> Internal Issues
>  by Peroth E
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Taco Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It seemed strange to Twilight that the tiniest details were so meaningful to her.

A well-worn brass plate screwed into place on a wooden panel that hung slightly cocked to the right on the wall. Just below it was a large, blown-up picture of Fluttershy pressing gaily against her Twilight behind a desk, surrounded by haphazard stacks of books with a massive pile of papers sitting in front of them. The glass cover and the wooden frame were spotless, while the plaque was pimpled with small oil stains and smelled vaguely like cat urine.

“The Canterlot Society of Animal Safety and Medicine board on the formal training programs in Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Animal Health, and Veterinary Surgery hereby bequeaths FLUTTERSHY with the certification to operate as a Veterinarian within the Equestrian state with honors, as 1st in her class with perfect performance as well as attendance. Approved by Director Cat’s Meow.”

That had been almost two months ago. It was incredible how quickly time moved forward and left its mark on something as simple as a plaque on the wall, while tender loving care removed all signs of wear and tear from the picture above. With the old veterinarian having moved to Manehatten, it left Fluttershy with the freedom to essentially take over the building and start her own practice.

Twilight’s heart swelled with pride as she stared at the twin masterpieces of both her own and Fluttershy’s accomplishments in the past three years. Fluttershy had lived quietly and peacefully just outside of Ponyville for years, helping the wild animals and whoever came by with a hurting pet to the best of her abilities. While she was a smart mare with plenty of on-hoof experience, Twilight discovered that she had no formal veterinary training. She mostly learned through experience, reading, and communicating with the wildlife.

It started as a simple curiousity: why not go to school and get more formal training? Fluttershy had been resistant at first, content with her life, but with Twilight’s quiet encouragement, Fluttershy found herself back in class, practically rocketing through her courses with unseen speed, and displaying skills on par with most veterans of the field. Now armed with ample knowledge of medicines and anatomy, the privilege of ordering a huge variety of animal medicine, and the license to do her job within town limits, Fluttershy had gone from a meek little mare by the forest to one of the best veterinarians the Canterlot schools had ever seen.

Of course, it wasn’t just by herself. Twilight had always been by her side, helping her study, bringing in books, tests, and trained experts to help coach Fluttershy after school to truly hammer in the qualities of a good veterinarian. Fluttershy was surprisingly responsive to the training, especially when it was just her and Twilight.

Especially when it was just her and Twilight.

Twilight’s smile turned a little sappy at the thought. Old memories surfacing of hooves brushing together at the study desk, leaning against each other for support and suppressing yawns, little jokes made, information traded…

Twilight had officially spent more time with Fluttershy than any of her other friends, and it showed.

The door opened behind Twilight. She turned to watch as Fluttershy walked in, wearing a doctor’s coat that was half buttoned, the stethoscope lazily hanging from her neck while her immaculate hair stayed full and bouncy, despite being full of dander and animal food.

“Okay, Twilight.” Fluttershy’s smile was warm. Twilight loved that smile. It did more than love her, it caressed her, eased her into relaxation, telling her everything would be okay for just a few minutes and nothing could go wrong. “Owlowiscious and I had a good talk in the back, didn’t we?” Fluttershy turned her body to show the small, brown owl had curled up, somehow making himself even smaller to hide himself.

“Hoo,” the owl answered sadly as Twilight gave them both a curious smile.

“That’s good. Do you know why he’s been having so many stomach aches, lately?” Twilight approached the two. While her goal was Owlowiscious, she couldn’t resist brushing her cheek against Fluttershy’s, the brief contact making them both warm up.

“Hoo…”

“Why you, you big, silly bird.” Fluttershy turned her head to watch Twilight as the alicorn attempted to get her pet to crawl onto her. Owlowiscious turned his head away and perched himself atop Twilight’s back in a huff. “It turns out he’s been eating a little more than the pellets you’re giving him. He’s grown a taste for the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder next door.”

“Huh. I remember Lyra mentioning something about having to replace her feeder more frequently.” Twilight gave Owlowiscious a knowing smile, making the owl shrink into himself. Fluttershy quietly stood by, letting her eyes freely roam the studious mare who had helped her get to her position today. Twilight turned to look while she felt Fluttershy snuggle against her tail. “We’ll have a talk with Lyra about it when we get home.”

“You could also try changing his feed to something a little more sweet,” Fluttershy offered, Twilight’s tail resting across her neck as they awkwardly twisted their heads to watch each other. “I’ll bring some samples when I come home tonight.”

“That would be great.” Twilight bobbed her head, then turned to press her neck to Fluttershy’s. Fluttershy stood still as their cheeks were pressed together, sharing the warmth of their necks and chests. “Our anniversary is tonight,” Twilight whispered into Fluttershy’s ear, making it twitch.

“Our anniversary?” Fluttershy whispered back, a bright red blush crossing her face. Owlowiscious, ever observant, fluttered onto a hatrack across the room to avoid the irradiated warmth leaking off the two twitterpated mares.

“Mhmm.” Twilight’s teeth gently sunk into the base of Fluttershy’s mane along her neck, drawing excited shudders from her mare.

“Our two week anniversary?” Fluttershy asked in deep amusement as Twilight snorted quietly. Fluttershy couldn’t stop herself from giggling at the thought. “I don’t know Twilight, an anniversary so early? Aren’t we moving a little fast?”

“Oh come on, Fluttershy.” Twilight turned to stand lengthwise against Fluttershy. She loved the way the doctor’s coat felt against her side. “We’ve been practically living together for three years. We’ve been doing that little ‘look-away’ game for six months and blushing at each other for almost two. If you think about it, we’ve been dating for a while.”

“I guess.” One of Fluttershy’s wings rested on top of Twilight’s, rubbing affectionately while giving Twilight a disbelieving chuckle. “But we’ve been really dating for only two weeks.”

Twilight’s smile cocked smugly before she spoke. “Three years of spending every night together doesn’t count?”

“Spending every night in the caress of a book while we intimately wrote notes and refilled the coffee machine over and over again?” Fluttershy’s hoof teasingly tapped the bottom of Twilight’s chin.

“We slept in the same bed while we were in Canterlot!”

“No, I slept in the bed while you stayed up and did your Princess reports.” Fluttershy began to giggle as Twilight huffed. “Not to mention we stayed at our places when we rode back to Ponyville on the weekends.”

“For like, four weeks. I think I moved into your place so we could keep studying during the night,” Twilight said pointedly, making Fluttershy laugh more.

“Oh, right, I’m sorry. I forgot about how much time we were dating because of how we were studying every time we were alone together. It’s almost like it was a study session instead of a date.” Fluttershy bat her eyes cutely, while Twilight’s nostrils flared.

“I made us tea and sandwiches…”

“Only when you remembered.”

“Well…” Twilight stomped her hoof. “Fine, but it’s important to me.”

“It is to me too.” Fluttershy leaned forward, and Twilight all but melted as their lips touched. An urgent want ran through her head, wanting to stuff her tongue into Fluttershy’s mouth and figure out what to do from there, but their lips barely parted, and the kiss was little more than sweet contact until Fluttershy pulled back. “I’m only teasing, Twilight.”

“Oh?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “O-oh! Right, right, teasing.” Twilight shuffled uncomfortably. As much as she and Fluttershy opened up and grew comfortable over the years, certain “marefriend” things only became obvious in the past few months, and she still missed a lot of them. “Sorry, it’s just, I really wanted to do something special.”

Fluttershy walked over to a desk filled with files and books, pushed aside some jars with compressors and q-tips, and set Owlowiscious’s papers down. “I know, Twi- eh, sweetie. You’ve been wanting to make every day special though.” Fluttershy gave her an appreciative smile before pulling a pencil out of a cup to write. “It’sh not that I dun’t apprecshiate it, bud I dun’t think we need to eat out ev’ry night, ‘r have a night picnic or dancshe all the time. Shometimesh we can jusht enjoy ourshelvesh at home.” Fluttershy mumbled before writing on the sheet.

