> Equestrian Writers' Convention
>  by HiddenBrony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Conventions and Cameos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

--         It has been said that even the greatest Equestrian scholars with the highest magics available to them can’t peer into the past or future. Even when discussion is brought up with the Royal Sisters, the topic never reveals much about a time before ponies. Celestia has been on record as saying that one day she just was, and that she was not alone. Many modern scholars were especially confused by this, until the day Luna returned, bringing truth to an old mare’s tale. But even after that point, Celestia mentioned that she and her sister were not alone.

        There was more to the beginning than anypony thought, and even then they couldn’t be certain that before the Princesses walked upon Equestria, there was nothing. Many philosophers matched wits until they came up with their best answers, but they were shaky at best. Many held quarreling beliefs, each believing their theories best represented the past of Equestria, although no idea held much water.

        Despite the wish to know the beginning, had they known the world they inhabited was of a shared psyche, drawn from places and worlds before and beside, perhaps they would find peace. Perhaps, they would find war. Perhaps they would look outward, into the stars, or inward, into their souls. Perhaps they would assign the idea of a new Creator to their world, or forever lose trust in their reigning monarchs. 

However, such truths would always elude them. They would never know of the events of their universe, the sacrifices made and the shared efforts of the realities around them that gave them the world they knew now. It was a place unlike any other. A reality that could make equal parts sense and utmost chaos on any given day, but it echoed a consciousness that set it on its path, and would forever be remembered by the very earth a pony would trod.

        Despite this, many ponies have tried to come up with their own story for how all of it came to be. Many fables included the very Princesses that ruled them, while others created the idea of a ‘King and Queen’ pony that sired the Royal Sisters. It was in the early days that ponies would pick up a quill and ink and tell extravagant tales which formed Equestria’s founding literature, each vying to explain phenomena around their borders. However, this soon grew into stories that taught lessons to foal and stallion alike, teachings of morality, dashes of adventure, drummings of the heart. What started as a way to tell of the story of what was became the ability of writing a story that could be.

        And that’s where we come in.

        -----

        A certain purple unicorn trotted down a long, open hallway amongst a sea of any kind of pony she could dream up. Some of the ponies even wore clothing that hid their most important aspects- cutie marks, horns, and wings. Twilight Sparkle watched in wonderment as she passed each new costume, some from awe, some in silent ridicule. Starswirl would never wear a blue-green hat. Flanking the unicorn on either side were two other mares, one a timid yellow pegasus and the other a boisterous pink Earth pony. As the three girls found their way to the other end of the hall, they passed by two rather large, imposing guards that caused the pegasus to squeak as she squeezed by. 

        Pinkie Pie laughed softly as not to offend Fluttershy, and threw a hoof on her friend’s shoulder for support. “It’s okay, Fluttershy! Those big ol’ stoney-faces are here to keep us safe!”

        The shy pegasus felt mixed emotions from being comforted by Pinkie Pie. On one hoof she was irritated that the younger pony saw fit to patronize her, but it melted away in moments as she smiled at her friend. Pinkie Pie only wanted to make her feel better after all. “Oh, um... yes, I know. Thank you.” The lavender pony ahead of them turned back and smiled at the two. Locking eyes with the unicorn for a moment, Fluttershy peered about as they had entered an empty room devoid of the sea of ponies just outside. “Twilight... um, what’s this room for?”

        Twilight Sparkle smiled. Showcasing the room for her friends, Twilight’s hoof swung in a crescent arc about her. Along the off-white walls were towering windows, tinted mosaics casting picturesque patterns against the floor. The floor was mostly carpeted red, with little signs of wear and tear as it gave way to checkerboard tiling near the edges of the room. Along one wall a large bar protruded out, its chestnut finish giving off a slight chemical smell. The only other pony in the  entire room washed out a dirty glass with a silken rag suspended in the air, covered in magical aura. “Girls...” Twilight mused, looking over the space, “this is where the afterparty is.” Approaching the bar, Twilight tapped the counter deftly.

        “Pony Joe!” Pinkie exclaimed as the barkeep swept around. The large stallion finally took notice of the trio of mares and offered a large smile.

        “Ah, Twilight Sparkle and her friends. I knew you’d be coming ‘round this evening,” the giant pony breathed, his gravelly voice filled with the friendliness of a grandfather. Fluttershy smiled warmly at the familiar face while surveying the colorful array of glass bottles behind him.

        Twilight giggled as she turned to Pinkie Pie. “Pony Joe used to be a barkeep in his younger days, before he opened the donut shop in Canterlot.” Pinkie nodded in understanding, lowly cooing over the massive selection of alcohol behind Twilight. Spinning on her hooves, Twilight waved toward her old friend. “I’m glad you were able to come out to this, I don’t know anypony who can mix a drink faster than you.”

        Joe gave a chuckle, tapping the top of his horn with a hoof. “I’ve yet to meet a mare nor stallion that can either, but I can wait. Jus’ between you an’ me, girls, I’m hopin’ it’s a mare, if you catch my drift.” Twilight gave an appreciative giggle as Pinkie let loose a massive whoop of laughter unbefitting the joke, while Fluttershy slowly let a smile cross her features as she fluttered her wings behind her friends.

        “So, um...” Fluttershy’s telltale shyness shining ever true, her voice died in her mouth. Blushing, the pegasus shook her wings from their base to the tip as she rid herself of her nerves. Clearing her throat, Fluttershy attempted her question a second time. “Um, sir, why do you own a donut shop if you’re so good at mixing drinks? Or, um, the other way around?”

        The massive pony opened his mouth to respond, but a loud crash from outside the room interrupted their conversation. A rather disheveled gray unicorn had burst through the doors in a mangled heap, two guardsponies struggling to keep him back. “Twilight! Twilight Sparkle! Tell these brutes to get off me!” Aiming a well-placed buck, the dappled unicorn’s hoof struck air as he found himself airborne, caught in a sparkling violet barrier as he floated unthreateningly about the room. “Ah...?” Looking about, the raggedy pony sighed in relief. However, he was quickly beset upon by the excitable mare beside Twilight.

        “It’s a pony ball!” Pinkie hopped forward, taking little care in the fact Twilight had lifted the intruder straight out of the fight, and instead pushed against his flank like a volleyball. In true Pinkie fashion, the unicorn soon found himself careening through the air, bouncing off the wall like a foal’s rubber ball.

        “Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, involuntarily dropping the spell. Falling unceremoniously on top of the stallions, the male unicorn soon found himself between two very unwilling participants. In the mass of limbs, the poor pony found his face buried under the tail of one guard while his hindsection was precariously placed next to the other’s. Before anypony could react however, Twilight was upon them. “Dapples, I’m so sorry, are you all right?” she fussed, ignoring the placement of the pony’s face and flank.

        Beet red and breathless, the gray unicorn quickly shot to his hooves before any stray bucks might find their way to his face. “Ah, yes! Quite so, really, no damage to report, right boys?” The nervous stallion turned toward the two guards who groaned as they started to come to. One of them looked downright confused, while the other was doing his best not to look murderous. Dapples mentally noted that he was currently rather fond of the bamboozled one more than his angered compatriot. “Of course you’re fine. Celestia’s best. You certainly had me contained! Good show and all that!” Shifting a smile towards Twilight, a look of fear was plastered all over his face as his eyes pleaded his case. Dapples, however, quickly mouthed out, “Please-don’t-let-them-kill-me!”

        Clearing her throat, Twilight raised a hoof to the rising guards. “Ah, sirs, I’m sorry, this is another one of my friends from Ponyville. It’s alright for him to come through.”

        There were an exchanging of looks, but the two guards ponies did as they were bade wordlessly. Dapples looked back as they went to leave, a look relief passing over him. Just as he tilted his head away from them, he could have swore he saw one of the guards mouth something toward him. Shooting his gaze back toward the pony, both stallions were walking in almost complete unison- although the one had a bit more wiggle to his step, causing Dapples to stare at his flank- whether it was in simple disbelief or something else couldn’t be properly gathered by anypony. 

Oddly enough, it was Fluttershy who broke the presiding silence. “Um, Twilight? Who is your friend?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. Dapples didn’t exactly cut an imposing figure, and was, for all intents and purposes, completely nonthreatening.

        Dapples looked towards Twilight’s friends, quickly deducing that the mare on her left was Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s premier party pony, but the one on her left... a yellow pegasus with a voice as soft as silk had to be Fluttershy. “Ah, hello there. My name is Dapples. Doctor Dapples. Ph.D. in literature.”

        “Or so he likes to believe,” Twilight teased, earning herself an indignant look from the gray unicorn. “Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, this is the pony that’s been chronicling the night we freed Princess Luna for me, and the signs of Nightmare Moon’s release beforehoof.” Ever since Nightmare Night some time ago, Twilight took great care in making sure everypony knew that Nightmare Moon was not at all connected to who Luna was now. Except, of course, in situations where ‘fun’ was to be had. 

        Pinkie gave Dapples a once over before nodding, “Yep, he’s from Ponyville alright! I threw him a party once!” The good doctor gave the pink mare a blank look. “We brought out the good stuff for that one. He even had a lampshade on his head!” Dapples wore a look of utter befuddlement as Pinkie launched into tales of his drunken endeavors.

        Dapples face soon fell as, after an increasingly awkward segue involving a mare, a stallion, and a long watering hose, she continued to relate details of a night he had likely forgotten due to consumption. As Pinkie built the story up into a crescendo, the dappled unicorn raised a hoof in self defense. “If it pleases everypony, I’d rather not re-live my, um, daring deeds through word of mouth...”

        “Oh! That’s right, the things this pony can do with his mouth-”

        “Okay!” Twilight suddenly shouted, catching everypony off-guard with her outburst. Pony Joe even dropped his cup of coffee, granting a light curse to reverberate about the room. “Ahem, sorry, just... I think we’ve heard enough about that party, Pinkie. We’ll have one here soon, so let’s just make memories of that, okay?”

        “Yes, please. Let’s just... forget all of that ever happened. Celestia knows I have,” Dapples countered, shaking his mane with his head low. His hair tousled about in front of his face, hiding it from the peering gazes of the other ponies. However, something itched at the back of his mane and he would be damned if he forgot to ask. “Oh, um, Twilight, I know you’ve been helping me with the book and all, but... well, I was surprised to see you here.”

        Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin, tapping it in thought as Twilight responded. “Well, I’ve been compiling my letters to Celestia for a time and putting them into a book for ponies to read regarding the magic of friendship. So... that makes me a bit of an author myself!” As Twilight prided herself on her endeavors, the mare puffed out her chest and threw on a confident smirk. It soon melted away as she considered her friend’s question, leading her to a new idea. “Say, Fluttershy, Pinkie... why did you come with me?”

        Dapples nearly dropped to the floor in surprise. Dumbfounded, the unicorn shook his head at the idea that Twilight hadn’t even considered to ask her friends why they had accompanied her. Pinkie, who had thus far been in a state of deep thought, solemnly nodded her head. “Where there are parties, there is Pinkie! And a convention has a lot of ponies, so that’s a huge party in the making!” 

        Fluttershy was not as forthcoming. “I, um, I just... like some of the authors who might be here. I... want to meet them,” she squeaked, a trait Dapples was finding more endearing than annoying. Looking between the ponies, the pegasus quickly hid behind her mane.

        “Well, I guess it makes sense for fans to come as well,” Twilight mused, gesturing a hoof toward Dapples. The gray unicorn seemed to accept this excuse for the girls, casting a fleeting glance toward the door. It took Twilight a moment, but she soon caught the apprehensive pitapat of the stallion’s hooves as his face slowly degenerated into one of near agony for the step he’d have to make next. “You’re afraid to face the guards again, aren’t you?”

        Met with a painful smile, the studious mare could only groan as Dapples sheepishly nodded his head. Pointing his horn toward the door, the dappled pony let loose a weak, “Ladies first...!”

        The girls plus one soon headed out the door, revisiting the prior halls filled with ponies of every make and mold. To Twilight’s bookish glee, some ponies were in costume as some of the more legendary works, such as fantasy hero Maragorn, and she saw a number of ponies dressed as Sherfetlock Holmes. A stallion dressed as Sir Prancealot seemed to attract a lot of attention from the mares- Twilight had to keep Fluttershy in step behind her on two occasions to keep the pegasus from staring too long. 

        In fact, she seemed to have the same difficulty with Dapples as well, but there were some attractive mares behind the cosplayer, so Twilight didn’t question the stallion’s reluctance to pry himself from the image. However, a sight nopony wanted to get too near to was one of Hannibal Locoed. Except, of course, Pinkie Pie, who went up to the pony and immediately asked the colt about everything he knew about parties. Apparently, he had nothing new to relate to Pinkie, as she soon grew bored with the character, citing him to be an ‘amateur’. 

        As the group of ponies made it into another one of the side rooms, Twilight paused the party by rounding on them and shaking her head. The space itself was filled with chairs and benches, all facing a moderately sized stage made up of several raised platforms. The stage was adorned with a simple table, a blue cloth draped along the front to hide the hooves of any would-be presenters. However, the room was mostly empty except for an odd number of ponies, most of them taking advantage of the quiet by taking a nap.

