//------------------------------// // XIV - Learning about the start // Story: A New Kind Of Party // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// Start of May, 1005 A.D. (After Discord) An explosion resounded through the once peaceful town. The vibrations that traded through the air made the nearby flocks of birds screech into flight. An oak tree library bounced up from the ground, the shock waves that came from underneath its roots lifting it ever so briefly. The disturbed second of silence was broken by a series of cracks and tinkling that came from inside the tree building. Down underground further than the laboratory in the library’s basement, was an open cavern, its ceiling hosting a few tree roots while it was filled with odd and almost impossible inventions. Aside from one portion of wall dedicated to video games and the large tv to play them on, the room was for a mixture of science and baking. The floor had a drain that was now encrusted with cake batter. A nearby sink was full of pots, bowls and whisks. Shelves and tables holding a large mish mash of parts, tools and party supplies also suffered under a layer of cake mixture. In the center of the room, covered in soot and batter, was an earth pony. Her now filthy pink fur and raspberry mane were sticking out, clumps forming from the mistake. Sky blues eyes blinked rapidly before setting on to the blackened wood and metal cart she had been trying to ‘improve’. A popping sound came from her left, along with a flash of raspberry light. Smile growing from the stunned expression, Pinkie turned around to face the tube system that circled the room before connecting with the ceiling. In front of the exit, in the middle of the red landing circle, stood an anxious unicorn. Her mane just slightly out of order while wide purple eyes searched the room. “Hey there Twilight!” Pinkie closed her eyes briefly as she beamed at the mare across the room. Noticing that the unicorn was still in a state of shock, the pink earth pony looked back to the cart, staring intensely while she waited for it to reveal its secrets. “Pinkie Pie, what-what happened?” Twilight took a few steps closer to the center of the blast radius, eyes trailing over the various stains. “I’m trying to make the greatest welcome wagon but I can’t seem to get it juuuuust right.” Pinkie scrunched her muzzle with a serious glint hidden beneath her usually chipper amusement. Twilight did a double take, having noticed the somber note, and tilted her head at the mess in the middle of the room. Reaching out with her magic, she tried to identify the parts. Her eyebrows twitched as they came up with up with normal materials. The oven parts, what little was left, was that of a normal conventional oven, which did not help Twilight figure out how her marefriend tried to attach it to the wagon. “Uh, what were you trying to add to it?” The unicorn barely spent a thought to the cleaning spell she casted while taking a seat next to the baker who was still leaning forward with forehooves stretched out towards the object. “I just wanted to add an oven, some streamers, a couple of fireworks, some neat wavy flags, these strings, balloons, enough confetti to cover a room, music box, piano, trumpets, though I would need at least four of them to get a nice balanced sound, some floaty bits, mixing bowl, whisk, room for the eggs, milk, sugar, cup of flour and teaspoon of vanilla!” Pinkie rose from her odd position, bouncing her head as faint humming sounded through the air. Twilight glanced around the room, ears flickering, trying to locate the source. Soon she focused on the mare beside her and frowned thoughtfully before shaking her head. I may not want to know… “Uhhh, right… Would you like some help? Maybe a little science to work with uh, whatever you’re building with?” The lavender mare tried to delicately offer her assistance. Something Pinkie accepted with a bright grin and rapid nodding. “OOooh, that’d be awesomely superriffic! But we’ll need the right outfits for this kind of special building!” Zipping over to a set of boxes, the earth pony grabbed out two sets of white clothing that she brought over to her marefriend. She reached out with a hoof and spun the unicorn in place, making a whirling tornado of wind and clothes. Once the dust and torrential wind calmed down, both mares were dressed in surgeons jackets along with masks covering their muzzles. Twilight blinked rapidly as she stood stock still, trying to adjust to the sudden motion and abrupt halt. When she noticed what they