Later on that day, the two housemates are strolling down a path to the heart of Sweet Apple Acres after a day out. Rhino turns his head to the mare beside him. "This is a nice peaceful walk to round out a day out, huh? Between just strolling around the streets, passing by town hall, and of course braving the market, this is probably the quietest it's been for a while."

"Is that so?" She glances at him, a playful smirk on her lips. "Is it normally loud?" She bumps his side, giggling a bit. "I'll admit, it's been really enjoyable. I'm glad you decided to give me company."

He flicks her with his tail in revenge for the bump. "The same thanks to you for keeping me company. Though if you don't mind me asking, why were you acting a little off when we dropped by the flower trio's stand?"

She pouts, turning her head away from him. "...I didn't like how that green-maned mare was acting..." ...being all flirty with him...she made it really hard to survey the surroundings. "...I'm not entirely sure what it was...but it didn't sit well with me..."

"Really? I guess I must have missed it since I didn't notice anything." He looks ahead of them "We should be able to spot something besides the endless groves of apple trees before too long."

She tilts her head, looking at him in confusion. "...what do you mean by that? Why are we even out here, if I may ask?"

"Well, the barn of course. It's why we're coming out this far after all. I'm picking up a few more gallons of milk." He looks back to her. "Like how we got those two gallons of apple juice for you from Applejack earlier when she and her brother were working the stand."

"Oh. Okay, then." She walks along beside him quietly for a bit. Eventually, she speaks up once more. "Her brother seemed nice. And just as tall as you, too." She presses her side against his, smiling softly. "I doubt he has a coat as fluffy as yours, though."

He nods. "Yeah, Big Mac strikes me as more of a 'solid mass of muscle' type of stallion. Plus if he was as fluffy as me, which I doubt, he would probably have to keep it short because it would make him too hot when he works the fields."

"I suppose that makes sense." I also suppose that Big Mac would be a pony we wouldn't want as an enemy. I'd better take note of that. Gel pulls out her book and starts to jot the words down as quickly as possible. As soon as she's done, she looks ahead, seeing a large red building nearing them. "Is that the place, Rhino?"

He nods his head as he heads for the large doors. "That's the place. Some of the ladies are probably out in the pasture, but a few of them are always at the barn."

She follows closely, her face buried in her journal. "...okay, then..." So he gets the milk directly from the cows. Not sure if that's cutting out the middle pony or if it's slightly suggestive...yeah, I'm gonna lean towards the former.

He quickly stops as they reach the barn and knocks three times with a hoof.

Not paying attention, she bumps into him. She falls backwards, unprepared. "...um...s-sorry..." She quickly gets up, moving next to him, a visible blush on her cheeks.

Rhino clicks his tongue a few times. "Trying to feel me up before asking me to dinner? Shame on you." He sticks out his tongue to let her know he's kidding.

Her blush only grows, steam starting to come off her head once again. "...L-like I'd do that...I-I have some restraint, you know..." She smiles at him, showing that she knows he's teasing her.

One of the large red doors opens and a brown and white spotted cow pokes her head out. "Who is it?"

The green stallion raises a hoof. "Hey Daisy Jo."

She smiles at him. "Rhino? Back so soon? You just came by two days ago."

He shrugs. "Yeah, I know, but I was out getting groceries and figured I'd drop by just to pick up a little extra."

The bovine nods and opens the door wider for them. "Alright, come on in then and we'll get you what you need." She turns to head in. "Bring your friend too!"

Gel leans closer to him, whispering as they enter the building. "...how often do you come here?" They're really friendly with each other. I'm guessing he comes here quite often, but I'm not sure exactly how much.

He looks around, waving to a few of the cows. "Oh, at least twice a week. These ladies were some of the first beings I made contact with here in Ponyville."

She quietly nods, giggling to herself. "...you love milk that much?"

One of the cows answers for him. "At four gallons a week, he drinks more by himself than any household in town. If he doesn't love it, then he's fooled all of us, and we know milk lovers." All of the ladies giggle at the joke.

She rolls her eyes, playfully bumping his side. "Well, I'm definitely learning more about you, now." I wouldn't be surprised if he had a specific cow whose milk he preferred to drink.

He flicks her back again as he responds sarcastically. "Yes, I'm sure 'Rhino enjoys milk' will make for a thrilling read in your journal."