“I can’t believe the number of ponies who came out to the convention! I think I saw a pony dressed up as an old sea captain, and I couldn’t tell if that was a costume or not...” Twilight breathed, the other ponies nodding slowly. As they recuperated from the sheer amount of new experiences just a short walk had given them, a beige stallion saw fit to approach the group.

        “It was a cosplay of Captain Hay-ab. A more forceful pun if there ever was one,” he concluded, drawing the attention of the group of ponies. There was a palpable pause following, where the collected stares of four pairs of eyes soon prompted the raven-haired pony to follow up his earlier comment. “From... Moby Dick. It’s a whaling novel.”

        Twilight blinked slowly, nodding her head. “Ah, yes, I’ve... read that one, actually,” she coughed, covering her muzzle with a hoof as Pinkie unleashed a low ‘ooo’.

The beige stallion gave the pink pony a parsing gaze, only for the mare to quickly point at the cutie mark adorned on his flank. “Look! His butt is giving me the same look as his face!”

        That pretty much did it for assembled ponies. A cutie mark unlike anything Twilight had seen before adorned the beige and black pony’s flank. It was not only a face, but a very basic expression of one, to boot. It was simply...

        ಠ_ಠ

        It would have been fairly disconcerting, had anypony drawn attention to the mark in any other way. However, even the unknown pony cracked a smile, casting a amused smile over his mark, trailing back toward the pink mare. “Bravo, pinky.”

        Pinkie Pie’s raucous laughter cut quickly as her eyes trained hard on the Earth pony. Leaning uncomfortably close, the two ponies locked eyes as a pink hoof slowly raised up, placing itself on the stallion’s chest. The rest of the assembled ponies quickly exchanged glances, trying to fathom the sudden change of pace their encounter had taken. Eyes barely peeled open, Pinkie’s mouth moved slowly and deliberately, “How do you know my name, buster?”

        The deadpan pony raised an eyebrow, not even close to flinching as the mare leaned ever closer into his personal space. “Beg pardon?”

        Twilight stepped forward, her head tilted as she attempted to keep the peace. “Ahm... Pinkie, I think he was referring to your coat and mane.”

        A structured silence followed, the beige pony calmly moving his head slowly from one pony to another. “Are you serious? Her name is Pinky?” Further thoughts were cut as the pony slammed her forehead against his own, doing away with what little space he had left. Only now did the black-maned pony begin to show cracks in his otherwise reserved demeanor. “Shouldn’t you buy me dinner, first? Get to know each other?” he choked out, a hesitant smile on his lips.

        “Oh, I hear it now! He said Pinkie with a ‘y’!” All at once the suspicious mare dislodged herself from the stallion’s forehead. Shooting him a smile, Pinkie closed her eyes as she addressed everypony. “It’s hard to tell sometimes. How silly of me! I’m sorry Snarkle!”

        Fluttershy’s ear twitched in confusion, her pink mane sweeping side to side as she tried to make sense of her friend, but to no avail. “Um, Pinkie, there is no difference-” Fluttershy’s mouth, however, was inexplicably filled with purple hoof as Twilight cast a sideways glance. It was Pinkie Pie. 

        “Oh Fluttershy, if you’re as pink as I am, you gotta know the difference!” she claimed. Returning her gaze to Snarkle, she gave him a broad smile. “Sorry again, mister!” Pinkie seemed to be in good spirits, much to the relief of the others, and the beige pony soon softened his expression toward them.

        “It’s no problem, ehm, Pinkie,” the stallion began, Pinkie giving him an accepting wink. “I’m known as Snarkle to my colleagues.” Twilight seemed pleased with the response, taking it in stride that the pony’s name seemed completely justified with his personality.  

        “Oh, well, I’ll be the first to say hello Snarkle!” Dapples piped up, not taking delight in having been silent for as long as he had. “I’m-”

        “Dapples Toity, the younger brother of fashion sensation Hoity.” There was an audible reaction from Fluttershy, who quickly resumed her hidden-behind-the-mane demeanor. Dapples was about to open his mouth when Snarkle cut him off. “Yes, I know all about you- I’ve seen enough articles about you and your brother pass by my desk.” Dapples’ face contorted as Snarkle continued, “As an editor I’ve also seen some of your more... ‘quotable quotes’, we’ll call them, toward the media.”

        “O-oh,” Dapples stammered, the stallion shrinking under the contemptuous gaze of Snarkle. The gray unicorn was used to all eyes on him, but right now he would have done anything not to be in front of the people he knew and respected. “Well, ah... um.” 

        “And your mastery over the Equestrian language continues to leave me breathless,” Snarkle chided, sarcasm dripping as he brought his attention back to the mares. Dapples seemed to disappear from Snarkle’s encompassing view as he looked them over. “And here we have Celestia’s star student, Twilight Sparkle. They say your special talent is magic, which unlocked the Element of Harmony that resonated with that fact. Impressive.” Twilight smirked, her eyebrows furrowed, mildly impressed at the breadth of Snarkle’s knowledge as he moved along the line. 

        Happening upon the pegasus who had been obscured by Twilight’s tail, Snarkle breathed in deeply as he gave her a once over. “Fluttershy, previous resident of Cloudsdale. Moved to Ponyville after her talent was discovered to be aligned with the animals on the ground- in fact, I believe you penned a study that was published in the Hoofington Post about the proper care of animals without changing instinct or disrupting the food chain.” Twilight cast a legitimately impressed gaze toward her friend, prompting the pegasus to redden her cheeks in humble embarrassment. “Very informative, although it couldn’t hurt to take classes involving repeated word use and proper grammar.” At this, the assembled mares shot glances of varying intensity toward the critical pony, who gracefully ignored Twilight’s glare and Fluttershy’s hurt look. Pinkie Pie’s strong stare caused the Earth pony to hesitate as he glanced down at the pink mare.

        “Ahem. Pinkamina Diane Pie. ‘Ponyville’s Party Pony, Pinkie Pie’, as your monthly column in the Ponyville Quarterly so excitedly exclaims... that’s about it for you. Most recent trends of parties and the newest ‘jams’,” Snarkle grew bored of the explanations, a self-serving smile crawling across his face as he believed his knowledge of the group to have thoroughly and impressively displayed.

        “Well, look at the smart smartypants on him!” The icy edge on the voice caused Snarkle to doubletake back on the pink Earth pony. “But you got us all put into small little cupcakes if you think that’s all we are. We’re more like cakes, or parfaits! Twilight isn’t just Celestia’s student; she’s a friend to both the Princesses! And she can do more than magic- she can organize city-wide events like Winter Wrap Up! And she’s the smartest pony around! She even researches Friendship, the strongest magic of all!”

        “Er, friendship?” Snarkle started, but a hoofstomp on the ground quieted the pony as Pinkie took another large step forward.

        “And I do more than party! I make ponies laugh! I bake delicious treats daily for all of Ponyville, too. My column is for all ponies to read, and it’s not just Ponyville- I freelance to Manehatten and Trottingham too! The recipes in them are all 100% Pinkie-primed to be the best they can be!”

        Twilight gaped at the pink mass of hair as she imposingly went up to Snarkle, her size seemingly growing larger with every step as Snarkle started to slink back. “P-Pinkie?!”

        “And you can not be mean to Fluttershy! She is the nicest, most kindest pony in Equestria! She takes time out of her busy day of caring for sick and injured animals and you wanna be a big dumb meanie-head?” Pinkie towered over the Earth pony now, strands of his raven black hair turning gray under the stress of Pinkie’s counterlogue. “If you want somepony to talk about everything they know, maybe I should go into the time when you made a bet with a hedgehog. How’d that taste, huh? Huh? HUH!?”

        The color drained from his face, Snarkle could only gulp loudly, his voice robbed. Twilight approached the two slowly, Pinkie’s face a frozen mask of intimidation as Twilight raised a hoof out and prodded her friend’s shoulder lightly. “Pinkie?” 

        Instantaneously, Pinkie removed herself from the beige pony and smiled at Twilight, “Yeah huh?”

        Twilight shook her head, trying to fathom the explosion she saw. Nearby, Snarkle recovered his voice, his face still pale and racked with a nervous twitch as he didn’t dare match gazes with Pinkie Pie again. “I’m sorry for intruding on your discussions, Twilight Sparkle,” he began slowly, throwing a cautious glance towards the hooves towards his verbal aggressor. ”You have an excellent selection of friends. Very loyal. It was, uhm, wrong of me to address them so harshly.”

        “Flattery will get you nowhere,” Twilight rebutted quickly. “Apologize to Dapples, too, and I’ll accept your apology.” Snarkle visibly winced in reaction to the mare’s order, sheepishly turning towards the dejected unicorn.

        Pinkie smirked at Twilight’s demands, letting loose an awed, “Ooo.” Spinning on her hooves, Pinkie whispered toward Fluttershy, “She just laid down the law.” Fluttershy gave her a blank look, the irony of her statement completely lost on the party pony.

        There was a moment of silence, with Dapples feeling like an epicenter of awkward after the storm of pink as the Earth pony turned toward him. With an annoyed bleat, the stallion stuck a hoof out toward the gray unicorn. “My apologies, Dapples. It would seem I was a bit harsh in greeting you, as well.” Dapples stared at the hoof a moment before sticking his own out, shaking it with a weak smile on his face.

        “Water under the bridge. Not that I blame you for the, um, poor outlook on my previous endeavors,” he said, his gaze barely meeting that of the amber-eyed pony.         

        Fluttershy peeked out her mane, a soft smile on her face as she caught sight of the stallions cutie mark- it was so very unique she had to take some pleasure in just seeing it. “U-uhm, excuse me, um, Mr. Snarkle?”

        Snarkle, on the other hoof, was glad for the reprieve from the very concept of Pinkie Pie and moved his attention to the land of sanity. “Ah, yes, Fluttershy, right?” What followed was a high pitched squeak which likely caused some dogs to whine in response. “I-I’m sorry? Could you repeat that?”

However, Twilight was there to translate. “What Fluttershy is trying to ask is why do you come off so strong? Surely not every situation needs such a... harsh outlook?” she said, checking with Fluttershy if she had been correct. The pegasus nodded bashfully.

        Snarkle raised an eyebrow as he looked between the mares. “You got that out of... well, whatever noise that was?” 

        “Years of practice.”

        Snarkle nodded. “Right. Friends and all that. Yes, well, in my line of work you meet many ponies, and many ponies is not something you want in my line of work. You can’t be a yes-mare or a doormat, so you have to be strict. Sometimes that comes off to some as a bit rough.” There was a very implied gesture towards the dappled unicorn among them. “But you do not gain access to my kind of job by being kind. You have to be critical. Harsh, as you say.”

         Twilight sighed, not entirely mollified by the explanation. “Well, that’s really all well and good, Snarkle, and while I’m having an... interesting time talking to you, I have to go check on some of the preparations for some of the interviews. We’ve got a lot of special guests and I’d hate for any of them to be confused or unprepared, or even lost,” Twilight lied. She had little to do with the actual convention, but the less Snarkle knew the better. Regardless of which, Twilight was more intent to speak with Pinkie about her outburst, anyway.

        “Lost? Somepony say somepony else is lost?” a voice cut in. Releasing a sigh, Twilight and the rest of her crew brought their collective attention toward the doorway. Peeking through the door to the vaguely empty panel room was another Earth pony, a bit darker of a beige than Snarkle, his mane a tarnished chocolate that supported a brown hat with a lone white tag sticking out from the band. Apparently, it was supposed to keep his messy hair in check, but his short yet wild mane failed to be completely contained underneath the adorning headgear, which stylistically matched his lightly frayed trenchcoat perfectly.

“Ah...” Twilight choked out, before shaking her head. “Nopony is lost, sir. Sorry.”

The pony sighed briefly, before pushing the door open the rest of the way and allowing himself into the panel room. “Ah, well, that’s all well and good then. My detective sense was tingling and I felt the need to come in here.”

“Detective sense?” Dapples echoed, confusion and intrigue filling his voice as he soon found himself quite close to the Earth pony. “Are you a real one or a dressed up one?” Horn glowing slightly, Dapples attempted to tip the stallion’s hat slightly to get a better look, but as it tilted, so did the pony’s head.

        “H-eyHEYHEY!” A hoof stomped into the hat, keeping it from being trifled with as the brown pony jumped to the side. “Hooves off the merchandise! I-I mean-” In a flash the pony’s expression changed as he shot a hard-boiled look toward the unicorn. “You don’t know what kinda pony you’re messing with. Be glad I’m one of the good guys around here.”

        “Good guys?” Fluttershy echoed, her nervousness piquing as she carefully eyed the lounging ponies in the room and quickly darted her gaze to the door. “You mean there are bad ponies here?” Dapples raised an eyebrow at the stranger, who was quickly becoming the center of attention, much to that pony’s increasing displeasure.

        Twilight raised a hoof while shaking her head at the display before her, obviously none-too-pleased with the constant interruption. “Excuse me, but can I have your name before we talk any further? I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Dapples, and Snarkle- huh?” As she spoke, the unicorn noticed a very empty space to her right where the raven-haired stallion once stood. “Snarkle?” she echoed, but the black mane was nowhere in sight. “How-”

        “Lost pony. I knew it!” the male Earth pony exclaimed, his eyes suddenly darting about, scanning every dark corner of the room. “I don’t have much time to explain, but my name is Squeak. I’m a detective from the Compound and-”

        “Compound?” Dapples interrupted, “Like, a police compound, or a... what?”