wore, she remained silent, deciding not to question the very ‘special’ mare. “You ready my Little Star?” Pinkie beamed from behind her mask. “You bet. Let’s get started.” Twilight returned the grin before turning to the remains with the other mare taking the lead. -NKP- “Screwdriver!” A chipper voice called from the midst of an almost finished wagon. A pink hoof accompanied the shout, pointing in the direction of the mare’s trusty assistant. “Screwdriver.” The object floated over in a light raspberry hue, falling softly into waiting hooves. The two mares stood over a pink, white and yellow wagon that was slowly being rebuilt into a ‘welcome wagon’. Using a mix of science and Pinkie’s abilities, they were getting pretty far in their efforts. “Wrench of Ultimate Turning!” A purple brow rose at the chipper call. “Wrench…” “Ooofff…?” Even without looking the purple mare could hear the smile in the prompting word. Smirking with a teasing roll of her eyes, Twilight finished the ‘name’ of the very ordinary wrench available. “Of Ultimate Turning…” The two mares shared masked covered grins before turning back to their project. “Screws of Extreme Tight Holding!” The gray box was levitated over. “Screws of Extreme Tight Holding.” “Cloth of Wiping! If you would be just a wonderful dear?” Pink eyelashes fluttered towards the unicorn who shook her head with an amused smirk. “Of course. Cloth of Wiping…” Twilight levitated the sought after cloth and wiped at the earth pony’s brow, catching the rare droplets Pinkie actually had on her forehead. For her efforts, the librarian was rewarded with a peck to her muzzle, even as they both wore surgeon masks. “Cupcake of Awesomeness!” Pinkie raised a joyful hoof straight into the air as she proclaimed to the heavens. “Oh Pinkie…” Twilight couldn’t hold back her laughter and levitated over the tray of cupcakes they had made during a break from work. Settling down next to the pink and red wagon, Pinkie tugged down her mask and started to devour the treats with a large grin. Twilight went over the rough schematics they had, comparing the finished product with their plans. Cheerful blue eyes noted the lack of cupcake eating the unicorn was doing. Reaching out with a hoof, the baker hoofed a cupcake towards Twilight. “Donm’ph youh wahnph fmom?” The studious mare shook her head at the mumbled question. She pushed the offering back towards the pink barrel with a gentle smile. “No thank you Pinkie Pie, I’m ok. Though it seems like your new Welcome Wagon is good to go. With both science and your own ability to make things work, we seemed to be able to create a very, uhm, unique wagon.” A purple hoof waved to the new creation, drawing both mares’ attention once more. Pinkie nodded rapidly, a pleased smile firmly in place. “Yepperonie! This is going to work just great! You’re the best my Little Star!” The pink earth pony wiped off remnants of her snack and removed her marefriend’s mask as well. Once the way was clear, she leaned forward and kissed her mare, closing her eyes briefly as she tasted the unicorn through the contact. “Mmm, still the yummiest thing!”   Twilight blushed at the comment and kiss. She shook herself from the pleased stupor when Pinkie attached the wagon to her sides and trotted merrily to the stairway across from the tube exit. The unicorn tilted her head in curiosity. “Where are you heading to now Pinkie…?” Twilight tried to stand, but found she was still weak in the knees from the kiss. It was a common occurrence. “I’ve got some welcoming to do! I’ll be back later My Little Star!” Pinkie waved a hoof as she continued bouncing her way out. Twilight managed to raise a hoof in farewell before the brilliant raspberry mane disappeared up the tunnel. Glancing towards the two styles of exits, the magical mare tried to decide which would be faster to get out. While the tube system is faster, teleporting would work the best… She shifted in place, sending purple orbs upwards, when a remaining scent of her mare friend distracted her. Mhmmm… Cupcakes and vanilla… I could just follow- er… M-maybe teleporting wouldn’t be such a good idea… Tube system it is. A short trip up the spiraling tubes later and Twilight was tumbling to the ground from being launched into the air from her trip. Landing by the desk, Twilight remained sitting as she tried to get her bearings once more. Seconds after her reappearance, a bemused voice sounded from the bookshelves. “Hmm, guess it was cuddle time huh? At least you’re doing it somewhere else so I don’t see it…” Spike rolled his eyes