The Prince and the Workhorse

by fellstorm

Chapter XXI

Scootaloo shivered beneath the park bench and pulled her newspaper blanket tighter around her shoulders. The morning was chilly, though it promised to get warmer. As the sun peeked over the horizon, golden bands of sunlight illuminated the headline:

She hadn’t bothered to read it. Newspapers made great blankets, but they never said anything interesting anymore. In an hour or two, she’d rise and graze for her breakfast. There was no school that day on account of the Springtime Frolic, so she could sleep as late as she wanted. Maybe later she’d stop by the treehouse and see what her friends were doing. Festivals were also a great time to score free food, and she’d be sitting pretty for a few days at least if she worked hard. It was shaping up to be a pretty good day.
The sudden thundering of hundreds of hooves shattered the peaceful morning and Scootaloo jolted awake. Everypony had gathered in the park for the opening ceremonies of the Springtime Frolic and Scootaloo found her bench caged on all sides by the shuffling hooves of excited ponies. She tore some strips out of her newspaper blanket and stuffed them in her ears to muffle the noise, but somepony jumped up on top of the bench and knocked dust through the slats onto Scootaloo’s nose. She sneezed and looked up just in time to get dust in her eyes as well.
“Ugh!” she groused.
It looked like sleeping in wasn’t going to be an option, so she gave up and decided to watch the ceremonies.
“Alright, watch out, comin’ through!” Scootaloo barked, startling several ponies as she wriggled between their legs. She managed to worm her way through the forest of legs to an open patch of grass, but still couldn’t see over the shoulders of the crowd.
“Aw, come on! Down in front!”
Scootaloo leaped and tried to fly above the crowd, but even buzzing her tiny wings as fast as she could,  wasn’t able to stay aloft for more than a few seconds before flopping to the ground, exhausted. Somewhere at the front of the crowd, the Mayor was welcoming everypony to the Springtime Frolic and detailing a brief history of the festival.
“Scootaloo, over here!”
Scootaloo looked around, all she could see was the forest of candy-colored legs.
“Up here!”
Applebloom waved at her from atop Applejack’s head. Applejack pushed her way through the crowd.
“Well, howdy there, Scootaloo, you here alone?” asked Applejack with a look of concern.
“Uh… yeah, but it’s okay,” replied Scootaloo “I wish I could see what was going on, though…”
“Here ya go…” Applejack snatched Scootaloo up with her teeth and tossed her up onto her back next to Applebloom. They high-hoofed each other and stood up on their hind legs, balancing themselves against the top of Applejack’s head. Applejack grunted at the weight of two fillies standing on her back, but her grimace of pain melted into one of sisterly affection as Applebloom and Scootaloo chattered excitedly about the Festival.
From her new vantage point, Scootaloo could watch the opening ceremonies and enjoy the pageantry of the assembled throng.
The mayor beamed from her lectern beneath the gazebo as she spoke to the crowd.
“...and though I know it’s only a handful of scallywags that treat this festival as an excuse for lewd behavior, they’ve still managed to ruin it for the rest of us. Safety rules are to be strictly observed at all times. All frolicking is to take place within the chaperoned areas outlined on the maps. Remember, due to the limited number of volunteers, chaperones will only monitor these small areas and nothing beyond. Everypony wishing to enjoy an innocent roll in some nice flowerbeds is strictly cautioned to remain inside the approved areas, otherwise, the chaperones will be powerless to enforce the rules, and nopony wants that…” she winked.
It was the same old song and dance. Officially, no public displays of sexual behavior were sanctioned by the municipal government, and the object of the Frolic was simply to have fun and shake pollen into the air. Unofficially, the Mayor and the Chairpony of the City Council would be getting it on behind the bushes within fifteen minutes of the start of the festival.
Every year, the town announced that they were really, seriously going to start enforcing the rules for real this time, and every year they were astonished by how many ponies broke them in spite of the newly implemented policies. Still, the “safe” areas got bigger every year, and several ponies complained that the Frolic was starting to become tame. Of course, during the day, the Frolic was about fun, and the furthest most ponies went was making out and snuggling one another. The real fun didn’t start until after sunset anyway...
