gaze returned to Applejack with a much more relaxed expression.
"Yeah, that's fair enough." Phoenix said calmly.
"Have you sinned?" Granny Smith asked, causing Phoenix and Applejack to blush deeply.
"N-no! We've never- Ah mean we haven't-!" Applejack continued to stammer as Phoenix seemed to recover.
"No, Miss Smith, we haven't done anything... like that. I promise you." Phoenix said seriously, but was immediately confused when Granny Smith began to laugh.
"The looks on your faces! Oh, it's been a while since Ah've been able to tease anypony." Granny Smith said with a wide smile. While Applejack looked a mix of embarrassed and offended, Phoenix merely looked impressed.
"I should have seen it coming. I can normally see through deceptions quite quickly, but you got me when I wasn't expecting it. Kudos." Phoenix congratulated with a smile.
"At least Ah know you can take a joke. Celestia knows Caramel couldn't." Granny Smith said, seeming to warm up to the stallion.
"How so?" Phoenix asked.
"Well, you know how you take a lotta things seriously, but you can take a joke?" Applejack asked him.
"Yeah?" Phoenix replied.
"Well, Caramel took everything seriously." Applejack continued.
"Ah. I see. Sounds a tad boring. And coming from me, that's saying a lot." Phoenix said.
"Ah know. You know Ah'd never say a thing against you, Applejack, but Ah didn't like that feller at all." Granny Smith said, joing the conversation once more.
"Really? Y'know you coulda said somethin', Granny." Applejack said.
"Yeah. I've said to her before: 'you don't have to put me before your family, I know how much they mean to you'." Phoenix quoted himself.
"...Well, gotta say, you're turnin' out better than Ah thought you would, sonny. Ah say you can go ahead and date mah granddaughter, but nonna that hanky-panky, y'hear?" Granny Smith said teasingly, causing Phoenix and Applejack to do four things. Smile, blush, nod and facehoof. In that order.
"Nope." A deep voice piped up. Big Mac was stood at full height looking less than pleased.
"What's wrong, Big Mac?" Apple Bloom asked with a slightly worried expression.
"After what AJ's told us about this guy an' his past, you're gonna accept him?" Big Mac asked exasperatedly. Phoenix looked back at Applejack after hearing what he said.
"Ah... may or may not have... told them your Cutie Mark story before Ah went to your trial. They seemed ok with you still bein' mah friend... Please, don't be mad." Applejack explained somewhat weakly.
"AJ. I'm not mad. The reason I turned myself in to the authorities and stood trial was to make the truth inarguable. So, telling the story to your family doesn't bother me. True, the story still hurts me, but it doesn't bother me who knows or tells it." Phoenix said with a calming smile, causing Applejack to calm down and smile back.
"Stop doin' that!" Big Mac said angrily, albeit quietly. Phoenix looked to him in confusion.
"Stop doing what?" Phoenix asked.
"Usin' that 'silver tongue' as mah sister calls it. You're jus' gonna end up usin' it to control her or worse!" Big Mac accused angrily. Everypony visibly flinched at his words.
"...That's a bit harsh, don't you think? The only reason I've ever spoken that way was to either make Applejack laugh or to make her feel better about something. Never for something so... heartless." Phoenix explained.
"Well, after what Ah've heard about your upbringin' Ah wouldn't put it past you. Ah'm not lettin' mah sister get hurt again 'cause of a smooth talkin', self-destructive trickster!" Big Mac said aggressively. Everypony seemed to freeze as Phoenix's eyes darkened with anger.
"...What was that about my upbringing?" Phoenix asked, his voice barely above a whisper, but the restrained anger was evident in it.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. From what Ah've heard about your folks, Ah wouldn't trust you with a toothbrush, forget mah sister!" Big Mac said with the same aggression. Applejack was holding onto Apple Bloom and looked to Phoenix with a slight amount of fear. She'd seen him explode with anger before and she knew it wasn't pretty. Phoenix merely inhaled slowly and exhaled even slower, before turning and walked to the front door and opened it.
