Pinkie stared out her window, past the buildings and trees and sky and deep into her own mind. She wasn't really focusing on much; since their very tentative relationship had begun, everything seemed to revolve around her and Twilight's date nights. Everything. Every once in a while, she just wanted to jump for joy and spill her soul out to Applejack or Fluttershy and tell them all about how everything was just so excellent, and how she wished that the future would turn out exactly as she always wanted it to.

And then she remembered what Twilight had asked her, and forced her mouth shut. Then, her mood fell and her joy depleted until it was date night once more.

Everything was centered on this. At work, her heart was bursting to just pour out her emotions to one of the Cakes or even to Trixie. At home, she daydreamed frequently about what she desired so badly for their relationship. Anywhere she went, she seemed to become preoccupied, her thoughts trailing back to the mare she had been in love with for so long now.

And now, finally, thank Celestia, it was that time again; the one day that added a new level of hope to the futures she constantly envisioned. If there was a possibility, or an opportunity, or a risk, she'd take it. As long as it helped her reach her dreams.

Everything had already been prepared. At the end of the last date, Twilight told her that she would meet her at the apartment... so all she had to do was wait. Just wait - and then she could overflow with happiness for one night; she could spend time with Twilight, real time, just talking and laughing and feeling good with her, and, if she was lucky, she would be able to do it again.

She could tell it was simple as she thought it; it was the most basic thing an early relationship was comprised of. It was strange to realize how calm and peaceful it made her feel. Of course, by the time Twilight arrived, she was practically ecstatic, having already daydreamed to no extent what could go on that night.

She heard a knock at the door, and she felt a tingling warmth run through her chest. After nearly galloping down the stairs, she forced herself to calm down before she answered it.

Pinkie was shocked momentarily by the purple mare's appearance; she truly had gone to extra lengths. Maybe. Well, her coat seemed shinier... and her mane seemed to be brushed neater... even her eyes were sparkling more. To Pinkie, of course; well, maybe it was just her emotions getting the better of her. Again.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but the words she formed in her head wouldn't form in her mouth. "I... I..." she stuttered, and blushed, embarrassed. She wasn't used to being uncomfortable, and definitely not to being shy.

Twilight giggled. "You what?" she replied playfully, smiling. "Anyway, hi, Pinkie," she greeted her, stepping to the side and allowing Pinkie to pass.

You look beautiful. You look beautiful. "...Ready, Twilight?" Just say it.

"Definitely. Where are we going tonight?"

You look beautiful. "There was a movie that I've been wanting to see for a while, I thought maybe we could go to the theatre." C'mon, Pinkie.

"Sure! I'll just follow you, then," Twilight replied, her happy demeanor touching Pinkie deeply. I think she likes being with you, Pinkie. Just tell her she's beautiful.

"...You know what, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, as they began walking out of the cul-de-sac.

"What?"

"You look beautiful tonight."

Left Decision's fourth showing began at seven; they could take their time. Along the way, they began a conversation, as per usual, but Twilight seemed to be in such a good mood that Pinkie couldn't bear to interrupt her. She took the other end of the conversational spectrum this time around; she listened.

The knowledge that somepony she had feelings for was enjoying their time together felt good. It felt really good. A brief impulse passed through Pinkie's mind before she pushed it back out. Twilight said she wanted to go slow; there was no way she would accede to something like that in the middle of the third date.

Pinkie tried to follow what she was saying, but it led off into such complicated subjects that she quickly became lost, and, although she concentrated on their rather one-sided conversation, nodding and replying occasionally, she noticed to her horror that she was slipping into another daydream. She shook her head and tried to force all the thoughts out of her mind, and it nearly worked, if Twilight herself hadn't have been walking alongside her. It really didn't help.

Thankfully, the arrival of the pair at the theatre saved her from her thoughts. Pinkie noticed that Twilight had quieted down since the building had come into their sights; she turned to her and smiled. "It doesn't start for another half hour," she said, pointing to the Left Decision poster. "Do you wanna go in now, or...?"

