"So, why are you so nervous already Fluttershy?" I asked as I worked my way through cleaning Fluttershy's wings. Her wings stood out perfectly straight, each individual feather seemed to be trying to extend itself further. It was obviously a reaction to me rubbing her wings, but I decided to not let it bug me. Fluttershy, unlike the others, was standing up as straight as she could and her eyes were open wide. She looked terrified, like a deer in front of an oncoming truck. At least the others had enjoyed themselves.

"I'm n-not nervous..." She muttered. Her voice was airy and light, as if she were afraid to break something with her words. Her face was still bright red.

"Lies! Fucking liar! Now, don't lie to me. You're stiff as a freaking board and you look like you're gonna bolt for the door at any moment. What's eating you?"

"Oh... I'm s-so sorry... I've just... t-this is the first time a-anypony has touched me l-like this..." Fluttershy's voice was so light I had to lean in so that my ear was practically in her mouth to hear.

"Oh... uhh... would you like me to stop?" Fluttershy didn't respond. I started to remove my hands.

"N-no! I-I'll be f-fine..." I quickly went back to my scrubbing, but Fluttershy didn't ease up at all.

"Seriously Fluttershy, if this is bugging you I can just go." Fluttershy shook her head 'no'. I sigh in annoyance at her and focused on getting out a small bit of peanut butter stuck stubbornly in her feathers. Fluttershy started shaking as I rolled my thumb across her feathers trying to clean them. When I looked at her face she was biting her bottom lip. "Uhh... you ok?"

"... Y-yes..." She gasped slightly. Her wings must have been much more sensitive than I thought.

"Is this not bothering you?"

"W-what do you m-mean?"

"Well... I dunno. I guess I'm just still not quite used to the culture of this world. Back in my world, this would be a really sexual act. It's kinda strange for me to do this with my friends."

"N-not just y-your world..."

"What?"

"N-nothing!"

"... Riiiiight. Well, I guess it's kinda cool that friends can be this close in this world. Lets friendships run deeper. Yeah. I’mma stick to that...”

“Friendships... S-Sharky... Do you t-think of anypony as... m-more than a friend?” Fluttershy’s question was so quiet that I had to practically put my ear in her mouth to hear it.

“Fluttershy...” I inhaled deeply, getting a noseful of her apple-scented shampoo because I was still right next to her. I drew back away from her and shook the cold water off of my head. “Well, truth is I would really like a special somepony. I like the companionship it offers. However... I’m a human... Nopony here would ever truly love me. The crazy fanmares only like me for my fame, an--” My head suddenly snapped to the side. I was now staring at the bathroom door, totally confused. “... What the...” I slowly turned back to Fluttershy to see one of her forehooves raised angrily. “D... did you just... Slap me? Dafuq?” Fluttershy looked at her hoof, then back to me. She repeated the process a few times before a look of horrified realization quickly formed on her face.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” She squealed as she leapt out of the tub and hugged my chest. Her body was still totally soaked, and her belly was still covered in peanut butter. The sudden splash of freezing water and peanutty mess only served to put me further into shock. “I didn’t mean it, I promise!”

“I just got slapped by Fluttershy... Normally I’d call you a bitch for taking that slap, but I’m kinda shocked too. Ah fuck it. BITCH.”

“I’m s-so sorry!” I slowly came out of shock and looked down to the quivering pegasus attached to my chest.

“W-why? Why did you, of all ponies, slap me?”

“I d-didn’t mean to hurt you I’m s-so sorry!”

“No no, I’m not hurt. Just shocked. Why did you slap me?”

“B-because... because... Oh, I c-can’t tell you!”

“What? Why not?”

“... *sigh* I j-just can’t... I made a promise...”

“Sooo... you expect me to just let you slap me without an explanation?”

“No... Uhh... J-just... think about w-what I asked bef-fore I slapped y-you... You’re s-smart enough to figure it out...” I frowned, but Fluttershy went silent and didn’t say anything else. She simply detached herself from my chest and got back in the tub. I stepped in with her for just long enough to clean my chest. I then stepped out and dried myself before going back to work. All I could do was think about what Fluttershy had said as my hands cleansed her of the peanut butter.

