Fluttershy wilted under the floating mistletoe, her mane pooling on the floor as she stared down at her hooves.
“Not cool, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash scowled as she landed next to Fluttershy and spread her wing protectively in front of the other pegasus.
“Yeah, I have to agree with Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, snatching the mistletoe out of Rarity’s magic with her own and tucking it under her wing. “What were you thinking?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Obvious you’re being a meaniepants!” Pinkie Pie said, sitting back on her haunches and crossing her hooves disapprovingly across her chest.
“It’s alright,” Fluttershy said quietly.
Everypony blinked as they turned their head towards Fluttershy.
“Really?” Twilight asked skeptically.
“Really.” Fluttershy straightened up and nodded her head. “Rarity was just trying to make her friends happy. Isn’t that right?”
“Of course,” Rarity said quickly.
Twilight jerked her head back around towards Rarity and narrowed her eyes, making the unicorn flinch.
“All right! Maybe I was teasing, just a little.”
Fluttershy frowned.
“But I really do want you to be happy! If you liked somepony, I wouldn’t want you – or anyone – to feel that they had to hide it from the rest of us. I just got a little carried away.”
“I understand. But I don’t have a crush on Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said firmly.
“I should have known, dear. Forgive me?”
Fluttershy smiled. “Of course.”
“Thank you.” Rarity paused for a moment. “So, who did Rainbow Dash kiss?”
“Rarity!” Twilight groaned.
“Oh, that was me. Though, uhm, actually, I was the one who kissed her.”
“Wait, what?” Twilight’s eye twitched as she glanced over at Rainbow Dash, who was grinning shamelessly.
“Ooh! I didn’t know you two liked each other!” Pinkie Pie smiled, then frowned. “Wait, I thought you said you didn’t like Rainbow Dash.”
“I don’t. But, uhm, I thought I did. Or, uhm, thought I might have.”
“When did this happen?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, this was before you moved to Ponyville.” Fluttershy sat back on her cushion, her tail flowing out behind her over the crystal floor. “Rainbow Dash had just helped me move all my things from Cloudsdale into my little cottage, and I had just met those two nice musicians who live in that funny house on the other end of Ponyville.”
Twilight tilted her head. “You mean the house that’s painted in two different colors?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re just roommates,” Twilight said cautiously.
“Oh, I know. But I didn’t know that then. I didn’t even know that mares could like other mares! Or stallions other stallions, for that matter.”
Twilight rubbed her face. “How can you not know that?”
Fluttershy fidgeted. “Uhm, you haven’t met my parents.”
“Yeah, they’re giant—”
“Rainbow!”
“What? I’ve met your parents. They said I was a bad influence on you.” Rainbow Dash smirked.
Fluttershy giggled. “Well, maybe a little.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you kissed Rainbow Dash!”
“Yeah! Why did you kiss her?” Pinkie Pie leaned forward until her snout was almost touching Fluttershy’s before Twilight yanked her back with a tug of her magic.
“Oh. Well,” Fluttershy poked at the edge of her sitting cushion with her hoof, “You see, she’d been really nice, and I thought maybe she liked me, and I liked being around her, and, well, uhm…” Fluttershy’s cheeks turned red. “I didn’t really have many friends.”
“I see.” Rarity stepped forward to put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “You confused your feelings of affection for feelings of, well, affection.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh, that must have been adorable!”
“Actually, I had a bruise on my snout for like, two days afterwards,” Rainbow Dash said, grinning sheepishly.
Rarity turned her head at the pegasus. “You what?”
“Oh, yeah. I totally didn’t see it coming, turned around, and WHAM! Right in the face.” Rainbow Dash smacked her hooves together for emphasis.
“Oh dear. Was she alright?”
“Oh, yes. Once Rainbow Dash realized what had happened, she was very, uh, sweet.” Fluttershy blushed.
“Yeah. The second time went way better.” Rainbow Dash got a faraway look in her eye. “I totally gave her some tongue.”