Twilight fixed her mare with a small frown Fluttershy couldn’t see. In her relatively short life, Twilight had never really experienced romance before. She’d experienced dates, among other things, but she’d never really felt like this. Somehow, the past three years managed to make her and Fluttershy closer and more open, yet make things more complicated and frustrating. She adored Fluttershy, but her lack of romantic experience–from either of them–meant they were treading into new waters with no idea what to do.

She knew all the old cliches: a candle-lit dinner under the stars, a slow dance to live music, feeding each other food, small notes left around the house, awkward selfies of her butt slipped into Fluttershy’s lunch box, but she’d done all of it already. Two weeks in and they went through every cliche she could think of, and three of them were done in one night! Twilight wanted to gift-wrap every possible pleasure and moment she shared with Fluttershy and create new ones every second they were together, but she was running out of cliches, and honestly, bits as well.

It was also tough to tell what Fluttershy liked. The dinner and the dance she enjoyed, the feeding each other went poorly since Fluttershy lacked fork-experience, whenever Twilight left a note in the house Fluttershy always stuck it to her nose the next time they saw each other and kissed her, and she had no idea what happened to her rear shot.

It was with that thought she realized Fluttershy was giving her a little smile and a blush. Had she really been staring at Fluttershy’s butt the past few minutes? Not that that was a bad thing, technically that butt was part of her territory, and it was a fine piece of territory, too. Twilight had admired it for a while but usually not so blatantly. Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind, even lifting her tail an inch and giving it the shakiest wiggle Twilight had ever seen before returning to writing.

Right. Relationships also meant sexy stuff. That was going to be weird.

Maybe that’s what she meant by enjoying themselves at home…? No, she knew Fluttershy was about as subtle as a brick to the face when it came to sex. Innuendo and bed talk was accompanied by red faces, stuttering, and whimpers of fear. Which was probably why Twilight wasn’t surprised that Fluttershy kept looking back to see if she was still staring.

So no sex, no really romance-y stuff. What was there left? She supposed they could just spend time together… they’d done a lot of that over the years but she never really got tired of it. Maybe that would be appropriate. Turn on the radio, pull out a good book, chat and laugh again… this time without the pressure of Fluttershy’s grade on the line. That would be nice.

Still, she wanted to show Fluttershy she cared. She cared a whole lot too. Just some small gesture to show she was happy to have her mare home. Something.

Oh!

“Fluttershy,” Twilight called. A lucky time too, Fluttershy turned, the paper between her teeth to be filed away. “Do you have a favorite food, or a favorite snack or something like that?”

Fluttershy went to the filing cabinet and opened it up. After putting the paper back and shutting the cabinet, she answered. “I thought we were going to make a Water-Lily salad before the ingredients went bad.”

“Well yes, but that’s why I said ‘snack’. Just a little something to enjoy when it starts getting really late.” Twilight smiled, hoping the awkwardness of her voice didn’t dissuade Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked up to the ceiling thoughtfully, her wings opening and closing an inch every few seconds.

“Well, I mean, I like daisy sandwiches.” They had plenty of stuff for that, but Twilight had known that already. “Um, croissants are good.” Croissants sounded delicious actually… “Oh, and bean and cheese tacos.” Yes, the good old- wait.

“I didn’t know you had tacos before.” Twilight blinked. Considering they were foreign fare from across the seas, they weren’t in huge supply around a rural little place like Ponyville. However, Fluttershy could only smile.

“Oh I love tacos, especially bean and cheese. I really like them made from scratch, my momma used to make them every few years when I was little. It’s just so hard to find a good recipe.” Fluttershy gently shook her head, missing the huge smile Twilight was giving her.

“I know just where to find one, actually.” Twilight said, a bit more smugly than she’d meant to.

“You do?!” Fluttershy gasped, earning a nod from her marefriend. “Oh, but you don’t mean-”

“Why not? It couldn’t hurt to have it on hand. Besides, I haven’t had tacos in a while either. It’ll be good practice and good food.” Twilight stumbled as Fluttershy all but wrapped herself around her. She balanced herself, and smiled up at the gently quivering pegasus snuggled around her. “I’ll even make it from scratch.”

“Thank you!” Fluttershy squeaked before assaulting Twilight’s face with tiny kisses. The two broke down into giggles while Owlowiscious rolled his eyes in the corner of the room. “I-I’ll be home around five, thank you thank you thank-”

Twilight’s hoof pressed to Fluttershy’s snout. Fluttershy gave Twilight a sappy smile and slowed down, then nipped the hoof against her lips. Twilight blinked, feeling a weird tremor in her hind legs, and smiled at her. “It’s no problem, Fluttershy. It really isn’t. I just want to make you happy.”

“I’m very happy,” Fluttershy sighed, earning a grateful look from Twilight. “I’ll see you at home. And… thank you.”

Twilight nodded at her marefriend and walked towards the door. Owlowiscious took post on her back as she planned out the rest of the day.





How was it that being a princess didn’t make her life any easier?

“I don’t care if you’re the princess, this is my secret special recipe! Nopony can see it! Nopony ever- no I won’t sell the tacos to you! Untrustworthy mare! UNTRUSTWORTHY!”

Thank goodness the chef’s assistant had a good head on his shoulders.

And the common decency to finally call the loony bin.

“I’LL SEE YOU BURN IN THE PITS OF TARTARUS, TRAITOR! TRAITORS ARE SERVED WITH ‘TATORS! TRAITORS ARE SERVED WITH ‘TATORS! ‘TATORS! ‘TATORS! ‘TATOOOOOORRRRRS!” Chef Mad Artist screamed as the nice ponies in the white coats quietly took all the knives out of her pockets.

“Sorry, Princess,” Hot Plate mumbled sheepishly as his former mentor was dragged out of the restaurant. The colt glanced up to Twilight as the third princess of Equestria carefully read the instructions on how to make fresh tortillas, and gave the assistant a friendly nod. “Ever since a bus colt misplaced her spatula, she’s been on a hair-trigger.”

“It’s no problem, Plate, I should be thanking you. This is for a very special occasion.” Twilight smiled, the relief practically shining off of it. Mad Artist had settled for gnawing on the bars of her carriage as she was hauled away. “I can’t believe she was allowed to work like this…”

“Some ponies confuse ‘crazy’ with ‘eccentric’,” Hot Plate muttered, but glanced to the rest of the kitchen staff. “Alright, with Mad gone, I’m taking charge. Return to business, you’re allowed to stare directly at the food and you can speak above a whisper when something is sizzling.” He then turned to Twilight. “Though we are without a manager for a while. I don’t know how to do the paperwork or whatever she did.”

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll have Princess Celestia send one of the royal chefs over to take charge until you’re ready. Thanks again!” Twilight walked out of the service entrance of Canterlot’s finest premier dining establishment and into the alley out back. She wrote a quick letter with some parchment and ink in her pack and found a mailbox to slip it in before her horn flashed.

A second later she was in Ponyville, her legs quivering from the spent energy. Even with her supposedly incredible power as a unicorn she had limits. Princesshood did nothing to change this, so she happily hoisted herself onto a park bench and let the strength return to her limbs. Something about moving instantaneously through time and space always left her feeling a little numb.

The moment of rest also gave her a chance to pour over the recipe she was borrowing. Tortillas didn’t seem too hard to make. In fact, the entire recipe was going to be simple, cutting out all the extra seasonings and herbs that went into it. Mad Artist may have had a few screws missing, but she knew what she was doing.

“I thought I saw a familiar flash of light.”

Twilight looked up from the recipe to see two familiar faces approaching. “Hey Rarity, hey Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said with a growing smile as she rolled the recipe up and put it away.

“‘Sup, Twi, where were you?” Rainbow Dash asked. She looked slightly disheveled, but had a smile on her face, while Rarity was prim and proper as ever. Rarity climbed onto the bench next to Twilight, while Dash simply floated nearby.

“Canterlot,” Twilight said with a huge sigh, but smiled.

“Gotta call from the Princess, Princess?” Rainbow Dash grinned coolly as she floated by, but Twilight shook her head, getting a curious look from her two friends.