“… before we begin the festivities,” the mayor continued “it is my great honor to announce that two very special guests have decided to grace this year’s Springtime Frolic with their presence! I can think of no couple that embodies the Frolic’s celebration of life and fertility than the ponies whose love saved all of Equestria from the Changeling Incursion! Their service to Equestria and devotion to one another is an example to us all.
“Mares and gentlecolts, I present: Princess Cadence the Clever and Shining Armor, Duke of Zebrica!”
The Mayor stomped her hooves on the ground and withdrew from the lectern as Shining Armor and Cadence emerged from behind a curtain of daisies and approached the podium.
Shining Armor wore a gracious (albeit strained) smile. He’d hoped to just show up in Ponyville, celebrate the Frolic, have Cadence complete her mission and then vanish with little or no to-do, it was just bad luck that Mayor Mare happened to spy them checking into their bed and breakfast early that morning and decide to make a big deal out of their attendance.
Cadence did a better job of hiding her displeasure and waved elegantly to the crowd, but you could bet Shining Armor had been catching hell backstage, and would catch more later.
Shining Armor broadened his grin a little more than necessary as he approached the podium, betraying a slightly unsettling side of his resemblance to his sister, Twilight. He was greeted by enthusiastic applause and hooting. He paused before speaking, ostensibly to collect his thoughts, but actually scanning the crowd for Prince Blueblood or Twilight Sparkle. Trying to spot them in the sea of colors and costumes proved impossible, and Shining Armor had already been silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. The crowd began to murmur.
“Thank you everypony, for this excellent reception,” said Shining Armor, broadening his grin still further and stepping back from the podium, gesturing desperately for Cadence to say something. Cadence nodded and stepped forward to address the crowd. She silenced the applause with a wave of her hoof and cleared her throat with a melodious “ahm.”
“My husband and I are ecstatic to be here for this wondrous celebration of nature’s plenty. May all your days be bountiful and blessed,” Cadence stepped back and gave the floor to the mayor.
“Thank you, your highnesses, for your… concise words,” smiled Mayor Mare “and now, without further ado, let the springtime be merry and our frolics begun!”
The crowd cheered and stomped, their enthusiasm erupting into loud whoops and ecstatic whistling before slowly dispersing to enjoy the various festival activities. There was wine, music, dancing and singing, picnics and games. The park was alive and vibrant with the sounds of ponies laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Applejack had volunteered to be a chaperone that year (as she had every year) and she carried Scootaloo and Applebloom over to the play area where they quickly tumbled off her back and scampered to join the other foals in their completely innocent enjoyment of the festival’s fun and games.

Twilight stood with Big Mac during the speech. She wore a crown of Red Gerbera daisies on her head that Big Mac had picked himself and woven into a band as an exercise in fine magical control. It was a little lopsided but, on Twilight, it looked beautiful.
They’d ignored most of the opening speeches, too focused on each other to pay much attention to anything else, but when the mayor announced Cadence and Shining Armor, Twilight’s hackles shot up and she blushed a deep red beneath the fine purple hairs on her face. She immediately distanced herself from Big Macintosh, moving away any time he tried to close the gap.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” he asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t expect my brother to be here. I haven’t told him about us yet…”
We’re an “us” now! thought Big Mac, excitedly.
“…and I was really hoping for the right time. Ugh! I just wish he’d told me he was planning to come down!” huffed Twilight.
Big Mac nuzzled her neck, giving in to his impulse to comfort her. She squirmed and grimaced.
“Blueblood! I told you, not right now! I’m trying to-”
A purple sphere materialized out of the air and enveloped Big Macintosh, cutting Twilight’s objections short. Big Mac struggled against his spherical prison, but found it to be impenetrable.
“Oh fer…” grumbled Twilight.
“Is everything alright, Twilie?” asked Shining Armor, talking to her, but glaring icicles at Big Macintosh. The crowd parted to let him through, Cadence followed close behind.
“Everything’s fine, Shining Armor,” sighed Twilight “Hello Cadence, good to see you…”
“I hope my cousin wasn’t bothering you,” said Cadence, casting a stern glance at Big Mac. Big Mac snorted.
Blueblood’s reputation screws me once again.
“Everything’s fine, Cadence,” said Twilight. She turned to her brother “You can let him out now. I don’t need you to protect me from him.”
That wasn’t what it looked like to Shining Armor, but he relented. The sphere melted into thin air and Big Mac dropped unceremoniously to earth. Big Mac picked himself up and Twilight absent-mindedly dusted him off, a gesture of care that Shining Armor found disturbing. It didn’t escape Cadence’s notice either.
