> Amor Fati
>  by BRyeMC
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Detention and New Friends!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clyde locked his car with his keys and walked up to Canterlot High’s main doors. With a yawn, he quickly brushed a hand through his dark hair and wiped off breakfast crumbs that were still on his gray jacket. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and took a quick glance at the time and some sport updates. After scrolling through the sports feed he turned the phone on silent and returned it to his jacket’s pocket.

“7:20 on a Saturday morning and I’m stuck here?” he said out loud to himself in slight anger. He quickly opened the doors and there waiting for him in the lobby were the two principals of the school, Celestia and her younger sister, Luna.

“Hello,” said Principal Celestia in a calm, gentle voice. “What is your name?” Clyde looked at her and noticed she had a small clipboard in her hands. 

“Clyde,” he replied.

“Clyde?” asked Vice President Luna with a tint of curiosity. “That’s a strange name.”

“It’s a nickname that I decided to go with since I was younger,” said Clyde. “My brother had no problems with it and he even calls me by that too.”

“Brother?” asked Celestia, “how about your parents?”

Clyde looked at her with distaste then returned to a normal state. “I live with my brother. He’s my guardian.”

“Oh. Well, alright then.” Celestia wrote some notes down on her clipboard while Luna looked Clyde up and down. Clyde was a little nervous of what she was doing, but remained calm.

“Tell me Clyde, aren’t you new here?” asked Luna. 

Clyde nodded. “Yeah, my brother and I moved here the past summer for his new job site.”

“What would that job be?” 

“He is part of the Guard.” 

Luna nodded at his answer and looked back at her sister. Celestia finished writing on her clipboard and looked back at Clyde. “I guess we should get down to business.” Celestia gave Luna her clipboard and left the small lobby. She turned around and motioned for Clyde to follow. He nodded and quickly walked past Luna to obey the order. As they walked through the hallways, Celestia spoke up. “How did you manage to get into Saturday detention on the first week of school?” she asked. Her voice was still calm, which surprised Clyde.

Clyde laughed. “I think it was Tuesday, but I guess sleeping in the back of the library while listening to music is frowned upon in this school.”

Celestia gave a small laugh too. “Yeah, our librarian Cheerilee doesn’t like when people talk or sleeps in her library. That shouldn’t be a problem today though.”

Clyde looked at her. “What do you mean?”

Celestia smiled. “Today you are spending detention in the library with all of the other students who received detention today. Normally, we would just have you sit in a small classroom, but with so many students having detention today, the library is the best spot. After all of you check in, I will return to watch over you all.”

They soon reached the library and stopped in front of it. Celestia opened the door and Clyde walked inside. He looked around for an empty seat, which there were plenty of, and pulled out a chair towards the back of the room. There were other dudes sitting in the room too, but he ignored them, leaned back on his chair, and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the time to quickly pass. 

After the last boy walked into the library at approximately 7:35am, Celestia returned to the library. She walked over to the library front desk as Clyde and the other boys watched her. She placed her clipboard on the desk and looked at them all. “Good morning,” she said in her normal, calm voice. “Seems like we have a big crowd, even though it’s the first week of school!”

The library filled with the boys remained silent. 

“Ah, a quiet bunch.” Celestia smiled and looked down at her clipboard. “Instead of me just standing here watching you for an hour, let’s do something more interesting.” Some of the boys shifted in their seats, but still remained silent. “You are all new students to this school, right?”

They all looked at each other and nodded.

“So, I’m assuming you don’t have many new friends yet, if at all?”

They boys nodded again.

“Great, maybe fate brought you all here today then. When I say your name, tell us why you are here and the others say ‘hello’ to him and then discuss.”

One of the boys in the back of the room raised his hand. After a Celestia approval, he spoke up. “So, is this like an intervention now?”

Celestia smiled. “No, but it’s similar. I want you to take this as a new type of social meeting.” She lifted the clipboard to her face and studied the list of names. “First up is Poncho.”  

A boy jolted from his seat surprised as the other boys in the room looked at him. Some laughed under their breath while the rest rolled their eyes. He nervously looked around and stood up from his lounged position. He zipped up his hoodie and put his two arms in the pocket at the bottom of it. “Um, my name is Poncho–”

“Hey Poncho...” said the room in unison. Celestia laughed at the horrible and gloomy synched reply. 

“Um,” began Poncho as he nervously looked around the room, “I was brought into detention today because I never turned in my Chemistry project that was due yesterday.”

The others looked at him. One of the boys near the window raised his hand. Poncho called on him as the boy laughed. “Who assigns a project on the first week of school?” 

Poncho shrugged. “I don’t know man.” 

“I guess I’m not taking that class then,” said the boy laughing some more. Poncho looked around at the others to await any questions but no one cared to raise their hand. The likeliest reason was probably that it was still super early on a Saturday morning. Poncho sat down slowly and pulled out a bag of chips from his hoodie pocket to eat. The boys in the room shot glares at him as they heard the crunch of the chips. Before anyone could say anything, Celestia spoke up.

“Alright, next is Clyde.”

Clyde anchored the chair he was leaning back on and stood up. He looked around the room and yawned. “My name is Clyde–”

“Hey Clyde...”

Clyde pointed to the back of the library that had a single desk in the corner and some bookshelves. “I was sent here today because Ms. Cheerilee caught me sleeping in the back corner over there while I was listening some tunes.”

The same boy from the window raised his hand. “Was it a good song dawg?”

“I mean, I guess since it’s on my phone.”

“That’s cool. Was it rap? I love rap.”

Clyde laughed. “No, I’m not a die hard rap fan. It’s fine sometimes, but I was listening to some nice classic rock that my brother introduced me to a long time ago.”

“That’s awesome.” The boy sat down as Clyde looked around the room again. Like Poncho, no one else bothered to ask any questions so Clyde sat back down. He crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. It was a few seconds of pause until the next name was read aloud.

“Tyrone? That’s also an unique name,” said Celestia from the desk.

The boy from the window shouted in happiness as he quickly stood up and sat on the library table he sat near. He was decked out in all black everything, including his hat, shades, sleeveless hoodie, jeans, and shoes. 

“Aight. My name is Tyrone. I don’t know why I have such a lame name, but you can call me "T" too. I guess my mom wanted my name to be "simple and normal" so I can show up any kid who thinks I'm a pushover. It's also easy to remember my name when I beat you on the court.”

“Hey Tyrone...”

Tyrone laughed. “Sup dawgs. Anyway, I’m a baller and I came to this school to ball.”

Clyde looked up at Tyrone who caught his attention. “So you can ball, huh?”

Tyrone smiled at him. “Yeah dawg. People call me the next big thing.” Tyrone lowered his shades to look at Clyde with his dark eyes. “Why? Can you ball too?”

“I know a thing or two. Maybe we can play sometime.” 

“Yeah dawg, that would be cool.” Tyrone and Clyde exchanged a nod while Tyrone scanned the room for some new questions.

A new hand shot into the air from the crowd. “Why are you here in detention though? Did you dribble the basketball through the hallway?”

Tyrone burst out laughing as the room looked at each other in confusion. “Nah mayne. I’ll tell you what I did. It’s pretty hardcore.” Tyrone looked around the room to act like someone was watching him from a hidden spot. 

“Okay,” said a boy near the computers. His face was angry. “Get on with it.”

“Chill dawg, anyways, it was yesterday afternoon after I just got done with my weight lifting class that is also on some days a wellness class. After I changed from my dirty clothes to my sweet gang outfit, I walked out of the locker room and out of the backdoor of the school. Once I walked outside, my fellow gang members threw me a can of spray paint and I tagged the door with our gang initials, DTF.” The room kept quiet for a few seconds then bust out laughing. Tyrone smiled as everyone in the room, except Celestia who was reading a magazine of some sorts, laughed. 

The boy near the computers stopped laughing to lift up a hand. “Please don’t tell me what that means. It’s way too funny if it means what I think it does.”

“Oh, it’s the same dawg. I’m “down” every breathing second. Unfortunately, since I got caught I had to clean the door so I left the gang in anger. I was only a member for a few hours.” The boys laughed some more then quickly stopped. Tyrone sat back down in his chair and kept the grin. 

After a minute of silence waiting for the next name, Celestia noticed the silence in the room and looked up. “Oh! Sorry. I was busy reading an article. Next up is Patel.”

The boy beside the computers grinned and remained sitting in his seat. “I’m not standing. My name is Patel.”

“Hey Patel...”

Patel sighed and looked at the computer screen. “Well, my reason on why I’m here is simple. I had a math test yesterday. I hate math. I hate math so much, I decided to not take the test seriously so I drew pictures on it."

Poncho and the others stared at him. They looked around and some even scratched their heads. “Um,” began Poncho. “What were the pictures?"

Patel rolled his eyes. “I don’t think they're "school appropriate" to talk about.”

Poncho lifted a finger for a rebuttal, but decided not to and dropped the finger to his side. Clyde, Tyrone, and the others looked away from Patel and back to Celestia, awaiting the next name so they can hurry and get out of here. 

“Cannon Schultz, you’re up,” said Celestia.

A boy from the middle of the room stood up and walked up to the middle of the library where everyone could see him perfectly. “You don’t have to do the “Hey...” thing anymore, but my name is Cannon Schultz.” 

“Hey–”

“No! I told you to stop that!” Cannon grabbed the edges of his jacket and threw it up to give a dramatic and cool introduction. “Anyways, the reason why I’m here is because I haven’t shown up to school since the first day on Monday.”

Tyrone laughed. “Why’s that? Classes too hard or something?”

Cannon shook his head. “No, it’s just... I don’t like school. I want to join the Guard so I don’t really care about this pointless school stuff.”

Clyde from the back of the room spoke up. “My brother is in the Guard. I don’t really see him too much anymore, only on major holidays, and that’s if I’m lucky. Are you sure you want to be busy like that all the time?”

Cannon nodded. “All of my relatives from the other side of the world were Guards in our old country. When I moved here, I promised I would start the family Guard branch in this country.”

Clyde nodded as Cannon returned his nod. Cannon looked at Celestia with a lack of interest. “Hey Principal? Can we leave yet?”

Celestia smiled and shook her head. “Not quite. There’s still a few more of you to speak.”

Cannon gave a loud sigh and slowly walked back to his chair. “Hurry up dudes. I need to go to work.”

“Where do you work?” asked a boy close to him.

“Some restaurant in downtown,” replied Cannon. “Say, you look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?”

The boy gasped. “Cannon, it’s me, Jeb! I work there with you!”

Cannon scratched his head. “Eh...”

“I’m the busboy!” yelled Jeb.

Cannon shrugged. “Can’t say that I remember you.”

“Oh,” said Jeb sadly. “Nobody really does...”

“Why are you in here then?” asked Cannon. “You don’t seem to be the “rebel” or “thug” type of person to get into here.”

Jeb frowned. “I don’t know why I’m here. They just said to go here.” Cannon began laughing at him while Jeb looked away in shame.

The boy sitting to the table to the right of Cannon yawned and struggled to stand up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned again. Tyrone, who was the closest one to him saw that his eyes were red. “I’m Wahlburn,” said the boy, “I’ll make this pretty quick as I’m pretty burnt and tired, but I was caught smoking some weed in the bathroom.”

Cannon turned to his right to look at him. “Well aren’t you hardcore?”

“Don’t get smart with me!” yelled Wahlburn. “I have my needs and I don’t care where they take place! Who are you to judge me?”

Cannon raised his hands beside his face to signal him to stop. Wahlburn angrily glared at him as he sat back down. He continued to stare at Cannon until the last two boys in the room stood up simultaneously. One was decked out in a light blue shirt while the other one was wearing a navy blue colored shirt. They remained silent while glaring only at each other. Tyrone waved at them to initiate speech, but they both ignored him.

“Boys,” said Celestia, “care to tell us why you are here? You are the last two after all.”

The boy in the light blue shirt raised his hand over his head. “My name is Sticky.”

The navy blue shirt wearer raised his hand too. “I’m Rivs. We are in here because we started a fight against each other in the hallway.”

Tyrone laughed. “That’s legit dawgs. What were you fighting about?”

Sticky smiled. “I kept calling him out because his favorite collegiate basketball team lost in the tournament the other day, while my favorite team, who is their arch rival, won by a landslide.”

Rivs put his fist up to Sticky’s jaw. “We still beat you in the regular season, twice!”

Sticky grabbed his fist and pushed it away laughing. “Yeah, but you were a third seed! You lost to a fourteenth!”

“We always choke in the tournaments.”

“You also choke on something else if you know what I mean...” Rivs quickly sat down in anger as Sticky, Tyrone, and Cannon began laughing at the joke. Cannon wiped away his tears and looked at the clock. 

“Well, are we done now Principal?”

Celestia looked over her clipboard and smiled. “Yes, we are done here.”

“Done? Like, for real?”

“Yes. I only wanted this “detention” a social meeting sort of thing. I know you are all new and that gave me a wonderful idea. You most likely wouldn’t have friends in the first week, so this is a perfect chance to make them. Of course, I’m not forcing you into a friendship, but I recommend it.” She grabbed her clipboard and walked towards the door. “Do what you will now, you can leave school. Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you all bright and early on Monday!” She opened the doors of the library and disappeared around the corner.

The group of boys sat there for a few seconds to wonder if this was some sort of test. Cannon quickly got up and ran towards the doors. “Sorry dudes, but I have to head to work! Let’s chat again sometime!” As he ran out, Jeb followed him requesting if he could drive him to work too.

Tyrone jumped out of his chair and looked at Clyde. “Hey dawg.”

“Yeah?”

“You want to head to the park with me? I want to see your skills and we can maybe find some other dudes to play us.”

Clyde smirked and stood up. “Yeah I’ll join you. I got nothing better to do anyway.” Clyde walked past the tables and looked back at Rivs and Sticky. “You guys like basketball too, right? You wanna play with us?”

Rivs nodded and quickly got up from the chair while Sticky slowly got up. Sticky passed Poncho and Patel and looked at them.

“Any of you want to come with me?” he asked. “My car can hold like ten people.”

Patel shook his head and pulled out his car keys. “Nah. I’m not into basketball, soccer is my thing though. I’ll join you at the park if we do that sometime.”

Sticky laughed. “Soccer is lame.”

“Well, guess I’m going home then. See you guys Monday or maybe never again?” Patel gave a wave and quickly left the library.

Sticky turned to Poncho next, who was digging into his hoodie pocket for some more snacks. “I’m guessing you don’t do sports either?”

“Wow Sticky,” said Rivs, “way to be a dick. Oh that’s right, your favorite team is super lame so that’s understandable.”

Sticky quickly pointed into his face. “Okay punk, I’m going to teach you a thing or two at the park.”

Rivs smiled. “Good. I’ll take you on.”

Tyrone sighed in the twos arrogance. “Yo dawgs, can we go now? I ain’t gonna be this fly forever. I'm in a basketball withdrawal right now.”

The four of them left the library as Poncho and a sleeping Wahlburn were all that remained. Poncho quietly walked up to Wahlburn and gave him a gentle shove. Wahlburn threw his head back and fell out of his chair. “What the hell brother? I’m trying to get some sleep!”

“Uh! I’m sorry!” replied Poncho. “I didn’t know you were going to do that!”

Wahlburn laughed and pushed off the ground to stand up. “It’s alright brother.” He looked around the room and saw the lack of people. “What happened?”

“The others left. We can leave now.”

Wahlburn smiled and quickly ran out of the room. Poncho stood in the library alone for a few seconds before chasing after him. As he ran through the empty halls of the school he was never able to find Wahlburn again. Poncho passed the main office, where Principal Celestia’s office and Vice Principal Luna’s office were, and rushed out of the main school doors.

As Poncho scanned the front of the school grounds and the adjacent parking lot, he saw Wahlburn in his car speed out of it and onto the main road. “Man that guy is fast,” he said as he sat on the school step. He took out his phone and called his father, who didn’t pick up. Instead of waiting, Poncho decided to walk to the closest store that was just down the road, the Sweet Shoppe.
> A Crush is Born
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Poncho walked into the Sweet Shoppe only to be surprised by an eccentric and boisterous girl. Before Poncho could do anything she abruptly looked at him. “Hi! have you been here before?!” 

Poncho jerked to the side truly surprised by the abrupt nature of the question. “Uhh... no,” he replied.

“Oh! Well, welcome to the Sweet Shoppe, Poncho! I'm Pinkie Pie!” she tittered.

Poncho looked at her shocked. “P-Poncho? How do you know my name? I’ve never seen you before!” He watched her look him up and down rapidly.

Pinkie Pie laughed. “I know everything silly.” 

“What do you mean you know everything?”

Pinkie put a finger on her mouth and looked at him closely. After a few seconds, she spoke back up in an excited voice. ”Well, I know your name is Poncho, because in an alternate world you’re a pony, in fact even I’m a pony, in even greater fact, everyone in this world are ponies and we went on amazing adventures with each other it was great except for the cult, zombies, clones, and something bad happened to you, but it was very heroic!” Pinkie Pie paused to get a breath of air. "Don't tell anyone I can do that! It's a secret power I have!"

“W-Well, what happened?” asked Poncho in confusion and slight fear. He was scared because she had a "super power" of knowing about alternate worlds.

Pinkie Pie busted out laughing and stopped to look serious. “Poncho, in said alternate universe, you sacrificed yourself to save a friend from a gunshot, dying as a hero!” Poncho lowered his jaw in shock.

“Really? That all happened?”

Pinkie squinted her eyes and stared at him making Poncho feel uncomfortable. “Hmm, I don’t know, maybe,” said Pinkie with a shrug. “I’m just getting that vibe.” She looked away from him before smirking. “Anyways, would you like anything? You can’t leave here without some joy from desserts!”

“Oh,” said Poncho looking at the overhead menu boards. After looking through the items he still didn’t know what he wanted. “I’ll just take whatever you think is good.”

Pinkie Pie smiled. “I know the perfect thing! Hold on, I’ll get it ready for you!” She ran behind the counter and looked through the display case of cupcakes. After closely examining them one by one, she picked up a big cupcake with a large mountain of icing and handed it to Poncho. “Here, have this as a gift for being a new friend! Take it!”

“Really? I can have it for free?” asked Poncho in puzzlement. He didn’t want to act like a jerk for not paying for something, so he pulled out some money. Pinkie shook her head.

“Yep! Free. It’s my gift to you!” she said with a grin. Poncho nodded and took the cupcake, eating it with only two bites. He thanked Pinkie and ran out of the store to wait for his father to pick him up.





~	~	~





On the Thursday after his Saturday detention service, Poncho found himself walking through the cafeteria trying to find somewhere to sit. He still was feeling bad for sporadically leaving the Sweet Shoppe before saying anything else to Pinkie Pie. After a quick glance, he sat down at an empty table near the back of the cafeteria. He looked around the room to see the bustling tables of people laughing and carrying on with each other. Before he could get too down on himself, a familiar face raced over and sat down.

“Shit dawg, way back here?” asked Tyrone as put his legs up on the table and leaned back into his chair. “I can dig this though. You don’t mind do you?”

“No!” yelled Poncho with happiness. He ignored the few stares he received from the adjacent tables.

“Cool. The others should be here soon too.”

“Others?”

Suddenly, Rivs and Sticky appeared behind Poncho and sat beside him, making Poncho jump in the process. They sat at the opposite ends of the table, facing each other. Both of them looked at each other in anger then quickly began downing their tray of food.

“What’s their problem?” asked Poncho to Tyrone. 

“They are probably still mad from the park Saturday,” said Tyrone with a shrug.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” said Rivs with a mouth of food. “We are just rivals, that’s all.”

“Indeed,” said Sticky with a nod. “It was a close game, but Clyde and I managed to win it with a deep three from yours truly.”

“Yeah, it was a pretty awesome game–” Tyrone stopped as a pair of shorts hit his face. As he pulled them off, Clyde sat down at the table.

“There’s those extra shorts for wellness class you needed,” said Clyde. 

“Thanks dawg,” said Tyrone who reached over the table to smack Clyde’s hand. “You ready to ball today in there?”

“Is that what we are doing today?”

“I guess, Coach Iron Will said we could do either basketball, volleyball, or just sit there and talk.” Tyrone stretched his arms out. “I’m glad we realized at the park we had wellness together. Now we can be gym class heroes.”

“Great,” said a sarcastic Clyde. He looked over at Rivs and Sticky who were acting like they were both in a eating contest. Clyde glanced over at Poncho. “So, how was your week?”

“Well–”

Poncho was interrupted by a loud crash of a tray falling onto the table. Cannon stood overlooking it and looked at the table. “There are no damn seats!”

“Then go take one dawg,” said Tyrone.

Cannon looked at the nearby tables and saw a small group of freshman with at least five empty chairs. Cannon lifted a finger at Poncho and the others and slowly walked over to the table with freshman. Without speaking any words, he quickly grabbed the chair and ran back. As he sat down, he looked over at the freshman table who had shocked expressions. Cannon waved at them and began eating his food to ignore them. “Freshmen...”

“Ah, so you actually showed up today?” asked Patel walking up to the table with a chair in his hand. 

“Hey man,” began Cannon, “it’s not my fault I hate school.”

“Same, but you don’t see me skipping the first week of school,” teased Sticky while opening his milk carton.

“I didn’t skip the first week actually,” said Cannon with a smirk. “I went last Monday.”

“Ooooh,” said Patel in a joking manner and waving his arms around. “Watch out guys.”

“Hey!” yelled a voice from behind them. All the nearby tables also looked. When Poncho’s table turned to look, they saw Wahlburn striding towards them. “I’m sitting with you brothers!” Wahlburn took a chair from a table he walked by and pulled it up beside Cannon and Patel. 

“Oh look, another badass,” said Patel with a grin. “How’s the weed?”

“Brother, I’m not doing that anymore, at least, not in school.” Wahlburn leaned back in his chair and sighed. “So, what’s going on? We seem to have met again.”

“It’s because there’s no where else to sit without it being extremely awkward,” said Patel. “I can’t be any more awkward than Poncho." Patel quickly glanced at Poncho. "No offense.”

Poncho let the joke by and glanced around the cafeteria. In a few seconds, he saw the waitress from Sweet Shoppe sitting with five other girls at a table. Poncho stared at her from afar.

“Who are you looking at?” asked Jeb. Poncho and the rest of the table flinched and noticed Jeb sitting at the their table beside Tyrone and Rivs. 

“Jeb? When the hell did you get here?” asked Cannon.

“I was here since you sat down!” yelled Jeb. The others looked at each other on how that was possible and why they didn’t see him until now. Jeb frowned as Poncho kept his gaze towards Pinkie Pie’s table. 

“Ey yo, that one girl over there has rainbow hair!” said Tyrone in bewilderment as he looked over at the table Poncho was staring at. “How is that even possible?”

“It’s probably dyed, or you know, genetics,” said Patel with a roll of his eyes.

“That’s crazy though...”

Before too long, the whole table began awkwardly staring at the girls’ table that was across the cafeteria. Thanks to the distance, they didn’t have to worry about being caught. Each one of them admired a certain girl at the table before Sticky turned around upset.

“Who are we kidding, we don’t have a chance with any of them.” The others turned around as Wahlburn smiled and threw his palm onto the table.

“Say, let’s make this a competition, the first one of us to get laid by any one of–”

Patel lifted up a hand to stop him from going any further with that idea and rapidly shook his head. “No, no, no. I’m going to stop you right there. Let’s not make this some stupid, cheesy, funny yet poor, movie plotline about a bunch of juniors trying to get laid before they become legal of age during the next school year, so they can act all cool and shit for the remainder of the year.”

“Okay,” said Wahlburn sadly. “How about a regular relationship with one of them then, or, let’s not just limit it to them, but anyone? Anyone except freshman of course.”

“Define 'regular'.”

“Say, there’s strong feelings towards each other. However, you can’t just go up there and say “help me win a bet and pretend to care about me”, that’s cheating.”

Patel stroked his chin. “What does the winner of said bet win?”

Wahlburn shrugged. “I don’t know, winner can ask the losers to do something or give him something. Are all of you in?” Most of them nodded as Clyde and Poncho sat there. 

Clyde crossed his arms. “I’m not doing it. You can’t place bets on things like that because if the other person finds out, they will try and force you out of their lives forever because you used them.”

“You just know you couldn’t win,” said Wahlburn with a grin.

“That’s not it at all.”

“You’re lame.” Wahlburn glanced over at Poncho who was eating some chips from his hoodie. “I’m guessing you’re not doing it either?”

“I agree with Clyde,” said Poncho. Clyde patted him on the back as Wahlburn sighed. They switched topics and talked about things that happened during the weekend. When Poncho told them about his visit to the Sweet Shoppe after Saturday morning, the others yelled at him as that could have been his chance to win the bet, even though he wasn’t a part of it.

The class bell soon rang and the people in the cafeteria fled the room and raced towards the classrooms. Clyde and Tyrone headed to the gymnasium, or in this case, the other half of the gymnasium because the other half was getting ready for the upcoming school dance.

As they entered, they saw Coach Iron Will sorting the students into two lines, male and female, and taking attendance. Clyde and Tyrone quickly joined the male line and waited to be called on. As Coach Iron Will was going down the line, Clyde looked around the gym to see if he recognized any familiar faces. Other than Tyrone, he didn’t know a single guy so he looked over at the girls line and saw two of the girls that were sitting at the table Poncho was looking at, the blonde haired girl and the violet haired girl. 

Coach Iron Will finally stopped in front of Tyrone. “Ey yo, Coach. What are we doing today?”

Iron Will grunted and looked him straight in the eye. “What does it look like we are doing?”

Tyrone leaned to the side to see behind his massive build and saw a bunch of footballs. “Aw man, I know it’s football season, but why can’t we play basketball?”

“Because Iron Will is the coach of the football team, that’s why!” yelling into Tyrone’s face. The rest of the students looked over at them. As he leaned away from him, Iron Will smiled. “Say, you want to play basketball right?”

“Of course, I’m the best baller in this side of the city. I’m even going to join the school team come November when the season starts. My buddy Clyde is also!” Tyrone grabbed onto Clyde who gave a weak smile.

“How about this then, friend. You two play two others in a pickup game. If you win, we don’t have to play football the rest of the week. You got that friend! Where Iron Will comes from, you must attack the day head on! Iron Will wants you to back up your talk!” Iron Will looked into the air and took a deep breath. “Plus, Iron Will is tired from yelling at these laughable football players this school has.”  

“Alright, I can work with that. C, you got point.”

“Fine with me,” said Clyde. He took off his jacket and walked over to the bleachers where everyone else was beginning to sit on. He placed his jacket on the bottom row and walked back to Tyrone and Iron Will. 

Coach Iron Will turned to the crowd and scanned through them. He pointed at bulky fellow near the blonde haired girl from the lunch table. “You! You are going to show me your worth, and teach these punks a lesson!”

The boy stared at him for a while and nodded. “Eeyup.” He got off the bench and walked up to Tyrone and Clyde. Iron Will cracked his knuckles and looked through the crowd again and pointed his finger and began moving his arm around the crowd. After a few seconds, he stopped moving and called out the boy who he landed on.

“Get on down here! Iron Will has chosen you!” The boy sighed in rage as most of the girls began to get giddy when he walked down the bleachers. He walked up to the group and sighed again.

“Why me? I’m not cut out for this. I don’t even know how to play!” Clyde looked at him and noticed his comb in his pocket of his nice sweater. The boy pulled the comb out and combed his thick blonde hair and adjusted his thick white framed glasses. 

“Dawg, we’ll go easy on ya,” said Tyrone with a smirk. 

“Enough talking!” yelled Iron Will. “It’s time to play! Have someone come up here and jump ball!” Tyrone ran up to the mid court line as the bigger of the other two boys walked up. 

“Come on Big McIntosh!” yelled the blonde haired girl, “your sister believes in ya!” 

“Eeyup,” replied Big McIntosh. Clyde looked over at the girls again who were on the bottom row of the bleachers to see the violet haired girl casually looking at her nails and back up to the court. Once he saw her briefly look his direction, Clyde looked away and at Tyrone.

“Come on Trenderfoot!” yelled half of females in the bleachers. Clyde looked at the other boy who was under the opposite basket waved to his fans. The fans quickly calmed down and Iron Will walked up to the spot on the court in the middle of Tyrone and Big McIntosh. He threw the ball up and dodged the two as they jumped in the air. Big McIntosh was taller than Tyrone so he was able to hit the ball backwards for Trenderfoot to get. Tyrone laughed and stepped backwards. Trenderfoot hesitantly advanced the ball.

“Play ‘chaos’ on them,” said Tyrone to Clyde.

“Already?”

“Why not?”

Clyde shrugged and ran past Big McIntosh and walked straight up to Trenderfoot. He began to move around him to stop him from dribbling the ball. Trenderfoot stopped in place as Clyde took the opportunity to poke the ball out and take it. The ball bounced the on the floor as Clyde ran up and began dribbling it around.

“Hey!” yelled Trenderfoot. “You can’t do that!”

Clyde laughed. “I didn’t touch you so it’s fine.” Clyde stood in place dribbling the ball as Trenderfoot crouched down and walked slowly up to him to attempt defense. Clyde jabbed his foot to the right to see Trenderfoot move to the right. Clyde smiled and bounced the ball to his left and began running to the left side. Trenderfoot froze at the sudden move and at an attempt to follow him, fell to the ground. The crowd gasped and laughed as Clyde stopped and took a jump shot, which went in. The crowd clapped at the made shot and Clyde held out his hand to help Trenderfoot up.

“Don’t touch me!” yelled Trenderfoot. He got up and ran to mid court as Tyrone threw him the ball. Trenderfoot quickly passed it to Big McIntosh who threw it up. It banked off the backboard and went in. The crowd gave a clap and the blonde haired girl gave a whistle. Tyrone threw Clyde the ball and pointed to the ceiling. Clyde nodded and Tyrone ran up beside Trenderfoot to screen him. Clyde followed through with the screen as Tyrone ran towards the basket. Big McIntosh and Trenderfoot ran after Clyde who threw the ball above the rim to the left. Tyrone jumped up and slammed the ball into the hoop. The crowd this time cheered loudly and went crazy at the alley-oop.

The game continued in similar fashion. Clyde usually dropped Trenderfoot with a dribble move with the crowd cheering in awe or laughing, then either Clyde went for a layup or he passed it to Tyrone for a dunk or jumper. For defense, Clyde and Tyrone mostly double teamed Big McIntosh and left Trenderfoot to jack up shots, who nearly airballed every time. After Iron Will called off the game, a small crowd of students cheered for Clyde and Tyrone then continued talking in their small groups . 

“So, what did you think?” asked Tyrone to Coach Iron Will. “I told you we have some pretty sick moves.”

“You also played a bunch of amateurs so it didn’t really count,” said Iron Will with a chuckle. Tyrone yelled at him and the two began arguing back and forth. Clyde walked over to his jacket and sat on the end of the bleachers. He watched as Big McIntosh sat down beside the blonde haired girl who kept giving him some words of encouragement. All he did to reply was a nod.

At the far other end of the bleachers, Clyde watched Trenderfoot walk by a group of girls who began laughing at him. He turned towards them to try and make them stop, but they and another group continued. Trenderfoot stormed away from them walking towards the door near Clyde. As he got close, he gave Clyde a deadly stare and walked out of the gymnasium. 

Clyde shrugged it off and put on his jacket. He untied his left shoe to tie it again tighter as he watched Iron Will and Tyrone who were now playing one on one on the court. Tyrone had the ball and tried to go past him, but Iron Will was a better defender than he thought who kept preventing him from slashing towards the basket. Tyrone began some dribble moves, but Iron Will just laughed at him. Losing his patience, Tyrone quickly did a hesitation move and exploded to the right side of the paint. As he went up for a layup, Iron Will jumped up and swatted the ball towards the bleachers. 

Clyde watched the ball fly through the air towards the two girls and Big McIntosh who were busy talking about something. Clyde quickly got up and ran towards them. As he got close, the girls looked up at him and finally saw the ball and Clyde extending his arm out to deflect the ball away right in front of the violet haired girl. As Clyde landed, he realized his shoe laces on his left shoe were still untied and he began to fall forward. He felt hands touch his chest to try and stop him and a female scream, but he fell too fast and closed his eyes. He stopped falling when he felt his arms touch the bleacher row above the bottom seat. Once he opened his eyes, he saw a mesmerizing sight: a pair of eyes that were a mix of light and dark blue looking up at him.

“Um, hello...” said the violet haired girl. Clyde realized the hands that tried to stop him were hers and she was in the spot in between the row of bleachers. 

“A-Are you okay?” asked a concerned Clyde. As he kept his stare on her, he felt his face get warm. She was definitely, in his mind, the prettiest girl he had ever seen and it felt like a dream to be this close to her.

“I think so, I’m just stuck as you’re blocking me in...” replied the girl. Clyde kept looking into her blue eyes like he was in a daze. He quickly snapped out of it after a few seconds and pushed off the row of bleachers with his arm, launching him backwards. He extended his hand for her to grab which she did and Clyde felt warm again. He pulled back and she sat back up on the bottom row of bleachers. He let go of her hand as she patted her skirt of dust. 

“Rarity, are you okay?” asked the blonde haired girl. Big McIntosh popped his over his sister’s shoulder to check as well.

“I believe so Applejack,” said Rarity. She looked up at Clyde and smiled. “Thank you for helping me out of there.”

“It was my pleasure,” said Clyde nervously. “I saw the ball coming and it was my natural reaction to stop it.” The longer Clyde stared at her, the more awkward he thought he was. She didn’t seem to take notice or mind though.

“I’m glad you did,” said Applejack with a smirk, “Ah wouldn’t know what we would do with our “Pretty Miss Rarity” having a bruised face or broken nose.” 

“Eeyup,” replied Big McIntosh.

Rarity smiled at their comments and looked back up to Clyde. “Sorry if I come off rude, but what is your name? I’m afraid I’ve never seen you before.”

“I just came to this school last week. My name is Clyde.” The others nodded and the class bell rung. Applejack and Big McIntosh waved good bye and ran out of the gym. Rarity slowly got up from the bleachers and looked at Clyde.

“Thanks again Clyde, even though it wasn’t anything too dangerous,” she said with a smile. “I’ll see you later sometime.” She turned around and took a step forward and stopped. “Oh, do make sure you tie your shoe...” She gave Clyde a wink and walked away as Clyde felt his face get warm again. He crouched down and began tying his shoe as Tyrone walked up to him. 

“Did you see that block!” said Tyrone looking down at Clyde. “I didn’t know Coach had steroid-like blocks!”

“Yeah.” Clyde hopped up and turned towards the door. He saw Trenderfoot standing at the door with a smile on his face. Before Clyde could question him, he turned and walked away. “What was that about?” 

“I have no idea,” said Tyrone. “Say, I saw you talking to those two girls at that table a few minutes ago. I thought you weren’t playing that challenge.” Tyrone smirked.

Clyde's face grew red. “I’m not! Your blocked layup almost hit Rarity in the face so I stopped it.”

“Rarity? You already know one of their names? Damn, you work fast dawg. You’ll win in no time,” said Tyrone in total troll mode. Clyde angrily walked out of the gymnasium as Tyrone followed, laughing behind him.
> Fall Formal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The following day at school had a different atmosphere than the other days before it. Compared to the other days, this was a total culture shock for Clyde and Tyrone. They walked through the extremely happy hallways of people and looked around in confusion trying to figure out what was going on. It was a few moments of wandering when they were abruptly stopped by two boys holding posters.

“Vote for Sunset Shimmer for Fall Formal Princess!” yelled the boy with a shirt with a pair of scissors on it. He handed Tyrone a flyer and ran away. The lean boy beside him, wearing a green jacket, ran over to the wall and taped a poster of two girls up. After looking at it for balance, he quickly chased after the other boy who was already down the hall giving other students posters.

Tyrone opened his flyer and saw a girl with red and yellow hair, who was wearing a leather jacket and orange skirt, holding a crown. In big letters at the bottom of the poster, was “Vote for Sunset Shimmer, or else!” Tyrone looked over at the wall at the poster the boy put up and this time, another girl was on it with Sunset Shimmer who struck familiar with the two. The girl had a mix of dark blue and purple hair with a pink and light purple highlight in it. On her face on the poster, was a big “cancel” sign.

“Oh hey,” said Clyde after studying the poster. “That’s one of the girls at that table Rarity was sitting at. I couldn't tell you what her name is though.”

Tyrone waved him away. “I don’t care about her dawg. This Sunset Shimmer though is a total dime.”

Clyde sighed as Tyrone kept admiring the poster. He looked around the hallway and noticed more posters picturing the upcoming Fall Formal dance. “There’s already a dance in this school? It’s been like two weeks.”

Tyrone punched Clyde to tell him to stop talking. Clyde looked at him angrily and noticed the girl from the poster was walking down the hallway. Most of the students either nodded at her or looked away. Tyrone quickly put his arm up on the wall and tilted his head up as she walked by.

“Wassup girl.”

Sunset Shimmer stopped and turned to look at him. “Do I know you?”

“You don’t, but I wouldn’t mind knowing you more.” Tyrone gave a laugh as Clyde smacked his hand to his face. Sunset looked at them both with her bright cyan eyes.

“I’m not really in the mood to fool around with this. I have a crown to win.” She quickly smirked and turned her head and stormed off towards the library. 

Clyde looked at Tyrone. “So champ, you feeling good about that?”

Tyrone shrugged. “I think I could have done better.” Clyde gave him a pat on the shoulder and they continued down the hallway. After stopping by the lockers to drop off a book to Patel, Tyrone turned the corner and stopped Clyde before he could.

“Dawg,” said Tyrone. “Stay back.” He quickly went back around the corner and looked around the edge.

“What?” asked Clyde. “Why?”

Tyrone looked at him sternly. “It’s that Trenderfoot dude.”

“What? What does that have to do with anything?”

Tyrone looked at him to tell him to stop talking. “He’s talking to that Rarity girl.” Clyde perked up at the mention of “Rarity” and tried to move around Tyrone who stopped him. “Dawg, let me watch for you.” He peeked around the corner of the hallway and watched from a distance.

Trenderfoot and Rarity were standing by some lockers and talking to each other. From what Tyrone could see, and assume, Rarity was trying to ignore him, but Trenderfoot kept initiating conversation. After Trenderfoot said something, Tyrone faintly saw and glimmer in Rarity’s eye and she gave him a hug. Tyrone looked away and faced Clyde.

“So?” asked Clyde. “What happened, T?”

“Uh, I think he just asked her out or to the dance,” said Tyrone. “I mean, she even gave him a hug.”

Clyde blinked. “T, a hug isn’t even that bad.”

“Alright then, suit yourself,” said Tyrone. He walked around the corner with Clyde following. Rarity saw Tyrone and Clyde and gave a small wave to them. As they drew closer to Trenderfoot, he quickly pulled Rarity into a hug and tried to block her from look at them. She looked at him strangely and tried to look past him as Tyrone and Clyde walked by them and continued down the hallway. 

Once at the end of the hallway, Clyde told Tyrone he had to get going as he had a math test. He waved and ran down the hall. 
As Tyrone turned around, he saw Trenderfoot pull away from her and smirk at Clyde’s departure down the hallway. Rarity looked at his smirk before gasping at a revelation and storming off. Trenderfoot chased after her, but she ignored him and walked into a classroom. Trenderfoot sighed and turned around as Tyrone walked up to him. 

“Oh, hello,” said Trenderfoot in a suave tone. 

“Don’t be all nice to me dawg,” said Tyrone. “Why were you talking to her?”

“What do you mean?” asked Trenderfoot before taking out a comb to comb his thick hair. “I knew she had a “thing” for me. I could see why though, for I am one of the most popular boys in this school after all. I only asked if she wanted to date me. She was hesitant at first, but she soon decided to say yes. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to go out with me anymore, however.”

“Yeah, you think? I’m guessing all of the girls in this school has or had a crush on you at one point. What I want to know is why you acted like that when Clyde and I came down this hallway?” asked Tyrone.

Trenderfoot looked away awkwardly. “I don’t know what you mean...”

Tyrone laughed. “You’re still mad about yesterday in gym class!”

Trenderfoot shot an angry look at him. “I’ve never been so embarrassed before in my life! All of those girls keep laughing at me because of that silly game!”

Tyrone rolled his eyes. “Well, to me you’re nothing special. You shouldn't be mad at Clyde at all. It was your fault you aren’t skillful like us. It was just gym class, dawg.” 

Trenderfoot got angry and pushed Tyrone away from him. Tyrone looked at at him and smiled. He grabbed Trenderfoot's sweater jacket and drove him into the lockers making a loud noise. The students in the hallway quickly ran to the action or ran for help. 

“Don’t hurt me!” yelled Trenderfoot.

“Dawg, I don’t take too kindly to shoves. Besides, you have a problem with my boy C, so that means I have a problem with you.” Tyrone made a fist and before he could take any more actions, Coach Iron Will slid into the hallway.

“You two!” he yelled. Tyrone quickly let go of him and stepped away. “Iron Will doesn’t tolerate fighting, unless it’s gym class! I'm taking you both to Principal Celestia’s office!”

“Even me?” asked Trenderfoot. “I was the one who got attacked! I'm the victim!”

Iron Will looked down at him. “Don’t apologize to me! You know what you did!” Iron Will grabbed both of them by their shoulders and led them to Celestia's office. Once inside, Celestia had them begin detailing the scene, starting with Trenderfoot. After a few minutes of rambling, Celestia stopped Trenderfoot to hear Tyrone’s side of the story.

“Well, he pushed me so I tried to defend myself,” said Tyrone in a short and sweet response. 

“I understand that, and I know you’re new here, but Canterlot High has a strict anti-violence rule. I’m afraid I have to take action as an authority and ban you both from tonight’s Fall Formal dance. However, anymore violence from either of you, then there will be more severe problems.” Celestia got up from her chair and looked at her desk. “Speaking of which, we still have to get ready tonight for it, so I’m very busy. We still need to vote for Princess.”