"I'd say so." She sticks her tongue out at him, flicking him right back with her own tail. "I want to remember everything, and this book is the key to my memory." She scribbles a few words down, making sure everything is detailed. I hate it when I forget to write in this. I'd have to go to others to figure out just what happened.

Daisy Jo comes back and addresses the stallion. "Rhino, could you come with me? We need to know how much you want and I also wanted to speak to you about something in private."

He turns to Gel. "Would you mind if I went to talk with her?"

She nods, smiling softly. "Go right ahead. I'll just look around a bit." ...this seems like a good time to do some recon...

He nods and offers a parting comment as they walk off. "Try not to miss me too much!"

"That won't be easy!" She blinks, standing there for a moment before facehoofing. Did I really just say that? She sighs, heading off to one side of the barn. Whatever. I need to go do my duty. She pauses in front of a window, glancing around to make sure no one was watching her. ...it's strange, not hearing anyone laugh when I think that word...

Shrugging she slips outside, unnoticed, leaping noiselessly between the wall and a nearby tree. Soon enough, she lands on top of the roof, able to see a fair portion of the farm. ...okay... She starts sketching in her book, doodling a fair representation of everything she can see.

In short, trees. Lots of trees. There's a clubhouse in the distance, as well as the farmhouse nearby and a couple of vegetable patches, but mostly trees.

Gel sighs, resting her head on her hoof. "...Not really much I need to take note of, here..." She shakes her head, looking over at the farmhouse. "...Considering that's where the Element of Honesty lives, I'd have thought there'd be more defenses...Do they not think that my kind is a threat?"

She shakes her head, looking around. "...Wait, how am I going to get down?" She thinks for a bit before letting her wings out. Certain that nopony was there to see her, she quickly glides down onto the ground. As soon as she lands, her wings vanish with a flash of blue flame. And nopony is the wiser. She giggles quietly, heading over to the entrance of the barn.

Rhino exits the barn laden with a few gallons of milk right as she is about to enter. His head is half turned backwards as he says goodbye to the cows. "See you in a week ladies!" The door closes as he turns and sees Gel in front of him. "Nice girls, aren't they?"

She nods, smiling kindly at him. "Sure seem like it." She moves next to him, brushing her side against his. "So, what did Miss...um...Daisy Jo, want to talk to you about?"

He starts walking down the road as he answers. "Oh you know, how much I wanted, discussions of bulk discounts, and questions about the charming mare that arrived with me."

She stumbles momentarily, surprised. "...I-I'm sorry, what was that?"

He nods. "Oh yes, they really wanted the details on you. After all, last they heard about it, I lived on my own."

"...I-I see...I suppose that's a fair request..." She focuses on the road, biting her lip nervously. "...s-so...what did you tell them?" Does it even matter? It's not like he said anything embarrassing about you, right?

"Oh, just the basics: general description, shy personality, affectionate, kind, fire magic user, slightly accident prone... All that good stuff that I can say without giving anything too personal away."

...guess I thought right. Huh. She turns back to him, gently nuzzling his cheek. "...thank you for that...but I have to ask..." She tilts her head, looking up at him. "...what do you mean by 'personal'? Did I tell you anything like that about me?"

He looks down at her. "Well, for one, I didn't want to go spreading around about your memory issue and subsequent journal writing. It's things like that I avoided."

"...right...t-thank you for that..." She rubs the back of her neck, walking along in silence for a bit. ...well, I'm glad he's thoughtful enough to do that... "...s-so...where to, next?"

"Does home sound like an appropriate destination? I figured I'd better get started on dinner if we want to have it ready to eat at a decent time." He motions to the other parts of his saddlebags with various groceries in them.

She nods, smiling playfully at him. "...I can't wait to try that much-touted lasagna of yours..." She pulls out her journal, skimming through it. "...especially since you keep mentioning it, apparently..."

He puts on a mock offended face. "Hey, I've only mentioned it two or three times... and well deserved I think."

She rushes ahead of him, teasingly brushing her tail over his face. "We'll see." She walks in front of him, purposely swaying her hips. I'm positive this'll get a rise out of him.

He mutters as a blush covers his face again. "You know, if it was anypony else, I might think you were trying to tell me something..."

She looks back at him, an eyebrow quirked. "What makes you think that, Rhino?"

He looks up at her and her slightly swaying hips, looking away quickly. "Call it a hunch..."