        Squeak gave the mares a once over before putting a hoof on Dapples’ shoulder. “I’d tell you all about it, but it’d blow your mind. I got stories, mate. Stories of ponies. Real stories from the streets.” At this point he had brought the other stallion in close, moving a hoof mere centimeters from his face. Dapples’ eyes ended up focusing on the end of the leg more than what Squeak had to say. 

        “But like I said, no time to explain. I have a case of missing pony.” In a quick, unexpected release, Squeak let go of Dapples who crumpled to the floor. The detective pony stepped close to the purple mare and looked her over. “Hm. Purple mane. Pink highlights. A very... unique cutie mark on your flank.” Shooting his gaze over to the others, Squeak smiled. “Pink, pink, pink, yellow. Explosive, reserved.” As he named off the colors, his hooves were flailing out at each indication of a pony’s physical traits. “Yes... Yes! As can be gathered using my innate detective senses, I’ve figured out who you all are.”

        “Well, yeah, I just-” Twilight started, but a hoof quickly pointed at her, stopping only a hair’s length from her muzzle.

        “Twilight Sparkle!” Another foreleg shot out toward the pink pony beside her. “Pinkie Pie!” Forelimbs outstretched, Squeak contorted his back hoof until it pointed straight towards the startled pegasus. “Fluttershy!” Wearing a confident grin, the pony made quite the sight.

        “So you gonna point a hoof at me and say my name, or do you want me to save you the trouble and introduce myself?” Dapples muttered, unamused he could be so quickly forgotten. Dropping his limbs to the ground, Squeak strode past the stallion, muttering Dapples’ name in a loud whisper.

        “Whoohoo! Oh detective man, you’re good!” Pinkie cheered, much to Twilight’s chagrin.

        “Pinkie! He only knows our names because I already told him!” she rounded, slapping a hoof on her head. 

        Dapples let loose a weak chuckle, ignoring the detective as he walked beside Twilight, shaking his mane at the mare. “I don’t know anypony who hits themselves as much as you do.” The mare gave a weak smile, but both unicorns turned their attention back towards the newcomer.

        “Right, details, really,” Squeak shrugged, dismissing the revelation. Looking about the ponies, he placed a his hoof on his hat, moving it only slightly on his head. “I’m in a middle of an investigation here. Can’t have anypony going OoC or open any plotholes...” 

        As the other ponies raised eyebrows or, in Pinkie’s case, nod completely in understanding of the phrase, it took Fluttershy to break the silence. At least, somewhat. “Um, I’m sorry, but, what do you mean by, ‘ook’ and opening holes?” she asked, determining that the pony, while slightly eccentric in his attempts to come off as a hard-boiled, Nightmare-may-care detective, was fairly harmless. He had, after all, identified himself as one of the ‘good-guys’. 

        Squeak looked surprised as Fluttershy addressed his terms, and issued a few empty blinks before responding, quickly adapting to a more suave detective personality. “Nothing to be worried about, ma’am. Not while I’m around anyway. Except for that missing pony. Snarkle was it?”

        This time it was Dapples who stepped forward, a look of almost permanent confusion on his face. “I wouldn’t say missing... he probably just ducked out when you showed up.” Looking about, his gray mass of a mane drearily accompanied his expression. Squeak took note of this quickly and cleared his throat.

        “Well, right then. If there is no issue here, I have a case to look into. Sayanora!” The pony quickly disappeared without another word, leaving the others to trade glances. 

        “Well that was kinda weird,” Twilight mused, shaking her head. It couldn’t be helped, some ponies were just strange like that. 

Dapples coughed uneasily as he voiced his concern: “What is a sayanora?” Greeted with only a shrug from Fluttershy, they all had to admit that there was something seemed a bit off about the pony, like he wasn’t... in the right way.

        Pinkie bounced toward the door, opening it a crack as she looked out at the sea of ponies, catching sight of the bouncing reporter’s cap on the stallion’s head. “Oh, I think he’s just adjusting. He’s usually a lot calmer and cleaner, and all that boring stuff. Being brought here can be really jarring for anypony.” 

        Dapples and Fluttershy nodded as if she made sense, but Twilight was quickly having enough of Pinkie’s hidden knowledge. “Wait, Pinkie... how did you know that? What did you mean, ‘brought here’? Did somepony force him to come out to the convention?” Pinkie popped her head back in, her face and cyan eyes becoming lost in the bouncing pink mane as she smiled... almost knowingly at the unicorn. “And... how did you know Snarkle’s name?” 

        That question had been eating away at her.

        “Oh, silly filly, I know lots of ponies! Almost everypony there is!” Pinkie smiled, before striking a pose, sticking a hoof out as she closed her eyes. Sticking out her bottom lip, the pony quickly recited word-for-word an article relating to the most recent political elections in Hoofington. Adding a bit of a flourish and an unnecessary rolling of her R’s, the mare stopped her recital as she smiled at her friends. “I’m up to date in all the latest, and Snarky’s a famous editor and author in Hoofington.”

        Fluttershy puffed her cheeks out a little as she considered her friend’s information, nodding slowly. “I don’t really pay attention to the editor’s name when I read magazines... and then, I only read them when I’m with Rarity.” Looking toward the door, Fluttershy pondered about how Snarkle had left without anypony noticing. “I guess I never really noticed we were talking to a really, really important pony.”

        “To be fair, Fluttershy, you were a really famous pony too, once,” Dapples cut in, recalling his own fashion days with a sour taste in his mouth. “In fact, I bet Squeaky there had a famous history about him. Seemed a bit... I dunno, dramatic.”

        “Well duh! He wrote all sorts of adventure stuff before he retired from writing fiction! Haven’t you read Traveler? It’s about a time traveling pony and his companion as they deal with dark stuff!” Twilight admitted to being clueless to the work, but was becoming more comfortable with Pinkie’s explanations as she continued. While there seemed to be no reason to be up to date with so many things, Pinkie always seemed ready with a party anywhere, so being familiar with local customs seemed like a legitimate claim.

        The purple unicorn was drawn from her thoughts as the door opened again, this time a pair of mares walking through as they idly chatted away. There was a pregnant pause as the two caught sight of the group, prompting the cream one with natural green socks to address them. “Oh, we didn’t think anypony would be in here so soon for our panel.” As the girls plus Dapples’ looked at each other, the mare’s eyes locked on Twilight.

        “Panel?” Fluttershy echoed, turning toward Twilight. The purple mare shrugged her shoulders at the question, but Pinkie Pie had the answer. 

        “You know, a panel! Like when somepony comes up and delivers a presentation about something!” Pinkie explained. “I’m excited to see the Pony Paradox panel myself! They have all sorts of funny cartoons! Although I don’t know if I’m sold on their new stuff with the ex-hedgehogs or something.”

        “I-I know what a panel is...” Fluttershy mumbled. “I just wanted to know what panel...”

        Twilight wisely decided to ignore Pinkie’s tangent, instead responding to the two mares who had walked in. “Sorry, we didn’t know anything was scheduled for this room. We just wanted a quiet place where we could hear ourselves think,” she apologized. The chocolate colored mare with a vivid hairstyle stuck her tongue out playfully, nodding as she understood. “So what panel are you running?”

        “Oh!” Both unicorns exchanged glances, one with the utmost excitement while the other quickly attempted to hide her face from the others, mainly Twilight. “Well,” the pony with the butterscotch mane began, “we’re two authors of a very specific genre of literature.”

        “And, well, we decided we’d do a panel together to avoid any potential conflicts,” the other mare mumbled under her breath. She was cream colored, and her mane was just as varied as her partners. It screamed of peanut butter and mint, swirled together in harmony as she gently parted a loose green strand from her face. Compared to her voluptuous partner, she had a bit of a bubble butt, but with visibly strong back legs that echoed an energetic pony behind the shy demeanor. “Because Butterscotch is a really big name-”

        “Butterscotch Sundae!” Fluttershy nearly screamed- a scream which barely touched upon Pinkie’s normal speaking voice. The other ponies quickly looked over, the pegasus’ sudden interest in the authoress catching them off-guard. “Ohmygosh! This is so exciting, I’ve read so much of your work!”

        The yellow socked pony smiled softly, holding out a hoof for the pink-maned pony to shake. “It’s so nice to meet a fan so willing to admit she reads my work,” she started. “Not everypony admits to reading erotic fiction!”

        The following silence was so encompassing the rest of the ponies could hear a pin drop in Stalliongrad.

> Fillies and Flustered Fluttershys
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Twilight Sparkle had to find Fluttershy. 

        The cream-colored pegasus had fled the panel hall following a compromising situation involving two authors and their genre of choice. Ignoring Twilight’s shouts to come back, Fluttershy had very quickly disappeared into the gentle wave of pastel ponies. Now, as she rounded another bend of the convention halls, Twilight slumped over next to the wall. 

        “Well that’s just peachy.” Twilight’s eyes landed on the multitude of ponies, perfect for anypony to be lost in. Trying to catch a pink mane or a butter yellow coat was useless in a place where your eyes were drawn to the magnificent. Or, in the case of one Blueblood cosplay, horrifying. Picking herself back up, Twilight took to the halls of the convention, her scanning gaze combing over crowds and looking for telltale signs of her friend.

        “Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?” The purple unicorn paused briefly as she looked about, soon noticing the mint and peanut butter mare from the panel room. As she approached, Twilight felt a pit sink in her stomach, the pony being familiar somehow to her. “Hi, um, I don’t know if you remember me...”

        “From the panel room,” Twilight said, opting for the obvious answer. “Sorry about bolting so quickly,” she apologized, her eyes tearing from the mare long enough to do another sweep of the area,”it’s just that I really need to find my friend.”

        The pony nodded, her eyes averting from Twilight’s as she responded. “O-oh, right. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for her. Fluttershy, was it?”

        Twilight smiled, nodding her head. “Yes, that’s it. Thank you, miss.” She couldn’t help but feel her dialogue was a bit wooden with the other mare, but she couldn’t help it. She hardly knew the other pony, and she certainly didn’t have a full understanding of her style of literature. “D-don’t you have a panel to run, though?”

        “Mm? Oh, yes,” the white unicorn piped up, her head turning back to her room. “I-I’m sorry, just... needed to make sure you were alright, Twilight.”

        “I’m not the one you need to be worried about. Trust me,” Twilight chuckled, waving her hoof. “Have, um, fun then! With your panel.” Twilight’s stomach turned to ice as the minty-socked pony slowly left her, the lavender pony releasing a pent up sigh. “Mare on mare literature, huh?” Twilight mumbled, her eyes shifting from side to side. “I really do need to get out more. Heh.” Laughing in spite of herself, Twilight began her search anew for her yellow friend.

        -----

        Twilight sat in front of a large sign looking over panels and times as she considered halting her search, even just for a little while. Origins of Equestrian Literature caught her eye, but it went on rather late. Twilight chuckled to herself as she realized she likely knew everything there was on the subject, having had full access to the Royal Library for years. “So what’s going on now...?” As she looked, a small filly walked past her with a look of intent on her face. 

        Peeking past the sign, Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her. “Excuse me, what panel is going on right now?” she asked, getting the teen looking filly to turn about. Her coat was exactly like Snarkle’s, but her mane was a fiery orange that she admitted was exceptionally well groomed.

        “Oh, um...” she started, her teal eyes rolling upwards in some mental debate. “Just my daddy’s.” Twilight’s eyes widened just so, but she kept her expression as unassuming. “You’re wondering why an adult would run a panel and leave his filly to wander, aren’t you?”

        “N-no!” Twilight hurried, her composure breaking as her eyes darted from side to side. “I would never assume that.” 

        The filly smiled, rolling her eyes. “It’s alright. This isn’t exactly my first convention,” she smiled. As Twilight nodded her head, a stallion with a raven black mane peaked his head out, catching sight of Twilight and the filly. Immediately recognizing the pony, Twilight raised an eyebrow as she called out to him.

        “Snarkle?” Twilight bleated, her eyes shifting between the two.

        “You two know each other?” the filly mused, Snarkle trotting up behind them. 

        Coughing uneasily, Snarkle’s eyes scanned the crowd carefully for signs of pink before he addressed his company. “Ah, yes. Briefly, honey.” Twilight’s head looked between the two as she connected the dots, a sly smile appearing on her face. Trying to ignore it, Snarkle introduced the ponies. “Twilight, Siraj. Siraj, Twilight.”

        “I didn’t know you had a daughter, Snarky...” Twilight teased, the stallion turning red. 

        “I’m adopted, actually.” Siraj cut in, a smile on her face that was filled with her father’s snark. Looking up toward Snarkle, she took delight, watching as small beads of sweat surfaced on the stallion’s face. “This big lug just had so much love in his heart he couldn’t bear not to give it out.” Her sickeningly sweet smile shined up at the stallion. Batting her eyelashes, the filly poured on the sweet, innocent filly that so embarrassed her father. “Isn’t that right, papa?”

