Jason stretched as he prepared for his afternoon PT session.

The days following the funeral flowed together. He had spent most of his time with Twilight, helping her cope with her mental devastation at the realization of the deaths she had caused. She often fell into long periods of silence, brooding over her actions. Jason had spoken with her constantly, taking her mind off of thoughts of the past. He had seen this before. Hell, he had done this before. Back during his first deployment, the first time he had taken a life.

Marines had countless ways of dealing with death, both from taking lives and coping with the loss of their comrades. Each person was different, and dealt with the mental pressure in their own ways. Some embraced the killing, seeing it as a way of life and as something they had to do to survive. Others fell into states of depression, changing who they were as human beings. Every Marine goes through a period of therapy and counseling, both to prevent them from becoming either psychopathic or from becoming suicidal.

Jason knew that Twilight's own mental strength would keep her from either of those extremes, but she was dangerously close to losing herself in depression. He did everything in his power to bring her back to her old self. He would distract her with her research, bringing up new ideas for spells or enchantments that could keep her perplexed for a while. He had done what he could, and from what he could tell she was making progress. She spent less time brooding now and was once more approaching her studies with the determination she used to show. She was eating better and even cracked a smile every now and then.

But Jason was not a therapist, and was still incompetent in terms of pony psychology. He never let her be alone, afraid that in solitude she would get thoughts in her head that would send her into regression. He had stopped making any kind of romantic advances toward her, instead focusing on helping her recover. He was her friend first, and he had taken every step he could to aid in her recovery, much as she had helped him during his time in the hospital. She would recover, of that much he was sure, but she would be mentally tougher after this. He wanted to make sure that she would still be able to feel the joy in life, instead of becoming the cold, abrasive person he had seen many Marines turn into after dealing with this sort of turmoil.

He spoke with her friends constantly, looking for ideas and insights on things that would help her recover. Participating in activities she used to enjoy, trying to get her back to the pony he had fallen in love with. He would make himself scarce whenever her friends visited, allowing them to help her in their own way, thus reinforcing their already strong friendships. They did, however, keep him well informed on everything they did in his absence. They saw how much he cared for her and took every step in letting him know any progress they made. His own friendships with the five mares blossomed in this time of hardship, all of them sharing the burden of helping Twilight.

Applejack and Rarity had suggested a sleepover at Twilight's library, something they had often done before Jason's arrival to Equestria. He had supported the practice wholeheartedly, knowing that an evening of stories and entertainment would help her immensely.

Soon after the mares arrived, sleeping rolls in tow, Jason had excused himself to his evening PT, allowing the girls privacy to get the evening started right.

Jason finished his stretches and began to jog lightly toward the perimeter road he had become very familiar with.

"WATCH OUT!" He heard a characteristic and easily recognizable voice call out. His body reacted in instinct and he dove forward, feeling a rush of air fly past him before he heard a loud crash to his left, Rainbow Dash cutting a small trench into the soft dirt as she collided with the ground. He pushed himself off the cool road, standing up and brushing the dust off his clothing before walking over to where Rainbow lay in a crumpled heap.

"You Ok Rainbow?" He asked, genuine worry in his voice.

Rainbow groaned as she untangled her limbs. She stood shakily, still dizzy from the impact. "Yeah...Yeah I'm fine." Her eyes rolled a little and she shook her head in an attempt to regain focus. Jason raised an eyebrow.

"You sure? That was a pretty hard fall."

"Yeah, I'm sure." She regained her composure and looked towards him. "I'm a lot tougher than I look. It would take more than that to take me out!"

Jason chuckled lightly. "Well, if you say so."

"Hey, just because us ponies aren't as big and strong as you doesn't mean we aren't tough in our own ways." She chided.

Jason put up his hands defensively. "Hey, hey I didn't mean to offend. You ponies have definitely demonstrated your strength. I was just making sure you weren't hurt is all."

Rainbow relaxed before letting out a sigh. "Sorry Jason, I know you were just worried, but it really bugs me when ponies think I'm weak. It just really gets under my skin, ya know?"