“Personal business. I went to pick up a present for Fluttershy tonight.” Twilight said with a proud smile. She had to admit, she was unbelievably happy having figured something about her relationship with her marefriend.

Rainbow Dash was suddenly hovering by her side. “Another one?” She asked disbelievingly, crossing her forehooves.

“That’s adorable, darling, but how many more cat-shaped clocks and ‘1001 Stories About Dogs’ can you possibly get?” Rarity leaned against Twilight knowingly, making the princess slide an inch away from Rarity.

“It’s nothing like that! And besides, I love her, I want to show her how much,” Twilight said with an insistent nod before getting to her hooves. Less shaky, and she had feeling in her knees, which was good. She made a beckoning gesture to her friends before walking to the Ponyville market.

“No offense, Twilight, I get what you’re trying to do, but this sort of stuff intimidates Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash began to fly alongside her at a slow pace while Rarity trotted along the otherside.

“It is a little much, dearie, a gesture of affection will mean a lot more than a whole Priss vault full of bits.”

Twilight remained quiet, but her body language screamed annoyance. She only wanted to show Fluttershy she loved her somehow, the hard part was figuring it out. “It’s not like it’s an actual thing, Rarity. It’s food. I needed to get a recipe.”

“Oh, well, that’s much different!” Rarity’s tone lightened and she all but pranced by Twilight’s side, a knowing smile crossing her face. “Learning to actually cook for our dearest Fluttershy, you’re such a sweetheart, Twilight! Coming home to a home cooked meal is so relieving.”

“Mmm, and you know what they say, the best way to a mare’s heart is through her stomach.” Rainbow Dash gave a wistful sigh as the three mares entered the busy market on Ponyville’s main street. Being primarily rural, a majority of Ponyville’s sold goods were imported from major cities with a number of notable exceptions that were hoof made. This was especially true with the food.

Even the fried foods were hoof-rolled before being put into a vat of boiling oil, to say nothing of the baked goods regularly coming out of Sugarcube Corner, or the salads hoof-wrapped and sold in large, disposable pans for easy use and transportation. Pies were also a favorite, and the smell of it reached the three mares’ noses immediately. While it was all so tempting, Twilight had a shopping list to follow and wasn’t about to empty her bit pouch for sweets.

“I think you mean ‘the best way to a stallion’s heart’, Rainbow,” Rarity corrected idly as her eyes locked onto a merchant selling fabrics.

“Stallion, mare, everypony likes to eat.” Rainbow Dash smacked her lips and fluttered her wings happily. Twilight gave her a small smile as she kept her eyes and ears open. Beans and cheese would not be in short supply, but if she wanted her tortillas to be authentic, she would want the imported corn flour.

“Is that how Applejack caught you, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity inquired behind Twilight. She tried her best to hide a smile. Rainbow Dash’s love of Applejack’s food was well known among their small group.

“Nah, it’s just how she gets my attention. She caught me in that race to Manehatten.” Dash landed in front of a stall selling roasted pineapple rings on a skewer. She returned to Twilight’s side a few moments later, licking her lips while wiggling the wooden skewer around haphazardly.

“Ah yes, the race for one anothers’ heart.” Twilight could practically hear Rarity flutter her eyelashes before something caught her attention. The grocery store was a good place to look. She had never really checked out the baking aisle there. She couldn’t remember ever checking out any sort of baking ingredients before going under Celestia’s tutelage. “How is Applejack, by the way?”

Rainbow Dash and Rarity followed Twilight inside. The two were apparently mindlessly accompanying their friend, something Twilight appreciated. “Oh, you know…” Dash was walking now. Flying indoors was discouraged when things like flour could be laying around. “She’s- she’s good. Just busy lately.”

“You don’t sound very sure.” Twilight turned her neck towards Rainbow Dash. Dash hesitated in step, getting both of the other girls’ attention. “Is everything alright?”

The three mares stood quietly, observing each other critically before Rainbow Dash let out a thick sigh, this time leading the way towards the sweets. Twilight let herself get distracted for the moment. Certain things were more important than fancy flour. “It’s just, we haven’t ever really, y’know, gone out.” Rainbow Dash used her wing to flick a chocolate bar into her mouth, eyes half-closed in thought as she chewed and tossed a bit onto the counter.

“But you two went out just two days ago to the Pie Roulette at Sugarcube Corner! You were the last two to leave.” Rarity sounded genuinely surprised as Rainbow Dash snorted, tearing a piece of her candy’s wrapper off and tossing it down. Twilight wordlessly picked it up and threw it away.

“Yeah, but we went as friends,” Rainbow Dash muttered as they started heading down the rows of shelves.

“This way,” Twilight spoke up, heading down the baking aisle. “What do you mean ‘as friends’? I thought you two have been dating for, what, a year now?” She stared at the rows upon rows of flour and immediately felt a little out of her element. Books? Books she could go through one by one for days on end. Flour? Not so much.

“I honestly can’t tell anymore. By ourselves, she’s great! She’s all over me, kissy, sexy, but whenever we go out to have something to eat or watch a show or even when she went to my Race for the Grounded rally it didn’t feel like she was my marefriend.” Dash watched Twilight carefully pull one bag down at a time to read before putting it back. “What are we looking for?”

“Corn flour,” Twilight answered while trying to look for pictures of corn on the bags. “So why is that? Was she not ‘marefriendy’?” Twilight shrugged as Dash and Rarity began to go through the bags with her.

“She had a stick up her flank,” Dash snorted, making Rarity fumble with a bag before putting it back up straight. “She wouldn’t kiss me, we barely hugged, she didn’t even want me to mention her during my interview. It’s never a date when we go out.” Dash’s voice lowered as she picked up a bag to read.

“That’s awful, dear.” Rarity frowned up at Rainbow Dash as the pegasus put the bag back. “You know, I had a colt who did much the same for me when I was going through high school. I broke up with him after three weeks, and later still found out he only wanted to date me to impress his friends. They thought I’d be ‘easy’.”

“Rare, you and me shagged the night we met each other.” Dash rolled her eyes as Twilight froze up.

Rarity mustered up all of her dignity while she pulled a blue bag off the shelf, and nodded. “Brandy was involved. There is a reason I am a sparse drinker. Here you are, Twilight, corn flour. Making bread? That’s a good way to stand out from the crowd.” Rarity smiled as the bag floated over to Twilight.

“Yes! Thank you.” Twilight took the bag and began to hunt for fresh beans. “Did… did you two really, y’know…?” Twilight’s voice lowered as they passed by some ponies. The other two remained silent until they were effectively by themselves.

“Rarity and I ‘knew each other’ before we knew each other. It was no big deal, I made a lot of good friends that way.” Dash looked around as they walked around the produce aisle.

“I don’t know about making friends, but we certainly had a moment. Dash was so courageous and confident, and has such a lean and unique physique. Most pegasi don’t have muscles as visible as Dash does.” Rarity turned her head and began to openly admire Dash by her side. For her part, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings out and began to strut.

“And I’ll admit it, Rarity’s hot. It’s not a lay I’ll ever regret.” Rainbow Dash tossed a wink Rarity’s way, and earned a bashful chuckle.

“Agreed.” The two paused to admire several bags of ripe oranges as Twilight finally grew frustrated looking and asked a grocer. She beckoned the girls to follow her after getting her answer. “What about you, Twilight? No offense, but you don’t seem to be a mare who would ever be loose. Have you and Fluttershy-”

“No,” Twilight cut her off while Dash rolled her eyes.

“So you two are still virgins?” Dash asked with a teasing smile as Twilight rounded a corner and find the beans. She examined the selections carefully and made her choice.

“I’m not a virgin.” Twilight answered. Rarity and Dash shared a look of disbelief. “Now, all that’s left is a little lard, some cheese-”

“Wow Twi, who owns your V-Card?” Dash started.

“- and salt.” Twilight finished off, examining the recipe scroll. “Then I need to go through their herbs and spices.” She started to walk away while the other two mares looked to each other.

“Twilight? If you don’t mind divulging-”

“Right now, I do.” Twilight said, sounding distracted. “I want to get this recipe home. I want to make sure everything is right before I really cook for Fluttershy.”