        “Oh, Is that so?” Twilight stressed the last word out. She could feel her muscles pulling her face tighter and tighter into a smile she couldn’t get rid of. “What can you do with all of that love?” Twilight’s tongue clicked through her smile. “Well it shows, Snarkle. You’re such a big softy~”

        Snarkle’s sweat trickled down his mane, his neck spasming into a chorus of coughs as he made to clear his throat and interrupt the mares. “Yes, well, Twilight. Good seeing you again. I see your friends must be off enjoying the convention then?” Taking a long step backwards, the filly at his feet giggled as she trotted into the room behind him. “That’s... good. That’s very good.”

        “Oh I don’t know Snarkle, I may just gather them to see your panel. What’s it about again?”

        Snarkle propped the door open with his back hoof, backpedaling swiftly until all but his head had disappeared behind the door. “Oh, erm. Stuff.” The door closing behind him, Twilight giggled. It was nice to have a reprieve from searching, but alas, it could not last too long. Turning about, Twilight faced the swath of ponies that coursed like a river. Taking a deep breath, she plunged in.

        -----

Hours passed, so much so that Twilight had lost track of time. In between searching for Fluttershy and making sure the preliminary work at the bar was finished for the VIPs to start to filter in, the last few fleeting rays of Celestia’s sun grazed Twilight’s horn, the mare watching the testament to the Princess’ power set just over the countryside. Canterlot, framed just so by the large fireball, stood in majesty overlooking her. Nosing the window open, Twilight drank in the cool, dusk air, feeling it tickle and tingle down her mane. Enjoying the fresh air for a few fleeting moments, the unicorn returned to her task.

        Raising her head up, Twilight noticed another unicorn, jade green with an auburn mane, enjoying a cup of what she assumed to be tea. A steamy mist flowed out of it, the red aura of magic heated the cup up, the stallion taking a small sip from the mug. Looking sideways, the pony noticed that Twilight was looking at him, and carefully put the cup down. “Hello there, miss. Can I help you?”

Twilight’s cheeks flared at being caught staring at somepony, but regained her composure quickly. “Uh, hi there,” she began, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen Fluttershy anywhere?” Twilight Sparkle asked, exasperated, tilting her head. By the look on the stallion’s face, Twilight realized that this pony hadn’t a clue who that was. “Oh! Sorry,” Twilight clarified, shaking her head, “she’s a yellow pegasus with a pink mane.” Twilight punctuated her description by making motions with her hooves to signify a long, flowing mane and flapping her hooves like wings.

After taking in the comic display, the green stallion took a sip from his small cup, taking just a moment to warm it again with his magic. “Fluttershy?” he echoed, contemplating the answer as he swiveled the teacup, watching the colors within swirl. “Mm, does she squeak and hide behind curtains at any given sound, or when a purple unicorn comes walking around?”

        Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The demure mare had been missing for almost six hours. “Yes! You’ve seen her?” she relaxed, letting her neck crane low.

        The unicorn gave Twilight a once over, and sipped a bit of drink from the levitating cup, awash in his own orangish-red aura. Bringing a hoof to his chin, he shook his head automatically. “Can’t say I have, no,” he said simply, pointing his attention towards one of the long curtains nearby.

        At first, Twilight groaned loudly, slamming a hoof on her face. “Then how did you even-” Without warning, his hoof poked her horn. Opening a free eye, Twilight suddenly noticed that the stallion was currently gesturing toward the gently wafting crimson fabric near the window. And just peeking out from under its edge were four yellow hooves, pressed together in some vague hope they’d continue to go unseen. Twilight turned to the stallion, silently thanking him as he took one final sip from his cup. “Y’know,” she interjected, peering at the bowtie that adorned the pony’s neck, “you should probably get back to work.” Having concluded the unicorn was part of the wait staff, Twilight trotted toward the red curtain while the green stallion’s face slowly contorted into an indignant scowl.

        “I am not... I just like bowties,” the stallion muttered under his breath before taking off himself. 

Approaching the curtain, Twilight cleared her throat, which only managed to elicit a high-pitched ‘eep’ from behind the curtain. Playing it by ear, Twilight made as if she had merely given up looking for the pegasus, resting on her haunches next to the curtain. A sharp gasp escaped her as she sat, the cold tile that bordered the halls biting at her rump. “I really do hope Fluttershy knows that we really don’t care about what we heard in the panel room,” she tried, her voice awash in mock distress. Several hours of tireless searching had left the unicorn in a bit of a sour mood, having sacrificed much of her day and panel opportunities in order to find her missing friend. It was times like this that the odd detective pony she had seen earlier would have been severely helpful. He did mention something about lost ponies, after all.

        Despite being lost in her thoughts, Twilight had yet to earn a response. Sighing through her nose, the unicorn prodded the curtain, her hoof coming in contact with the soft wing that belonged to her friend. She silently scolded herself for not giving the pegasus more time, but dagnabbit, she was tired! “Fluttershy, come on out, please.”

        “No!”

        Twilight took the sentiment, regardless of the negative, as a small victory. “Nopony cares that you read, um...” Twilight trailed off, putting her hoof to her chin. Erotica? Clop? Twilight suddenly wished she had actually taken the time to rehearse. Given the time it had taken to find Fluttershy, Twilight sighed at her lack of foresight. “Please, Fluttershy?”

        “N-no. Not in front of you...” A small whimper drifted beyond the fabric wall, blasting Twilight’s heart. Her friend was distraught, and she wasn’t doing so hot with the comforting. As she considered her next move, she reached a tentative hoof out, pausing just before the maroon fabric. Sighing deeply, Twilight let her hoof fall, her head with it.

        “Twilight! There you are!” Twilight raised her head up and over towards the sound of the voice, belonging to none other than the pony who accidentally dropped the bomb which started this mess - Butterscotch Sundae. Chocolate-colored with natural yellow socks, the ‘well-rounded’ pony came trotting up with a small smile on her face. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for you and your friend after the panel. I hope you’ve had some luck in finding her?”

        There was a brisk nod from the purple unicorn as she gestured lightly with a hoof. The pegasus behind the curtain was having a difficult time controlling herself at this point - every breath was exhaled with the shyest of ‘eeps’ that was as adorable as it was heartbreaking. “Some, yes,” Twilight admitted slowly, shaking her mane as she faced Butterscotch. “Listen, I don’t want you to think this is your fault, I mean, we were in your panel room. I should have checked the schedule before hanging around there.” Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, before her head fell and her voice became weaker. “We could have avoided the whole thing...”

        “No, no, don’t apologize, Twilight! It was just an awkward moment. Anypony in her situation would have reacted the same.” Butterscotch tilted her head a bit toward Fluttershy’s shaking hooves, her eyes darting from them to Twilight’s lavender orbs. “You um, don’t mind such stories, do you? You didn’t really stick around for mine and Sunset’s panel.”

        Redness flushed into the student’s cheeks as she reeled back, the question striking her in the chest. “Well, um...” Her mind flashed to the multiple books that were hidden under the floorboards of her home. “Not... your kind. N-not exactly.” As memory served, Twilight had never purchased a single book on the subject of fillyfooling. She practically lived in a library all her life - she had no time to let her mind consider the idea with all the traditional romance novels and novellas at her hooftips. However, as the words fell out of her mouth, she knew she was distancing herself from the solution. “But. Ah. I’ve never really tried. At least-” It took Twilight a moment, but she was standing in clear view of the panel room in which Fluttershy had vacated hours prior.

        A schedule was posted there which detailed all the panels shown throughout the day at the writer’s convention. Even now ponies lined the hallways waiting for another author to take the stage. However, Twilight’s eyes focused on the timeframe that had found herself and the others in the room. 

        Scotch at Sunset: A Mare’s Guide to Writing, Reading, and Loving Mares.

        “-Oh dear.” 

        “What is it?” Butterscotch asked, raising an eyebrow. The chocolate mare followed her compatriots gaze, only seeing the panel board. “Is there somewhere you need to be?”

        Twilight snapped out of her gaze and looked hurriedly toward Butterscotch. “What? No! I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

        “I didn’t...” Butterscotch’s mind started to tick, rolling what she was seeing into one coherent idea. However as soon as she fathomed what was going on, Butterscotch was convinced her ability to assist would be better served while not under the unwavering oppression of sobriety. Suddenly finding herself looking around for a sign that led to a alcoholic respite, she nudged the other unicorn gently. “Twilight, um, if you’ve got nowhere you need to be, perhaps you could direct me to the nearest...”

        “Nearest whatnow?” the mare asked, her eyes never straying from the yellow hooves behind the curtain. The squeaking breaths had mostly stopped, but Twilight was relieved the pegasus hadn’t slinked away in the middle of her conversation.

        Butterscotch made a very strained face. “The bar, filly. I was under the impression panel guests were allowed entrance to an exclusive bar. I’m at my best when I’m at my, um, worst.” 

        Twilight could feel a facehoof coming on, but the allure of a drink to loosen up her own mind and relax her nerves sounded all too tempting. Staring in the direction of the bar, Twilight felt her hooves yearn to join Butterscotch at the oasis. Swallowing in defeat, Twilight directed the fellow unicorn down the hall, Twilight motioned toward two imposing guards. “Beyond those two giants. I’ll see you down there in a bit.” Not wishing to lose what company she had so quickly, Twilight asked, ”Say, where’s your friend? I saw her earlier... before your panel.” 

Butterscotch smiled. “Well, knowing her she’s likely already found her way there.” Following Twilight’s hoof, her eyes narrowed on the guardsponies that defended the bar. “Oh, thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I hope you have luck in bringing your cute yellow friend around!” The chocolate unicorn gave her a wink and a smile, thanking Twilight as she moved through the crowd of ponies toward the open bar. Twilight’s gaze followed her a moment, considering just what the wink was for. Perhaps she expected some sort of drinking game? Or maybe... her ears fell against her face. “O-oh...” Feeling warm in the cheeks, Twilight tore herself away from the ice-cream pony and back to the curtain, periodically asking Fluttershy if she was alright.

        It took some time, but it finally dawned on her that all most ponies were seeing was Celestia’s prized student... talking to a wall. As she spun her back to the curtain, Twilight planted her flank on the ground, looking wearily about. The green stallion that had been nearby was nowhere to be seen, probably off to work the bar as a waiter. Unfortunately, she had sent the last pony who thought she was sane off to get plastered. Sighing deeply, the poor purple mare cast a forlorn look at those teasing hooves. “Fluttershy...” she breathed, waiting for the pink mane to peek out of the corner.

        -----

        Some time had passed and Twilight had only removed herself from the curtain once to visit the little filly’s room. Confirming the presence of four butteryellow hooves under the tassels of the fabric, Twilight sat herself down, her hooves starting to grow tired just standing there. As soon as she sat down, though, she heard somepony calling out to her. “Excuse me?” Twilight groaned aloud as she spun around, a new pony calling for her attention. She was about to chew somepony out if it hadn’t been... “Hello, I’m looking for the Knights’ panel, could you help direct me?”

        The mare in question looked like a fun house mirror reflection of herself. Same hair style, coat color, although her mane was awash in blonde and purple. In place of Twilight’s purple eyes were a mismatched pair of hazel and violet, which blinked unevenly at her.. “Ah-ah...” Twilight stammered, looking the pony down from head to toe. Even the pony’s cutie mark was a bunch of sparkles, and the longer Twilight stared the more she felt her mind melt. “N-no! Sorry!” she gaped, shaking her head repeatedly, hoping that it would somehow make the pony before her go away somehow. Twilight, you’re going insane. 

Spinning about, Twilight stuck her head behind the curtain, taking absolutely no time in shattering the tentative situation she had going with Fluttershy. “Fluttershy! Heeeelllp meeeee! I’m going to be replaced!” Her face pleading, Fluttershy studied it for a moment. Quickly forgetting her own issues for the moment, the pegasus peered out around Twilight, catching sight of the curiously similar unicorn. 

        The color clashed mare raised an eyebrow at the two ponies’ antics, taking a few steps back, surprised that a pegasus had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Averting her attention elsewhere, the pony made it her mission to get out of there quickly. “N-nevermind, I’ll go ask somepony else, th-thanks!” 

        Fluttershy was dumbfounded. However, she wasn’t allowed to dwell on it long as Twilight moved to peer into the crowd from under the pegasus’ mane. “I-Is she gone?”

        “Um,” Fluttershy began, unsure of who ‘she’ really was, “I-I think so...” Looking down toward Twilight, the studious unicorn sighed with relief as her scans proved the pony to be gone. Forgetting her earlier trauma, the pegasus still had an eyebrow raised. “Who was she?”

        “I-I dunno, but she looked just like me. She even had my hairstyle. And a really bad dye job.” Twilight started to draw herself to her full height, coming out from hiding behind the pegasus - the irony was not lost on her - and she quickly threw her hooves around her friend. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she sighed, wearing a bashful smile. “I... know I was acting a little bit crazy, but that pony just... threw me for a loop. She looked like a clone.” Fluttershy could feel the accelerated heartbeat of her friend, and quickly threw her hooves around Twilight to comfort her. 

