Shipping, Do You Speak It?

by Nightsky Rain

Part 2 - Romance, with a side order of strabismus

“That should just about do it”

Rainbow Dash dusts her hooves as she leans back to proudly observe her work. Using a combination of wood planks and tarpaulin, she'd effectively patched the hole in Trixie's roof, at least temporarily. The clouds overhead were getting darker and heavier as that scheduled spring shower drew near, making the patch all the more important.

Her work complete, the pegasus flutters down off the roof and trots back inside, closing the door behind her. Trixie was still resting on the couch, now with a damp cloth over her forehead, presumably a headache chasing the earlier shock. The cyan mare noticed the unicorn's eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and steady, evident she'd fall asleep at some point.

Damn... Dash looks around for some parchment and a quill to write a note, finding evidence of neither anywhere she could see. Oh...right...not all unicorns are like Twi... she muses to herself, gaining a slightly concerned look, I'm gonna have to apologize to her eventually...but what am I supposed to say? I don't even know what she got so upset about...

An incoherent mumble draws the pegasus' attention back to Trixie as she stirs, her eyes slowly finding the cyan mare and blinking a few times in puzzlement, “...oh, Trixie isn't dreaming?”. She slowly shifts to sit up on the couch, wash-cloth sliding off her head in the process, though she doesn't seem to notice. “Good morning, lo-”

The blue mare freezes in horror as her brain catches up to her mouth, her eyes opening fully to the confused look on Dash's face. By some boon of Celestia, or Luna, Trixie's eyes happen to divert to the same part of the ceiling that had just been repaired.

“Love the repair! Yes. Trixie is very grateful”.

Trixie's eyes nervously dart back and forth between the pegasus and the repaired ceiling as she smiles nervously, desperately willing the pegasus to buy it.

“Oh...uh...” the pegasus looks away from Trixie to the patched ceiling, “what are friends for, right?”.

What are friends for, huh? Is that why you're here, not over at that library apologizing your flank off?

Dash frowns at herself, but Trixie doesn't notice, too busy almost hanging over the back of the couch taking the biggest sigh of relief in her life.

By the time the pegasus turns back to Trixie, she'd already gotten off the couch and headed into the kitchenette, where she was pretending to look through her cupboards to hide the blush on her face.

“So uh...whacha up to today, Trix?”

“Oh, you know. It's Trixie's day off, so she plans to do as little as possible” comes the unicorn's muffled reply. She reappears over the counter, starting to make herself some more tea. “What about you? Trixie doubts the dashing … Dash” Trixie fights the urge to smack her head into the counter for that one, “...pegasus about town has no plans for such a wonderful day”.

Rainbow gives a light shrug of her shoulders and looks off to the side, “well I did my training this morning” yeah, lets call it that “...and I have to drop by the library at some point...” because you're totally not going to chicken out, right? “...but other than that, nothing planned” except sit on a cloud and stare at the library for hours wishing you had a spine.

Trixie could actually see the internal argument the pegasus was having, though to her visible confusion she hadn't the slightest clue what it was about. Perhaps the cyan mare was conflicted about spending so much time with Trixie? Perhaps Trixie should have offered her some tea? Although she didn't seem like the type who drank it. Perhaps Trixie should just tackle her to the floor and-

Trixie promptly slams her head into the counter, and immediately regrets it with a pained groan. This had done nothing to help Trixie's headache.

“Uh...Trix...you okay there...?” Dash rubs the side of her head with a hoof wearing a very, very puzzled look.

“Trixie...slipped...”

---

Celestia slowly and quietly stepped through the library toward the back room, though she only made it as far as the door before she noticed Twilight was now on the floor, and had fallen asleep from magic exertion. The lavender mare still clung to Derpy, who seemed to have no qualm setting down and keeping hold of her for the time being, with her head gently laid over the back of unicorn's neck.

The sun goddess couldn't help but submit a gentle smile, before using her magic to create a soundproof bubble around the back room they were in, and returning her attention to the chaos around her. She takes a long few moments to memorize every misplaced, lodged, or otherwise damaged object, then her horn lights up once more as she sets about repairing and repositioning them all at once.

The process was slow going, even for Celestia's powers, but before long she was done with the furnishings and fittings, save the few bookshelves that were currently elsewhere in Ponyville, and sets about repairing the doors and walls next. Spike by this point had reappeared in the library was starting to gather up the displaced books, stacking them to be re-shelved later, while Pinkie bounced past them into the backroom, grabbing the mail-mare's bag with her teeth and swinging it onto her own neck, then bouncing back off outside. The rest of the mail-run was going to be...interesting, to say the least.