"Oh trust me I know." He said. She looked at him quizzically. He let out a sigh of his own before elaborating. "Back in high school, before I joined the Marine Corps, I was always the skinny nerdy kid. Bullies would always pick on me for being so awkward all the time. I had my friends, but they were about as good in a fight as I was. I guess you could say that that was a little side motivation for me joining the Marines. They taught me everything I needed to know about fighting, sure, but on top of that they gave me confidence. Confidence to stand up to people like that, who pick on the weak because it makes them feel superior." He gave her a half grin. "But it helps knowing I can beat the crap out of anybody who tries anything."

She laughed at that. "You know, that sounds a lot like my school days."

"Really? How so?" He asked, curious. He began walking towards the road, gesturing for her to follow as she spoke.

"Well... I wasn't an egghead or anything like that, but when I was a little filly, before I got my cutie mark, I had a little trouble getting full control of my wings. I tended to... crash... a lot. There were a couple of these older colts who started picking on me because of it. They started calling me "Rainbow Crash" and picking on me all the time. Sometimes they even got a little pushy, bumping into me during flight lessons and trying to make me run into stuff. Eventually, I was able to talk my parents into letting me take martial arts lessons, you know, to defend myself."

Jason interrupted. "Wait, there are pony martial arts? Doesn't that go against, like, common society or something?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well duuh. Trust me man, not every town in Equestria is like Ponyville. Some of the more industrial towns and cities have a real problem with crime. No murders or anything crazy like that, but ponies have developed ways to defend themselves. Sometimes, when ponies move away from those cities, they bring different styles they've come up with and teach them to ponies in their new homes."

"Huh... Twilight never mentioned anything like that before. From her explanations, I thought everywhere was rather peaceful."

"Well... Twilight has always been somewhat naive. You could say she was a little sheltered as a filly. She's from Canterlot, so with the Princesses right there crime is almost non-existent."

Jason let this knowledge sink in as Rainbow continued.

"Anyway, after I started getting more confident in my abilities, I started pushing the bullies back. They didn't know how to react and started trying to fight me. It only took one clobbering for them to start leaving me alone." She said with a hint of pride.

"That's really cool, Rainbow. So after that, did you continue your studies? Of the martial arts I mean."

"Oh heck yeah! I couldn't get enough of it! On top of all the techniques I learned, the exercises really strengthened my wings." She extended her flight appendages for emphasis. "I probably wouldn't be near as good a flier if it wasn't for that. I've mastered a few different styles. I guess you could say I was a force to be reckoned with." She puffed out her chest slightly. "I would even say that I am the strongest in Ponyville." She paused for a second. "Well, except for Twilight."

"Really?" Jason was surprised. "Twilight isn't much of a fighter. I don't think she would put up much of a threat."

Rainbow scoffed. "Are you kidding? I mean yeah, on an even field with no magic I could totally take her, but if she can use her horn I'm toast. You know how powerful she is."

"True, I hadn't thought of that. Wait... You said you mastered a few styles? Like...Officially?"

"Yep! I'm a certified master of Flutter Strike, Pointed Feather and Broken Wing." She said with pride.

"Wow... That's amazing! It must have taken years to master those!" He grinned at her. "You'll have to teach me a few moves. I might even be able to show you some MCMAP, too."

"Really? I didn't think you would be interested in something like that."

He chuckled. "You kidding? Fighting is my job. Why wouldn't I be interested? Besides, I've been trained to fight humans. If I get into a fight with a pony I wouldn't have any clue what to do. I'd pretty much just be flailing my arms at them. I'd probably just get my ass kicked if I ever went against a trained martial artist."

Her eyes glowed with excitement. "That'd be awesome!" She looked at him mischievously. "I can hardly wait for your first lesson.

A touch of nervousness entered his mind. What the hell did I just get myself into? He let the fear pass with a sigh. "Hey, I was just about to go for a run. Care to join me?"