        There was a small silence surrounding the ponies as the issues from before started to resurface in their minds, Fluttershy slowly letting Twilight drop from their embrace. “I um...” she began, her cheeks turning red. “I’m sorry I was hiding for so long. I, um, didn’t...”

        Twilight breathed in deeply, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “So you like reading stuff like that. I don’t really mind. I mean...” A small red tint appeared on her features as she averted her gaze just slightly. “You should see the lengths I’ve gone through to hide my books from Spike. Some of the books are in the walls.” The two girls stared at each other with blank expressions, sharing a silence.

        And of course, they broke into a chorus of giggles.

        After a short while, the two calmed down enough to begin talking again. “Twilight,” Fluttershy started, looking about, “where is Pinkie? I heard you were looking for me for hours but I haven’t seen her for just as long...” 

Twilight was ready with an answer. “I sent Pinkie to the afterparty room to get things set up after she attended a few panels. I gave her some instructions and to always abide by Pony Joe’s instruction... so she’s probably enjoying a drink and some company while attempting liquored versions of various party games.” Fluttershy’s stark silence and vacant expression was likely brought on by the thought of Pinkie Pie within the general vicinity of alcohol, to which Twilight added, “She’s been a lot more docile about it than you might think.”

        “Twilight,” the pegasus blinked, her attention sliding from the far door of the afterparty room to her friend, “you drink? With Pinkie?”

        Twilight chuckled, shaking her mane as she flashed Fluttershy an appreciative smile for her friend’s apparent naivety. “Fluttershy, you’ll learn that every pony who pens the written word needs a little... mental lubricant, from time to time. Pinkie probably treats the stuff like sarsaparilla. If you ask me, that pony can hold her own against anyone. Although I’ve never really seen her drink.” Twilight paused, before relating, “Applejack is the only pony I’ve heard of who has drank with Pinkie before, and then she said it was an accident involving some hard milk. She didn’t say much about it, except that you would not believe how much of a lightweight Rainbow Dash and Rarity are. One drink and they’re all over everything.”

        -----

        “So then I tell ‘em, ‘Yeah, I got a list of cloppy authors in my collection, but if you wanna see ‘em; It’s gonna have to cost ya.’” A clean voiced unicorn stallion was in the middle of relating a work experience as Twilight and Fluttershy made their way through the massive crowd of legs and hooves. “He asked what, and I said, ‘yer dignity!’” The pale yellow stallion whooped as he jabbed the air to punctuate his story. He wore a tweed vest, which accomplished nothing in terms of fashion nor functionality, as Twilight quickly noted the vest’s lack of pockets. His listener, on the other hoof, wore a much more functional nothing, as ponies were apt to wear.

        “Come on Dusty, you didn’t!” A purple colt laughed, the two unicorns blocking the friends’ path. He himself sported a brown mane, like his yellow friend, and Twilight was quickly coming to terms with the fact that a pale yellow was a popular color amongst stallions, this purple colt being the exception that nearly proved the rule. 

“Um, excuse me,” Twilight tried, but was ignored as the stallion continued.

“Oh yes, I did. Now, I’ve got no problem with those erotic types myself, and I’ll admit to enjoyin’ a few of ‘em on my more lonely evenings, but to just walk up to a gentlecolt and ask him where he keeps his stash?” he asked incredulously. Twilight grumbled under her breath about the local population’s tendency to talk about the most adult of activities, which actually had the unintended effect of capturing the male unicorn’s attention. “Oh, excuse me, ma’am. Can I help you?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up as she was spoken to, having since given up trying to get their attention through any traditional means. “Um, yes. I’d, um, like to get through here, please?” She punctuated her words by motioning to the entrance to the afterparty’s room.

        The two males turned to look where she was going, and noticing the guards, they looked back to her in unison. “No use, I’m afraid. Only VIPs can get in there. Shame too, I hear it’s an open bar,” Dusty muttered, licking his lips as if they were dry. 

        Twilight huffed in annoyance, throwing a hoof up so she could properly stick her face in it. Yet before she could accomplish it, Fluttershy’s own hoof held hers still, the shy pegasus throwing a soft smile toward the gentlecolts. “Oh, um, y’see, we’re on that list,” she informed them, touching heads against Twilight for effect. “The, um, VIPs.”

        The purple colt eyed the girls for a moment as the wheels in his head started to spin, but the time it took for him to form words gave Twilight ample opportunity to push onwards, walking purposely between the two with a disgruntled yet mildly placated expression. “Yes, well, now that you two know we’re allowed in, I just need us to squeeze right past you, thank you, come on Fluttershy, I need a drink.”

        The pegasus quickly followed suit after her friend, muttering apologies to the two colts as she trotted past, giving Twilight a precarious look. “You know you could have asked to be let through, Twilight.”

        “And they would have asked to be our ‘dates,’ so they could get into the open bar,” Twilight pointed out, as if her sudden introduction to the colts had gleaned her some hidden insight to their base natures. “That or just try to hit on us...”

        “O-oh,” squeaked her friend, averting her gaze as she considered the prospect. The phrase ‘hit on’ surprised her, coming from Twilight’s mouth, and as the ponies pressed on towards Twilight’s oasis, she quietly thanked Twilight, sending a pleased smile toward her friend. She could be surprising rough and tumble sometimes, but the mare was unquestionably driven. Passing the Royal Guard, Fluttershy took the effort to pass them without flinching, their cool gazes passing over her as she walked along. “Do you really think they would have?” she asked, “I don’t think I’d like that...”

        Twilight scoffed, but immediately rebuked her own reaction as she considered it. “I dunno, I’m just in a hurry,” she admitted, a bashful smile crossing her features. Shaking her mane, the unicorn continued, “I wouldn’t want to give random ponies special privileges, or it might suddenly be expected of me.” Kicking a hoof in contemplation, the doors to the afterparty opened at the whim of her magic, awash in the signature aura that accompanied her spells. “Besides, if it really got hairy I’d just say you were my date and get them off our backs,” Twilight joked. Behind her, Fluttershy went stark red, her eyes planted firmly at the ground.

        While the party decorations screamed Pinkie Pie’s party cannon, the atmosphere that greeted their senses was that of a posh, traditional Canterlot party that was struggling, and subsequently failing, to stay sober. Without paying mind to exactly where she was going, Twilight’s hoof made connection with an unconscious slump on the ground, which happened to be a boozed up pony splayed out at the doorway. 

“Ahhck!” Stumbling over her hooves, Twilight tripped up over the puce colored pony, landing in a heap of tangled limbs and hair. Limbs flailing, Fluttershy quickly fussed over the unicorn as her legs struggled to find the ground, her eyes falling upon a sickly green color her face was leaning on. “Uhh! It’s puke! Ew! Aagh!” Making a complete scene of herself, Twilight found herself pushed upright and to her feet as she struggled to wipe the vomit color from her face, only to find it completely free of stomach debris. Pausing mid-freak-out, the mare stared down at the horrid color that had run itself into the carpet. “I thought...”

“Twilight! Are you okay?” Fluttershy breathed, looking over her friend head to toe. “You didn’t hurt anything, did you?”

Snapping to attention attention, Twilight’s dumbfounded expression moved from the slowly disinterested congregation of ponies to the pegasus to her side, her eyes seeing a pink blur off on the other side of the room. “I uh...” Looking back down at the discarded body, Twilight shook her head slowly as the guards from outside quickly beset upon the sickly green-maned pony. “I think his mane is coated in dry spew...” Twilight gaped, her stomach churning in response.

        Fluttershy was silent a moment, shaking her head. “Um, Twilight, I think that pony’s natural color was that green.” Twilight’s gaze met her own, and Fluttershy managed the smallest of smirks. “Yeah, it’s natural.”

        Twilight couldn’t help but giggle just a little bit. “Oh Celestia...” she breathed, taking in the stale ale air. “That poor pony.” Even without the guidance of Rarity to lead the fashion stunted unicorn’s decision, the student couldn’t help but understand the plastered stallion as he was picked up by one of the guards and slumped onto a stretcher. “With a mane that color, it’s no wonder why he drinks.”

        Fluttershy giggled, her wings outstretched as she followed closely behind Twilight.

> Inebriated Equestrians and Emotional Embraces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “And where were you the morning of the Longest Night in Equestria?” the detective asked, his eye bearing down on a blond maned stallion. “Writing some loathsome tome of evil to benefit the moon tyrant?” His breath was a mask of alcohol, a goblet of his self-described manliest drink in his hooves. The pony opposite him was midnight blue in coat, seemingly disgruntled at the drunk dick. Taking another drink of his Fuzzy Navel, Squeak leaned close to the stallion. “I’m on to you!”

        “Excuse me, but I’m an artist- I don’t exactly write demonic tomes,” the artist sighed, pushing a hoof against Squeak to remove him from his bubble.

The tan detective pony drummed the table with his hoof in thought, before shaking his head incredulously. “This here party is for writin’ ponies. What the hay is a fancy pancy.... panty pants...” The pony continued to droll off without direction for a good half minute before slamming his hoof into the bar. “Why do we have a word for pants. Ponies don’t wear pants!” Squeak’s eyes narrowed as he prodded the artist. “Y’see, Canvas, that’s what I’m sayin’... this detective stumbles onto the biggest.... the biggest mystery of his career!” 

        “Everything alright over here?” The more gruff tone cut through the two stallions’ dialogue like a knife, the giant and a half of Pony Joe rising over them as he approached them. “You all having a good time?” The panicked shake of the head from the midnight blue pony beside Squeak was all the big guy needed to give the tan detective a stern look. “I think you’ve had enough, sir.”

        “Had enough? Had enough!?” Looking down at his empty glass, and the seven glasses next to it, Squeak hiccuped a moment before turning to Joe with a lazy smile. “I guess you could say that.” Giggling like a school colt, the tipsy pony removed himself from the bar, Joe’s horn quickly cleaning up the area that he had occupied. As he did, the seat was soon filled once again by a bookish lavender unicorn, a tired expression and a soft smile gracing her features.

        “Get me a Bloody Marey. Extra Bloo.... Mare.... More alcohol than normal, please,” Twilight breathed, her head lazing over the table. “I’ve had a long day.” The large pony chuckled, refilling the stallion’s drink beside Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes tracked the brown liquid pouring from the glass as if trying to drink it with just her vision. “How’ve you been holding up here, Joe?”

        Pony Joe shrugged his massive shoulders and slid the mare’s drink to her, a content smile on his face. “Just reveling in my old skills, Sparkle. Did you know I was a bouncer for the Blue Mare back in Canterlot for awhile?” he chuckled, sliding a donut over to Twilight as he did. The mare gave him a confused glance, but the older stallion gave her a wink and a smile. “Free advertisement for my business. Figure ‘bunch a lonely writers might need a place to sit and mope, they might as well do it at my store while buying donuts and coffee.”

        “Shrewd,” Twilight said, but a smile remained on her lips as she took a surprisingly long drought from her drink. Spinning on her chair, the purple pony took full view of the room before her. Her eyes parsed the scene, locating Fluttershy across the room speaking with the mare that had been with Butterscotch Sundae. Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling she knew her from somewhere outside the convention. Her minty green natural socks and delicious looking mane were so very unique, and just looking at her made Twilight a little hungry. Absentmindedly licking her lips, the student startled herself as she violently shook her head, her cheeks flushed at the signals she was presenting.

        “Well, who’re you checking out, Twilight?” a familiar voice called, belonging to her gray dappled friend. “I’ve never seen you so lax about it.” 

        Spinning round, the midnight pony had gone and been replaced with Dapples, who at the moment was wearing the most smug smile on his face. Every fiber of Twilight’s being wanted to wipe it from his stupid mug. “I wasn’t- I don’t....” Her stomach grumbled almost instantly, and the free donut Joe had provided slammed into her mouth in a wash of red magic, the pony sadly unable to finish explaining herself.

        “Right, say no more, Twilight, I can appreciate a good mare as well as the next pony,” Dapples chuckled, taking a long draft from his drink, tactfully ignoring the icy glare Celestia’s student was giving him. Removing his lips from the magically floating mug, he recoiled as the full extent of the alcohol gripped him. Keeping his composure as well as he could, Dapples slammed a hoof into his chest multiple times in a vain effort to make the alcohol go down easier.

        “Yeah, well, you enjoy stallions as much... as the next pony too,” the purple pony managed, her words stumbling as they fell out of her mouth.

        Dapples slid Twilight a mildly incredulous look. “Rapier wit as ever, Twilight.” 

        Disgruntled, the unicorn prodded the stallion’s side a little harder than what was friendly and kept a hoof on his arm. “Hey, you’re in here ‘cause I let you, so if you don’t want to be kicked out, you better be nice to me-” Twilight’s tirade was cut short as Pony Joe slid her drink in front of her, the pony’s earlier distaste evaporating as she launched herself towards the glass. “Oh sweet Celestia, sustenance!” In a manner unfitting a mare, the purple pony downed the glass in mere seconds, her face contorting as the burn slid down her throat and dappled the sides of her mouth. 

        There was a moment’s silence as Dapples looked at his half finished drink, before sliding it telepathically over to Twilight’s empty glass. “I... think you need this more than I do, Twi.” The dappled pony couldn’t help but feel unsafe in the vicinity of the hastily drinking mare and left the table, but couldn’t help but smile as he trotted off, scouting for a good place to watch the evening’s theatrics.