She dismissed them as Iron Will walked back up to them both. “Since they are planning the dance in the gymnasium, gym class will be outside today! Tell the others!” He quickly calmed down and spoke in a softer tone. “Actually, there might not even be a gym class today since everyone helps with the dance after lunch.” He sadly walked away with his shoulders slumped as Trenderfoot looked at Tyrone.

“Make sure you tell your friend I’m still not done with him yet.” He pulled out his comb again and guided it through his hair.

“What are you planning now?”

“I don’t know, but until I’m satisfied, Clyde and you are my targets.” Trenderfoot left him as Tyrone stood in the empty hallway. He looked around and quickly remembered something.

“Oh yeah, I have to go to class.”

Instead of going to class, Tyrone waited in the bathroom stall for the bell to ring for lunch, which was still few hours away. To pass time, he pulled out his phone and began playing games, checking his social media sites, and checking out some professional basketball news. After hearing the bell ring and checking the time, he quickly ran out of the stall to find Clyde before he went to lunch.

Tyrone ran around the mobs of hungry students to the classroom where Clyde should have left out of. He walked up to the door and looked inside the classroom to see Clyde sitting at a desk and staring at papers blankly. Tyrone walked in and quickly sat beside him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know T,” said Clyde in a dead state of mind. “I just don’t know why I have to do this problem.” Tyrone quickly grabbed the papers and looked through it. It was the same math test Clyde talked about before and from what he could tell, since there was a lot of work shown, it looked good for him. The last problem, however, was still blank.

“Find the eighth degree Maclaurin polynomial for cos(x),” read Tyrone. He gave it a blank stare, laughing at it, and threw the paper back down. “I have no idea what any of that means. Let’s go, I have to tell you something.”

Clyde looked back down at his test. “I have to do this first.”

“You understand that?”

Clyde nodded. “Yeah, it’s not that bad seeing how the derivative of cosine cycles through with sine after four steps.” Tyrone stared at him and began walking away.

“Yeah, I’ll wait out here. That sounds lame. I’m a fan of two plus two.” Tyrone leaned on the wall across the hallway watching the students run into the cafeteria. After three minutes, Clyde walked out of the room. “You feeling better math pro?”

Clyde shrugged. “I’m not that good at math. I guessed on at least half of those problems. Oh well. As long as I don't fail, right?” He felt his stomach gurgle and he held it. “What did you want? I’m starving and knowing my luck something awesome will happen at lunch so I don’t want to sit here the whole time.”

“I promise we’ll make it back before lunch is over.” Tyrone began telling Clyde all the events that happened since he ran for his math test. From Rarity storming off on him, the shove, Iron Will, Celestia’s punishment which wasn’t even that bad for him, and to where they were now. 

“So you’re telling me he only did that to her because he thinks I like her?” asked Clyde. “I only talked to her once!”

“I guess so. I wouldn’t worry about him though. He’s banned from the dance too.” Tyrone glanced over at Clyde with a sly grin. "It's really obvious you like her though. You're pretty bad at hiding it."

Clyde blushed and looked away, giving slight coughs. "I am not!" He continued ignoring Tyrone until his face cooled down. “Aren’t you upset about being banned from this dance though? This could be your chance to impress Sunset Shimmer.” 

Tyrone shook his head “Nah, not really. I thought about just hanging out at my house, watch some exhibition basketball games. You can chill with me if you want.”

“I’m not doing anything else important.” The school bell quickly ran throughout the halls and Tyrone and Clyde realized lunch was over and quickly ran towards the cafeteria. “T! You made me miss lunch! I bet something cool happened too!”

Tyrone laughed. “I bet nothing happened. It’s not like they broke down in song about school spirit and put on some crazy accessories or something.” As they approached the cafeteria doors, they saw students walking out with pony tails and ears on and singing or dancing to a tune. Clyde looked at Tyrone with a death glare while he laughed and put an arm behind his head.

Soon, Cannon walked out of the cafeteria with the same ears and tails the other students had on. “Dudes! You missed it!”

“Missed what?” asked both of them.

“You know those girls at that table we watched from a distance for like ten seconds? Well, turns out their one friend there is running for Princess for this dance tonight, so they decided to amp up the school spirit and broke out in song! We even got these tails and ears!”

“How did the song go?” asked Clyde curiously and still in anger towards Tyrone. 

“Something about wanting to help Twilight win the crown and friendship. It was pretty cheesy, but at the same time, it was totally awesome. I’m so going to vote for her now!” Cannon spun on his foot and began walking away as Tyrone stopped him.

“Ey, tell the boys to meet at my house tonight. I’m banned from this dance.” Cannon nodded and gave a salute as he walked towards the gymnasium to cast in his vote. 

“I’m guessing Twilight is that other girl who was beside Sunset Shimmer on that poster we saw earlier today,” said Clyde. 

“I guess, but if I had to vote, I’m voting for Sunset,” said Tyrone with a smirk. As they both watched more students head to the gymnasium, which they began to remember their names, Tyrone stopped Big Mac. “Are you going to gym class today Big Mac?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, so you are helping with the dance?”

“Eeyup.” He walked away in stride as Tyrone turned back to Clyde. They decided to not bother with going to vote as they didn’t know either of them. They left for the soccer field outside where Iron Will and some boys were playing two-hand touch football. When Iron Will saw them he yelled at them for being late and told them to join the losing side. Until the end of the day, Tyrone and Clyde played until Iron Will blew the whistle and told them school was over.

Tyrone and Clyde walked to their cars and started them up, waiting for all of the bus traffic to leave the school. Once the last bus leave the parking lot, Tyrone roared out of the lot and sped down the road, leaving a big exhaust smoke. Clyde laughed and began his drive back to his house. 

Once he returned home, he walked inside of his vacant house and crashed down onto his couch. Since his brother was in the Guard, Clyde had the house to himself. He didn’t mind being alone all the time, but it did bother and bore him some nights. He felt a vibration in his jeans and pulled out his phone to see a new text.

Tyrone now
Yo dawgs, come around 8. I ordered pizza.
slide to reply

Clyde noticed he was put in a group chat with his new friends and watched the flood of replies blow up his phone. Other than his brother’s old number, the only contacts he had in his phone were the group chat participants. He watched some of the texts, like Cannon yelling at Jeb, and laughed. He set the phone on the floor and decided to take a quick nap.

Clyde woke up at a quarter to eight and yawned. He sat up and checked the time on his phone to see he had over one hundred new messages. He sighed and quickly got ready for Tyrone’s small hangout session.

As he drove by the school, he saw a black limousine pull up in front of it. He watched it disappear in his rearview mirror, but before it completely faded, he swore he saw Twilight and the others get out of it. He shook his head and continued to Tyrone’s house party. When he pulled into the driveway he learned he was the first one there. He hopped out of his car and beeped the locks before knocking on the door. Tyrone answered and led him to his basement cave where a whole table of pizza was with four couches and a giant flatscreen. The downstairs itself was very spacious.

Within the next hour and throughout the night, all of the boys came and together, they watched some movies, played video games, and ate pizza. 

While this all happened, the rest of the Canterlot High students danced at the Fall Formal and witnessed Sunset Shimmer’s transformation into a demonic creature that nearly blew up the school.
> Pinkie's Balloon Pop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	When Clyde walked up to the school the following Monday, he was confused on why there was a giant crater in the front of the school and why half of the entrance was destroyed. He watched the construction workers tack on bricks to close the gap while some of them were filling in the crater with dirt. 

“I told you we were going to miss something,” said Sticky from behind him. He walked up to Clyde's side and whistled. “Seems like an explosion went off or something.”

“Probably,” replied Clyde. “Maybe Tyrone did it last night?” They laughed and walked up the stairs and passed through the crowd of students in the main lobby of the school. Clyde said goodbye to Sticky and walked to homeroom. As he sat down in a desk, the loud speaker came on with Principal Celestia’s voice.

“Good morning students of Canterlot High! As you may know, the events of Friday’s Fall Formal had some impact to our school. We are still in the process of restoration, however, it has costed us some financial problems. To help with that, I have someone who wants to talk to you all.” The intercom crackled for a few seconds before a louder voice rang throughout the class, hallways, and even outside the school.

“Hey Wondercolts!!!” yelled the jubilant voice of Pinkie Pie. “You may ask yourself, why is Pinkie talking to us today? Why isn’t the school fixed up yet? Why did I get out of bed today? Why is she asking so many questions? Well, I’ll tell you!” Clyde watched his homeroom peers look up at the intercom to await Pinkie’s second round of vocal blasts. 

“As the head of all fundraising activities relating to our school, I’m proud to announce Pinkie’s Balloon Pop! What is Pinkie’s Balloon Pop, you may ask? I’ll tell you! Over the weekend I blew up over one thousand balloons! For only $10, you are able to pop one balloon! Of course, you can pay way more than that!”

“$10 dollars for one balloon?” asked a boy near Clyde. “Why is that price so steep for something pointless?”

“I’m glad you asked that random boy in Room 213!” replied Pinkie on the intercom. The boy looked around stunned as other kids laughed. “I needed a reason for boys to participate because they are so lazy and don’t care about school affairs unless it’s a sport! So, I put the names of my friends and myself inside of five random balloons! If you find it, that person owes you a dinner or a hangout session! So come today after school! We need to raise money for fixing our beloved school! Bye!–” The loudspeaker cracked and soon Celestia came back on.

“Thank you Pinkie. Like she said, we are all part of the Canterlot High family. Even if you don’t want to participate, please donate some money for repairs.” She wished them a good day and signed off. Homeroom soon dismissed and the students fled into the hallways, trying to get to class.


*	*	*	*	*


“Pinkie!” yelled Rarity as she sat down at the lunch table, looking straight at her friend. “Why ever did you put us all on the spot like that?”

Pinkie stroked her chin. “What are you talking about silly? I put you in balloons, not a spot! Besides, I can’t be the only one whose name is in a balloon!”

Rarity angrily sighed. “You should have asked me if I wanted to be part of your fundraiser!” She crossed her arms and looked away from her. 

The rainbow haired girl laughed. “Why are you so upset, Rares? Maybe fate will finally find your Prince Charming you’ve been wishing for since you were a young girl?”

Applejack laughed. “Don’t kid Rainbow Dash, we ain't in a fairy tale.” Both of them continued laughing as Rarity ignored them and began drinking some water. She looked over to the other girl sitting at the table that barely spoke to anyone except this table.

“Fluttershy, how do you feel about this?”

The pink haired girl looked up and shrugged. “I don’t know... I just hope some bully doesn’t get my name.”

“See?” said Rarity to Pinkie. “What happens if we simply can’t get along with the winners?”

Pinkie laughed and patted Rarity on the top of her head. “Just be like me and be friends with everybody! You might not even have to worry about anything! There’s one thousand balloons and only five of us!”

Rarity rolled her eyes and looked around the cafeteria before returning her stare at her bottle of water. “If I have too...it’s just, some people aren’t worth the time.”

Rainbow Dash grinned and looked over at her. “Knowing your luck, you might get Trenderfoot again.” Rarity quickly looked up at her in anger.

“I told you never to speak about that again!” she said, raising her voice. “That was my fault and I jumped into that too fast. I don’t like being used.”

After calming down, Rarity and the others sat there in silence for a few moments, thinking about Twilight and what she was doing now. Of course there was their world Twilight, but she went to a private school and would probably never bother with them. Before she left, they promised to keep a watch on Sunset Shimmer so she never did that again. She, however, was serving school suspension for the rest of the semester, maybe even rest of the year. The silence of the table was finally broken when they saw a boy running through the cafeteria towards a table in the back of the room.


*	*	*	*	*


“Guys!” yelled Poncho as he finally ran up to Clyde’s table, flailing his arms around. He quickly slouched down to take a breather and looked back up. “Did you see that giant hole in front of the school!” Clyde and the others looked at him and sighed.

“Dude, that’s like a few hours old now,” said Patel with a sigh. Poncho shook his fist at him and the bell rang. They quickly threw away their trash and made their ways to the last classes for the day. 

Clyde and Tyrone went to gym class, which was finally back in the gymnasium due to the Fall Formal being over and done with. They went outside where Coach Iron Will had the boys playing football and the girls walking the track. After gym and school was over, Clyde and Tyrone walked through the hallways before meeting back up with Poncho.

“Oh hey guys,” said Poncho.

“Poncho, my dawg!” yelled Tyrone, getting the occasional stare by the students walking by them. “Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway?”

“Me? What? I’m not standing in the middle of the hallway...” Poncho looked around before giving a nervous laugh. Tyrone glanced at Clyde before just leaving the scene in general due to the sketchy vibe.

“You kind of are just standing in the hallway,” repeated Clyde. 

“I guess I am, aren’t I....” Clyde stood there for a moment before ultimately deciding to follow Tyrone’s actions. As Clyde walked by him, Poncho lifted out his arm to stop him. “Wait!”

“What is it?” asked Clyde. 

“Are you going to the balloon thing in a few minutes?” 

Clyde blinked. “I wasn’t planning on it, but why? Do you want to go?” 

Poncho zipped up his hoodie and zipped it back down rapidly. “Whaaaat?”

Clyde laughed. “I’ll go with you if you want me too. I wanted to donate money anyways seeing how I do go to this school now.” Poncho nodded and they both traveled through the half filled hallways of “After School”. As they got to the cafeteria, they were stopped by a huge line waiting to get in.

“You’re kidding, there’s a line for this?” asked Clyde in shock.

“Of course there is!” said one student Clyde had seen before in the hallways who went by the name of Thunderlane. “It’s not everyday where you have the chance for a free dinner with Rainbow Dash!” Clyde only knew his name as he was a member of the now, 0-3, school football team that Coach Iron Will always complained about.

“No way!” yelled some freshman boy. “I’m totally going to be with Rainbow Dash!” Thunderlane laughed and told him to turn around.

“Freshmen,” he said wiping away a tear. He looked at Poncho and Clyde and grinned. “I bet one of you two want Rainbow Dash.”

Clyde shook his head. “I don’t have high hopes for me winning this. I just want to contribute to the school.” Thunderlane nodded at his humble deed and turned to Poncho.

“Well if isn’t my chemistry partner!” he said loudly to Poncho. “How’s our project going?”

“Well, I haven’t started it yet,” said Poncho giving a nervous chuckle.

Thunderlane gave a gasp. “It’s due tomorrow though!”

“I know, but truth is, I actually haven’t started the project from the first week of school still.” Poncho laughed as Thunderlane worriedly looked around. 

“Oh no! If I would’ve known that, I would have actually done my project myself instead of partners!” Thunderlane slowly turned around to hide growing tears in his eyes. Poncho tried to talk to him, but Thunderlane ignored him in sorrow.

“Way to go Poncho,” joked Clyde. 

Poncho looked at him and frowned. Thunderlane quickly turned back around and smiled. “Nah, it’s okay Poncho. I don’t like chemistry anyways.”

“So we’re good then?” asked Poncho, wiping away a bead of sweat on his eyebrow. “I didn’t mean to be that guy and bail out on a project that I said I was going to do.”

Thunderlane slapped him hard on the shoulder. “We’re good bro.” 

The three of them waited for the line to dwindle by either talking about sports or talking about some chemistry thing. Obviously, Clyde and Poncho didn’t know about chemistry and sports, respectively, so as the topic they didn’t like was brought up, they watched the disheartened boys walk out of the cafeteria due to not being able to get lucky. 

Once they entered the cafeteria and close to Pinkie’s table, they saw the massive sea of colorful balloons scattered on the floor. Near Pinkie’s table was a whiteboard with a chart on it. One side of it had the names of her friends and herself, while the other was mostly blank. The only name on the other side was “Bulk Biceps” that was beside “Fluttershy”. 

Clyde had no idea who Fluttershy was. He thought that it was probably one of the girls at Pinkie’s lunch table, but he did know Bulk Biceps, or at least heard of him. He was the strongest, fastest, biggest, and most feared guy on the school’s front seven in football. He was averaging at least two sacks and a fumble per game.

The group watched more boys, mostly younger students Clyde and even Thunderlane didn’t know, pay a random amount of money and stomp on a balloon or two. After more and more failures, Thunderlane grinned.

“The less balloons the better my odds are!” he said excitedly. He turned around to Clyde and Poncho and gave a small salute and walked up to Pinkie’s table. The two of them watched as he paid his money and walked around the cafeteria, studying the ground. After picking a balloon near the center mass, he quickly stomped on a balloon and lifted his foot in disappointment.

After Thunderlane walked away in shame, Clyde stepped up to Pinkie’s table. She looked at him strangely before shouting. “Someone I’ve never seen before! That means a new friend!”

“Uh, hey,” said Clyde somewhat worried at her volatile nature. He looked back at Poncho and back to her. “I’m Clyde, who happens to be friends with Poncho behind me. It’s my first year here too.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “If he’s your friend, that means I’m your friend!” She reached over the table and shook his hand. After sitting back down, she waved at Poncho, who nervously looked away, and stroked her chin. “So, you want to help the school, huh?”

Clyde nodded. “Yeah, seeing–” 

“Thanks for saving my spot, “friend”,” said a familiar voice Clyde knew. He turned around and saw Trenderfoot behind him. Trenderfoot laughed and nudged Clyde aside, cutting in front of him and standing near Pinkie's table. Before Clyde could say anything, Trenderfoot pulled out a stack of money. “Here’s a thousand dollars for the school and your fundraiser.”

“A thousand dollars!” yelled Pinkie. “That’s more than I made so far! That also means you can pop like...” She stopped to count in the air as Trenderfoot sighed.

“It’s one hundred balloons–”

“One hundred balloons!” she yelled, completely ignoring him. She quickly squinted her eyes. “Wait a minute, why do you want to pop so many balloons?”

Trenderfoot looked at Clyde and smirked before looking back to her. “Oh, it’s nothing. Thought I would show my “school spirit” and help the restoration process.” 

“Great!” replied Pinkie. “Well, looks like you have one hundred balloons to pop! I’ll keep count!” 

Trenderfoot nodded and walked over to the outer edge of the balloon sea. He began stepping on them one by one, causing the line to flinch many times due to the loud sounds of popping. After about eighty or so pops, Trenderfoot lifted up his foot and stopped and smiled. He leaned down and picked up a small scrap of paper. 

“We have a winner!” yelled Pinkie through a megaphone. The line gasped as Clyde and Poncho watched Trenderfoot gloat and stride towards the table. He handed Pinkie the slip of paper and looked over at Clyde with a smile. They watched Pinkie open up the paper and look up at them. “It’s...”

“Yes?” asked Trenderfoot.

“It’s...”

“Yes?”

“It’s....”

“YES?”

“It’s Applejack!” yelled Pinkie. The room fell silent as Trenderfoot scratched his head. 

“Applejack, huh? I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

“Good!” yelled Pinkie. “It’s way more fun if you get to meet someone you never expected to in the first place!” She handed him another small slip of paper. “The address on there is where she told me to write down so you can meet her Saturday afternoon. Don’t be late! Applejack doesn’t like lazy folk!”

Trenderfoot walked away as Clyde looked at the angry line still waiting. He realized he was keeping the line still so he quickly turned around and looked at Pinkie again.

“So, is it my turn now?” he asked her.

Pinkie nodded and wrote “Trenderfoot” beside “Applejack” on her whiteboard chart. “How many did you want to pop?”

“I only have $10. So, one.” He handed her the bill and walked over to the balloons. Trenderfoot may have cleared a hundred of them, but that still didn’t make a large dent into the mass of balloons. Deciding to play it safe, he walked over to the nearest balloon and stomped on it. As he lifted his shoe, he gasped.

“Another winner!!!” yelled Pinkie. The line gasped again as Clyde picked up the scrap of paper and walked over to Pinkie. She took it from him and opened up before smiling. “Well, well, well, look who we have here.”

“Who is it?” asked Clyde in wonder. 

“It’s...”

“Please just say it.”

Pinkie sighed. “Fine.” However, she quickly smiled again. “It’s me!” Clyde heard the crowd moan, sigh, and gasp. Clyde looked over at Poncho who looked disheartened. “I’ll see you Saturday!” said Pinkie happily, handing him a slip of paper. Clyde nodded and decided to wait for Poncho’s go at it. 

After Poncho nervously paid his ten dollars, he walked over to the balloons and debated to himself on which of the two to pop. Hearing the angry line, Clyde walked over to him and pointed at one to hurry him up. Poncho nodded and stomped on a balloon, only to be surprised by yet another slip of paper. 

“ANOTHER WINNER!!” yelled Pinkie. “You’re really good at this Clyde!”  Clyde shrugged as Poncho walked over to the table, looking way from the angry line. Pinkie opened up the paper and looked at Poncho with a grin. “Looks like you got Rarity. Good luck with that!”

The lined moaned again in disappointment as Clyde began to watch Poncho take the slip of paper and turn to leave. Clyde quickly followed him out, ignoring the angry stares of the line. Once in the hallway, they walked together, talking about some show that was on last night. As they turned the corner, they both crashed into something and fell to the floor. 

“Ow,” said Poncho, rubbing his shoulder. He looked at the “obstacle” they crashed into and saw it was Coach Iron Will.

“Coach?” asked Clyde who was sitting on the floor looking up at him. “What are you doing in the hallways at this time? Don’t you have football practice or film to watch?”

Iron Will looked down at them and snorted. “Does it look like Iron Will cares what you think about his coaching methods! I’m taking a break by drinking some of my water I had over here!” He lifted up a water bottle and set it back down on the floor. “It’s my secret water storage spot for when someone makes me mad in the film room! I run full speed over here to calm myself!” He turned away from them and began running down the hallway, back to the film room. “Make sure you pick up your scraps of paper! Don’t litter or you’re a quitter!” 

“That doesn’t even make any sense...,” said Clyde as he and Poncho looked around and saw the two scraps of paper laying near each other. They quickly grabbed the closest one and quickly sat back up. “Well, I guess it’s that time to finally get out of here. It’s already four.” 

“Hey Clyde,” said Poncho looking away from him, “I don’t really want to be that guy, but...”

Clyde sighed. “I can drive you home.” Poncho gave a “victory fist pump” and followed Clyde to the parking lot, where they hopped in the car and drove off. 

It was a few minutes of silence before Poncho spoke up when they were at a red light. “So, are you excited about this hangout thing?”

Clyde ignored him for a few moments, mesmerized by the traffic. Once he had a green light, he sped up and shrugged. “Yeah, it should be fun. Weekends are pretty boring anymore so I have at least something to do now. Of course, I could always practice for the upcoming basketball tryouts next month, but I think social interaction is just what I need right now.”

“Easy for you to say, man,” said Poncho looking out the window. “I’m terrible at talking to people. I have no idea how to make blatant conversation with people I’ve never talked to before. The only reason why I’m friends with you and the others at our table is because you guys spoke to me first.”

Clyde nodded. “I felt the same way.” They remained silent for the rest of the way until Clyde pulled into Poncho’s driveway. “Well, there you are. I guess I should begin studying on how to get around Pinkie Pie’s randomness.”

Poncho laughed. “I know what you mean man. I think her randomness and my awkwardness would have a crazy hangout session. I don’t even know Rarity, or even talked to her before.”

Clyde smiled at the mention of her name. “Just try to act like a non-sketchy dude for once.”

“Hey,” said Poncho, “that’s not my fault.” They both laughed and Clyde departed the driveway and headed back to his house. Once he reached home, he quickly ran inside and turned on the television to watch some of his favorite sport reporters debate back and forth about trivial football games going on in the early season. 

Clyde felt his phone vibrate constantly in his jacket pocket due to the group chat so he quickly pulled it out and turned it on silent. As he pulled it out of the pocket, the small scrap of paper from the balloon pop Pinkie gave him fell out. He decided to finally look at the address.

From what he could tell and remember from the city layout, the address of the note was some small cafe in downtown. It seemed strange to him that Pinkie’s location was a cafe, but he soon realized he hadn’t really talked to her for more than a few minutes so he didn’t know how she really was. He waited for the program on the television to end so he could go and practice some hoops at the park.

The remainder of the school week was nearly the same routine. Clyde would get there, go to his classes, which was math, English, musical history, and after lunch, gym. Poncho and him decided not to tell the lunch table about their plans for the upcoming Saturday, as they didn’t want to get harassed by millions of questions. After returning from the park on Friday, Clyde decided to get to sleep early for whatever tomorrow would bring him.
> The Prized Hangout
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clyde woke up at a quarter to noon the next day. He quickly took a shower and dressed before running downstairs to flip on the television before he had to leave for this hangout session with Pinkie Pie. After watching some sports highlights of early season football games, he turned it off and walked outside.

The day was bright and sunny, which wasn’t too much of an oddity during this time of year. Instead of hot temperatures, the cool autumn breeze smacked Clyde in the face. He shrugged it off and entered his car. After starting it up, he took another quick glance through the sports updates feed and drove off towards the location written on the small scrap of paper. 

Once near the cafe, he parked in a nearby parking lot in the district and walked over to the restaurant. As he walked along the streets, he looked at all the stores he never knew existed. One of them was some music store that sold records, instruments, and other musical items. He took note of it and walked up to the cafe doors and opened them up, taking notice of the overhanging sign that read “Le Café Enchanteur”. After looking around, he noticed Pinkie wasn’t there. What he did notice, however, was a certain girl that was looking at him surprised, sitting at a nearby table.

“Clyde?” asked Rarity with a look of shock. “Whatever are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to meet Pinkie today?”

Clyde looked around in confusion. “Yeah, where is she?” He pulled out the small scrap of paper and looked at it. “This is where I was supposed to go.”

Rarity called him over to take a look at the paper. After Clyde handed her it, she took a glance at it and looked up at him. “I’m afraid this is the wrong location. She was to meet you at the Sweet Shoppe, not here.”

Clyde frowned and looked at the paper wondering what was going on. He tried to recall on how the mix up was even possible, but then a theory hit him. “I guess when Poncho and I ran into Coach, our papers fell to the floor and we took each other’s version. Since Poncho has Pinkie’s now, I guess I have...” He looked at Rarity.

“Looks like fate brought us together again,” she said with a smile. She kicked out a chair for Clyde to sit down, which he did. He sat there quietly looking at the other people in the cafe, not knowing what to say to her. Truthfully, before he even attempted the balloon pop, he hoped he would win the hangout session with Rarity, as he did find her attractive. He just never thought it would actually happen. Rarity noticied the awkward tension in the room between them so she gave a slight cough. “You know Clyde, I hope you don’t just sit there all day, not talking to me.” 

Clyde blushed and rubbed his head. “Well, what do you want me to say?”

“Anything is fine.”

“How’s the weather?”

Rarity giggled. “How about I ask you questions instead? I hardly know you after all.” 

Clyde managed to look at her without blushing and nodded. “Alright. Ask away.”

Rarity placed a finger on her lips and hummed. “Well, let’s start with the basics: how did you end up in Canterlot?”

Clyde looked at the table and frowned. “My brother and I moved here during the summer, due to the fact he was about to join the Guard. I live alone right now since he’s busy with training and all those sorts of things.”

“Alone?” asked Rarity curiously, “where are you parents at?”

Clyde frowned again, but hesitated on the answer. “When I was younger, my brother and I always played basketball. He even gave me the nickname of “Clyde” since I reminded him of one of his favorite players who also had a nickname of “Clyde”. After a while, even my parents began calling me that too.”

Rarity stared at him as he fumbled with a salt and pepper shakers on the table. “That’s wonderful, but you never really answered my question–”

Clyde looked up at her suddenly which startled her. “When I was ten, my parents died in a car crash after letting my brother watch me for the first time. He was so distraught, he kept blaming himself he caused their deaths, when he really didn’t. Nobody caused it. It was just bad fate that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Rarity looked at him stunned, but Clyde kept going. “We spent seven years at our uncle’s house. I was homeschooled as my brother began working with our uncle to pay for us two to live there. As we moved out in early summer, we ended up here, in which he wanted to join the Guard for self discipline.” Clyde placed the two shakers in their original position and sighed.

Rarity looked at him carefully and closed her eyes. “I’m truly sorry for all that has happened to you.”

“Thanks,” said Clyde with a fake smile. “I try not to dwell anymore on that stuff. Like I said, I couldn’t change the outcome, so I have to keep moving forward. Everything happens for a reason. I learned that the hard way.”

Rarity slowly nodded. “So, I’m guessing you kept the name of “Clyde” as a homage to them?”

“Sort of. It’s mostly because they called me that and because my brother and I bonded greatly over some blacktop basketball at our home. He’s the reason why I have a passion for basketball. It’s really the only thing I’m good at.” He looked down at the basketball logo on his black shirt, hiding behind his jacket.

“That can’t be true! You have to be good at other stuff!” Rarity looked at him who looked back at her. She saw that he wasn’t blushing anymore whenever she spoke to him. “You’re acting very calm over there whenever I speak to you now.” She gave a wink at him.

At the mention of that, Clyde blushed again. “I am? Anxiety has affected my stomach this whole time! I’ve never been this nervous before!”

Rarity laughed. “Well, there’s nothing really to be nervous about. This isn’t an official date or anything too serious.” She stroked her chin. “Speaking of which, did you enjoy your first Canterlot High Fall Formal dance? I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s because I wasn’t there. Tyrone invited us to his house since Trenderfoot and him got banned from the dance.” Clyde looked up at Rarity who had an angry expression on her face. “I’m sorry he made your date banned from the dance.”

Rarity angrily looked away. “It’s fine. He was only my date for that one minute I saw you two in the hallway. I realized after you walked away he only asked me because he’s mad at you for the whole gym scene. I didn’t know any better and because he called me pretty I fell for it.”

Clyde looked at her thoroughly and gave a laugh. “He downplayed that then. I wouldn’t say you’re pretty at all, you’re beautiful.” He saw Rarity’s mesmerizing blue eyes light up as she quickly looked at him. Nervous of the sudden direct eye contact, Clyde blushed again. 

“I thank you dearly for your lovely comment,” said Rarity with a smile. 

Clyde smiled back, trying to contain the redness on his face, but decided he didn’t care anymore. She knew now what he thought of her on the appearance level. Before he could speak again, he felt his phone vibrate constantly at the incoming group chat messages. Clyde pulled out his phone with a sigh and turned it on silent and placed it on the table. Rarity looked over at the screen at all the messages and looked at him.

“I see you’re famous.”

“I really wish I wasn’t put into this chat thing,” complained Clyde still looking at the horde of messages light up his screen, “but since it’s all my contacts on my phone, except my brother, in one chat, it does make it easier. It eats up my battery so much.”

“I understand,” agreed Rarity. “The five of us have a group chat too. Except, ours isn’t as crazy as that one.” She pointed to Clyde’s phone, which was still flashing up at the new messages. “Whatever are they talking about anyway?”

Clyde briefly scrolled through a group of messages on the screen. “Well, they talk about something, then five messages later, they switch topics to something unrelated to it.” He kept scrolling but stopped and looked up at Rarity. “Wait a minute, isn’t your table six girls? Who are you excluding?”

Rarity frowned and sadly looked at the table. “Well, it’s a long story....”

“I don’t mind. After all, we are supposed to “hangout” all day,” said Clyde putting extra emphasis on the word in a joking manner. He felt his stomach gurgle and looked nervously away as Rarity heard it too. She gave a small giggle. “Actually, I’m going to get something to eat first. Do you want anything?”

“I only want a salad and some tea. I’ll get in line with you.” As she started to stand up, Clyde shook his head. 

“I’ll buy you lunch, just wait here.”

Rarity laughed. “Clyde, I do appreciate your manners of being a gentleman, but I can pay for myself. You’re the one who won the prize of spending the afternoon with me, even though you didn’t actually get my name. I have no trouble with buying my own lunch.”

Clyde shook his head again at her. “One thing my mother said to me when I was younger, was to always buy a girl anything she wants on a date.”

“This isn’t a date though,” said Rarity looking at him with curious eyes.

Clyde smiled. “From what I can tell, we are in a restaurant type of location and it’s just us two at a table.”

Rarity blinked. “Yes, but we still...actually, this sort of turned into a date now hasn’t it?”

Clyde nodded and laughed. “It’s whatever you call it as, but I’m treating this as one just so I don’t come off rude.” Rarity smiled at him and he walked over to stand in line.  

After placing Rarity’s and his order, he was given a small ticket of his order number. He waited over by the pick up counter and looked over at Rarity. Her back was turned towards him, but he saw she was on her phone doing something. As he looked back at the counter, a tray of their food appeared and he walked back over to the table. As he sat down, Rarity put her phone away and smiled at him.

“Thank you very much, Clyde,” said Rarity as he slid the salad bowl and tea over to her. They began eating which Clyde slowed down than normal so he wouldn’t look like a complete savage to her. 

“So,” said Clyde with a mouthful of food. He saw her look up at him with vexed eyes, realizing he was talking with food in his mouth. He quickly gulped it down and sheepishly coughed. As he looked back at Rarity, she gave him a smile to signal to continue. “Sorry, anyways, how about that tale of why you’re missing a person in your chat?”

Rarity ignored him for a few seconds to eat her salad. After taking some small bites, she sighed. “You probably wouldn’t believe me.”

“Oh. You could always try.”

Rarity sighed. “Fine.” 

In ten minutes, Rarity explained the whole week of the Fall Formal, starting with Twilight and where she came from. She told him about why the crown was super important, why Sunset Shimmer wanted it, and the events of the dance itself. After she was done, Clyde took a drink of water and stroked his chin.

“So, this Twilight girl was from another universe where everyone are ponies?”

“I know it sounds weird, but...yes.”

Clyde shrugged. “Well, I’ll believe it.”

“Really?” said Rarity in shock. “I honestly didn’t think anyone would ever believe that. I couldn’t grasp it myself at first, but Twilight helped us all be friends again, so I believed her.”

Clyde looked out the window. “Well, I’ll take your word for it. It’s not the strangest story I’ve heard before.”

“Oh? Like?”

“It’s best if we don’t talk about it.”

“Alright,” said Rarity and that was the end of that. 

They spent the next hour finishing their lunch and talking about hobbies and other activities. Rarity told him about her small fashion business which Clyde thought was interesting. 

“I bet you have loads of inspiration, huh?” asked Clyde, looking at her clothes instead of her eyes for once. 

“Hmm, sometimes. Most of the time I’m lacking motivation instead. I can make many forms of clothing, but what's the point if no one, or even myself, is motivated enough to wear them or make it?”

Clyde nodded. “That’s understandable.” Clyde looked at her a felt confidence within himself than before. Before today, he couldn’t look at her, let alone think about her, without blushing, but now, since they had this meeting, he no longer felt as nervous around her. “If you want, I could wear your clothes to promote them.”

Rarity looked at him and laughed. “That’s very sweet of you Clyde, but I’m afraid I don’t specialize in men’s clothing.” Clyde blushed due to embarrassment, but shrugged it off and laughed. “However, that doesn’t mean, down the line of course, I wouldn’t mind making matching outfits for my own outfits...” She looked away and looked outside the window, watching people walk down the streets. 

Clyde understood the hint and wanted to say something, but decided not to. He too glanced outside the window and saw the sun was still shining with no clouds in the sky for miles. After a few moments of silence, Rarity looked at Clyde.

“So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t know how this whole thing was going to go and last. We’ve been here for a good amount of time.”

“You’re counting down the time so you don’t have to sit here with me anymore?” asked Rarity with a pout. She watched Clyde get all worked up and giggled. “Clyde, I’m joking. Say, I know what we can do!”

“What’s that?” asked Clyde rubbing his head and calming down. 

“Have you explored Canterlot in fully yet?”

“Uh, not really. I only usually go to my house, the school, and the park.”

Rarity smiled. “Perfect! I can be your guide around the city! It’s the least I can do. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my car as I walked here because it was so gorgeous outside today.”

“I can drive mine. I live on the far side of town, so walking was not happening.” Rarity nodded and they left the cafe. After walking past the music store and into the parking lot, Clyde led Rarity to his matte black colored car. Upon reaching it, Clyde quickly opened the driver door and threw his backpack, which was in the passenger seat, to the back seats. He leaned across the seat and opened the passenger door as Rarity approached it. 

Even though she was shorter than Clyde by a few inches, she still had to duck into the car due to the low suspension. As she put on her seat belt, she looked at the back seat and saw all of the junk piling up. “Clyde, you simply must clean out your car sometime,” she suggested to him. 

Clyde smirked. “Yeah, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Your car does have quite the room in it,” said Rarity as she kicked her legs in her seat. “I bet the back has room too, but not in that condition,” she joked.

“Alright, alright, I’ll clean it,” said Clyde with a sigh. 

“Good,” she said with a smile. “I always make sure my lovely convertible is perfectly clean inside. I have to take notice of the outside due to the weather, however.”

“A convertible?” said Clyde. “I could see you driving one of those. I like my sports cars though.”

“You and a million other boys your age.” She gave a sly grin and laughed. “Where would you like to go first?”

Clyde looked out the window. “It doesn’t matter to me. Just guide me through the city I guess.”

Rarity smiled and nodded. Rarity guided him through the city looking at the hotspots, like the stores, restaurants, post office, and whatever else there was. After cruising through downtown, they traveled to the bigger sites like the mall, the fairgrounds where carnivals, festivals, and trading fairs were held. Of course, he knew the school, but near it was a rather large pond and park Clyde never knew was there. It took nearly two hours to explore the city, but Clyde didn’t mind at all. Even Rarity seemed to enjoy the car trip from what he could tell.

The sun was in the process of setting by the time Clyde pulled up to Rarity’s store and home. They sat in silence for a minute listening to the radio, until Rarity looked at him.

“Well, Clyde, I must thank you for buying lunch for me today,” said Rarity sweetly, “it was also fun to get to know you more. I enjoyed today very much.”

“No problem and I did too, and to think, I thought I was going to talk to Pinkie today. I never would have guessed it would be you.”

“I’m betting you were extremely glad it was me, huh, darling?” asked Rarity with a wink.

“Uh...” Clyde quickly looked out his window to avoid her seeing another one of his many blushes. He realized he done it so much today, she knew exactly what to say to make him do it. He looked back at her after calming down. “So, I guess I’ll talk to you later, like in gym on Monday?”

Rarity stared out her window and shook her head. “Hmm, maybe even sooner.” She suddenly opened the car door and climbed out, leaving Clyde extremely confused. She shut the door and began walking up to the doors of her business home. Before she reached the door, she turned around and lifted up her pointer finger to signal to wait a moment. She pulled out her phone and began typing something. Once she was done, she looked back up at Clyde.

Clyde was going to lower the window to talk to her, but he felt a vibration from his phone go off in his pocket. He completely forgot he turned it back on to vibrate after walking back to his car after the cafe. Expecting a new group chat message, he pulled out his phone. Once he saw what the new text message on the screen said, he became even more confused.

Rarity now
Good night, Clyde. Also, you really should put a lock on your phone. 
slide to reply

“How the–” Clyde quickly looked up at Rarity, who smiled and gave a wave before entering the building. Clyde sat there for a few moments before smiling to himself. He pulled away from the curb and drove to the nearest car wash and vacuum service station.

> Euphoria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Once Clyde returned home after cleaning out the back seat of his car, which proved more arduous than he first thought, he crashed on his couch and turned on the TV. After looking at his phone, he realized he never actually replied to Rarity’s text she first sent him. Feeling brave, he opened up the conversation and stared at his phone. 

The major problem that stood before him was what to even say to her. He couldn’t understand why, or even how, she put her number into his phone. He knew by now Rarity at least recognized the truth about his blushes. He hoped this would help them grow a relationship, maybe not serious now, but down the road. 

He also thought of the most dreadful thing possible for a guy; the friend zone. He nervously thought over their “non-date” from earlier to see if he made a crucial mistake somewhere. From what he believed, he thought he played his cards right. Feeling bold, he got his fingers ready.

“So, I cleaned my car,” he typed. He hit “Send” and waited. To much of his surprise, he saw she read it once she received it and began typing something back to him. Within a few seconds, her response flashed on the screen.

“That’s good! I thought you said you were going to wait until tomorrow?”

Clyde stared at the screen again, confused on what to type. Normally he was good at texting people quickly back, but this time it was different. Maybe it was the fact that a girl Clyde was attracted to since the first day he saw her was actually paying attention, and literally trying to talk to him. He typed away again.

“I was, but since I had some time tonight, might as well get it done.” He sent it, but quickly began typing another message. “I have a question for you.” Clyde saw her begin typing, stop, and resume. After a minute, her message came through.

“If you’re asking about how you have my number, I can answer that. While you were buying food, I took your phone and added my number in it while I added yours to mine. Don’t worry, I didn’t check through your messages with your friends or anything.”

Clyde stared at his phone again to think of a reply. There was only question left. “So, why did you do it?”

Rarity took a bit longer to reply this time, but she was still rapid with it. “So I can talk to you more! The only time I see you during the day is in gym, but you hang out with your friend and I don’t want to interrupt anything.” After Clyde read the first message, a second one popped up. “Besides, I know you would want my number eventually anyways. ;)” 

Even though it was an emoticon, Clyde still blushed at the wink. “I guess I’m that obvious, huh?”

“Please don’t take it as a bad thing, Clyde. It just means you show that you truly care about certain people and feel embarrassed whenever they talk to you.” Clyde saw her typing another message before he could respond. “I think your blushes towards me are cute.” Clyde dropped his phone and silently stared at the wall, unable to comprehend what was going on.

He clearly wasn’t dreaming as it was only a quarter to eleven. He never went to sleep before eleven, unless it was a quick nap. He looked down at the phone and saw she wrote another message saying she had to go to sleep since she had to be up early in the morning. Clyde didn’t ask what it was, but he replied with an “Ok” and that was that.





~	~	~





Monday morning came and Clyde struggled out of his house due to it simply being Monday morning. He spent the whole day yesterday afternoon replying to Rarity’s many texts she sent him. He learned she was forced to attend one of her mother’s cooking classes all day long. Instead of actually cooking herself, Rarity sat there watching her mother and texting people, one of which was Clyde.

As he drove to school, he kept thinking about the past weekend and realized he had never seen any of his “brothers” all weekend. Since meeting them during that one detention, he at least saw one or two of them everyday. 