He watched as she became a little skeptical, but she seemed a little excited at the idea. She thought for a moment before responding. "You know, I guess the Running Of The Leaves is coming up. It wouldn't hurt to get into running shape." She eyed him seriously. "Just so long as you aren't planning on going another six and a half miles again."

He laughed. "No, just one lap. I don't usually go on death runs like that. Unless I feel like totally hazing myself."

Her nervousness vanished at that and she began stretching. "If that's the case, then heck yeah I'll join you." She grinned in excitement.

Jason stretched again lightly, waiting for her to finish. When she finished, they began their run. Jason noticed that because of his long stride, Rainbow had to push a little harder than normal to keep up. He adjusted his pace a little to make it a little easier for her.

"So, how's Twilight been doing?" Rainbow asked.

Jason thought for a moment before responding. "She's getting better. She isn't smiling as much as she used to, and I haven't seen her laugh since her...revelation, but she's eating normally again and is studying new magic. Hopefully her stupor will only last a few more days. She's back home right now. Rarity and Applejack are having a sleepover at the library tonight. I'm hoping that will help get her back to her normal happy self."

"That's great to hear." Rainbow's breath was growing shallower and she was beginning to pant. "I tell ya, she had us worried sick. It's fantastic that you're here to help her through this. Honestly I don't think any of us would've had any idea how to handle it."

Jason became serious. "I've had some experience with helping other Marines deal with death. I'm really happy that I'm able to help, but without you and the other girls, I probably wouldn't be able to help her so much by myself. The friendships and memories you share with her are helping way more than I am."

"That might be true, but without your love we would only be going through the motions. You've really brought us together and are guiding us through this really well."

Jason let that thought sink in and they continued for awhile in silence. After several minutes, Rainbow spoke up again.

"So... Uh Jason, I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but since Twilight brought you here with her magic, do you think she can send you back? To Earth I mean."

The question shocked him. Sure, he had his thoughts of home, but everything he had been through since arriving had buried any thoughts of returning to the back of his mind.

"I...I really don't know. Twilight had no idea she was going to pull me through in the first place, so I don't think she would have any idea where to send me. Yeah, I've told her what planet and galaxy I'm from, but that doesn't exactly mean she'll be able to send me there. I don't think pony astronomers would name celestial bodies the same way humans did. I don't even know if I'm from the same dimension. I don't think there's any way for Twilight to know for certain exactly where to send me, and that's not something I want to experiment with. I don't want to mess with the possibility of me just floating around in space. No, I think it's safe to say that I'm here for good."

His terminology obviously threw Rainbow for a loop, but she got the gist of his explanation. "Would you go back? You know, if you could."

That question threw him down another train of thought. He was silent for a while as he began to bring up his memories from both home and the experiences he had here in Equestria. "Honestly... No... I don't think I would. It's been almost two months since I arrived here. In that time, I'm sure that everyone back home already assumes I'm dead. The Marine Corps would have already paid out my life insurance to my family, and they would have already had my funeral. I wouldn't want to go back and force my family to repay that debt. Besides, other than my father, I don't have any other family. I was an only child, and after my mother died we sort of drifted apart. He took her death a lot harder than I did and began making extremely poor decisions. As for the Marine Corps, yeah I loved my brothers, but I've already buried too many Marines." He became somber. "And they've already buried me. I don't want to go back just to have to bury more." He glanced towards her and gave her a dry, half-grin. "Besides, I've got too much of a good thing going on here. The girl I love is here, and from as much as I can tell, she loves me too. If I left, I would be robbing both of us of that. I don't want to lose her, Rainbow, especially not now when she needs me most."

"You have no idea how much she really loves you, do you Jason?" Her breath was hard and Jason slowed their pace slightly. He could see she was beginning to struggle and wanted to make it a little easier for her.

"Before her episode, she was the happiest any of us had ever seen her. She oozed her feelings, even when you weren't around. Honestly, we were all a little jealous." She began blushing lightly. "She found this amazing guy. Someone who cared for her as much, if not more, than we did. And then we met you and you turned out to be this amazing stallion. You're smart, funny, confident and treat everypony with more respect than any of us deserve." Her blush deepened. "It kinda hurt when I found out you were a monogamist. Every stallion should strive to be just like you."