“If you’re uncomfortable talking about it, Twilight, you can tell us.” Rarity sped up to join Twilight, a worried look on her face.

“I’m not uncomfortable, it’s just I want to make sure everything goes right. We can talk about it, tomorrow.” Twilight insisted as she found the things she was looking for. One o’clock, already? That meant half an hour to get to the cottage and then, an hour and a half to practice. Should be more than enough time.

“Really?!” Dash suddenly landed by Twilight’s side as the alicorn picked up a small can of lard. “You’re going to tell us about your first time?!” Dash was grinning madly as Twilight nodded idly.

“Sure, it’s not that big of a deal. I mean, you guys seem okay with talking about yours.” Twilight could only shrug. Now she was a little uncomfortable about Dash’s excitement…

“Well we certainly understand if it’s embarrassing, My first time was an absolute wreck. Does Fluttershy know?” Rarity piped up, picking up her pace as Twilight trotted faster.

“Wait, I don’t think I heard about your first time, Rares,” Dash spoke up.

“Fluttershy knows, we actually met him while we were in Canterlot.” Twilight got a small, shaker's worth of salt to add to her small pile of ingredients and started after the cashier.

“It was a him,” Dash murmured.

“So I heard.”

“Think he was hung?”

“Dash, now is not the time.”

“I bet he sucked.”

“Do you have an off button, Rainbow Dash?”

“Maybe Twilight sucked?”

“Rainbow!”

“With her mouth.”

“Yes yes, I understand subtlety, Rainbow Dash…”

“I bet Twilight has a good mouth…”

“Rainbow, honestly, you’re committed!”

“I can still think about sexy stuff!”

“Twilight is also committed. To your best friend, I might add.”

“So? I can think about the both of them.”

“You’re disgusting…”

“I remember you using the word ‘confident’.”

“Confidence is not the right word…”

The bickering lasted all the way out the door of the grocery. Twilight’s ears flattened as she listened to the two of them. The two of them could really go at it sometimes, she just wished it didn’t involve sex and certainly not where other ponies could stare at them weirdly. “Girls?”

“Hey, I’m perfectly comfortable with my sex life with Applejack.”

“You were talking about your dating issues not five minutes ago!”

“That’s outside the house. When we’re alone under a familiar roof, things change. That mare is something else under the covers.”

“Y-yes, I know, so why do you have to imagine your other friends like that? You can think without the input of your rear end you know…”

“Hey, some of us aren’t prudes, I like thinking about this kind of stuff. It’s fun.”

“It’s worrying.”

“Girls?”

“How so? You haven’t ever wondered what Twilight would be like?”

“Girls!”

“That is beside the point, one stray thought doesn’t have to turn into a tangent!”

“You’ve still thought about it. And look, I’ve never banged Twi, so my thoughts are harmless.”

“GIRLS.”

The two mares froze up immediately. Twilight coughed politely into her hoof as the entire Ponyville market stopped in its tracks to stare at Twilight. Princess Luna had been right, those lessons on the Royal Canterlot Voice were well worth the trouble. “Uh…” Dash looked around slowly and dropped to the ground. “Sorry, Twi.”

“Look,” Twilight shook her grocery bag gently. “I’ve got everything I’ll need for tonight, so I’m going to head to the cottage to start cooking. We can talk more tomorrow night when I finish my thesis on the tax reforms. So can we please save the–ahem–adult subject matter for when we get a little wine in each of us?”

“Totally!” Dash perked up at the mention of wine, and Rarity nodded apologetically.

“Of course, Twilight, again, sorry. How about I host, tomorrow? I’ve got a fresh bottle of red wine from one of my contacts in Las Pegasus. I’ll even whip up some tiramisu to snack on.”

“That sounds perfect, thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some bean and cheese tacos to whip together.” Twilight sighed in relief and turned around to take a step forward, and froze as Dash got snout to snout with her.

“Did you say beans and cheese?” Dash asked in an hushed voice, a hopeless look in her eyes.

Twilight blinked, staring into Dash’s eyes. Yes, she thought she’d said that quite clearly. “Um, yeah. I’m making tacos.”

“Oh dear.” Rarity whispered behind her. She walked up to Twilight’s side to get her attention. “Where did you get the idea to make bean and cheese tacos…?”

Twilight gulped quietly, looking between the two mares’ worried faces before speaking up. “Well, I asked Fluttershy if she had a favorite food. She said bean and cheese tacos and that her mother used to make them and-”

“Uh, yeah,” Dash interrupted, cringing. “Fluttershy’s mom made the best food and those tacos were great, but she only made them when she took me and ‘Shy down to the ground to have a picnic when renovations were being made to her kitchen on days with a strong breeze,” Dash said with as much emphasis as she could muster in her voice.

Twilight gave her an odd look, one eyebrow quirking quietly while looking to Rarity for help.

“Well, I once took Fluttershy out to a Manehatten restaurant that specialized in foreign cuisine and she ordered bean and cheese tacos and we had to leave the restaurant early due to, eh, foul air?” Rarity cocked her jaw, looking away in embarrassment.

“Like, something went bad in the kitchen…?” Twilight pursed her lips in thought. “Where are you girls going with this?”

Rainbow Dash turned to Rarity. “She doesn’t get it.”

Rarity nodded at Rainbow Dash. “She doesn’t get it.” Rarity looked back at Twilight and sighed. “Alright, Twilight, you know that Fluttershy has some issues, and among them are some… food-related problems.” Rarity nodded her head. Twilight nodded more slowly, all but begging Rarity to go on. “She has problems digesting certain foods; in particular, beans and cheese.”

“So, what? They have spells and medicine for that, you know.” Twilight shrugged, but Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“That’s not it. Fluttershy doesn’t just get a tummy ache, her body does this weird thing where it turns beans and cheese into something horrible.” Dash crossed her forehooves, making Twilight sigh.

“Then I’ll steer clear of the bathroom tonight…”

“It’s not just that, Twilight. What Rainbow Dash means to say is Fluttershy, well, when Fluttershy eats beans and cheese, especially together she…” Rarity scratched at the ground, hummed in thought, then sighed in defeat. “I mean no offense, but she smells.”

“Smells?” Twilight glanced between the two.

“Yes!” Dash’s wings waved erratically as she nodded. “She farts like crazy and it’s the worst smelling thing in the world! I’ve crashed into a skunk den and it didn’t smell near as bad as Fluttershy’s ass did.” Dash gagged just thinking about it, but Twilight just rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to be so crude, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity turned back to Twilight and gave her a very serious expression. “But, she’s right. Fluttershy loves bean and cheese tacos and there’s a very good reason she doesn’t get to eat them very often. I cannot emphasize the fact that she evacuated a restaurant enough!”

“You two are over-exaggerating.” Twilight chuckled at the very thought of it.

“No we’re not!” They both shouted, causing a few passing ponies to jump in fright. “I’m not saying it’s a terrible idea.” Rarity continued hastily as Twilight recoiled. “She will love you for making them, but it has to be done in a very specific environment, and Fluttershy’s cottage does not air out very well. You two should eat out in the field, make a picnic of it!”

Twilight frowned at the two mares as they both gave her a desperate look, and she rubbed her forehead. They seemed to know what they were talking about but there was no way it could have been that bad. Time had a way of exaggerating old memories to make them seem more exciting after all. “Fluttershy doesn’t want a picnic. We’re going to have a nice, quiet dinner and relax. Then I’ll make the tacos when the tortillas are ready and probably go to sleep. It won’t be a big deal.”

“Twilight, you are seriously going to regret this.” Dash pouted. “I know better than anypony, Fluttershy’s a great mare, but if you push the wrong buttons she’s a wreck waiting to happen.” Dash had in no way meant to be offensive, but it took Twilight’s ears flattening on her head for her to realize that it was a bit much.

“Then I’ll find out my own. Thank you girls for your input, I’ll crack a few windows open. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” Twilight walked around them both, heading for the cottage. She had some experimenting to do.

Meanwhile, Dash and Rarity watched after her, both letting out a sigh. “Well…” Rarity tried to crack a smile. “Far be it from me to keep her from doing the best she can for Fluttershy.”