After parking in the school parking lot, he quickly made his way inside the school and headed towards his homeroom. Once he walked up the stairs he was stopped by Poncho.

“Clyde! Man, you’re never going to believe what happened on Saturday!”

Clyde laughed. “Let me guess, you met up with Pinkie Pie instead of Rarity?”

Poncho looked at him aghast. “How did you know?”

“I knew because when I went to that cafe, Rarity was there instead of Pinkie. We must have switched location papers when we ran into Coach the other day.” Clyde looked at Poncho who was smiling.

“Really? That’s awesome man. Saturday was pretty great even though I didn’t say a lot. She kept talking and talking, but I just sat there awkwardly like I always do. Every time she asked me a question, before I could answer, she would ask more and more. I tell you what man, I think I need a girl like her.” Poncho kept rambling on about Pinkie’s features he enjoyed most while Clyde tried to listen. After a few more minutes, Poncho stopped and looked at him. “You know, I’m really glad I had Pinkie anyways. I didn’t even want Rarity. I heard from some others she can be, you know, a bitch.”

Clyde angrily looked at Poncho as soon as he heard the word. “You don’t even know her,” he spat. “Don’t judge people like that. I could insult Pinkie or you just as easily.” Poncho stared at him in confusion as Clyde kept the deadly and serious glare.

“Why are you so defensive all of a sudden?” asked Poncho.

“You have no right to judge people, so don’t do it.” Clyde walked past him and walked into homeroom. He sat down in anger and looked out the window, waiting for the bell to ring so he can start the school week.





~	~	~





At lunch, Clyde finished paying for his meal and began walking to the back of the cafeteria where his table was located. He passed Rarity’s table, but only Applejack and that pink haired girl, which Clyde assumed being Fluttershy, were there. 

When Clyde came closer to his table, he heard Tyrone talking about something to Wahlburn. “-That’s why I told that guy, don’t steal my shit. That’s the price you’re gonna pay!” Tyrone glanced up as he saw Clyde sit down. “C! My dawg! Where were you this weekend?”

“What do you mean?” asked Clyde opening up a milk carton, “I was home all weekend.”

“I figured that much. I meant why didn’t you talk in our chat, dawg?”

Clyde shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was sleeping and always forgot when I woke up.”

Tyrone laughed and looked at Wahlburn. “Can you believe this guy?” He turned back towards Clyde. “I know for a fact dawg that you don’t sleep unless it’s time to sleep. You had to been ignoring us on purpose.”

Clyde looked away from the table and watched some freshmen at another table argue to each other while the other kids were egging them on. They wanted some kid to drink some milk that was mixed with the school lunch. “I wasn’t ignoring you. I had nothing to add to your conversations.”

Tyrone frowned at him. “That’s a load of bull and you know it.”

Clyde sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you later then if you care so badly.”


*	*	*	*	*


“Hello girls,” said Rarity as she sat down at the lunch table. She hummed a tune and began untwisting the lid on her bottle of water as she glanced over at her friends. They were looking at her with curious eyes. “What’s the problem? Is there something on me?”

“Problem?” asked Rainbow Dash looking at her with her head tilted up, “there isn’t a problem. You’re just...”

“I’m just what?”

“You seem very peppy today. More than usual.”

Rarity blinked. “What?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Applejack cut her off. “What’s she’s tryin’ to say to ya, is that normally on Mondays you are very ‘down in the dumps’. Today is different. Especially since Friday you were complainin’ about this whole hangout thing.” 

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Oh, that. Well, I realized over the weekend how wrong it was for me to complain. It actually was very enjoyable.” She began to slowly eat her lunch.

“Easy for you to say,” said Applejack with distaste. “Ah had to deal with Trenderfoot. Ah’m just glad ah left after an hour because ah couldn’t ever deal with that again.”

“So it was that bad, huh?” asked Rainbow Dash who looked over at the enraged girl.

“Bad? It was terrible! He kept starin’ at me like he was madly in love with me! He just stood there admirin’ me while I tried to talk to him! Ah just couldn’t handle it no more!” 

Rainbow Dash laughed and stretched out her arms. “At least you had someone to hangout with this weekend. Nobody won my name because Pinkie had more than enough money so she called off the balloon pop! I bet everyone was dying to hangout with me too! Why would you not want to?”

Applejack sighed and shook her head. “Ah dunno Rainbow.” She looked over at Fluttershy who was reading some magazine. “How was yer day on Saturday, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy quickly closed the magazine at the mention of her name and looked up. “Oh! It was alright,” she replied in her quiet tone. “I did learn that Bulk Biceps is really kind and caring when he helped me at the animal shelter. He only acts all tough when he’s playing sports.”

Applejack smiled. “Well, ah’m happy for ya. At least one of us had a good time.” She looked back over at Rarity who was busy looking at her lunch. “So you’re saying you had a good time?”

Rarity looked up and nodded. “It was wonderful actually.”

“Who did ya have again?”

“Well–”

“You stole my man!” yelled Pinkie as she sat down, glaring at Rarity. Rarity and the girls looked at her confused.

“Pinkie, dear, whatever are you talking about?” asked Rarity. She already knew what she was talking about, but she wanted to play it off like she wasn’t aware.

“My Saturday hangout buddy!” said Pinkie looking at her. “I ended up with yours!”

“You’re mad at me for that? It wasn’t my fault at all.” 

Pinkie stared at her seriously before returning her eyes to a normal state and laughed. “No, I’m not really mad. I just wanted to yell that at you since I had the chance.” She laughed again while Rarity rolled her eyes. “Hey Fluttershy, I need a snack, let’s go to the snack bar!” Fluttershy was quickly taken by Pinkie and they left the table without any consent from Fluttershy.

“Wait, what happened exactly between you and Pinkie?” asked Applejack looking at Rarity after the two other girls left. “Y’all switched winners?”

“No,” said Rarity, “the papers were switched around and Clyde picked up mine instead of Pinkie’s.”

Rainbow Dash stared at her confused. “Who?”

“Clyde.”

“Who’s that?”

“Isn’t that the boy who pushed the ball away from yer face during gym class a few weeks ago?” asked Applejack.

Rarity smiled and nodded while Rainbow Dash kept looking at them back and forth. “Who is that!”

“He just moved here before the school year started,” said Rarity while taking a sip of water.

“Does he play sports or anything? Is he as cool as me?” 

Rarity laughed. “Well, he might not be as ‘cool’ as you, but I certainly think he’s ‘cool’. When I texted him a lot over the weekend, he said he was going to tryout for the basketball team. I’m not much of a fan of sporty boys, but Clyde is different.”

“That’s cool,” said Rainbow Dash with a nod. After a few moments of silence, she jolted up. “Wait, what did you just say?” She and Applejack looked at Rarity who was giving a sly smile. 

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothin’?” asked Applejack, “tell us!”

Rarity sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you later then since you care so badly.”



*	*	*	*	*


As the bell in the lunchroom rang, Clyde and Tyrone rushed out of the cafeteria and headed towards the gymnasium. Once they got dressed in the locker room, they ran out and waited in the line for Coach Iron Will to come out and take attendance. 

“So C,” said Tyrone while doing some fake crossovers and jump shots to get ready for gym, “you going to tell me now?”

Clyde sighed and looked at him, but was stopped by a certain boy walking towards him.

“My friend,” said Trenderfoot as he wrapped an arm around Clyde’s shoulder. “How was your weekend?” 

Clyde looked at Tyrone, confused on what was going on. Tyrone glared at Trenderfoot who turned himself and Clyde around to ignore him. “Uhh, it was good.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“So, can I help you with something?”

Trenderfoot laughed. “Always one to jump to conclusions, huh? I like that.” He let go of Clyde and walked a few paces away from him. “I just wanted to tell you both that I no longer have any quarrels with you.”

“What?” asked Clyde and Tyrone in unison.

Trenderfoot looked at the ceiling of the gymnasium. “There was no reason to. I should have just let it go and moved on, but I tried to make you feel miserable.”

“Are we being punked or something?” asked Tyrone as he looked around for a hidden camera. 

“Yeah, what is this all about?” asked Clyde. “This is really, really, random.”

Trenderfoot laughed. “I just needed to clear my bad slate with you. We are good now, no troubles between us.” He looked at them and clasped his hands together. “I just hope Applejack likes me now since I have no troubles with anyone.”

“Wait, what?”

“Ever since Saturday, I realized Applejack is the girl of my dreams.” He looked off in space, fantasizing about her while Clyde and Tyrone looked at each other confused even more.

“Uh, I hope that works out for you,” said Clyde. He and Tyrone walked away from Trenderfoot who was still dazed and thinking about Applejack. Once they got back to the line, the girls came out of the locker room and lined up at the other end of the line. Iron Will and the other boys slowly walked out of the boys’ locker room. Trenderfoot gasped once he saw Applejack and began walking over to her. Iron Will saw him, yelled, and pointed back to the line. Trenderfoot quickly followed the order.

Iron Will quickly took attendance down the boys’ line, but stopped in front of Tyrone. “You’re going out for the basketball team, right?”

Tyrone laughed at him. “Am I going out for the team? Come on dawg! I’m going to make it with my eyes closed!”

Iron Will smirked. “Is that so? Well, Iron Will has some news for you!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Starting today, Iron Will is the new coach for the school basketball team!” He gave a chuckle and grinned while the students just rolled their eyes.

“No offense, Coach,” began Tyrone, “but I’m not trying to play for someone who can’t win a single football game this year.”

Iron Will snorted and put his head to Tyrone’s. “What did you just say to Iron Will?!”

“You heard me dawg,” said Tyrone with a smirk. “I called you out for being a bad coach.”

Iron Will twitched his eyes and began doing push ups. “I tell you what punk! You don’t ever defile Iron Will’s name in his own throne room!” He quickly did ten more push ups and jumped back up. “Due to your cockiness, Iron Will is making tryouts on the third Monday in October! That way, we can practice for a full month and a half before the season starts so we don’t lose!” Iron Will snorted one last time at Tyrone before heading to the girls’ side of the gym.

Clyde quickly counted the days in his head and suddenly became nervous. “That’s three weeks away!” 

“Don’t worry, C,” said Tyrone, “it shouldn’t be that hard to make the team if our school can’t even win one football game. There should be no competition.” 

“I don’t know if I’m even that good,” said Clyde, troubled. “I’m used to street ball with my brother and you. I never was in an actual game before.”

Tyrone stood beside him and put his hands on his hips, looking at the hoop at the opposite end of the gymnasium. “I got you, dawg. We still have time. Tell you what, for the next three weeks, we are going to train everyday after school at the park.” Tyrone smacked Clyde’s shoulder and Iron Will’s whistle blew to signal them to begin running. Tyrone kept talking about something to Clyde, but his mind became blank as he looked across the room.

He saw Rarity talking to Applejack and felt his face get warm just by seeing her. Even though he texted her many times during the span of the weekend, he got nervous and excited to see her in person again. He wasn’t used to this euphoria. It was an incredible and indescribable feeling, but his romantic dreams seemed like they would never happen. He felt like the feelings due to this crush were plummeting him into a false hope and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He had to explain to someone how he really felt about her so he could focus on other things instead of constantly daydream about her. He needed help to understand the meanings between a crush and true love.

“Yo, Clyde,” said Tyrone. “Are we going to run yet? Coach is staring us down.”

“T, when gym is over, I really need to tell you something.”
> The Love of Fate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Like Clyde said, after class was over, he spent a good hour at the park with Tyrone talking about how to handle his feelings for Rarity. Tyrone told him to not worry about anything because if she bothered texting him all the time, she either had similar feelings or it was just downright pity for him. Tyrone left him to ponder for a few moments as he ran out on the court.

Clyde became sad once he heard ‘pity’, but refused to believe that was the case. Hoping it wasn’t the latter, Clyde shrugged it off and thought of all past conversations with her, whether it was in the café or through texts. After mental analysis, pity was not an option. Feeling a little better, he grabbed the basketball and ran out to join Tyrone and start their three-week training session.





~	~	~





On the Saturday before Monday's tryout, Clyde laid on his couch for much-needed rest. Tyrone and him spent everyday in the past three weeks at the park playing basketball. He physically felt confident on making the team now, however, he still was having troubles on focusing on it without thinking of Rarity. Due to her daily texts to him, the constant thought of her never went away during the three weeks. 

Five minutes after laying down, he felt his phone vibrate on his chest. He picked it up and saw the name of the sender and smiled. It was Rarity.

“Good afternoon, Clyde! How are you faring today?”

Clyde thought about what to say, but had trouble typing due to his fatigue. Because it was her, he pushed himself to type. “I’ve been better. I’m really tired and still nervous about the tryout on Monday.”

“I see.” Clyde looked at the short sentence and thought it was strange that’s all she wrote. Normally, she would always sends either multiple short texts or one big one. As he continued to stare at the two words, he saw she was typing something else. “Say, are you doing anything tonight?”

Clyde, unsure of what to reply with at first, looked at the corner of his living room. “Uh, not that I believe. Tyrone and I are resting for Monday. Why do you ask?” Unlike last time, Rarity began typing as soon as she saw his message.

“Well, there’s this new hit movie that came out yesterday about some girl who moves to a new city where she falls in love with a boy and nobody wants to see it with me. I thought, since you are still nervous about Monday, you can take your mind off of it and watch it with me?”

“Sure, what time did...wait a minute. Did you just ask me out to the movies?!” Clyde’s heart dropped and all the nervousness that was in him overtook his body. He watched in sweet agony at her typing, waiting for her new message.

“Er, well, technically, but like you said before: it’s whatever you call it as. I just thought we could hang out again, seeing how we had a good time getting to know each other three weeks ago.”

Clyde couldn't believe it! The girl that he has been attracted to since he first laid eyes on her, was texting him daily and wanted to hang out with him–again! He quickly thought of something else to text her. “So, uh...what time is this movie?”

“You don’t seem that excited...”

Clyde flushed red. “What? Of course I am! It’s hard to express emotions through texting!”

“Clyde, I was simply teasing. I know you’re extremely excited to see me again!” Clyde shouted in frustration at himself for getting easily flustered. He couldn’t help it though. Rarity, to him, was his perfect dream girl.

“I knew that....”

“Of course you did! Since the movie is at nine-thirty tonight, we can go get a nice dinner somewhere before it too!”

“So, it is a date after all?” typed Clyde, feeling bold.

“Do you not want it to be one? I thought you would have liked that...”

Clyde smacked his head on the couch at his idiocy. Rarity was basically telling him he had another chance to spend time with her tonight and he was acting like he didn’t care. “I do like the idea, it’s just, I’m already nervous about Monday, I would be extremely nervous if this was a legit date.”

“Hmm, I understand.” Rarity took a minute to begin typing again. “That doesn’t mean we still can’t go see a movie together tonight as close friends.”

“I would love to see a movie with you,” replied Clyde, fearing the word ‘friend’, but noticing ‘close’ in front of it. If she thought they were close friends already after three weeks, that had to have been some type of progress.

“Great! You don’t have to pick me up, we can walk to the restaurant and movies tonight since it’s rather lovely outside. Where would you like to meet?”

“I guess whatever restaurant you want to eat at.”

Rarity sent him the address of the restaurant, which was closer to her home than his, but he didn’t mind the travel distance. Maybe a long walk would do him wonders. She told him to leave around a quarter to eight so they had enough time to eat and walk to the movie theater. Clyde agreed and he quickly set his alarm on his phone to take a quick nap.

At 7pm, Clyde awoke to his buzzing phone and quickly jumped up and ran upstairs to shower and get ready. Most of the time, it only took him five minutes to take a shower and dry out his hair, but he stood in the shower for an extra five minutes pondering about that night. After drying his body, he got dressed into his usual clothes: stonewashed jeans with his black shirt. He ran back into the bathroom and ran his hand through his wet hair. After giving his head a shake to help dry his hair, he nodded to himself in the mirror and hurried down the stairs. He put on his dark-colored jacket by the door and quickly left the house.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped outside was the setting sun. He took out his phone and saw he was at least ten minutes ahead of schedule. He didn’t care, feeling it would be better getting there early, not late. As he walked, he looked through the sports updates feed and watched the cars go by him. While it seemed he was calm, deep down inside, he was nervous as always.

After the twenty-minute walk to the restaurant, Clyde sat on the nearby bench and waited. He checked his phone and saw that it was a quarter to eight. Since he had no idea when Rarity would be there, he looked through his group chat with his lunch table friends and read some messages. After reading a handful of paragraphs by an angry Cannon ranting about Jeb at work, Clyde suddenly felt two hands behind him rest on his shoulders.

“Gah!” yelled Clyde, jumping forward. He quickly spun around and saw Rarity who was giggling. Like him, she was wearing her usual outfit, although he could smell she had more perfume on than the last time they were in public together. Clyde sighed and put his hand to his chest. “I swear I had a heart attack...”

“I’m truly sorry Clyde, forgive me, but I couldn’t resist,” said Rarity through a quick giggle. “Were you waiting long?”

“No, I got here a few minutes ago,” replied Clyde. He felt his heart return to normal, but his face was beginning to get warm. Rarity seemed to not notice, or even if she did, seemed to not point it out to him.

“That’s good. I thought I was late. While I am quite fashion forward, I’m not a big fan of being “fashionably late”. I’d rather be early so everyone notices me first!” Clyde saw her stare him up and down and give a smile. “Are you ready to eat?”

“Yeah, but I’ve never been here before.” He looked at the building behind her. “You’re going to have to recommend stuff to me.”

“Have no fear, Clyde. I will help you pick a suitable meal!” Clyde nodded and together they walked up to the doors. Before reaching them, Clyde quickly jumped ahead and opened the door for her. “Oh my, you and your manners,” she said with a smile.

“My mom would have been upset with me if I told her I didn’t open the door for you.” Rarity laughed and walked inside, Clyde following her. The hostess walked them through the dimly lit restaurant and showed them a small booth table near the window with the blinds closed. She gave them menus to look at and left for their choice of beverage. Clyde nervously looked through the menu, unsure what to order. 

“Are you still having troubles?” asked Rarity from across the table.

“I don’t know what I’m hungry for, that’s the problem.” Clyde sighed and flipped through more pages. “What are you getting?” 

“Hmm, a turkey panini, nothing too much. I wanted to eat some popcorn at the movies too.” 

“A panini?” questioned Clyde, thinking about the fancier type of sandwich. “That sounds good right about now.” 

The waitress soon came back with their drinks, which were both waters due to them being free, and looked at Rarity. “What would you like, miss?”

“I’ll take the turkey panini with those wonderful homemade chips you have,” answered Rarity handing her the menu. The waitress nodded and wrote down Rarity’s order before turning towards Clyde. “And for you?”

“I’d like to have her,” said Clyde, pointing to Rarity. 

As soon as the last word came out of his mouth, he knew he said something wrong. He saw Rarity’s and the waitress’ reaction and he felt a strong burning sensation on his cheek. He quickly put his hands over his face and put his elbows on the table, giving a disappointed sigh. If Rarity wasn’t with him, he wished right then and there that he could magically teleport home and lock himself in his house forever.

“Do you mean you want what she ordered?” asked the waitress in a nonchalant tone.

“Yes...” said Clyde through his hands. The waitress grabbed his menu and walked away from the table, leaving the two of them sitting there alone. Clyde kept his hands on his face for a few seconds, in fear of what Rarity was doing. Feeling like it didn’t matter anymore, he removed his hands and saw Rarity looking at him. Instead of an angry expression he was fearing, she showed a small smile.

“You know Clyde, you could have said “make it two” after I was done ordering to save you that trouble.”

“I know,” said Clyde staring at the middle of the table. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you, I feel like a loser now.”

“A loser? Heavens no.” Clyde looked up at her confused. “It’s perfectly normal for a boy to be this nervous around a girl they are enamored with. I find it adorable you are very sensitive to emotions, unlike most other boys who tried to impress me.” Rarity smiled as Clyde felt his cheeks begin to cool down. Once he looked into her eyes, she quickly looked away and stared at some waiters and waitresses walking by. “Let’s switch topics, shall we?”

Clyde was curious at the sudden avoidance, but ultimately nodded. “That’s fine.”

“So, Clyde,” said Rarity still looking away, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure, I guess,” replied Clyde, fearing the tone of the question. 

“Well, when we were at the café a few weeks ago, you blatantly told me about your parents like it was nothing. Don’t you feel any sadness for them? People don’t just bring that up during their first meeting with each other.” 

Clyde looked at the small lamp above their table. “I do. I miss them all the time. It’s been so long since they left, I finally gave up crying for them. Nothing can bring them back. I told you because I didn’t want to hide anything and so I don’t get fake sympathy later.” Rarity shot him a look. “Hiding stuff only brings pain anyways.”

Rarity looked at him with saddened eyes. “You know you can tell me anything. My perspective of you won’t change because of some sad moments in your life. I’m more than happy to help and talk to you if need be.” She smiled, but quickly looked away from the table again, trying to hide her face again. They sat there in silence while Clyde wondered why she did that again.

After a few minutes, Rarity looked back at him and stared at his shirt. She pointed to it and Clyde became confused. “Is there something on it somewhere?” he asked while lifting up his arms to glance at his shoulders. He scanned his shirt and couldn’t see anything wrong with it.

“No, I meant, what’s the musical note mean? You already told me about the basketball and your name, but you never mentioned the musical note.”

Clyde looked down at the logo on his shirt. “Oh, well, I like listening to music.”

“Is that it?” asked Rarity, lifting an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” said Clyde with some sadness in his voice, “when my brother wasn’t at my uncle’s with me, I layed in my bed listening to music. It helped me deal with loneliness.”

“I see,” said Rarity leaning back into the booth. “Can you play any instruments?”

Clyde shook his head. “I never had an opportunity to learn how. I would love to play the guitar or piano one day.”

Rarity smiled. “Looks like you’re in luck, Clyde. I so happen to know how to play the piano!”

“Really, you do?”

“Oh, but of course!” She outstretched her hand to look at her nails and gave a small laugh. “The piano is the most elegant of instruments. It’s only fitting, I would know how to play it.” After returning her hand to her side, she quickly looked over at him with lowered eyes. “Maybe I can teach you one day...”

Clyde, surprised at her sultry expression, blushed and coughed. It was the first time he had seen her do something like that towards him and, even though it was sudden and probably in the heat of the moment, he enjoyed it tremendously. Her eyes, after all, was his favorite thing about her. “Uh, I’d love to learn how to play.”

Rarity smiled and returned her eyes to normal. “And I would be happy to teach you!” 

Clyde returned the smile with a grin. He tried looking through the table to remember what symbol was on her skirt. “So, the diamonds you have on your skirt represent your designer hobby?”

“Mostly. I like to use various gemstones to, how do I put it, enhance the fabrics. If I’m not using gems to add to clothing, I make my own accessories. You should stop by sometime so I can show you my lines and lines of my fabulous work!” She quickly took out her phone and waved it around. “I even have a blog about my store and it’s very own social media account too! If you could ‘like’ it and ‘follow’ it for me, that would be wonderful. It helps promote my small business.” 

Clyde laughed. “I would, but I’m not into the social network thing. It’s filled with people constantly complaining about their relationship problems, indirect insults to people, and pictures of the food they are eating.”

Rarity pouted, but quickly shook it off and closed her eyes. “Fair enough. I guess I’ll have to ask someone else to help promote by fashion.” She opened one eye to look at Clyde. Clyde sighed, feeling bad about hurting her feelings. He knew it was just a trap, but knowing she would be happier, he saw no reason not to help her out. He took out his phone and saw her smile. “You’re the best,” she said through a big smile and a wink. 

To pass the time waiting for their dinner, Rarity helped Clyde make an account on the most popular social media network and showed him her two accounts on it: the business and her personal one. After ‘liking’ her fashion account and accepting her friend request, he began to put his phone away.

“Clyde, wait!” said Rarity.

Clyde froze in place. “W-What?”

“You simply can’t have your account without a picture for yourself!”

“Huh?”

Rarity sighed and pointed to his phone. “You need to put a picture of yourself so people can add you!”

“Oh,” said Clyde with a frown. He went to the photo gallery on his phone and saw it was empty. “Oh yeah, I don’t really take pictures of myself, let alone other things.”

“Looks like you have to take one then,” said Rarity with a smile. Clyde looked at her and sighed. He handed her his phone, but she refused to take it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m giving you my phone so you can take a picture with it,” replied Clyde.

“Oh, can’t you do it?”

“I mean, you’re only across the table, so...”

Rarity shook her head. “Clyde, it’s way easier to take pictures of yourself by taking a selfie. I do it all the time!” Clyde nodded and hit the small button on the screen to flip the camera around. After looking at his screen, he began moving his phone around to get the best angle to take a picture. As he held the phone up above the table, he was about to hit ‘capture’, but Rarity stopped him. 

“You need to smile.”

“What? Really?”

Rarity nodded without a word and Clyde raised the phone high again. As he gave an awkward and big smile that made him feel very uncomfortable, he looked over to his right and saw the waitress from before standing there with their food. She nonchalantly looked at him and his face became red due to embarrassment again. Clyde heard Rarity bust out in laughter.

“You do know the one rule of selfies, right?” asked the waitress looking at Clyde.

“No,” said Clyde looking at the table in shame.

“It’s for boys to never take them.”

“I figured as much...” said Clyde quietly looking away from her and Rarity, who was still giggling. She handed them the food and briskly walked away. Clyde put his hand on his face and sighed again. He looked at his food and took a small drink of water.

He sat there most of the time eating in silence as Rarity watched him. He tried to not say anything so he couldn’t possibly embarrass himself again, but every time he saw her blue eyes look at him, he didn’t want them to feel sad. However, he also didn’t want to talk with food in his mouth again, so he decided to wait until they were both done. Clyde finished his plate before Rarity ate one half of her sandwich.

“Clyde, you can have some of my chips if you want,” said Rarity sliding the plate over to him. “I don’t eat that many of them anyway.” Clyde stared at her plate and ultimately picked a handful of them and began eating them. Since she asked him to eat them, he didn’t want to deny her offer. 

After she was done with her sandwich, the waitress dropped off the bill. Clyde stared at it and looked at Rarity. As he went to grab it, Rarity snatched it away from him. 

“I can’t let you pay for it,” said Clyde, showing his manners again.

Rarity smiled. “No, it’s fine. I am the one who asked you to join me for dinner tonight.” She watched Clyde become sad and thought of something. “If you really want to pay for something tonight, you can buy the movie tickets and popcorn.”

“Alright,” said Clyde, agreeing to the deal. “I’ve never been to a movie theater before. How much are the tickets?”

Rarity placed her finger on her lips and shot her eyes to the ceiling. “It’s around twenty dollars for two tickets, plus the popcorn which is around seven.”

“That much just for a movie?” questioned Clyde in shock. “That’s more than this dinner!”

“You wanted to pay for something,” said Rarity with a playful wink. 

After the waitress came back and took Rarity’s money, in which Clyde felt guilty about, she returned in a few minutes and the two of them walked away from the booth and back to the small entrance of the restaurant. Clyde held the door again for Rarity and they both stepped outside.

Unlike when they met outside before their dinner, the moon was high into the air, shining through some clouds. Just like the light, the temperature had dropped a few degrees into a more late autumn coolness. 

“Ooh!” said Rarity rubbing her arms to heat up, “it’s rather cold out now. I didn’t think it was going to be this cold tonight.”

Clyde looked at her and shrugged. “It’s not that cold.”

“Easy for you to say! You have a jacket on!” Clyde looked at her simple, yet stunning to him, outfit of a skirt and blouse and laughed before taking off his dark gray jacket and handed it to her. 

“Here,” he said to her. Rarity looked at him with a surprised expression. “I know it might be cliché, but if you’re cold then take it anyway. I can handle it.”

She hesitantly took it and lifted it up so she could look at it. After an examination, she put it on and smiled at Clyde. “It may be cliché, but there are some certain ones I love anyway. This is one of them. A boy should always make sure the girl is warm in cold weather. Thank you.” She soon frowned and looked at the jacket. “However, I’m not a fan or wearer of darks that much. I’ll wear it because it is quite warm and it’s also yours.”

Clyde laughed. “Fine with me.” He watched her lift her arms and look at the baggy jacket on her. On her, it looked at least a size or two bigger, making it look like a hybrid of a jacket and overcoat. 

“Do you think I still look good in this?” asked Rarity, holding out her arms and looking down to her torso.

“You still look beautiful,” said Clyde, trying to not make it sound super cheesy. No matter what he said there, he was going to sound either cheesy or make her mad. Rarity smiled at him.

“You’re just saying that.”

“Maybe I am,” said Clyde with a playful smirk. He quickly began walking away and heard Rarity give a small distasteful gasp behind him and quickly run up to his side.

The two set off towards the movie theater near the middle part of the city. From the restaurant, it was about fifteen minutes away in walking distance. After thirty seconds of walking, Clyde pulled out his phone and saw it was 8:37pm. He realized they had some spare time still, but every shop along the way would be closed, making it harder to waste time.

Another minute of walking past and he noticed there were many people also walking the streets at this time. It wasn’t particularly late out, but for the time of the season, not a lot of people bothered walking in colder weather. A thing that Clyde noticed was when people walked close to the both of them, Rarity would move closer to Clyde. Whether it be for a sense of protection or another secret reason, Clyde didn’t say anything about it. 

“So Clyde,” began Rarity while they were still a few minutes away from the theater, “do you feel better about Monday?”

“Yeah, a little. You definitely took my mind off of that tonight,” he said. “Although, I did get embarrassed two times tonight because of you, which doesn’t help either.” Clyde looked at her with a grin.

Rarity gave a hpmh and turned her face away from him. She soon gave a small laugh and looked back at him. “Not all of that was my fault. You’re the one who actually did it.” They stopped at a cross walk and waited for the cars to speed by. “So how’s the Trenderfoot issue? Is he still mad at you?”

“Actually, I have no idea,” said Clyde, pressing the button and waiting for the pedestrian light to flash on, “he told me we were good now, but I don’t believe him.”

“Don’t believe anything he says,” said Rarity with venom. The walking light lit up and they crossed the boulevard in a hurry. Once they stepped on the sidewalk, they saw the bright lights outside the movie theater.

“So, what exactly is this movie called?” asked Clyde. “I’ve never seen any previews about it.”

“The reason you probably haven’t seen any previews is because you only watch the sports network,” said Rarity with a look of apathy. Clyde rubbed his head and grinned. “Anyways, it’s called Amor Fati.”

Clyde nodded and began analyzing the phrase in his head. Amor fati, in simple terms, meant the love of fate. It wasn’t the first time hearing the phrase, as he heard the phrase when he was younger after his parents died. Seeing how he had no control over their deaths, he began to realize maybe everything did happen for a reason and maybe everything is meant to teach you to keep going no matter the odds. Maybe the true way of life is to love everything no matter what happens, good and bad.

Before getting too much more lost in thought, Clyde saw they were both outside the movie theater. Rarity and him walked up to the booth and ordered the tickets, quickly heading inside. Once in the lobby, Clyde saw the long line at the concession counter waiting for popcorn, drinks, candy, and all the other movie theater treats. He checked the time on his phone and saw there was enough time to get popcorn so he walked up to the end of the line and stood there with Rarity. 

After twenty or so minutes, the two of them finally stood at the counter and ordered a large popcorn. He already knew he would have to eat most of it, but he wasn’t too concerned about it. After Rarity’s consent, he quickly put butter and some kettle corn seasoning on it and walked with her to the theater. After finding the certain theater the movie was playing in, they headed up the ramp and looked in the almost filled room for a pair of seats After trampling through an aisle, Rarity sat down at a small section with three empty seats. She picked the one in the middle while Clyde sat beside her and some random dude. 

Clyde, at first, was surprised on the number of guys here in the theater, but when Rarity and him walked in, he noticed most of them had a female sitting beside them. Clyde looked over at the guy beside him. Once the guy saw Clyde looking at him, he turned his head and began shaking it.

“You too?” mouthed the guy in silence. Clyde shrugged and looked away from him. Clyde held the bag of popcorn on his lap and shifted it closer to Rarity so she didn’t have to reach far to get to it. They sat there eating for thirty minutes and watched the previews of future movies. After the marathon of clips, the lights dimmed down and the crowd grew silent as the real movie began playing.

Once the movie began, Rarity stopped eating the popcorn and instead, paid more attention to the movie than the bag of popcorn and Clyde. Clyde looked at the bag and quietly tried to finish off the last remaining half of it. 

For most of the movie, Clyde watched it without taking it seriously. Whenever a cute or romantic scene happened between the lead characters, Rarity and girls in the room would ‘aww’ in joy at it. Clyde and the guy beside him would stare at each other every time and shrug, unable to explain what the joy of this was. The only thing Clyde liked about the movie was that the lead actress was sexy. Of course, the girl sitting beside him wearing his jacket still beat her.

During the last scene of the movie, where the two main characters were dancing to a song and telling each other how much they love one another under the moonless sky, the room was filled with sniffles from Rarity and the girls. Clyde and his seat neighbor looked at each other one last time and sighed. Clyde quietly pulled out his phone to check the latest sports feed, but Rarity glanced over at him with an angry expression, so he put it away. 

Once the movie finally ended, the girls in the room gave a clap and one last sob, while the boys just sat there looking at the wall. Clyde and Rarity waited for more of the room to empty before trying to pass through the mob leaving the theater room at one time. After a few minutes, Clyde helped Rarity up from the seat and the two of them threw away the popcorn bag, exited the room, walked through the long cinema hallway, and finally walked back into the lit city streets of Canterlot.

“So did you enjoy the movie?” asked Clyde as the two of them began walking. In his opinion for the movie, he wouldn’t have paid for the movie himself, but it was Rarity’s choice.

“It was so romantic!” said Rarity with sparkles in her eyes, “it might be one of my favorite movies of all time now!” Rarity yawned and turned her head towards Clyde. “Oh my, what time is it anyway?”

Clyde pulled out his phone and took a quick glance. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Midnight!” Rarity yawned again and moaned. “No wonder I’m really tired. I usually in my nice and warm bed by now. Clyde, you might have to let me sleep on the next bench we find, no matter how dirty it is.”

“Do you want to stop at one real quick? We still have a long way to walk still.” Clyde turned his head and ironically, a bench along a row of buildings and shops was to his left. He briskly walked over to it and sat down. He glanced back at Rarity and watched her struggle walking over to it, trying not to laugh at her. 

As soon as she sat down, Rarity quickly laid her head on Clyde’s shoulder, making his face burn red. Since this was about the thirtieth or so time he blushed because of her, and for being a ‘pro’ at this now, he cooled down fairly quickly. He looked over to his right and smiled, hearing her gentle sleeping breaths. He let her lay there for another three minutes before moving his shoulder.

“Hey, Rarity, wake up,” he said softly. She ignored him and continued resting her head on his shoulder. “I really mean it, please get up. I have to walk you home.” Rarity moaned and suddenly sat up to blow air into his face before returning her head on his shoulder. Clyde flinched at the air and sighed. Rarity lifted her head off his shoulder and frowned. 

“Clyde, I’m too tired to walk anymore,” whined Rarity, “I just want to sleep!” 

Clyde stood up off the bench and looked down at her. “I know you do, but we still have at least twenty minutes left to walk.” Rarity moaned again, but soon, Clyde saw her eyes sparkle in the moonlight. 

“I have an idea!” she said in a half-excited voice. She hopped up on the bench and looked at Clyde. “Turn around.” Clyde did as he was told to do and waited for her next command. Once he turned around, he felt her arms wrap around his shoulders. He turned his head to see Rarity leaning on him. “When you step forward, grab my legs.”

“What?” 

“You’re going to carry me, darling,” said Rarity smiling. Clyde ignored his warm sensation in his cheeks and stepped forward, holding under her legs for support with his arms. After some quick adjustments to support balance and make it easier for Rarity to rest, Clyde began walking.

Like he thought, Rarity wasn’t that heavy. He didn’t have to “gather his hidden strength” to carry her or lean forward that much. He stood nearly straight while Rarity’s head was behind his left shoulder. Another thing he thought about was not having to worry about the cool weather. Since the breeze was coming from behind them, Rarity was blocking most of the it and due to her wearing his jacket, he didn’t worry about her complaining about the cold wind. 

After five minutes of walking in silence, Clyde began thinking about the movie. In a weird ironic fashion, the movie reminded him of his situation in the past few weeks. Like himself, the girl moved to the city and soon met the boy, or in Clyde’s case Rarity, after running into each other in the store, like the basketball at gym. The movie hinted that their meeting was fate and throughout the movie began to become lovers. However, since fate was only brought up once, Clyde questioned the title of the movie. 

He turned on the boulevard and was now walking on the street that housed the restaurant the two of them were at before leaving for the movie. He looked up in the sky and saw most of the clouds above had vanished, leaving the bright moon and stars to shine throughout the blackened sky. He tried to look for some constellations, but quickly gave up since he forgot what most of them looked like. As he stepped under a street light, he looked back at Rarity and became astonished at what he saw. 

There in the faint glow of the street light, he could see Rarity had redness on her cheeks. She was still sleeping, but was blushing as she held on to Clyde. He smiled and looked forward. He knew she had seen him multiple times blushing when she would talk to him, but this was the first time he had seen her show any sign of this. He kept his pace along the streets and finally understood the movie title now.

It wasn’t much of a movie about the phrase “amor fati”, but a play on words with it. Instead of fate being the main concept, it was about the love that came because of the fateful encounter. Clyde smiled and realized maybe this was also happening to him. 

He continued walking in silence until he walked by the restaurant and stopped. He looked back at Rarity and wondered where they were to go now. He didn’t want to wake her as she was peacefully sleeping on his back. Trying not to anger her by waking her up, he began walking towards his house. 

After the peripatetic journey was finally over, Clyde found himself in front of the door to his home. He quietly took out his keys and opened the door, before taking it out of the knob, and locking it back up once inside. He paid no effort on turning on any lights, as he knew the layout of his house, so he walked over to the couch. He gently and carefully slid Rarity around his torso so he had one arm under her knees and one arm under her neck. Holding her this close to him made Clyde somewhat flustered and nervous, but he ignored it and gently lowered her on the couch. He picked up the blanket on top of the couch, fluffed it out, and lowered it on Rarity.

Clyde gave her one last look and a smile before sitting in his reclining chair. He closed his eyes thinking of all the memories from the amazing night with Rarity before eventually surrendering to sleep.
> Tryout
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, Clyde jolted awake by a loud alarm coming from his phone in his pocket. He quickly dug in his pocket, grabbed his phone, and turned it to silence. He sighed and looked over at his couch. Thinking Rarity was still sleeping, he instead saw her sitting there with her phone. The blanket he laid on her during the past night was neatly folded up beside her. She smiled as he looked at her.

“Good morning, Clyde.”

“Morning,” he replied. “Did you sleep well? I’m sorry I sort of kidnapped you, but I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Rarity laughed. “It’s fine. I’m glad you let me sleep and took me to a safe place is all that I’m concerned about. When I woke up, I was quite confused where I was, but I once I saw you sleeping over there, I wasn’t worried.” She looked around the room and back to the couch she was sitting on. After rubbing her hand over the seats she looked up at him. “Your couch is simply wonderful. It's very comfortable.”

“Yeah, I sleep on there all the time.” Clyde stood up and looked out the window in his living room. It was cloudy, but the sun was shining through a small gap in the clouds. He checked his phone and saw it was a quarter to noon. “It’s almost noon?”

“Yeah, I’ve been up for two hours now,” said Rarity looking outside the window.

“Two hours!”

“Well, I was going to leave and walk back to my house while you were sleeping, but that would have been extremely rude of me, so I just sat here, watching TV and looking at my social media account.” Rarity glanced back at Clyde with a smirk. “You still haven’t uploaded a profile picture!”

Clyde rubbed his head to avoid talking about the profile picture again. “You could have woken me up.”

“Clyde, that would have been rude too. You didn’t wake me up last night, so why would I do it to you?” Clyde gave her a blank stare and nodded. She was right. Rarity got up from the couch and walked over to the door. “I hate to ask, but could you be a gentleman and take me home in your car? Some client ordered a dress for a Halloween party and I need to work on it today.”

Clyde nodded and ran towards the door. He grabbed the keys off the hook near the door and opened the door to his house and his passenger side car door for Rarity. He drove her home and like last time, they both waited for the song on the radio to stop playing before any farewells were given. 

“Here you are again,” said Clyde turning the volume knob off.

“Thank you!” said Rarity with a smile and lit up eyes. “I think last night was more wonderful than our date at the café.”

“You didn’t even hesitate on that one,” said Clyde with a laugh. Rarity gave a quick smile before darting out of the car. She gave a wave and Clyde sped off back to his home where he would listen to music for the rest of the day, taking his mind off tomorrow’s tryout.


*	*	*	*	*






~	~	~





Monday morning quickly came and Rarity complained when her alarm went off, ending her relaxing and lovely sleep. She spent the afternoon the day before working on a client’s dress for Halloween. She hated leaving dresses unfinished if they were close to completion, so she didn’t go to bed until one in the morning. She stumbled out of bed and ran to the bathroom to beat her sister, Sweetie Belle, there so she could get ready for school. Luckily for her, Sweetie Belle wasn’t up yet, so there was no fight for the bathroom that day.

Most mornings were like this for the two sisters, as Rarity always wanted to make sure she had the most time possible beautifying herself. Since meeting Clyde, she always made sure she looked extra pretty as possible for him, even though she only saw him maybe three times a day, and that was if she was lucky. 

After getting a shower and getting dressed, Rarity snuck into the bathroom again to put on her light blue eye shadow along with her mascara and eye liner. After looking in the mirror and batting her eyelashes, a barrage of knocks were heard from outside the bathroom door.

“Rarity! Open up! We are going to be late for school!”

“Just one moment, Sweetie Belle! You know how perfect I need to look!”

“Just get out and put on your makeup in your room!” yelled back Sweetie Belle.

Rarity laughed. “I simply can’t do that. My mirror in my room isn’t magnified enough.”

“Argh!” moaned Sweetie Belle from outside the door, “this is why I can’t stand doing this every morning!”