Rarity’s mouth fell open. “On your first kiss?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Hey! I thought she was totally into me. I mean, it’s not like I’d really been kissed before that, either. We were still kind of figuring out what we liked.”
“Oh, I was so embarrassed!” Fluttershy giggled softly. “I went and hid upstairs in my room.”
“Yeah, that part was kind of awkward. It took me like three hours to get her to come out of the closet.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her mane.
Twilight’s brow crinkled. “Wait, wait. I thought you said you didn’t like mares, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, I don’t.”
“Yeah. She was kind of trapped underneath all the stuff she kept in there. But I totally helped her out. You know, once I figured out that she was stuck.”
“Oh, I see. You meant literally—”
“And then we made out.”
Twilight choked. “What?”
“Well, you didn’t think we figured it out after just two kisses, did you?” Rainbow Dash leered.
Fluttershy ducked her head, pawing at the floor with her hoof.
“Goodness,” Rarity said. “I didn’t realize you two were so… enthusiastic.”
Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest. “It was totally hot.”
“It was kind of awkward,” Fluttershy muttered.
“Well, that too,” Rainbow Dash said, deflating. “But mostly hot.”
“You know, there are children in the room, right, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said, arching her eyebrow.
Apple Bloom waved her hoof at the older ponies. “Oh, don’t worry, Sweetie Belle and Spike are too busy not kissin’ to listen.”
Twilight sighed and pressed her hoof against the bridge of her muzzle.
“Wait. So, did you two… date?” Rarity asked, glancing from Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no. After that, I kind of realized that I don’t like mares.”
Twilight held up her hoof. “Wait, so you figured out you didn’t like mares… by kissing Rainbow Dash?”
Fluttershy nodded her head slightly. “Yes.”
“Wow, Dashie must be a really bad kisser then,” Pinkie Pie said, stroking her chin. “I wonder if that works on boys, too?”
“Hey! I wasn’t that bad! Come on, back me up, Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy looked back down at her hooves, shifting on her cushion. “It was… uhm… nice?”
Rarity tittered.
“Oh, whatever.” Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. “At least I’ve kissed somepony. Heck, even Twilight has. I guess that makes you the odd mare out.”
“Humph. Well, at least I have standards.” Rarity lifted her snout.
“Yeah, ponies with horns stuck in the wrong end.”
Twilight and Fluttershy giggled, while Pinkie Pie tilted her head. “I don’t get it.”
Fluttershy’s cheeks colored before she leaned over to whisper in Pinkie Pie’s ear.
“Ohhhh. See, with earth ponies, we just say they have sticks up their—”
Rarity cleared her throat. “Shouldn’t we be getting back to the kitchen?”
“Oh no, not that again,” Twilight said, tucking her wing in more tightly against the mistletoe. “Rainbow Dash and I can finish making the pie ourselves.”
“Wait. Why me?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Because the refrigerator is in the kitchen and you can eat whatever you want out of it?”
“Hah! Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Rainbow Dash zipped off to the kitchen, leaving a multi-colored trail behind her.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Twilight spread her wings and swooped after her friend. By the time she flew in through the door, Rainbow Dash already had her head in the fridge, her tail flicking behind her as she reached inside.
“Don’t you have any juice in here?”
“There should be some down on the third shelf.”
Rainbow Dash lowered her head, pushing around the food before finally leaning forward to remove one of the boxes and set it on the counter behind her before leaning down to examine it. “Orange juice? Better not tell Applejack.”
“Ha ha.” Twilight’s horn glowed as she pushed the door shut, then watched as Rainbow Dash awkwardly fumbled with the straw, poking at the top of the container repeatedly, her mane hanging over her face.
“Here, let me.” Twilight said, her horn beginning to glow again before Rainbow Dash growled and grabbed the juice box with her hoof.
“I’ve got it.” Rainbow Dash gave the juice box a few more pokes with the straw before finally pressing it in. “Aha! See? Told you.”