"I'm not staying here to be insulted for things I'm not guilty of or be the subject of any prejudices. Anypony who wants to join me is welcome." Phoenix said seriously before walking out. Big Mac sighed before turning back on his family only to see them looking at him with looks of fear, anger and disappointment on their faces. A few seconds later, Applejack let go of Apple Bloom and walked out of the door despite her brother's protests. Granny Smith began to walk up the stairs a few seconds later and not long after that, Apple Bloom followed Applejack, leaving Big Mac alone. Both of the Apple sisters caught up with Phoenix as the three of them were walking away from the farm.
"We'll stay at my house tonight. When we get there, just make yourselves at home." Phoenix said with near to no expression. The remainder of the walk was in silence.
"Wow. No, you're not overreacting, darling." Rarity said to Applejack.
"Told ya so." Applejack replied.
"In fact, I think you're underreacting, Phoenix." Rarity said to the sulking stallion.
"Well, if I had overreacted, I would have killed him. I think my reaction was the best for everypony." Phoenix said. Rarity cleared her throat slightly.
"Right, yes. Fair enough. Actually, Phoenix, I meant to say: you're suit has finally been completed." Rarity said. Phoenix seemed to perk up slightly as the two of them exited Sugarcube Corner and began to head to Carousel Boutique. As the entered, Rarity giddily rushed across the room and unveiled her creation to Phoenix. It was a crystal white shirt under a sharp, black waistcoat with a black necktie around the collar. Covering that was a black suit jacket and a black trench coat to top it all off. To Phoenix, it looked incredible. He was in awe as he walked slowly forward to inspect it further. He was; of course, going to accept the gift regardless of how it looked. But, it looked simply amazing. He slowly turned to see Rarity looking at him in anticipation with a slight bead of sweat on her temple.
"Well? W-what do you think?" Rarity asked, trying to hold her nervous stutter. Phoenix turned completely to Rarity and smiled. As Rarity was about to breath a sigh of relief, Phoenix wrapped her up in a hug. She squeaked in surprise as he lifted her and spun her continuously before putting her down again.
"I... take it you like it, then?" Rarity asked, trying to recover from her shock.
"Rarity, it's incredible. I'm going to wear it with nothing but pride. Thank you. Thank you so much." Phoenix said with excitement.
"Oh, Phoenix, thank you. It warms my heart to know I've made up for my mistake. And don't say I didn't have to, because my conscience wouldn't allow me leave it uncorrected." Rarity said before Phoenix could interrupt. Phoenix sighed and released a single chuckle and a smile.
"Alright, alright. Thank you, Rarity. Consider the mistake corrected." Phoenix said gratefully.
"Excellent! Well, what are you waiting for?! Put it on! Put it on!" Rarity instructed excitedly. She began to excitedly push Phoenix towards her changing room, suit in tow, held aloft by her magic. After being pushed into the changing room and having the suit thrust into his hooves, Phoenix took a moment to recover before letting out single chuckle and began to change. Not long before he finished donning the suit, he could hear the rest of the girls entering the shop and Rarity telling them that he was changing. When he finished, he took one last look at himself in the mirror, but frowned slightly.
'Something's missing...' Phoenix thought to himself. He stared for a moment before his gaze met his fedora. He used his magic to place it on his head and he thought that suited the outfit rather well. Due to the palette being black and white, the hat didn't stand out more than it should have. In fact, due to it hiding his eyes and the coat being long enough to hide his cutie mark, it made Phoenix look monochromic, thus giving his bright, blue eyes a piercing quality. Upon more inspection, the outfit reminded him of old pictures of the famous gangster: Al Capony. Happy with his look, he walked out of the changing room and allowed the five girls present to see him. He immediately drew everypony's attention and held it. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Twilight and Rarity all stared wide-eyed with very light blushes. Pinkie, on the other hoof looked at him, gave an impressed look and wolf whistled.
"Thank you, thank you, ladies. How do I look?" Phoenix jokingly soaked in imaginary applause before asking his question. Rarity seemed to recover before glancing around and turning back to Phoenix.
"Well, I can summarise it in three word, darling." Rarity said.
"And what are they, Rarity?" Phoenix asked. Rarity simply closed her eyes.
"Applejack, you're drooling." Rarity said with her voice slightly raised. A surprised gasp came from the doorway where Applejack was standing, frantically wiping her mouth.