“I love you too!” trilled Rarity. After another minute of applying her mascara, Rarity walked out of the bathroom and headed downstairs. Sweetie Belle gave her a dirty look before running inside and slamming the door to quickly shower. 

Once in the kitchen, Rarity sat down at the table and texted Clyde wishing him good luck on his tryout today. She watched him send a “thanks” and thought about the tryout. She knew nothing about sports, other than her father’s prestigious and illustrious football career at Canterlot High, but was very supportive of Clyde’s choice to tryout for the team. She knew her friend Rainbow Dash was also trying out for the girls’ team today as well which made her start thinking of something.

“Rarity, I’m ready to leave,” said Sweetie Belle walking into the kitchen. She was wearing her normal outfit of a yellow dress with a dark pink jacket. 

Rarity shook her head to break the daze. “What? Oh, very well. We will leave at once.”

Sweetie Belle looked at her sister strangely with her green eyes and tilted up her head. “Is there something I should know about?”

Rarity looked away from her. “Whatever are you talking about?”

“Is it a boy?”

“Sweetie Belle!” yelled Rarity, showing a sign of blushed cheeks, “that’s quite an accusation!”

Sweetie Belle grinned. “It is isn’t it!”

“Sweetie Belle!!!” yelled Rarity again in a louder tone. “Fine, you’re walking to school.” She stormed out of the kitchen and walked into the main room of her boutique. after walking by some dresses and other outfits that were on a clothes rack, she took a seat at one of the cushioned chairs near a mirror to put on her boots. After quickly waving her feet around after the boots were on, Sweetie Belle ran up to her. 

“No! I’m sorry! Scootaloo already made Apple Bloom and me late this month so I can’t be late again!”

“I only jest,  Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity with a sigh. “You know I would never force my dear little sister to walk to school. It’s simply too far away. All I ask is to not invade or question my personal life.”

“Fine,” said Sweetie Belle, “all I wanted to know who it was.”

“You will in time,” said Rarity with a smile. She got up and walked over to the door where her keys were hanging from a small hook. 

“But I hate waiting!” squealed Sweetie Belle, “just tell me! I need to know these things!”

“Why? What for?”

“Because I’m your little sister who is annoying to ward off boys!” said Sweetie Belle with a smirk. “It’s basically common sense in the “Sibling Rulebook.”

Rarity laughed. “I don’t think C–er, I mean–he would mind you.”

Sweetie Belle perked her head up and gave an evil smile. “What was that?”

“N-Nothing,” said Rarity turning away from her. Sweetie Belle could see the growing shade of red on her face. “C-Can we just leave now? We are going to be late, and we sure don’t want that, haha.” Sweetie Belle watched as her sister nervously looked at her. After a few more seconds of watching her get worked up, Sweetie Belle laughed.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here. I have to search for this mysterious guy today.” She walked out of the boutique laughing while Rarity rolled her eyes and locked up the building.

Upon arriving at school, Sweetie Belle ran off to find her friends as Rarity slowly, yet elegantly, walked through the hallways. Instead of heading to her homeroom, she walked down one last hallway before seeing Rainbow Dash at her locker. 

“Oh hey, Rares,” said Rainbow Dash throwing some books into the small and compact locker. “How was your weekend?”

“My weekend?” asked Rarity putting a hand on her chest, “it was lovely. I would even go as far as saying simply divine.”

“Awesome,” noted Rainbow Dash before rummaging through her backpack again to throw another book in her locker. After a few moments, she stopped and stared at Rarity who was still looking at her. “Uh, is there something I can do for you?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, there is actually.” Rarity put her back to the lockers and leaned against them. She stared at the students walking by and noted all the poor fashion choices. “You are trying out for the basketball team today, yes?”

“Trying out?” said Rainbow Dash in disbelief at her friend’s appreciation towards her, “I’ve been the girls’ team captain for the past two years! All I need to do is show up.”

Rarity looked over at her with a smile. “Then why don’t you try out for the boys’ team?”

“Wait, what?” asked an extremely confused Rainbow Dash. 

“If you make the girls’ team every year without any challenge, why don’t you play for the boys’ team? With your skills, I’m sure you can be one of their best players still.”

Rainbow Dash put her hand to her chin and began tapping her pointer finger on her lips. After a series of taps and mental thinking, she looked at Rarity. “You’re right! Not only will I be famous for being on a boys’ team, but that may also help me get into any college I want! I can easily join the Wonderbolts Academy then!” She slammed her locker door and grinned at Rarity. “Thanks Rares!” As she turned to leave, she gave Rarity one last strange look.

“What’s the matter? Do I actually have something on me this time?” asked Rarity, frantically patting her outfit down with her hands.

“No, you’re good,” stated Rainbow Dash. “You’re not telling me to join the boys’ team because of this Clyde dude, or are you?”

Rarity turned away and with a raised hand, flipped the end of her hair. “I have no idea what you’re talking about...”

“Rares, it’s fine,” laughed Rainbow Dash.  She walked up and placed her arm around her friend. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll go along with it. This might be the first time I’ve seen you get really interested in someone before. Besides, now I can finally see who this guy is.”

The bell rang and Rainbow Dash quickly left, leaving Rarity to hurry to her class. As she walked through the noisy and crowded hallways, see could only smile after passing Clyde in the hallways.


*	*	*	*	*


When Clyde passed Rarity in the hallways, he smiled at her smile and continued walking towards his math class. Now that he had a “good luck” text from her and a smile, he felt no nervousness in his entire body. He actually wished he could go to the gym now and tryout, but he had to wait until after school. Luckily for him, school that day flew by due to the constant flow of work.

At 4pm, Clyde entered the gymnasium and saw Tyrone and other boys standing around. Tyrone quickly ran up to him once seeing his entrance. “Well, here we are C,” said Tyrone looking at the hoop across the gym again with his hands on his hip. He nodded a few times and smacked Clyde on the back. “You ready for this?”

“More ready than I’ll ever be,” responded Clyde. He felt fine all day, but as soon as he entered the gym, anxiety and doubt began to impact his mind. Clyde looked at the other boys standing around and took notice who was there. 

The only two that stood out to him was Thunderlane and the bulky and notorious Bulk Biceps. Everyone else was  unfamiliar to him. Clyde was surprised that Big McIntosh wasn’t there as he thought he was really good when he played against him in gym that day he met Rarity. He also wondered why his two friends Rivs and Sticky weren't there, as all they do is talk about basketball. Clyde looked at each boy and saw they were all were different sized and unique in shape of body, making it easier and harder to tryout against. Clyde continued his analysis until Tyrone ran up beside him. 

“Yo, which one of you dudes are my backup for when I need that quick rest?” The boys ignored him and Tyrone laughed. He walked up to the closest boy near him. “Hey, do you want to be my backup?”

“Uh, do you want me to?” asked the boy. Tyrone laughed and patted him on the back.

“I like your attitude dawg, say what’s your name?”

“Swift Justice,” said the boy proudly in an almost heroic pose. 

“Swift, huh? So are you fast or something?”

“Maybe, I never really played basketball before,” said Swift sheepishly. “My name has nothing to do with sports.”

Tyrone looked at him and stroked his chin. “Then why are you trying to play basketball, dawg?”

“Playing any sport during school looks really good on a transcript!” Swift leaned in closer and looked around the room, stopping at Tyrone on the second glance. “Also because it might help me pick up a chick,” he whispered.

Tyrone stared at him before giving a giant smile and laughing. “My dawg! You are the realest dude I know!” Tyrone wrapped an arm around Swift and kept laughing. “You stick with me and I’ll teach you the ways to ball and pick up chicks, but first, we have a team to make.” Tyrone and Swift exchanged a ‘Bro Shake’ and walked away from each other. As Tyrone walked up to Clyde, the locker room door burst open and there stood Coach Iron Will.

He slowly advanced towards the group as they either gulped in fear, or in Tyrone’s case, began laughing. He was wearing a large hoodie that was at least two sizes too big and large sweatpants that touched the floor of the gymnasium. In his large hands, he holding a clipboard with a handful of papers attached to it. He looked at each boy sternly.

“Hello ladies,” said Coach Iron Will, “are you ready to make Iron Will’s basketball team?”

“Hold up! I’m here!”

Iron Will and the group all turned towards the voice near the doors of the gym. They gasped as they saw Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. She began walking over to them with a grin on her face.

“What are you doing here Miss Dash?” asked Iron Will in his normal booming voice, “the girls’ team tryouts are tomorrow.”

“I know that,” said Rainbow Dash who stood between Thunderlane and some sophomore boy. “The thing is, the girls’ team can still do good without me. This team needs my help.”

“We don’t even know if we are good yet,” said the boy beside her sullenly. Rainbow Dash shot a glance at him and laughed.

“That’s why I’m here now to make sure we are good!” She looked at the boys and finally to Iron Will. “Now, let's go already, I’m ready to play!” 

“Wait, girl,” said Tyrone who stepped out of line and stared at Rainbow Dash. “You can’t just come in here and say you are good. I need to see some proof now.”

“Are you serious?”

Tyrone nodded and ran up to the basketball rack near the line. He grabbed two and bounced one to Rainbow Dash. “This won’t take long, Coach. I just need to see with my own two eyes if this girl can ball on our level.” Iron Will laughed and shrugged, walking to the line with the other boy.

Rainbow Dash took the basketball and laughed. “Fine. Challenge accepted.” She dribbled the ball out to one of the hoops Tyrone was waiting at. “What do you want me to do?”

Tyrone led her to the baseline of the court and stared at the far basket. “Sprint to the other end, you know, a fast break,” he said before zooming off, bouncing the ball down the court as he ran by. In a few seconds, Tyrone ran into the paint and with one hand, floated the ball up and into the net. The line of boys began clapping until Iron Will glanced at them to stop. 

Tyrone waved at Rainbow Dash which made her laugh. She threw her ball high into the air to wipe her hands on her chest. Once the ball made it back to the floor, she rushed forward towards Tyrone and the basket. As she got closer, she moved to the left of the hoop and went under it before throwing the ball off the backboard and going in. The boys in line again applauded her blazing speed and reverse layup. Iron Will this time didn’t yell at them, but nodded at her skills.

Tyrone led Rainbow Dash this time to the paint and threw his ball back towards Iron Will and the others. “Alright girl, let’s do two simple one on ones.” Rainbow Dash nodded and bounced her ball to him. As he touched the ball, Tyrone began doing some dribble moves to try and go past her. Rainbow Dash didn’t fall for any of his tricks and kept tight defense on him most of the time. The two battled it out for twenty seconds before Tyrone did a step back and drained a jumper.

Tyrone laughed and handed her the ball. Before even speaking a single word, she faked a crossover to turn him around so she had a small window to drive past him and make a layup. The line of boys cheered again. Iron Will laughed and nodded again. Rainbow Dash smirked as she walked up to Tyrone. 

“I’m letting you win,” said Tyrone.

“Sure you are,” agreed Rainbow Dash sarcastically.

“Alright, one last challenge, post moves.” He took the ball and turned his back towards the hoop. Rainbow Dash responded by placing her right arm against his back and bent her knees. Tyrone bumped his way into the paint and faked going right only to do a post fade. For Rainbow Dash’s turn, she did the same procedure, but finished with an up and under at the rim.

“So, am I a baller like you now?” asked Rainbow Dash confidently.

“You did aight, girl,” replied Tyrone. “I can ball with you. Although, up and unders are moves for rookies.”

“I’m smaller than you!” yelled Rainbow Dash.

“Chill girl, I know that,” said Tyrone looking at Iron Will, “let’s just see who is the top player after we make the team.”

“Deal,” laughed Rainbow Dash. The two of them quickly ran back into line before Iron Will looked up from his clipboard. 

“Alright ladies”-he stopped and looked at Rainbow Dash-”and lady, Iron Will is now beginning the school basketball team tryout! Lucky for you, Iron Will has already made a great decision!”

“A decision?” asked a confused Thunderlane, “does that mean we don’t have to tryout now?”

“Haha, NO!” yelled Iron Will. “All of you are still trying out, except you don’t have to worry about not making the team. You are all on the team since there’s only a dozen of you here and that’s the required amount a team needs to play.”

The line looked at each other and shrugged. “So, Coach,” began Tyrone, “why are we here wasting this time then? Let’s start ballin’!”

“Not so fast! Iron Will is not letting you all go skip around thinking I went easy on you! You are still trying out, but for the starting lineup!” The line sighed. “Don’t even think about being a star player with that attitude! When I blow this whistle, we are starting!” Tyrone looked at Clyde and gave him a thumbs up. Before Clyde could respond, the whistle blew and the twelve of them ran on the floor.

For five hours, Clyde and the rest of them did drills and scrimmages on the court. They all started with basic agility, speed, and vertical drills to start it off. Clyde felt rather confident in his speed and agility since he wasn’t as tall as most of them, but compared to Rainbow Dash, he wasn’t as good, as she was clearly the fastest and most agile on the team. He didn’t worry about his vertical that much due to his height, but he did take note to try to improve it eventually.

After an hour, the basic drills were done so Iron Will moved them to offense where they began with a simple shootaround. The layup part of the shootaround was no sweat for Clyde, but once he began to work farther away from the basket, he started having problems. Compared to Tyrone and some others, his jump shots were faltering. 

The last part of the tryout, was game-like scrimmages and scenarios. Iron Will had them go five on five, with the leftover boys being substitutions. Other than Tyrone, Clyde didn’t know his teammates at all. Tyrone was paired against Thunderlane while Clyde was against a boy named Caramel. 

On offense, unless Clyde was open for a shot or had an open lane to drive and score, he mostly passed it to his teammates so they could score. He also kept the ball secure and never lost it from dribbling or losing it to his defender. On the defensive side, Clyde was adept at stealing the ball, whether it was from bugging Caramel or stealing it in the passing lane. Every steal he had led to a fast break where he would throw it up for Tyrone to dunk it. 

They continued playing and sitting out for the others to play until Iron Will called off the tryout two hours later. Clyde slumped down against the wall beside Tyrone, sweat pouring down from his face. 

“Good work, ladies!” yelled Iron Will. He looked over at Rainbow Dash who had a smirk, but he ignored it. “With the intensive data I’ve been collecting watching you amateurs play, Iron Will has found the most suitable lineup with the best shot at winning the championship!”

“Amateurs?” asked Tyrone with a laugh. “Coach, I’m no amateur. I can carry this team on my back if I had to.” The room quickly filled with diagreeing sighs.

“Enough of your talk, son!” yelled Iron Will. “If you want to back up your smack, then you better cut your slack!”

Tyrone blinked. “What?” Iron Will ignored him and looked back at his list. 

“To begin, Iron Will will announce the starting front court: Thunderlane and Bulk Biceps!”

Thunderlane slouched up and smiled. “Really! I made the–”

“YEAH!” yelled Bulk Biceps, flexing his massive arms.

Iron Will nodded. “You both had the most rebounds and are two of the bulkier members on the team. With Thunderlane’s post game, and Bulk’s defensive prowess, it’s the best choice.” Thunderlane and Bulk knuckled each other and everyone else looked at Iron Will to see whose name was called next. “For the wingman and small forward, as much as I hate to say it...”

Tyrone quickly stood up and began patting his chest and pointing to the sky. He gave a small dance and looked at Iron Will. “I won’t let you down, Coach.”

“Good. Iron Will just wants you to play so we can win! Now sit down!”

Tyrone gave a salute and dropped to the floor. He looked over at Clyde and bumped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, dawg. You’ll be the shooting guard.”

“I hope so,” said Clyde sadly, thinking about his efforts during the tryout. He kept thinking about how bad he did with jump shots and thinking it dropped his grade. He promised to himself he would improve on them as soon as possible, even if he came off the bench. 

“Anyways, now for the backcourt,” began Iron Will, “the backcourt was a much more contested decision, as most of you were top candidates. The chosen winners were the perfect balance with what the starting five already had. First off, playing the two, is Ms. Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash jumped up and shouted. “Yes! I knew I was good enough to make the starting five, no sweat. Was it for my blazing speeds or my versatility?”

“You are excellent at nearly every aspect of the game. The one thing that penalized you the most was your need to not pass it to open teammates and your turnovers and carelessness with the ball. You can’t play the point if you do that all the time.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her head and laughed. Iron Will dropped the serious attitude and smiled. “Also, when the competition sees a girl in the lineup, they will be stunned and shocked! As for the media, I’ll get famous for coaching a girl on the boys’ team!” Iron Will laughed to himself thinking about his future glory, as the students looked at each other.

“Hey Coach!” yelled Thunderlane trying to break him out of his dream, “who’s our point?”

Iron Will coughed and shook his head. “Oh yes. The point.” Iron Will paced the line where he looked at every student that wasn’t called yet. He stopped at Clyde and pointed to him. “You!”

“M-Me?” asked Clyde in shock.

“Yes, you! You were the only one to guard the ball well, play fantastic defense near the three-point line, and most importantly, pass the ball!” 

“That a boy, C! Let’s go!” yelled Tyrone as he smacked him on the back. Clyde’s astonishment for making the starting lineup made him not feel the smack. 

Iron Will looked down at him again. “However, you need to work on your speed and perimeter shots more since you are a guard.” Clyde nodded and Iron Will walked away.

Clyde sat there stunned that he could even be considered the point guard of the team. The point can easily be debated as the most important role on the team. Not only do they carry the ball the most, but they are responsible for making plays and getting their team involved with the game, offensively and defensively. He took a mental note to work even harder now.

“What about the bench?” asked Caramel. “Who is the sixth man?”

Iron Will gave a big laugh. After a good minute of hard laughter, he looked down at Caramel and stopped. “Oh, you were serious? Iron Will doesn’t know the sixth man! The bench is not that important anyways to Iron Will’s offensive game plans. The starting five will be carrying the most minutes by far.” He looked at the seven boys not in the starting lineup and sighed. “But, I guess if Iron Will had to choose someone from what he saw tonight, Iron Will would have to pick Swift Justice, but that role can easily be overtaken by a great game off the bench!”

The boys angrily looked at Swift, who nervously laughed to ignore them. “I guess I’m better than I thought! I guess it’s because–”

“Iron Will doesn’t care how you started from the bottom and are where you are now! Just be ready to replace the guards or this thug.” Iron Will pointed to Tyrone and laughed.

Tyrone shook his head and held his hands to his hip. “Thug? I ain’t no thug, Coach. I just know how to ball.” Tyrone walked over to Swift and plopped down beside him. “Don’t worry man. As my substitution for when I’m in foul trouble or tired, I’ll help you become the greatest sixth man in the history of sixth mans.”

“Really?” asked Swift in awe.

“Damn straight, dawg.” He turned his head and gave Swift a sly grin. “Also, I’ll teach you my ways of getting girls.” Tyrone and Swift laughed as Iron Will blew the whistle.

“That’s enough for tonight! Tomorrow, your real practice begins! So don’t be late! Your information and schedule sheets are by the door!” Iron Will strided out of the gym as the boys began to pack up and leave.

Clyde went to leave before being stopped by a voice. “Hey! Wait up!” He turned around to see Rainbow Dash run towards him, stopping before crashing into him. “So, you’re Clyde, huh?”

Clyde blinked. “Yeah, why? Am I famous?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Not that I believe. I only ask because Rarity talks a lot about you in our group message we have and I’ve never seen you before.”

Clyde felt his face begin to get warm at the mention of the certain girl. “Really? Are they good things?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Well, that’s good,” said Clyde, sighing in relief. “It’s nice to meet another one of her friends. I already met Pinkie and briefly met Applejack.”

“Were you scared of Pinkie?” asked Rainbow Dash with raised eyebrows.

“No, but she is randomly scary.”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Couldn’t have said it better.” Clyde nodded with a laugh and felt a thick arm wrap around his neck.

“Yo C, how are you feeling?” asked Tyrone.

“I can’t breath....”

Tyrone quickly released him and shrugged. “Sorry dawg.” He watched Clyde drop to the floor and rub his neck and take breaths of air before quickly snapping his focus to Rainbow Dash. “You have some serious ball skills. Can’t wait to take this championship with you and C.” He extended out his hand.

“Thanks, but I already knew that,” said Rainbow Dash with a smirk. “I’m ready to win as well.” She grabbed Tyrone’s hand and accepted the friendly and formal handshake. 

“Can I ask you one last question?” he said as their handshake ended.

“Shoot.”

“Is that your normal hair color?”

“Well, my name is Rainbow Dash.”

“That’s crazy though...”
> Pinkie's Balloon Pop II: Balloon Harder
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning at school, Clyde slumped down into his seat for home room and rested his head on his small desk. Due to the five-hour tryout session from the earlier night, Clyde was still tired and sore from the constant flow of Iron Will’s tests. As he closed his eyes, he heard the school’s intercom turn on.

“Good morning Canterlot High!” praised Principal Celestia. “I hope you all had a wonderful evening and morning, but I’m here with a special guest!” The intercom crackled for a few seconds before a loud and familiar voice yelled throughout the school.

“Hellooooo!” yelled Pinkie Pie through the intercom, “today is a special day! Not only are we two weeks away from Halloween! We are EXACTLY two weeks away! That means, our school is in need of some Halloween decorations!”

Clyde sluggishly looked around his home room to see his fellow peers scratching their heads trying to figure out what the big deal was.

“I have great decoration ideas, but I might need help with them!” continued Pinkie, “Soooooo, I’ll be secretly picking a few students throughout the day to help with decorations! Bye...” Her voice trailed off as Celestia’s voice was faintly heard in the background. There was a faint door slam before Celestia returned to the microphone.

“Well, you heard her! Have a great day!” The intercom shut off and the bell rang.

Clyde slowly got up and began walking down the hallway to his first class of the day, dragging his feet and trying to wake himself up. He wasn’t really in the mood, both physically and mentally, for learning, as he just wanted sleep. He was so exhausted when he got home last night, he immediately fell asleep on his bed as soon as he flopped down on it.

As he walked by some students he never really bothered with before, they looked at him and nodded or waved at him. Clyde knew Iron Will made a school website announcement when the final roster for the team was chosen by him, but he never knew it would cause students to acknowledge him like that. He never even played a game yet.

He kept walking and passed an open door to an empty class before feeling a hand grab over his mouth and around his body. He attempted to struggle, but due to his fatigue, his effort slowly diminished and he let the hands drag him into the room. As the hand moved away from his mouth, he turned to see a person clothed in a black outfit, wearing a black ski mask. Clyde watched in confusion, and in fear, as this culprit slowly took off the ski mask. In a quick movement, a blob of pink hair "poofed" up and Pinkie stood there smiling.

“Hiya, Clyde! Long time no see!” Her big smile lit up the room.

“Pinkie?” asked Clyde in bewilderment. “Why are you wearing that outfit?”

“I don’t know! I thought it would be more fun to wear this and kidnap random students!” beamed Pinkie. “So, how have ya been?”

Clyde rolled his eyes, but gave a quick smile. “I’ve been good, just tired due to the tryout last night.”

“Oh! I heard Rainbow Dash made the team, too!”

“Yeah, she’s really good. Much better than me,” said Clyde. He wasn’t lying to her. Rainbow Dash was the only other person on the team that had any chance to compare to Tyrone. Clyde was happy enough he was able to make the starting lineup.

“Well, I’m sure you and her will soon be great friends!” replied Pinkie. “You’re already friends with me, but you’re also super good friends with Rarity! She talks about you all the time to us, you know.”

“R-Really?” asked Clyde, feeling his heart sink, “are they good things?”

Pinkie smiled. “I can’t say! It’s one of those secret girl-to-girl conversations that we always have. Besides, I ‘Pinkie Promised’!”

Clyde gulped. One thing he always hated was people talking about someone behind their back. He usually didn’t care what people thought about him, but since it was Rarity, he felt nervous about it. He thought the two of them grew close the past few weeks, but if she was saying bad things about him, he would be completely distraught.

“Don’t worry about anything, Clyde,” said Pinkie with a smile after noticing his worried look on his face, “it’s not anything bad!”

“That’s all I wanted to know,” said Clyde with a quick breath of relief. He looked around the classroom and wondered why it was the only empty room in the school. There was nothing in the room except a lone desk in the corner. “So Pinkie, what did you want me to help you with?”

Pinkie beamed again and showed a giant smile. “You really are going to help!”

Clyde blinked a few times. “I thought you wanted me to? That's why you kindapped me, right?”

“Not really! I kidnapped you just for fun! I was actually going to ask Fluttershy or someone else to help!” Pinkie playfully laughed as Clyde sighed.

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll be heading back to–”

“Wait! I was kidding! Help me!” yelled Pinkie. “Besides, I can get you out of all your classes today if you do help me...” She looked at him with lowered eyes, which he first thought of Rarity, as she started doing that to him more when she wanted something.

“You can? How?”

Pinkie shrugged. “I know a few people...”

“Like?”

“Trick question! I know everyone, silly!”

Clyde blinked again and rubbed his head to prevent her from messing with his already fatigued mind. “Can we please get started?” he quickly asked.

“Of course!” Pinkie grabbed her black outfit and ripped it off, revealing her normal attire and bounced to the hallways. Clyde followed her and watched her measure the length and width of the hallway with fingers and her hands. She opened up the closest locker and pulled out a box of orange and black streamers. She handed Clyde the black roll and some tape and pointed to the other end of the hallway. “Alright, Clyde! Go down there and start zigzagging your way to this end! I’ll do the same, but with orange!”

He nodded and walked to the end of the hallway. As he passed the classrooms, he glanced inside the rooms to see how the students were acting this early of the morning and most were either sleeping or apathetically looking at a textbook. Once he reached the end of the hallway, he began to tape up the streamer and zigzag his way to the end of the hall. After ten minutes, the two of them looked down the hallway and nodded in agreement at their work.

“Looks good! Only five more hallways!”

Clyde sighed and followed her to the next site. The two of them continued with the streamers, making all the hallways of the school filled with them. When Clyde taped the last streamer to the wall, he slumped down the wall and yawned. “I’m glad that’s over with...”

“We aren’t done yet!” said Pinkie sitting down across the hallway, “we only have the streamers up! We need more decorations! I’m thinking some fake cobwebs or a head on a string that falls down when someone walks near it.”

“What’s with the overkill on the decorations?” asked Clyde.

Pinkie gasped loudly in shock. “Decorations make the world spin, silly! Without them, parties or other festivities would be like a seal without a ball or a wasp without someone to sting!”

“Huh, that analogy was pretty good,” responded Clyde. "I guess decorations are really important."

Pinkie nodded and looked at him. “You know, I can finish the hallways. I have another thing we can do that shouldn’t take as much effort!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Do you remember my balloon pop fundraiser I had weeks ago where you actually won a day to hangout with me, but actually didn’t hang out with me at all because Poncho and you mixed up the tickets and you actually spend the whole day with Rarity, and I spend mine with Poncho!”–she took a deep breath–”but anyways, I’m planning on making another one of those for the school’s Halloween event where we can dress up in costumes for a party!”

“What’s the prize this time?” asked Clyde.

“Well, I was thinking candy would be the minor prizes that most of these balloons would contain, but for the grand prize, I was feeling some movie tickets for a new upcoming movie!”

“That sounds pretty cool. How many balloons are you having to pop this time?”

Pinkie looked at him slowly and looked to her sides to check the surroundings. “About one-hundred thousand.”

“What!?” exclaimed Clyde in shock. “That’s going to take forever!”

“Forever? Don’t be silly! I have a balloon pump!” Pinkie happily laughed. “Could you imagine sitting there and blowing air into them one by one? You’re too funny...”

“Then why do you need my help for?”

“So you can help put the candy or tickets in the deflated balloons so I can blow them up with the air pump!” Pinkie jumped up and looked down at him. “To the janitor's closet!”

“Why are you–” Clyde stopped as he saw Pinkie run down the hallway and slide down the rail of the staircase. Clyde shook his head and slowly got up and began his slow and sluggish walk down the hallway. As he walked down the stairs and made a hard turn to the left, he crashed into someone and fell to the floor.

“Oh look who it is,” said Trenderfoot looking down at Clyde. He held out his hand to help Clyde up from the ground.

Clyde hesitantly grabbed his hand and jumped up from the ground. “Sorry about that, I was trying to find Pinkie.”

Trenderfoot brushed off some dirt on his sweater and adjusted his thick-framed glasses. “Not a problem, friend. Say, how have you been? I heard you and your egotistical friend made the basketball team.”

“Yeah, we did.” Clyde looked at Trenderfoot strangely. “So, uh, I’ve been good. How are you?”

“Very keen. I am also looking for Pinkie. I need a new article to write and since she’s in charge of nearly every event this school has, I figured writing about her party spirit would be an interesting read.”

“You write articles? What for?” questioned Clyde with a curious glance.

“I’m the head writer for the school newspaper,” replied Trenderfoot. He lifted his head to show his pride in his hobby. “My dream one day is to travel the world and become a famous writer about buildings, arts, cuisine, and any other topic people are rather interested in reading.”

“That’s a wonderful dream to have,” stated Clyde. “I would love to travel the world.”

“Indeed, actually, I leave for Prance next week for the rest of the school year to study abroad while learning and improving my writing. Hopefully my experience there will help my with my career. When I return, I will be transferring to Crystal Prep instead of coming back to this school.”

“Well, I wish you the best,” said Clyde. He himself felt a weird sensation of pride overcome him, but he ignored it.

“Thanks,” said Trenderfoot with a smile. “Now, let’s go find Pinkie.”

Clyde nodded and they walked through the bottom floor hallway of the school. After a few paces, they saw the janitor closet and walked up to it. Clyde opened the door and a deluge of dark orange and black balloons engulfed him and scattered throughout the hallway..

“Clyde!” yelled Pinkie with a balloon and the pump in her hands, “I was trying to keep them all in here to keep them from scattering around!” She sighed and frowned. “Looks like I have to start collecting them up again...”

Clyde pushed off some balloons on him and sat up. Wanting to repent his actions, he stood up and began moving the balloons with his foot back into the closet. “I got this,” said Clyde focused on the balloons.

“In the meantime,” began Trenderfoot, looking over at the saddened Pinkie Pie, “may I interview you, Pinkie?”

“An interview!” wondered Pinkie, “I’m not even dressed properly for one!”

“It’s not an interview, it’s more like a questioning. It shouldn’t take that long. I only need to ask you about your spirit of parties.”

Pinkie Pie beamed and showed her huge smile again. “Ooh! I can help you with that! I love parties!” Pinkie shot a look at Clyde. “Just put the balloons back in the closet. I’ll get back and we can resume filling them up!”

Clyde nodded and watched Trenderfoot pull out a small notepad from his sweater and lead Pinkie down the hall. He watched Trenderfoot try to ask questions to her, but she kept looking away or humming a song to herself. After a quick chuckle, Clyde looked at the sea of balloons.

He first tried to move them all by using his foot, but he couldn’t get them to stack on one another with his foot, so he then tried picking them up and throwing them in the closet. Pinkie must have bought super bouncy balloons, because every time a balloon touched another one, it would bounce back to the floor near his feet. After watching his small wall of balloons crumble down, he angrily threw a balloon into the closet, only to watch all of them engulf the floor again.

“This is pointless,” he said with a death glare towards the latex spheres filled with air. He closed his eyes to calm himself from popping all of them right on the spot, but quickly opened them when he heard the buoyant noise of Pinkie’s hops down the hallway.

“Hiya, I’m back!” said Pinkie in her normal gleeful tone. She looked at the balloons and frowned. “I guess these balloons are too tough for you, huh?”

“I tried. It’s just there’s no way to put these back into the closet.” Clyde gave a defeated sigh and looked at the clean tiles of the hallway.

Pinkie giggled and pulled out a broom from the closet and with one push, pushed the balloons into the closet and quickly slammed the door. “There!”

“How did you–”

“It’s easy! I’m a professional ‘Balloon Handler’ after all!”

“Is that even a real title?”

“I don’t know! Maybe!”

Clyde shrugged and laughed before falling down to the floor. Due to his rage of the balloons, he forgot he was still drained from Iron Will’s tryout. “So, what to next?” he weakly said.

“Hmm, well, I think you helped enough, I’ll let you return back to class!”

“Don’t you still have a ton of balloons to make though?”

Pinkie nodded. “I do! But, since the school event is still two weeks away, I have time! It’s gonna be super-duper great! The balloons will rain down on the party, which will cause mass chaos when I tell all the students that there are ten pairs of movie tickets to an upcoming movie hidden in the balloons! Everyone loves movies, especially FREE movies!”

“What movie is this anyways?” questioned Clyde. Ever since his trip to the movies with Rarity, he wanted to go back again. Of course, he knew who he would invite if he surely did win the tickets.

“It’s the new upcoming and hyped movie that’s taking the nation by storm: Trotsburg!”

“Trotsburg? I know about that one! It’s about some ghost hunt to an asylum or something, right? One of the main characters looks a lot like me.”

Pinkie blinked and stared at him like he was crazy. “Who?”

“I don’t know the characters names, but I swear, he resembles me extremely well. It’s like he’s my twin.”

Pinkie scratched her head and looked into the air. “I don’t see it. I’ve seen the previews many times and none of them look like you at all.”

“Really?” said Clyde disheartened.

“Yep!”

“Oh, okay.” Clyde sadly turned around and headed for his math class. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at this party, if not earlier.” He began walking away from her and heard her call back to him.

“Cool! See ya there at approximately 8:27pm, Tuesday night, in exactly two weeks, or fourteen days if you like that better!”

Clyde stopped on his heel and spun around. “Wait, did you say the party is literally on Halloween night?”

“Well, yeah! Why?””

Clyde frowned. “I have a scrimmage game that night. It’s bad enough Iron Will is making us practice a month before the actual season starts, but he’s making us do full-contact scrimmages too. Guess I can’t win those tickets now.”

“Don’t worry, Clyde, maybe someone will win them for you!” said Pinkie with a smile.

“Hopefully, if not, I’ll just go buy the tickets and see it.”

“Yep!” Pinkie looked away from him and quickly back. “Say, how’s Poncho doing?”

“Poncho? He’s fine. I don’t talk to them as much as I use to other than at lunch. I left the group chat to save my phone from dying all the time.” Clyde looked at her curiously. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just every time I speak to him, he nervously looks away and tries to flee the scene. I think he’s scared of me.”

Clyde stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Ah. That’s just normal Poncho. He does that to everyone who talks to him that usually doesn’t.”

Pinkie Pie flashed her bright smile again. “Really! So, we are still friends and he isn’t afraid of me?”

“Well, he might still be slightly scared of you, as I sure am with your randomness sometimes, but you’re still a friend to him.”

Pinkie jumped into the air in slow motion. As she landed, she returned to normal speed. “Awesome! I’ll go ask him today if he’s coming to the Halloween party! Like I said, it’s gonna be super-duper, maybe even MEGA, fun!” The school bell suddenly rang and Pinkie smiled. “Well, looks like we can leave here. Thanks for helping me and for your volunteer work!”

“I didn’t–”

“Have fun on your date tonight, by the way!”

“Wait, what did you just say?”

“Oops! I said too much! I guess she didn't say anything to you yet! Bye!” Pinkie sporadically turned away and quickly ran down the hallway before giving one last wave. Clyde started in the distance confused. He continued his way back to his math class and felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket. Since leaving the group chat, the only messages he now got were either from Tyrone or Rarity.

“Hello, Clyde! I know you probably are still simply exhausted from last night, but did you want to join me for some ice cream tonight? It might make you feel better!” read Rarity’s text message.

He quickly began typing her back. “Sure, that sounds really wonderful.” He hit ‘Send’ and smiled to himself before walking into class.
> Start of the Season (and Love)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clyde tied a tight knot for the laces of his shoe and looked across the locker room at Tyrone. “You ready?” he asked him.

Tyrone smirked and slipped on his blue and yellow jersey. He looked down at the small ‘1’ on his chest and laughed. “I’ve been as ready as you can, dawg. This is our time to shine.”

Clyde nodded. He couldn’t believe it was already December and time for their first game. It was like yesterday when he helped Pinkie with her Halloween party and his little ice cream date with his favorite girl in the school. The one thing that bugged him the past month was how busy he was with basketball practice that he never had any time to hang out with Rarity. Other than texting, the only time he got to see her was for the Trotsburg movie that Pinkie gave her tickets to.

“T! You ready for this!” yelled Thunderlane from the other side of the locker room. “We gotta show the world the T-to-T Connection!”

“YEAH!” shouted Bulk, flexing his biceps. Clyde always thought he was the true energy source for the team. When he scored a basket or blocked a shot, Bulk would scream into the fans who would go crazy during the pre-season games. He hoped the fans would do the same for the regular season. 

Tyrone hopped up and began lunging down and stretching. He scanned the locker room and frowned. “Where’s RD? I don’t see her.”

“I’m right here.” Rainbow Dash walked up to them and sat on the bench beside Clyde. She folded her arms and leaned her head on the wall. “I just woke up.”

“What?” replied Tyrone, “how can you be sleeping on a night like this?”

“Calm down, it was just a normal, ten second power nap.” 

“Is that even possible?” asked Tyrone. 

“Well, it’s not really a nap,” said Rainbow Dash using hand gestures, “it’s more of a quick meditation to calm one’s mind so they can physically do better. I’ve done it since I was a little girl and it always makes me feel better on playing.”

“Oh. I normally just point to the sky for my mom.” Tyrone wiped a tear from his eye and slapped his chest before pointing to the sky. Rainbow Dash patted his shoulder to cheer him up and he nodded at her as a thanks.

Clyde turned his torso around to see his jersey on a hanger. He looked at the number ‘15’ and smiled. Not only was it is favorite number, but there were also another symbolic thing about it. Rarity and him went to the movies on the fifteenth of October. That was their first planned date and Clyde would always remember the walk with her on his back. He moved his hand across the number, took it off the hook, and slid it on. 

Soon, the locker room door slammed open and Coach Iron Will waddled to the open area where the whiteboard was. Instead of his normal hoodie and sweatpants, he was in a suit and tie. The rest of the team quietly laughed to themselves and quickly ran and sat near Tyrone, Rainbow Dash, and Clyde so they could see it better. 

"Alright team, Iron Will has coached you, pushed you, made you all tougher, and even readied you for this season.” Iron Will snorted and slowly looked at each player. “All you need to do now, is work together, score points, and prevent points! It’s that easy!”

“You say this now, but it’s harder in a real game,” said one of the benchwarmers Clyde didn’t even know the name of yet. There was only a dozen of them on a team, but only eight or nine played. The rest where basically reserves in case of an injury. Iron Will chose that way to coach because that’s how the professional teams played.

Instead of yelling back, Iron Will stared at the boy into submission. He took another round of glances and put out his hand. “Alright boys–”

“Ahem.”

“–and Miss Dash, let’s bring it in.” The players one by one stacked their right hand on the pile of hands and looked at each other. Clyde could see the fire in everyone’s eyes. He closed his eyes to think of his brother who helped him get here and slapped his hand on the pile. “Wondercolts on three. Don’t make me angry out there!”

The team nodded in unison and looked at the pile of their hands. “One, two, three, Wondercolts!”


*	*	*	*	*


After showing the ticket seller her student ID card, Rarity walked into the gymnasium and searched for a seat. The game was about to start and people were quickly filling into the stands. After seeing an empty section a few rows up, Rarity felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Did you find a seat?” asked her father, Hondo. However, the people of Canterlot didn’t know him for that name. They knew him as Magnum, the best quarterback Canterlot High ever had. 

“Would those work?” she asked pointing to the empty seats.

“Looks good to me.” Magnum looked behind him and scratched his head. “I think we lost your mother.”

“I’ll go find her,” said Rarity, storming past him with an angry sigh. She politely made her way through the crowd of incoming fans in search for her mother. After almost attacking someone due to them rudely pushing her, she saw her mother leaving the ticket line. “There you are!”

“Where’s your father? I told him to wait while I used the restroom, but of course he didn’t. He sure is energetic like his younger self when it comes to athletic events...” Pearl looked at her daughter and smiled. “Let’s go find him...”

“Shouldn’t be a problem! He’s already in there, hopefully with our seats.”

Pearl gave another smile and the two of them worked their way back into the gym. Pearl, like Rarity’s father, also went by another name, but that name was only used for her passion for cooking. She uses the pseudonym of Cookie Crumbles for her various cookbooks and her cooking classes she offers in other cities. Pearl told Rarity her reasoning for this was because she didn’t want fame to overtake her family time as that was much more important to her. Rarity liked the idea, as her mother did help her when she had questions involving designing or colors for her work.

When the pair walked into the gym, which was more populated than a few minutes ago, Magnum saw them and waved to them. The two climbed the side of the bleachers and scrambled into the seats. Rarity sat at the end of the row, with Pearl beside her. Magnum was talking to another man about some football team, that Rarity always ignored. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through various social media streams to pass the time.

After a few minutes, Rarity looked around the gym and saw all the fans of the basketball team. The school basketball team hadn’t achieved a winning record in a decade, but every game was always filled to the brim. She soon glanced her way to the student section and saw her peers already jumping up and down ready for the game. She herself could join them, but with their wild and unpredictable behavior, she thought it would be best to sit with her parents. Besides, they probably would distract her from watching a certain boy.

Suddenly, the crowd began to boo and Rarity looked around to understand what was happening. She heard louder boos as the other team began to run out on the court for warm ups. Due to the other team being from Cloudsdale High, the student section began to boo and yell at their rivals in utmost disgust. A minute after Cloudsdale took the court, the gym lights flicked and Canterlot’s cheerleaders ran to make a space to run through from the locker room.

A song began to blare through the intercom and the crowd began applauding. Soon, the locker room burst open and Rainbow Dash led the charge towards the basket. Tyrone was at the back-end, with Clyde as the person in front of him. Rainbow Dash dribbled the ball towards the basket and made a layup then threw it to the next person in line. The train continued until Clyde’s turn where instead of doing a layup, he threw it off the backboard and Tyrone caught it and dunked the ball. The crowd went crazy again and Rarity cracked a smile. 

The music faded away and the crowd started to calm down. The players resumed their warm up shots while Rarity focused solely on watching Clyde. While she wasn’t surprised he made every shot he attempted, mostly because she knew how busy he was with practice the past month, she wanted to cheer for him. What stopped her was the fact the game didn’t start yet and this was just practice. 