“Yeah.” Dash mumbled. “But if she suffocates, I am not going into that house.”

“Oh, most certainly.” Rarity shook her head, and the two turned back towards the market.
> Taco Night II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The stethoscope came out of the sterilization agent all but sparkling. Fluttershy let out a soft, gentle sigh as she toweled it, then hung it over a hook in her locker. Her doctor’s coat went on its own hook on the wall, next to the two other coats.

Twilight was right. Going to school had been a good idea.

She looked at the coats underneath the paper labels of Blue Kazoo and Hufflepuff, with Blue’s coat gone. Social situations terrified her to no end, which was why it surprised her that she made any friends outside of Twilight in class. She never bragged about it and never raised her hoof to answer questions, but word got out that she’d scored above average on her entrance exam, in addition to her lack of formal training.

She didn’t know how it spread, but she didn’t realize that her in-depth knowledge of animals was astonishing for her age. She had been informed by other teachers on several occasions that Professor Squirrely was impressed with her knowledge on animal anatomy and how to perform medical procedures. Fluttershy was always under the impression that his hard stares had been from annoyance. She was so meek and quiet whenever she answered, having answers but no confidence.

Unfortunately, that made her a target. She was used to being picked on, and she’d hoped that age would make some ponies lose that malicious part of themselves, but names got bandied about and she was tripped more than once.

Well, until Twilight had lost her temper. Then it became very clear that Fluttershy was not to be messed with.

However, putting Fluttershy in the spotlight a couple of times got her some attention that, looking back on it, she didn’t mind. Blue Kazoo and Hufflepuff, two students struggling with their work, came to her to ask for help. She’d been reluctant, but she and Twilight were both too polite to turn them down and made a pair of friends.

Then, when the three of them graduated, Fluttershy mentioned starting a practice in Ponyville, and two Canterlot unicorns found themselves buying a place in the little rural town by the Everfree Forest with a job opportunity open for them.

Fluttershy appreciated the company. While they never saw a huge number of animals throughout their shifts, it meant that they could work intersecting shifts so there would always be one pony available early in the morning, and one late at night. Being the head doctor, Fluttershy took the early shift while Blue Kazoo took the noon to evening shift, and Hufflepuff had the evening to midnight shift. It worked out, and a single carrier pigeon was always on the ready to go grab the extra doctors in case something serious was ahoof.

Fluttershy spread her wings, rid of her medical equipment at last. It felt good to help both pets and wild animals. It also felt good to earn some actual coin from doing it. Her stipend from the town hall was nice, but it meant she could only afford a few niceties over the years she spent working.

She stepped out of the staff room and found herself face to face with Blue Kazoo. Despite her name, Blue was a very calming dark brown with bright red hair that was getting a little long to be out of a ponytail. However, her namesake was always just sticking out of her pocket. “Oh!” Blue blinked as she nearly bowled the pegasus over. “Sorry, doc, I swear I meant to knock first. On your way out?”

Fluttershy nodded, shuddering as the cool air of the office hit her. Those doctor coats could get warm. “Yes. Blue, are you going to be okay by yourself?” Fluttershy smiled knowingly. Blue rolled her eyes, then gave her boss an affectionate smile.

They weren’t friends like Fluttershy and, say, Applejack were friends, but she was comfortable with her coworkers. It helped that the three of them worked together to get their whole business going from the beginning, even if it was just a couple of weeks ago. “I’ll be fine, I don’t think I’ll see another case like last night. Besides, I know you and Twilight got something planned.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks filled with color, and she scratched the wood beneath her hooves. “Oh, heh, you heard us?”

Blue Kazoo walked past her and into the staff room, opening a cabinet on the wall out to get a lollipop for herself. “Not at all, but you were hovering.” She took the plastic off the sucker and shoved it in her mouth.

“Hovering?” Fluttershy’s blush intensified.

“Like a school filly who just got her buns slapped by the colt she likes.” Blue snickered around the lollipop, and Fluttershy felt the bridge of her snout burning. “Either you and Twilight were necking in the office before I came in or you two are going to have one heck of a night together, and I didn’t see any hickies,” Blue leaned forward, eyeing her neck lecherously. Fluttershy turned her head so her hair would block Blue’s view.

“Well, she’s cooking tonight, one of my favorite meals …” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves. She was used to the rampant teasing, when your good friend, study-buddy, off-hours teacher, roommate, and your princess was also your lover, you got used to the accusations and ribbing.

She, the school, and Twilight had been accused of using their connections to get Fluttershy her degree by teachers and students, but the rumors were unfounded. Hard work and a good breakfast had been the real secrets to success—at least that’s what the newspaper column on the subject had read. That said, it bothered Fluttershy that Twilight’s princesshood was only recognized in relation to some sort of “scandal.” After Twilight’s involvement in Fluttershy’s education was made public Fluttershy could hardly glance at a newspaper or hear the rumors floating around without feeling a knot of rage tighten in her stomach.

“Princess Plays Favorites”, “The Elements or the Ponies: What Really Matters”, “Former Model and New Princess Cuddling Up.” Twilight’s status didn’t matter to her, though she found the wings attractive. Twilight wasn’t using her position to coast Fluttershy through school, she was her motivation and her study partner. Fluttershy was proud of her girlfriend and what she accomplished and she felt blessed that Twilight sacrificed three years of her life for Fluttershy’s sake.

That Equestria’s press was so quick to jump to conclusions and declare a scandal left a bad taste in Fluttershy’s mouth. Twilight was a good mare, who loved to help her friends! Becoming royalty didn’t change that in the slightest.

At least that’s what Fluttershy told herself when the whole debacle kept her up at night thinking about ‘oh goodness I’m dating a princess.’

Blue Kazoo licked the lollipop, then began to chew it between her molars before tossing out a response. “Y’know, I’m jealous of you, ‘Shy.” Fluttershy gave her a curious look as Blue glanced towards a mirror. “You got your life on the right track. Got this whole job, got a girlfriend, got a home. And, what, you said you got all this after achieving your life’s dream of tending to animals? What’s up with that? You got it made, girlfriend.” She paused, licked the lolli once, then grunted, “And you’re still cute to boot.”

“Heh.” Fluttershy chuckled in embarrassment, rubbing the mane out of her eyes as she considered her life. “I guess it has been pretty good. I’m still, y’know, shy …”

“Yeah, why is that?” Blue looked back at her. “You have, like, no reason to be shy. You have all of this going for you, you’re admired, you got a bunch of good friends, Huff and I are your employees and we hella respect you. So why are you shy?”

“Oh …” Fluttershy looked down, pawing the floor again. “No reason. I just am.”

“If you say so.” Blue shrugged, shoving the lollipop down her throat. Her eyes widened and she turned towards the sink, hacking it out with an ugly cough, then wiped her mouth. “Ugh, stupid sticky strawberry condensed sugar-syrup piece of crap.” Fluttershy gave her a smile, and Blue chuckled. “Alright Fluttershy, I think I’ve held you back long enough. Go eat with Twilight, and tell her I said hi.”

Fluttershy nodded, her smile small, but warm. “Of course I will. Don’t hesitate to send Pietro if something comes up.”

“That pigeon could use a break anyways, I think I’ll give him a little extra seed. Another ounce or two should be good for the fall. Toodles, ‘Shy.” Blue waved her off as Fluttershy walked down the hall. The conversation reminded her to bring some samples home for Owlowiscious, so she paused by the animal supplies to get a few scoops of sweet bird seed before heading out, waving goodbye to their receptionist as she did.

-----

Fluttershy’s practice was on one of the main roads heading to Canterlot and Appaloosa. It was a bigger road than usual to handle more carriage traffic, and with the weather turning cooler there were numerous ponies on the move to check the markets and harvests. Appaloosian style of coats and ten-gallon hats, as well as thick country braids and bushy moustaches ended up mingling with the sharp-dressed Canterlot ponies who were gratefully shedding some of their thicker clothing as they moved out of the colder city.