Even as she concentrated on repairing the damage, and even though the cause itself had been fairly concerning, Celestia couldn't help but marvel at the sheer power it had taken to do in the first place. This took significantly more power than even Celestia realized Twilight had access to yet – she wondered if her prized protege simply didn't choose to show how far she'd really come.

As he wanders toward the next pile of displaced book, Spike is given pause to look at the two mares in the backroom, giving a mocking gag at the spectacle before moving on. The white alicorn couldn't help but chuckle.

---

The dull rattle of rain against the library windows rouses Twilight back to consciousness, slowly and awkwardly as always. Only her left eye opens, and it only opens partway, her head felt like it was packed with cotton and jelly, the typical after-effect of excessive magic exertion. Or rather, one of them – the others all involved particularly nasty pain, in the head, the horn, or both. Twilight was content with jelly in the head, given the options.

The first thing the lavender mare becomes aware of is that she's laying on the floor. The next, a moment or two later, that she was virtually clinging to the other mare laid beside her, who's forelegs were curled around to hold her in return. Derpy's face lay just front of Twilight's, largely but sporadically covered by her blonde mane. She had fallen asleep at some point too.

The scent of newsprint, letter glue, stamps, and...rosewood? Twilight wasn't quite sure, but it filled her senses, intermittently overridden by the smell of coffee and muffins every time the other mare took a breath. This really drove home just how close the pegasus was, and caused a blush to form across the purple unicorn's face.

Her initial reaction felt like a lurch, but in reality it was just a small shift away, which prompted the unconscious pegasus to use her forelegs to pull her closer again, causing their chests to press together. The lavender mare's heartbeat climbed and the logical part of her brain demanded she pull away, immediately. But some louder, unfamiliar part of her told her to stay, told her to pay attention. She could feel the other mare's heartbeat, so calm and steady, it was soothing...it made her relax.

Twilight found herself wondering why she'd even want to move. It was so nice here, so relaxing, so comfortable, why would she ever want to leave this? The logical part of her mind, for once, was silent. The rational part of her brain could come up with doubts and fears, arguments why it was wrong, but none of it seemed to matter. Something was different here, somehow there was a clarity in her mind, a ceasefire in the perpetual mental faculty war that normally drove her behavior.

And then she sneezed.

The unicorn's blood instantly ran cold in her veins and her eyes opened wide in horror. She'd ruined it, she'd finally found some strange, special peace that finally shut her brain up, and she'd destroyed it. The pegasus would be disgusted, mortified, she'd be lucky if she didn't get slapped or punched for it. By some miracle nothing had come out of her nose but surely...

Nothing. Derpy hadn't even flinched. Twilight thought her heart would burst right out of her chest from the way it was beating, she was on the brink of hyperventilating. The gray mare simply moves her upper hoof down and gently rubs the unicorn's back...and she relaxes. Confused beyond belief, but calmed almost immediately. She just now noticed the half-lidded yellow eyes gazing out at her softly from beneath the mess of blonde mane.

“Sorry...I guess I dozed off...you okay?” Derpy half-mumbles quietly.

“I...I'm fine...” the lavender mare finds herself almost whispering.

Shocked back to reality by her embarrassing slip a moment earlier, Twilight found her mind swimming with questions. Why was Derpy still here? Why was she being so nice? She'd apparently been comfortable enough like this to fall asleep...but, why? Twilight didn't speak to her very often, or at least not at any significant length, she didn't really know the mail-mare very well...why was she so comfortable with her?

But the heaviest hitting question of them all, of course, was why none of it actually seemed to matter. The questions swirled around in her head but the unicorn somehow found it easy to ignore them, the concept seemed alien, almost impossible to her. She had no significant desire to pick apart and analyze the situation, she was simply accepting it for what it was. It had only happened once before, with Pinkie Sense, and even then, it had taken an awful lot to get to that point.

“You sure you're okay?” the blonde mare queried again with a soft, playful smile.

The unicorn blinks a few times in surprise, feeling that hot flush spread across her face again. It seemed everypony was able to tell when she was thinking these days. “I'm...confused? I think...”

“Something on your mind?” the gray pegasus offers thoughtfully, as though she couldn't already tell.

The lavender mare nods slowly. “I guess I don't really understand why you're still here...or why I'm so happy you are?”. Twilight couldn't help but wonder where she was finding the inspiration to be so honest. Something in the back of her mind was pushing her along, but it didn't feel like a thought.