Well... Let’s see, she had asked if I liked anypony... I don’t see how she could get mad at me for her question. Maybe it had something to do with my answer. Well the first thing I said was that I’d really like a special somepony... I stopped to consider how that thought might have made her mad.

Hmm... maybe she’s mad because I want to date a pony. She might not want me to cross species... I dismissed the idea almost as soon as I thought of it. Nah, Fluttershy would more likely support me. She doesn’t seem to be the kinda gal that’d be against that. Let’s see, the next thing I said was that nopony would love me... I slowly froze and looked down at Fluttershy. Her actions, her nervousness, that kiss...

HOLY CRAP DOES FLUTTERSHY LOVE ME?!? I could feel my heart speed up with elation, and a broad smile crossed my face. Then it instantly flipped into a frown. Calm down Sharky. I’m sure I would’ve figured it out before now if she loved me. I’m just getting my hopes up for nothing. Besides, why would she have slapped me for that? Okay... the last thing I said was something about the fanmares. I thought for a moment before I face-palmed.

Of course! I must have sounded like a braggart prick when I brought them up... I bet I sounded like an ass, no wonder she slapped me! Satisfied with my explanation, I returned my focus to Fluttershy. Only to find that she had already rolled onto her back and I was nearly done cleaning her.

“Holy crap, time flies when I think.” Fluttershy gave me a confused look.

“W-what? It’s only been a few s-seconds... Y-you cleaned r-really fast...”

“Oh... I guess that makes sense. Anyway, I’m sorry about my bragging Fluttershy. I didn’t even realize I was coming across like that.”

“What?”

“My bragging. I apologize. Anyway, time to get you out of the tub!” I rubbed the last bit of peanut butter off a spot dangerously low, getting an uncontrolled moan from Fluttershy. I ‘ehm’ed a bit in embarrassment before pulling a very confused and very red Fluttershy out of the tub to dry her off. I quickly wrapped her towel around her and ushered her out of the room before she could say another word. Twilight stepped in without a moment’s wait, ready to be cleaned and giving me a huge smile.

“My turn my turn!” Twilight cheered. The door magically shut behind her and she ran over to the tub.

“Uhhh... Yeah, come on in.” Twilight jumped into the tub, but leapt right back out with a shiver.

“Whoa! That’s cold! Ugh, you’d think Fluttershy would have hot water...” Twilight’s horn glowed for a few seconds, and steam started to rise from the water coming from the showerhead. Twilight eyed the steam with an approving smile. “Much better!”

“... That’s cool.” Twilight giggled a little and jumped into the now steamy water. “Now, let’s get all the peanut butter off of that pretty coat huh?” I offered as Twilight soaked in the water. She blushed.

“Oh... uhh... I-it’s not all that nice...” I paused a little. I hadn’t specifically meant she was pretty, but she was now that I thought about it. I wondered why she wouldn’t think so too.

“What do you mean Twi? You’re plenty pretty.” I grabbed the shampoo and prepared to scrub Twilight. Her blush deepened and she hid her face behind a forehoof a little. She muttered something inaudibly. “What’s up Twi? Why are you acting so shy and strange all of the sudden?”

“I-I’m not p-pretty... I’m the nerdy mare...” She mumbled shyly. I snorted.

“That’s ridiculous. You of all ponies should know that quantity of intelligence holds almost no indication of the amount of beauty.”

“... I suppose... but... j-just look at me... I’m not pretty...” Twilight was obviously stuck on the idea of her not being physically attractive. I sighed heavily.

“I’ve had this same argument with too many girls. Look, we’ll get back to this later. For now, I’m getting tired, and I wanna finish this up.” Twilight nodded silently and let me get to work. Her blush took a long time to fade. By the time I had worked my way down to her mid-back I was bored again and singing a song in my head. Twilight saw me bobbing my head in time with the beat.

“What’re you doing?”

“Hmm? Oh... I’ve just had this one song kinda stuck in my head since my break-up...”

“Oh... Can... can I hear it?”

“What? How do you plan to achieve that?”

“You could magically project it...”

“... Oh mah gosh that would be amazing!”

“But you’ll need a horn first...”

“Does that mean?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Aww c’mon Twilight, in the shower?”

“Get in here.”