“I’m surprised to see you here, cousin,” she said.
Big Mac wasn’t sure how she meant that, so he just nodded his greeting to her, she seemed to find his response acceptable, and said no more.
“Did either of you bring Frolic Partners?” asked Shining Armor, offering them a chance to deny their relationship and let everypony go their separate ways without further trouble. Twilight knew exactly what he was doing and didn’t take the easy out. Instead, she snuggled up to Big Mac and fixed her brother with a defiant glower.
“Actually, Prince Blueblood and I are here together,” she said.
Shining Armor’s expression darkened.
“I see. Prince Blueblood, if you would excuse us a moment, I’d like to speak to my sister alone,” he said.
“I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t need-”
“Twilight,” interrupted Big Mac “It’s alright. You should hear what your brother has to say, he came all the way down here after all…”
“Thank you your highness,” said Shining Armor, a little startled that Blueblood could be so reasonable.
He took Twilight to one side, leaving Big Mac and Cadence together in awkward silence. Big Mac pawed lightly at the ground and feigned interest in a nearby songbird. Cadence just watched Shining Armor and Twilight until they were well out of sight.
Once they were gone, Big Mac turned back to Cadence, hoping to make some small talk and ease the awkwardness of the situation, but found her already staring at him intently.
“Um, Princess Cadence?” he began, but that intense stare of hers bored into his thoughts and left him feeling woozy. His vision swam and he wobbled on unsteady legs before blacking out.

A ways away, Twilight bickered with her big brother.
“Look, I appreciate that you care about me, but you’re being overprotective! I’m not in any danger from Prince Blueblood!” Twilight stomped.
 “Twilight, you’re obviously too close to the situation. When our situations were reversed, and you knew I was with somepony who was wrong for me, you didn’t give up, even when I acted like a total jerk to you. I’m just trying to return the favor. Blueblood is wrong for you!”
“He’s not wrong for me; he’s the first pony I’ve ever trusted enough to date like this!”
Shining Armor sighed.
“You were probably too young to remember how Blueblood acted when he was at school, but he was only two years ahead of me. Aside from being big, brash and dumb, he cheated on every girlfriend  he ever had and, if the rumors are correct, he hasn’t changed much since graduating to a life of idleness and frivolity!”
“I remember more than you think. For instance, I remember you used to hang out with him, and you thought he was ‘cool’ and I remember your first mare-friend was one of his sloppy-seconds! I didn’t hear you complaining then!”
Shining Armor huffed, stung by her hostility. He’d forgotten all about Melody and the sudden flood of embarrassing memories caught him off guard.
“Twilight, every adolescent pony goes through an awkward phase they regret later. I’ve grown up since then. Matured. Blueblood hasn’t,” he sighed.
“You have grown up since then but, so has Blueblood. More than you give him credit. He’s changed, Shining Armor, and he’s special to me…”
“Maybe you’re right, Twilight. If you’re wrong, I just hope you find out before he breaks your heart. I’d do anything to spare you that kind of pain,” Shining Armor nuzzled her on top of her head, knocking her crown askew.
“I’ll be alright, BBBFF,” said Twilight. She sniffed back a small tear and Shining Armor kissed her on the forehead.
“I’ll be around if, and when, you need me,” said Shining Armor. She followed him back to Cadence and Big Mac. Cadence sat on the ground, enraptured by a small spider in the grass. She idly contemplated the engineering challenges of constructing one eighty feet high. Big Mac stood nearby, looking dazed and swaying slightly on his hooves.
Big Mac shook himself back to his senses as Twilight approached. The sight of her cleared his head and made him smile. She was so beautif… woah, who is that?
A buttery yellow mare skipped by behind Twilight. Big Mac couldn’t look away. There was something… enchanting about the way she moved, the way she flipped her mane. Big Mac felt a heat and tightness in his crotch that slowly spread to suffuse his body. He whinnied under his breath.
“Blueblood, are you okay?” Twilight asked, looking around to see what he was staring at.
Big Macintosh blinked and looked down at her, his mind taking a split second to recognize the purple filly standing in front of him.
“Eeyup. I’m fine,” he said. He nuzzled Twilight and her look of concern eased into one of contentment.