Jason couldn't suppress his smile. Quite the mare's stallion indeed, apparently. Jason thought back to his conversation with Twilight after his incident with Octavia and Vinyl. "You know... Monogamy isn't a species requirement for us humans...more of a cultural thing."

He was beginning to feel something, not unlike what he felt when he first met Twilight. A kind of natural attraction towards the cyan pegasus who ran beside him. Twilight had often spoken to him about the idea of polygamy. She felt that she shouldn't keep him to herself, that he was someone to be shared with other ponies, if only to improve their happiness. Jason could understand where she was coming from, but he was still nervous about the idea. His courtship with Twilight was still in its early stages, and he didn't want to split his focus. It also didn't help that he had no idea what other pony would even consider a relationship with the strange alien. Twilight had been special. She had spent nearly every day at the hospital while he healed, learning all she could about him, and in turn he learned about her.

But Rainbow had just confessed her interest in him, essentially directly into his face.

She looked toward him, almost stumbling in surprise. Her face barely concealed her hope and excitement. "W-What? So you're saying... There's a chance?"

"I would say so, Rainbow... In the future."

Her expression drooped before he explained. "Twilight has to be my focus right now, Rainbow. Please understand that. I have to make sure she's alright before I begin pursuing another relationship. Once she's back to her old self, We'll have to see if there's anything here." He smiled at her warmly.

She looked at him with renewed hope. "I get it completely, Jason. You're right, we need to help Twilight first." She smiled. "But once she's better, I'm taking you both out on a date."

They continued running, Rainbow Dash trotting a little closer to the human than she had been when they started.

They finished their run and Rainbow leaned against the wall of a building, panting heavily.

"How the heck did you manage to run around that twice?!"

Jason laughed. It had been a fairly easy pace for him, but her short legs had made the run quite the ordeal for Rainbow. "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding? that was almost a sprint the whole way, but you made it seem like you were just trotting along. If that was easy for you, I doubt anypony would be able to beat you in a footrace!"

That meant a lot, coming from the most physically fit mare in Ponyville. "You think so? Heh, maybe I should enter this Running Of The Leaves you were talking about."

She glowered at him, but then laughed lightly. "Only if you tie your legs together, otherwise that's cheating."

He laughed with her. "Hey come on, you did really good today." He grinned at her mischievously. "If you keep running with me like that, you might even be able to beat me."

Her competitive nature burned within her. "It is on! Applejack won't stand a chance this year!"

Rainbow flapped her wings and began to hover, taking the weight off of her fatigued legs. It wasn't long before they found themselves in front of the library.

"Hey, why don't you come in and join the party? I'm sure the others won't mind."

"Uh...You sure? This whole sleepover thing is more their deal."

"Come on, live a little." He shoved her playfully.

"Alright, alright. Just give me a little bit so I can go shower and get some stuff. I kinda reek right now."

He didn't notice her smell, but he became immediately aware of his own musk.

"Yeah, you and me both. I'll let the others know you're coming. See you in a bit." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, you too." She responded before speeding off toward her home in the clouds.

Jason walked through the front door to the sound of excited voices. He quietly closed the door behind him when the voices broke into laughter. He heard a familiar sound, one he hadn't heard for what felt like an eternity.

She's laughing! Oh my god she's laughing! He had to restrain himself from running around the corner to see Twilight. He peeked around the corner toward the fireplace. The three mares were arranged facing towards each other next to a small fire which burned within the brick hearth. Twilight was facing towards the door, giving him an unobstructed view of her beautiful smile, eyes closed in her mirth. Her laughter rang in his ears. It was a sound he had been longing to hear.

Twilight finally opened her eyes and caught him looking at her. She directed her smile towards him and beckoned him with her hoof. "Jason! You're just in time! AJ was about to tell us about her recent trip to the Appleoosa Rodeo!"