        Twilight entertained herself for a while between the open bar and the hastily thinning room as the night waxed on, only breaking from the beergasm to check on her two friends. Every subsequent trip into the open room revealed a Twilight whom was increasingly becoming the social butterfly her friends Rarity and Pinkie Pie were while sober. However, years of being a major in the studies of all magics revealed Twilight Sparkle’s other special talent, almost unknown to everypony but Celestia and some choice guards.

The unicorn could seriously hold her liquor.

Striding confidently through the crowds, the maneuverable mare came upon Fluttershy, who calmly, if a bit tipsily, was chatting up some rogue blue stallion with a stringy mustache, which held a plastic sheen in the right light. “And I take care of all the animals. It’s pretty lonely, but I have the besssstest and most cuddly wuddly assistant anypony could eve-” Fluttershy hiccuped, spilling a little drink on her hoof. She eyed the wet spot cautiously, but then her smile returned as she locked eyes with the indigo-maned pony, who was sporting a handlebar mustache. “Ever.” Looking over to Twilight, the pegasus smiled lazily as her head slightly cocked to one side. Twilight, however, was certain this was not of her own accord. “Hey Twilight, have you met my friend.... Patty?” she burbled, a giggle escaping her throat as she giggled at the stallion. “That’s a mare’s name...!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow towards her friend, cautiously adjusting the pink mane away from the cream colored pony and straightening her head. Turning towards the blue stallion, whose bushy mustache she quite admired, she smiled politely. “Well, nice to meet you, um...”

        “Pacce. Or Patty, I’m not sure!” His smile was huge, and Twilight had the strangest urge to call it a failed attempt at being threatening. Looking away a moment, Fluttershy was squeaking and hiccuping at the same time, sending herself into a fit of raucous giggles.

“Your fillyfriend here was just telling me about the time she fought off a dragon.” Pacce stroked his fu manchu, his giant smile replaced with a small grin. Twilight began to mumble something about her relationship status before Fluttershy cut her off.

        “Snapped its neck!” Fluttershy shouted, giving Twilight a start. Draining the rest of her glass in one go, the pegasus made a motion of spinning her hooves in a way that looked completely benign. “Turned its tail an... and left Equestria.” 

        “Fascinating. With a broken neck?” Pacce egged on, much to Twilight’s chagrin. However, the lavender pony let it go with a smile and nod. 

        “Didn’t she tell you? I was turned to stone the whole time,” Twilight continued, Fluttershy slowly becoming limp in her hooves. Turning away from the blue stallion, Twilight confirmed that the pegasus was quickly losing consciousness. Smiling up at Pacce, the unicorn’s horn sparked to life a little slower than usual as yellow hooves slowly pushed themselves off the floor. “Well, I’m sure she’ll regale you some other time, Mr. Patty.” 

        Pushing a piece of his purple hair away from his eyes, the Earth pony guffawed as he rubbed his horseshoe ‘stache with great interest. “Perhaps she will! Now, if you excuse me I am off to save the Muffin Empire from a blueberry unicorn. Take care of your fillyfriend!”

        “She’s not my...” Twilight murmured, but shook her head, shaking the word off her like water. Twilight was starting to really feel the drinks hit her as the full weight of the pegasus dragged on her mental state.  Struggling to keep the light frame suspended in air, the unicorn brought her charge towards one of the towering windows behind the bar, stowing Fluttershy behind one of the great tapestries that lined the wall. Sighing over the sleeping form of her friend, Twilight caught a look from Pony Joe as he examined her cargo. “I’ll keep her safe, Twilight, you keep havin’ fun.”

        Smiling up at the towering figure, the lavender unicorn opted to lay next to the mare, a pained expression on her face. “Just gonna rest my hooves a moment, Joe.” Twilight wished nothing more than to stereotypically drift off to sleep and leave the night behind her, but her buzzed mind would have nothing of it. The deep recesses of her analytical mind was having a field day with a wonderful new term that Pacce had oh-so-ignorantly given her. Fillyfriend. It didn’t seem like Fluttershy to just tell a pony she was a fillyfriend with somepony she wasn’t. Unless...

        Twilight cursed her buzzing brain for being so slow. Slowly getting to her feet, the pony returned to her mentally claimed seat at the bar and gave her old friend a long, sad smile. “Oh Joe... can I get a coffee? I need something to curb the alcohol before it gets any worse.”

        Joe looked over the bar, his eyes on the lookout for anything that even began to resemble a coffee maker, but in the end he approached Twilight with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Sparkle, I didn’t carry anything like that with me. ‘Sides of which, that stuff don’t work, believe me.” Looking at the large compliment of empty glasses that adorned the purple pony’s designated area, he chuckled despite his customer. “If it did, I don’t think anything this side of Manehatten is gonna cut into the buzz you’re going to get.”

        Twilight took this as a compliment as she dislodged herself from her seat, the pony taking small pride in her ability to keep mobile. Scanning the room, she was proud and partly gratified with how well her duties in organizing this event had gone over. As she dwelt on it further, though, the image of the sleeping pegasus crossed her mind’s eye, interrupting her self-congratulations. Sighing, the pony spotted the bushel of pink in the corner of the room, Pinkie Pie. Trotting towards the pink Earth pony, Twilight greeted her and her discussion partner. Another blue stallion, this one was the color of the sky on a cloudless day, and his mane was a stark white, which matched the streaking white comet adorned on his flank.

        “And then Twilight went foosh and she was on fire! But then she calmed down and she was okay, and her mane was still there and everything! Can you believe that? Most ponies would go bald if their hair was set on fire, and hers became fire!” Pinkie chatted, the lavender pony rolling her eyes as she set hoof closer to the pair. “Anyway, that’s how we saved Froggy Bottom Bog.” Whilst being in typical Pinkie fashion, Twilight had to give her points for at least getting the general location right for once.

        “Right...” The blue pegasus forced a smile, beads of sweat pearling around his forehead. Whoever he was, it was apparent that he had been here awhile. Twilight pitied the poor pegasus; he couldn’t have been much older than the Equestrian drinking age. His eyes flashed toward Twilight, a small glimmer of hope shining behind his neon orbs. “Hello there! Have you met Pinkie?” he gasped, gesturing towards Twilight’s friend.

        Feeling charitable, or at least to allow the cute stallion to walk away with some pride, the unicorn only smiled warmly as Pinkie’s brilliant sapphire eyes took notice of her. “We’ve met, yes. Pinkie, can I talk to you?” She gave the sky blue colt a look, before returning her gaze toward her friend. “Privately?”

        “Oh um, I was talking to Windchaser here, but,” she spun her head towards the stallion, but the comet-cutie marked pony had already began his retreat, causing Pinkie to furrow her brow. “Well, I guess I’m free to talk.”

        “Good!” Twilight blurted quickly. Some unknown sense of urgency had taken hold of the unicorn, placing a hoof on Pinkie’s back as she brought the pink pony close. “Okay, so the party is winding down, and we’re gonna-” Twilight hiccuped something fierce, melting the pony’s face into a bashful smile as she continued, “have to make sure everypony leaves by... Oh Luna what time is it?”

        “About two seventeen in the morning,” Pinkie responded automatically with nary a clock in sight. Twilight nodded numbly, prompting Pinkamina to give Twilight a once over. “Twilight, have you been drinking?” Her nose scrunching up as she spoke, Pinkie added, “You smell awfully funny.” 

        “Of- of course I have. Everypony drinks at these parties,” Twilight mused in a matter-of-fact.

        Pinkie shook her head, a brilliant smile on her face. “I don’t.” At this Twilight spun about, her mouth in a wide gape. Pinkie giggled at her reaction, waving her hoof around. “I don’t drink, silly! Granny Pie said all that stuff was a depressant, and this pony wants none of that! How can you be bubbly and cheerful when you’re depressed? I mean, come on, Twilight.” Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, Pinkie’s depiction of alcohol only served to somehow... make sense. There was no way for Pinkie to be any more friendly than the next pony, so she had no where to go but down.

        Twilight’s mind immediately added, in more ways than one. Internally chiding herself for the crude opinion, the mare shook her head about, whipping Pinkie’s muzzle with her loose locks. “H-hey Twi, cut it out, that tickles!” Scrunching up her nose, the Earth pony backed away, intent on not undergoing one of her rocket powered sneezes. As she stepped back, Twilight’s hoof slipped off the pony’s back, sending the increasingly inebriated pony to the floor with a yelp.

        As Twilight hit the ground, she soon found herself the object of a red-orange aura. “Oh dear,” a green stallion muttered nearby, stepping in and helping the poor mare to her feet. As Twilight returned to four hooves, the assisting unicorn recognized the mare. “Ah, you again!” The pony smirked as he caught sight of the Twilight’s face, the mane and coat apparently not a dead giveaway.

        Twilight peered confusedly toward the strange auburn haired pony, who merely gestured to the wall. Her eyes tracked towards the extended hoof, only to notice he was pointing toward the passed out pegasus in the corner of the room, just barely visible from where they stood. It took the unicorn a moment to realize the same stallion had done exactly the same thing not too long ago. “O-oh, right!” she exclaimed, a sheepish smile crossing her face. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t get your nam-”

        “Think nothing of it,” the stallion interrupted, adjusting his tie with a glow from his horn. “Somepony has to be a gentlecolt. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to prepare a light tea to help alleviate a mare’s hangover. Toodles.” Giving a short wave toward the girls, the stallion turned tail and trotted off, Twilight’s tongue too slow to stop him to finish her question.

“Why is Flutters over there by herself?” Pinkie interrupted, pointing her hoof where the stallion had moments prior. Twilight focused her attention on the pony’s persona, finding it much sharper than normal. However, Twilight reasoned that her current inebriation was only fooling herself into believing that Pinkie was making more sense. “Is she okay?”

        Twilight didn’t make much of a response at first, her mind working the situation out in her head. Fluttershy didn’t seem all that sick, just sleepy, so she was practically the image of health. Except for the likely copious amounts of social lubricant she had partaken in, which Twilight guessed didn’t mean she was all that right in the head at the moment. Waving her hoof about, she remembered that Fluttershy had been talking about Twilight as if they were fillyfriends, she stressed, and at about this moment did the unicorn realize that she was saying all this out loud for everypony within earshot to hear.

        “It’s always the quiet ones,” Butterscotch smirked, her attention drawn to the mares nearby. The filly Twilight had glued her eyes on earlier was with her- the same pair that had so very embarrassed the yellow pegasus at the start of the night. Levitating next to both ponies were their own drinks, which the lavender unicorn recognized as some serious top shelf stuff.

        A snickering pony caught her ear as she saw Dapples nearby, shaking his mane as he looked toward the chocolate colored mare. “Oh no, trust me, that one,” he motioned toward Twilight, “is anything but quiet.”

        “Oh really?” Butterscotch smiled, her eyes sparkling as she looked between the other two unicorns. “Tell me more.”

        Twilight’s mind was trying to keep up with the two as they spoke, barely realizing that they were talking about her. “Wha-hey, not like that. Well, not that I know of, anyway,” she heard Dapples say, trying to piece together what they were talking about. 

        Oh please, you’re not that innocent, a voice cried in her head. To her own surprise, Twilight realized it was herself, and suddenly the context was hers to own. And that didn’t please her. “W-wait a minute.” The other ponies slowed their discussion, Butters cutting herself off in the middle of some adult themed quip. “Why is everypony suddenly talking about my personal life?”

        “Well, about the time you made it public knowledge, Twilight.” The mint and peanut butter maned pony held a forgiving smile, prompting Twilight to focus in on her face while returning a sheepish smile towards her. As she did, Twilight’s ears folded against her head; the pony seemed really familiar to her. The pony raised a hoof, giving a sidelong glance towards Butterscotch. “Don’t feel bad! I know I’ve gotten a bit loud and open when I’ve had a few.” Suddenly Butterscotch’s gleaming eyes were locked on to hers, a smile spreading across her face.

        “Gee, you all sure do tend to talk a lot more,” Pinkie said, cutting the mood with a knife. Looking towards Twilight, Pinkie gave a lopsided smile as she hopped towards the corner. “I’m gonna go check up on Flutters, be back in a bit.”

        “You do that, Pinkie,” Twilight fumbled out, her mouth trying desperately to slow down for her head to catch up.

        Butterscotch extended a yellow hoof forward, suddenly deeming that the conversations had melded enough to warrant further discussion. “Well, I’m just happy to have a little steamy discussion on our plates. Twilight, you organized a terrific party but it’s been such a bore with some of these writers- present company excluded, of course,” she added, giving the white unicorn beside her a seductive wink, prompting a furious blush.

        “Yes, well,” Twilight started, her eyes darting from side to side as she tried to form a coherent sentence. “I really don’t see how it’s any business of anypony but mine... minus that one mistake. I didn’t mean to say all that aloud.”

        The ice-cream flavored pony clicked her tongue as she shook her head sadly. “Oh you poor dear,” she expressed, a sad smile on her face. “I think that means you need our help- you practically cried out for it.”