Shining Armor and Cadence lingered for a moment, watching him. When they saw him watching back, they quickly took off, vanishing down the path toward the refreshment tent.

Fluttershy hid her face behind a large pair of sunglasses and a broad sunhat. She wrapped her mane up in a paisley balaclava and wore a sundress that obscured her cutie mark. She still felt too conspicuous.
Why why why couldn’t she have just said “no” to Rainbow Dash when she asked her yesterday? She wanted to say no when Rainbow Dash came to pick her up for the Frolic, but she’d looked so happy! Fluttershy mumbled a few halfhearted excuses, but couldn’t mount any forceful objection. She knew rejecting Rainbow Dash would hurt her feelings and possibly damage their friendship. She loved Rainbow Dash (even if it wasn’t that way) and couldn’t bear to end their relationship over something as silly as a misunderstanding like this… There had to be a way to let her down easy!
So she went to the Frolic with her and, in spite of the extreme awkwardness of the situation, had to admit that if she were interested in Rainbow Dash that way, this would actually be a pretty nice date.
Thanks to the cumulative hints of several weeks by her friends (particularly on the part of the fashion conscious Rarity) Rainbow Dash wasn’t quite so over the top, stereotypically lesbian as she was when she first flew out of the closet. The only vestige of her flamboyant early experimentations with a new look was her silver ear stud and a small tattoo of intertwined “female” symbols on the inside of her right stifle where the hair was fine enough for it to be visible.
Today, she wore her hair in a bright pompadour that swept back from her forehead, creating the impression of motion even as she stood still. The sun caught the prismatic tips of her multicolored mane and she cast a glittering, dancing little swarm of lights on the ground wherever she went. Her tail was thoroughly brushed, its split ends trimmed and the whole thing thoroughly shampooed so that it gleamed like jellied light instead of hair. In a gesture that was nearly as heartbreaking to Fluttershy as it was touching, Rainbow Dash had even submitted to the humiliating torture of a hooficure, just so that she could look her best for her.
Rainbow Dash would never admit to looking pretty, nor cute, and even “beautiful” made her skin crawl a little, but today she was all of those things. Fluttershy desperately wished she could be gay, just for a little while, because it obviously meant so much to her friend. She wished as hard as she could but, try as she might, it was no use.
Instead, she made any excuse she could to stay inside the chaperoned areas, where at least Rainbow Dash couldn’t act on her misconceptions in any way Fluttershy couldn’t handle. Mostly. Rainbow Dash brushed too close to her when she brought back some fudgecicles from the dessert stand. When they laid together on Rainbow’s Wonderbolts beach blanket, her tail kept tickling Fluttershy in nearly inappropriate areas, supposedly “by accident.” And of course Rainbow Dash waged a constant campaign to get Fluttershy to sneak off with her to the unsupervised areas. Fluttershy, at least on this point, stood firm, and the pair spent an increasingly frustrating day in the middle of the broad park amidst the foals too young to appreciate the full experience of the Springtime Frolic, and the adults too shy, too square, or just plain uninterested to have anything but a “Y” rated good time.
“Come on Fluttershy, just to the top of that ridge, what about there? I bet the view is amazing!” urged Rainbow Dash for the bajillionth time.
Fluttershy, who’d made a careful study of the boundaries of the chaperoned areas, knew it lay outside the safe zone, and played the shy card for everything it was worth (she wasn’t above exaggerating her social anxiety for personal gain).
“Ohhh, I don’t know,” she whispered “Everypony would see us go up there. Why don’t we just stay here and enjoy our drinks?”
“Well, can I at least get you anything besides a juicebox? What about some wine? Try some of mine, it’s really good!”
“Oh dear… no thank you. Wine reminds me of wine tasting, which is a social function, and you know how nervous those make me…”
“Come on! Just a sip!” she pleaded.
“Please Rainbow, I don’t want…”
“Just a sip!” she pushed the paper cup of wine in Fluttershy’s face and Fluttershy jerked away, spilling the cup with her hoof as she did so.
“Aw, c’mon!” Rainbow threw up her hooves in frustration.
“Sorry,” murmured Fluttershy.
Rainbow heaved a deep breath.
“It’s okay. My fault really. I’ll go get some more,” she took off into the air “You sure you don’t want any?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” answered Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash flew off without another word.