His heart swelled as he walked to where they lay. I wonder what they talked about...Whatever it was, it had worked a small miracle. Looks like this sleepover is a huge success.

"Oh? That sounds awesome!" He kneeled beside her and planted a light kiss on her lips. She returned it with a passion that had been missing for days. He held the kiss longer than usual. He didn't want that moment to end, but he became aware of the two other mares staring at them. He reluctantly broke the kiss.

"Oh, I hope you girls don't mind but Rainbow Dash will be joining us a little later."

That seemed to surprise the three mares. Twilight spoke up. "Really? That's great! We've been asking her to come for months!"

Now it was Jason's turn to be surprised. "Really?" He asked.

"Yessir, she's always refusin' though. Always sayin' she's too old fer this little filly stuff." Applejack explained. "Wonder why she's suddenly so willin' ta join us."

"Oh, Applejack, surely that's obvious." Rarity said.

The orange pony eyed the white unicorn dubiously. "Nope...Can't say it is."

"It's because he asked her." She explained.

"Ah...Yep that explains it then." Applejack said with easy acceptance.

Jason was lost in confusion. "Wait... Why would me asking her make any difference?"

It was Twilight's turn to speak up. "Wow Jason, you are really not good at reading ponies are you?"

Jason was too lost to respond.

"Rainbow's had a crush on you almost as long as I have. It started pretty much right after you regaled her with stories of your training when she met you in the hospital. I guess whatever happened between you two tonight opened her up to spend the night with us." Twilight continued.

Jason was still astounded at her speedy recovery. Maybe just having such close friends around her had eased her mind, or at least taken it off of things.

"All we did was go for a run!" he said, somewhat flabbergasted at the revelation.

"That'd do it." Applejack said. "You know that pegasus loves her some excercise."

Jason needed time to think. "Well then, if you'll excuse me girls, I need to shower. I kind of reek right now, and I need to get out of these sweaty clothes."

"That's yer sweat?" Applejack asked. "I thought maybe mah brother gave you some of his cologne or sumthin'. He usually only puts it on when he's tryin' ta impress some filly and it smells kinda like that."

That threw Jason for another loop. "Wait, you think I smell good?" Jason couldn't help but laugh. "Well, be that as it may, I think I smell terrible. So if you'll excuse me I'll go remedy that."

Jason stood and walked to his room. He heard the mares return to their previous conversation as he closed the door behind them. His mind struggled to organize the onslaught of information that had just presented itself. Above the confusion, he felt relief and happiness. Twilight was back, at least for tonight, and for that he was immensely grateful. He smiled as he collected his second pair of basketball-like shorts and a comfortable shirt before making his way to the bathroom.

He showered and dressed quickly, during which Rainbow had arrived and situated herself next to Twilight, joining in on their storytelling and laughter. Jason waved to her before depositing his dirty clothes in his room and joining them. He grabbed one of the larger pillows and sat between Twilight and Rainbow, leaning back into a comfortable position.

He spent most of the night as an observer, occasionally telling a story of Earth. He watched as they made s'mores with the small fire in the fireplace. Applejack told the fairly lengthy tale of her trip to Appleloosa (he still couldn't get over the punny names of their towns). He participated as Rarity taught them how to sew some small stuffed animals.

He politely refused involvement when they started giving each other makeovers, but watched in amusement as Rarity applied a facial mask and hair curlers to an embarrassed, yet not unwilling Rainbow Dash. He noticed when the unicorn refrained from applying her skills to the orange earth pony, but understood perfectly well why.

The lights were dimmed as they began telling scary stories. None of them were particularly scary to the human, but he played along as they each told a story. Twilight told the tale of the Headless Horse, a story that AJ and Rarity had obviously heard before, but kept Rainbow tense. Jason laughed as Rainbow squealed in terror when Twi used a pillow to conceal her head as she played the part. He noticed that during the telling, Rainbow had scooted closer to him. Heh, at least I noticed this time.