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I know you guys didn’t mean it about the kissing. It’s not important anyway.”
Twilight fidgeted awkwardly.
“What’s up?” Rainbow Dash sipped noisily at the juice box.
Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it. “You know, I didn’t really tell the truth about kissing, either.”
“Huh?”
“I never actually kissed Flash. I mean, we were going to kiss, but—”
“You chickened out?”
“No! We just got… interrupted.”
“Heh. Well, you missed your chance.” Rainbow Dash’s smile returned as she lounged against the kitchen counter.
“Yeah, we broke up. Not that we were ever really together together, but—”
“Nah, I meant earlier in the kitchen, when Rarity was waving the mistletoe over my head.” Rainbow Dash waved her hoof airily. “I mean, I know I don’t have legs like Princess Celestia—”
“Oh please.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I even like mares.”
“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Rainbow Dash grinned and nudged Twilight with her wing. “I thought you were all about ‘experimenting’ anyway. Isn’t that why you took the mistletoe?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“No!” Twilight’s face flushed as she glowered at Rainbow Dash, but her heart wasn’t in it. “I took it to keep it away from Rarity.”
Rainbow Dash took a step back. “Wait. So you mean we’re actually going to make pie?”
Twilight blinked. “Uh, yeah. What did you think I meant?”
“I dunno. I thought it might be a euphemism for something.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Why would you even think that?”
Rainbow Dash held up her hooves defensively. “Well, it’s not like I know anything about making pie. Plus you did bring the mistletoe.” She glanced at Twilight. “Say, what’d you do with it, anyway?”
“I just tucked it under my—” Twilight glanced back at her wing, then sighed and smacked herself in the face with her hoof. “I dropped it.”
Apple Bloom grinned to herself as she skulked along the edge of the room, the sprig of mistletoe clenched tightly between her teeth. She paused mid-step as Sweetie Belle briefly glanced in her direction, then continued to creep forward once her friend looked back over at Spike.
Apple Bloom giggled to herself. “Won’t she be surprised.”
“Surprised about what?”
“Gah!” Apple Bloom started, dropping the mistletoe on the ground.
“Hey, you dropped something!” Pinkie Pie stepped forward to look down at the sprig of greenery on the floor. “Ohhhh. I see.”
“Please don’t tell Sweetie Belle!”
“Oh, don’t worry! My lips are sealed.” Pinkie Pie drew her hoof across her snout, then made a tossing motion before pawing at the floor with her hooves.
“…Right.” Apple Bloom glanced nervously back over to the pair on the sofa. “This is gonna be harder than I thought.”
“It’s easy!” Pinkie Pie said, grinning. “All you need is a distraction! And I know just the pony.”
“…You?”
“Yup!” Pinkie Pie leaned forward and whispered loudly. “On the count of avocado cupcakes, go.”
“What?” Apple Bloom sat back, blinking as Pinkie Pie smiled at her before pronking back over to the sofa.
“Soo, who here likes avocado cupcakes?”
Apple Bloom stared for a moment before rubbing her face with her hoof. Bending down to retrieve her precious cargo, she gripped the stem tightly between her teeth and trotted along the edge of the room. As she crept up behind the sofa, she slowed her pace to a crawl, slowly creeping along the floor to her destination.
“…and that’s why I always use ground rocks when making them!”
“Huh. No wonder they taste so good,” Spike said, rubbing his chin.
Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “Isn’t eating rocks bad for you?”
“Of course not, silly filly! How else do you think ponies grow big and strong like me?” Pinkie Pie leaned forward to pat Sweetie Belle on the head.
“But Rarity doesn’t eat rocks!”
“Of course she does! What did you think the secret ingredient in all my recipes was?”
“You gotta hand it to her, she does make the best cupcakes,” Spike said, waving his claw at Pinkie Pie.
Sweetie Belle swallowed audibly. “Uh, yeah. Of course.”