"Ah was not." Applejack argued weakly, unable to keep the blush from her face.
"How do you think I look, AJ?" Phoenix asked, trying to sound confident, but his shyness was still detectable.
"...W-well, you look... (whew, is it hot in here?) Ah think you look great, sugarcube." Applejack said with a blush after stumbling over her words slightly and muttering something under her breath. Phoenix shyly rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof as he smiled.
"Thanks, Applejack..." Phoenix said shyly. After Phoenix's transformation, the girls began their preparations for the gala. Everypony gathered around Twilight as Fluttershy brought a group of mice and Applejack brought an apple. Twilight used her magic to transform the apple into a carriage and the mice into horses. Very... odd, buck-toothed horses. Suddenly, Opal hissed and began to chase them as if they were... well... mice.
"Wait! Come back! Those horses were supposed to pull our carriage. How will we get to the Gala?" Twilight asked worriedly. Everypony then turned to Phoenix. He looked back at them for a moment before rolling his eyes and sighing.
"Alright..." Phoenix said. After the transport was prepared the girls began to prepare themselves for the night ahead. Phoenix waited outside of the room the girls were changing in with Spike approaching the door.
"Come on, you guys. Let me in!" Spike said through the door.
"Sure thing, Spike." Rainbow Dash said from the other side.
"Heavens, no! We're getting dressed." Rarity said, slightly distressed.
"Dressed? Uh, beg pardon, Rarity, but, uh... we don't normally wear clothes." Applejack said to Rarity, causing Phoenix to draw his attention to the door.
"...And with that mental image, I may need to take a cold shower." Phoenix said before he walked away. Disregarding the thoughts and his joke, he walked outside to wait by the carriage.
"Uh... excuse me, sir? You're not a gangster, are you?" A scared voice asked from behind Phoenix. He turned to see Ditzy Doo shaking slightly as she stared at the stallion. Phoenix simply chuckled and tilted his hat enough for her to see the whole of his face.
"Ditzy, it's me." Phoenix said with a kind smile, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise for a moment before smiling widely.
"Oh! Phoenix! I thought you were a gangster! You look like one of those old movie mafia guys!" Ditzy said excitedly, filled with relief.
"Do I look black-and-white?" Phoenix asked with a smile.
"Yeah! That's what I was thinking! Why are you dressed like that?" Ditzy asked.
"I'm going to head for the gala when the girls are ready." Phoenix replied.
"Ooh! I really hope you guys have fun!" Ditzy said happily. Phoenix gave her a side hug as he returned her smile.
"Thank you, Ditzy. I'm sure we will." Phoenix said.
"Cool, now, I'd better... oh, wow..." Ditzy stopped mid-sentence to look behind Phoenix. The stallion turned to see five beautiful mares clad in beautiful dresses. And one goddess that he happened to be dating. Upon seeing Applejack, Phoenix's heart began quicken its pace in his chest, his jaw dropped slightly and eyes couldn't move from her as his cheeks began to heat up. The girls caught him looking at Applejack, causing the five of them to giggle lightly while Applejack simply blushed lightly. After Phoenix managed to recover and the girls were finished teasing him, Phoenix and Spike helped them into the carriage before Phoenix attached himself to the front and Spike sat in the driver seat.
"So, what're you planning on doing at the gala, Phoenix?" Spike asked as they headed towards Canterlot.
"Well... I heard my sister will be part of the entertainment, so I might say hello to her. I might say hi to the princesses. But, I don't know other than that. I'll just play it by ear." Phoenix replied.
"Well, I could show you around my favourite spots in Canterlot since the girls have their own plans." Spike proposed, slightly hoping for the answer he wanted.
"Well, greeting my sister won't take long and greeting the princesses would take a while. And, despite going there now-and-then, I never sightsee in Canterlot. So, sure, Spike. I'd like to see what you have to offer." Phoenix replied. Spike smiled as he gripped the reigns tighter.
"Well, it won't matter if we never get there! Hyah, Phoenix!" Spike said with excitement, whipping the reigns across Phoenix's backside. He continued to walk, but he looked back at Spike with a glare.