She shrugs slightly and continues on her way. Darn it, I can't tell if this is working right now. This may call for some drastic measures...but let's hope it doesn't come to that...

***

Rhino walks back from putting the food back in the oven. "There we go. Only forty-five minutes and it'll be done."

Gel looks up from where she lay on the couch, putting her novel off to the side. She pouts, giving him a sad look. "...why did I have to wait in here? I could've helped..."

He pats her head. "Because I wanted it to be a surprise, and this is one food prep that requires you to know exactly what you are doing. You get to help next time I make it."

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "Alright, Rhino." She carefully sits up, patting the spot next to her. "...so, anything you wanted to do while we wait?"

He sits down with a poker face. "Yes. I wanted to ask what you wanted to do while we wait."

She looks up, putting a hoof on her chin. "...I can't think of anything...by the way..." She tugs at her other hoof, a little uncomfortable. "...y-you kind of sat on my leg..."

The stallion leaps up as if he sat on a hot coal. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"...i-it's fine..." She pulls her leg up against her body, shyly smiling at him. "...I know you didn't mean to...thank you for getting up, though..." She rests her head on her hooves, closing her eyes to relax a bit. I'm glad I got to a more tame part of the book. I doubt that he'd want me to heat up his furniture.

He sees her novel off to the side. “So... how was the book?”

"...i-it's fine..." She rubs the back of her neck, embarrassed. "...I-I'm almost done with it...and the climax was handled rather masterfully..." ...good grief, that was a terrible innuendo...

He lies down on the floor in front of the couch. "Really? Care to tell me about it?"

Gel gulps, squirming slightly. "...w-well, it's about a pegasus...who falls in love with a dragon...but, due to their upbringings, Lady Ruby Star is unable to confess her feelings for Sir Fang publicly..." She averts her eyes, blushing brightly. "...i-it's pretty much a story of star-crossed lovers..."

He nods understandingly. "Ah, romance book, gotcha. I thought those were usually cliche, how was the climax so impressive?"

"...um...well..." She sighs, lowering her gaze to the couch. "...I can't explain it...I'm sorry...I wish I could..."

He tilts his head. "It can't be put into words? Wow, must be good." He glances back at the clock. "Still twenty-five minutes to go. Any other way you want to kill time?"

She shakes her head, leaning up against him. "...I can't think of anything else...well, maybe...I could hear a bit about you?" She gently nuzzles his neck, giggling softly. "For example, why a vet? Why not a teacher, or a doctor?"

He smiles down at her, used to her affection by now. "Well, for one thing, teacher's salaries have never really been enviable. That and being around bullies all day and being limited to what you can do about them would probably drive me crazy. Doctor was a consideration, but I just find animals much easier to understand and deal with than ponies sometimes. Plus, vets are in higher demand than doctors, many ponies know about themselves, few know about everything else."

She leans closer, eyes wide and full of interest. "So you don't like bullies? May I ask why?" As she asks this, her book is floating behind her, and she jots down notes on all of what is said.

He looks away, his voice reflecting his dropping mood. "That... is a long explanation... for now, let's just say it's because of a combination of personal experience and impersonal observation."

"...o-oh..." She frowns softly, upset. "...I-I'm sorry, Rhino..." She leans up, tenderly kissing his cheek. "...let's move on to something else...why did you decide to live to Ponyville?"

"To be completely honest? Because it's pretty much the opposite of Canterlot, where I used to live." He looks towards the ceiling as he lists the reasons. "It's smaller, friendlier, quieter, less stuck-up, not everything is white and gold, no class-segregation, a nice mix of ponies, it's surrounded by nature, and of course, it's not suspended on the side of a freaking mountain which is good for ponies like me who are afraid of falling from heights."

She giggles, playfully bumping his side with a hoof. "You mean a tall pony like you is afraid of heights?"

He nods rapidly. "When I'm not in complete control of my own safety? Yes, very much so. You have no idea how much force I use whenever I am attaching myself to something. My legs would probably detach from me before they detach from the surface if I don't want them to."

She blinks at this, thinking back a bit. ...then...when he came after me... She flinches, hit by a pang of guilt. "...I-I'm sorry, Rhino...I-I mean, I ran off at the party and you...climbed up Sugarcube Corner after me..."

"Oh that? I wasn't worried then. I said I get worried when I'm not in control of it. Trust me, you'll know if I'm worried about the height." He rubs a hoof on the back of his head. "Rapid breathing, minimal movement, flinching at the slightest bit of instability under my hooves, occasional panic attacks... yeah, it's pretty obvious..."