Pinkie Pie beamed at the pair, then gasped. “Is Fluttershy opening her card already?” The pink pony trotted away, leaving Spike and Sweetie Belle alone on the couch.
“I hope my teeth are okay,” Sweetie Belle said, fidgeting.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Spike waved his claw. “I mean, I eat gems all the time, and it’s never hurt my teeth.”
“Who puts ground rock in cupcakes, anyway? And cake!” Sweetie Belle gesticulated wildly.
“Uhm… Pinkie Pie?”
“Ugh.” Sweetie Belle slumped.
“Hey, look at it this way,” Spike said, patting her on the back. “If you’ve been eating them all this time, obviously they can’t be that bad for you. It’s not like your mane is falling out or anything. You’re looking pretty good for a pony who was eating something that they shouldn’t.”
“You think I look pretty?” Sweetie Belle said, instantly brightening up as she looked over at Spike.
“Er, yeah! O-of course!” Spike said, smiling a bit too widely and showing off a few too many of his totally undamaged teeth. “I mean, uh…” His eyes flicked back and forth across the eager filly’s face. “I’ve always thought you had a really nice mane. What do you do to keep it all curly like that?”
“M-my mane? O-oh.” The enthusiasm seemed to drain out of Sweetie Belle as she slumped forward, looking down at her hooves. “Nothing special.”
Spike blinked. “What’d I say?”
“Nothing.” Sweetie Belle’s voice wavered.
Spike heard a quiet smack from above and looked up to see Apple Bloom leaning over the back of the couch, her hoof pressed over her face. Lowering her hoof, she glanced over at Spike, then tapped her hoof to her snout, shifting the sprig of mistletoe she held between her lips.
Apple Bloom smirked at the dragon’s wide-eyed expression before gesturing with her hooves towards the slumped filly on the couch, the mistletoe dangling dangerously from her mouth.
“Uh, Sweetie Belle?” Spike said cautiously.
“It’s okay. Ugh, why did Pinkie Pie make me sit here? It’s embarrassing!” She smacked her hooves into the couch cushion. “I know you don’t like me.”
Spike pressed his claws together nervously as Apple Bloom jerked her head down towards her friend, leaning further forward over the couch and letting the greenery hang high over Sweetie Belle’s head.
“No, it’s not like that! I just never, you know, thought about it like that before. It isn’t like you’re not nice and stuff.” Spike winced at his own words.
“You don’t have to pretend,” Sweetie Belle muttered, staring at her hooves. “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better.”
Apple Bloom jerked her head more rapidly, pointing her snout down at Sweetie Belle.
Spike’s cheeks flushed. “Sweetie Belle?”
“Yes?” she said, straightening up a little as she blankly stared across the room.
“I… uhm… to heck with it!” Spike closed his eyes and pursed his lips, leaning forward to peck her on the cheek.
Sweetie Belle turned. “What—” She squeaked as scaly lips found hers, eyes growing wide and cheeks flaming.
Spike’s eyes shot open, his field of vision dominated by a glistening pair of emerald eyes as he fell back onto his tail. “Buhhh. I… uhh…”
“Wow,” Sweetie Belle said, lifting one hoof to touch her lips.
“I didn’t mean to – I mean, I did, but – the mistle—” Spike pointed up, only to realize that Apple Bloom was gone, the only sign of the filly the sound of faint giggles from the other side of the couch.
“It’s alright, Spike,” Sweetie Belle said, smiling as she looked back down at her hooves, her cheeks red as roses.
“You mean, you don’t mind?”
“Of course not!” She looked back down at her hooves. “I just didn’t expect you to just kiss me.”
Spike looked down at his own feet. “Well, I mean, under the circumstances—“ Spike clamped his mouth shut as he felt movement beside him. Glancing over, he could see Sweetie Belle scooting closer, sliding from her cushion to the edge of his, close enough he could almost feel the warmth of her flank.
“You want to try that again?” she asked, smiling coquettishly.
Spike gulped.