"...Sorry." Spike said weakly.
"Kids these days." Phoenix muttered as he turned back around. Throughout the journey, the silence was constantly broken by the excited chatter of the girls inside the carriage. After a few minutes, they reached the entrance for carriages. Spike hopped from his seat and opened the door allowing the girls to exit the carriage. Phoenix couldn't stop as he had to continue walking to park the carriage. Eventually, he reached an open space where everypony was leaving their transportation, leading Phoenix to leave the carriage in an unoccupied space and head towards the castle. As he entered, he saw Spike on his own in the entrance hall looking rather down.
"Spike, why are you on your own? Where are the girls?" Phoenix asked.
"Oh. Hi, Phoenix. They just kinda ditched me." Spike said with annoyance.
"Well, I'm sure they were just excited. Come on, how about we greet my sister and then we'll see some of the things you wanted to show me?" Phoenix said caringly. Spike seemed to perk up as he nodded. As they walked into the great hall, Phoenix noticed that it was very crowded, leading him to tell Spike to stay close to him. They walked closer to the stage to see the Canterlot Symphony Quartet playing calm music for the party. As they finished, before they could begin playing again, Phoenix spoke out.
"I don't suppose I could interrupt you, could I?" Phoenix said, tilting his hat. Octavia looked to him and actually smiled as she placed her cello down and jumped from the stage into Phoenix's forelegs.
"Phoenix, it's so good to see you. What are you doing here?" Octavia asked.
"I have a ticket. I just came by to say hello. Octavia, this is Spike. Spike, this is my sister, Octavia." Phoenix introduced. Octavia shook Spike's claw as he stared at her.
"You're so... beautiful." Spike said, in a trance-like tone. Octavia simply giggled.
"Yes, my girlfriend thinks so too." Octavia said with a smile. Spike blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck as Phoenix chuckled.
"Sorry." Spike said, slightly ashamed.
"It's quite alright, young man. You didn't do anything wrong." Octavia said soothingly. She looked around to see several nobles looking at them with annoyance.
"I suppose we should get back to it, then. Thank you for saying hello, Phoenix. I hope to see you later. And you too, Spike." Octavia said as she walked back onto the stage and readied her cello once more. Phoenix and Spike waved as they walked away. Spike began to lead Phoenix to Celestia's golden apple tree when a stallion blocked their path.
"Cognito?" Phoenix asked, recognising him from the trial. Cognito looked at him with his somewhat lifeless eyes.
"You're the same as me." Cognito said monotonously.
"...You mean... the abilities?" Phoenix asked. Cognito gave a single nod before looking around.
"There are some ponies here that I don't trust." Cognito said, straight to the point.
"What do you mean?" Phoenix asked while Spike remained behind him.
"I have listened to the minds of others around the gala. I don't like the nobles, but there is one in particular that has disgusting things on his mind." Cognito said.
"Whom? What are they thinking?" Phoenix asked.
"...Why do you wish to know? What if it doesn't concern you?" Cognito asked as he tilted his head.
"I don't care. When you say things like that it becomes my concern." Phoenix replied. Cognito stared for a moment or two before untiting his head.
"...I see. The one who had the horrific thoughts was Princess Celestia's nephew: Prince Blueblood." Cognito said.
"Blueblood?! T-that's the guy that Rarity's with!" Spike said with horror.
"Cognito, please. This really does involve me now. One of my friends could be in horrible danger. Please, tell me what he was thinking." Phoenix said seriously.
"...He plans on making her his own. Whether she is willing or not." Cognito said.
"...You don't mean..." Phoenix didn't dare answer, but Cognito nodded gravely.
"What? What's he gonna do?" Spike asked fearfully.
"Nothing, Spike. Because we're going to stop him! Where is he now, Cognito?" Phoenix asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know." Cognito said, still monotonously.
"Damn. We'll have to wander around and see if we can find them. Thank you, Cognito. Come on, Spike!" Phoenix said as he and Spike began to move through the crowd to begin their search. Cognito stayed in place with his eyes widened slightly for a moment.
"...You're welcome." Cognito muttered to himself. He'd never been thanked like that before. Like a... friend...