Fluttershy felt invisible as she walked past crowds of ponies who were mingling as their wagons got checked over, waiting for friends, partners, or loved ones to get back with supplies, or enjoying having the dirt under their hooves. Without her coat and her stethoscope, Fluttershy was just another mare to the travellers. To the Ponyvillers, though …

“Hey, doc!” a local cafe owner called from his seat near the door. Fluttershy smiled and waved back.

“Fluttershy, looking good!” a mare called from her second story window. Fluttershy waved to her as well, recognizing her as the mare whose cat fell in a drain.

“Good afternoon, Miss Fluttershy.” Fluttershy turned her head, watching Mayor Mare trot past with her assistant, the two shining smiles at each other.

“If it ain’t Fluttershy!”

“Dr. Fluttershy, a good afternoon to you.”

“Hey doc, li’l green snakes aren’t poisonous, right?”

“Can cats eat chocolate?”

Her talent with animals had been well known before getting her degree. Now? Now there was a building she owned with her name on it where ponies walked in and asked for her expertise. To strangers who wouldn’t recognize her outside of a coat she was just another mare, but she was well known by the locals.

‘Famous’ wasn’t the right word; reputable was. Her reputation as one of the Elements of Harmony and the lover of Ponyville’s princess had also gained her some fame, but to this day saving Equestria didn’t seem to impress a lot of ponies.

She didn’t stay in town very long. As she left the town’s limits, she allowed her thoughts to move towards a particular mare that was waiting for her. Her gentle, kind expression she wore in town turned into a massive, sappy grin that would have rivalled Pinkie Pie’s in joy.

Lots of little thoughts ran through her head: a kiss at the front door, maybe get a little brave and try to—no, they would save that for later, in the dark. The smell of cooking throughout the house, her girlfriend standing in the midst of it wearing an apron, maybe swaying her tail … curling up together on the couch and reading, listening to one of those live plays in Canterlot on the radio, practicing her knitting while cuddling against Twilight’s chest …

She had a lot of little things to look forward to. She somewhat hoped that Twilight had changed her mind and wanted to do something extravagant and outlandish again in a bid to impress her. Fluttershy was always impressed, and adored the sentiment, but she didn’t want Twilight running herself ragged again.

Twilight could exhaust herself doing a lot of things trying to make them perfect. Fluttershy hoped the tacos wouldn’t be an issue. Well, they would be, but she figured a midnight check up on the animals and a short walk around the cottage would get the worst of it out of the way …

Was it … impolite to not mention her tummy troubles? Twilight probably wouldn’t be bothered either way, but Twilight could have very much hated the smell. If worse came to worst, she could always take a stroll with her to alleviate some of the tension.

Still, not telling her seemed bad, but it wasn’t lying, necessarily.

She could tell her after the fact. Twilight would be understanding. Fluttershy would get her favorite snack, then explain the issue, and take a little time by herself to not terrify her beloved.

All perfectly logical. Twilight liked logical, and Fluttershy found she did too. Things were less scary when they could be explained.

Except dragons.

Nothing logical about dragons nothing logical about dragons NOTHING logical about dragons.

Fluttershy shook the dragon thoughts out of her head as her little home came into view. She lived out of the way by choice, partially due to her social anxieties, but mostly to live as close to the wildlife as possible. Her cottage wasn’t totally safe from the elements, with old leaks and drafty holes, the small entrances for her animals to freely enter and leave, and no neighbors meant she lacked the security of civilization, but there were going to be downsides to everything. She felt she made the right choice though, and lived a quiet, happy, though solitary life.

Well, it wasn’t solitary anymore. She was reminded of that every day, and she was getting used to living as a couple. She walked across the bridge and stood at the door to her cottage.

Her ears twitched as she picked up the quick hooves moving inside, and the clanging of pots and pans. Her stomach growled, making her blush, despite being alone. To think, what would be waiting inside: the smell of puffy tortillas, the sharpness of cheese, the underlying waft of beans…

-----

She nosed the door open, not wanting to spoil Twilight’s focus on cooking, and immediately slammed it shut.

She stared, bleary eyed at the door-handle, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open while covering her eyes. She felt smoke billow out around her, escaping outside, the smell of burning food filling her nose as she hobbled inside on three hooves. “Twilight?!” She shouted through the thick black cloud.

“Oh goodness, you’re home!” She heard Twilight yelp, then hack and wheeze. Fluttershy spread her wings and began to flap, pushing the smoke around and out of the way. She entered the kitchen to find Twilight levitating a dripping bucket, the oven open and vomiting smoke like it was preparing for the Miss Equestria Beauty Pageant. “I didn’t - hauck - think you’d be this early!” Twilight’s eyes were red and dripping, but Fluttershy blew the smoke out of her face while eyeing her flooded oven.

“Oh no, Twilight, what happened?” Fluttershy asked. There was something in the oven. Something as black as night and crisp as … crisp as … crisp as a pile of completely and utterly burnt artichoke hearts.

“I, uh, I tried to make dinner,” Twilight admitted a little sorrowfully. Fluttershy moved to the kitchen window and opened it to let the smoke filter out, her wings keeping a pocket of fresh air for the two of them. “I may have used the wrong grease. Or the wrong pan. I don’t know …” Twilight pouted, but Fluttershy let out a large sigh.

“I was worried.” Fluttershy kissed Twilight’s cheek, jumpstarting the purple mare’s heart rate. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Twilight shook her head and received a small, grateful smile. “Good.”

“Your oven, though.” Twilight looked at the thing, the last wisps of smoke getting sucked outside as the row of solid black lumps of coal continued to smolder on a baking sheet.

“That is a problem.” Fluttershy admitted, staring at her oven. It didn’t look hurt, but that sheet would need to be thrown out, the whole thing cleaned. “Is that our dinner?”

“Not unless you’re Spike,” Twilight grumbled, earning a polite cough. “Well … damnit,” Twilight huffed.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy admonished with a frown, but stopped herself from reprimanding her mare. Right now, they needed to calm down. “It’s okay, Twilight. The oven I mean, it just needs to be cleaned. The food can get thrown away and we’ll order something.”

Twilight sniffled, looking ready to say something, but whatever it was, it died like her hopes for the perfect evening. “Alright.” She and Fluttershy flapped their wings, making their ways to the windows to open them wide and let the remaining smoke out. While Twilight properly disposed of what was going to be dinner, Fluttershy called in one of her bird friends to attach a delivery order to its leg.

“Twilight, do you want to invite Spike over?” Fluttershy called over her shoulder before writing. Twilight set the blackened pan on the stovetop and shook her head.

“Let’s make it our night. Not to mention I’ve been trying to teach him not to eat out so much, it’s making him a little dumpy.”

Fluttershy made their order to their favorite place. “What would you like?” She called while Twilight started closing windows.

“Potato soup and breadsticks,” Twilight answered without hesitation.

Fluttershy wrote the order down with her own. Always potato soup and breadsticks. Smalltime restaurants and delivery food services always carried those two, since they were a common, not to mention popular, pony food. It was Twilight’s go-to. Not that Fluttershy could complain, fruit salad with cranberry dressing was always her favorite.

Three years didn’t change a whole lot.

Well, that wasn’t true, she had a lot going for her after three years, but the little things never seemed to change.

Fluttershy stopped herself from rolling the parchment up and stared at the order, then added at the bottom: “Please do not use nuts.” She didn’t know if the fruit salad would have nuts in it, but on the off-chance it did, she didn’t want to upset Twilight’s allergy through a kiss.

When her little bird was off to the restaurant, Fluttershy returned to the kitchen to find Twilight scrubbing what was left of the oven. She decided to help. She took the pan and put it under some running water before pouring dish soap on it. As she used a sponge to get the soap spread out, she turned her head to look at Twilight.

Things were less than ideal, but listening to the sounds of scrubbing in her own home, knowing there was a pony just behind her doing housework while she herself did chores—it felt nice. It felt natural. She almost felt like grinning. Whenever she was in a conversation about romance before, other mares talked about candlelit dinners, slow dances, long make-out sessions, staring into each others’ eyes, being saved from bandits and beasts … Fluttershy always imagined this.