The blonde mare chuckles softly, taking a considerate tone. “Well, I'm still here because I want to be, if that helps”.

Did it? It seemed kind of obvious really – she wouldn't be here if she didn't want to be. Why did it feel like she was missing the point?

“But why do you want to be?” the unicorn furthers curiously, trying her best to stare into those misaligned yellow eyes beneath that mess of blonde mane in front of her.

The blonde pegasus smiles thoughtfully, but Twilight could see the hesitation in her eyes this time. “Now might not be the best time to talk about it”.

The unicorn frowns at this, “now would seem like the ideal time to talk about it, actually”. It felt more like a childish argument than an actual response, but it seemed to be working – the pegasus' resolve weakened and she bit her lower lip nervously.

“How do you put it these days? I...like you?” Derpy offers hesitantly.

“I like you too, but that doesn't-” the lavender mare looses her sentence as the proverbial cogs spin around far enough for the little boot to kick her in the back of the head. Her eyes slowly grow wide, “...you like...me?”.

The blonde mare closes her eyes and seems to brace herself, “yes...”

As silence pervades the already relatively quiet scene, the gray pegasus could almost hear her own heart beating through her chest. She senses the unicorn's free hoof move and tenses up, waiting for the inevitable. Her eyes split open in shock as the hoof presses lightly onto her chest, and doesn't even push her away. Her heartbeat climbs even higher as her eyes find the lavender mare wearing an uncertain look, almost like...fleeting hope?

“You..you're not making fun of me, right? You mean it?”

“I...yes, I do” the blonde mare chokes out in bemusement. This seemed to be about as far from the reaction she expected as it was possible to get.

Twilight brought her other hoof up to rest closer to the gray pegasus' shoulder. She looked confused and happy at the same time, but also skeptical, like she couldn't quite believe it, and nervous – that much was very, very obvious.

“...you've always been nice to me” Derpy offers, still fighting her surprise. “You didn't so much as yell at me after that incident with the piano, you didn't call me an idiot like everypony else after that incident with the birds on winter wrap up...you never question why I would want to check out books when so many others think I'm too dumb to read...”

The blonde mare slowly turns her eyes down and her voice softens, “you look me in the eyes when you talk to me. You'll never know how much that means to me...”.

“I...think I do now?” Twilight offers in return, visibly a little overwhelmed, but smiling faintly.

The gray pegasus can't help but laugh, even as she fights back those old tears, “hah...you have a point there”. She bites her lower lip as she wrestles her composure back in check.

“Augh...” Derpy brings her hooves up and rubs her face through her mane, chuckling again ironically. “This is so inappropriate, isn't it? We're both mares, we don't know each other that well, and I'm older than you to boot...”

Twilight takes the opportunity while the blonde mare's forelegs are raised to scoot forward against her and curl her own forelegs around her back securely. The gray pegasus' initial shock at the gesture is promptly defeated as she feels the unicorn's face tuck into her neck, and her own forelegs come down to wrap around the slightly smaller unicorn.

“I'm fine with that” the lavender mare reports softly, and with a notable confidence in her voice.

---

“Woo!”

Pinkie's eyes go wide as her body takes on a mind of its own – her tail twirls in a circle behind her, then she bounces up and down in place rapidly, then she's shot several feet up into the air and inexplicable fireworks go off in the background. As soon as she touches the ground again the pink earth pony grabs the nearest other pony, some poor stallion who clearly doesn't have a clue what's going on, and even less sense as Pinkie shakes him by the shoulders excitedly.

“Something to throw a party about just happened!”

The stallion suddenly falls to the ground in a stupor as Pinkie relocates to the roof of the nearest building, standing on her hind legs and peering out over the town through a pair of binoculars. The longer it takes, the more unsettled she becomes, starting twitch randomly and hop from hoof to hoof awkwardly.

“Must...find...cause...to party!”

Ponyville was pretty quiet though, one quickly noticed. The occasional pony who was out in the rain seemed no more or less possessing of a reason to party than normal. The pink one sweeps the town back and forth, clearly growing more desperate and...it had to be said, unstable, by the moment. Her gaze suddenly transfixes on the library.

There's a sudden crack of pink lightning as she shoots off toward it, leaving a pink trail through the air, onto the street, through a cart of watermelons that explodes a second later in some bizarre delayed reaction, and Carrot Top is suddenly flung off the street onto the roof of her house looking completely bemused.

Pinkie arrives at the door to the library a few seconds ahead of the pink trail, which at its point of source was a perfect, transparent pink silhouette of herself that caught up and reattached to her as she sat there for a moment. She then slowly reaches for the door handle, beaming with excitement, a party blow-out had appeared in her mouth at some point, sparkles appeared in her eyes...