"...I-I see..." I guess flights in a pegasus carriage are out of the question... She sits quietly for a few moments, just focusing on the feeling of his body against hers. "...Rhino...do you ever get...lonely?"

His expression melts into a thoughtful one. "Before you came around? Yes. As much as I enjoy time to myself... I did."

"...and now that I'm here?" She looks up at him, a hopeful gleam in her eye.

He grabs her in a soft hug. "What do you think?"

She smiles softly, returning the embrace. "...I think you enjoy having me around..."

"Yep..." he looks at her, his own hopeful and curious face on, "can the same be said for you?"

She gives him a playful smirk, gently touching her nose to his. "Absolutely."

*Ding*

"Oh, that's the oven!" He lets go of Gel but sees that she hasn't let go yet. "Did you want to come with me or have you just forgotten to let go?"

She sticks her tongue out but lets him go, smiling softly. "...you go do what you need to, Rhino..."

He gets up. "Alright, but feel free to come in when you want. It’ll be cool enough to eat in five minutes." He enters the kitchen and removes the sizzling lasagna from the oven and places it on the stove to cool. He begins setting the table.

Gel finishes transcribing their conversation in her journal and stands as well. She trots after him, watching as he starts to set up the table. "...do you want help with that?"

As he sets the plates and utensils, he turns to her. "You could fix drinks if you want. There's not much else left."

She salutes him, a silly smile on her lips. "Will do, chef." She hurries over to the fridge and grabs the milk and apple juice. She turns to him, playfully poking him with the dairy drink. "Is this the one you prefer?"

He puts a hoof to his chest. "Why Miss Angel, you know me so well!" He floats over the glasses before grabbing a spatula, cutting two significant chunks out of the food, and setting it on their plates.

She rolls her eyes, pouring their beverages into the glasses before returning the containers to the fridge. "Is that all you wanted me to do?"

He shrugs. "Only one thing left to do." He pulls out her chair. "Take a seat, have a bite, and tell me what you think."

She smiles, sitting down as directed. "Will do." She takes up her knife and fork, carefully cutting out a bite-sized piece of the lasagna. "Of course, you should probably do those first two, as well." She winks at him, bringing the morsel up to her lips.

He makes his way back to his seat, but keep his eye on her the whole time, not wanting to miss her reaction.

She eats the food but pauses, her eyes widening in shock. ...t-this is...

Rhino leans forward in his seat, excitement clear on his face.

"So good!" She bites her lip, physically restraining herself from pouncing on the food like she did earlier that morning. "...I-I never had anything that tasted as good as this..." Of course, love doesn't exactly have a flavor...

The stallion does a quick hoof pump. "Yes! I knew you'd like it! Well, feel free to eat as much as you want and go back for more, there's plenty. Now, if you excuse me..." He starts quickly eating his own serving of the succulent dish.

Seeing that he wouldn't mind, she grabbed the rest of her portion on the end of her fork, shoveling it into her mouth and swallowing it whole. ...you think I'd have to worry about choking, but there's a plus to being able to change one's body...

Rhino chuckles as he sees her chow down. "At least you're not one of those mares that starves themselves."

She smirks at him, rolling a hoof. "I never understood those mares in the first place. You don't need to starve yourself to look good!" She lifts up the spatula, reaching over to the lasagna.

"Exactly, you're a shining example of that!" He gestures to her body.

She stops, the spatula dropping to the table from her magic. "...um...t-thank you..." She blushes softly, picking the utensil back up and grabbing another helping before responding. "...I'm glad you think so highly of me..." She winks at him before turning back to her meal.

He winks back. "No need to thank me for the truth." He gets up to grab himself another piece.

She coughs, having food go down the wrong pipe from shock. Wow, that smarts! "...w-wow...d-didn't expect you to say that..." She nervously giggles, rubbing the back of her neck.

He pauses eating to look at her quizzically. "What do you mean? You didn't expect me to compliment you like that?"

"...well, yeah..." She looks at her food, poking at it with a fork. "...I-I'm not that pretty...if anything, I'm just average..." Too late to back out of this now. Good job, self.

He sighs as he sets down his fork and leans back. "You're really gonna make me do this aren't you? Alright, but bear in mind that you brought on this coming blush of yours."