“... Fine...”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about ten minutes of cuddling Twilight in the shower, I had flipped her onto her back to clean her stomach and had finally grown a full-sized lavender horn.

“Okay Twilight, how do I play the song?” Twilight pulled her lolling tongue back into her mouth and squinted at my forehead. Her expression changed from happiness to mild disapproval.

“Well... if you remember all of it, just focus on the words as if you could actually hear them. Introduce a little spark of magic, and you’ll be able to sing it yourself! Complete with music. It also works with songs you make up. I’ve used it a few times myself since I moved here.”

“That... That explains so much... and yet so little.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Song time!” I closed my eyes tightly and focused on the sad song I’d held in my head since that fateful day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Rbtb4dgUY

Sure enough, I opened my mouth as the music flowed forth and music poured out. Lightly and scratchy at first, but in a few moments I clarified the sound. I started to sing as the intro ended. At first I was shocked to hear someone else’s voice coming out of my mouth, but the surprise wore off soon enough. I made sure my thoughts were secure, then turned back to washing Twilight. I couldn’t clean very fast with my focus being on the music, but Twilight didn’t seem to mind.

In the first few verses I had Twilight slowly saying in time with the music. The music even seemed to make her cry a few tears as it continued, but I couldn’t be sure due to the water raining down from the showerhead. By the time that I had cleaned off her lower stomach the song ended. Twilight opened her eyes and looked up at me. Her eyes were red-rimmed and shiny. She had teared up.

“Sharky... This is how you’ve been feeling?”

“... Well... Yeah. Even with love being like that though, I still wish I could have it.”

“Oh Sharky... Love doesn’t have to be like that!”

“Pft... Yeah, ‘cause you’ve had your heart ripped out right before proposing, I forgot.”

“...”

“... I have happier songs too.”

“Yes, I’d like to hear one of those please.”

“Ok... uhhh...”

“Hey!” Rarity yelled from the other side of the door. “Could you please keep that noise down?!” She sounded annoyed. A wicked grin overtook my face.

“Oh hell yes...” I took a deep breath before yelling out the first line of the next song as loud as I could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BBIeUWlw6E&feature=related

Twilight didn’t seem to quite understand it at first, but she burst into a fit of giggles when Rarity gave a surprised squeal. I played through the whole song, mentally censoring any bits that might have offended the girls. Twilight giggled at it most of the way, most likely not understanding most of the song.

“Is that a serious song in your world?” Twilight giggled as the song ended. I had finished cleaning her about two minutes into the song, but hadn’t moved.

“You know, with those guys, you can never tell. I think it was mostly just a fun song.” I stood up and stepped out of the tub. I levitated myself a towel, but I misjudged the force and managed to almost rack myself with a well-folded towel. I thanked Luna once more mentally for the armor, and got back to drying myself.

“By the way Sharky, your absorption has become much more powerful.” Twilight noted as she turned off the water.

“Yeah, I’m learning to target and control it. I’m getting a lot better.”

“I think we should schedule another test to see the new extent of your abilities.”

“Good idea Twi, but for now, I’m dead tired. I spent my past few days adventuring through the desert. I’d like to sleep on something that isn’t sand now.”

“Oh, of course! Would you like to come back to the library to use your bed for the night?”

“Hmmm... Why not? A bed sounds delightful. Let’s go.” Twilight and I quickly dried ourselves off before dashing out the bathroom and front doors while throwing mixed goodbyes over our shoulders. I smiled with pride; I’d taught her so well. When we arrived back at the library, I wasted no time in dashing up the stairs to the bedroom. Fang was sleeping on the bottom of my bed and my robin was sleeping perched on the headboard.

“They slept like that every night you were gone.” Twilight informed me. I smiled contentedly at them. How nice for them to do that.

“Well, I guess that means I can’t just lift the bed and take it back to Fluttershy’s house... Could you do me a favor Tw--”

“Sure.”

“... Quick answer. Wake me up early tomorrow so I can go get Unity from ‘Shy’s house please.”

“No problem!”

"Thanks, now just let me take off my crap...” I pulled the weapons that I had grabbed on the way out of Fluttershy’s house off of my back and laid them out on the floor. I gently eased myself into bed and was out before I could even register my eyes closing.