“So, Rarity, dear,” began Pearl as she looked at her daughter. She noticed Rarity was watching the court closely for the past minute or so. “Why did you finally come with us to watch a school game? I thought you had no interest in sports?”

“Well, I don’t, at least, not playing them myself. I’m perfectly content watching them, however.” Rarity gave a small smile to her mother and looked down at the court again. “Also, my good friend, Rainbow Dash, is playing and I would be a terrible friend if I didn’t come to watch her play and support her!”

“Little Rainbow Dash is on the team?” Pearl examined the court closely and when she saw Rainbow Dash she gasped. “Oh my, she is! I remember when she always came to our house a few years ago. Why did she decide to play on the boys’ team this year?”

Rarity smirked with pride. “Well, I told her since she’s much more skilled than the girls’ team, why not challenge yourself on the boys’? It’s higher competition, and that’s what Rainbow likes.”

Pearl nodded and slowly turned her head to the side. “I see.” She sat there quiet for a few moments, letting Rarity watch the court again, before speaking back up. “So, which boy are you watching?”

Rarity froze in place and nervously looked at her mother. “W-Whatever are you talking about?” 

“Don’t be so coy, dear. You can tell me. I was young too, you know.” Pearl winked.

“I-I seriously don’t know what you mean. That’s quite an accusation.” Rarity looked away to attempt to hide her reddened cheeks. “Did Sweetie Belle talk to you before this!”

“Rarity, please, I know what you did. You don’t have to hide anything from me, you can trust me.”

“I–”

“You made Rainbow Dash join the team so it would look like you are here for her. However, you wanted to secretly watch another player on the team.” Pearl looked over at her aghasted daughter.

“How did you ever figure that out...” said Rarity embarrassed. She looked away from Pearl and frowned. She felt her mother’s hands on her shoulder. She looked up at her and gave a weak smile.

“Don’t be upset. I only know because I did the same thing when I was your age,” assured Pearl with a smile.

“Really? How so?” questioned Rarity. She felt normal again, as if her mother’s smile purged all feelings of embarrassment within her. 

Her mother closed her eyes. “I’m sure you know, but your father was a star in this school–”

“Are you talking about my quarterback days here?” interrupted Magnum with a glare at both Pearl and Rarity. Magnum ear was always excellent when he heard his name involved with football or this school. He told his family many times that playing football at Canterlot High was one of the best moments of his life. The man beside Magnum who was talking to him shrugged and looked the other way.

“Calm down, dear. I’m telling her about how you and I met.”

“Oh, okay. Why?”

Rarity sheepishly looked away and Pearl waved him to turn around. “It’s nothing! She was only curious! Go back and talk about that game or team you were mumbling about.” Magnum nodded and resumed talking to his neighbor in the stands. 

“Anyways,” began Pearl again, looking at Rarity. “I secretly watched him in the stands every Friday night, no matter if the game was home, away, or even in extremely cold weather.”

“Did he like you back?”

“He won’t tell you if you ask him, but he did. I could tell by the look in his eye every time I talked to him or walked past him. It wasn’t until after football season was over where we started to hang out more and eventually became a couple!”

Rarity sat there stunned on how comparable her parent’s relationship quest was to hers. She looked on the court again to see Clyde trying to cross Tyrone and wondered if he had seen her sitting up here yet. She didn’t tell him she was coming to the game, hoping when he saw her, Clyde would be completely surprised.

“So, enough about your father and I,” stated Pearl. She leaned in closer to Rarity and carefully looked at the court below, looking at every player on the team. “Which one is it, dear?” she asked in a whisper so her husband wouldn’t hear her. 

Rarity waited for Clyde to have the ball and make a shot before saying anything. “That one,” she said with a point of her finger. She watched her mother squint her eyes and check him from a distance. Rarity nervously waited for her reply.

“He doesn’t seem like jock-type of guy,” noted Pearl. 

“He’s not. He cares more about his friends than himself, much like myself.”

Pearl blinked and gave Rarity a quick, curious look. “How do you know this?”

“Well, I, uh, sort have talked to him for a few months now...” Rarity felt her cheeks warm up again. Her mother gave a brief chuckle and showed a smile.

“Have you now?”

“It’s a long story, but yes. Most of the times when I said I was texting Pinkie or Fluttershy, I was actually texting him.”

“So he asked for you number?”

“No, I secretly put my number in his phone on our first date–however, it wasn’t an official date–and we’ve been texting since.”

Pearl laughed some more and looked at Rarity slyly. “You do love this boy, huh?”

Rarity flushed red again. “Well, at first, no. When we first met, I knew of his crush towards me, but I didn’t feel the same way. It wasn’t until after I kept texting him and spending time with him, especially our first movie together, is where I found myself wishing he would spend more and more time with me. I enjoy his company tremendously and so does he with mine. He’s someone I can talk to forever without any complains and someone who treats me like royalty.” 

Pearl watched Rarity’s eyes glow with excitement during her praise of him. “So he does like you then?”

“Very much.”

“Then why hasn’t he asked you out yet?”

Rarity sighed and put her boots on the seat in front of her, raising her knees to her elbows and pouting. “My guess is because he never was in this situation before and he doesn’t want me to get mad at him if he does ask and I say ‘no’. I keep hinting at him that I do like him, just like how he feels about me, but he might be slightly oblivious, while rather cute, can frustrating at the same time.”

Pearl looked at the disheartened girl beside her and gave her a brief hug. “Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure something will happen soon.” 

Rarity looked at her and gave a weak smile before watching Clyde and the rest of the starting lineup begin to walk towards their positions on the court. “You think so? I really hope you’re right. He’s the only boy I met who makes me feel this way about love and romance. I think I may have found the Prince I always wanted.”

“Maybe all he needs is just some drive?” suggested Pearl.

“Pardon?”

“Maybe, instead of waiting for him to make the first move, you should. Boys find confidence just as attractive as the girl herself. Not only will he be stunned you asked first, but if he likes you like you say he does, you’ll have a boyfriend in no time.”

Rarity pounded her small fist into her palm and smiled in happiness. “You’re absolutely right! I know for a fact he thinks I’m the most beautiful girl he ever laid eyes on! That means I need to show him confidence too!” Rarity eyed Pearl and gave her a hug. “Thank you, thank you so very much. You truly are the best mother I could ever have.”

“Of course, I’ll do anything to help my girls happy! Where do you think you get your love for romance after all?” replied Pearl, hugging her tightly back. She took a quick glance towards the court to looked at Clyde again. “I think you and that boy would look adorable together! Although, he doesn’t look tough.”

Rarity angrily frowned at her to Clyde's defense. “It doesn’t matter if he is tough, weak, or both. He's a lot stronger than he looks, however, and I know Clyde would protect me if I was ever in danger, but the most important thing is that he can carry me and that’s all that matters.”

Pearl curiously looked at Rarity again. “He carried you already?”

Rarity winked. “That’s another story I’ll tell you later.”

Pearl smiled at her one last time before turning her view toward the court. The crowd was beginning to chant and the referee threw the ball into the air and the game was on.


*	*	*	*	*


Clyde watched the ball launch into the air and Bulk and the Cloudsdale center jumped after it. Bulk managed to tip it outwards over the heads of Tyrone and Rainbow Dash and into Clyde’s grasp. The crowd cheered loudly as Clyde walked the ball over the midcourt line. 

Clyde stood in place for a few moments, dribbling the ball to not only wait for his team to set up for screens or a play, but also to study his defender. The Cloudsdale point guard was similar in size, but Clyde could tell his opponent was faster than him. Clyde led his opponent a fake cut to the right, before exploding left and driving towards the basket. As he saw a Cloudsdale forward switch on to him, Clyde bounced the ball to Thunderlane, who lifted it into the basket for two points. The crowd applauded while Thunderlane pointed to Clyde and backpedaled down the court to play defense.  Clyde waited at the midcourt line for the point guard to approach.

Unlike what Clyde did on offense, the Cloudsdale point threw it to the other guard coming off a screen. He made the open three and the few Cloudsdale fans cheered along their cheerleaders. 

“Alright, alright,” said Tyrone throwing the ball in bounds and jogging beside Clyde, “we got this. Let’s show them our movement.” Tyrone smirked and ran up to the three-point arc. Clyde lifted a finger, which caused Bulk to run up and set a simple screen to Clyde’s left. After following through it, Clyde tossed it over the heads of his and Bulk’s defender to a wide open Rainbow Dash. Instead of shooting it, she saw Tyrone do a backdoor cut to the basket and did a quick pump fake. She lobbed it high in the air to the right of the basket and before Cloudsdale could do anything, Tyrone leaped up and slammed it down. The crowd exploded in excitement and awe as Cloudsdale’s coach angrily called a timeout.

“A timeout already?” asked Tyrone with a laugh in the team huddle. “I guess they ain't ready for primetime.” 

“Don’t get cocky, boy!” yelled Iron Will, “the game just started!”

“Yeah, but so did we.” Tyrone looked at Bulk and Thunderlane who responded with big, evil smiles. Rainbow Dash glanced at Clyde and shrugged. 

Iron Will snorted at them and quickly looked at Clyde and Rainbow Dash, the two guards who would have the ball the most. “The timeout is almost over, so just continue passing on offense and stalling on defense! Show them your generosity and tenacity!” The two nodded and the referees blew the whistle to resume play. 

The team ran out and got in their defensive positions, waiting for the offense to attack them. After a quick flurry of passes, Cloudsdale missed a jumper and Rainbow Dash rebounded the ball and dashed down the court in a blazing sprint. She crossed over the center on the fastbreak and made a layup without breaking a single bead of sweat.

Back on defense, Clyde ordered the team to play tighter defense to deny easy passes. The earlier possessions Cloudsdale had were all fueled by a barrage of quick, touch passes to a wide open shot so Clyde wanted to hinder that strategy as quickly as possible. Clyde played off the point guard by a few inches to see if he could bait them to pass it to him. Like he thought, Tyrone’s man pitched it the “open” guard and Clyde stuck a hand out to stop and take the ball. He heard the crowd start cheering as he bolted down the court, the Cloudsdale point guard closely beside him. After some reaches and stellar defense, the other guard grazed Clyde’s arm as he went for the layup. The whistle blew and Clyde watched the ball roll into the basket. The crowd broke into cheers again.

“AND ONE!” the student section yelled, clapping their hands and rapidly stomping their feet up and down on the bleachers, the sound of thundering hooves filling the gymnasium. Clyde walked over to the free throw line and slapped his teammate’s hands as they walked by him, except for Tyrone, who gave him a slap on the back in excitement. Clyde leaned down to breathe and watched the student section holler and shout to pump up the fans throughout the gym. A security officer walked over to them to try to quiet them down, but was quickly ignored by the mob of students. He shrugged and walked out of the gym. Clyde laughed and gave a quick smile before looking at the referee who had the ball.

After a signal with a lone finger, the referee bounced the ball to Clyde. Clyde stared at the hoop and heard the gym fall silent, awaiting the shot. Clyde bounced the ball a few times and in one fluent motion, bend his knees and followed through with the shot, hearing the wonderful swish. The crowd erupted into cheers again.

Clyde and the team confidently marched back to defense and saw Cloudsdale coach giving hand signals to his team. Unsure of what to expect, Clyde stayed near the free throw line, watching the point walk up the court. In a quick second, the point guard ran past him, drawing Clyde to foul him with a delayed reaction. With one foul already, Clyde told himself to act careful of getting the second. 

Cloudsdale inbounded the ball and shoved it to Tyrone’s player. Tyrone and him blocked out the rest of the court and only focused on each other. Tyrone made a mistake of reaching in to jab the ball out, so the player rushed past Tyrone and took it to Bulk, drawing the foul. Fortunately, he missed the layup so there was no opportunity for a three-point play.

The Canterlot fans hollered again as the player went for his two free throws. Even through the chaotic yelling, the player made the two shots and Tyrone passed it to Clyde. Clyde briefly glanced at Coach Iron Will who was scratching his nose, signaling for him to run straight to the basket. Clyde ran past the midcourt line and past his defender, but another Cloudsdale player ran in front of him. Clyde crashed into the player and they both fell to the court. The referee blew the whistle and pointed the other way due to the offensive charge. The crowd booed and Iron Will jumped up and down, yelling at the referee at the terrible call. 

“He didn’t have his feet planted!” shouted the irate Iron Will towards the referee who made the call. “That call was-”

“Coach, no!” yelled one of the team’s reserves. “Don’t get a technical!”

Iron WIll gave the boy a death stare and snorted in rage. “Iron Will’s grandmother could have made a better call than that and she’s no longer living!” The referee made a ‘T’ with his hands and pointed to Iron WIll. “Give me a technical, huh?” laughed Iron Will immensely. “You’re lucky Iron Will can’t–” 

“Just stop,” replied the referee, “since it’s the first game of the season, I’m not throwing anyone out tonight, but calm yourself. You’re acting like an idiot.” The referee jogged away.

“An idiot?” Iron Will was blatantly enraged at his comment. He looked at bench and pointed at Clyde. “Justice! Get out there and sub for him! He’s in foul trouble.”

“M-Me?” asked Swift Justice in complete doubt. “I’m–”

“GET IN THERE!”

“Y-Yes sir!” Swift ran to the announce table to confirm the substitution for Clyde. Clyde walked back to the bench and gave Swift a handshake at the table. He walked past Iron Will who nodded at him and sat at the end of the bench in Swift’s now empty seat. Another player handed him a fresh towel and Clyde threw it over his face and rubbed all the sweat and grime from him. He looked back at the court and sighed, wishing he could keep playing, but knew how important it was to stay off the floor when having fouls. He watched Bulk block a hookshot, scream into the stands, Tyrone charging down the floor and juked a kid out and making the basket. 

Clyde threw the towel back over his face and closed his eyes.


*	*	*	*	*


Rarity frowned when Clyde covered his face, thinking he didn’t notice her in the stands. She could tell he was upset, but knew she couldn’t help him. It was a basketball thing, and she knew very little of it. Clyde barely talked about it when he texted her, so she never learned what any terms, positions, or fouls. She only knew he called himself the “assister” of the team.

Clyde never returned to the court in the first half, as Canterlot, or technically, Tyrone, was blowing Cloudsdale away. Tyrone had more than half of the team’s points, while the rest of the starters were bringing in rebounds, steals, and assists. For the bench, only Swift was making an impact in the game, filling out the stats sheet with two or three in every category. 

When the second half started, Rarity was extremely excited to see Clyde playing again. He was on with the regular starters, which surprised many fans in the crowd. Normally in blowouts, the coach would have the bench play, but Iron Will refused to let up the assault because it was also the rival Cloudsdale. 

Just like the first half, Canterlot continued scoring and denying Cloudsdale to catch up to them. Tyrone led the scoring again, but Clyde and the rest of the starting five joined in as well. While Rarity secretly praised Clyde in her head when he knocked down a jumper or made a finger roll layup, she cheered in public when Rainbow did a remarkable feat. Even if Rainbow Dash was playing on the boys’ team, the fans didn't act super surprised about it. Most fans knew she was the best female athlete in school, and debatably, the best athlete in general.

After a final score of almost tripling Cloudsdale’s points, the buzzer went off and Canterlot’s players gave each other handshakes on the victory. The student section was chanting and telling Cloudsdale to go home and wait for ‘Round 2’ in January where the same outcome would happen. Iron Will and most of the team walked back to the locker room and the fans gave one last applause before exiting the gym. Tyrone ran up to the student section, pointing to his peers and thanking them for hyping up the team. He ran to the locker room in joy after some “MVP” chants.

Rarity and her parents made their way out of the school and into Magnum’s SUV. She sat in the back seat and looked at her phone until the speech was heard.

“So, Rarity, how was your first basketball game to watch?” asked Magnum, turning out of the parking lot and back to their home. 

“It was interesting to say the least. I never knew how exhausting a simple sport could be.” She continued looking at her phone.

“Just wait until you actually play a sport once,” laughed Magnum. This time he looked at the rear-view mirror to see her give an apathetic look. “Nevermind. Did you at least learn something tonight?”

Rarity looked back up and looked at her mom. Seeing a small smile form from her, Rarity mimicked it. “I did.”

“Well that’s good. As long as you appreciate the fine art of sports and teamwork, I can’t complain.”

“Don’t worry, father. I do appreciate them.” 

After fighting through Friday night traffic, the family soon arrived at their home in the city. Rarity ran inside and quickly checked to see if all of her clothes in her shop were ruined or harmed in case a robber broke in during the game. Seeing no damage, she ran upstairs to her room, and flopped on the bed.

Her small store, while connected to the streets of the city, was also home for a small family sized house behind the curtains and upstairs. Magnum renovated the front of the house into a shop just for her, and because of the gift, Rarity promised to design fabulous clothes to keep the store running. 

Rarity looked at her phone again and saw it was an hour after the game ended. Thinking Clyde would be home now, Rarity opened up their text chat. “Good evening, Clyde. I heard you had a wonderful game tonight!” she typed. She sent it and decided to get ready for bed.

Upon returning after changing into comfortable clothes, Rarity saw Clyde replied back. She quickly opened it up and read it. “I think Coach said I had around 13 points and 11 assists, which is great by many people’s standards. How did you know already about my good game?”

“Oh, well, I figured you would have one!”

“Really?”

“Of course!” She hesitated and typed another message with a smile. “And because I was there...”

“Wait, really?! I didn’t see you. I even looked at the student section multiple times.”

“I was sitting with my parents. I wanted to wave, but everyone would have looked at me strangely and because of your little restaurant embarrassment, I didn't want being the one who was looking awkward in a public setting this time.”

“Way to bring that up again...”

“I’m sorry!”

“Heh, it’s fine. Even though you saw that... shameful selfie, I’m glad you were the only one to really see it. If it was someone else, I probably would still hate them for it.”

Rarity felt her cheeks warm. Was Clyde trying to say something, something romantic perhaps? “Aww, I’m glad you don’t hate me!”

“Hate you? I think you’re on the other end of the spectrum.” Rarity twitched her eye and stared at his message. If he didn’t ‘hate’ her and she was on the opposite end, that means he had to... love her! Before responding back, she saw another message pop up. “I’m really tired so I’ll try to make this quick: can I ask you something?”

Rarity’s heart dropped and she gasped. “Sure, anything!” She dropped her phone on the bed and hugged her pillow tightly in anticipation. 

“Well, I wanted to say this awhile ago, but I didn’t know how to make it seem weird.”

“Nothing you say will be awkward! What is it?” she typed in excitement, trying her hardest from squealing and making her family check up on her. 

“I need a tie for away games to represent Canterlot High as classy and skilled, but I don’t know where to find one. I assumed since you deal with clothes, you would have one, even though you normally don’t work on boy clothes?” 

Rarity sat there and sighed in defeat. She wanted to cry, but realized that wouldn’t solve anything. “I know where I can get one, so just stop by tomorrow. I might need help anyway if you would like being a gentleman and helping me.”

“Sweet. I’ll stop by then. Thanks!”

“Clyde, was there something else you wanted to tell me?” She typed, hoping for a certain response. 

“Not that I can think of, but then again, I’m really tired. Was there something you wanted me to say?”

“No, it’s nothing... Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night.” 

Rarity put her phone on her nightstand and put her head into the pillow, sighing loudly. Maybe one day he would finally get it. She got up and turned off the lights, crawling back to her bed in the dark and getting sucked into it. As she laid there, she thought all about her mother’s conversation with her from earlier. Since Clyde was too nervous to start the relationship, it came down to one thing.

“Well, Rarity, you are in a dilemma,” she told herself while patting down her pillow and snuggling into her sheets.. “Not only are you two madly in love, but Clyde is too nervous to say how he really feels. I guess you will have to do something about it tomorrow...” She gave one last thought about a plan before drifting to sleep.


*	*	*	*	*

> Just Another Normal Day at the Boutique 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clyde awoke on noon the next day, still feeling tired and sore from the game. He slowly rolled out of bed and sluggishly walked to the bathroom for the daily routine. 

After dressing, he made his way downstairs and readied a bowl of cereal. Clyde always loved breakfast food and would eat cereal, pancakes, or waffles, anytime of the day if he had the choice. He sat down at the table and pulled out his phone. He responded to Tyrone’s text to him about some video game he wanted to buy for his new console before opening up his chat with Rarity.

“So, I just woke up,” he typed. As always, Clyde saw her read it nearly three seconds after he sent it to her, like she anticipated Clyde’s texts to her every day.

“Goodness. Were you really that drained from one game?” 

“I have no idea, but it did feel wonderful sleeping in for once. I think I tore something in my back, though.” Clyde slowly sat up from his chair and tried to move the muscles in his back, but stopped and winced. 

“You did not!”

“I’m not sure, but I can handle the discomfort while I rest. Coach gave us the next two days off because we dominated Cloudsdale. It’ll heal.”

“Well, it better. I’d hate to see you miss games after all the work you put in the past few weeks.” Clyde smiled at her reassurance. He was happy he had a fan that could make him smile in just a few words or actions. Another text came through as he looked back down at his phone. “So, when are you coming over? I actually do need your help and no one is here to help me.”

“No one?”

“No one. My parents went to a convention and my sister, heavens, I don’t even know where she went. She and her friends go out and wreak havoc on the city weekly, trying to figure what to do for the talent show in the spring.”

“I’ll stop over soon.”

“You are truly wonderful. See you soon! :)” 

Clyde finished his bowl of cereal and threw it into the sink for when he returned later. He put on his normal gray jacket and stepped outside into the cool December wind. The holidays were three weeks away and the weather was getting colder, but snow has yet to fall in Canterlot. Normally, snow would fall much earlier, but then again, Clyde only lived in Canterlot for a season so far. He was more familiar with the weather north of Canterlot instead.

A quick drive through the city later, Clyde parked along the curb to Rarity’s shop entrance. He saw a large, square box outside the door and got out of his car to look at it. Upon closer examination, he heard the shop door open and Rarity walk outside to greet him.

“Hello, Clyde,” said Rarity in her lovely and polite tone, “I see you found the problem I needed assistance with.”

“What this box?” asked Clyde, looking down at it. The box was half his height, and about a fourth of his car in length. “What’s in it anyways?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just some new fabric and a few catalogs.” Clyde frowned and looked at her. She wasn’t wearing her normal outfit he grew accustomed to. Instead, she wore a simple cozy winter outfit composed of a sweater and leggings. She also wore orange-colored glasses he never seen her wear before. 

Clyde looked down at the box again and went down to pick it up. He felt his back begin to tighten up and he quickly stopped and stood straight up again. “Can’t you help?” he asked her, even though he didn’t want to.

“Heavens no. I just painted my nails,” said Rarity joyfully and took a glance at them. After her boast, she looked at Clyde with a playful smile. “Of course, I wouldn’t be impressed of your strength if I had to help you.” 

Clyde shook his head and hid a smirk. He placed his shoe on the side of the cube and pushed it towards the door. Rarity laughed and opened the door for the shop. When Clyde successfully pushed the box into the middle of the room, he looked at her and rapidly smacked his hands together to rid the dust from his hard work. “Man, that was tough.”

“I’ll give you this one,” laughed Rarity, “at least you’re creative.” She walked over to the box and popped it open, revealing a bolt of fabric. She took it out and under it, like she said, was stacks of catalogs. However, it certainly wasn’t only a few.

“This sure doesn’t look like a few,” stated Clyde, looking into the box and rifling through the pages of multiple different books. Rarity ignored him and placed the bolt of fabric on the counter. He looked around and took notice of the shop.

Beside her counter, there was a staircase leading up to the next floor. Clyde assumed that was where her room and family slept so he gazed to the side of it. Beside the staircase was another doorway and curtain, to the kitchen, a few dressing rooms, and little booths with seats and mirrors to them. Lines of makeup and other essential cosmetics for girls were all sorted by color and opacity at the base of the mirrors. Seeing no reason to go over there, Clyde next saw Rarity’s wall collection of shoes and boots that stretched to the main door. The left side of the shop was filled with clothing racks, accessory chests and cases, and mannequins.

“Are you amazed by my fashion?” questioned Rarity as she walked up to him. Her glasses were missing from her face. “I would ask you to go ahead and try something on, but it’s all clothes for women and you would look pretty ridiculous.”

Clyde gave a slight laugh. “I don’t know though. It seems like every time I’m with you, I embarrass myself somehow.” He looked at her and saw a sudden pout and face growing with tears.

“You mean you’re embarrassed when I’m with you in public?” she said disheartened and through a sniffle.

Clyde pinched his nose. “No, that’s not–”

He felt his arm move away as she pushed it away to gaze into his eyes. Her tears from a few moments ago had vanished and her pout turned into a smile. “I know what you meant.”

Clyde felt a sudden surge of intimacy with her as he continued to stare into her azure-colored eyes. The moment wasn’t long-lived as he nervously looked away and back to the box in the middle of the room. “Do you want me to help taking the catalogues out of the box.”

“If it makes you feel better,” said Rarity with a sigh. “Just put them on the counter. I’ll sort them later.”

Clyde gave a nod and reached down into the box. He took around five to seven catalogues in a stack and placed them beside the fabric she had on there. It took him four trips to empty the box. Rarity took it and vanished behind the curtain to the kitchen.

As Clyde turned around to lean on the counter, he felt something brush against his leg. He looked down and saw a pudgy white cat with a purple bow atop her head and a collar embedded with opal gemstones. The cat purred as it rubbed its face into Clyde’s leg. Clyde leaned down to rub it’s head, where it purred again.

“I see my dearest cat has met you!” Clyde glanced over at Rarity. “That’s Opalescence, or Opal for short. She is a pain sometimes, but what cat isn’t?” Clyde stood upright and looked down at Opal. She rubbed her face into his jeans again before yowling at him. 

“I think she’s mad at me,” said Clyde with a laugh.

“No, she just wants attention. She’s very dramatic, which makes me wonder where she gets it from.” Rarity gave Clyde a sly wink and went down to pick up Opal. Opal hissed at her and swiped her paw towards her hand, spurning her advances. “Opal! Let mommy hold you!” Opal continued her hisses and swipes. After a handful of failures, Rarity gritted her teeth. “Fine!”

Clyde watched Opal flick her tail towards Rarity and look back up at Clyde, yowling again. Clyde carefully squatted down and picked her up. Opal purred and rubbed her face in Clyde’s cheek as Rarity gasped.

“Looks like I found a new friend,” said Clyde, trying to lean away from Opal’s face rubs. Clyde never had a pet, let alone interacted with one before, so he was mildly surprised on Opal’s sudden affection towards him. He continued to rub her clean coat as he saw Rarity still angry. “What’s wrong? Did I steal your pet from you?” he playfully asked.

“No, it’s nothing.” 

“If you say so,” said Clyde hesitantly. She still had a certain look on her face as if troubled, but he didn't know what for. He carefully placed Opal down on the floor and watched her brush her tail on his leg and walk into the kitchen. Suddenly, he felt tension in his upper back again and struggled around to ease the pain.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?” asked Rarity, noticing his flinches. 

“My back is in a knot or something,” he said reaching an arm over his shoulder to scratch it. 

“Hmm, well, I can massage it for you,” she suggested. 

“A massage?”

“Of course! Mother and I go to the spa monthly, and by now, I think I can replicate them and give my own and be your very own personal masseuse! Just don’t yell at me if I can’t stop the pain.”

Clyde nodded. “I won’t yell at you for trying.”

“You’re sweet,” responded Rarity with a smile. She led him to one of the makeup booths she had and pulled out the chair. Clyde sat down and stared at her through the mirror. Rarity stood there and Clyde could see she had a troubled expression on her face.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, looking through the mirror to talk to her from behind him.

“No, it’s just I don’t know how to ask this without being awkward...”

“What is it?”

“Well, you don’t have to, but most of the time, it helps if the client removes his or her shirt,” she said quietly, as if to back her proposition. 

“Oh.” Clyde shrugged and pulled off his jacket and shirt and threw them to the floor. “As long as the pain subsides, I don’t care if my shirt is on the floor.” He saw Rarity give a smile and cracked her fingers.

“Shall we begin?” she asked him. Clyde gave a simple nod and felt Rarity’s delicate hands clamp down on his shoulders. She began rubbing her palms over, around, and to the side of his shoulders and towards his neck. He sighed in relief as the tension in his deltoids were easing. “You certainly have gotten more toned since the last I’ve seen you at the Trotsburg movie. Does Coach make you lift too?”

“Sometimes,” replied Clyde with a twitch as Rarity began rubbing near his knot in his upper back. “He makes us practice like we are playing football. As least there are also agility practices to help with the added muscle.”

“Mmm...” Clyde looked at her through the mirror and realized she didn’t pay attention to his reply. He figured she was busy focusing on the massage, so he sat there and focused on the relief. 

Rarity continued working through his shoulder area and finally made it to where Clyde felt the most discomfort. He told her where the pain was coming from so she gently rubbed it before attacking it with a faster rate. Soon, he felt the pain in his back magically vanish and his mood was instantly brighter. Rarity gave one last rub to each shoulder and his back, before taking a step backwards.

“How do you feel?” she asked with a smile.

Clyde stood up and rotated his arms and pushed his chest forward. Feeling no pain he grabbed his shirt. “It feels a millions times better! Thank you, Rarity.”

Rarity’s eyes shimmered. “It was my pleasure! Like I said, you now have a personal masseuse so do contact me if you need another one!” 

Clyde smiled at her and put on his shirt. He picked up his jacket and placed it on the chair. “So, do you have that tie?”

“Oh! Let me go get it. Whatever do you need this for again?” 

“When we have away games, Coach makes us show up to the school in a nice outfit, rather than shorts and a dirty shirt. Ties go with the dress shirt I have.”

“I see,” stated Rarity, “well, if you ever need to know how good or classy you’ll look with an outfit, I can tell you. After all, clothes are one of my passions.”

“Fashion is only one of your passions? What’s another one?” he asked. Even though they mostly communicated with each other every night, Rarity was still partly an enigma to him and vice versa.

Rarity looked at him strangely and gave a playful smirk and wink. “You’ll figure it out. Telling is hardly fun.” She quickly ran upstairs and Clyde waited in the lobby. He tried to guess one of her secret passions and glanced at his car outside. Before drowning in thought, he heard her run down the stairs, holding a blue tie. “Here you are.”

Clyde took it from her and glanced at it. “So, you do sell men’s clothing?”

Rarity shook her head. “That tie is my father’s. He doesn’t normally wear ties anymore, so I doubt he will notice its absence.”

“Wait, what? What happens if he finds out?” asked Clyde worried.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell him someone needed one. Don’t worry about it, Clyde. He’s not going to beat you up because I gave you a tie he doesn’t wear. Plus, I simply won’t let him beat you up.”

“That’s good to hear...” 

Clyde glanced back down at the tie in his hands and threw it around his neck. He took both ends and tried to form the perfect knot that he always saw on TV. After some struggles, he sighed.

“Do you need help?” questioned Rarity, looking at him, but holding back some laughs.

“I think I do,” said Clyde sheepishly, “I never wore a tie before so I don’t know how to tie a tie.”

Rarity gave a confident smirk. “It’s quite simple, really. You just go under with one end, wrap it around, and sort of do it again, but go through the hole you made near your neck. From there, it’s a simple pull and you can tighten or loosen it as you please.” 
She looked at him and noticed he was blankly staring at her. She giggled and walked up to him, standing only a few inches away and gazing into his eyes. “Would you like me to help?”

Clyde ignored what she said and focused solely on her enchanting eyes again, feeling the intimacy between them. They shared a smile before Clyde held up his tie in front of their eye contact. “If you would, I would greatly appreciate it.”

Rarity took both ends and began right away, wrapping the thick end around the smaller one. Clyde looked down and tried to learn how to do it himself, but was easily distracted by Rarity’s shiny and voluminous scented hair. Before he knew it, she looked up at him again and smiled. “There. It’s not hard once you do it a few times. My father always needed help with them so I was the one to help him most of the time.” 

“Do you mind if you did it again? This time, maybe in a mirror or something so I can see the process better?” Clyde feared a sigh, but instead, got a nod.

“Sure thing! A boy without a nice and straight tie is a major sign of unprofessionalism, and we sure don’t want that. I will show you as many times as you would like.” Rarity led him to the big mirror in the shop, the one beside the fitting room and her shoe collection wall, and pulled the tie apart. She reached her arms under Clyde’s shoulders and grabbed the ends of the tie. She also stood on her toes to peek over Clyde’s shoulder to see better. 

Clyde made sure to pay attention this time, watching her movements in the mirror and by looking down. Once he saw her pull the knot and tighten it near his neck, he made a note in his mind the steps. Expecting Rarity to ask if he got the steps down, he felt, and saw with the mirror, her head rest on his right shoulder and her arms wrap around them tightly.

“Do you understand now?” she asked him softly, almost in a whisper. 

Clyde felt a sudden warmness flowing through him, but remained relatively cool. “The steps of a tie or–”

He watched Rarity lower her eyes. “That, but also what I’m trying to imply here...” He felt her tighten her grip on him. 

Clyde looked at her through the mirror’s reflection and saw she had a tremendous thrill across her face, as if she wanted this close to him for a very long time. Truthfully, he always wanted Rarity to show affection towards him that was more than a friend, but he never thought it would happen. Most of the time crushes are left to, in simple terms, be crushed.

Before he could respond to her, she let go of his shoulders and turned him around, holding on to his tie and gazing into his eyes again. “Clyde, have I ever told you how much I adore your eyes?” she purred.

Clyde refused to blink. “I feel the same way about yours.” 

She gave a smile and Clyde saw her begin to blush. “I know how you feel about me Clyde, but I always wanted to say how I feel about you. I–”

“RARITY, I’M HOME!!! Oh hey, Opal. Why are you staring at the curtain to the store?” 

Rarity suddenly pushed off of Clyde and tried to stand there and act normal. Clyde blinked multiple times of the intimate moment and the sudden, random voice that broke it. He looked over at the kitchen curtain and saw a girl who was younger than Rarity, holding Opal.

“Sweetie Belle? What are you doing home so early?” asked Rarity in shock. Clyde saw her blush had faded already.

“Well, Scootaloo had to do something and Apple Bloom had to help Applejack and Big Mac on their farm, so I came home early.” Sweetie Belle looked at Clyde and squinted her eyes. “Who’s this guy?”

Clyde cleared his throat. “I’m–”

“He’s someone from school who needed a tie,” said Rarity suddenly. “It’s good nature to help someone when they ask for it, so I did.”

Sweetie Belle blinked and glanced at Rarity and Clyde every few seconds. “All I asked was his name...”

“My name–” began Clyde.

“Why does that matter?” questioned Rarity, interrupting him once again.

“Why does it matter for you to ask me why it matters!” retorted Sweetie Belle. 

“It’s extremely rude for you to blatantly demand someone’s name!”

“He’s in our house! It’s also extremely important to know your guests!”

Clyde watched the two bicker back and forth and stood there confused. Both of them were only focused on yelling at each other that he figured he would just leave them at it. He walked towards the door and stopped. 

“Clyde, where are you going?” asked Rarity in a concerned tone. 

“I–”

“Wait a minute!” shouted Sweetie Belle who interrupted him this time. “Clyde. Clyde... That name you stopped saying that morning ago began–”

“Sweetie Belle!” exclaimed Rarity, her ears blazing red, “don’t you dare say anymore!” 

Sweetie Belle smirked. “Oh, and what if I do?”

“Don't even try it.”

“So, this is the boy–” Sweetie Belle stopped and saw Rarity charging at her. She dropped Opal to the floor and ran upstairs as quickly as she could, Rarity right on her heels. Clyde blinked some more and felt Opal brush against his leg. He picked her up and let her rub her face into his cheek. 

“At least we won’t turn into that,” laughed Clyde. Opal replied with a pur.





~	~	~





Around ten that night, Clyde was laying on his couch watching some basketball game. He saw Rarity text him so he opened it up.

“I’m terribly sorry about my little sister’s actions today.”

“It’s fine,” he typed. “Sorry I didn’t say thanks or goodbye, but I assumed you wanted to beat her up and I didn’t want caught in the crossfire.”

“Well, I didn’t beat her up. I ignored her until dinner to teach her a lesson, but you’re sincerely welcome. I just hope she didn’t scare you off from talking to me again...”

“Of course not. Something a lot more tragic would have to happen before I stop texting you.”

“I’m glad you’re understanding! I do hate to make this short, but I’m exhausted from chasing her today. Rest well and have a good evening.”

“You too.”

Clyde put his phone on the floor and sighed. He was thankful for the help today with his back and tie, but he saw the look in her eyes what she truly wanted. He knew because he wanted the same thing.

“Why don’t you just ask her already?” he said to himself in dismay, looking down at his phone. She couldn’t have fallen asleep that quickly, so she had to still be awake. He felt confidence in himself and reached for his phone. As he picked it up, he felt it vibrate and an unknown number popped up on the screen. 

Clyde ignored it and waited for the number to hang up. As soon as the phone stopped, he began typing in Rarity’s number. He thought calling her and hearing her voice would make it more special, so he nervously fumbled around the number pad, thinking of the exact words to tell her. 

Before hitting the last number, the same unknown number popped up. Clyde sat there and wondered who it could be. Normally, his rule for phones was if the same number called twice within a few minutes, it was important. He answered the call and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Clyde. How’ve you been, man?” 

Clyde quickly stood up at the sudden realization of the familiar voice. His hand began to tremble in joy and he smiled. “I’ve been great.”


*	*	*	*	*

> Not Alone Anymore
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Thank you kindly, Rarity! Ah appreciated it!”

“Oh, yes! Thank you for your kindness and letting us hang out here.”

“AND THE HOT CHOCOLATE!!”

Rarity smiled at them. “Not a problem, girls. You know I adore spending time with you. After all, you are my dearest best friends!” She took small glances each at Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, and smiled greatly. 

Every four weeks, Rarity would invite them over to her house for either tea or hot chocolate, depending on the weather. What made today’s gathering between them more special, was that it landed on Christmas Eve.

“Ah do hate to make this short,” began Applejack hesitantly, “but ah promised Granny I would help her for our family gathering tomorrow. We Apples sure love Christmas due to an excuse to meet up again.”

“I promised to make sure the animals at the shelter are perfectly clean and ready in case of an adoption present for a family!” Fluttershy said excitedly, but with cautious eyes towards Rarity.

“And I have to help the Cakes decorate the shop for tomorrow’s free coffee and hot chocolate event!” exclaimed Pinkie.

Rarity lifted her hand and smiled. “Go on. I understand and don’t mind one bit. Enjoy the day and evening!”

“You too!” said Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie in unison before heading out of the kitchen and back into the store. Rarity heard the small chime when the shop door opened and sipped the rest of her hot chocolate, loving the taste and warmth it gave. 


“That’s awesome to hear. Did you make any friends yet?”
“Yeah, I did. My best friend and I joined the basketball team, too.”
“The basketball team? I guess I did make the right decision giving you the nickname of ‘Clyde’. You have passion just like him.”
“Heh, yeah, I’ll say.”


Moments after her friends left, Rarity heard someone charge down the steps and fly into the kitchen. She stared at Rainbow Dash who gave a smirk. “Sorry about that! I totally forgot where your bathroom was and had to wait for Sweetie Belle to get out of the shower!” Rainbow Dash looked around blankly and confused. “Where did everyone go?”

“They left a few moments ago, actually. Everyone is busy getting ready for tonight and tomorrow after all.” Rarity got up from her chair and gathered up the empty mugs and gently placed them in the sink. 

“Oh, well, that’s a bummer. We usually all go to the mall after our ‘tea party’,” said Rainbow Dash with disdain. 

“The mall was not an option today I’m afraid. It would have been simply chaotic in there with all those last-minute shoppers.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s cool then.” Rainbow Dash turned towards the curtain. “Well, I guess I’m off then. Thanks for the drink, as always.”

“Wait!” blurted out Rarity. Rainbow Dash turned around and raised an eyebrow. “I was meaning to ask you, but does it seem that Clyde is acting weird?”


“How are you guys faring? You carrying the team?”
“No, I’m playing the point so I don’t try to score unless I have to. My best friend Tyrone and this girl are the two main scorers. I’m just there to help the team as much as I can. We won our first game last night.”
“That sounds like Clyde to me. Also, you say a girl is on the team?”
“Yeah, Rainbow Dash. She’s amazing.”

“Clyde?” asked Rainbow Dash. Rarity saw her shift her eyes upwards and placed her finger over her mouth. “You know, now that you mention it, he does seem more ‘closed up’ than from when I first met him.”

Rarity frowned and put her hand on her heart. “Something must be troubling him.” 

“Probably. He still manages to help keep our awesome undefeated record though. He just doesn’t talk to anyone as much now. Not even Tyrone!” Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity and saw concern grow on her face. “He won’t talk to you either?”

“He does, but his replies aren’t filled with the joy I’m accustomed with. I have to figure out what’s wrong and fast. Christmas is tomorrow and I can’t live with myself knowing someone who I know is unhappy. I have to go visit him.”

Rainbow Dash saw the concern on Rarity’s face evaporate and turn into determination. “When? I can call up Tyrone and we can help you. He is our teammate.”

Rarity smiled, but put out her hand. “I think I can handle it myself.”

“If you say so...”

Rainbow Dash soon left and Rarity sat in her room thinking. Clyde began acting strange the day after he visited her for his tie. After that day, he seemed more depressed and less talkative than normal. Rarity frowned and quickly sent him a text.

“Good morning!” She sat there and waited for his reply. After ten minutes of silence, Rarity became discouraged. She thought to herself that maybe he didn’t receive it, so she quickly went to work typing another one. Before hitting ‘send’, she saw Clyde’s message.

“Hey.”

“You replied!” Rarity felt a smile grow on her face.

“Yeah.”

With a reply like that, Rarity’s smiled turned into a frown. “Clyde, whatever is the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not happy anymore. For the past few weeks, you haven’t shown a smile or laugh at all! It’s the holidays!”

There was a slight pause until his following reply, but when Rarity saw it she gasped. “I’m not celebrating the holidays. It’s a waste of time.”