from his place on the ladder, putting away the few books he had left, though he glanced towards the librarian as she sat. “What makes you think we were, uhm, ‘cuddling’? And we weren’t that bad… Where we?” Twilight rose from her seat and trotted over to the lad. “You didn’t teleport up here. When you get so distracted that you can’t focus on location, you use the tube system…” The drake hopped down from his perch and shyly glanced towards the unicorn. “And yeah, you guys kind of are.” The room filled with awkward silence. Twilight couldn’t meet her assistant’s eyes as she blushed. She turned in place, trying to reorganize her mind from where it had wandered. Pulling a large tome about physics from its place on the shelf, the unicorn settled in front of the table, avoiding the now teasing gaze. “...We’ll… We’ll try to make sure not to bother you too much… I’ll just get some reading done in the meantime.” The purple mare opened the large book to the section on use of space and dimensions. “Oh and Spike? Do you think you could get some cupcakes? I’m getting a little hungry.” Spike shook his head while he made his way towards the kitchen. “Suuure you are… And I bet it has nothing to do with how Pinkie isn’t here right now either…” The dragon’s soft mutter was barely noticed, though when the unicorn question him about it, he paused on his trip. “What was that Spike?” Purple ears tipped towards the purple lad. “Oh, uh, nothing Twilight, what kind of cupcakes did you want?” The purple and green dragon waited anxiously, tapping his pointer claws together. “Oh, well, I’d like the strawberry kind with vanilla frosting, if you don’t mind.” Twilight beamed at the youth who smiled in relief back. “Right away Twilight!” With a skip in his step, the lad ran to the kitchen, eager to escape the awkward situation his musing had brought. -NKP- Hours later and Twilight still hadn’t truly found the answer to how Pinkie was able to shove so much stuff into a small wagon. Not that she fully expected to anyways, Pinkie often did unexplainable things on a daily basis. Five books later and Twilight wasn’t any better off than when she started. Spike had kept his nose to the grindstone, cleaning around the main room, while his guardian continued her research. Noticing how she stood up and stretched from her sitting position, he was about to try and get her attention when there was a knock on the front door. The lavender unicorn glanced over, eyes having trouble focusing from reading fine print text. “Err, yes? Who is it?” “Hey Twi’!” Rainbow Dash entered with a smug grin, floating a foot from the ground. “Did you get the latest Daring Do yet?” Spike sighed and shut the door behind the flighty pegasus. Twilight nodded her head at the prismatic mare before standing up to look where the adventure section was. Sending a flicker of magic to the pristine novel, she floated it to the pegasus. “Here you go Dash, but I’m surprised you were so slow to come by for it.” Twilight stood up in a stretch, smirking to her friend. “I haven’t actually seen you in two weeks, since you got your new pet. How is Tank?” Rainbow paused in her floating, hooves around the book, as her eyes shrank slightly. She landed beside the librarian, shuffling her feathers as she tilted her head to the left. The sudden seating and silence brought about by Twilight’s question drew her entire focus. The unicorn shook out her back legs as she watched the rainbow maned pony beside her. “Rainbow Dash…?” “Everything’s pretty good. Kind of busy, I mean, I gotta make sure Scoots and Fluttershy are doing ok. But I uh, think Applejack and Rarity are up to something…” Rainbow checked the lobby for anyone who would be listening in. When she noticed Spike in the far corner, Dash lowered her voice as she continued to talk. “They’ve been acting really really odd. I mean, well, what do you think if they started dating? Weird right?” Twilight frowned pensively, not sure why Dash was talking that particular way. The sky-blue mare noticed the face. Waving a hoof, she tried to backtrack her original statement. “Woah, hold up, not like that!” Rainbow continued when Twilight paused curiously. “Seriously, mares dating mares is fine. It’s whatever, you know? Just, Rarity? Really? Our cowgirl is nuts for that prissy mare?” The pegasus ran her forehooves through her mane, having set the book down in front of her. She craned her head, hooves scuffing the rainbow strands, as she stared bewilderedly to the studious mare. Twilight chuckled at the confusion, thinking of her own