Rainbow Dash bumped into Applejack at the refreshment tent.
“Oh, hey Applejack,” greeted Rainbow Dash, despondent. Her shoulders drooped and her painstakingly styled mane sagged limply around her ears “how’re you doing?”
“Hey, sugarcube, why the long face?”
Rainbow sighed.
“No reason.”
“Ah huh,” Applejack grunted. She didn’t press the matter. Rainbow Dash would open up when she was good and ready.
“So, did anypony ask you to be Frolic Partners?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Nope. Ah wouldn’t say ‘no’ t’ the right pony, though.”
“That’s cool. I’m here with Fluttershy!” Some of the brashness returned to her voice and she fluffed her wings.
Applejack whistled.
“Well, that’s great, Rainbow! How’d you wrangle that?”
“Oh, you know. Just my good looks and natural charisma I guess,” Rainbow preened.
“Well, gol-ly. So she’s goin’ fer it, huh?” Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash with her elbow.
“You know it!” she answered, a little less convincingly.
“Oh yeah? Sounds like things are really workin’ out then!” Applejack beamed “Ah’m happy fer ya!”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to brag some more, but the energy went out of her and she deflated like a sad balloon.
“Actually, it’s not going that great…”
“Oh no?” Applejack cocked her head.
“No… I got Fluttershy to be Frolic Partners with me, but all she’s interested in doing is hanging out here in the kids’ section!” Rainbow gestured to the multitude of foals that tumbled and rolled in the flowerbeds around them.
“Well, that’s what the Frolic’s all about, right? Havin’ fun?”
Rainbow Dash eyed Applejack as if she were simple.
“You know there’s other stuff, right?”
Applejack smirked.
“Ah know it. This ain’t mah first time to the rodeo, y’know.”
“So why’d Fluttershy agree to come with me if she didn’t want to do it!?”
Applejack laughed and put her foreleg around Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.
“Sugarcube, Ah hate to break it to ya, but you may be barkin’ up the wrong tree when it comes to Fluttershy…”
“Whuh?”
“You know. Maybe she only wanted to come with you as a friend.”
“Nopony is Frolic Partners with somepony to hang out and be ‘just friends’ and what’s that got to do with trees?”
Applejack adjusted her hat and sat down.
“Well, let’s talk about trees. Fluttershy’s a delicate little thing, like a willow tree. She’s very strong, but her natural response to stress is to bend with the wind. She’ll bend a long way, too, but only so far before she snaps back at ya. So here comes a big blowhard like yerself, and what’s she gonna do?”
“Bend over?”
Applejack burst out laughing, but quickly regained herself.
“Not exactly… She’ll go along with yer plans because she doesn’t want t’ hurt your feelins, but she’ll only go so far. Maybe when it comes to th’ ‘other stuff,’ she just don’t bend that way. Know what I’m sayin’?”
“…I think so…” Rainbow Dash thought hard, the long neglected gears of her mind creaking with effort.
“Now, an Apple tree on the other hoof-”
“GoodtalkApplejackgottajet!” Rainbow Dash blasted off in a rainbow-colored streak of light.
Applejack watched her go, clucking her tongue.
“Well, shoot,” she mumbled, kicking at a dirt clod.
“Applejack, come play mud pies with us!” called Applebloom.
Applejack kicked up her heels and leaped into the mud with a whoop and holler that sent the little foals into peals of delighted laughter.

Bluebood wasn’t having a fun Frolic. He couldn’t find Eulalie anywhere. Of all the days she would disappear, why’d she pick today? Actually, he hadn’t been able to find her all week. He labored under the tacit assumption that they would be Frolic Partners, but never got the chance to formally ask her or arrange plans. He even stopped by the shop late last night, hoping to find her, but the doors were barred and the curtains drawn. There was no light coming from her apartment above the shop. Did she decide to take a trip out of town without telling him?
He searched the whole park for her. All the chaperoned areas, the meadow, the edge of the lake, every romantic hidey-hole he could think of and a few more he stumbled upon by accident. All he found were grouchy lovers that didn’t take kindly to his intrusions. In a move that would have shocked and disgusted the Blueblood of just a few weeks ago, he even turned down the drunken advances of several fillies, opting instead to continue his search, expanding now beyond the park and into the rest of Ponyville.
“Eulalie!” he called, wandering a small, wooded area on the edge of the park “Eulalie!”