But then she stops, and suddenly recoils from the door in confusion.

“Waiiiiit a minute....” she rubs her chin with a hoof, “hmm something good just happened here but a party isn't called for yet. False alarm?” she scratches her head with the same hoof, “naw, I don't get false alarms...”. She stands up on her hind legs and leans against the door with one elbow, sporadically blowing through the blow-out held with the other hoof as if it was a cigarette. “Calm, Pinky. Let it come...let it come...”

She suddenly spams into the air away from the library door with another inexplicable burst of fireworks, landing on the ground on her head, but somehow balanced, with a back leg pointing in the vague direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

“There it is!” she exclaims excitedly, before flipping back over onto her hooves and bouncing off in the direction of the farm. “I wish party-sense was as accurate as Pinkie sense” she scoffs and snorts, “it would make things sooooooo much easier. But nooooo-wait!”

She stops mid-bounce, that is to say, in mid-air, and her body begins to rotate like a compass trying to find north, using her tail as the apparent pointer. She rotates away from Sweet Apple Aces to the library again, then away from the library toward Rainbow Dash's house, then away from that back to the library, and starts turning away from it to somewhere else, but falls out of the air onto her stomach heavily.

“Ohhhh now I get it” the pink one nods sagely, “the cause for the party is moving. That's why I can't get a fix. It's mobile!”. She springs to her hooves, now suddenly wearing a pair of roller-skates. “Eaaaaaasy peasy” she reports, as her tail sticks out behind her like it was being pulled...and she suddenly starts rolling backwards in the direction it's pointing at rather disturbing speed.

“Geronimo!”

---

“What the-”

Rainbow Dash blinked once or twice at the pink blur that sails past her at the street-crossing, but shakes it off and continues on. The library loomed ahead, growing closer with each slow step. The pegasus had no conviction to get there any sooner, she still had no idea how she was going to handle it when she did. She was tempted to just go back to Trixie's, she even had a perfect excuse – the unicorn might have a concussion after her curious “accident” earlier.

What do I even apologize for? Asking her to come watch me practice again? Pointing out unicorns don't know much about flying? I did kind of step on her pride a bit...but Twi does that to me just about every chance she gets...right? the cyan mare furrows her brow in a conflicted frown, that's not really true though, is it? She only really steps on my pride when I start getting too full of myself...

Before she even realized it, Dash was standing outside the library. Her gaze slowly lifts off the ground to the door several feet ahead just a few more steps and knock on the door, it's so simple...why can't I do it? Why... as she continues to gaze at the door, a chill runs down her back that seemed to have a real weight to it, and It had nothing to do with the weather. ...why do I suddenly feel like I really shouldn't be here...?

The cyan pegasus gives a firm shake of her head and stomps a hoof down, no! I'm not a coward. I'm not chickening out. I owe my friend an apology, and I'm going to do it. She takes the last few steps to the library door, lifts her hoof, and knocks on it...a bit more firmly than she intended.

It slowly opens a few moments later, Dash finding nothing but empty air ahead of air, before she thinks to look down.

“Oh, hey Rainbow...” Spike greets hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head with a paw, “uh...now's not the best time...”

“What? Why not?” the pegasus retorts in annoyance. All that to get here and he tells me it's not a good time? This better be-

The young dragon rolls his eyes and clutches his stomach in mock disgust, “oh Twi's back there making kissy-faces with Derpy. I think they're a thing now, or something. I don't know, I'm trying not to think about it too much, I just ate”.

“Oh...cool” the cyan mare half-mumbles distantly, turning her eyes off to the side, “well...I'll come back another time then...”. She doesn't wait for the young dragon to respond, she'd already taken flight by the time the last word left her mouth. Spike shakes his head in confusion, but closes the door a moment later.

Twi and...Derpy...? the cyan pegasus furrows her brow as she flies back across Ponyville...at a decidedly un-Rainbow Dash speed. She looked more confused than anything else, at least for now. Derpy? How...how does that even work? Luna...or, Trixie somehow, maybe Applejack, even...Rarity I guess, but Derpy?

She shakes her head and stutters an awkward laugh, I guess Pinkie isn't the craziest thing in Ponyville anymore...although.... From her vantage in the air, Dash spots the pink one below, wandering along the street low on her legs with her tail pointed up in the air and a large piece of dish-shaped cardboard attached to it, for Celestia only knows what purpose.