relationship. “Well, sometimes couples are attracted to somepony who is vastly opposite to themselves. They might be able to find some kind of middle ground that could bring them together.” Twilight nudged the blue shoulder. “Kind of like you and Fluttershy, huh?” The unicorn’s words had an immediate effect. Red flooded the blue muzzle and hooves dropped away from the head that jerked back in surprise. Rainbow stood up, wings spread wide, as she stared open mouthed to the other mare. “Wha-what in the hay are you talking about Twi’!?” The pegasus began to wave her hooves around, criss crossing them occasionally as she tried to deny the claim. “I, uh, never said anything like that! I was just wondering about AJ! She’s head over hooves for Rarity! Not like me, I mean I’m not for- for uh, Fluttershy…” At the loud and frantic voice, Spike paused in his cleaning to check on the two mares, while Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in amusement. Dash noticed her raised voice had attracted the drake’s attention and sat back down, grumbling in annoyance. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Twi. You’re next on my prank list, you know that right?” The pegasus muttered to the mare beside her who laughed at the threat. Twilight reached over and placed a hoof onto the sky-blue shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure I will have to keep a look out for any kind of new pranks that you will come up with for me even suggesting such a thing.” The mare leaned closer to her anxious friend, purple eyes seeking out magenta. “But that doesn’t change how I know I and the others would be with you the whole way if you do find that special somepony, mare, colt or even another type of creature. In fact, I think that would make for a wonderful friendship report!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, nudging back before picking up her book once more. Barely giving the lad in the corner a glance, she floated over to the stairs, wanting to not waste any time in reading the latest escapade of the awesome adventurer. Spike checked on the purple unicorn and saw she was smirking in amusement at Dash’s actions. Finding that Twilight didn’t need anything, he returned to cleaning, putting the few returns back onto the shelves where they belonged. In the meantime, Twilight got up for a light snack, realizing how she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. She returned to the lobby with a tray of cupcakes, earning another bemused eye roll from the purple drake, and went back to her tome, steadily making her way through it and the tray of snacks. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow made it halfway through their books when a somber pink earth pony trotted through the doorway. They almost didn’t notice the usually hyper mare until she came to a stop next to the studious unicorn. Leaning forward, Pinkie Pie dug her head into the warm lavender coat. “Pinkie Pie? What’s wrong?” Twilight’s question drew everyone else’s attention. The room was silent as they waited for the answer. “Did something happen with the wagon?” “Weeeellll, the wagon worked just fine until I got that mixture and explosives mixed up again. But then it just seemed to get worse and worse and even worse from there! It was horrible!” Pinkie flung a hoof out and turned to embrace the unicorn, eyes misting over. “I just don’t know what went wrong!” “What do you mean?” Twilight returned the embrace, but before she could question further, the impatient pegasus cut in. “Spit it out Pinkie Pie. What did you do now?” “I just wanted to give him the bestest welcome he ever got! But then, he didn’t like my wagon, and he didn’t join in with my song, and I made a mistake with his toupé but then I fixed it but that still didn’t help and I tried to be wagon buddies but he STILL didn’t like that…” Pinkie mimed her every action as she spoke, having taken several steps back from the purple librarian to have space for her movements. “... and so I was trying to see what kind of neat things he has but then there was this board and then it was like, zoom and zipped up and then there was this flash like ka-zam! And then the book crashed and there was another flash and whoosh, a raging fire went right up and...” Rainbow Dash and Spike had long tuned the ranting out, turning back to their own endeavors. Twilight managed to gather what had been happening, but only through extreme focus and experience in dealing with Pinkie Pie rants. “So, you were trying to become friends with this new resident but things