"Sure! We can just talk until the movie starts. You know, you wouldn't think it, but you can be a really good listener if you want to."

Pinkie followed her inside, replying, "And you can be really talkative if you want to."

"Hey!" she giggled, pushing Pinkie playfully with a hoof. "I guess I just feel really good today."

"I could tell."

Twilight laughed shortly as they walked to the back of the ticket line. "Quick wit there, Pinkie. Where'd you find that?"

"I picked it up recently," Pinkie said, remembering back to when her cousin was in town and smiling. They paid for their admissions, and picked two seats near the front in theatre 5, throwing some 'newfound' wit back and forth and laughing together.

"You know, just tell me if you want popcorn or something, 'cause I can just run up and get it before the movie starts," Pinkie commented as various commercials and notifications flicked up on the screen.

Twilight cocked her head. "Would you?"

"Sure. Back in a sec."

Twilight was left alone with her thoughts, and she began to finally dwell on them a bit. It was only about five minutes until Pinkie returned with a cliched striped bucket of popcorn, but in that time, Twilight had finally made a decision that she'd been thinking about ever since her meeting with Rarity.

Pinkie set the popcorn in-between them and sat down again, just as the lights dimmed. The screen was illuminated by a rather depressing scene - a nearly grayscale shot of a bus stop, with a mare standing under the overcast sky and in front of an overgrown, rundown urban area as the wind whipped past her and blew her mane behind her.

Twilight leaned over and whispered, "What's this about? You never told me."

Pinkie giggled. "Just watch, silly."

The plot began to slowly unfold with the introduction of two dashing colts and a sudden declaration of war, followed by a hectic evacuation scene and a few action and thrilling bits thrown in here and there. It wasn't too bad. Not bad at all.

Of course, Pinkie was hardly paying any attention to the movie. She laughed at the funny parts, when she caught them (or understood the joke), and gasped at the surprising and frightening parts, but she didn't focus too much on the movie itself as she did on the mare she came with.

She smiled when Twilight did, not because of the movie so much as because she liked Twilight's smile. Also (lucky, lucky her), during one jumpscare scene, Twilight jumped and grabbed Pinkie's foreleg, before blushing and pulling away.

She'd been tempted multiple times to do that thing she'd always read about and seen in movies, where the colt puts a hoof over the mare and on her far shoulder, and it can be all romantic and stuff. But, as she thought about it, and looked next to her at the lavender unicorn, she decided that she didn't want to take the risk. She didn't want to lose a relationship because of one stupid impulse.

She came to attention during the closing scene; apparently, one of the colts had been killed and the movie ended with a kiss between the second colt and the main character.

Pinkie felt another warm, tingly feeling in her chest, running down the length of her spine, through her entire body. She imagined, for a minute, that same kiss, with her as the colt and Twilight as the mare. The same position, the same passion, everything. If only.

Nonetheless, Pinkie was overjoyed that Twilight liked her enough to keep setting up more dates. At least she could spend time with her, whether something formed between them or not. By the time the movie was over, Pinkie noticed that she was blushing, and tried to think of something else quickly before the lights came on.

The pair left the theatre and walked through the streetlamp-lit streets of Ponyville side-by-side, talking about the movie, about the actors and actresses, about the director, and anything that came to mind. Pinkie was more than happy enough to talk to Twilight about anything. Pinkie didn't even notice they'd been walking for twenty minutes until they reached the cul-de-sac.

Pinkie stepped up to the door, and before Twilight could say anything, she asked, "Wanna come in and help me bake something?"

Twilight looked behind her, where the nearly-full moon shone in the sky. "It's about, what, nine? ... Yeah, I suppose I could come in for a little. We're usually together until ten."

Pinkie stomped her hooves against the ground. "Oh, goodie! I've been waiting for sooo long for you to try this!"