        “She did cry out for it,” Dapples corrected. He shot Twilight the biggest manure-eating grin, uncaring of the righteous retribution he’d find back in Ponyville. 

        “Sunset Rose and I were talking about this earlier.” Twilight’s ear twitched as Butterscotch continued, her cheeks flaring at the realization that these ponies were not going to stop anytime soon. Not to mention that the name of the delicious looking filly seemed awfully nostalgic to her. “A mare introduced to the sudden knowledge that she is the subject of adoration from another mare.”

        Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “You ran a panel on fillyfooling literature, don’t you talk about that kind of thing enough?” 

        Sunset Rose chuckled, her eyes rolling just slightly. “We went over a lot of things about marefriends and fillyfooling... but mostly things like February Fiction and stuff like that.” Dapples raised an eyebrow and an awaiting hoof in question, but Rose cut him off. “It’s when a writer has two ponies, one struggling to tell the other how she feels, and when it finally comes out, her feelings are returned and they have a happy ending.” Rose locked eyes with Twilight a moment before averting her gaze, her cheeks reddening as she tried to keep her attention off the purple mare.

        Dapples coughed uneasily, his eyes averting against the wall hard as if the pictures on the stained glass windows had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world to him. Butters smiled offhoofedly, but looked back towards Twilight, who was having difficulty relating this situation back to her own. “What does this have to do with me? It’s not even February.”

        “Twilight, settle your adorable heiney down.” Twilight awkwardly shuffled her hooves at the rare compliment, and quieted down as Butterscotch took the reigns. “Thing is, a lot of the time, crushes are one-sided, but that’s because, especially with mares to mares and stallions to stallions, the other party just isn’t, y’know, privy to that sort of thing.” Licking her lips, the chocolate unicorn sat her haunches down as she raised both hooves, intent on talking with them. “So if it ever comes to light, you get a lot of shock and awe.”

        “And drunken ponies shouting in the middle of a crowded room,” Dapples smirked; however, his expression turned more serious as he looked over towards Twilight.

        “W-wait,” Twilight threw a hoof up, the gears in her head clicking into place. “You’re talking about me, then?” She felt a bit dumb in saying it, but it wasn’t somewhere her head usually went. She sometimes thought about romance and... other stuff like that, but this was coming too hard and fast for her to comprehend all at once. “A-and...” The slow realization that was building all night finally started to seep in as Twilight put

“Oh, Rosie, you’re right, she is so adorably naive sometimes.” Butters laughed, Sunset’s cheeks turning a fierce red that complimented her green socks. “Really, Twilight, put two and two together.”

        The thing that had just been words started to take shape as meaning as Twilight closed her eyes. The running away before the panel, the hiding, Twilight being the absolute last pony she had wanted to see after that mishap... that strange blue stallion saying Fluttershy was her fillyfriend. 

        Fluttershy had a crush on her. Romantic. A mare. Her friend. “O-oh dear.”

        “There’s the shock...” Butters mentioned, a cool expression on her face. However, her demeanor quickly changed when in the next instant the purple pony took up a massive red aura around her, and in a giant flash, only a smoking explosion of magic remained. Dumbfounded, the unicorn looked towards her companion and the stallion, the latter of which wore an expression of amusement.

        “Aaaaand there’s the awe,” Dapples finished, the others looking about for the purple mare. “She does this when she’s overstressed. Give her a moment, she’ll be back.”

        Sunset Rose blinked hard, parting one of her minty green locks from her eyes. “I didn’t think anypony could do that.” Sunset turned to the stallion, her expression blank. “I knew Twilight was powerful back in Canterlot...” Dapples chuckled in response, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“You knew Twilight back in Canterlot, Rose?” Dapples ventured, his eyebrow raised curiously. 

Sunset Rose wore a regretful smile, nodding her head. “Please, call me Rosie. And yes, although she didn’t really know me. Everypony knew her, though. I just saw her from time to time when I was working.” 

Butterscotch smiled as Sunset Rose continued, before budding in herself. “Not to mention Rosie here had the biggest crush on that little mare back in the day,” the chocolate pony teased, Butters sticking her tongue out at her friend. “Mm, the stories she came up with.”

        “B-B-Butterscotch! N-not here!” Cheeks red and flushed, the poor mare covered her face in a hoof, trying to hide the passing smiles from those around her.

        Dapples chuckled, shaking his head in a long, sad fashion. “It’s alright, Rose. I have to admit I had a slight crush on her when I moved to Ponyville, too.” Looking about the room, he noticed Pinkie Pie bouncing over, a spring in her step despite the late hour. “I think we’re all weak to cute, bookish mares.”

        “Hi everypony!” Pinkie Pie greeted, a smile on her face as she arrived. The others were about to greet her and attempt to explain the situation when the pink pony kept on bouncing, colliding with Dapples just enough to cause the pony to stumble away, a look of confusion plastered across his face.

        “Hey-what?” he sputtered in indignation, but not a moment later Twilight reappeared where he had been standing moment’s earlier in an explosive flash of light and sound. “I-you-what?” Dapples dribbled out, his eyes plastered on the ground he was standing on moments prior that Twilight now occupied. 

        Twilight shot the stallion a confused look, but noticed Pinkie standing to her immediate left, and she drew two and two together. “Oh. Um. Thanks, Pinkie.”

        “Dapples was already a bubble earlier,” Pinkie began, the expressions of the two other mares dropping into the incredulous. “I really didn’t want him to pop this time!” Pleased with her timely intervention, the pink mare looked about the rest of the assembled ponies. “So what’s shakin’?”

        While Dapples slowly considered the thought that he could have been popped like a balloon when Twilight teleported in, the lavender unicorn herself wiped her brow with her hoof and smiled sheepishly. “Nothing, I was just... caught up in something.”

        Butterscotch smiled, albeit a bit awkwardly, her hoof absentmindedly tapping her own horn as she looked to and fro. “I’ll say, Ms. Sparkle. I’d love to have a trick like that at my disposal. It’d get myself out of some sticky situations.”

        “Well you work in an ice-cream parlor! Of course you deal in the sticky stuff!” Pinkie beamed, catching the others off-guard. “Could you imagine it, though? Boom, you’re at the chocolate, then bam! Mint chocolate chip! And then Blazamba! Rocky Road!” 

        Butterscotch smiled as Pinkie started naming flavors, shaking her flowing mane as she continued making up sound effects. “Oh Pinkie, it’s always a pleasure.” Pushing a hoof back through her hair, the pony-in-the-natural-socks returned her gaze towards Twilight. “Well, I do believe you’ve provided me much in decent writing material.”

        Twilight blinked, her eyes shrinking as she considered the prospect. “I-I don’t know if I’m comfortable with...” she paused. The subject of erotica? The Princess’ pupil? She could hear Rarity now, ‘Oh dearest! The horror, the scandal! The... where exactly did you say it was on sale again?’ Twilight visibly cringed. “Nothing with or relating to me, please.” Twilight didn’t notice the pink color that showed up on Sunset’s face.

        Butterscotch chuckled dryly as she shook her head. “Not you, but your magic. Teleportation- think of the possibilities!”

        “Possibilities?” Twilight echoed. “Like, it’s useful and all, but- oh you mean in bed-” Twilight stopped herself, her brain freezing like ice. Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria was she even discussing this? Stomping a hoof down, Twilight’s sense of balance was thrown for a moment as she struggled to keep herself from tipping over. Sweet Luna, she could feel it now. “I don’t... want to.”

        “Twilight? You don’t look so good,” Pinkie murmured, placing a hoof on her friend’s crest to keep her steady. “You wanna go lay down? I know when a partier is pooped and it’s quiet over where Fluttershy is-”

        “No!” Twilight snapped, much to the surprise of herself. Pinkie reeled back, the sudden shift in weight throwing Twilight to the ground as she tipped forward onto her face. Sliding along her neck, the mare flopped over, scrambling to her hooves to save herself further embarrassment. 

        “Twilight, are you okay?” Sunset Rose asked, her eyes a mask of concern and merriment as she absently sipped at her drink.

“I’m fine.” Twilight breathed, rubbing her face with her hoof and slapping the side of her own cheek to wake herself up. “ I have to see this party through, and I’m gonna do just that.”

        Sunset smiled, nodding her head sagely. “It is like you to try and stay awake as long as possible,” she reasoned, prompting Twilight to focus on her.

        Sunset Rose... she worked at a bindery in Canterlot, Twilight remembered, her hoof stomping the ground in triumph. “And it’s... always like you to keep things together...” she mumbled out awkwardly in her attempt to show the unicorn that she remembered her. “Um, I mean, like books-” Twilight couldn’t make out the expression on the peanut butter mare’s face, but she guessed it wasn’t pleasurable.

        Butterscotch leaned over and whispered something in Sunset Rose’s ear, who nodded in response. “Well, I think it’s high time Rosie and I got going- it’s been a blast, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie. Dapples, was it?” The gray pony nodded numbly off to the side, still staring at the blast mark left by Twilight’s exit and subsequent reentry. “It’s a bit late, and Rosie and I have to retire to our room.”

        Rose perked up, looking over to her friend a moment. “But we have different room-” She was interrupted by a quick, alcohol fueled kiss from the other unicorn, her facial expression shifting from shocked to melted butter in a matter of microseconds. Oddly enough, the kiss was punctuated with a high pitched ‘Aww’ from Pinkie. Twilight merely stared in dumbfounded wonderment as the two seemed to be caught up in the moment, and her head slowly turned to look at the pegasus in the corner. Butterscotch let the mint and peanut butter mare go, Rose’s eyes were glazed over as she glanced back at Twilight. “Right, back to our room, see you later Twi. Dapples. Pinkie.”

        As the two mares walked very close to each other towards the door, one of the guards let them pass as he himself entered the room, looking over the remaining ponies. Dapples, on the other hoof, finally looked up from the burned rug and gave Twilight a fearful look. “Wha-what would have happened if I had been standing where you were teleporting in?”

        Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie threw herself over Twilight’s back, leaning on her hooves as she smiled at Dapples. “I dunno, but I think the scientificary term is you would have exploded.”

        “Scientificary?” Twilight echoed, the added weight to her hooves at least keeping her from losing balance. “Pinkie, that’s not even a word.”

        “E-e-e-exploded?” the stallion chattered, his eyes widening. “Like... boom?”

        Twilight sighed, her patience waning as she looked over towards her friend. “Ugh, no. The spell would have failed and I’d have ended up somewhere close by,” she confirmed, much to Dapples’ relief. 

        “Well then... Pinkie, why did you hit me away?” he asked.

        Pinkie shrugged and gave a lopsided grin. “Well, obviously I didn’t know that!”

        “But then how did you know she was going to appear there anyway!?”

        Twilight made to stick a hoof in one of their mouths, but with Pinkie already on her back, the mare only let out a strangled grunt. “Look, I’m perfectly happy with you two talking, but Pinkie, can you please get off me.” The party pony obliged, leaping the rest of the way above Twilight and landing neatly next to Dapples. “Thank you. Now, I have a pegashy to talk to. I mean a ponysus. Pettershy-” Annoyed, Twilight grunted again, deciding just to walk away from the conversation. 

        Slowly making her way toward the cream colored pony in the corner, Twilight felt her knees starting to give out from under her as she reached her friend. Leaning down, Twilight fell to her stomach, feeling a tingling sensation travel down her hooves as she rested her laurels. It was high time the unicorn properly sat down, and she let the feeling distract her for a few more fleeting moments as her eyes eventually started to follow the pink mess of hair up to the sleeping pegasus’ face. 

Fluttershy seemed content, which pleased Twilight- at least she wasn’t awash in nightmares when sleeping while intoxicated, like someponies she knew. The pit of her stomach fell as she considered the prospect of Fluttershy having nightmares. Putting a hoof on her chin, Twilight mused that her friend should be above nightmares- such a kind pony should never suffer from them. As she stared, however, Twilight noticed a small green teacup near her friend’s hoof, a light scent filtering in and out of the pegasus’ nose as she slept.

        Eyes falling, the unicorn sighed, her memory recalling the green unicorn who had mentioned the tea earlier. There was a lot of things she didn’t want to impose upon the pegasus, so she decided not to try and jostle the drink from her friend’s hooves. Crossing her own hooves, Twilight rested her head on her hooves, her eyes going unfocused. She felt... confused and conflicted. There was some element she never noticed to Fluttershy all this time- shouldn’t something like this have been seen? Did Rarity ever guess it? Maybe it was just something that was focused on fiction, and that she didn’t actually like mares at all!

 “No, that doesn’t make any sense. She said she was my filly... fillyfriend.” Twilight squeaked, covering her eyes with her hoof. In hindsight, she really should have never given the poor mare something to drink. Fluttershy was a lightweight, and removing that shyness... of course she’d do something so unlike her. 

        Removing her hoof from her eye, Twilight had to admit it was at least a better change than when Discord had his way. The Fluttershy she dealt with then was so different. In a way, the kind words and graceful nature was something Twilight missed and needed the most when everypony was going crazy. Twilight let a laugh escape her- if not for Celestia’s own kind words, Equestria would still be in the throes of chaos. Perhaps that’s why she missed Fluttershy the most- she was such a parallel to the Princess. She had unending kindness, grace that belonged to nopony else, endlessly attempting to lend a helping hoof...