Phoenix and Spike rushed through several crowds, avoiding several ponies in an attempt to find Rarity and Blueblood. Eventually they stood, exhausted outside the great hall.
"We're never gonna find them!" Spike panted.
"I guess I'll have to use my last trick." Phoenix said before he closed his eyes and strained his mind and heard many voices flowing through his mind. His head began to ache as he strained further to try to find any trace of their targets.
'This isn't at all what I imagined.' Rarity's voice echoed through his mind.
"Got her." Phoenix said as he and Spike began to run towards the royal gardens. As they reached the entrance to the gardens, they pushed through the doors and looked around frantically. The searched for a further minute or so before they finally found them by Applejack's stall. Blueblood began to walk towards the entrance to the great hall as Phoenix began to read his mind.
'Ugh. Disgusting commoners' trash. After I clean my mouth of this insult to food, I will finally make Rarity Belle mine... By force if need be.' Blueblood thought as different visual thoughts entered Phoenix's mind as well. And he immediately felt sick.
"Oh, Faust. We've got to stop him, Spike!" Phoenix said with urgency.
"Why? What's he gonna do?!" Spike asked fearfully as Phoenix began to walk to intercept the prince.
"You're too young to know, that's how bad it is!" Phoenix called back as Spike followed. Phoenix stood in front of Blueblood causing him to stop and Rarity to keep up.
"...What do you want, commoner?" Blueblood asked rudely.
"I want you to step away from the lady." Phoenix replied, Spike standing next to him, trying to look formidable. Rarity looked confused, while Blueblood looked offended.
"Why should I do that, you piece of mediocre garbage? I'm a prince! What are you going to do?!" Blueblood shouted, but it came across as more of a whine.
"When my friend's safety and virginity are at stake, you'd be surprised how... persuasive I can get." Phoenix said darkly, causing Rarity and Spike to look at the stallion in horror, while Blueblood began to sweat.
"I-I wasn't going to do anything... like that with him, Phoenix." Rarity said.
"I know. But, he was dead set on it. With or without your consent." Phoenix said to Rarity with a slightly disgusted expression that he kept aiming at Blueblood. Rarity's face turned a mixture of both a slight pinch of red and a lot of green. She immediately moved away from Blueblood and stood next to Phoenix and Spike.
"Lady Rarity! You don't really believe this gutter-snipe, do you?!" Blueblood asked exasperatedly, while more sweat poured down his face.
"I know Phoenix is many things. But, he is not a liar. He can bluff to save his life, but he knows the value of the truth. You won't be getting anything more from me, not even my time." Rarity said as she began to walk away. Blueblood tried to walk after her, but Phoenix stood in his way once more.
"Cock-blocked, Blueblood. Walk away." Phoenix said simply. Blueblood growled before holding Phoenix in his magic and threw him through the stain-glass window of the great hall. Phoenix screamed as the window shattered and he landed on the hard floor by doing a recovery roll and getting to his hooves instantly and cracking his neck twice. He then looked to the door to see Blueblood entering and approaching him with a look of fury on his face. Phoenix looked towards Octavia and her bandmates.
"Hey, guys, can you play a nice beat to beat this guy's ass to?" Phoenix asked with a smirk. The quartet looked at each other before beginning to play. Phoenix nodded in time with beat as he turned to see Blueblood drawing ever closer. As he was close to him, Blueblood tried to backhoof him, however, Phoenix simply dodged quickly. Blueblood recovered and attempted another attack only for it to be dodged again. Phoenix seemed to be straining his eyes slightly, but, that look slowly faded away as the one-sided fight continued. Phoenix realised that the more he used his power, the less pain he felt when he used it each time. Therefore, he used his power to read Blueblood's mind to see what attack he would try next and be sure to not let it hit. Finally, Blueblood attempted to hit Phoenix in the face, but stopped when Phoenix grabbed Blueblood's hoof in it's tracks. He then took one swing with his other hoof and punched Blueblood square in the muzzle. Blueblood fell onto his back holding his muzzle as blood began to pour from it.
"Huh. I guess 'Blueblood' isn't literal, then." Phoenix said as he gave his suit a quick brush with his hoof. Blueblood jumped to his hooves with one of them still covering his muzzle.