Rainbow returned Twilight's story with one of her own, this one about a character named The Olden Pony. Again, it appeared that the other mares had heard the tale before, but again they played along, feigning terror throughout the story. Jason felt Twilight lean against him, shivering in fright. He put his arm around her, occasionally tensing his muscles and causing her to jump in surprise.

After the screaming subsided at the conclusion of Rainbow's story, it was Jason's turn.

He stood and grinned maliciously as he began his story. "Ok girls, get close. I am about to tell you the story of The Slender Man."

He watched as the four mares huddled close together around the single candle that illuminated the room, eyes nervous yet eager to hear the tale.

He licked his thumb and forefinger, his evil grin still present on his face. He reached down and pinched the single flame with his moistened digits, extinguishing the sole source of light and casting the room into darkness. He silently stood and began slowly walking around the ponies as he began speaking, his voice dark and slow.

"Years ago, there was a private investigator named Eric Johansen. He spent years looking into a series of disappearances. Children had been vanishing from the town of Ravenholm, next to the dark forest of Lion's Heart in the country known as England. The people of Ravenholm hired him to find their lost young, and he had graciously took up their offer. His own child had disappeared from his crib without a trace years ago, So he had a personal interest in the case. When asked, the people of the town would give him sad and terrified looks, only saying "The Forest" or "When the sun sets, he will prowell." Needless to say, Eric was becoming terrified. Whatever plagued the town scared them into silence. Eric wanted to rid them of this menace and his determination drove him when his subconscious screamed at him to leave. Leave and never look back.

The very next night, he walked to the edge of the nightmare forest. Armed with nothing but a flashlight and his own determination, he dove into the blackness. Before he made it past the second row of trees, he came across a barkless trunk. on this tree, someone had violently carved a message. Eric shone his light at the rough text and read." Jason dropped his voice to a deep, gravelly tone.

"LEAVE OR THE SLENDER WILL TAKE YOU"

Jason grinned slightly as he heard the satisfying whimpers from the group of ponies he slowly orbited.

"Eric was terrified, but was he going to let a little carving stop his investigation? No, he shook off his fear and continued deeper into the woods. The trees around him were dead, they had long ago lost their leaves and now stood as lifeless husks. The forest was dead silent, not even a single cricket chirped as his feet crunched through the dry underbrush. His flashlight erratically illuminating the trunks as he walked. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a piece of paper nailed to a tree. He carefully walked to the note. Scrawled crudely onto the sheet was a face. It had no ears, no nose, no mouth and no eyes. The only thing making it identifiable as a face was the neck and shoulders attached to the featureless circle. There was a message quickly written over the picture. "ALWAYS WATCHES, NO EYES." No sooner than he removed the paper from the tree did Eric hear a loud boom echo throughout the forest. BOOM...BOOM...BOOM... Terror gripped the young man as he stuffed the note into his pocket. He looked around desperately for a branch or log, something he could defend himself with. Finding something suitable, he bent over and picked it up. As he stood back up he saw something. He slowly pointed his light towards it. What he saw froze him where he stood. Standing before him was a man, but not a man. The monster was over seven feet tall, his arms and albino hands extending down past his knees. He wore a black suit and tie. But the thing that froze his heart was the creatures face. It was pure white, and smooth as a mirror. It had no eyes, yet Eric could feel it staring at him. Staring into his very soul. Just then a piercing scream flooded his mind. He tried to cover his ears, but the sound was in his head. He turned and ran from the creature. Ran as fast as he could. After long minutes, the screech vanished from his mind. His hearing returned slowly, the ominous BOOM...BOOM...BOOM the only thing he could hear in this cursed forest. He was lost. He didn't know how to get out. He began searching, looking for anything resembling civilization to guide him from this hell.

He found an abandoned house, long ago deserted and falling apart at the seams. He ran into the home, hoping to find some shelter from the monster. Inside he found countless personal belongings of the previous inhabitants. Whoever the house had belonged to had left everything. Almost like they vanished. Nailed to the wall at the end of the long front hallway was another white sheet of paper. He was almost to scared to read the note, but he gave it a cautious glance. Written in thick red ink were the words "DON'T LOOK OR IT TAKES YOU." He turned and stopped dead. The monster stood less than a foot away from the terrified private eye. The creature slowly raised it's grotesque hand hand placed it upon Eric's forehead. His mind exploded as the screech returned. Through the din, he could hear a voice, deep and terrible.