"Well, there we are!" Pinkie said cheerfully, throwing the cupcake pan into the oven. "Now we just have to wait for fourteen minutes and twenty-four seconds."

Twilight giggled. The shine of her coat and mane had worn away, and there were small splotches of orange cupcake batter splattered about her, including a little in her mane.

Pinkie noticed this before Twilight. "Here, there's a little bit of batter in your mane," she said, and reached out to wipe it off. She brushed her hoof along her mane and let the drop of batter fall to the ground; however, her hoof remained where it was. She moved her hoof along her forehead and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, and caught her gaze momentarily. She stared deep into Twilight's deep violet eyes for a few seconds, but wouldn't allow herself any longer. She quickly pulled her hoof away and turned back to the oven, her cheeks flushing a deep red.

After a few extremely awkward moments of silence, Twilight began conversation again, and anything that had happened between the two of them was forgotten for the moment. This conversation led right into the ringing of the oven's alarm, making Pinkie squeal in excitement and kick it open, flipping around to remove the hot pan as quickly as she could.

Her back still to Twilight, she picked up tubes of gold and orange colors, quickly and deftly forming little circular patterns on each of the six good-sized cupcakes. Without further ado, she turned around and proudly presented the pan to Twilight.

Twilight smiled. "Wow, I guess we did good, didn't we? These look great," she said, and popped one out of the pan and into her mouth.

She stopped dead where she was, unable to move her mouth, or forth matter any other part of her body. "Oh... SWEET... CELESTIA," she said, chewing as slowly as possible to savor it. "How - how on Earth did you - did you do... with the - the - apples and the cupcakes and - it tastes like apple pie but better! I swear, this has got to be the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Pinkie smiled. "Why, thank you, Twilight," she replied, taking a low, comical bow. "Applejack and I came up with this a while back. I'm not sure whether I'll ever sell them, though; I kinda wanna just give them out to my friends. I mean, you know, 'cause... well, I don't know why. Maybe. I dunno."

"You HAVE to sell this. I'm not kidding. This is genius. You're a genius."

She began to blush, and turned away again to put the tray on the counter. The smartest pony in Ponyville ever called her a genius - but that wasn't what made her blush. The pony she loved called her a genius; that above all else touched her deeply.

After a few more minutes discussing the cupcakes to great length and having a couple more (the rest), Twilight finally decided to finish up the night. She turned to leave, and Pinkie accompanied her to the door.

She turned to face Pinkie, who grinned in her ecstatic-about-life Pinkie way. Without a word, she leaned over to her and kissed her cheek, despite Rarity's warnings (and confusion). But, she decided, this time would be a bit different. Not too much so, but enough to let Pinkie know that she enjoyed their date. All she had to do was kiss her a little longer... that should solve everything.

Pinkie's mind was working full-speed. It's the same as l- no, wait, it's longer, I- should I- I could- Her brain shut off as an instinctual feeling took control of her for a few seconds. She didn't have to wait for too long until Twilight stopped, then she leaned back over and kissed her cheek as well.

Another warm wave rushed over her. Even after she pulled away, she remained with her face pressed against Twilight's. Just for a second.

There was romance, of course, and a good amount of confusion, but they both paled in comparison to the joy she felt. She didn't try to restrain the smile that spread across her face, or even the blush that she knew was already there. She wanted to act on her emotions so, so badly right then, but she forced herself (with much difficulty) to remain in place.

Twilight blushed, too, and shifted her eyes down, smiling softly. "Wednesday at seven? I'll meet you in the park."

"Yes, ma'am," Pinkie replied, still trying to keep everything lighthearted to less of a degree.

Before she left the cul-de-sac, Twilight waved to Pinkie, who waved back energetically. When she finally left her sight, Pinkie walked inside the apartment and sighed, in the deepest of bliss. The smell of their earlier cupcake victory was still fresh in the air, and the warmth of Twilight's face against hers (twice!!) was still fresh in her heart.

Good dreams tonight.