“Why not!?”

“Look, don’t worry about me. Have fun with your family tonight. I’ll be fine.”

“But Clyde...” Rarity saw he read the message, but never bothered to reply. She sat there disheartened, knowing something was troubling him deeply. Instead of sitting there crying, she got up, ran down the stairs, and left through the shop entrance and got in her car.


“Amazing, huh? Does little Clyde have a crush?”
“W-What?! She’s a teammate and friend, but nothing more!”
“Haha, I’m kidding with you. I know you’re too reclusive to have a girlfriend.”
“Actually... I was just about to call a girl on the phone and ask her an important question before you called me.”

Rarity pulled into Clyde’s driveway and parked behind his car she loved sitting in. She walked up to his front door and gently knocked on it. She stared at the door, waiting for Clyde to happily look through the window, open it up, and smile at her. However, instead of her daydream happening, the door remained closed. 

“Clyde, please open up. I know you’re in there,” she said with worry, knocking on the door louder. She waited another minute and the result remained the same. She sadly turned around, but stopped at the sudden noise of the door being unbolted. Once the door opened, Rarity smiled. “Clyde!” Unfortunately for her, upon the first glance, she knew it wasn’t the same Clyde she knew for the past few months.

Clyde stared at her with an expressionless gaze. Normally, she would always see joy or happiness in his eyes when he saw her, but at that moment, it was as if Clyde’s eyes were devoid of spirit and lost of all hope in the world. “Hey,” he said frostily. His face was also darkened due to his new facial hair.

Rarity played with her hair to see if she could cheer him up, but his lifeless eyes remained glued on her and she felt uneasy. “How are you today?” she asked, feeling cautious. 

“I’ve been better,” said Clyde in the same icy tone. 

“What’s wrong then?”

“It’s nothing. I told you don’t worry about me.” A sudden cold blast of wind flew into them, causing Rarity to suddenly shiver. “You can come in if you want.”

“I will only if you promise me to tell me what’s wrong,” she ordered, holding her arms for warmth. Clyde looked away for a moment before opening the door some more. Rarity quickly entered his house and Clyde shut the door, leaving the cold air outside.

Clyde walked into the living room and sat down on the end of the couch Rarity slept on months ago, leaving her standing near the door. She looked around and slowly advanced towards the living room. She looked at Clyde again and sat down beside him on the couch, near the opposite end. She sat there waiting for him to say something, but realized he was watching the TV. She grabbed the remote beside her and turned it off. Clyde remained staring at the blank TV and Rarity sighed.

“Please, Clyde. Tell me what’s wrong...” she said sadly. Clyde turned to face her and Rarity saw tears in his eyes, something she never saw from him before.


“Oh really?”
“Yeah. We’ve been texting, talking, and hanging out for a few months now. She’s the greatest, prettiest, dramatic–the list goes on– girl in the world. Maybe you can meet her when you come home for Christmas.”
“I’m really glad you grew close to someone, not because I’m not there, but also for helping you through your transition to a new city. I’m still getting used to it over here too, but I wanted to talk to you about something. I would love to meet this girl and you for the holidays, but...”
“What are you trying to say?”


“My brother isn’t coming home,” said Clyde woefully. Rarity sat there in silence and watched Clyde’s eyes fill up with more tears. She knew he was refusing to cry in front of her with all the willpower in him.

“Clyde, I’m truly sorry...” she responded weakly. Clyde talked about the extra importance of this year’s Christmas, as he finally was able to reunite with the one person in his life that stuck with him through thick and thin. Clyde spoke highly of him when he could, but now that he wasn’t coming home, Rarity finally understood Clyde’s sudden attitude change. “Did he give you a reason?” she asked softly.

Clyde wiped his eyes with his arm. “He’s been deployed elsewhere. I don’t know if I can talk to him now for a year, maybe even two or three.” Rarity looked at him and saw his puffy eyes were filling up with tears again.

“Clyde, it’s alright if you want to cry in front of me. I can only imagine how heartbroken you are and sometimes, crying can ease the pain. I won’t think you are weak if you cry, even for a boy.” Rarity watched him wipe his eyes again.

“No... that’s not it. I promised myself I would stop crying over my fate.”

“Your fate?” asked Rarity confused, “what does fate have anything to do with this?”

“I finally understand now,” said Clyde nonchalantly, “my destiny chose me being alone most of my life. I’m bound to loneliness forever...”

“Clyde!” yelled Rarity, finally snapping at him for the first time. Even Clyde realized her anger towards him and broke out of his daze. “I can’t even fathom the pain you went through for your parents’ death and now this, but stop, please. You’re not alone! People do care about you! Your brother cares about you, the school cares about you, the team and Coach, Tyrone and your friends, even me! I care about you as much as I care about myself, which is a lot mind you, so stop saying you’re alone!” She slid down the couch to sit closer to him and lifted his chin up with her hand. While she had eye contact with his tearful eyes, she softly placed her forehead on his. “Please, you’re not alone anymore...” Rarity felt tears of her own begin to flow down her cheeks, but she refused to blink to show Clyde her meaning.

After gazing into each other’s eyes, Rarity felt Clyde move away from her and lift his hand up. She gasped when she felt his hands touch her cheek and with a single swipe of his thumb, wiped her tears and newly formed mascara line. “Don’t cry,” he said, “I don’t want to see those beautiful eyes sad.”

Rarity responded with a small smile and let him wipe the other cheek before saying anything to him. “Then will you stop your depression? It’s the holidays and people will be there for you!” Clyde slowly nodded and looked away briefly before reaching out and wrapping his arms around Rarity and pulling her into a sudden hug. Rarity felt warmness on her face, but returned it with no hesitation. Her arms were under his shoulders and she placed her chin on his right blade, leaning her head on his. 

The hug was perfect for her, that made waiting for it for so long even more amazing. Clyde didn’t hug her too tight nor too weak. It was snug, which made it more memorable and romantic for her as she figured Clyde wanted to show his gentle side and care for, and towards, her. The two of them remained in the embrace for a few more moments, until Rarity began the withdraw from him. She smiled when she felt Clyde’s hands run down her arms as she pulled away from him. 

“What was that for?” she playfully asked him.

Clyde looked out the window. “I wanted to thank you for coming here and talking sense into me. I waited all school year for the day I would wake up and find my brother sitting down here, waiting for me to charge down the stairs to open up a present, just like old times...” Clyde shook his head and glanced at Rarity. “So, thanks again. I’m really bad at words...”

“You’re not that bad,” said Rarity through giggles. “I’m happy I was able to return you to your original self that I love talking to!”

“You act like I turned into another person.”

“You did.”

“Really? I was that crestfallen?”

“Yes. Ask your friends or teammates. Also, lovely word choice, darling.”

Clyde laughed. “I spent that last few weeks reading books, listening to music, and trying to play this acoustic guitar I found in the attic. I think a few more days and I will able to play a full song!”

“Were you practicing to make me swoon over you?” asked Rarity with her sultry look. 

Clyde blinked at her. “No, I really wanted to learn how to play. I told you before.”

Rarity smiled. “Good, because you don’t need the extra effort. Although, if you did play a romantic song for me, that would be lovely.”

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait on that,” said Clyde sadly, “I’m still trying to learn the tabs to this one song before moving on to another one.”

“That’s quite all right. I can wait. I know you won’t let me down.” Rarity jumped up from the couch and stretched her arms above her head, making her shirt slightly lift with her, revealing some of her stomach. She noticed Clyde glance over at her and she smiled. “So, Clyde,” she said returning her arms by her side, “what are you doing tonight?”

“Tonight?” he asked defensively.

“No, at two in the morning,” she joked, “of course I meant tonight! I don’t want you to sit in this house by yourself.”

“I’m fine,” said Clyde looking away. “Tonight and tomorrow is a time to spend with family and loved ones.” He looked back at Rarity and saw her stare at him apathetically.

“You don’t get it yet do you?” she said as flatly as possible. Clyde responded with a grin and stood up. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand, causing her face to redden in shock. 

“Seems you’re the one blushing all the time now,” said Clyde.

Rarity didn’t respond to him. She continued gazing into his eyes with her own. There was one thing left to do to make the scene perfect for her, but the setting for her wasn’t perfect. Not yet at least. She felt Clyde let go of her hand and frowned. “I want you to come over to my house this evening so you can enjoy dinner with us.”

“A family dinner?” asked Clyde uneasily, “I’m not sure I will fit in with that.”

“Nonsense! You’ll get along with everyone, even Sweetie Belle if she decides to behave for once.”

Clyde rubbed his chin slowly to think. “I’m not sure...”

“Please?” asked Rarity with a pout and cloudy eyes. She stared at Clyde until she saw him shift slightly and sigh.

“Fine.”

“You really are the best!” she said in glee, this time giving him a hug of her own. The hug wasn’t as intimate as the last one, but it was a hug nonetheless and she knew they both enjoyed it. After Rarity withdrew from him, she saw his face of joy transform into worry again.

“Are you sure your family doesn’t mind if I come over? I feel like I’ll interrupt your family bonding time, plus, I don’t even know what to wear.”

“Clyde, stop worrying about it. You’ll be fine,” reassured Rarity.

“I sure hope so...”

“Trust me,” she said with a smile that went with her tone. She looked at him head-to-toe and tapped her finger on her mouth. “As for your attire, make sure it’s not casual, but also not too formal. Maybe wear what Coach makes you wear for away games? Except, you can leave the tie at home, or you could ditch the shirt and wear a nice sweater or something–” 

“See, this is why I don’t want to come over,” complained Clyde. Rarity ignored him and gave some more options for him. After a minute long lecture of outfits that would look nice, Rarity saw Clyde start rolling his eyes and she abruptly stopped talking. 

“Did I go on one of my fashion tangents?” she asked him.

“You did.”

“I greatly apologize for that.”

“You’re fine. Anyway, what time are you expecting your dinner will be?”

“Hmm, I think around six, so please try to be there a few minutes early if you don’t mind,” said Rarity sweetly. 

“I can do that. I guess I’ll see you tonight,” said Clyde with a smile.

“I better,” said Rarity with a serious face and attitude.

“I promise I won’t bail,” laughed Clyde. 

Rarity reached out and brushed her hand on his chin and cheeks. “Unfortunately, you should probably shave too, which is too bad, because I adore it so very much.”

“I can always trim it for you,” simpered Clyde. “Stubbles are cool anyways.”

Rarity returned his smile and left his house, entering her car. Clyde stood by his front door to watch her, but mostly, she knew he wanted to make sure she didn’t have car problems upon leaving. After giving him a wave, she pulled out of his driveway and cruised back towards her home, where her parents were home by now. Not only did she have to tell them about the new addition to their Christmas Eve dinner, she had one last present to wrap.



*	*	*	*	*







~	~	~






At five o’clock, Clyde put down the guitar and rushed to the bathroom to get ready. After a hot shower, he defogged the mirror to quickly shave. After feeling around his face, he noticed the razor didn’t shave perfectly, but it did shave cleanly enough to leave the stubble, which he wanted to keep due to winter, but mostly because he knew Rarity liked it.

After brushing his teeth, Clyde ran to his room to change into a suitable outfit of the evening. He wore his khaki pants he wore for away games, but instead of his dress shirt, he wore a black v-neck sweater with a white undershirt. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought he looked snazzy enough so he quickly sprayed cologne and walked downstairs.

Clyde glanced at the time once he reached the kitchen and saw it was half-past five. He sat down on the couch to put on his shoes and felt his phone light up with a message.

Tyrone now
Ey, yo, C! Start telling people that I’m throwing a New Year's party at my house. I’ll message the rest of the team and our lunch dawgs, but tell anyone you can! Merry Christmas too, dawg. Peace!
slide to reply

Clyde chuckled and replied with a simple “Gotcha.” He quickly tied his dress shoes and made his way to his car. He knew he was ahead of schedule, but that showed he didn’t mess around. He was responsible to lead a basketball team so it made sense to him he had to act that way outside of it, too.

He pulled along the curb, as usual, and looked at the time. A quarter to six. He turned the car off and saw the lights inside Rarity’s boutique lit up. As he got out of his car, he saw Rarity run out to greet him.

“You did show up!” she said happily. Clyde shrugged with a smirk and took notice of her outfit. Instead of her normal color scheme, she wore a black skirt and a red blouse. A belt with a gold buckle connected them and over her blouse was a black crop jacket. Her violet hair was in more curls than normal.

“I’m probably really early, aren’t I?” asked Clyde.

“No, actually. The turkey is in the oven and almost ready.” Rarity opened the door and waved her hand in front of it. “Won’t you come in?” Clyde nodded and stepped inside. He saw Opal sitting on the counter and heard a small ‘meow’ before she quickly ran into the kitchen. Rarity, too, began her journey there, but stopped and turned around. “Is there something wrong?”

“What? No.”

“Well, come with me so I can introduce you!” She grabbed his wrist and walked forward into the kitchen. Clyde gulped as the curtain pulled away and he saw two people he never talked to before stare at him. “Mother, father, this is our guest tonight, Clyde.”

The man sitting at the dinner table put the last knife and fork down and stood up. He walked over to Clyde and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Clyde.” 

Clyde awed over his nice mustache and firmly shook his hand. The man was dressed in a posh maroon dress shirt, paired with khaki pants. “Nice to meet you too, sir.”

“Sir?” asked Magnum. He looked at Rarity and shook his head. “Damn it Rarity, you already told him to address us with titles? I hate ‘sir’. It makes me feel old.”

“I did no such thing!” retorted Rarity towards her father. “I never told him your name, so it makes perfect sense why he used ‘sir’.”

Magnum shook his head again and laughed. “You can call me Magnum,” he said to Clyde. Clyde nodded and felt a slap on his back before Magnum walked back to the table to set the remaining plates and silverware up. “Rarity, go get your sister.” Rarity gave a sigh, but followed her directions and left the kitchen to find Sweetie Belle upstairs.

“Oh, there he is!” stated Rarity’s mother, Pearl, after she checked on the turkey. Her attire was a dress with the same color scheme as Rarity. She walked up to him and placed her hands on his cheek, making Clyde embarrassed. “Rarity has talked about you to me many times lately, dear.”

“She has?” mumbled Clyde through squished cheeks. Pearl returned her hands to her side and Clyde coughed. 

“Indeed she has. I’m glad to meet you in person! I couldn’t examine you closely while watching you play basketball during the games!” Pearl smiled.

“Wait, wait?”

“I’m teasing,” she laughed. “Rarity was right about you. You’re easy to tease.” Clyde nervously looked away for a moment. “However, I’ll stop embarrassing you. You may call me Pearl. It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Pearl walked away from him to check on food and Clyde stood there awkwardly. He decided to walk over to the table and sit down at a plate. Magnum looked over at him.

“So, how’s the basketball team faring lately? We haven’t been able to see any games due to last-minute shopping and all that fun chaos.”

“We are still undefeated. Most of that is because Tyrone and Rainbow Dash lead the division in scoring so the games aren’t really close.”

“What about you?”

“I think Coach said I lead the division in assists by a good margin, which is perfectly fine with me. I don’t like scoring unless I have to.”

Magnum stroked his mustache and nodded. “Seems like you’re doing great then. That’s what the school needed was a fantastic point guard who didn’t ball hog the ball.”

Clyde rubbed his head. “I’m not that good. I just like helping the team get better.”

“Ah, there he is with being modest. I was just like you with football. I told everyone after every game, I didn't do anything special. Sure I threw the ball for that touchdown, but my friend caught it and ran with it. Even through my modest ways, I became the best quarterback in the history of Canterlot High with stats to back it up.”

“There he goes with his high school quarterback days again...” called over Pearl with disinterest.

Magnum shot a look towards her. “Woman! I can recall my days as many times as I want!”

“I know, but maybe Clyde doesn’t want to hear about it?”

“Maybe he does? Did you ever consider that?”

“Whatever, dear. The turkey is almost done. I can tell you’re hungry.”

Magnum looked at Clyde and smirked. “Truthfully, I really am,” he whispered to him. Clyde laughed and heard footsteps roaring down a staircase. A few moments later, Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked into the kitchen.

Sweetie Belle skipped to the table and sat down across from Clyde. It took her a moment to realize he was there and she stared at him. “What’s this guy doing here?”

“Clyde is our guest tonight,” said Rarity politely, sitting down beside him. 

“What? We could’ve invited a friend over? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s because you don’t have any friends,” said Rarity with her eyes closed and chin in the air. 

Sweetie Belle gasped. “I totally have friends!” she squealed, “Mom! Did you hear her?! She just called me out!”

“I did not. You brought it upon yourself.”

Sweetie Belle and Rarity kept bickering, just like the last time Clyde was around them both. Magnum only shook his head at the arguments and Pearl was too busy giving the food the last touches. Clyde sat there and couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Pearl walked over and dropped the turkey in front of them in the middle of the table and everyone calmed down in harmony. She quickly brought over the mashed potatoes and gravy, bowl of vegetables, and some bread and butter. After every food item was placed on the table, she sat down and sighed in relief. “Well, go ahead.”

Magnum quickly piled food on his plate and let the others stare at him oddly. He gave a smile and shrug and began downing his food. Sweetie Belle was the next to attack the food while Clyde went last along with Rarity. Rarity gently placed food on her plate with delicacy while Clyde struggled getting meat off the turkey. He cut off the slab of meat and threw it on the plate before getting too worked up about it. He took a good amount of potatoes and even a sample of vegetables. He wasn’t a big fan of vegetables, but he also didn’t want to act rude.

Clyde mostly sat and ate without talking, overhearing what Rarity and her family talked about. Sweetie Belle would always try to say something about school, but Rarity would have a counter to it, causing her to get mad. Pearl would tell them to calm down because it was the holidays while Magnum continued eating food. 

After his third helping of food, Magnum leaned back in his chair and looked at Clyde. “So, I know you play and watch basketball, but how about football?” He saw Pearl and Rarity both give him a look of disapproval, but he ignored them.

“I don’t know about playing, but I do watch it every Sunday.”

“You got a favorite team?”

“Yeah, I’ve always liked the Nighthawks.”

“Oh. You’re one of those people...”

“What do you mean? Wait, don’t tell me you’re a–”

“Mustangs all the way!” laughed Magnum. The two kept the talk, starting with the rivalry, the stats, the better players on the team, the amount of championships, and all that other football talk the rest of the table didn’t know or care about. Rarity sighed and looked over at her mother.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to bother with football players...”

“I understand you completely, dear.”

After dinner was over, Clyde joined Rarity on the loveseat couch in the living room beside the kitchen. Some movie marathon was on so they began watching it. Sweetie Belle sat on the lounger chair beside them, looking at her phone. After Pearl finished cleaning up, she and Magnum also joined and watched the movies. 

Until the end of the first movie that nobody watched, Pearl talked to Clyde and Rarity about school and how Clyde liked Canterlot so far. Sweetie Belle chimed in on some occasions, but Rarity didn’t yell at her. 

Once the second movie began playing, Magnum was heard snoring and Pearl shook her head at him. She turned the volume up so his snores weren’t as loud and focused on the movie. Sweetie Belle had earbuds in and was listening to either music or watching videos of her own so she remained quiet. As for Rarity, Clyde felt her lay her head on his shoulder, just like that night after the movies. She snuggled her head into his shoulder some more, mostly to move closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her unto him. 

“Finally, you understand,” she said quietly and softly. She kicked off her boots and lifted both her legs on the couch. She fluently moved her head off his shoulder and on his chest and wrapped both arms around his torso, hugging him snugly. Clyde leaned back some into the couch so her head wasn’t on his chest at an awkward angle and placed his arm around under her shoulder. They laid there peacefully without either of them saying anything.

Halfway through the movie, Rarity fell asleep. Since she was on top of him on the couch, Clyde couldn’t move so he laid there and looked around the room. Sweetie Belle was still on her phone and watching a video or something, but she never bothered looking over to them. Magnum was still passed out on the other sofa in the room and Pearl was getting up from it. She gave a yawn and walked past Clyde and Rarity. She looked down at them and smiled. “Have a good night, dear. Thanks for eating with us tonight,” she said quietly.

“Thanks for having me. The food was delicious,” replied Clyde, trying not to speak too loud. 

“You’re too kind,” she said sweetly. “I’m going to bed now, so if Magnum wakes up, tell him he’s not allowed to come upstairs unless he stops snoring.”

Clyde gave a light chuckle. “I will.” Pearl gave one last smile before leaving the room. 

Clyde watched the rest of the movie in silence. Once it was over, he hesitantly began rubbing Rarity’s shoulder to wake her up. After a few moments, he heard her start groaning and look at him.

“Clyde,” she groaned, “why did you wake me up? That nap was heavenly.”

“I wanted to tell you I’m going to leave soon. It’s getting late.”

Rarity fully opened her eyes and a sad frown appeared on her face. “You don’t have to go! You can stay here tonight if you want!”

Clyde shook his head. “It’s fine. Everyone here is sleeping.”

Rarity pouted, but Clyde smiled at it instead of letting it win. “Fine. I’ll let you go home on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to stay for a bit longer because there’s something I want to give you.” She quietly got off him and the couch and walked towards the shop. She beckoned him over and he followed her. After the lights of the room came on, Rarity told him to sit in the same chair she massaged his shoulders at and went to the counter. Clyde sat there unsure of what to expect. He saw Rarity walk over to him with a wrapped box and he shook his head.

“Here,” she said happily handing him the present, “I hope you like it!”

Clyde looked at the present blankly. The wrapping paper was shiny with all sorts of contrasting colors to go with many diamonds on it. There was a purple ribbon around the flat box and a purple bow that was near the gift tag, stating it was a present from Rarity to Clyde. He looked up at her. “I can’t accept this.”

“Why not?” asked Rarity sadly. 

“Because I didn’t get you anything and I would feel bad about letting you give me a gift without getting one for you in return.”

This time Rarity shook her head. “I don’t need a gift. I’d rather watch someone enjoy a gift I gave instead of receive one myself. It’s the same concept as basketball to you.” She sat down beside him on the cushioned bench near her shoe wall and looked at him with glee. “Besides, getting to meet and know you more was the only gift I needed from you this year.” 

Clyde saw the happiness and excitement in her face, waiting for him to open it. He nodded at her with a smile and carefully unwrapped the present. Once the paper was gone, he turned the flat box around trying to figure what it was. She kept her big smile as he struggled thinking what it could be. Once he found the flap, he ripped it open and smirked.

In the package was a white compression basketball arm sleeve, however, it did have some unique flair to it. The top section of the sleeve, where on one’s arm would be above the elbow and under the shoulder, had Rarity’s three light blue diamond patches embroidered into the sleeve. He rubbed his fingers over the diamonds and smiled. 

“Honestly, I have no idea what that sleeve is for,” began Rarity, “I walked into the living room one day and saw my father watching a basketball game on TV. I saw one of the players wearing one so I looked it up on the internet. Some said it helps with shooting while others said it was for fashion. Obviously, if it helps you more fashionable, I’m all into the idea.”

“It’s to keep the arm warm and prevent injury to elbows or arms, which is nice, because my elbow was starting to hurt as of late. It can also be used as a towel if you want,” replied Clyde.

“Well, you better not wipe your sweat all over your gift.”

“I won’t.” Clyde looked down at the sleeve and looked at the diamond patches again. “How long did you have this for?”

“Not that long. I ordered it a few weeks ago, but the hardest was embroidering the diamonds into the sleeve. I thought of the idea myself. Out of all the information, well, actually the only information I paid attention to in history class, was the fact that in the medieval era, a lady would tie a scarf around the arm of their favorite knight before a joust. I always thought that idea was adorable and romantic so I put my favorite insignia on your sleeve! Now you can always look down at your arm and think of me!”

Clyde laughed. “That’s extremely creative. However, I bet there’s another reason.”

“Hmm?”

“You probably did it so that when the team, cheerleaders, other students, or fans, see your diamonds, they know my heart belongs to you.”

Rarity looked at him blankly for a few seconds and slyly smirked. “You know me too well.” She gave him a quick hug in which Clyde returned with no hesitation. After they separated from each other, Clyde looked at her alluring eyes. 

“Thank you, Rarity,” said Clyde courtly. “You helped me again today.”

“Anytime, darling,” she said with lowered eyes. “I’m just glad I have my Clyde back.” She snuggled into his shoulder. He let her lean on him for a minute or two before speaking.

“Did you get any messages from Rainbow Dash tonight?” he asked randomly.

Rarity sat upwards away from him and gave him a confused look. “Rainbow Dash? Why?”

“Tyrone told me he’s hosting a New Year’s party and he was going to tell the rest of the team and our lunch table. I didn’t know if Rainbow Dash texted you yet about it.”

“She may have, but I haven’t checked my phone since you came over. It would have been rude to ignore my guest.” She winked at him, causing Clyde to smile.

“Well, he told me I could bring anyone I wanted, so would you like to come with me?”

“As your date?” asked Rarity excitedly.

“Yeah.”

“Then I would simply love being your date for this party,” beamed Rarity. “What time is it?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll find out closer to that night.” He stood up and yawned. “I think it’s that time...”

Rarity frowned, got off the cushioned bench, and walked towards the door. Clyde quickly ran in front of her to open it, which caused her to giggle at the memory of their movie date two months ago. Clyde got in his car and lowered the passenger window. Rarity walked up to it and leaned against it to stick her head in. 

“Have a good night, Clyde,” said Rarity, “thank you for spending time with me and my family. I hope you had a good time, too.”

“I did. It reminded me briefly of a Christmas dinner with my family many years ago.”

“I’m sorry...”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I needed that feeling back.” Clyde started up the car and smiled at Rarity. “Merry Christmas, Rarity. Thanks for your present.”

Rarity smiled. “Merry Christmas.” 

She stepped away from the car and Clyde sped off down the street. He looked in his rear-view mirror, watching Rarity wave before the darkness of the December night shrouded the street, the only light came from the glow of the lone street light. Clyde looked at his new sleeve, Rarity’s gift, that laid in the passenger seat and could only smile. Maybe being alone wasn’t his fate after all.


*	*	*	*	*

> New Year's Eve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Another win, dawgs!” yelled Tyrone as he and the team entered the locker room after another victorious game. He sat down near his locker and laughed. “We are going into the history books as the greatest team to play for this school.”

“Don’t get too cocky, T,” called over Thunderlane, “we’ll start losing now because you said that.”

“Pssh. I doubt it, dawg. I’ll make sure we won’t lose.”

“Yeah, you’re right. After all, it is basically your team. Lead the charge every game and there’s little chance of us losing.”

“Exactly. As the highest scoring dawg in the area, I won’t stop scoring unless I know for a fact my team will win.”

Thunderlane smirked. “Highest scoring dude for chicks, too.”

Tyrone slyly shrugged and smiled. “What can I say? I’m a baller and that’s the perks. Anyways, remember my New Year’s party is tomorrow night. Come if you want to have fun, or you might get lucky, who knows?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be there. I’m pretty sure everyone in the school will be there,” said Thunderlane. “When Tyrone invites you to a party, you’d be sure to go.”

“Damn right, dawg. That’s the attitude I like to hear.” Tyrone looked around and noticed a lack of a certain baller like him. “Yo, where’s C at?” As he finished his question, Tyrone saw Clyde walk into the locker room, wiping sweat off his face with his jersey before taking it off completely. “C! Where have you been, dawg?”

“I had to go talk to and thank someone who came to watch me again tonight,” replied Clyde briefly glancing down at his arm. Tyrone nodded with a grin. 

“I see you man, I see you. Say, you tryna help me tomorrow night?”

“With your party?”

“Yeah. I need help with getting the scene set up.”

“What time were you thinking of?” asked Clyde wiping sweat off his body and putting on his regular shirt.

“Maybe like seven. The party begins at eight. That should be plenty of time.” Tyrone slammed his locker and began tying his sleek new sneakers he got for Christmas. He looked up and saw Clyde frowning.

“I would have to leave early because I promised to pick–”

“Oh, shit! I forgot about that! Sorry, dawg! You know what, I’ll ask someone else to help.”

“Are you sure?”

Tyrone smirked. “Yeah. I know just who to call.”





~	~	~





Dingdong.

Tyrone ran to the door and opened it. He laughed when he saw the certain boy standing there. “Wahlburn! My dawg!”

“The one and only,” replied Wahlburn with a coy smile. 

“Come in, man. We got work to do!” Wahlburn entered the house and looked around.

“Brother, you have nothing done with this place.”

“I know, that’s why I needed help. Are the others coming?”

“Probably not,” said Wahlburn with a sigh. “Poncho is too lazy, Patel is too damn lazy, Rivs and Sticky are watching basketball all night, and Cannon is probably already drinking and most likely drunk by now.”

“What about Jeb?”

Wahlburn began laughing uncontrollably. He stopped for a moment and saw Tyrone looking at him with confusion. “Oh, you were serious...”

Tyrone laughed. “I was joking.”

“Good. Jeb is a loser.” Wahlburn looked at Tyrone again and scratched his head. “Where’s Clyde at? Don’t tell me he’s not coming either.”

“He is. He wanted to help set up, but he had to pick up his girl tonight so he’ll come when the others will.”

“Wait a minute, his girl?!” asked Wahlburn in shock. “Is that why that asshole left the group chat long ago?”

“I guess, dawg,” said Tyrone. “I’m not sure myself, but I am proud of my boy C. It’s the girl he had a thing for since we known him. She was able to cheer him up so I’m happy for them.”

Wahlburn nodded. “Yeah, brother. I’m happy for him, too. At least one of us found someone after all. Our lunch table is a mess of a place. Yelling, fighting, throwing of food. I doubt anyone wants us.”

“Most of that yelling and fighting is you,” laughed Tyrone, “at least I’m chill.”

Wahlburn smirked. “Hey! I have to stand my ground! Those damn freshman think they are full of shit!”

Tyrone shook his head and laughed. “I tell you, we are something all right.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “Anyways, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Sorry to tell you this, but I’m afraid there’s no weed at this party.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’m messing with you, dawg. Damn.”

Tyrone decided to head to the kitchen first where he began sorting bags of chips, pretzels, and crackers along the counter. He slid a large bucket near the fridge and looked at Wahlburn. “Yo dawg, fill that bucket up with some ice and dump the water in there.”

“You mean fill this straight up with water?”

Tyrone stared at him and shook his head. “Open the fridge and put the bottles in there.”

Wahlburn quickly peeked into the fridge and saw the rows of bottled water. “Oh. I see.” After filling up the bucket, Wahlburn looked around and sighed. “Hey, are you having any meals tonight?”

“Yeah, dawg. I ordered some pizza and some wings because that’s about all you can order tonight. Most places are closed tonight. When you hear the doorbell ring, answer it if I’m doing something else.”

“Got it, brother.” Tyrone slid him another bucket, this time for soda. After Wahlburn finished with the second bucket, the two of them looked around the kitchen. All that remained was the pizza and wings. “Where to next?” asked Wahlburn.

“Most of the time, we will probably be downstairs,” said Tyrone stroking his chin. “You remember how big that place is down there. Plus that’s where the good drinks are.”

Wahlburn smiled. “Oh yeah, it’s like a man cave.”

“Yeah, but this time I have a pool table, a bigger TV in higher definition, a new gaming console, and a better stereo system.”

“Sweet. What are you going to do up here?”

“Well, the living room over there is going to have the New Year’s pre-game show or whatever it’s called. I was maybe going to have some board games for the little kids in the other room.”

“T,” said Wahlburn with a laugh, “there isn’t going to be any little kids here.”

Tyrone blinked. “Shit, you right. Well, I guess it’ll be more quiet up here then, other than the TV and music. Most people will probably only be up here for food and the bathroom if the one downstairs is occupied by someone.”

“Sounds good, brother.” 

The two of them quickly dashed downstairs, Tyrone heading towards the TV and Wahlburn heading towards the master stereo that could play in every room in the house. Tyrone soon came over to him to help. Once they heard the song’s bass boom into their faces, they smiled. 

“Looks like we are good to go,” yelled Wahlburn over the music.

“Yeah, dawg!” Tyrone went to the stereo and turned the volume down a few notches so nobody had to yell to talk to someone. “Let’s wait upstairs. People will be coming any minute.”

As Tyrone reached the top of the staircase, he heard the doorbell ring. He quickly jogged to the door and opened it up. Standing at the doormat was a delivery boy with pizza boxes and four containers of wings. Wahlburn ran over to marvel at the food, too.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” said Tyrone ecstatically as he took out some money from his wallet. Wahlburn took the food and ran towards the kitchen as Tyrone slapped some bills on the delivery boy’s hand. “Keep the change, dawg. I would say you could join us, but your boss would probably fire you.”

“You got that right,” said the boy sadly but quickly broke into a smile, “thanks for the tip!” 

Tyrone nodded and closed the door. He whistled and walked back to the kitchen and saw Wahlburn slouched over one of the wing containers. As he entered the kitchen, Wahlburn turned around with a wing in his mouth and stood there frozen.“Wahlburn! What the hell, dawg!”

“I’m hungry, brother!” he mumbled, grabbing another wing and stuffing it in his mouth. “I’m so glad you got boneless, too.”

“People are coming in a few minutes! Couldn’t you wait?”

“No can do, brother.”

Tyrone laughed and picked up a wing, biting into it. “I don’t blame ya.” 

After Tyrone ate his chicken wing, he pulled Wahlburn away from the food and stared at the clock. It was two minutes until eight. As he watched the minute hand tick fifteen times, he heard the doorbell ring again. 

“Wahlburn, don’t eat anymore food until people get here!” yelled Tyrone walking towards the door.

“Don’t worry, brother. I won’t.” Wahlburn waved at him and sighed.

Tyrone reached the door and opened it. “Welcome!” he yelled as a horde of people cheered and ran inside. Tyrone waved, smiled, and high-fived most of them as they entered his house, making sure nobody fell down and caused chaos trying to get it the house. After greeting some more of his peers, he smiled when he saw his brother for life. “C!”

Clyde looked over to him and grinned. “I didn’t expect this many people!”

“Same!” Tyrone looked around and gave Clyde a confused look. “Weren’t you picking someone up?”

“He did.” Tyrone watched as Rarity appeared from behind Clyde and stood beside him, nearly holding on to his arm to prevent being shoved. “I’m grateful of you being a shield for me,” she said looking at Clyde with a smile. 

Clyde returned it and looked at Tyrone. “T, this is Rarity. I’m pretty sure you both haven’t met face-to-face yet.”

“Nah, dawg, we haven’t.” Tyrone glanced at her and nodded. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise. Clyde talks about you all the time, since you are his best friend after all. I hope he didn’t say anything bad about me.”

Tyrone smirked. “Actually, he did tell me certain things.” He glanced over at Clyde who hid behind his palm. 

“Oh? What were they?” asked Rarity, looking at Clyde and smiling at his attempt to hide his embarrassment.

“It was nothing bad. It was long ago before the basketball season began. He poured his heart out telling me about you. I’m sure you know that stuff by now.”

Rarity gasped as Clyde sighed. “T, I thought that was a true moment between us, brother-to-brother.” 

Tyrone laughed. “Look, she brought it up!”

Rarity clung to Clyde’s arm and looked up at him. “Don’t be embarrassed, Clyde.” Clyde shook his head and brought a smile to his face after looking at her. Tyrone felt happiness overcome him as he watched them, but he didn’t want them to know he had a soft side. 

“Aight, dawgs, I’m going to go check on my people now. C, you know where everything is in this house, so I’ll see ya around.”

Clyde and Rarity waved and left for the kitchen, leaving Tyrone to continue greeting his guests. After a few more minutes of greeting, Tyrone finally saw nobody near the door. He took a scan outside to see if there were any stragglers , but after seeing none, he grinned and shut the door. It was time for some partying.





~	~	~





3 hours and 45 minutes until midnight.

Tyrone continued talking to his fellow peers on his journey towards the kitchen. Most of them talked about how awesome he was in the last game or thanked him for hosting a party. He knew his popularity among the school was increasing after every game, as he was on track to break the highest scoring career in Canterlot High, so hosting a party would be an easy way to thank them all. He walked by the stairs to the basement and was quickly stopped.

“T! What’s going on man?” asked Thunderlane, patting his teammate on the back.

“Not much, dawg. Thanks for coming!”

“Anything for a bro.” Thunderlane gave a chuckle and mysteriously looked around to see if anyone was watching them. “Hey,” he said in a whisper, leaning against the wall, “do you see Bulk over there?”

Tyrone looked around the living room to find him. Due to the layout of the house, the living room and kitchen was mostly compacted and was the area of high traffic. Most of them would filter downstairs eventually, but since the night was young, people were still greeting each other. After waiting for a group of girls to walk into the kitchen, Tyrone saw Bulk sitting on one end of the couch. “Yeah, I see him.”

“Just watch him for a second or two.”

“What?”

“Trust me.” Tyrone stood beside Thunderlane on the wall and discreetly looked over at Bulk. After a minute of watching him, Tyrone smiled.

Every few moments, Bulk would shift his eyes towards the opposite end of the couch, where his eyes would meet a girl with pink hair’s. After they both noticed the eye contact, they would both look away nervously and the cycle repeated. Tyrone could tell they were both shy, but seeing Bulk act that way, made Tyrone smile.

“Shit man, that’s cute.”

“Cute? I’ve never heard Tyrone say that before,” replied Thunderlane laughing. 

“I may be a baller by heart, but I do respect love. That’s why I respect my boy C so much.”

Thunderland nodded at him and wiped a tear from his eye. “That’s a manly thing to say, T. I respect you even more now.”

“Thanks, dawg,” said Tyrone wiping a tear from his eye as well. The two of them gave each other a bro-hug and quickly separated before anyone saw them. “So,” began Tyrone after cough, “make yourself at home.”

“Will do, man.” Thunderlane raised his bottle in the air as Tyrone left towards the kitchen to eat some more wings. Wings were his favorite and he would be damned if he couldn’t have some.





~	~	~





3 hours until midnight.

After finishing his food and talking to Wahlburn, Tyrone threw away his plate and grabbed a nice cool bottle of water. As he turned around, he saw Swift Justice staring across the house and into the living room. “My dawg! What’s going on? What are you staring at?”

“W-What? I’m doing no such thing!” Swift frantically popped open a can of soda and began gulping it down.

Tyrone looked past him and saw a group of girls talking and laughing with each other close to the stairs. They stopped when they heard a club song come on so most of them ran downstairs to listen to it better. “Oh I get it. Which one?”

“It’s nothing,” said Swift. “Let me sulk in peace.”

“Not gonna happen, dawg. I can’t let you stand here all mopey and shit at my party! Plus, I said I was going to help you get a chick so I’m here to help you! Now, who is this girl you want to make your girl?”

Swift pointed at the lone girl in the group who didn’t go downstairs. Tyrone knew her as a girl who sat with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, along with Bulk’s mysterious and shy admirer. Her pink fluffy hair also helped to make her stand out in any crowd. “Her? I got you.”

“W-What?” said Swift nervously. Tyrone ignored him and stood close to him, waiting. As the girl walked by them, Tyrone gently shoved Swift into her.

“I-I’m sorry!” said Swift, rubbing his head. “Did I hurt you?”

“Of course not! Hiya Swift, long time no see!” Her big smile made Swift even more nervous.

“H-Hey Pinkie.” Swift angrily glanced at Tyrone who was purposely ignoring him. Swift turned back towards Pinkie and nervously thought of something to talk about. “So, how’s your history project coming along?”

“Pssssst, project smohject. I’ll do it after we get back to school from vacation!”

“Smohject? Is that even a word?”

“I have no idea!” Pinkie giggled and looked at Swift carefully, causing him to become nervous again. “Say... I think you and I are truthfully connected somehow.”

“Huh?”

“I was reading some story on this fanfiction website and the two characters remind me of you and me! We even have the same names as them!”

“I highly doubt there’s a story out there like that,” said Swift in disbelief. 

“No, I’m being serious! It’s called “The Something of My Eye.” I don’t remember the title.”

“Is it ‘Apple’? That would fit the phrase.”

Pinkie tapped her fingers to her mouth. “Hmmm, I don’t think so. Ooh! It’s “The Eye of My Pie!”

Swift blinked. “I’m so confused...”

“Don’t be!” yelled Pinkie, “it’s a party! See ya!” She quickly hopped away and slid down the railing of the staircase leading downstairs.

“Well, she seems fun,” said Tyrone, walking up to Swift.

“Yeah, but unfortunately, also random.”

“Well, I did my job, dawg.” Tyrone patted him on the back and began walking away.

“You can’t just leave it as that!” called Swift, “you didn’t do anything!”

“I gave you the chance since you were too scared to talk to her! Later, dawg!” Tyrone waved as he began his descend into the basement.





~	~	~





1 hour and 15 minutes until midnight.

“Alright, listen up,” said Wahlburn looking at Tyrone and Clyde. He took another gulp of his beer can and threw it down on the small table. The three of them were sitting on bar stools at a small round table behind the couch and near the pool table. “I wanted to tell you guys, you’re my best friends. Hell with the others. I love you guys...”

“Dude, you really got to stop,” said Clyde, “you’ve had too many and it’s not even late yet.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” yelled Wahlburn, pointing at him. He looked over at Tyrone and laughed before picking up his can again. “Brother, you’re awesome.”

“Thanks, dawg. I try.”

“No, no. You are awesome.” 

“I know. I just heard you say it.”

Wahlburn laughed before placing his can on the table and falling to the floor. The life of the party stopped suddenly to look at him, but when they heard him begin snoring, they resumed. 

“So, C,” began Tyrone drinking the last of his water, “where’s your girl at?”

“My girl? I’m not sure if she is my girl yet. We haven’t officially said anything. I was going to that one night, but my brother called me, and you know what happened after that.”

“It’s aight, dawg. At least you can still ask her.”

“Yeah,” said Clyde. He turned in his chair to scan the basement, but couldn’t see Rarity anywhere. “She probably went upstairs with her friends while we were playing that basketball game on your new console.”

“She didn’t want to see you lose badly,” laughed Tyrone. 