A small home full of animals and doing housework. She couldn’t guess why. It was so much more normal and with less emotions and feelings, but she didn’t feel the need to impress Twilight. That sounded right, she didn’t have to work so hard for Twilight’s affections. A lot of the mares she overheard talking about romance talked about changing their appearance, the way they lived, the dreams they had, they talked about doing something to get the attention of the love of their life.

It all sounded complicated, desperate, and chilling to put herself out on the line like that. Simply falling together over the past three years was so much easier, and so much more comfortable. A lot did change in that time though, and Fluttershy changed herself and her goals in the process, but by choice: not for Twilight, for herself. Albeit, at Twilight’s insistence, but romance wasn’t the intention …

So she scrubbed the pan, feeling content with her love life, her job, her future … Everything was fine.

“Stupid thing!” Twilight spat, causing Fluttershy to jump.

… Well, not in the moment, but things were fine.

Going to be fine.

So long as she didn’t stick around after eating.

Pans were put away, smoke was blown out—albeit poorly, Fluttershy needed to get some new windows installed—and the oven was scrubbed clean. They had to pause to answer the door and get their order, which was set on a counter to wait.

Despite Twilight’s grumblings and the loss of an oven pan, Fluttershy was smiling. She adored housework. Cleaning was so relaxing. Having Twilight nearby to help only enhanced it. They didn’t have much to talk about, but Fluttershy enjoyed the quiet moments of working together.

When all was said and done, Fluttershy excitedly grabbed their dinner, only to find her girlfriend pushing her out the kitchen. “Alright! Distraction is over!” Her words seemed to fall out of her mouth in a hasty jumble as Fluttershy was pushed into the living room.

“Twilight, you need to calm down.” Fluttershy glanced back as the alicorn used her magic to pull several bags out of the cabinets above the counter. She frowned as she watched her lover speed around the kitchen, pulling out more pans and checking temperatures on the stove and oven, then grabbing measuring cups and spoons. “Twilight.” Fluttershy spoke up firmly.

“Don’t worry about me, Fluttershy. Go ahead and start eating! I’ll just start on your tacos and—” Twilight was interrupted when Fluttershy took her by the chin and pulled them face to face. The alicorn squeaked, forced to look into Fluttershy’s glare. “I-I want to make it special—”

“And I appreciate it.” Fluttershy spoke sincerely, but let out a small sigh. “But I want to eat dinner first. We can eat our snack after.” When it was late enough to justify sending Twilight to bed while she took a walk around the property…

Twilight’s ears fell, but she nodded. She turned the appliances off for now, the time-table she’d set up in her head now destroyed, but when she and Fluttershy sat down and unwrapped their food, she seemed to settle. The moment the smell of fresh bread filled the room, Twilight’s stomach growled and she focused on the food in front of her.

Fluttershy was well aware that Twilight had difficulties peeling herself away from something important, but day after day of coming home and finding Twilight with extensive plans and timing every afternoon for the past two weeks had been, in a way, getting on her nerves. She enjoyed their time together but she missed the simple stuff. She missed sitting on the couch and eating while going over her notes. She missed the weekends where Twilight would get too exhausted to continue helping her study and doing all of her princess stuff and would want to sit back, relax, and listen to the shows.

Fluttershy appreciated extravagance, but she wasn’t a fan of it, and Twilight must have been getting advice from Rarity. Not that Rarity gave bad advice, but the constant stuff and events, the bits spent and memories made. She was ready to lay on the couch and curl up with a good book, and with luck Twilight cuddled up to her side.

By the time she looked up to see if Twilight wanted to listen to the radio, she found the soup bowl empty and the bread gone. Twilight was dabbing her mouth and smiling. “I’m going to get the tacos started!”

Fluttershy sighed, but nodded at her. “Well alright …” Most of the time Twilight was very cool-headed, but once something caught her focus …

She turned on the radio and listened to the news. Her side felt cold without a mare to warm it up, but she didn’t bother Twilight. She closed her eyes and let out a gentle huff as she willed herself to relax. She had nothing to be afraid of. Things would go smooth as silk tonight. She turned the radio from news to a local station that played up and coming bands, mostly country. She took a book off the shelf: Burning Heart: An Alicorn of Love and Loneliness. Twilight would hate it, but Fluttershy had a soft spot for bad romance. She smirked to herself as she opened to the bookmark.

She hadn’t had a whole afternoon to read for a few days. She started on the top paragraph, reintroducing herself to the plot up to that point, listening to the kitchen noises coming from the next room. It was a soothing sound. The knowledge of another pony there, in the house, doing stuff while she relaxed.



…When Morose Night felt Burning’s bulk shift on top of her, a stab of worry hit her heart; would he be rough? Would he be gentle? Would he hurt her like her former captor? Tears welled in her eyes, but the most gentle kiss put her to ease …



A clatter of pans, the gentle grind of a rolling pin.

She strained her ears to hear the radio. “Y’all listenin’ in just hear me out, this rough ol’ life has made me doubt. Seen three mares walk out my door, I had so much but now I’m poor. I walk the lands seekin’ a good hot meal, a nice warm bed, a tender flamin’ heart, but I look to the horizon with fear and wonder, where do I start?”

The sound of an herb shaker, the sizzle of the pan.

Fluttershy’s ears wiggled a bit. Her cottage was never quiet. Mice creeped through the walls and appeared to take from a plate of crackers left in the corner. Birds entered through the windows and preened themselves, raccoons and possums slipped inside to settle on cushions. Angel showed himself, grumpy from being smoked out of his own home to crawl under his blanket and sleep.

This was different. The noise of the animals was calmer. There was a second mare in the house who was very neat and orderly, and having paws all over everything made her twitch, glare, and sometimes shriek. The animals were trained to accommodate, and as a result, new sounds filled the house. Fluttershy loved her animals, but she was growing accustomed to the sound of hooves in another room and frantic scribbling. She also came to appreciate a radio now that she could afford it, and of course just hearing the activity in the kitchen with a good idea of what the results would be.

She had to be careful when turning a page so she wouldn’t salivate on it.

Several minutes passed, and she wondered if they were ready. But Twilight would have brought them out already if they were, so Fluttershy just had to wait a bit longer.

She read her book, smiling to herself. Then she glanced to the doorway and sniffed the air. Then back to her book. She smelled fresh bread and stared at the doorway. Something stopped sizzling and her tail wiggled. Then the sizzle started again so she looked back at her book. She read no words, but she made sure to keep up appearances.

She was so excited. For the first time in years homemade bean and cheese tacos were about to be hers. The last time she ate them, there was an issue about a restaurant, with her and Rarity being asked to leave, but this time would be different. She had plans. She knew what she’d do afterwards. None of that silly, overblown business from before.

She licked her gums thoughtfully, going over her route tonight in her head as she listened. The thoughts lulled her away from her hunger, for a moment, and she focused on her book once more, until the clink of plates caught her attention. Were they ready?!

“They’re ready!”

They were ready!

She almost couldn’t contain her excitement as Twilight walked into the room, hovering a large plate of eight tacos. “Y’know, cooking isn’t that bad. It’s like chemistry you can eat.” Twilight smiled as Fluttershy’s eyes lit up, her wings spreading out in sheer joy. “Smells better too.”

“C-can I?” Fluttershy almost lunged towards the plate like a dog after its favorite toy.

Twilight had to stifle a laugh. She lowered the plate for Fluttershy. The tortillas were perfect. Fresh, warm, and fluffy. The tacos weren’t overloaded with beans and cheese, the two being so evenly distributed that Fluttershy was sure Twilight was meticulous about how much went between each, and the herbs that went into them enhanced the smell.

One quick bite, and Twilight got to watch Fluttershy turn into a filly again, hopping in place while her whole body trembled. Twilight gave her an amused smirk. Fluttershy wasn’t kidding, these were an absolute treat. Twilight took a bite of her own and grew a pleased smile.

“I need to cook more,” was all Twilight said before taking another bite. Fluttershy was already on her second taco.

In a few minutes, the plate was empty, and the two mares sat in quiet satisfaction, bellies full. Now was the time.