The pegasus descends to a hover just off to the side of the earth pony, trying not to laugh. “Hey Pinks...you uh...you should leave the fashion statements to Rarity, I think”.

“No, silly” Pinkie returns with a roll of her eyes, “my party-sense went off...but I can't find the source. It was moving before...and now it's just disappeared. I can't work it out”.

“Hmm...” cyan mare crosses a foreleg over her chest and braces her other foreleg against it, rubbing her chin with that hoof, “well, Twi and...”, she has to pause to snicker, “Derpy are...apparently a thing now, maybe that's it?”.

“Oh I know about that, but they're not ready for a party yet” Pinkie reports with a skeptical intensity.

The pegasus blinks a few times at this, but lets it go. “Uh...okay, maybe the source was a dud?”.

Pinkie almost seems insulted by this, turning her nose up, “Hmph! Pinkie's party sense does not pick up duds, thank you very much”.

Dash can't help but roll her eyes. Pinkie's party sense may not pick up “duds”, but it definitely picked up reasons to party nopony else would think to throw a party for, and it wasn't always a good thing. She still remembered Pinkie's infamous “congratulations on being wrong” party for Twilight after the pinkie-sense incident. The fact it had also been a surprise party really hadn't helped matters.

“Okay...” the cyan mare begins again, rubbing her face down with a hoof, “maybe...there are a bunch of...potential parties that aren't quite ready yet...and your party sense is...warning you to be prepared?”. She was pulling this one out of her flank, frankly.

“Of course!” Pinkie sprung up with an excited smile, “Dashie! You're a genius!”

...really? She bought that? Well..this is Pinkie... “Uhh-” the pegasus paused as she realized the pink one had already disappeared, leaving a Pinkie-shaped pink outline that evaporates a moment later. Yeah...that's Pinkie...

With a last shake of her head, Dash takes to the air proper once more, aiming herself in the vague direction of her cloud home and setting off at a curiously leisurely pace. Still, I guess this Derpy thing is...a good thing, right? Twi's actually off the market now, so I can stop...thinking about her she actually found that a little depressing. When the pegasus concluded nothing was going to happen, it was because it didn't seem like Twilight would ever catch on. This left the cyan mare with the conundrum of whether Twilight simply wasn't ready then, or her own approach had been wrong.

But it doesn't really matter, as long as she's happy. That's what a real friend is, right? she frowns again, not entirely convinced of her own argument. A real friend would be happy as long as their friend was happy...but a friend who harbored romantic inclinations probably had a right to feel a bit down. And besides...I'm...sort of doing my own thing with Trixie...aren't I?

Actually, she hadn't really considered the idea yet. Up to now I've only really thought of Trixie as a friend. She's kind of cute...and I like hanging out with her...I guess it could work? Shouldn't I be...more sure of it than this?. Her cloud home came into view, still a ways off but slowly drawing up now, south-east of Ponyville proper.

If Dash was honest with herself, she wasn't even sure why she was going home. It was still the middle of the day, there was nothing substantial to make a proper lunch with in her house, and even less to actually do. For once in her life, a nap didn't sound especially appealing – that thought alone worried her a bit. She hadn't really had any determined idea what she was doing at any point today, save for the fifteen minutes she'd been determined to apologize to Twilight, and still not actually gone through with it.

But I need to work out what I'm actually going for with Trixie before I see her again Dash mused to herself with a half-determined look, and the only thing I really need to do is apologize to Twi...but I'll have to go back later for that. She touches down on the lip of the cloud-bank her home was built on, retrieving a small bundle of mail from her mailbox and shouldering her way through the door.

Now in her living room, Rainbow Dash dumped the mail on her coffee table and slide a hoof over it to spread it out as she flopped onto the couch. Paycheck...Wonderbolts Fan Monthly...bill...bill...junk...blah she gives up any interest and rolls over onto the couch with a bored sigh, but then perks again and rolls back over, wait....

Amongst the junk mail was a flier, something she'd almost missed, an announcement flier for a National Iron Pony Competition, to be held in Ponyville this year. That could be cool...it'd be way bigger than that little one AJ and I had last year..., Dash rolled over again and held the notice above herself in her hooves, as long as I can talk AJ into taking part...yeah, this should be awesome.

---

The rain had stopped as the spring shower had finally run its course, all that remained of the clouds that bore it were thin streaks of silvery-white across the clear sapphire sky under Celestia's sun. It was still just as warm as it had been before it started, but the increased humidity was pleasanty cooled by a spring breeze now. The weather team had really outdone themselves today.