“It’s not my fault you picked the best team in the game!” Clyde laughed with him and hopped down off the chair. “I’m going upstairs real quick. Did you want anything?”

“Grab me another water.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks, dawg.”





~	~	~





50 minutes until midnight.

“Yo! What’s going on here!” yelled Tyrone as he pushed his way through the small circle around the pool table. He saw Bulk and some kid who was always at the weight room in school, Dumb-Bell, looking at each other from across the table. “What’s going on here?” he asked Thunderlane who was on Bulk’s side. 

“Dumb-Bell challenged Bulk to an arm wrestling competition! Bulk accepted!” Tyrone looked at Bulk and the challenger and laughed.

“Sounds awesome! Let me be the judge.” Tyrone looked at both Bulk and Dumb-Bell and nodded. They nodded back and clasped their hands together. Tyrone held them in place with his own and looked at each competitor. “Aight, dawgs. Let’s get it cracking. Bulk, are you ready?”

“Yeah,” he said with a snort.

“Are you ready, dude?”

“Yeah, brah.”

“Aight, let’s go!” Tyrone held back his hands and the manly arm wrestling of the decade was on.

For a straight minute, almost even two, Bulk and Dumb-Bell were in deadlock. They groaned, grunted, and yelled at each other, making the crowd of watchers cheer more. Thunderlane was clapping near Bulk’s ear to encourage him to keep pushing. Bulk head butted Thunderlane while still focusing on his match. Tyrone laughed as Thunderlane sat on the floor dazed. Bulk and Dumb-Bell continued their stance, still at equals.

“You guys better hurry this up. I don’t want your sweat all over this nice pool cloth.” Bulk groaned louder and Tyrone saw fire blaze in his eyes. Dumb-Bell began shaking as Bulk’s massive palm began pushing his towards the table. After a loud grunt, Bulk slammed Dumb-Bell’s arm on the table and the room cheered.

“YEAH!” yelled Bulk, flexing his biceps. Thunderlane sat up and patted Bulk on the back and slowly walked away, rubbing his head. Tyrone escaped from the crowd of fans and watched Bulk yell and flex some more. 

“That guy is a true boss,” said Tyrone with a laugh.





~	~	~





30 minutes until midnight.

“I can’t believe they ate all my chicken wings,” said Tyrone sadly, smashing the pizza boxes and wing containers into the trash bag. He was alone in the kitchen as everyone was downstairs getting ready for the ball to drop on TV. Other than the music from the speakers, upstairs was dead. Tyrone grabbed another bottle of water and ran downstairs to join the party of the last few minutes of the year.





~	~	~





10 minutes until midnight.

“Hey, come on!”

“What gives?”

Tyrone motioned for the crowd to stop their boos. “I’m sorry dawgs, but I’m turning off the tunes for a bit. After Midnight, you can turn it back on. Chill!” He walked through the crowd as they began all talking at once. Since the music was off, the plethora of different voices talking at once made it hard to think or hear for that matter. He soon ran into Clyde.

“C! What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. I think I’m going to head upstairs.” 

“What!” yelled Tyrone, “Speak louder!” 

“I said, I’m going to head upstairs! It’s too loud down here!” replied Clyde with the same volume as Tyrone.

“Aight, dawg!” Clyde quickly dodged some half-drunken peers and ran up the stairs. Tyrone looked around and saw Rainbow Dash and her friends sitting at the end of his big sectional couch near the flat-screen. He made his way to the couch and took the empty seat near Rainbow Dash, who was in deep conversation with Pinkie, even though she was looking at a wall. Once Rarity saw him, she quickly got up and walked over to him.

“Do you know where Clyde is?” she asked politely, even though the loud room.

“He went upstairs since it’s much quieter.”

“Thank you,” replied Rarity with a smile. She elegantly moved through the crowd and made her way up the stairs. Tyrone looked back down the couch and saw the other girls walked away, leaving Rainbow Dash sitting there alone. Tyrone smiled and scooted over to her. With only a few minutes until Midnight, this was his chance.

“RD!” he said smoothly as he wrapped an arm around her.

“Oh no...” said Rainbow Dash with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“T,” she said, moving away from his arm and looking at him, “Look, don’t take this the wrong way. I think you’re awesome! I just don’t think it would be good for us. We’re teammates and friends!”

“That don’t matter, girl,” said Tyrone sadly. “We can be more than just teammates!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “It’s just, we can still be awesome together on the court and as friends! I’d rather fly solo some more.”

Tyrone frowned. He knew there was no way now. “Aight, girl. At least we can still ball together. I just love your hair though.”

“Why?” asked Rainbow Dash with a laugh. 

“It’s funky and shit. I need a girl like that, you feel me?”

“I’m sure plenty of girls out there have hair like mine,” said Rainbow Dash with a comforting smile. “You’ll find her. It’s just not me.”

Tyrone nodded. “You right. Thanks, RD. Sorry for making a move on ya.”

“We’re good. I’m used to it.” She stood up and stretched out her hand, but stopped and gave him a friendly smile. “If it makes you feel better, you are my favorite teammate.”

“I’ll take that.” Tyrone shook her hand and watched her walk away. He hung his head and  felt sadness as he couldn’t have a girl for the night. He soon felt a weird sensation, as if someone was looking down at him. Curious, he looked up and saw a girl look at him with widened eyes. He gasped once he saw she had rainbow hair.

“A-Are you Tyrone?” asked the girl.

“Yeah, girl, I am.”

The girl gasped and jumped up and down. “Oh my gosh! I’m like your biggest fan! I think you’re the coolest boy in the entire world!”

Tyrone laughed. “I appreciate it. Say, what’s your name?”

The girl giggled. “I have many names! Although to save some time, you can just call me First Light.”

“More like First ‘Bae’,” laughed Tyrone again. Tyrone noticed that made her even more excited standing next to him. She definitely had the 'funky factor' he liked in a girl. Plus, she also seemed to really think he was super amazing which he never heard before. “Call me crazy, but I think I found her.”


*	*	*	*	*


Clyde sat back into the living room sofa and closed his eyes. All he could hear was the faint ambient noises coming from downstairs and the sizzle of the electric fireplace under the TV. He opened his eyes and saw the TV was on mute, but the New Year’s special was on. Clyde saw the countdown on the TV begin to get closer and closer to midnight and the crowd and special guests getting excited.

“There you are,” said a familiar and angelic voice. He didn’t have to turn his head to watch Rarity walk up to him and sit down on the couch beside him. “What caused you to come up here?”

“It’s more quiet up here,” began Clyde, “plus, it’s also not as hot.”

“I guess.” Clyde saw her scoot closer to him and rest her hand on his shoulder. “Are you feeling well?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you sick or don’t want to be here?”

Clyde shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’m not used to the large crowds is all. I just needed some breathing room for a few minutes so I came up here to watch midnight happen on TV.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you?” asked Rarity with a pout. He knew she was feigning sadness.

Clyde gave a small laugh. “Of course not.”

“Good,” she said soothingly. “I’m sorry I didn’t hangout with you as much as I would have liked to. You were so preoccupied with that game I decided to go talk to the girls for a bit, well, all but one of them.”

“Why, did someone not show up?”

“Applejack stayed home to take Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, somewhere. They wanted to come to this party, but Applejack, being the responsible sister she is, wouldn’t allow it.” Rarity checked her nails for a moment to see if they were still perfect. “Plus, she’s not the kind of person for these type of events. She’d rather work than slack.”

“I haven’t really met her to agree with you,” said Clyde. “I’ve only met Pinkie and of course, Rainbow Dash.”

Clyde saw Rarity flash a smile. “I’ll make sure to introduce you to all of my dearest friends.”

“That sounds–”

The cheers from downstairs interrupted him, causing him to look at the TV. The countdown was under a minute now and the people on the program and downstairs were shouting the numbers. 

“So Clyde,” said Rarity softly, but loud enough so he could hear her, “do you have a New Year’s resolution?”

Clyde blinked and watched the countdown tick down to ‘30’. “I completely forgot about it. If I had to pick something, maybe continue helping my team or learn the guitar.” He looked over at her. “What about you?”

Rarity sat there for a moment and looked away before returning her gaze at the TV screen. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough...”

Clyde stared at her, noticing a faint blush begin to appear on her face. He looked over at the TV screen and saw, and heard, the countdown tick down into single digits. After every number, the crowd downstairs shouted louder and louder. As the countdown reached ‘0’, Clyde heard people cheering, applauding, and  running around downstairs. He looked over at Rarity. “Happy–” He stopped talking as he felt Rarity’s hands on his rough face of stubble. Without even telling his body to act, his eyes closed instantly and he felt his heartbeat beat faster as her soft lips finally met his.

Clyde felt heat burn his cheeks, but because of her cool and shaky hand, he ignored it. Time was frozen in place and the only sound he could hear was his heart beating in joy. As her hands rested on his face, Clyde wrapped his arms around her lower waist, causing her to press her body closer into him more. He could smell the familiar perfume she wore during their first trip to the movies together, something he craved because it only caused him to think of her. Even through closed eyelids, he imagined her beautiful blue eyes were instantly filled with happiness and stars. Her lips had no particular taste due to his focus of only feeling them with his. Every sense in his body could tell him the same thing: this was the best moment of his life.

Clyde could also tell Rarity was as nervous and excited as him. She wasn’t kissing him fully, like in the movies. Instead, her small movements with her lips caused Clyde to return them, but with more force. Just by contact with each other, he knew they both wanted to keep going. After a few more moments, Clyde felt Rarity’s angelic lips and hands begin depart away from him. He opened his eyes to see his favorite pair in the world gaze into his.

“That was wonderful,” she said softly with a smile. Rarity leaned her forehead to touch his and smiled. Clyde could see her reddened cheeks burn with passion.

“That was your resolution, huh?” asked Clyde with a loving smile. They both refused to break eye contact with each other.

“Part of it. I wanted to finally share that moment with you because I only want you.” Clyde realized his arms were still around her lower waist so he pulled her closer and she snuggled into his shoulder. Clyde put his head atop hers and hugged her tightly to him. “That was my goal and I accomplished it within the first minute of the New Year!”

“I say you did a pretty good job,” laughed Clyde. They watched the TV together and listened to the roar of the party downstairs. As Clyde felt Rarity’s gentle breaths on his chin, he thought of something. “Does this mean we’re a couple now?”

Rarity giggled and broke out of his hug, much to his dismay. She looked at him and smiled. “Of course! I thought we were since Christmas, but neither of us said anything, so I guess this makes it official.”

“I wanted to call you after I came over that day, but my brother called as I dialed your number,” said Clyde sadly. “It wiped my mind after that conversation.”

Rarity frowned, but leaned her head on his shoulder again. She looked up at the ceiling and gave a comforting sigh. “It’s fine now, darling. It may have taken us an extremely long time to get together officially, but all of our past moments and memories were leading up to this night and this divine moment. We both care deeply for each other if we tried this hard for this long.” She turned around to look into his teal eyes again and smiled with lowered eyes. “Now we can share more moments together, but this time, as lovers.”

“Oh?” said Clyde playfully, hugging her into an intimate embrace again. “I don’t think you mean anything by that.”

Rarity giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I guess I’ll have to show you then...” she cooed. She quickly lunged at his mouth with hers.

Unlike the first time, Clyde wasn’t as nervous and he could tell she wasn’t either. Instead of slow pecks, Rarity attacked his mouth with more energy, and most of all, more passion. He felt his heart beat happily each time Rarity’s lips smacked against his. He pulled her in closer to him and heard soft and quiet moans coming from her. Clyde ignored every sense in his body except touch as he wanted to only feel her intimate kiss. They continued their pace until Clyde felt Rarity slowly pull away again. Instead of gazing into his eyes, Rarity rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso. 

“Waiting for it for so long made it perfect,” she cooed again. As she laid against him, Clyde could still feel his heart thumping. It wasn’t nervousness anymore like the first few times he talked to Rarity. That feeling began to fade out of his mind after he saw her affections towards him. This feeling was much different.  It was a feeling he thought he lost in despair a long time ago. It was love.

Love was something he thought he would never understand again after his parent's death. Except his busy brother, he didn’t have anyone he could turn to and talk about what was troubling him or even a random fact of the day. He had Tyrone and the boys now, but most of the time they would joke about serious topics. Rarity was different. She was truly someone he felt comfortable being around and telling her any secret he had. He knew she felt similar about him due to the various hints she gave him the past few weeks, but he hesitated on saying anything because he didn’t to get experience that pain again. Clyde looked down at her and gave a hug of his own. She snuggled closer into him as a response.

The couple stayed on the couch for a few more minutes, not talking, but enjoying each other’s company, before returning downstairs. The music was back on and most of the people were either drunkenly dancing or singing. Clyde looked around for Tyrone or someone else, but he couldn’t find anyone. He felt a hand tug at his shirt and he turned around. Rarity looked at him.

“Do you mind if you take me home? It’s getting late and people are getting even more drunk.” Her voice was more amplified than normal due to the music. 

“Sure thing,” said Clyde with a smile. They quickly ran back upstairs and walked past the couch they kissed on. Clyde and Rarity both stopped to look at each other again to smile at the thought of it. Clyde gave one last look for Tyrone before following Rarity out the door. The two of them walked outside into the cool air and Rarity instantly shivered.

“Why did I forget a jacket? I guess I wasn’t thinking...” She felt Clyde put his jacket over her shoulder and she sighed in relief. “You really are getting better at hints.”

“I can’t leave my lady in the cold. That would be rude.” Rarity brushed her hand over his face of stubble and entered his car, leaving him to smile. He looked up into the sky to search for stars, but clouds were blocking them. He shrugged and quickly entered the car.

Instead of their normal car drives, Clyde kept the radio off so he could talk to Rarity. They didn’t have much to say, other than the party, but hearing her laugh and giggle made him feel happy. Once he pulled up along the curb at the normal spot, he turned off the car. They sat in silence before Rarity reached over and grabbed his hand with hers. 

“I guess I’ll talk to you later?” she asked with a wink.

Clyde stared at the road. “Hmm, maybe even sooner.” 

Rarity gasped and laughed. “I’m surprised you remembered that. That was so long ago...”

“Yeah, but it’s also the night we began talking to each other, too. I won't forget moments like that.” 

“Of course,” she said blissfully. He felt her grab his hand tighter and rub it with her thumb. Clyde saw her look at her store entrance with the corner of his eyes. “Well, I probably should get inside, sadly. It is almost one in the morning.” She opened the door and began to let go of his hand.

“Wait,” said Clyde, snatching back her hand. Rarity looked over at him and stared into his blazing teal eyes. 

“What’s wrong, darling?” she said in a soft whisper. 

Clyde stared into her enchanting sapphire eyes unable to speak. He felt his heart thump again. This time, it was a mix of nervousness and the newly returning feeling of love. He knew his heart wanted to tell her something, but his nerves made him hesitant. He wasn’t alone anymore. He knew what his heart wanted. With a quick movement, Clyde placed his arm behind her head and kissed her lips. He heard her giggle before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They sat there in his car, under the dim glow of the street light, kissing each other passionately. Clyde departed after a few minutes and placed his forehead on hers. They opened their eyes simultaneously and smiled away. 

“What was that for?” she asked coquettishly, her arms still dangling around his neck.

Clyde felt his heart thump faster and faster. Nothing in the world was better than her. If he won the lottery, he would give it all to her. Rarity was what his heart wanted and she was the only one who could have it. “It’s because I can’t wait to see you again,” he said softly in a whisper, “and because I love you, Rarity.”

Rarity’s eyes widened and a faint gasp came from her mouth. Clyde watched her expression of shock transform quickly into glee. She kissed him lightly on the lips again before returning her gaze to his eyes. “I love you too, Clyde.” 

They sat together and kissed again before Rarity exited his car. Clyde started up the car and took out his phone. He signaled to Rarity to wait a minute and he typed a something on his phone. He looked up at her after typing “Goodnight. Oh, and keep the jacket.” He beamed as he watched her read the message and laugh. She quickly typed something back to which he looked down at the screen.

“Goodnight, my love. ♥” Clyde smiled one last time before pulling away from the curb. He watched her wave from his mirrors and he pondered about the night. 

Not only did he have an amazing time as Tyrone’s party, he finally became Rarity’s boyfriend. After all these years, fate finally showed love to him.


*	*	*	*	*


Rarity watched Clyde turn right on the avenue and she lowered her arm down. She stood there for a moment and quickly ran inside. She threw her boots near the door and ran upstairs into her room as quickly as possible. 

Once inside she closed the door, flopped on her bed, and hugged her pillow tightly. “Ahh!” she yelled happily into her pillow. “He said it! He finally said it!” She continued her squees for ten minutes before deciding to call it a night. She wore his jacket to bed, which she could faintly smell his cologne, and held her pillow close to her. After some quick thoughts about Clyde and some snuggles into her pillow, she passed out effortlessly.
	
> Everlong
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A faint knock on the shop door caused Rarity to stop sewing a hem on a spring dress. She grumbled and walked over to the door. “Don’t they know this place is open so you can walk in?” She briefly stopped and laughed. “Oh, that’s right. I didn’t change the sign to 'Open' today.” There was another knock and she continued her pace towards the door. After opening, she gasped in joy at the handsome boy standing at her door, holding a dozen of red roses.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” said Clyde with a smile. Rarity lunged at him, hugging him and giving him a light, but passionate kiss.

“They’re beautiful!” she gushed. Clyde handed her the bouquet of roses and she glanced at them before bringing them closer to her face. After she could smell the heavenly scent that reminded her of one of her mother’s perfumes, Rarity hugged them closer to her and looked at Clyde. “Thank you, Clyde. You are truly the best boyfriend in the world.”

“Anything to make you happy,” he beamed. “I was planning on giving you those at lunch, but you talked to me last night and said you were still sick. Maybe you shouldn’t kiss me as much when I’m sick next time?” He gave a small laugh.

Rarity pouted. “But Clyde, darling, your kisses are so heavenly. I’d rather get sick with you than being sick of you.”

“Good point. How are you feeling?” he asked, touching her forehead with his hand.

“After spending most of the day sitting on the couch, watching random movies and eating soup, I’m only slightly coughing. It will be gone soon.” Rarity gave him a comforting smile. She noticed he was still standing outside. “You can come in. You know you’re welcomed here anytime.”

“I would, but I need to be at the school in five minutes.”

“Oh, that’s right! The first playoff game is tonight.”

“Yeah, I guess we’ll go somewhere to eat tomorrow night for Valentine’s Day,” said Clyde in a sweet tone.

“That would be wonderful!” She placed her roses on the shelf near the door and grabbed Clyde’s hands with hers. After gazing into his eyes, she smiled at him. “Good luck tonight, darling. I’ll be there rooting for you.” She leaned forward and pecked his lips with hers.

“Hopefully, I don’t get sick again,” he joked with a smile. After seeing Rarity not laugh at it, Clyde blushed and sighed. “Bad joke?”

“You’re lucky I love you.”

Clyde grinned. “I’m kidding, but I love you too. I have to go or Coach will sit me out tonight!” They kissed one more time before Clyde ran to his car and sped off. Rarity closed the door and picked up her bouquet of roses again. She sighed dreamily and ran off  to find a vase.


*	*	*	*	*


Clyde ran into the school as fast as he could and entered the locker room. The team all did the routine of yelling “Heyo!” when someone on the team entered their sanctuary. Not only was everyone in a good mood for the game, but having Canterlot High’s first home playoff game was special. It was their reward for a perfect season.  They knew the crowd would be wild tonight since it was the first time the school made it to playoffs since Magnum led the football team to a championship. Clyde sat down on the bench and immediately saw Tyrone slide down the bench beside him.

“C!” said Tyrone excitedly, “where were you, dawg? You almost didn’t make it.”

“I had to deliver Rarity’s flowers since she didn’t come to school today.” Clyde saw Rainbow Dash look over at him at the sudden mention of Rarity's name.

“That’s cool, dawg. I gave the bae flowers earlier. How about we win tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

Tyrone got up and ran over to talk to Bulk about something, leaving Clyde to change into his jersey. After he put on Rarity’s sleeve and slammed his locker, Rainbow Dash leaned against the locker wall and looked down at him.

“So Rares is alright now?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was just a stomach bug.”

“Weren’t you sick the other day?”

“I was, but it only lasted a day or two. I guess she caught it from me.”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “I guess she really meant it when she says you’re irresistible. Even through sickness, she still wants to kiss you.”

Clyde’s face reddened. “She still talks about me all the time at lunch?”

“Of course! She loves talking about you. From you and her’s nightly phone calls, random dates, anything you both did, she will tell us about it.” She saw Clyde’s face get redder and gave a smirk. “She never, and probably won’t, say anything super personal, so don’t fret.” 

“I can’t believe she still talks about me at lunch. I even sit with you girls every other day.” 

“Yeah, and don’t get me started on days where you don’t sit with us. I always find her glancing over to your table.” Clyde frowned, but Rainbow Dash coughed to get his attention. “We don’t think it’s annoying. We are Rarity’s best friends so we are happy for her.”

“As long as I’m not annoying–”

“You’re not. Me and the others at the table like you, well, I at least like you. I can't really say for the others, but in the end, we’re all friends due to Rarity. However, you can plainly see I’m a much cooler friend to you than them.” Rainbow Dash laughed again.

Clyde smiled. “Yeah, thanks RD.” He got up and they bumped knuckles. “It’s that teammate bond.”

“You know it. I’m glad I decided to play with the boys this year. This is way more fun and we are a really good team.” The small buzzer in the locker room went off to signal the game was about to start.

“YEAH!” screamed Bulk, running by both of them towards the exit. Tyrone smirked and ran after him. Clyde, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the team, all walked towards the door to the gymnasium to join them. Tyrone got out of line to look at Clyde.

“Alright, C. This is it. Time to blow away the first team.”

“Don’t say that,” warned Clyde. “It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen. All it takes is one lost and our season is over.”

Tyrone laughed. “Yeah, good one. We are the best seed! We are playing a team that barely made it in. There’s no way we can lose.” The door to Iron Will’s small office slammed open and the team ran out to the large and hollering gymnasium.





~	~	~





“I can’t believe we’re losing,” said Tyrone through some pants during the timeout.

“You jinxed us!” yelled Thunderlane. 

“Don’t put the blame on me! These dudes are really putting the defense on us.”

“Quiet!” thundered Iron Will. He looked at the team and snorted. “Iron Will refuses to let his team and himself lose the very first night! There’s still time!”

“Yeah, but down ten with only two minutes left?” said Thunderlane devoid of hope. “There’s little chance we have.”

“You can’t think like that!” retorted Rainbow Dash. “That’s plenty of time!”

“Exactly! We need to score fast while playing stellar defense!” Iron Will looked at Bulk and Thunderlane. “Let the other three score, unless you can grab the miss and put it back in quickly.” The two of them nodded and Iron Will looked at Clyde, Rainbow, and Tyrone. “Either draw fouls or pass into open threes. We need to play aggressive and get the crowd back into the game!” They nodded as the buzzer went off. 

Clyde and the team walked back on the court. While Bulk and Thunderlane stayed near the basket, Tyrone and Clyde walked to the opposite end to inbound it. Clyde looked at the crowd and saw the energy from when the game started was gone. The fans were so used to winning, nobody expected the Wondercolts being down by ten at any point of the game, or any game. Tyrone bounced the ball to Clyde and quickly ran down the court. 

As soon as the ball reached his hands, Clyde sprinted down the court, fighting off the defender on him. He quickly halted at the three-point line and completed the pull-up jumper. The crowd cheered. Clyde worked on the three-pointers all season, and with a clutch shot like that, he felt confident to do it again. 

On defense, the opposing team tried to hold the ball to drain some precious time, so Clyde and Tyrone ran up to him to see if they could cause a travel. In trying to throw the ball to a teammate, Rainbow Dash intercepted it and began charging down the court along with Tyrone and Clyde. She passed it forward to Clyde, who thought about another pull-up, but instead passed the ball behind his back to the incoming Tyrone who dunked it. Tyrone and Clyde gave each other a high-five as the crowd began cheering louder. Scoring that quickly to lower the other team’s lead was one thing, but getting the crowd pumped up again was even more crucial.

During the next defensive stance for the Wondercolts, the opposing team whittled the time to under one minute before shooting a three. The ball bounced off the rim and Bulk grabbed it down. He tossed it to Rainbow Dash who sped down the court. After a crazy crossover and spin through two people, Rainbow Dash laid the ball in the hoop. The fans began chanting as their team was now only three points down.

The away team called a timeout and Canterlot walked towards the bench in higher spirits than earlier. With around forty seconds left, there was plenty of time for a defensive stop and a chance to tie it, or even win it if they were lucky.  Iron Will told them the defensive positions and the buzzer quickly went off.

Due to the defense, the Wondercolts were able to take the ball back with around fifteen seconds left. Iron Will called his last time out to draw up the play.

It was a simple play. Clyde would pass to Tyrone, who would swing out to Rainbow on the corner while Bulk and Thunderlane set up screens in the paint to cause confusion. If she was open, she would take the three. Due to the randomness of the screens, it was a good last resort play, and with only fifteen seconds left, the condition was perfect. 

Clyde and the rest of the team walked to their spots in silence as the opponents set up their defense. The crowd gave its last few hollers before calming down to witness Canterlot’s last effort. When the referee blew into his whistle and handed the ball to Tyrone, Clyde quickly dashed across the half-court line. Tyrone threw the ball in front of him and ran to his spot on the floor. 

Since there was little time to act, Clyde threw the ball to Tyrone and ran to his spot. Instead of following Clyde, his defender stayed on Tyrone, causing him to blindly toss the ball to Rainbow Dash in the corner. Most of the defenders dodged the screens and Rainbow Dash hesitated on the shot. Clyde looked at the shot clock and jumped in the air to get her attention. She threw it across the floor to him as a last resort. As the closest defender ran towards him, Clyde fumbled with the catch, but released his shot at the apex of his jump. He felt the hands of the defender slam against his sternum, knocking the wind out of him and making him fall to the floor. The whistle blew and as he slammed hard to the floor, Clyde saw the ball sail into the basket and the crowd go wild. 

“AND ONE!” yelled the crowd. Tyrone and Thunderlane ran to pick Clyde up and gave him pats on the back and head on the rare, and very thrilling, four-point play. He felt slight pain on his back and chest, but he ignored it in the heat of the moment and walked to the line. The game was all tied now with only five seconds remaining. This free throw would give them the lead for the first time in the game. The crowd fell silent as Clyde stared at the hoop. After receiving the ball from the referee, he bounced it on the wooden floor and took a deep breath. He went with his motion and smiled when the ball swished into the basket.

The crowd cheered and the student section began stomping on the bleachers, but the game wasn’t over quite yet. The other team didn’t have any timeouts, so they quickly inbounded the ball and ran forward. As the crowd was chanting down the shot clock, the opposing point guard tossed it to their forward who was already running towards the paint.  He went for a simple lay-up, tossing the ball off the backboard. Bulk jumped into the air and slammed it against it, blocking the ball’s momentum from going in, as the final buzzer went off. The crowd went crazy at Bulk’s game-winning block. However, whistles broke the cheers.

“The basket counts!” yelled the referee, signaling with his hands at the goaltend. The opposing team began jumping in joy as the gymnasium fell silent again. Iron Will ran over to the referees and starting yelling at them, but they ignored him and walked off the court, Iron Will close behind. 

Clyde sat down on the court and shook his head. Not only was it the biggest upset in the history of the surrounding area, they were that close from moving on and continuing the awesome season. He looked at the fans and saw them leaving in sadness, rage, shock, and every other emotion. 

Clyde watched Bulk sob and sadly walk back to the locker room along with most of the team. Tyrone laid on the court, body sprawled out, with his hands on his head in astonishment and Rainbow Dash had her hands over her face. 

Clyde sighed and looked at the crowd one last time. He saw Rarity sitting in an empty section on the bleachers with a saddened smile on her face. She waved at him, causing him to laugh and feel happier, like she always made him feel when he saw her. He quickly stood up and walked over to her. As he sat down, she gave him a hug. “I’m still sweaty," said Clyde.

“I don’t care.”

“Sorry to make you come out here and watch us lose, especially on Valentine’s Day,” apologized Clyde. Rarity shook her head at him.

“Clyde, I didn’t waste my time nor did it matter what day it was. I love watching you play. You had a wonderful game! It’s simply unfortunate that you guys lost, but it was a tremendous comeback effort that you started!”

“At least my biggest fan thinks I did good,” he said with a smile.

“I will always think that,” she smiled back for a quick moment before turning her face serious, “unless you don’t do anything. I can’t root for you then.”

“I’ll try not be that bad,” laughed Clyde. He saw Tyrone finally get up and trudged slowly back to the locker room. Rainbow Dash looked at Clyde and Rarity and waved at them before following Tyrone. “What time did you want me to pick you up tomorrow for dinner?”

“Why don’t we talk about that tomorrow?” asked Rarity sweetly, “the night is still young. We can still spend Valentine’s Day together.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s my turn to spend the night at your house. We can watch movies?”

Clyde nodded. “Sounds good. I need to take a shower first.”

“Perfect! That will give me enough time to decide on which movie I should bring!” Rarity gave him another hug. “I’ll see you soon, darling.” 

Clyde helped her down the bleachers and smiled before running back to the locker room. The team was silent and everyone changed out of their jerseys for the last time that season. Clyde kept to himself and looked at the jersey on his lap. He felt disheartened that the season was over. After he waved goodbye to Tyrone, Rainbow, and the others, he quickly left the school in his car and made his way back home.

During the drive, Clyde reminisced on the season. Playing for the school not only made him a better player, but he enjoyed it more than street ball. There was something appealing to him about making an open shot in front of the fans and hearing them cheer in excitement. In street ball, he never felt adrenaline like that. At least he had next year to try to win for the school, along with Tyrone and the team.

Upon reaching his home, Clyde quickly ran inside and headed for the shower. Getting a shower after every game was a routine so that he didn’t feel dirty as he slept. It also made him feel refreshed to relax more that night, whether it be music or Rarity related. 

After his quick rinse, Clyde ran back to his room to get into lounge pants and a black shirt. He looked in the mirror, shook some water out of his thick hair, and grinned. He opened up Rarity’s conversation on his phone and texted her that he was ready and clean. Her reply was swift, sending only a simple “;)”. Clyde smiled and began his descend down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he looked in the living room and gasped.

“Hello, darling!” said a jubilant Rarity, sitting on the couch. Clyde took notice of her attire, composed of one of his hoodies that was extremely big on her and leggings, the normal outfit she wore when she wanted to lay around or cuddle with him. In her lap was a small bag, embedded with a blue diamond. 

“H-How–”

“Oh, you forgot to lock your door,” laughed Rarity elegantly, “I thought I told you about locking your phone, but now your door, too?”

Clyde shrugged. “Oh well.” He walked over to couch and sat down beside her. After sharing some smiles, Clyde looked at her bag. “What movie did you bring?”

“Well,” began Rarity with a frown, “there wasn’t really a movie that called out to me that we would both enjoy. I just picked some romantic movie.”

“Oh. Well, I’m pretty tired anyway. I was probably going to fall asleep during it.”

Rarity smirked. “That’s exactly why I picked it.”

Clyde laughed and smiled. “I see now.” Rarity got off the couch to put in the movie as Clyde laid on his back on the couch. After moving the pillow to help his neck, Rarity came back and flopped down on top of him, kissing him and hugging him as she adjusted herself on the couch next to him. After a few moments, she moved herself where she was between the back cushions of the couch and Clyde and rested her head on his shoulder. She also used one of her legs to wrap it over and under his. 

Since Rarity was laying on his left arm, Clyde planned on using his right to hug her from her side. Before they got too comfortable, Clyde pulled the blanket under his head on the arm of the couch, and wrapped her and him with it, before wrapping his arm around her side. Rarity responded with a loving sigh, a kiss, and snuggling her head into his shoulder some more. When the movie began playing, Rarity looked up at him.

“I posted your flowers today on my social media account.”

“What for?” he asked, even though he knew the answer. She always posted pictures of his gifts or a picture of them together. 

“I wanted to show my friends how amazing you are,” she cooed. “Even my mother liked your gift and thought they were beautiful when she saw them on the kitchen table! Father never gives her flowers anymore.”

“I knew you would have been extremely disappointed if I didn’t get you anything. I figured you didn’t want chocolate, though, because I never see you eating any.”

“You know why, I don’t want to get fat,” she said solemnly.

“I doubt you’ll get fat with some chocolate,” said Clyde, “it’s when you keep eating it without stopping.”

“That’s exactly what would happen, too! I would have eaten all the chocolate you gave me, but still crave for more! I would turn into a disgusting slob, searching the house and stores for chocolate!”

Clyde looked at her face of worry and laughed. Her dramatic personality always kept him in a good mood. She pouted at him, but he continued. “Don’t you think I would have stopped you from going that far?”

Rarity smiled. “I know you would have.” It took her a few seconds, but she slyly looked at Clyde. “Unless, it helped make a certain part of me bigger.”

Clyde blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about...”

Rarity giggled. “All boys are like that, I’m only teasing.”

“Besides, I’ve grown fond of yours over the past few months so it doesn’t matter to me as much anymore,” said Clyde smoothly.

“Clyde!” giggled Rarity again, “I didn’t know you had such a naughty side of you!”

Clyde smirked. “Everyone does.”

Rarity stared at him silently before giving one last smile about the topic. “I suppose you’re right.” She returned her head on his chest and sighed dreamily. Barely two seconds passed before she shot her head back up. She pulled out her phone for the pocket on her–that was Clyde’s–hoodie and lifted it into the air. Clyde saw she was trying to take a picture of them. “Clyde, I only need one picture to cap off the night. Just stay like that, but pretend you’re sleeping.”

“What?”

“Please...” He saw her pout through the phone. 

Clyde sighed and closed his eyes. He felt her head move around on his chest. When he heard the small click, he opened his eyes to see Rarity smiling about it. “Was it a good picture?”

“Of course! We always have good pictures!” She turned her head to show him a picture of her resting her head on his chest while he was “sleeping”. She bore a beautiful smile while Clyde saw a faint smirk on his face. He thought it was a good picture of them and so did she. Once Clyde, nodded at it, Rarity turned around to begin posting it on her social media wall.

“What are you putting with that?” he asked through a yawn.

“Just: “Spending the rest of Valentine’s Day with my love.” I think this picture turned out amazingly cute!”

“Yeah...” Clyde closed his eyes. “Did you forget about the movie?”

Rarity giggled. “I guess I did.” He felt her lips come into contact with his. “Goodnight and sleep well, my love. I love you very much.”

Clyde opened his eyes for a moment, just to see her eyes before he fell asleep. “Everlong?” 

“What?”

“It’s a song. It’s not really a word, but since it’s such an awesome song, people made it mean everlasting or forever. I always think of you when I hear it.”

Rarity nodded and smiled. “Then I guess I love you "everlong".”

He tightened his hug and closed his eyes, feeling her head rest against his head and shoulder. With a smile, he whispered to her. “I love you, too.” She kissed him gently one more time before turning her attention towards the TV. It wasn’t long until he fell asleep.
> Spring Fling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In the coming weeks, Canterlot High was soon struck with spring fever, especially Rarity, who was tremendously excited for the upcoming Spring Fling dance. Unlike last year’s Spring Fling or the Fall Formal, she had Clyde as a date now and would talk about the dance every day to hopefully get him excited for it. During the weekend before the dance, she dragged him to the mall with her.

“How many boots do you need to try on?” asked Clyde with a sigh. He was sitting in some female young adult store, watching Rarity look at herself in the mirror as she tried on multiple pairs of boots.

“I need to make sure they look perfect with my dress. How do they look?” she asked with glee.

“They look fine.”

“You didn’t even look!”

“How would I know if they look perfect? You’re not even wearing your dress!”

Rarity smiled. “I can’t wear it until the dance, Clyde. Your date isn’t suppose to know what it looks like before the dance! It’s bad luck!”

Clyde sighed again. “Then how am I suppose to know what to wear?”

“That’s simple to answer. It’s a tuxedo with a tie that matches my dress color. Don’t worry, Clyde. I’m the one in charge of the fashion. I’ll order it for you.”

“Good,” he said with crossed arms, “that’s your department, not mine.”

“Precisely!” Rarity kicked off the black boots with gold trim and picked them up. She handed them to Clyde. “Carry these for me, darling?” she asked with a smile.

Rarity left to wander the store some more, with Clyde following behind. He didn’t mind being her mule, but he was feeling antsy and wanted to go to the park with Tyrone, who texted him earlier about getting a pick-up game going. When she finally finished shopping and paid for her new boots, Clyde and her walked through the mall.

“Was there any place you wanted to go to while we are here?” asked Rarity, holding his hand as they walked through the busy mall. Large crowds of people were walking together or standing around throughout the mall. “I made you shop with me, even if you didn’t want to, so it would only fair.”

“I’m not really into shopping,” replied Clyde. He looked at her and once he saw her smile, he grinned. “Besides, I don’t need anything. I have you.”

“Aww,” gushed Rarity. She gave a small and quiet laugh before looking forward again. “You want to go to the park, huh?”

Clyde looked away. “Yeah...”

“That’s fine then! You helped me today, so I don’t mind at all!” 

“Are you sure?” asked Clyde, “I can still shop with you today, that is, if you want me to. You’re more important to me than some street ball game.”

Rarity gave a comforting nod and smile. “I’m done with shopping today, so I'll let you have your fun! Besides, I still need to work on my dress for the dance. It’s on Friday!” She leaned her head closer to him and snuggled against his shoulder. “Plus, I even have to order your outfit!”

“Well, are you ready to leave then, my gem?” asked Clyde smoothly and sweetly. Ironically, Clyde wasn’t much for nicknames when talking to Rarity. If he called her something other than her lovely name, it was “gem”, “diamond”, or for fun, "boo". Rarity, did however, love being called those and would always show extra affection towards him.

“Of course, my love,” she beamed. Clyde felt her squeeze his hand more.

Clyde drove her back to her shop and after a few hugs and kisses, he sped off towards the park while she stayed and worked on getting their Spring Fling outfits ready for Friday night.


*	*	*	*	*






~	~	~





“Hello girls,” trilled Rarity as she sat down at her lunch table the next day. 

“Hiya, Rarity!” said Pinkie excitedly, “how was your weekend? Did you watch TV? Did you eat? That’s a silly question, of course you ate! Did–”

“Pinkie!” interrupted Applejack. She stared at her with serious eyes that deflated Pinkie’s spirit. “That’s better. Anyway, how was yer weekend, Rarity?”

“My weekend was simply lovely,” said Rarity with a smile, “Clyde and I went to dinner on Saturday night and yesterday he helped me with shopping for the Spring Fling! His outfit should be delivered at his house when he gets home, while mine will most likely be finished later today!”

“Seems like a normal weekend for Rarity,” nodded Applejack.

“Enough about me, how did you girls spend the weekend?” 

“Well, the farm is getting busy now since spring is here,” said Applejack proudly.

“Spring also means more adoptions!” spoke Fluttershy before returning to a quiet tone, “I was just helping out all weekend.”

Rarity smiled at them. “Seems you all had fabulous weekends!” Rarity glanced over at Pinkie who was staring at herself in her spoon. “Pinkie, what activities did you manage to keep busy with?”

Pinkie dropped her spoon and giggled. “Oh nothing, except hang out with Rainbow Dash at some soccer game! I was the goalie and since it rained, it turned into a crazy game of slipping and falling and sliding and every other verb you can think of!”

“Sounds... lovely,” said Rarity with a fake smile. She blinked and looked at the girls. “Speaking of our dear Rainbow Dash, where in heavens is she?”

“Ah don’t know,” said Applejack looking around herself, “she’s normally the first one here.”

“Yeah! She loves being the first one in line because she loves food! Just like me!” laughed Pinkie.

Rarity looked around the cafeteria and stopped at Clyde’s table. Like Rainbow Dash, both Clyde and Tyrone were missing. Confused, she scanned the cafeteria and noticed the basketball team was missing from the room. “Clyde isn’t here either.”

“Maybe Coach wanted to talk to ‘em?” suggested Applejack.

“I wonder why, though. The season ended two weeks ago.” Rarity turned back into her seat and began digging into her salad with her fork. 


*	*	*	*	*






~	~	~





When Clyde pulled into his driveway after school was over, he saw a large bag hanging from his door. He got out of his car to look at it and with a closer glance, he saw it contained a tuxedo. Near the hook was a small tag that read: “Here’s your outfit! Love you! ♥ ~R”. Clyde laughed and took the bagged tuxedo into his home. 

He walked into the living room and gently opened the bagged tuxedo. As he carefully removed the tuxedo from the bag, his hand moved over the gold tie, remembering the boots Rarity bought had a gold trim. He held it up in the air and took one last glance at the black tuxedo and smiled. He hesitantly pulled out his phone and dialed Rarity’s number. As it began to ring, Clyde sighed sadly.

“Hello, darling!” beamed Rarity’s voice. “You have impeccable timing, as I just finished my dress for the dance!”

“Great! My outfit was hanging on my door when I got home.”

“Already? It seems they don’t fool around. They shouldn’t after how much I paid them for it and to deliver it to you.”

Clyde felt a sharp pain attack his heart that caused him to wince. “So, did I miss anything at lunch?”

“Not really. Where were you and Rainbow Dash today? Did Coach wanted to see you?” Clyde took his phone away from his ear to sigh again. He knew Rarity’s spirit would be crushed in the coming minutes and there was little he could do about it. He returned the phone to his ear. “Hello? Clyde?”

“Rarity,” said Clyde sadly, “I’m afraid I can’t attend the dance with you Friday.”

There was a long pause of silence and he knew Rarity was either in shock or disbelief. Soon, her voice answered him, but he could tell tears were in her eyes just by the tone. “W-What... w-why not?”

“Coach gathered us up today to tell us about this Spring basketball camp for the local area. He wants some of us to participate in it, especially Tyrone and me as we are the two Captains, so we can redeem ourselves next year. It runs from Friday to Sunday night. I even have to stay after school all week to get ready for it, too.”