just kept going wrong?” The unicorn watched timidly, not used to seeing her marefriend upset like she was. As the pink mane bounced in affirmation, Twilight flinched at what she would have to say next. “And so now he doesn’t want to be friends or talk with you?” “YES! And I’ve never had anypony not want to talk with me! I mean, how weird that would be! Everything’ll be all silent and nopony would be laughing because they didn’t want to talk and it’d be just crazy!” Pinkie waved her forehooves about her head as she faced the unicorn. Rainbow Dash sighed, rolling her eyes as she placed a hoof behind her head. “Yeah, because being quiet is soooo weird…” The dripping sarcasm went unnoticed by the frantic party mare, though Twilight shot the pegasus a warning glare. “Pinkie, I know that you usually become friends with everypony but I don’t think-” The book pony’s words were cut off as Pinkie went into another rant, beginning to pace between the two mares in the lobby. “I KNOW! I’m so totally friends with everypony! And I love to see my friends smile! But he totally wasn’t smiling and I just had to try and cheer him up but that didn’t work at all. But I usually know just what to do to make somepony or donkey smile but not this time! I tried everything! I even went through that list of ‘Sure fire ways to become someone’s new bestest friend!’ and nothing!” Pinkie didn’t stop in her pacing, shaking her head and waving a hoof every so often. Twilight sighed, realizing it was one of those kinds of rants where Pinkie had to get it out of her system before she would listen to anypony. The lavender mare turned back to her book, keeping an ear out for her mare to finish. “I just can’t believe it… Cranky said he’d never four-ever be my friend. It was horrible…” Pinkie stopped pacing as the sight came back to mind. Noticing the heartbroken face, Twilight’s ears flicked back as she refocused on the pink earth mare. “I know this is hard for you Pinkie, seeing that you’re friends with everypony, but you just have to accept that Cranky is going to be the exception.” Twilight kept her voice soft as she spoke, not moving from her place beside the center table. “He just, doesn’t want to be bothered.” “Yeah,” Rainbow piped up from the stairwell, “he doesn’t want to be bothered by your over the top super hyper antics.” As the prismatic pegasus talked, she swirled her eyes and waved a hoof to emphasize her point, not bothering to glance up from her book. “Rainbow!” The lavender mare reprimanded her friend, glaring until Pinkie drew her attention away. “No no, it’s ok Twilight, I get what you’re saying.” Pinkie rested a hoof against her chest that constricted at the thought of not being someone’s friend. “What you’re both saying…” The baker’s mind rapidly worked, trying to find a way to relieve some of the pressure building in her barrel. “And I guess, I can leave Cranky alone…” Pinkie stared towards the wall, eyes wide. She continued to think before selecting the next best thing to helping someone feel better. Apologizing and making it all better would work even if being friends didn’t. Coming to a decision, the pink party pony raised her head in determination, blue eyes focused into the distance. Twilight, hearing that Pinkie may be learning a valuable friendship lesson, brightened. She had expected tears or more arguments, not acceptance. This may be a big step for her! Maybe even worth a letter to Princess Celestia! And who knows, maybe this means she’s growing up even more and will learn to respect other ponies’ personal space- “Right after he accepts my apology!” Pinkie’s chipper tone broke Twilight’s growing impression of the hyper mare. -or not really... While the party mare cheerfully hopped out of the library, the unicorn couldn’t help how her forehead was pulled down to her book, making a loud smack that resound in the tree house. Muffled laughter soon followed, a blue hoof blocking the muzzle only to drop away as Dash leaned forward, eyes shutting briefly. “Oh boy, I almost want to see what she does to the poor dude! Pinkie just doesn’t get it. How do you put up with her to be able to date?” Rainbow noted what page she was on before glancing to the unicorn who looked up with a frozen frown. “Maybe she is a little over energetic, but you know she means well. And we’ve managed because of how much we care for one another. Like how you are good friends with Fluttershy even though you guys are so different.” Stern purples orbs held unsure magenta ones. Seconds later and Dash broke the stare, dropping her gaze