Twilight could think of one weather pegasus in particular who'd gladly take all the credit for it, but right now, there was only room in the unicorn's mind for one pegasus, and that was the gray one that walked beside her along the street. The blonde mare hugged her close with a wing as they walked, making the lavender mare giggle at first, unaccustomed to the gesture, not that she was about to complain.

The streets of Ponyvile were some curious medium between their usual bustle of daily activity and their all but deserted status during the rain. To Twilight's notable surprise, of the numerous ponies there were about, none seemed particularly put-off or rude, even in passing, about the way she and Derpy walked together. She swore she even saw Lyra and Bon Bon smile at them approvingly when they passed. The one stallion who had gawked at them walked into a lamppost as a consequence, to their mutual satisfaction.

It was just the beginning of the afternoon but the lavender mare knew the blonde pegasus would have to leave fairly soon, even if she had effectively taken the day off. She wasn't especially advised of Derpy's living arrangements and personal life, but she knew she lived in the outer portion of Ponyville, and had a daughter who'd be coming home from school, who would need her mother much more than Twilight did.

For now, having regained enough strength to walk confidently after the day's earlier, rather substantial magical exertion, the unicorn led the gray pegasus to a nice little cafe she discovered shortly after moving to Ponyville. The hay used for seating outside had been refreshed and the tables dried, new menus and table-clothes set. Twilight led Derpy to her favorite table to the right of the entrance, in the middle of the little square formation of the area.

“Ah, madame Sparkle, so good to see you again” the slightly hoity waiter greets with a genuine smile, “and I see you have brought a friend with you today, how wonderful”.

“Always a pleasure, monsieur” Twilight returns with a cheerful smile, to which the waiter gives a playful bow.

“The usual, I presume. And for your friend? Madame?” Derpy just now realizes the waiter is looking at her, slightly mystified by the honorifics going around.

“Two daisy and daffodil sandwiches, and some tea, monsieur” the lavender mare quickly responds, reaching a hoof over the table to reassuringly pat the blonde mare's.

The waiter bows in recognition and slips away into the cafe building, leaving the gray pegasus looking a little embarrassed.

“Sorry about that” the unicorn offers with a thoughtful look, “I come here so often that that waiter and I play around with the honorifics as a bit of a joke. We both come from Canterlot, you see, where almost all the restaurants and cafes take themselves way too seriously...as opposed to here in Ponyville, where they actually act like real ponies”.

The blonde mare breathes a sigh of relief and brings a hoof to her chest, “oh, thank Celestia. I thought I was actually embarrassing you...I'm not really accustomed to fancy dining or anything, myself. Even in Cloudsdale I don't think I ever spent more than twenty bits on a single meal...”

“I wouldn't be embarrassed of you” Twilight retorts with a slight frown, but it melts away immediately against the appreciative smile the blonde mare returns her.

“So you really do come from Canterlot?” Derpy observes with an interest, “I'd heard talk of it, but you can never quite be sure how much of it is just gossip”.

The lavender mare nods in turn, “oh, yes. I was born and raised there. Though honestly, after living here a while, I'm glad I only go back to visit. The glamor and sophistication is nice for a special occasion, but living with it? Augh...”

The gray pegasus chuckles softly, “I can imagine. My delivery area used to include Canterlot, before the the last raft of zone provisions brought my coverage down to the general Ponyville area itself. I always found it a little off-putting, even just passing through”.

The blonde mare brings a hoof to her face, “oh, listen to me, talking about zone provisions. Honestly. I must be the most boring date...”

“This is a date?” Twilight seemed to perk up in excitement, to Derpy's gentle amusement.

“It is if you'd like it to be” the gray pegasus offers with a warm smile.

A bright smile spread across the lavender mare's features as their food was set in front of them. The day had started out so catastrophically, only to turn out so well by lunch time. Of course, that wasn't entirely unusual around here – there was always some disaster or another for Twilight and her friends to deal with, and it always seemed to turn out well in the end, but today was different somehow.

The unicorn didn't feel a sense of accomplishment, but rather something closer to personal satisfaction, fulfillment even. As she watched the gray pegasus pick up and bite into her sandwich, promptly and positively surprised by how good it was, evident through the approving mumbles she emits as she eats it, the lavender mare couldn't help but give a content sigh. She couldn't imagine this day having gone any better.

If nothing else, that should have been her first warning.

Their meal complete, Twilight and Derpy had moved on to the park north of the town center, normally a bustle of activity but to their mutual relief, rather quiet right now. The afternoon had drawn on and it was time for their little impromptu date to come to an end. It had been a new experience for one them, and a strange but welcome experience for the other.