“Polo!”
Blueblood started and whipped his head around to see who responded, coming nose to nose with Pinkie Pie.
“Hey, Big Macintosh!” she grinned.
“Oh, hello… Pink… Pinkerella?”
Pinkie giggled.
“It’s Pinkie, silly! Right, Tombs?”
Tombs emerged from a nearby bush looking dapper as ever. The dust and leaves of the forest seemed to ignore him completely.
“Just as you say, ma’m,” he answered.
“Oh, Tombs, just the pony I was looking for,” smiled Blueblood, relieved. If anypony could help him, it was Tombs.
Pinkie’s eyes shot wide open.
“Tombs’s name is Eulalie, too?”
“What?” Blueblood blinked “No… I mean, I am trying to find Eulalie, but…”
“But you said Tombs was the pony you were looking for.”
“Well, yes… um… I meant that…” Blueblood’s head was spinning.
Tombs cleared his throat.
“I understand, sir. How can I assist?”
“Well, you can start by telling me if you’ve seen Eulalie lately.”
“Regrettably, sir. I have not encountered miss Eulalie today. I will make inquiries, however, and endeavor to ascertain her location as swiftly as possible.”
“Thanks. I’m at my wits’ end trying to find her,” said Blueblood.
“I saw her this morning!” interjected Pinkie Pie.
Blueblood and Tombs both turned to look at her.
“Ah huh,” she beamed “She was buying some chocolate covered strawberries!”
“So she’s in town?”
“I hope so, they’d melt if she took them on a long trip,” she answered, looking worried.
“I guess I’ll keep searching, then. If you see her, do let her know I’m looking for her,” said Blueblood.
“Very good, sir,” Tombs bowed.
“Okie dokie, Lokie!” Pinkie grinned and did a little dance.
“Oh, and Tombs,” said Blueblood.
“Sir?”
“You have some whipped cream behind your ear…”
Tombs coughed and pretended not to hear. Pinkie giggled and licked it off.

Big Mac took Twilight over to the refreshment tent, which was doing a brisk business in wine and snacks. There was stronger stuff at other tents, but they charged a leg and another leg for cheap liquor and watery beer. Wine was the traditional drink of the Frolic, and there was plenty for everypony.
Big Macintosh stood in line for Twilight while she rested in the shade and enjoyed the spectacle going on around them. He got to the front and looked down to address the mare behind the counter.
“What can I get for you?” asked the small, glittery eyed unicorn running the till. She had dainty, succulent hooves and a silky black mane that looked spicier than licorice. She sucked idly on a corndog while she waited for him to place his order, running her tongue up and down its slippery surface and sliding it across her full, hungry lips…
Big Mac felt that heat in his crotch again and he found himself speaking, almost against his will.
“Something hot and tempting…” he winked. He felt charming and invincible. The black licorice filly tittered and took an especially long and unnecessary slurp on her corndog, enveloping it in her mouth up to the stick.
“What’s taking so long?” Twilight stood at his shoulder, frowning at the flirtatious display.
Big Macintosh’s head was swimming again. He took a few deep breaths to clear the haze and looked back at the black licorice filly. There was no hungry look, and no corndog. She tapped her hoof impatiently while the line behind him began to murmur and grumble.
Big Mac got two cups of wine and trotted away from the refreshment stand as briskly as he could. He looked back over his shoulder. The black licorice mare winked at him and licked her lips. He shook his head and went back to Twilight.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash urged, “It’s inside the chaperoned areas, you’ll love it!”
Fluttershy, reluctantly, flew along with her to the edge of the lake. Rainbow alighted beneath the sagging boughs of a large weeping willow. Its curtain like strands of leaves hung so low as to nearly touch the ground, and were thick enough to provide some semblance of privacy from the world outside. There were several couples enjoying the coolness and shade of the willow’s broad canopy and why not? It was one of the most romantic spots in the whole park. This must have been what Applejack was talking about. She’d have to thank her friend later for the excellent tip.
Rainbow Dash laid out her blanket and settled down to the cool earth, patting the ground next to her in invitation. Fluttershy sat down on the blanket, careful to stay just outside the range of Rainbow’s groping tail.
The sounds of smooching were audible through the thick curtains of leaves, to Fluttershy, they seemed as loud as gunshots. Even if this was within the “safe” area, it was obvious the chaperones were busy elsewhere.