"YOUR SON AWAITS YOU"

That was the last anyone had heard of Eric Johansen. He vanished in those woods. The disappearances stopped in the town of Ravenholm, yet more and more towns were beginning to report missing children. It is believed that the creature can teleport to anywhere, at any time. We should be safe though, we're probably lightyears from *MPHFH*"

Jason brought a hand to his mouth to muffle his own voice and silently moved opposite to where he had been standing. He crouched low and waited.

"J-Jason?" He heard Twilight ask. He could hear her voice shiver as terror overwhelmed her.

He dropped his voice into the low demonic tone he had just used.

"HE'S WAITING FOR YOU." He said as he wrapped his long arms around the huddled group, touching all of them simultaneously.

The group shrieked in terror and Twilight's horn lit up, enveloping Jason in magic. He was pulled off of them and brought to hover nearly four feet off the ground, the magic illuminating the dark room with a purple glow.

Jason burst into uproarious laughter as the group buried themselves into a tight hug and screamed, eyes welded shut in terror. After many long seconds, the screaming subsided and the mares finally pulled themselves from each other's death grip. They were still terrified, but Twi slowly lowered Jason to his feet and released her magic.

"Okay..." Rainbow panted. "Jason wins."

"Tarnation, Jason. Ah ain't never been that scared before, and ah've fought real monsters!" Applejack removed her hat and wiped her brow.

Twilight went around the room and lit every available light, bringing the entire room into artificial daylight.

"Well then, I think that's enough scary stories for one night, but we are definitely going to get you a stage for Nightmare Night. That's going to scare everypony in town!" She winked at him mischievously. "Especially with a little help from us."

Rainbow grinned. "Oh definitely! Dude, I can hardly wait!"

Jason laughed wholeheartedly and gave a little bow. "Happy I could deliver."

"Now then, I do believe there's one more thing Twilight wanted to do tonight." Rarity spoke up.

Twi looked at her in confusion. "Huh? I don't remember..."

Rarity floated up an empty bottle and waggled it a little.

"Oh...Oh! Rarity, you can't be serious..."

"I most certainly am. There's one little empty checkbox in that book of yours on sleepovers. If I recall, you wanted to wait until there was at least one stallion here, and lo and behold." She gestured toward Jason with a hoof.

"What?" Jason asked, curious.

Applejack had brought a hoof to her face. "She wants ta play Spin the Bottle."

"Spin the... Wait you ponies have that game?" Jason asked, surprised.

"What...do you know the game?" Twilight asked.

"Well...I've never played it, but yeah I've heard of it. That's mostly little kid stuff though."

"Perfect! Then we won't need to explain the rules! Come on Jason, we're all friends here. Besides, it seems like you're on the good end of the deal. Here you are surrounded by four beautiful mares," She bounced a tuft of hair on one of her hooves. "While we only have one of you."

Jason thought for a moment. "True enough." He looked toward Twilight. She returned his gaze and gave a resigned smile. She nodded slightly. "Alright...Screw it, why not."

The five of them formed a small circle. Applejack had resigned herself to the game, hoping for it to be over quickly. Rainbow Dash was nervous beyond belief, but hopeful. Rarity appeared to be excited just to play the game. It was something Jason had expected, her being by far the girliest of the group. Twilight didn't fully seem to care, she was just happy to be spending time with her friends.

"Ok then, since it was my idea, I'll go first." Rarity used her magic to give the bottle a twist, sending it spinning. It rotated in place for a few seconds before slowly coming to a stop with the mouth pointing at Applejack. Rarity grinned and leaned forward, planting a gentle, obviously fake kiss on the orange mare's lips. Ending the short contact with an over-acted *MWAH*, Rarity spoke up. "Ok, Applejack, your turn."