They lingered together by a tree, sat on their haunches side by side as the gentle summer breeze rustled the leaves above and the grass below. It carried the familiar scent of apples they both knew well, serving as a good indication which direction it came from presently. The air was permeated by a comfortable silence, even if the blonde mare seemed a little nervous.

“As far as first dates go, that wasn't so bad, right?” the gray pegasus queries hopefully.

The unicorn smiles nervously, “I think so...I mean, it was the first date I've been on, but I liked it”.

“That was...? Oh Celestia...” the blonde mare mumbles under breath nervously.

“We'll just have to go on some more so I can get a better measure” Twilight insists, glancing aside at the gray pegasus with a playful smile.

The gray pegasus finds herself disarmed by that smile once again. It somehow discarded the ball of concern that built up in her chest and dulled the edge off her nerves. The unicorn was inexperienced, yes, and nervous because of it, but her eyes held a confidence that reassured Derpy it was alright. The blonde mare slowly leans over toward Twilight, tilting her head slightly to one side as she does and lowering the lids of her eyes.

The lavender mare for her part blushed intensely and counter-productively drew her head back, while tilting it slightly in the other direction at the same time, and immediately closing her eyes. The blonde mare head to lean even further over to make up the difference, but the closer she got, the more the unicorn began to shake nervously.

The gray pegasus had an idea though. She lifts a hoof and hovers it just in front on the lavender mare's chest, which causes the unicorn to reflexively lean forward into it, in turn bringing her head forward, where the blonde mare quickly but gently presses her lips to the unicorn's. She stops shaking instantly as her eyes spring open to find the pegasus' golden, misaligned ones gazing back through half-lids, and closes her eyes again, melting into the kiss.

It was rather to Derpy's surprise, but approval, that Twilight was brave enough to venture her tongue into hers first...even if she was rather clumsy about it, but she submits an approving murmur and hugs the unicorn closer with a foreleg for the few moments the kiss lasts. When it finally breaks again, the lavender mare almost falls over backward and breathes heavily, having stopped for the duration.

The blonde mare couldn't help but chuckle softly, “you have to breathe through your nose, sweetie...”.

“I f-...I forgot...” Twilight pants with a broad, sheepish smile of satisfaction.

“Unfortunately, I still have to get going...” the pegasus submits with a thoughtful smile.

To her surprise, the lavender mare smiles with an almost sultry excitement. “That just means I can look forward to next time”.

The pegasus blushes as she hears the distinctive pomf and feels her wings spring out, but refuses to believe it just happened, even with the deviously satisfied smirk on the unicorn's face.

“I'll just be going now...” Derpy submits sheepishly as she regains control of her wings, taking to a low hover first, waiting to see just one more of those warm smiles on the unicorn's face, before she takes off for the north of Ponyville.

Twilight waits a long moment, then submits a deep sigh of relief, slouching on her forelegs and hanging her head. Catching her breath was easy, but she was still a bit light-headed. At least the world had stopped spinning. She'd read that a kiss could have a powerful effect on the body, but she'd always thought it romance novel drivel.

She'd never read anything about pieces of popcorn falling on her head, though. The unicorn turns her gaze up, and finds Pinkie Pie sitting on a branch of the tree above, to her mixed mortification and annoyance.

“Pinkie...we've talked about the spying thing” the purple mare deadpans.

Pinkie beams cheerfully, “aww but it was so cute! And kind of hot. Also, I wasn't spying. I just happened to be sitting in this particular tree eating popcorn”.

“Uh huh” the unicorn returns dryly, rolling her eyes, “and I suppose you do that often?”.

Pinkie swings around on the branch to hang from it by her hind legs...somehow without spilling her popcorn. “What? Eat popcorn, or sit in trees? Because I eat a loooooooooooot of popcorn, but I don't sit in trees very often. I do hide in them a lot though. Trees make great spying spots”.

The pink one's eyes suddenly go wide and she swings down out of the tree with an awkward look “uhhh...sorry Twilight, I gotta go. Pinkin' to do, you know? Bye!”, and before the unicorn could even say anything, the pink blur was gone, leaving her more than a bit puzzled.

“Looks like I finally found ya”

The lavender mare blinks at the familiar voice, turning around to find Rainbow Dash stood a small distance away in the other direction.

“I dropped by earlier, but you were busy. So I came back and...whaddya know? You weren't there, for once”. The pegasus sounded calm...but there was a slight bite to her words, like an underlying aggression.