Silence filled through the phone and Clyde heard a faint crying noise from the other end. Clyde himself felt tears grow in his eyes. “B-But, I had this night planned with you for so long...” her voice said with sniffles. 

“I know you did, and I feel terrible, but Coach is forcing me to do this,” said Clyde. Rarity began crying louder and Clyde felt small tears flow down his cheek. “Rarity, please don’t cry. I know we still can’t go to a dance together, but do know I will still continue loving you.”

He heard her stop crying and notched it down to sniffles. “I just... I just wanted to finally attend a school dance with the one who makes me feel like a Princess...”

“I’m sorry, Rarity. I promise I’ll make it up to you soon, somehow.”

“You better...” she said sadly. “I guess I’ll put my dress away for some other day...”

“I’ll call you later, okay?”

“I’d enjoy that, darling. I love you...”

“I love you more.” Clyde heard Rarity give a small heartwarming laugh, trying to cheer herself up, before hanging up the phone. Clyde sat on the his couch and wiped away tears in his eyes. He quickly opened his phone again and pulled up Rainbow Dash’s name and began typing.

“RD. Put me in a group chat with the girls. It’s time to talk about this plan.”


*	*	*	*	*






~	~	~





“Come on, Rares,” yelled Rainbow Dash from downstairs in Rarity’s shop. “The dance is only an hour away! We know how long it takes for you to get ready!” Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie who nodded in agreement. They were all in their Fall Formal attire, except these dresses had a few minor changes to them to make them look somewhat different. 

“What happens if she doesn’t come?” asked Fluttershy in a whisper.

“Yeah! Then she’ll never know about–”

“She will. I never back down from a challenge,” smirked Rainbow Dash and silencing Pinkie. She walked over to the base of the stairs and put both of her hands to her face. “LET’S GO! SHOW OFF YOUR NEW DRESS INSTEAD OF STAYING HERE DEPRESSED!”

“Ah think you are overdoin’ it,” said Applejack with concern.

They heard faint footsteps move around upstairs and Rainbow Dash looked over and laughed. “I think I did fine.”

As they watched in anticipation for Rarity to come downstairs in an elegant dress, they instead saw her walk downstairs in an oversized hoodie and leggings. Her hair was frizzy and they could tell she cried most, if not all, of the day with her puffy eyes.

“Hello girls,” she said nonchalantly. 

“What are you doing?” asked Rainbow Dash in a temper. “Get dressed!”

“What for? There’s no reason for me to go,” replied Rarity.

“Of course there is! We’ll go to the dance in a group like the Fall Formal! Just because you can’t go with your boyfriend, doesn’t mean you can’t go with friends!”

“Yeah, what Rainbow Dash said!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Maybe you’ll even–” She stopped when Applejack glared at her to stop talking.

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but you should probably just go without me,” said Rarity. She turned to head back upstairs, but was suddenly stopped by Fluttershy’s hand that grabbed her arm. “Fluttershy?”

“Please go with us, Rarity. As your friends, we don’t want to see you sad.” Rarity felt Fluttershy’s stare lift her spirit some.

“Besides, it’s not like Clyde dumped you,” said Rainbow Dash with crossed arms. Rarity looked at her and quickly to each of her other friends smiling at her. Her friends were right. She was somber that she couldn’t spend the Spring Fling dance with Clyde, but being depressed about it would solve nothing. Clyde was still her boyfriend and she knew he was feeling down himself.

“You’re right girls,” she said with a faint smile. “Clyde wouldn’t have wanted me to simply ignore the dance just because he couldn’t make it. He knew I spent so much time on my dress. I need to at least wear it, just for him.”

“Yeah!” shouted Pinkie, “it looks like the–”

“Pinkie!” shouted Rainbow Dash and Applejack in unison, making Pinkie startled. She quickly zipped up her mouth and threw away the imaginary key.

Rarity blinked at them, but before she could say anything, Fluttershy pointed at the clock on the wall near her counter. “Oh my! There’s only fifty minutes left!”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, dear, I’ll take only a thirty minute shower this time!” said Rarity with a laugh. She quickly ran upstairs to get ready. 

After showering, fixing her hair, and dressing into a robe, Rarity strode back downstairs into the shop lobby and stared at her friends, who stared at her back. Rarity gave a nod and picked up her dress and boots, entering the changing booth. Due to her expertise about clothing, in one minute, she changed into her dress. She looked in the mirror and smiled at her lovely dress.

In similar ways to her Fall Formal dress, it was a single strapped dress that cut off above her knees. While most of the dress was black, the bodice contained gold lace trim that she hand-sewn herself, leaving the entirety of the skirt black. Normally, it was against her code to wear dark colors for dresses, but she was up for the challenge of making it look good on her, because she knew she would pull it off. Her boots were a revamp of her normal purple boots, except they were black with gold trim near the diamond. She adjusted her gold bracelets on her wrists, fluffed out her hair, and walked out of the dressing room, smiling at her friends who gushed over her outfit.

“You done it again, Rarity,” said Applejack with a smirk and a tip of her hat.

“It’s so pretty!” said Fluttershy in quiet awe.

“Yeah, yeah, It’s fantastic,” said Rainbow Dash, looking at the time. “We know Rares is a fashion phenom, but we really are pushing for time.” She looked at Pinkie who looked like she wanted to say something, but had trouble speaking. 

“What’s the matter, Pinkie?” asked Applejack. Pinkie jumped up and down, flailing her arms around. 

“Oh! Pinkie zipped her mouth, remember?” said Fluttershy. Pinkie pointed at her and nodded rapidly. 

“Well, you can talk now,” laughed Rainbow Dash. 

“Finally!” shouted Pinkie in joy. She looked over at Rarity and flashed her big smile. “What I wanted to say is, your dress is super cute!”

“Thank you, Pinkie,” replied Rarity sweetly. “I thank you all for your compliments.”

Her friends smiled, except for Rainbow Dash. “Are you ready now?”

“Hmm, I believe. I only need to touch up on mascara and eyeshadow, though.”

“You can do that in the limo, let’s go!” Rainbow Dash charged out of the door and Rarity stood there confused.

“A limo?” questioned Rarity.

“We’ll explain later, sugar cube,” said Applejack with a smile, pushing her out of the shop. Fluttershy locked up the shop door and Pinkie bounced towards the limousine. The four of them quickly crawled in as Rainbow Dash banged on the window separating the driver and them.

“Make it fast!” she yelled.

The driver nodded and soon the limo roared alive and sped down the avenue. Rarity tried to see who the driver was, but the hat he wore shaded his eyes. The driver's body shape seemed to look familiar, but she couldn't think. She looked at her friends who were busy looking around or at the interior of the limousine. Rarity took the drive to the school as an opportunity to enhance her eyes with her small hand mirror she carried with her. After applying a coat of her light blue eyeshadow and mascara, Rarity batted her eyelashes and smiled at herself in her small mirror. As she put her mirror away, back into her boot, the limo halted and the girls looked outside. 

“We’re here!” shouted Pinkie. She dove out of the window, falling to the pavement, and broke into giggles. 

“With time to spare, too!” said Fluttershy, who opened the door and exited the vehicle like any normal person would. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, followed. Pinkie jumped up off the ground and the five of them stood in a line, looking at the front of the school. Many boys and girls were entering the building.

“You girls ready?” asked Rainbow Dash with a grin. “Last time there was a dance, we saved the school and helped our new friend win the crown!”

“I doubt any of those things will happen tonight,” said Rarity sadly. 

“You never know, Rarity,” said Applejack with a sly smirk. “Maybe fate will shine down on one of us tonight.”

Rarity blinked in confusion again. Ever since they came to get her, all of her friends have acted strange, except for Pinkie, who normally was strange anyway. It’s as if they were dropping subtle hints or implying something to her. She shook her head to prevent getting too lost in thought.

The limousine quickly pulled away from the curb and the five girls walked together towards the main doors of the school. After navigating through the congested hallways, the girls made it to the gymnasium where strobe lights and music filled the room. The five of them drank punch, talked, and danced with each other for most of the night, trying to keep Rarity’s mind from being crestfallen. 

About an hour or two later, however, the band played a slow song so couples could dance together and Rarity sat and watched in the chairs near the punch table. She put her hands on her cheeks and sighed away as she watched couples dance together in romantic harmony and rhythm. Rainbow Dash saw her and quickly sat down in a chair.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing,” replied Rarity with a sigh of desire and a pout, “I’m just watching all these couples in love dance with their favorite person in the world, something that I wanted to do tonight, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “I know it must suck, but you need to stay strong, Rares. Clyde told me himself he felt awful for telling you he couldn’t come to this dance with you.”

Rarity sat upright and looked at her friend. “Clyde? When did he tell you this?”

Rainbow Dash suspiciously looked away. “Uh, he texted me for help that same night.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you had classes together, unless it was a basketball question. What was the question?”

Rainbow Dash coughed and quickly stood up from her seat. “You know, why don’t we go find Fluttershy or someone else? They might be getting lonely.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. A sudden avoidance like that was way too suspicious. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by a microphone turning on. The loud screech stopped the band and the students in the gym looked up to the stage. As the band ran off the stage, Principal Celestia entered the scene from stage left. The crowd quickly hushed and Rarity and her friends quickly gathered together. 

“As you may know,” began Principal Celestia with a smile, “each major dance we have here at Canterlot High, we address, or in better terms, crown, a Princess!” Girls in the crowd began making noise in anticipation. Celestia continued her smile and pulled out a small envelope from her blazer pocket. “Normally, Vice Principal Luna would walk this envelope and the crown out at this time, but due to the new format issued by the Party Planning Committee, the crown will be handed out by another person depending on who the winner is.”

The crowd murmured in confusion amongst each other and Rarity shot her eyes at Pinkie Pie, the head of the same committee Principal Celestia spoke of. “You changed the format? What for?” Pinkie responded with a smile.

Principal Celestia tapped her microphone to silence the crowd and opened the envelope. After studying the small card, she smiled. “The Princess of this year’s Spring Fling is... Rarity!”

The crowd burst into cheers as Rarity gasped in complete shock. Her friends all hugged her tightly, but all she could think of was her actually winning the crown, technically tiara, she coveted throughout high school. 

“B-But, how? How is this possible?” she asked in a mix of shock and confusion, “I didn’t even put my name down! Nobody would’ve voted for me anyway!”

“Obviously they would have because they did,” laughed Rainbow Dash. 

“I-I just don’t understand...” 

“You don’t have to,” said a voice behind her. A voice she was so used to and loved hearing every day and night. 

Rarity spun around and saw Clyde standing in the middle of the gymnasium. He wore the tuxedo she bought him, his gold tie giving light to the dark suit. In his hands was a small chest that was open to reveal the small tiara that the Princess of the dance would wear. Clyde’s smile made her start shaking and she felt like crying in joy. She quickly ran up to him and hugged him tightly, but withdrew and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

“You lied to me!” she squealed, tears filling her eyes.

“I did, but I’ll explain everything,” said Clyde. He hugged her again. Rarity didn’t punch him or break free this time. She went along with it and began crying into his shoulder blissfully. She felt Clyde move the box around her back and began to depart from her. He picked up the tiara from the small chest and looked into Rarity’s eyes. 

After smiling and nodding, Rarity saw Clyde slowly lower the tiara on her head. Once he took a step back, the students cheered again and Rarity started to cry once more. The music quickly began playing again, as with the students dancing along, and Clyde walked up to her and wrapped her into a hug. Together, the couple walked over to the chairs near the punch table to listen to each other better.

“Don’t you understand how heartbroken I was?” asked Rarity sadly. “Why would you ever lie to me? Don’t you love me enough to dance with me?”

Clyde stared at her with a serious gaze. “I told you many times before, you’re the most important person, idea, and thought, in my life.”

“Then why–”

“I do have to go on that camp, however, during that meeting, I stood up against Coach to tell him I had to attend this dance with you. I refused to play next year unless I could.”

Rarity gasped. “You defied Coach for me?”

Clyde smiled. “It gets better. After some time, Coach finally gave in and respected my passion towards you. He decided, since  I can’t attend the legitimate camp, he was going to make his own homemade one next weekend for Tyrone and me. He also wanted to help so he decided to drive the limousine.”

Rarity smiled. “Then why did you say you couldn’t come with me?”

Clyde sighed. “It hurt me so much, but I had to say that so I could plan for you to win this crown you always told me about.” Clyde poked the tiara on Rarity’s head and grinned. “I spent the week staying after school and helping all these clubs and students so they would vote for you. I’m lucky Rainbow Dash and your other friends helped me, too.” Clyde frowned and looked at the floor. “I just hope you don’t hate me for lying. It made feel terrible knowing you were extremely depressed all week because of me.”

Rarity wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. There were a few cheers from some onlooking students near them, causing Rarity to blush. She continued anyway, as she wanted them to know Clyde was hers. After she departed from him, she reassured him with an alluring smile. “Clyde, darling. You know I can’t ever stay mad at you. Especially after you went through all that trouble, just for me.”

“I did it because I love you.” Clyde smirked and kissed her forehead, making her giggle.

“I know you do. Also, you look very handsome tonight.”

“You’re still as beautiful as ever.”

A few minutes later, Rarity saw Rainbow Dash and the others walk towards them. Rarity stood up and gave each one a death stare before laughing and pulling them into a hug. “You girls are the best!”

“Don’t thank us,” said Applejack, “Clyde is the one who planned everything. We only filled our roles.” 

“I can’t believe you would lie to me, Applejack.”

“What are ya takin’ about? Ah never told a lie! Ah gave you honest answers all night! That was my role, plus getting random students to vote for ya.” Applejack nodded proudly.

“Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie excitedly, “Clyde told me to put your name down and change the format so he could surprise you! I wanted to make another balloon pop, but that would’ve taken too long and have no purpose!”

“Fluttershy and I only needed to get you here,” said Rainbow Dash with a grin.

“I just had to help,” agreed Fluttershy quietly.

“I simply thank you,” said Rarity. "You are the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for." She felt tears begin to develop in her eyes again, but wiped them away. She hugged them again before they decided to go back to the dance floor. 

As she turned around, Photo Finish beckoned for her to stand beside Clyde for pictures. Rarity happily jumped on the offer and helped Clyde get into multiple poses. Most of them were hugs or them holding hands, but Rarity also enjoyed being carried by him on his back and him holding her in his arms. Ten pictures later, Photo Finish gave her the prints and ran off to find more students to capture. Rarity turned back towards Clyde to show him their pictures, but saw him standing there smiling.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked.

“I’m just looking at the best and most beautiful girl in the world and I’m happy I can be with her.”

Rarity lowered her eyes and grabbed his hands, pulling him closer to her. She sighed blissfully and rested her head on his shoulder. She caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall and saw the dance was almost over and the students would begin to leave soon. 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” asked Clyde. 

“Nothing as far I know. Why do you ask?”

“Since I won’t be home next weekend, I wanted to spend the day with you tomorrow.”

“Will it be romantic?” 

“With you around, of course.”

Rarity smiled. “I simply can't wait."


*	*	*	*	*

> The Love of Fate Redux
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clyde woke earlier than he normally did on Saturdays. Instead of waking up when the sun was close to its zenith, he woke up a few minutes after it rose above the horizon. He quickly took a shower to wake himself up.

After the events of the dance last night, Clyde took Rarity home. She wanted him to spend the night with her, but Clyde declined due to fatigue. Not only did he stay after school all week, but he stayed up later than normal to type essays and help with math for his peers. He needed their support to vote for Rarity, so if he had to find some derivatives at three in the morning, he didn’t care. Ten minutes of showering later, he watched his fatigue wash down the drain and he felt brand new. He changed into his normal outfit and went downstairs to eat some cereal.

He sat around and watched the daily sports program, and even the reruns, waiting for the day to progress. Rarity would never be up this early so he thought about bugging Tyrone. He sent him a brief text and waited. When Tyrone replied back, Clyde laughed.

“What are you doing up this early?” typed Clyde.

“Now much, dawg. I have to practice early so there’s no one at the park.”

“Are you there now?”

“Damn straight, dawg! You should swing by. I ain’t got no one to go against.”

“Sure, give me a few minutes.”

Clyde ran back upstairs to put on gym shorts and another plain shirt. He never thought that the park was an option today, but he had to waste some time anyway. He exited his house and drove off to the park.

Once he arrived, Tyrone flagged him down and waited for him by the hoop. Clyde took the ball in his trunk of his car and bounced it with him as he walked. When Clyde walked up to Tyrone, the two of them clasped hands together.

“What are you doing up so early?” asked Tyrone, banking in a shot off the backboard. 

“I’m not sure myself.” Clyde did a small runner and jogged after the ball. “You would think I would sleep in after only a few hours of sleep this week.”

“Yeah. I heard she won last night. Was she excited to see you?”

Clyde chuckled. “A little mad at first, but she was happy nonetheless. I could tell by looking in her eyes the joy she had.”

Tyrone nodded and patted his best friend on the back. “You did good, C. It seems like yesterday we sat in this same court and you told me about the feelings you get when you see her.”

Clyde blinked. It did seem weird Tyrone and him were back on the same court like that day long ago. “It seems like we came full circle, huh?”

“Yeah, but this time is different. This time, she is your girl instead of your crush.” Tyrone laughed. 

“You’re right, T.” Clyde smiled and passed him the ball. They spent the next two hours playing one-on-one, H-O-R-S-E, and random alley-oops. After wiping a towel over his face drenched in sweat, Clyde slumped down against the chain-link fence that surrounded the basketball courts. After a few more shots, Tyrone sat down beside him. 

“What are you doing today, dawg?” 

“I was going to spend the day with Rarity, seeing how we won’t be home at all next weekend.”

“That sounds nice, dawg. I hope Coach’s homemade camp isn’t a waste of time.”

“It probably will be fun at least,” laughed Clyde.

“True. We are talking about Coach here.” The two of them played basketball for a few more minutes before they decided to part ways. “I’ll see you later, C. Have fun with your girl.” Tyrone gave him a smirk.

Clyde waved goodbye and drove back to his house. The sun was almost at it’s peak for the day, seeing how it was close to noon now. As he sat in his car, Clyde wondered if Rarity was up by now. She normally would be, but he ultimately decided to wait another hour. 

He quickly entered his house and crashed down on the couch he, and now also Rarity and him, would lay on. As he moved around to find the remote, he thought about the night he carried her on his back. That night was special to him, as he thought it was the one night that sparked their relationship. He recalled the memory of him carrying her and laying her on the couch he now laid on with a smile. As he thought about the movie they watched that night, Clyde felt his phone vibrate on his chest. He picked it up and quickly answered it. “Hey.”

“Hello, my love! How are you so far today?” Clyde could tell she wasn’t sad anymore like she was during the week. Of course that was his fault, but he was now pleased to see her back to her jovial mood. Hearing her normal, resonating voice of bliss caused a grin to appear on his face.

“I’m doing good. Played some basketball with T at the park earlier. I woke up early today.”

“I thought you told me last night you were going to sleep in all day?” 

Clyde chuckled. “I guess I didn’t want to. It’s fine by me. I’m fully awake now.”

“Lovely.” Her voice faded out and Clyde heard the faint typing of a keyboard. He listened to the rapid tapping of the keys for a good minute before speaking again.

“What are you typing?”

“Hm? Oh. I’m ordering some new catalogs.”

“Didn’t you buy a few some months ago?”

Rarity gave a playful giggle. “I did, but Clyde, you need to understand, fashion is serious business. Like our weather, there are certain seasons. I try to buy as many catalogs as I can so I’m not being behind, but ahead of the seasons! I could try to lecture you about these, but you probably won’t pay attention.”

“You’re right.”

Rarity laughed again. “Anyway, what sort of plans do you have in mind tonight for us, darling?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, if you can’t think of anything super extraordinary, we can always have a date at my house.”

Clyde felt a grin grow across his face. “So we can have another one of those make out sessions on your bed that last an hour and a half, like the one we had the last week?”

“Clyde!” said Rarity in shock, most likely from being flustered.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

Rarity was silent for a few seconds before she emanated a small playful giggle. “I did enjoy it. You know me. I simply adored it.”

“Then why yell at me about bringing it up?”

“I had you on speakerphone and Sweetie Belle was in the room, plus I didn’t know if you were going to say something worse.”

Clyde burst into a laugh. “Oh well.” 

The sound of the keyboard once again filled the silence before Rarity spoke again. “There. They will safely be delivered by Wednesday at the latest. Now, I will need someone to–”

“Just tell me when they arrive and I’ll carry them in for you.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?” asked Rarity.

Clyde smiled. “Many times.” 

“Because I really do love you.”

“You know I feel the same way.” 

“Well, my love,” she said sadly, “I’m afraid I have to go take Sweetie Belle to the mall. Her friends want to meet up there for the day.”

“Have fun,” said Clyde, knowing she wouldn’t. “Be ready around eight tonight. I’ll think of something we can do.”

“Sounds fabulous! I’ll see you then!” She made a kissing noise and hung up the phone. Clyde grinned to himself before sitting upright on the couch. He sat there trying to think of something they could do together. 

Before they began dating, Clyde and Rarity went to the movies together and sometimes out for ice cream. After New Year’s when they did become a couple, Rarity began enjoying the simple dates, like laying on the couch or just being with him, more. Clyde felt the same way, but it’s been a few months since they had a date that didn’t involve watching TV. 

Clyde thought back and found himself thinking about the night two days before his basketball tryout. He suddenly found himself smiling upon remembering the movie they watched together, Amor Fati.

There was that phrase again. Throughout the year, and his life, Clyde always thought fate hated him. The one instance where it decided to show its benevolentness to him, was him meeting Rarity. Without that fateful encounter in the gymnasium, Clyde wondered if Rarity and him would ever meet. He shook his head to clear those negative thoughts from sprouting. Rarity was his love of fate and he refused to go back to being alone.

Clyde jumped up and nodded. He knew what the two of them could do tonight. He quickly ran up to shower again and get changed back into his non-sweaty clothes.





~	~	~





At a quarter to eight, Clyde pulled along the curb in front of the door to Rarity’s shop. He shut the car off and crawled out of it. The spring breeze that hit his face felt just like weather in the fall. Once he beeped the alarm to lock his car, he heard the front door of the shop open. 

“You’re always early,” said Rarity with a laugh. She ran up to him and hugged him. When they departed, she gave a small peck on his lips. 

“Of course,” said Clyde with a grin. Rarity walked to the car and after failing to open the door she looked back. 

“Why did you lock the doors?” she asked.

“I’m not driving tonight.”

“Oh. Do you want me to?”

Clyde shook his head. “No, we’re going to walk. It’s fairly nice out.”

Rarity nodded. She walked past him and brushed her hand across the left side of his face. “Let me grab a jacket quickly, darling,” she said with lowered eyes. She entered her shop again, as Clyde looked around the street. The sun had set about an hour or two earlier, so the street lights were fully on. More people were still walking, or jogging, down the sidewalks at this time compared to the fall. Spring always made people happy so the streets was a good source of activity.

Clyde heard the door open again, and he turned around to see Rarity smiling. She wore his dark gray jacket. “I see it still fits,” said Clyde sarcastically. 

She stretched her arms out to show the droopiness. “It’s not that bad. Since it’s extremely oversized for me, it’s quite comfortable to sleep in.”

Clyde frowned. “I’ve only seen you wear it when we go someplace together.”

“I only wear it to sleep when you aren’t there with me,” she said with a smile. “I either cuddle with you or your jacket and my pillow. No matter the situation, I simply can’t lose.”

Clyde laughed. “Unless I take the jacket back and go live somewhere else for a few days.”

“Why would you ever do that to me, darling?” she asked with a teary pout. Clyde laughed again as he knew she was just messing with him, as he was to her. He held out his arm.

“Are you ready to walk, my beautiful Princess?” Clyde saw Rarity’s eyes light up and shimmer. She quickly grabbed his arm with both of hers and snuggled into his side.

“I am, my handsome beau.” Clyde smiled and together they began their walk down the sidewalk. Even though there were no puddles in the street, Clyde still walked closest to it, with Rarity on his right arm. It was an old-fashioned rule of etiquette, but since it was a chivalrous act, Rarity never complained.

They passed many dimly lit stores along the street, some that were about to close. Clyde realized he lived in Canterlot for almost an entire school year now, but he still never bothered with shopping around downtown. All of his shopping trips were at the mall since Rarity knew where every store was by heart. He took a mental note before Rarity looked up at him.

“Clyde, darling, where are we walking to?”

“We’re almost there,” he replied. Rarity nodded and placed her head back on his shoulder. After crossing three more blocks, Clyde heard Rarity gasp at the familiar restaurant. It was the same one they ate at before walking to the movies together. 

“Are we eating here?” she asked in awe.

“Yeah. We haven’t been in here since October. Every other restaurant is getting boring.”

“You are correct on that.” She let go of his arm and looked at the menu on the window. “Ooh! They have a new shrimp scampi special! Although, I’m not sure if I can eat it myself...”

“We can get that, if you want,” said Clyde, showing his generous side. 

Rarity turned around and tilted her head. “I thought you didn’t like pasta?”

“I don’t, but I love you enough to eat it with you.”

Rarity broke into another smile and grabbed his hand. They walked into the restaurant together and waited for the hostess to seat them. To pass time, Clyde asked Rarity how her day was and how it felt waking up as a Princess. During Rarity’s praise for him for helping her win the crown, the hostess called them to lead them to their table. She led them to the same booth they sat at in October. When the hostess left for their glasses of water, Clyde chuckled to himself.

“Well, this is something.”

“What is it?” asked Rarity confused.

“You don’t remember that we sat here during that night you invited me to the movies?”

Rarity’s eyes widened and she looked around. After a few seconds, she smiled. “You’re right! This is surely not coincidental.”

“Of course not,” said Clyde with a smirk, “it was fate.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “You still keeping talking about that?”

Clyde leaned forward in the booth. “I try not to, but fate follows me everywhere. Without it, maybe I wouldn’t have met you in the gymnasium where I pushed the ball away before it smacked your face.”

Rarity laughed. “I think it was mostly because you are a gentleman and saved me from distress, not fate.”

Clyde shrugged. “Still.” 

The waitress soon came by and dropped off their drinks. To Clyde’s astonishment, it was the same waitress as before. She looked at him funny as she took out her small order pad. “Say, I remember you... Wait! You’re that boy who tried taking the selfie!”

Clyde instantly turned his head and felt his cheeks blaze red. He heard Rarity begin laughing. “Yeah...” he said with disdain.

The waitress chuckled and looked over at Rarity. “I hope you’ve been teaching him.”

“Don’t worry, I am the one who takes the pictures. I won’t let him touch the camera on our phones,” laughed Rarity. Clyde sighed and let the two of them have their fun. After they both calmed down, Rarity ordered the meal and the waitress left them. Clyde turned his head back towards Rarity and sighed. “Are you okay now, darling?” she asked him.

“I think so,” said Clyde with a nod. Rarity gave him a comforting smile and they sat there waiting for their dinner. Clyde pulled out his phone and decided to work on something. Rarity sat there confused, but when Clyde saw her reach for her phone, he smiled.

“You uploaded a profile picture!” she said excitedly after looking at the notification. His picture was from the news reporter after the basketball team won every game in the regular season. He took it from their internet page and cropped it himself.

“Yeah, but I have all these friend requests to accept. I haven’t been on here since you helped me make this account.”

“That’s okay! They should mostly be all of my friends because I tagged you as my boyfriend.”

Clyde frowned and looked at all the names. There were at least one hundred, maybe even two hundred, names wanted to add him as a friend. He knew social media friends weren’t as important as real friends, but it did show him how many people at least cared enough to add him. He decided to scroll through and add some of his good friends first.

“Well, there’s Pinkie, RD, even your mom,” laughed Clyde. 

Rarity rolled her eyes and smiled. “Mother is on that more than me. She’s addicted to it.”

“I’ll say, she has over a thousand friends.” He went through and added all the people he became friends with over the year. Other than Tyrone, most of the friends he made in that Saturday morning detention didn’t have an account, but then again, he didn't see them that much anymore either. It's not like he didn't want to see them. Basketball kept him busy, so the only one he saw constantly was Tyrone. He put his phone away after accepting a few requests. 

“Aren’t you going to make a post?” asked Rarity.

“No, no, no. I never agreed to that!” laughed Clyde. “I only have this account because of you, not for posting stuff.”

“Then I’ll do it!” Rarity took out her phone and began typing. Clyde counted in his head and nodded at the time it took Rarity to stop typing. After three seconds, she looked up and smiled. Clyde felt his phone vibrate, but refused to look at it. “Aren’t you going to see what it is?”

“It’s probably something about spending the evening with me with a heart icon or two.” Clyde saw her grin and laugh innocently.

“You know me too well.”

The waitress came back to their booth a few minutes later with the shrimp scampi dish. Rarity quickly dug into the dish, placing a large chunk of it on her plate. Clyde scooped his serving and began eating. Pasta wasn’t his favorite food in the world, but due to the shrimp, eating it made it tolerable. It actually was more delicious than he first thought, so he began enjoying it more and more. Rarity gave him a smile, but never spoke. He knew her so much now that they didn’t have to speak to communicate with each other to understand she was happy. The two of them ate the food in eloquent silence. 

When the waitress dropped off the check, Clyde snatched it away before Rarity could even look at it. “Not this time,” he said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

“If you waited this many months just so you could pay for dinner at this restaurant to make yourself feel better, go right ahead,” replied Rarity with a half-serious, half-playful tone.

Clyde pulled out a twenty from his wallet and handed it to the waitress, telling her to keep the change. She smiled at the two of them and happily walked away. Clyde helped Rarity out of the booth and together, left the restaurant. 

“My, my. You were feeling generous tonight, darling,” said Rarity with a light chuckle as they stood in front of the restaurant. The night air felt cool and the stars shined brightly in the moonless sky.

“Maybe your good nature rubbed off on me,” responded Clyde. He kept his gaze to the sky.

“Maybe, maybe not. You have always been a kind-hearted gentleman.” She walked over behind him and wrapped her arms around Clyde’s neck, pulling him into a hug. She kissed his cheek and lovingly sighed. 

Clyde smiled and turned around, breaking her hug and looking into her eyes. No matter when or where, he could always see the sparkle in her enchanting eyes. “Where would you like to go next?”

Rarity hummed a tune and grabbed his hands. “How about some ice cream? They should still be open by now.”

Clyde grinned. “Lead the way.”

Rarity held Clyde’s hands tightly and pulled him away from the restaurant. Once they reached the corner of the avenue, she let go of one of his hands so she could walk beside him. Silence took over their walk to the small ice cream stand a few blocks away from the restaurant. Once they reached the stand, Clyde looked at the menu. 

The ice cream stand was famous in the city for its various and myriad of flavors, whether it be scoops, milkshakes, or sundaes. It was also the place Rarity took him the night after the basketball tryout back in October. After some thinking, he looked over at Rarity. “What are you getting?”

“I’m not sure myself. Go ahead of me.” She gently pushed him forward to the cashier. Clyde turned around to say something to her, but she winked and ignored him on purpose. Clyde shook his head with a smile and faced the cashier.

“Hello,” began the girl, “what would you like tonight?”

“Give me a large peanut butter sundae,” said Clyde. The girl nodded and turned around towards the ice cream machine. Clyde looked back at Rarity who had looks of confusion on her face trying to figure out what to order.

“There you are,” said the girl with a smile, handing Clyde the sundae. 

“Thank you.” Clyde handed her money and took the sundae. He walked over and sat down at the bench, laughing to himself because Rarity still stood there dazed trying to think of something to order. He began eating his sundae and saw Rarity walk up to the stand.

After eating half of his sundae, Rarity finally started her trek to the bench. As she sat down beside him, Clyde looked over at her small cup of vanilla. “That’s all you got?” he asked confused. "All that time just for that?"

“Yes, darling,” she looked down at it to ignore him, “you know I don't want to become fat.”

Clyde blinked. “But you told me you ate at least five gallons of ice cream Monday night?”

“I did. However, that was “Depression Ice Cream”.”

“What?”

Rarity sighed. “Eating ice cream when upset causes a balance. I can eat as much as I want, and the best part is I won’t get fat.”

“So, eating one small scoop of ice cream when you’re happy will make you fat?” laughed Clyde. “Rarity, you’ll be fine if you eat any amount this stand gives you.”

Rarity smiled at him, but looked back at her ice cream. “I simply can’t take that chance.” Clyde laughed again and let her eat her small amount of ice cream.  Her drama could cheer him up anytime. After the two of them finished their ice cream, Rarity laid her head on his shoulder and looked up at the shimmering sky. “Why don’t we ever look at the stars on nights like these, Clyde?”

Clyde looked up at the sky. Moonless nights were always his favorite. Seeing all the stars in the sky twinkle and shine brightly could make anyone appreciate them. “I have no idea. I guess school and basketball made me busy most nights.”

“It’s a shame,” said Rarity sadly. “These nights are truly divine.”

Clyde nodded. He continued his gaze to the sky and instantly remembered the movie Rarity took him to after their first time at the restaurant they returned to that night. A small smile formed on his face and he jumped up. He lifted Rarity’s hand and looked down at her. “Shall we walk, Miss?”

Rarity smiled. She let Clyde help her up and held his arm and buried her head into his shoulder. “Of course, my love.” 

Clyde quickly threw away their cups and spoons from their ice cream, and led her back down the street. As they walked through the lonely streets, the occasional people who walked by smiled at them, not because they looked cute together, but because they saw the happiness in both of their faces. Within ten minutes, they entered the park.

Clyde saw the basketball courts he always played on with the corner of his eye, but he ignored them. Basketball was important to him, but not as much as Rarity. She looked around confused. “The park? Why are we here, darling?”

“You’ll see.”

They walked the stone-bricked path until they reached the large fountain the park was known for. A single light from the base of the fountain illuminated the large central spout. Around the large circumference of the fountain, were several smaller spouts pointing towards the central base. During the day, the fountain had many visitors sitting nearby on the benches or around the fountain’s edge. At night, the fountain was home to lovers or children playing tag. Clyde looked around and saw no one in sight.

They sat down on the fountain’s edge and looked across the pond that had a bridge over it. Spring and fall made the bridge a heavenly place for anyone on it due to budding and the changing of the leaves. The small pond always had ducks swimming around and enjoying the free food people threw at them. Except for the illuminated fountain behind them, the only source of light were the stars in the sky and a few dim street lights near the bridge.

Clyde turned his head to the right and saw silhouette moving around on the park stage. Usually bands or singers would practice on the stage due to the domed roof. The stage was off-limits during night hours, but the people seemed not to care. He felt Rarity’s hand grab his and he looked at her. The stars in the sky shone brightly down on her face. “Did you enjoy tonight?” he asked with a smile.

“You act like it’s over,” she said with a faint giggle. 

“You know what I meant.”

“I did,” she smiled. “We could just spend the night doing a puzzle, and I would still enjoy it.” She wrapped her arms around and hugged his torso. Clyde placed his chin on her head and held her snugly. He looked across the pond and saw some ducks shaking water off of them or trying to attack each other. “Clyde, I wanted to thank you again for making me win last night. It’s always been a dream of mine.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s my role as your boyfriend to make you happy.” Clyde felt her shift slightly, trying to get more comfortable. 

“I only wish we could’ve danced last night. It’s the one thing I wanted to do with you since we began dating.” Clyde could tell she felt disheartened about that dance. However, he couldn’t have surprised her if he danced with her last night. 

“I’ll dance with you now if you want to,” said Clyde softly. Rarity quickly sat up and looked at him. The sudden jerk of her head banged Clyde’s chin, but he ignored the slight pain.

“Do you mean it?” she asked with glee.

“Absolutely.” As he stood up, he heard the faint sound of an acoustic guitar. He looked over at the park stage and saw the faint outline of a band standing on the stage. The guitarist held the tune of a slow sounding song. Expecting the bass to kick in, Clyde instead heard a harmonious set of vocals. The more he listened, the more it began sounding like a love song. He turned back to Rarity and held out his hand. The glow from the fountain shining on it. “May I have this dance?” 

Clyde saw the sparkle in her eyes as she took his hand and stood up. He led her to a spot away from the fountain, where only the starlight was their light source. Rarity wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. Clyde rested his hands around her waist, but closer to her lower back. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead. They touched foreheads together before dancing in a circle.

They danced for a few minutes only touching foreheads, but soon, Rarity looked into Clyde’s eyes. Her oceanic eyes made him smile, like they always had. From the first day he met her and nearly tackled her on the bleachers, their eyes met and he could never relinquish the feeling he got when he saw them. Soon, he saw tears and her joyous eyes turned sad. “What’s wrong?” asked Clyde concerned.

Rarity only smiled. “I was thinking about if I never did meet you, or if that ball never bounced towards me.”

“Why think about that?” 

Rarity sniffled. “Because if that ball never bounced towards me or you mixed up those scraps of paper, I wouldn’t have met the greatest boy in the world. We should both thank Coach next time we see him.”

Clyde nodded. He thought back to the first day he met her and the day he won Pinkie’s name from her balloon pop. He suddenly smiled at the realization that Rarity was right about Coach helping him meet Rarity with that block on Tyrone and running into Poncho and him. Not only that, but he also drove Rarity and her friends to the Spring Fling dance for him. 

“I’m sure Coach doesn’t care if we thank him or not. What’s important is what we accomplished together with our fated meetings.” Clyde continued his gaze into her tearful eyes and smiled. 

Rarity began crying now, her tears streaming down her cheeks. At this point, Clyde stopped dancing to look at her. “You couldn’t possibly understand how much you mean to me.” She hugged him tighter.

Clyde shook his head. “I understand. I’m was used to coming home and sitting at my house alone, wishing my brother would come home already, or maybe if my parents somehow came back to life. You changed that. Alone used to be my biggest fear, but you Rarity, you shined it away.”

Rarity smiled. “You make me love going to sleep and waking up, just to see your “I love you” messages you send. All I wanted in life was someone who treated me like a princess, someone who loved me for only me. You not only made me feel like a princess, but you made me a Princess. I couldn’t imagine my life without you now, Clyde.” More tears were cascading down her cheek. “You are my fairy-tale 'Prince Charming' I always dreamed of having that everyone made fun of me about because it would never come true!” 

Clyde was silent and he felt tears of his own forming in his eyes. He gently rested his hand on her cheek and rubbed her tears away with his thumb. He tilted her head to him and gave her a comforting smile. “You’re the only girl in the world who deserves her fairy tale.” 

Her tears began again. “Clyde–” 

“Don’t cry.” Clyde placed both of his hands on her cheeks and rubbed her stream of tears. “Your beautiful eyes shouldn’t be sad. I told you this before.” Clyde saw a shimmer in her eyes as she grabbed his arms. He wrapped them around her lower back again and knew exactly what was about to happen. 

They brought their mouths together into the most beautiful kiss the world could know. It was beautiful, because it was shared by two who truly loved each other. Their love was a bond made strong by struggle and effort, and would remain so evermore. Her lips felt like velvet on his, and even with his eyes closed, Clyde could tell Rarity was blushing madly by the heat given off by her face. He brought a hand up her back to her shoulder, holding her close to him with a loving but firm hold. For the first time in years, Clyde felt as if all of his troubles were melting away, and he was sharing the perfect moment with the most beautiful girl in the world. He never wanted it to end as could be content like this forever. He continued his kiss even while she began to leave. After some loving giggles, Rarity wrapped her arms around her lover and sighed dreamily.

“I love you, Clyde. I will always love you. I swear with my heart.” She kissed him lightly, causing him to smile. Ever since meeting Rarity, Clyde believed he smiled at least a thousand more times than he did in his life, something he never thought would happen. He also never thought he would experience ‘love’ again, but that also changed because of Rarity.

Clyde gazed into her eyes. “I love you too, Rarity. So much, that it hurts when I’m not with you. But, if I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd walk through a garden forever.”

“Oh my,” said Rarity in awe with her sultry look, “I never knew you became so romantic.” 

“It’s because of you,” replied Clyde with a smile. “I guess your love for romance rubbed off on me.”

“Just like my good nature for earlier tonight?” asked Rarity with a wink.

Clyde laughed. “Being around you just makes me a better person.”

Rarity continued her sultry gaze into his eyes. “Good. Because I don’t want to imagine you without me,” she whispered seductively. 

Clyde smirked. “Is this how you’re going to keep your crown and defend it next year, by keeping me for yourself?”

“Of course! I need my wonderful prince to continue supporting my reign!” Rarity giggled, but kept her seductive look on him. “But enough of talking about our future, let’s talk about tonight and the present.”

Clyde nodded and looked around. The band stopped playing some time ago and vanished from the park in general. Rarity and him were the only people he seen since arriving at the park. The stars were still bright and the night remained silent. He looked back at Rarity. “What do you have in mind?”

“Tonight was amazing, darling, just like every night we spent together, but would you like to sleep at my house tonight? It’s getting late and I don’t want you to drive home tired.”

“I’m not even tired.”

“Neither am I,” she said with a smile. “But, maybe we could try to beat our record for longest make out session? We’re up to ninety minutes.” Rarity playfully winked.

Clyde burst into a laugh. “I’m always down for that.”

Rarity hugged him and smiled slyly. “So am I.”

They walked out of the starlight and back towards the illuminated fountain. As Rarity came close to the foundation's edge, she quickly hopped up on it. Clyde looked at her strangely, but she issued him to turn around. As he did, he felt her weight pull down on his shoulders. He quickly grabbed her legs and held them, looking back at her. “Where to now, Miss?”

Rarity smiled and looked into the bright, star-filled sky. She looked back at Clyde, but he knew what she was thinking. He gave a nod and he began his walk back towards her home, with Rarity on his back.

Clyde constantly checked back to see how she was doing, but her smiles and giggles were all he needed to know. Like the trek after the movie so many months ago, Clyde saw the faint blush line on her cheeks after walking under street lights. It wasn’t hidden love like last time, however. It was love that couldn’t be hindered. Love that both Clyde and Rarity didn’t want to lose. As the stars and heavens shined brightly down on them while Clyde lovingly carried her home, he gave a smile.

Fate brought them together, and because of it, forever will he love his fate.