She blinks at him, confused. "...I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?"

He gives her a flat look and clear his throat before gesturing at her. "Your mane and tail are long and flowing, both of them silky soft as I've felt more than a few times now. Your fur is a snow-white many noble mares would be jealous of. Your eyes are the sort of blue that stallions would get lost in, forever staring into their expanse. Your body is not too thin, not too thick, that sort of just right that befits the rest of you. You say you are average, but that would be something only a pony who gave you a passing glance would say. If they stop and take a second, all of your features, including your personality, combined create a truly lovely picture."

She stares at him for a moment, saying nothing. After a while, a large blush forms on her cheeks, enough that steam starts to come off her head. ...I...I can't believe he thinks that about me... She lowers her eyes, a small smile on her lips. "...thank you, Rhino...you always know just what to say..."

He chuckles. "Not always, but I like to think I have a fairly good percentage. Besides, that dainty tongue if yours has spouted some gems too..." He looks at her with a smirk. "If you want me to stop showering you with truthful compliments before you pass out from the blood rushing to your head, let me know."

She quivers softly, her eyes starting to roll back. "...too late..." With that, she faints, falling out of her chair and onto the floor. Her book lands in front of her, the quill she was writing with laying on top of the page.

Instead of being worried, Rhino just shakes his head. "And here we are again..." He quickly finished his food and drink before heading over to the sink. He puts a little bit of water on his tail before walking over to her and leaning over her while flicking droplets on her face. "Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty."

The water evaporates on contact, but she slowly stirs. "...hngh...what happened?" She looks up at him, blinking for a moment before her blush flares up anew. "...um...R-Rhino...y-you know I can see you, right?"

He tilts his head. "Well it's not like I expected you to be blind after that fall, but I guess it's good to know your eyes work."

"...um...n-no...I mean..." She shakes her head, quickly standing up. "...n-never mind...I-I'll just go take a cold shower, now..." She rushes out of the room, embarrassed.

"Wonder what that was about..." He shrugs before turning around and seeing her journal on the floor.

She enters the shower, letting the cold water wash over her. She sighs as it all turns into steam, quickly filling up the bathroom with the condensation. ...he's such a nice stallion...I wonder if... She shakes her head, groaning quietly. ...no, there's no way that'd happen...

Rhino cranes his head to look at the journal. His eyes start to read the words before he even realizes they are doing it.

Rhino is such a sweetheart. He helped me write down the previous day's events because I fell asleep before I could do it yesterday. He even mentioned that I accidentally burned some fur off his chest from being too aroused.

I know he sees me as a friend, but I can't help wondering whether he actually thinks of me as more. I suppose time will tell. Until then, I'll just have to keep experimenting.

What follows this entry are today’s events.

His thoughts race at the new information. She burned me because she was aroused? Wait, not the important part. She wonders if I like her as something more than friends? And she's experimenting to find out? ...I... don't know if I like her more than a friend... I hadn't really thought about it... I'll definitely have to give it some thought now... He focuses back on the book. It doesn't actually definitively say that she likes me that way or not... I'll have to carefully pay attention to how she speaks and acts while I figure this situation out...

"...Rhino? What are you doing?"

He jumps away from the book and looks up at her. "Oh um, hey... Angel..."

She looks at him, then at the book and back, a hurt expression on her face. "...Rhino...did you read my journal?" She steps forward, gingerly lifting the book off the ground and closing it.

His ears fold back as he looks away in shame. "Yes, the page that was open... I didn't realize I was reading it until it was too late, then I finished the page... It was never my intent to invade your privacy... But I did."

She sighs, gently nuzzling his cheek. "...it's fine...I'm glad you were honest with me..." She playfully bumps his side, giggling a bit. "...I wouldn't want a...friend...who'd lie to me..." There's nothing too damaging on that page. I don't think my cover's been blown.

He notes her hesitance at the word 'friend'. "Yeah... Umm, are you feeling better? You seemed a bit flustered when you first woke up."

"...i-it's nothing, really..." She sits down on the floor, sheepishly smiling. "...c-can i have that lasagna for lunch tomorrow? I wouldn't want it to go to waste, after all..."

He smirks. "Why do you think I made so much? We eat it till it's gone. If you get tired of it, that just means more for me."

She rolls her eyes, bumping his shoulder with a hoof. "I doubt I'll ever get tired of your lasagna, Rhino." Or you.