The earth pony humphed as she kicked out with a hind leg, hitting the bottle and started it spinning. It spun for quite a bit longer before the inertia died, leaving the bottle pointed at Rainbow Dash. Applejack stood and briskly walked over to the pegasus. She planted a quick kiss to the corner of Rainbow's mouth, much like one would kiss a sibling, before returning to her seat and hiding her face behind the brim of her hat.

Rainbow gulped. "I... I guess that means it's my turn right?" She asked. Rarity nodded and the cyan pegasus sighed. "Well, here goes nothing." She said as she flicked the bottle with a wing tip, sending it spinning.

As it slowed, Jason could see the smallest purple glow on the side of the bottle, slowing it's spin. He took a quick glance at Twilight and saw her horn faintly glowing. She grinned at him mischievously. Clever girl! Jason thought to himself. She was using a grain of sand to focus her magic, using it to stop the bottle. It was small enough to be almost unnoticeable. The mouth of the bottle, obviously, stopped at Jason.

Rainbow gulped and stood up, obviously nervous. Jason could see looks of excitement coming from Twilight and Rarity. He could barely glimpse Applejack looking at them from the corner of her eye, a small grin tugging at her cheeks. Rainbow slowly made her way to him. She looked into his eyes before leaning forward and giving him a slight peck on the lips before quickly returning to her spot. Both Twi and Rarity let out sounds of disappointment, Applejack chuckled lightly and shook her head.

"Oh, come on Rainbow Dash! That was your chance!" Rarity exclaimed.

"W-what are you talking about? I was just playing the game!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Rarity gave out an exasperated sigh. "Jason, it's your turn."

Welp, I already know where this is going. He thought to himself as he gave the bottle a flick of his wrist.

Sure enough, it stopped on Rainbow Dash. "H-Hey, what the heck?" Twilight gave Rainbow a light shove, silencing her.

Jason sighed lightly and got to his feet.

"Now Jason, be sure to do this one right. Make sure she has something to remember tonight by!" Rarity said happily.

Jason gave her a sideways glance, a look of amused disbelief on his face. He looked toward Rainbow and gave her a smile. He dropped down to one knee and took her chin in his hand. She tensed as he tilted her head up to look at him.

"Rainbow, relax." He said gently before leaning in and planting a full kiss upon her lips. There was no tongue, but plenty of passion and she quickly melted into the contact. After a few seconds, Jason broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

"Much better!" Rarity exclaimed and tapped her hooves together. The whole group chuckled and Jason returned to his seat.

"My turn!" Twilight exclaimed and began to grab the bottle with her magic.

Applejack spoke up. "Ah shoot, don't even bother Twi."

Twilight looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Yeah, just hurry up and kiss him already. You've been dying to all night. Besides, you'd probably use that little trick of yours anyway."

HAH! Jason thought to himself in victory.

"B-But I..."

Rainbow gave her a shove towards him. "Just do it already."

Jason turned to face her and extended his arms, pulling her into an embrace. She looked into his eyes and he into hers. She leaned into him as she planted a gentle, passionate kiss upon his lips. Their tongues danced lightly with each other, not going into the full wrestling match they usually shared, but sharing a gentle passion they had both been lusting after. The remained in contact for nearly a full minute.

*Ahem*

They broke contact and looked to their friends. Rarity and Applejack shared expressions of pure joy. Rainbow looked at them with an expression of shock, her mouth slightly agape. Her face was red and her wings had extended slightly, evidently becoming aroused at the passion of their kiss.

"Ah hate to kill the mood, but could ya wait until after we leave before ya jump him?" Applejack said nonchalantly.

They both laughed. "You ok there, Rainbow?" Jason asked, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"It's just...you...uh..." She stammered.

The group of friends laughed at her embarrassment.

"Well then! I would have to say this night has been quite the success!" Rarity exclaimed.

The group agreed. They continued talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company late into the night.

Quite the success indeed. Jason thought as he tightened his half embrace around Twilight. She looked at him, a warm smile on her face.

Quite the success indeed.