"Guards! Guards! Arrest this plebeian wretch!" Blueblood yelled to the guards around the room.
"That will not be necessary." A voice said from behind Blueblood. Everypony turned to see Princess Celestia looking at Phoenix and Blueblood with a slightly angered expression with the element bearers and Spike by her side.
"Aunty! Thank Faust. Please, banish this ingrate for what he's done to me!" Blueblood whined.
"Wow, you'll never run out of things to call me, will you?" Phoenix said. Celestia walked towards the two stallions until she wasn't more than a few feet away from them.
"I have been told the whole story. I have never been more disgusted than I am with you, Blueblood." Celestia said. Blueblood looked completely dumbfounded.
"But- but, I didn't do anything wrong! I merely wanted what was rightfully mine and this animal ends up striking me!" Blueblood whined. Phoenix slowly turned his head to look at Blueblood.
"...Were you dropped as a foal? Do you really think you can lie to her?" Phoenix said, half annoyed, half genuinely curious.
"I couldn't have said it better myself. I know everything that happened. Guards, please take Prince Blueblood to the dungeon. A night in a cell might teach him some manners." Celestia said rather coldly. As the guards dragged the kicking and screaming prince to the dungeon, the group decided to leave under the fact that the gala wasn't everything they made it out to be. The bade their goodbyes to Celestia before preparing the carriage and heading back to Ponyville. Listening in on some of the girls' stories about the evening, Spike realised that their night really didn't turn out that well.
"Well, Spike... I think they focused on how the night would be great because of their desires as individuals. But, in about... five minutes, I reckon that they'll discover what each of them needed to make the night great and memorable." Phoenix explained when Spike pointed out his realisation.
"What do you mean? What did they need?" Spike asked. Phoenix turned his head to look at Spike with a smile.
"Each other." Phoenix replied before turning his head back. As the journey progressed the conversations between the girls in the carriage began to become more jolly and joyous as they laughed at the night they just had and were simply enjoying the company of their friends. After they arrived in Ponyville and Twilight reverted the carriage back into an apple, they all decided to go their separate ways and get some much needed rest. Phoenix then offered to walk Applejack back to the 'Acres. A part of her didn't want to see her brother, but she knew that it was inevitable. As the distance between them and the orchard got ever smaller, the conversation finally went to a subject that Phoenix had wanted to talk about for a while.
"So... We actually kissed yesterday." Phoenix said awkwardly with a blush. Applejack blushed too before she responded.
"Yeah. It was your first, wasn't it?" Applejack asked.
"Y-yeah, it was." Phoenix replied.
"Well... how was it?"
"What?" Phoenix asked as his face grew more and more red.
"How was it?" Applejack asked again. Phoenix seemed to try to remember exactly how it felt, before his face blushed intensely as he had a serene smile on his face.
"It was... indescribable."
"So, you enjoyed it too, then?" Applejack asked with a blush of her own.
"Yeah, I really, really di-. Wait a minute. 'Too'? So... you liked it too?" Phoenix asked as they stopped in front of the farmhouse.
"...Yeah. Ah loved it. Ah even liked when you put your hooves on mah h-. Ah mean-! Ah mean Ah liked it, yeah." Applejack said as her own blush intensified.
"You liked it when I put my hooves on your hips?" Phoenix asked.
"...Yeah. Don't ask why. It just felt... nice." Applejack replied. They both fell into silence as the farmhouse door was beckoning for Applejack. She was about to go to the door but, she instead turned and once again pushed her lips to Phoenix's. Once again, he was surprised but the overwhelming pleasure from the kiss soothed his thoughts. After a minute that felt like an hour, their lips separated and Applejack walked to the door. Before she entered she turned and shyly waved at Phoenix, causing him to wave and smile shyly back. After she'd disappeared into the farmhouse, Phoenix turned and began to giddily walk back to town. He felt virtually weightless. The tingling sensation on his lips and in his mind was a constant reminder to the wonderful mare that he loved. Phoenix was alone in his thoughts as his eyes were on the moon, but his mind was on Applejack.
'If this is what it's like to be in love, then every night will be as great as this. Hell, maybe one could class it as... the best night ever...'