with a blush flashing over her face. “S-sorry Twilight… I guess I kind of get it…” The brash pegasus’ gaze slowly turned to the east as she thought about the mare living there. “Hey Twi’? I’m just going to borrow this and finish it in the clouds, ok?” Twilight nodded as her own focus turned to where the pink baker had left towards. The soft shut of the doorway broke the unicorn’s concentration. The librarian looked to her assistant who had zoned off into his own little world. “Spike? I’m going to check on Pinkie Pie, make sure she didn’t go overboard or get hurt somehow.” The unicorn passed the lad while heading for the door. Giving a quick pat to his shoulder, she glanced towards him for only a second to make sure he heard her. “Sure thing Twilight.” Twilight quickly made her way through town, trying to find her marefriend as she walked. When she got to the middle of the village, the studious unicorn realized that she had no idea where to start. Listening to the crowd around her, Twilight tried to find any sign of the usually loud and excitable mare. “...Really really really really reeeeally really really really really really really really really really soorrrrrry!” The faint shout echoed through the town, drawing the lavender unicorn’s attention to the far south. Right ear twitching along with her left eye, Twilight rubbed her temple at the sound of Pinkie’s cry. Giving her head a brief shake, she began to travel in that direction. It wasn’t even twenty paces that she was passed by a blur of pink. Twilight froze, blinking in confusion, only to be passed by a pink and brown blur heading back towards the south seconds later. The wind buffeted her frame but she managed to keep upright. Pinkie…? What are you doing? At least I know I’m heading the right way… The magical mare continued her trek, pausing every so often to ask if they saw a pink blur head that way. Once she got to the edge of town, the mare was left trying to reason her way to the newest resident. Stepping closer to the forest that rested there, the sound of a firecracker going off drew her searching gaze to the skies, where Pinkie exploded into the air. Twilight came to a complete stop as the pink party mare hung in the air, striking poses as she shouted. Hearing a hum and catching sight of a hopping pink form shook Twilight from her stupor. Purple eyes dropped down from the spot in the sky they had fixated on and tried to focus on the incoming mare. Pinkie slowed her travels with a giggle, hoof holding some of it back at the sight of a dizzy lavender librarian. “What’cha doing out here Twilight?” Pinkie saddled up to the unicorn and gave her cheek a quick kiss. When she pulled back, Twilight gave her marefriend a shaky smile in return to the beaming grin the pink mare wore. “O-oh h-hey Pinkie Pie… Were you just…….. In the air?” Twilight stumbled over her words before seeing the excited expression in the earth pony’s eyes. Waving a hoof, the unicorn stopped any kind of explanation. “Wait, no, I don’t want to question it. Uh, did everything go ok?” Remember Twilight, you shouldn’t question how she does anything. It could just lead the universe to focus its attention solely on yourself. Don’t want a repeat of the incidents surrounding the “Pinkie Sense”... And it’s hereditary. Twilight flinched at the reminder before blinking away her concerns, focusing on the mare that was coming closer. “Yepperonie!” A pink hoof reached around the purple neck and pulled the unicorn along. “It took a loooooot of work, because he’s a pretty fast runner. Well, not as fast as Dashie like that one time we were playing tag before doing pranks all over Ponyville, but still pretty fast.” Pinkie continuing explaining as she lead her marefriend back to town. “So there I was, trying to get ahead of him through the trees, when he was all like, ‘Nooo!’, and ran up the Unicorn Range and I was right there waiting for him and then he started to go around all over, did I say he was fast?, but I was able to stay ahead of him by using my good ol’ Pinkie Sense!” Pinkie Pie continued to regale the unicorn with her day, pausing every so often to demonstrate some of her abilities she used. Twilight remained silent and wided eyed thorough, a grand debate raging in her mind. Dare I ask about the ability to appear before the creature being chased? But what if she thinks I don’t believe her? Should I just ignore it…? It was at this point, steps away from the library door, that Pinkie showed how she counted and connected the dots on her hooves, bringing up two at a time. “And