Fluttershy stood and leaned forward to kiss Twilight. A proud, passionate, pleased kiss. “Thank you so much, that was amazing.”

“It was my pleasure.” Twilight blushed, brushing her cheek in embarrassment. “It wasn’t that hard. We should do this more.”

“Yes, more.” Fluttershy glanced to the door, and she knew it was now or never. “I’m going to go check up on the animal pens, maybe take a walk through the forest to see if anything new has moved in.”

“Oh.” Twilight frowned for a moment, brushing the carpet with the tip of one hoof. Fluttershy hid a guilty look.  “Okay, are you sure you don’t want to, y’know, chill on the couch for a little while?” She did, but there would be complications. “Braeburn and the Appaloosa Quartet has an event tonight, and Applejack would love it if we listened to him,” she remembered. However, her need to go on that walk was highlighted by an urgent clench in her stomach.

“I’ll try not to take long, I promise.” Fluttershy took a step back. Her tummy gurgled out loud, but she hid it with a chuckle. “Trust me?”

Twilight seemed to mull it over, before giving a small nod. “I trust you.” She got up to her hooves and Fluttershy made a move to leave. “Hey, wait.” Fluttershy paused. Twilight was staring at her mouth, jaw cocked. Then, with a small smile, she strode forward. Fluttershy didn’t know what to expect, but was surprised when Twilight licked her along the side of her mouth.

Fluttershy’s ears turned red. Twilight took a step back and blushed back at her. Her mind had gone blank. She couldn’t hold back an excited whimper. In their brief relationship, it was the first time she’d felt Twilight’s tongue against her mouth in such an … intimate way.

Little problems just seemed to evaporate, and her head began to swim as her limbs locked up, a heat forming just past her tummy. She flared her nostrils as Twilight tapped her hooves. “Sorry. You had some leftovers on your cheek.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy’s response was airy. Her mouth stretched into an awkward smile. “Did you get it?”

“Yeah.” Twilight just shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“All of it?” Fluttershy persisted. Twilight was blushing harder, staring at Fluttershy’s lips.

“I-I think so.”

Fluttershy wasn’t the bravest mare, not by a long shot, but she was not the biggest coward. When something caught her interest, she could overcome her fears just long enough to be very very bold. “Maybe you should make sure.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she giggled as her ears flattened against her scalp. “I-I dunno, I thought I did-”

“You missed.” Fluttershy licked the side of her mouth, lapping at nothing. “Right there. Just a little bit.”

“Fluttershy …” Twilight’s voice trailed off as she wiggled in place, unable to get comfortable on her hooves.

“Please? I can’t reach it.” Fluttershy walked forward a few steps, giving Twilight her innocent eyes. “Only you can.”

“Well…” Twilight stretched her back leg, then took a step forward. “Okay, but only because you need the help.” She couldn’t keep herself from smiling like an idiot as she leaned forward.

Tacos and then this. Fluttershy was a small mess of excitement, and her nostrils flared as Twilight’s soft tongue flickered against the side of her mouth. “One more time,” Fluttershy whispered. It felt weird. The way she was reacting felt stupid, but her heart hammered in her chest with every tiny lap from Twilight’s tongue. Twilight leaned in to do it again, and Fluttershy turned her head, making Twilight lick the front of her mouth. They both snickered at how absurd it was. “Oops, I moved.”

“It’s okay, I think I found some there too,” Twilight tittered. She pressed her lips to Fluttershy’s. No playing around this time. It was a kiss. Lips parted, and for the first time, the two mares succeeded in sharing a little tongue. Fluttershy’s chest tightened as she heard Twilight moan. She didn’t know what she liked more, the dirty, naughty feel of her girlfriend’s tongue embracing her own or the noises Twilight made.

Her girlfriend wasn’t the quiet sort, while Fluttershy was. She stopped herself from ruining it with a laugh. She remembered Rainbow Dash bragging to some friends about ‘bagging a screamer’ one night. She wondered if Twilight was a screamer. A responsive, vocal mare under the covers when hooves wandered and emotions flared and bodies entwined and—

Fluttershy pushed.

“Fl-Fluttershy?!” Twilight squeaked as she found herself on her back. Pink hair draped around her, clouding her vision, making her focus on the brilliant, heated smile on Fluttershy’s face. “Oh Fluttershy.” Twilight’s body relaxed. She waited, patient for Fluttershy’s sake as the pegasus smacked her lips and leaned down.

Another kiss. Their lips were crushed together, and Fluttershy was amused as she noticed Twilight still tasted like tacos. A brief, urgent thought ran through her head but was forgotten as she did something that made Twilight whimper like a helpless pet.

Fluttershy laid against Twilight and purple hooves embraced her, locking just underneath her wings. Fluttershy felt her girlfriend squirm and kick beneath her as she pressed her belly against Twilight’s, an overwhelming feeling running through their hindlegs.

Fluttershy let go, long enough for them to catch their breath. She smiled down at Twilight, who stared back, dazed, her ceaseless mind stopped, swimming with emotion and feeling rather than words and formulas.

“I love you,” Twilight managed to whisper through the haze of pleasure.

“I love you too.” Fluttershy kissed her again, and Twilight squeezed her.

The moment came to a frigid stop when they heard a noise like a nasal trumpet.

Their lips still connected, Fluttershy’s eyes unfocused in horror as she remembered.

She lifted herself up. Twilight was staring at her, confused. Then, a small snort. Fluttershy flinched, mortified. “Okay, wow.” Twilight chuckled, her mind given a chance to reboot. She wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy’s neck and pulled her closer, but Fluttershy began to squirm away. “Fluttershy, it’s okay, it’s just—”

“No no, I should go for that walk,” Fluttershy insisted, trying to flee. All of a sudden, in the span of a moment, elation turned to horror, and a kiss turned into a reason to take a dive into a lake. She stepped back, backpedalling towards the door.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight sat up, disappointment and worry on her face. “Wait, I—” She paused. Fluttershy saw it. Her eyebrow twitched, and Twilight coughed, then gagged. “Oh. Oh. Oh my-wh-that’s. Whoo.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and began to flap her big wings as hard as she could, coughing hoarsely.

“I’m leaving!” Fluttershy squeaked in terror, scrambling towards the door.

“No!” Twilight cracked her eyes open and bound forward, resting a hoof on Fluttershy’s back. “It’s okay.” It wasn’t okay. Fluttershy’s stomach growled. “Look, we have medicine in the cabinet, we can—” A slide whistle went off in the room, deepening until it came to an abrupt, explosive end. Both mares could only blankly stare at one another. Then Twilight made an awkward smile. “Well now I’m just impressed.”

“Twilight, I need to go.” Fluttershy pushed Twilight’s hoof off her back. This couldn’t wait any longer. This was just the beginning.

“No, no you don’t need to- oh!” Twilight flinched, her eyes beginning to water as she waved a hoof in front of her face. “Oh I—” She coughed, she hacked, she retreated, pressing a hoof to her nose. “Oh my goodness, what in the world?” She asked between dry heaves.

Fluttershy kicked the door open, her future clear. “Twilight … for what it’s worth, the past three years were the best of my life,” Fluttershy whispered with finality, tears of embarrassment in her eyes before she turned tail and sped off, an angry lawnmower sounding after her.

Twilight winced and lunged towards the door. “Fluttershy!” She shouted after the fleeing mare, then nearly collapsed as she filled her lungs with a scent so putrid, she was pretty sure it could be declared illegal. It made her nostrils burn, her brain hurt, her mouth felt abused and her tongue tasted like it was rotting. She shook her head as she stumbled backwards.

Okay, Rarity and Rainbow Dash may have been on to something … but the damage was done. Twilight mourned the loss of a night of romance, love, and togetherness, and ran to the bedroom, sneezing and wheezing the whole way. Her mind was running through a simple plan, something she thought up on the fly. She had to act before Fluttershy got too far.

She pulled open the closet and found her hazard suit and gas mask.

She coughed one last time, hoping she was rid of the foul air and pulled the suit on.

It was the only way to be sure…