“So, isn’t this cool?” Rainbow Dash grinned.
“It’s nice…”
“Do you want another juicebox?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
They sat in silence. Rainbow Dash scooched closer. Fluttershy flinched, but stayed where she was. Rainbow scooched in again, and again, and again. Fluttershy tried to ignore her, but Rainbow was now close enough that she could feel her breath on her ears and the wind from her fluttering wings.
“So, Fluttershy…” breathed Rainbow Dash. She moistened her lips.
Fluttershy let out a small “peep.”
Rainbow Dash inhaled softly. Next to Fluttershy’s ear, it sounded like a hurricane.
“What do you want to do now?” Rainbow reached up, and gently eased Fluttershy’s sunhat back until it tipped and fell to the grass.
“Uh, well…”
“Uh huh…” Rainbow loosed Fluttershy’s hair from her balaclava. It tumbled down like a waterfall of pink lemonade. Silky and smooth, it smelled as sweet as a summer rain.
“Rainbow Dash…”
“Fluttershy…” Rainbow moved in closer. Fluttershy found she was paralyzed with fear.
She only bend so far… The snapping point.
Rainbow reached up and slid Fluttershy’s glasses up and off.
She stopped.
Fluttershy’s eyes were so wide. Their pupils narrowed down to pinpoints. They brimmed with tears. Fluttershy blinked and sent one, just one, tumbling down her cheek. She trembled like a leaf.
The snapping point, the snapping point!
If she kisses me, I’ll hit her with the Stare, thought Fluttershy, desperately.
But Rainbow didn’t kiss her.
She took a step back. Fluttershy’s trembling eased, but Rainbow could practically hear her little heart thundering in her chest.
“Oh…” said Rainbow Dash.
Since realizing the truth about herself, she’d unconsciously come to the conclusion that everypony was gay, or at least that their sexual preferences were optional. After all, if somepony as awesome as her could make a mistake like that, what chance did lesser ponies have? She was so certain of her heterosexuality; she was willing to fight, nay, to kill anypony that challenged the idea. She saw now that what everypony took to be certainty could be as fragile as a pane of glass. Now that she was at one with herself, she was much happier, much stronger than she had been. The anger, the raging tempest inside her that compelled her to lash out was calm now. Didn’t everypony want to feel that way?
She’d had a crush on Fluttershy for as long as she could remember, and Fluttershy always hung around, wasn’t it natural to assume her feelings were reciprocated somehow? Didn’t Fluttershy owe her?
She felt the tempest boiling up inside her.
Look at Fluttershy.
Such a delicate, fair thing. A weeping willow. So pure. She looked like a saint. Her pink mane wreathed her face like a nun’s habit.
So innocent.
So fake!
Fluttershy was a dirty girl!
Rainbow Dash wasn’t blind, she wasn’t stupid. She saw Fluttershy through the window with all her magazines, and hadn’t she admitted herself that she’d been “abusing her no-no place?”
She wanted it.
Rainbow was the pony to give it to her! Rainbow would bring it and Fluttershy would bend over…
The sensible part of Rainbow, the one that had been growing in strength since breaking out that day when she beat up Tombs, spoke up, loud and proud.
Maybe Fluttershy does want it. But not from you.
Of course she does!
No.
Look at her!
No means NO.
But, but… what am I supposed to do, then?
Be her friend.
…
Oh.
Fluttershy watched the internal struggle as it waged its war across Rainbow Dash’s expressions. She sat there, petrified.
Rainbow Dash’s expression turned murderous, terrifying. Predatory. Fluttershy nearly fainted, but the terrifying expression melted away, replaced by one of calm serenity.
Rainbow Dash spoke.
“Hey Flutters…”
“Yeah?” she trembled.
“Forget being Frolic Partners. It was a dumb idea. Let’s go get some ice cream.”
The dam burst and Fluttershy sobbed fat tears of relief into her pink lemonade mane.

Big Mac and Twilight were outside the chaperoned areas now. They wandered through a sun dappled glade, and Twilight pointed out the different types of flora and fauna, reciting their Pegasillyc names as they passed. Big Macintosh listened quietly, trying to keep all the new names straight in his head. Having worked the earth his entire life, he knew a thing or two about plants, and could probably identify every one in the forest, but the names Twilight knew, names like Toxicodendron radicans and Bellis perennis made the whole glade seem like some kind of exotic wonderland.