so I put two and two and two together! And it was so obviously about Matilda! And then Cranky was all like -” Yep! Not. Asking. Just file this under Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and think of something else. Anything else… What else?!? “Oh, well, that was… very impressive Pinkie Pie. Good, uh, good work. Spike? Anything happen while we were out?” At least she didn’t seem to take Rainbow’s words to heart. “Rainbow Dash brought that book back. And said she was sorry, again.” Spike called from the kitchen. He had gotten peckish and started to make dinner for three, knowing that Pinkie would somehow bring them back to the tree house in time for the evening meal. Noticing the questioning tilt of the pink maned head, Twilight sighed with a grimace. She pulled her marefriend towards the seating in the corner, sitting on the ground beside the excited mare. Pinkie settled dramatically on the floor, bouncing in place before leaning into the purple fur on her left. “Well, Rainbow wasn’t sure how we can still be together considering how different we are from one another.” The purple maned unicorn shook her head at the disbelief the brash pegasus had for the couple’s ability to be together. “What a silly filly! It works because my Pinkie Sense said it would!” Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively with a laugh. She glanced to the mare beside her and saw the confusion in bright purple eyes. “I got a super special Pinkie Sense that only ever goes off when a Pie meets her future special somepony right when you first came to town! So I knew I just HAD to become best friends with you.” “Wait, hang on. You mean that you’ve liked me like that since we first MET?” Twilight stared with awe at the usually fast paced mare. “You bet! But since you seemed like you didn’t even have that many friends to start with, I thought it would be better to wait. Besides, I don’t think you liked liked me that way right away anyways.” Pinkie scrunched her muzzle in thought, blue eyes looking towards the ceiling, while Spike entered with a large plate of sandwiches. The drake suppressed his desire to laugh at the statement and merely smirked as he took a few sandwiches for himself. Not wanting to be close to the cuddly mares, he choose a seat in the corner with a few choice comic books within easy hearing range should they need him. Twilight watched him with a blush and flattened ears, knowing what the smirk was for. “Well, yes… I didn’t have very many friends when I first came to Ponyville…” Twilight scrunched her muzzle at the reminder only to turn with a soft grin facing towards the pink earth pony. “But, I think I realized I had feelings for you when we were talking about your Pinkie Sense. It explained why it was so important for me to understand how you could do what you do and why I wanted cupcakes so often.” “Cupcakes?” Pinkie sat up at the mention of the pastry, ears tipped forward in curiosity. “What do you mean? Do you not really like cupcakes? Have you been faking it ever since that first party!? Is the cake a lie!?!?” Twilight rolled her entire head at the rant with a bemused smirk. Gently raising a hoof, she stopped the anxious tirade and leaned forward to rest her head under the pink chin. “I do like your cupcakes. I would just want more cupcakes when you weren’t there and I didn’t know why until after I realized how I felt about you. That’s all.” The unicorn smiled contently as she felt the pink muzzle above her break out into a large smile. “Oh, okie dokie lokie! Does that mean you want to eat me up like a cupcake?” The whispered question made Twilight stiffen and glanced to the earth pony. She found a sly grin waiting along with a teasing glint in sky-blue eyes. “Pinkieeee!” The whine made the baker giggle loudly. She was soon joined by Twilight who shook her head at what Pinkie considered good teasing material. Spike huffed at the two mares, unaware of what the last topic of conversation was. He was content to merely flip through his comic book, polishing off his meal and heading upstairs to his room once he put away the dishes. Twilight gave the lad a smile and hug, with Pinkie jumping in for the hug, before wishing him a good night. The couple stayed downstairs for a few hours more, talking about how they had been oblivious to the other’s affections for so long and laughing at the antics they had gotten to because of it. This lasted until well into the night, until they fell asleep side by side on the floor, muzzles resting against one another, smiles on their faces.