Twilight found her curious tone a little off-putting, but sat on her haunches where she was calmly, “yes, I was out having lunch with a friend”.

“Derpy, right?” Dash returns quickly, walking in a little closer to her friend, “but I hear you're a bit more than friends...”.

The unicorn lifts a hoof to rub her neck awkwardly. “Well...maybe? I think so...” she pauses a moment and furrows her brow skeptically, “why does it matter?”.

The pegasus rolls her eyes with a dismissive pfft, “It doesn't. Obviously. It's cool, you know?” the cyan mare begins to hover in an upright posture, drifting past Twilight, forcing her to turn to face her direction again. The pegasus slumps her shoulders slightly as she crosses her forelegs, looking out into the distance, “I just didn't think you did the whole...dating thing. Did you read a book on it finally or something?”.

“No...” the lavender mare returns with an unimpressed frown, “some things even I don't think you should need a book for”. That was a blatant lie, of course. She had every intention of finding every book the library had on the subjects of dating and romance when she got home and studying her horn off. But Dash didn't need to know that.

Largely because she already knew. “Yeah, right” the cyan mare retorts with an arrogant laugh, “you're a terrible liar, Twi. Do I need to remind you why we don't play poker anymore?”.

The unicorn shudders at the memory, “no, you don't. But you know what? I don't care, either. I'm happy, Dash. Isn't that all that counts? What's your problem anyway?”.

“I'm sorry about this morning, by the way” Dash returns, apparently ignoring her friend's question. Her tone had shifted again, but it was hard to pick now. “I don't actually know what I'm apologizing for, of course. I don't know why you got so mad. But I know it was my fault, so...”.

The lavender mare sighs at this. Rainbow wasn't know for her apologizing skills at the best of times, but that was, ironically, one of her better attempts, even if she did sound weird right now. Maybe it was better to just explain it.

“You know that temporary wing spell you were so quick to dump on?” Twilight begins, prompting Dash to turn her head partly back over shoulder. “Yeah, well. I spent the better part of six months improving it, so it would give me proper wings. I was going to surprise you by asking you to teach me how to fly properly, so we could hang out more. But you made it pretty clear it was a waste of time, and I didn't take it well”.

The pegasus drops onto her hooves and slouches her posture, still facing away. “What's this? You're trying to teach me some kind of lesson by making up some guilt trip? That's not cool, Twi”.

“I'm not making anything up!” Twilight retorts indignantly, stomping a hoof for emphasis. “Why are you being so weird?”.

And the chapter ended on a cliffhanger, oh no!

Comments

[fireflutterpony]

Hey, I like your approach - taking crazy ships, and making them feel feasible.

[Frizzy]

TwiDerp is cute

[Wheelwright]

So when does the Celestia x Applejack part start up?

[Nightsky Rain]

91974
Curses! How did you predict it so easily!

Actually, I have a much better one in mind for Celestia. And no, it isn't Spike, either.

[gapaot]

Trixie\Dash? That would be first! I WAITED FOR IT SO LONG
GIMME TWO ARROGANT MARES SHIPPED WITH EACH OTHER NAO

[Mänic]

92121 CelestiaXOctavia? or an even more unlikely? also I really like how you're doing things here even though they're improbable, you make these ships seem quite natural

Let me guess- Celestial and Chief Thunderhooves.

*Celestia

[Nightsky Rain]

92166
It's coming! I can only crazy so fast! ...wait, how do I English again?

92177
'Tavi is going to get a ship, but it wont be Celestia (or VS for once).

92372
You talkin crazy homes. All ponies are gay. It's the law of the universe.

Wait, does that count as a spoiler? DAMN IT. Okay so you guys only know Tavi and Gilda are getting a ship. Not all my surprises are ruined.

OH GOD I DID IT AGAIN WHY CAN'T I HOLD ALL THESE SPOILERS FFFFFFFF-

[gapaot]

92458
Tavi and GILDA?! HAPPY SHIPPING FOR GILDA?! THE GUSTA HATH BEEN DOUBLED!!!

[Mänic]

92458 it's because your hands are too small

[Starfall]

Wait, so we're NOT getting Celestia and Screwball?

[TLC]

I was getting into the story..and then I read the 'cliffhanger' sentence! I NEED MOAR!

[nemryn]

Celestia / Berry Punch!

[Oneyearwarpilot]

NOOOO!!!!!!!! dont leave poor spike out in the cold

[Nightsky Rain]

174377
Oh he wont.
But because of his implied age in the series I'm going to be a lot more restrained about what I have planned for him.