They found a sunny patch and sat down to catch their breath and sip from Twilight’s Nieghgene bottle.
“It’s important to stay hydrated,” she observed. They shared the bottle without thought of germs. After all, weren’t they going to kiss soon?
Twilight leaned her head in to cuddle the ropy muscles of his neck and the tip of her horn scratched the bottom of his chin.
Teheheheehe!
Big Mac’s ear perked up.
“Did you just giggle?” he asked.
“No,” she snickered a little, but no giggle.
“Huh…”
Teheheheheehehee!
“You don’t hear that?”
Twilight sat up, her ears flitting back and forth to scan the forest around her.
“Hear what?”
Big Macintosh strained, but couldn’t hear anything now.
“Nothing, I guess…”
Something tugged at him.
“Maybe we should get back to the park, it’s almost dark. They’ll be starting the Night Romp soon…” he said.
“Aww, but it’s so nice here. I kinda want to stay a little longer,” she fluttered her eyelashes at him.
Big Macintosh was feeling dizzy again.
“We should head back…” he said, standing up.
“Why? Where are you in such a hurry to go?”
“Nowhere… It’s just…” something was tugging at him, harder than before. Whatever it was had its hooks in his sensitive places. Resisting the sensation hurt. Giving in felt good. Very good.
Without another word to Twilight, he got up and wandered back in the direction of the park. Twilight frowned and followed.

Sunset transformed the park into a fairyland of lights and music. Strings of many colored lanterns stretched between the trees, giving the night an otherworldly, dreamlike quality. Clouds of bugs collected around the lights and treated the lovers beneath to a buzzing serenade.
The Night Romp was about to begin.
For the foals, this meant a hayride that took them on a winding trail far from the adults. Of course, because there were so many foals to watch, it meant all the chaperones had to go, too.
For everypony else, especially those that waited all day for the romantic night of lanterns and singing, this was when the real fun of the Springtime Frolic began. All the flowers had closed up and gone to sleep for the night, and all the restless energy that was building all day could finally escape in force, unchecked by chaperones or shyness.
The Frolic’s ancient roots weren’t just a tool to spread pollen and germinate new seeds. In ancient times, long ago, back before Equestria, before The Blizzard and the Exodus, before conscious memory, when ponies were beasts, the Springtime Frolic (though it had no name then) was the time to start new families. Expecting mothers would carry their children through the seasons. Through bountiful summer, headstrong fall and harsh winter so that they could give birth when the air was warm and the fields were clear for grazing the next spring. A pony has an average gestational period of eleven months and timing was important if there was to be food for all the newborns of the next year.
 Even hundreds of millennia later, the bodies remember what the minds forgot, and springtime always felt like the right time to get frisky.
Blueblood was definitely feeling it, but he hadn’t found Eulalie yet. The night deepened and the impassioned moans of a dozen couples rose from the bushes around him. It was maddening! Where could she be? He half expected her to pop out at any moment with her box of chocolate strawberries for him, but no matter where he went, there she wasn’t.

Big Macintosh wandered in a daze. He’d become separated from Twilight somewhere along the line, and now he was just following the pretty lights and the tugging of his crotch. Every time a mare passed close by, the tugging would intensify and lead him off in a new direction. It wasn’t coming from any one mare, but any of them and all of them.
He wandered in circles for what felt like hours before stumbling into a small clearing strung with lanterns of red and gold. There was a mare standing there. She had a long mane of rich carmine-red that tumbled down over her shoulders like an avalanche of bloody snow. Her coat was the color of pale lilacs after the kiss of virgin lips.
The tugging was a constant pull, now. He felt like iron in the thrall of a magnet. Helpless, he stepped forward, snapping a branch beneath his hoof as he did so.
She turned at the sound of his approach and smiled.
“My, but what stallion through my clearing breaks?” she asked.
“I am Prince Blueblood,” answered Big Macintosh, forgetting himself in her eyes “What’s your name?”
“Eulalie,” she cooed in a voice like the ringing of a silver bell “You seem to have lost your Frolic Partner.”
“You seem to have lost yours,” he said.
“We should find new ones.”
“Eeyup...”The end of Part 21…

To be Continued…