        Twilight blinked, shaking her head. She needed all her friends back then, not just one. Hiccuping harshly, Twilight’s thoughts were jumbled as she clapped a hoof to her mouth, not intending to wake her friend from her peaceful slumber. Before she had time to even question why she even came over here in the first place, the pony opposite her fluttered her eyes open, wincing only slightly as she took stock of her surroundings.

        “O-oh my...” Fluttershy murmured, putting a hoof to her head. Closing her eyes, Twilight smiled lamely as the pegasus failed to get on to her hooves. Flapping her wings in a useless fashion, Fluttershy soon noticed that she was not alone behind the curtain, throwing the unicorn an embarrassed smile. “Oh, um... Hello there Twilight. How are you this evening?”

        Twilight shook her head, recalling that it was only a few hours until Celestia would raise the sun. “Fine,” she bleated, her words forceful. Fluttershy’s ears dropped to the side of her head as Twilight spoke, which immediately shamed the unicorn. “I mean, I’m a little tired is all. There aren’t many ponies left here so I thought I’d get you up...” she lied.

        Fluttershy looked around, which behind the curtain wasn’t very much, and treated Twilight with a very confused glance. “I-if you don’t mind me asking, why are you, um, laying down then?” Her eyes fluttered and looked at the ground, looking at the lukewarm tea beneath her. “Tea?”

        “A stallion brought it, I think. Said it helps with hangovers.” Twilight sighed, wishing she had such a boon for herself. “As for me... I stumbled a little. A bit too much to drink, ha ha ha...” Twilight’s ears fell back as she heard her own fake laugh. “Smooth, Sparkle. Real smooth,” she whispered under her breath as she looked away.

        “I... I see,” Fluttershy said, her voice tinged with... what? Twilight couldn’t catch it right, but it seemed like... disappointment? Twilight raised her head slightly and turned back toward her friend. “How’d I get over here? I remember a lot, but I don’t-”

        Twilight’s brain kicked into panic mode as Fluttershy started to talk about what she remembered, and the mare quickly hopped to her feet- an action that failed her as her blood immediately vacated the premises of her head and the unicorn’s woozy and intoxicated steps soon left her back on the ground. “Ow!” she cried, but soon waived a hoof in the air. “I’m fine, no worries. I put you over here. Or. Pony Joe did, after I-” 

        “I, um, didn’t say or do anything embarrassing, did I?” Fluttershy interrupted. Twilight’s mouth hung open still. Now was the time to lie and save her friend the embarrassment of knowledge- she didn’t seem to remember everything. But then again, she also could remember, and then the lie would be shown and... Fluttershy trusted her.

        “Oh, well....” Twilight began, not wishing silence to fill the pegasus with dread. “I wasn’t around you all night, there was some time there...” Twilight trailed off. This was getting her nowhere in a hurry. “A little bit. Tiny, nothing you need to be worried about. I mean, you might have said something about somepony here and there, but nothing like declarations of romantic intent or anything, nooooo why would you even think that. That’d be silly, I mean, who would you even call your fillyfriend?” Twilight threw a hoof over her head and slammed it hard against her face. “Once again Twilight, you are the paragon of subtlety,” she grumbled into her hoof.

        Fluttershy stared dumbly at Twilight for a good long while as she absorbed what the unicorn was really saying. “I... oh my, I don’t...” Her hooves kneaded at the ground in front of her as she slowly looked away. “O-oh dear.” 

        Looking at her friend as she tried to scrunch herself up smaller and smaller, Twilight felt a cold grip on her heart as she reached a hoof out to comfort her friend. “H-hey now, it’s not so bad, Fluttershy! I mean, I think only two ponies really heard you claim that, and one of them is crazy!” Twilight made a mental note never to explain which one she thought was more sane between herself and the blue pony with the fake mustaches.

        “Twilight, I... oh dear I shouldn’t... I can’t even... I’m so sorry!” Hidden behind pink locks of hair, Twilight quickly noticed the wet spots that were appearing on the floor. “I can’t believe... You must think I’m awful... I’m so sorry!” In an instant Twilight felt tears threaten her own eyes, and throwing caution to the wind, the mare quickly moved to wrap her hooves around her friend. 

        “Shh.... Shshshh...” Twilight cooed, her hooves holding her friend up. “Come on Flutters, it’s not so bad. I’m still here. No tears, I’m still here.” Nuzzling the side of her friend’s face, Twilight silently cursed the name of alcohol, not for putting her in this position but for putting Fluttershy in such pain and making her so ill-equipped to help. “I’m not going anywhere, Fluttershy.” 

        -----

        Silence reigned between the two ponies as time passed. Twilight’s quiet tears went unnoticed by Fluttershy, who continued to be caught up in her friend’s embrace. Fluttershy didn’t want to see her face, feared some retribution that would be brought down on her the moment she looked into those lavender eyes. 

        Slowly, ever so softly, Twilight began to let Fluttershy go, just so much as to look at her straight on. Twilight finally rubbed her eyes free of salty debris as she smiled at her friend. “See? I’m still here...!” she tried, her smile genuine, and her throat just a little sore.

        Fluttershy sniffed loudly, her arms refusing to leave her friend’s shoulders as she closed her eyes, still refusing to look directly at Twilight’s. “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t... I wasn’t thinking and...”

        “Alcohol makes fools of us all,” Twilight squeaked out a strangled chuckle, her cheek nuzzling against her friend’s face. “I just need to know you’re okay.” She rubbed a hoof down her friend’s back, trying to soothe the pegasus, but never loosening her hug. She didn’t respond, so Twilight let her eyes glance over what parts of the room she could to give Fluttershy time to answer.

        Pinkie was helping take down decorations, which was surreal in itself, having help from Pony Joe, who was slowly moving about with his horn, bags under his eyes from the long hours working the bar. Dapples was talking to the blue pegasus from earlier- Windchaser, Twilight recalled. As they spoke, she noticed one of the pegasus guards from the scuffle Dapples had before sneak up and whisper something in the gray unicorn’s ear.

        It wasn’t long before Dapples said a hasty goodbye to the blue pegasus stallion and soon trotted after the guard, Twilight giving a pained grin as her mind filled in the holes of what probably took place. The kid pegasus soon offered to help Pinkie in mid-flight, much to the unicorn’s surprise- the kid seemed so keen on getting as far from the pink blur as possible. Still, they made nice and the pegasus was soon cleaning the high up decorations.

        “T-Twilight?” Fluttershy’s voice broke the studious pony from her distractions, the feeling of hooves leaving her back prompting Twilight to release her own hold from the pegasus, who slowly backed off. “I... I’m okay. Just... embarrassed.” 

        Shooting back a soft smile, Twilight’s eyes closed slightly as she nodded. “I know that’s hard for you, Fluttershy. But I don’t want you to feel bad, okay? You did nothing wrong.”

        Fluttershy huffed, catching Twilight by surprise. Averting her gaze, Fluttershy looked hard and angry at the floor.“I’d hardly say that acting like your fillyfriend and telling everypony that behind your back would be considered ‘right,’” she shot back.

        Drat. Twilight reflected, realizing Fluttershy had a point. “That’s hardly anything, Fluttershy,” Twilight recovered, shaking her head, “It’s not like you tried forcing yourself on me or anything. You just... lived out something.” Twilight was choosing her words as best she could. The reality of the moment had basically stolen her buzz, sadly, but still left her incapacitated.

        “I betrayed your trust. I-I...” Fluttershy’s voice died in her throat, unable to continue. Twilight could see her wings itching to take flight, so she stepped forward, prompting Fluttershy to look up in surprise.

        Twilight didn’t know what to say, but she had to keep something going. “I don’t care about that. Fluttershy... how long?”

        “How long?” the pegasus echoed, but she quickly understood. “I... don’t remember. A week. Month.” There was a silence. “Year...” she murmured, her face shrinking behind her mane as her eyes drifted to the floor. “Maybe two...”

        Sweet Celestia, that’s almost as soon as we met, Twilight thought. To hold such a crush for two years.... “Does... anypony know?”

        Fluttershy paused, her eyes trembling. “I-I couldn’t tell anypony. I can’t believe I’ve... I should just go!” she stumbled back. Cursing her decision, Twilight moved forward, not wanting Fluttershy to go. If she did, Twilight felt she was liable to disappear. A pit of unimaginable fear opened up in her chest as Fluttershy turned away, her hooves beginning to work their way away from the unicorn.

        “Fluttershy, stop!” Twilight ordered. The pegasus froze, her hooves trembling as her wings stopped at half-mast. She turned slowly, her eyes barely seen behind her flowing hair. Elsewhere in the room, Pinkie noticed the two, and systematically began shooing everypony out of the room.

“Please, don’t go,” Twilight choked out. “I know you made a mistake and you feel bad, but don’t run from me, Fluttershy.” Twilight blinked back tears, but she couldn’t stop all of them. “I don’t care if you... like mares.” Bowing her head, Twilight felt her hooves turn to jelly as she considered her friend actually leaving due to some phantom schism. “I don’t care if you even like- if you even like me.” She could feel pressure on her face as she said it, her eyes glued shut. “But I can’t forgive myself if I let you run from this and we grew apart as a result.”

“Twilight...” Fluttershy mumbled, her wings returning to her side. “I-I’m sorry.” Hot tears streaked her cheeks as she let her head drop down. “I don’t ever want to make you feel sad.”

“Stay here,” Twilight muttered.

“What?”

“Stay with me.” Twilight’s back legs gave out, he bloodshot eyes pleading for the pegasus to come to her. “I thought... I felt, for a second, you were going to leave me, and I don’t want that. I never want that. Don’t leave me, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy’s hooves tied to the floor, her expression a mix of fear and hope. “Twi.... Twilight, do you mean that... maybe you....?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight blurted, her hoof gingerly wiping her face. She swore her cheeks would be raw soon. “I’ve never thought of romance, it was nothing more than words in my books,” she admitted. “I didn’t think it was for me, but...” She laughed despite herself, her eyes searching the ceiling for an answer. “I used to wonder what friendship could be. I had no idea what it was, or how magical it was until you all shared it with me.

“Fluttershy, all I have is... some wild preconceptions of what love and romance is supposed to be,” Twilight muttered, sniffing loudly as she looked down at the pegasus. “But I’ve been wrong, so wrong before. You’re my friend, Fluttershy.” There was a shock of pain that seemed to run down the pegasus’ form as Twilight spoke, but she looked pleadingly at the mare. “Please, Fluttershy, if losing love is anything as painful as what I felt when I thought you were going to leave, than I can’t let you do that to yourself. I-I can’t let you do that to me. Not now.”

Fluttershy’s wings were at full span, but instead of taking flight, the mare’s sapphire eyes were sparkling as her fears were melting away. “So, you’re saying...”

        Twilight sniffed, a small giggle escaping her lips. “I’m saying, for you, for friendship, for romance, and for me, I want to try this. With you. Fluttershy.”

        Covered in cream-colored wings, Twilight shared her first kiss with a pony of immeasurable kindness and grace.

        -----

        “It’s been said that the greatest Equestrian scholars, scholars with access to great magic cannot fathom the true power of emotions. Even when brought up to the Royal Sisters, the most they can glean from the giggling alicorns is that it is one of the highest magics available to the world, and that emotions should never be played with, but always explored. In light of the recent events involving two attempts on Equestria’s sovereignty, it has been thought that Honesty, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, and Laughter were the gateways to the highest of all Magic, Friendship.

        “But that is not truly the case.

        “Friendship is, as few would say, the occupational hazard of the real magic. Friendship is a counterpart, a force unlocked that, while potent and powerful, is just a tip of the iceberg. Twilight Sparkle, studious unicorn scholar and one of the brightest minds Canterlot’s School for Gifted Unicorns ever produced, and by far the most powerful mage in all of Equestria bar the Sisters themselves, expresses this notion in her almost weekly reports to Princess Celestia. Such is the nature of her life in Ponyville; to observe and report the real magic of friendship. 

        Many fables attempt to explain the true magic that the Elements of Harmony unlock. Its true form is something so simple that it is scoffed at by the elite as common tripe. However, these stories, these works of art forged in fires of these warriors of words- soon grew into stories that taught foal and stallion alike. They were full of wise lessons. They were dashed with the flames of adventure. They dealt in the drummings of the very soul. These writers, at their core, would often focus on what they knew in the deepest fathoms of their heart.”

        “That Harmony can not exist without Love.”

        A solitary phoenix feather landed lazily upon the weathered surface of a common desk, a faint, red-orange glow releasing it. A tea-cup, dark green with a solid stream of steam coming from it, levitated through the air, the unicorn taking a long draught from the mug. Placing the tea down with his hoof, the auburn haired pony smirked as he adjusted his bow tie. Horn sparkling, the scroll rolled itself up, placing itself next to a large pile of similar papers, all rolled up and sealed. As his horn glowed, it encompassed the reports in a red, translucent bubble. Opening the window, the stallion smiled as he cast his spell, the bubble popping in a flash of light and red sparkles flew out the window, flying off in the direction of Canterlot. Sighing contentedly, Hyde smiled. “Can’t wait for next year.”