"... And then she asks me out! She asks me! It was amazing!"

"Well, that's good fer you, then, innit, Pinkie?" Applejack asked cheerfully.

"No, wait, it gets better! We went out, like, four times, and they were all awesome, but this last time a couple nights ago she led me up to this hill over a lake and it was all pretty and stuff and then after, like, ten minutes of just looking at the water, she leaned over and kissed me!" Pinkie squee'd, and grinned from ear-to-ear remembering exactly what happened as a warmth ran through her body.

"So... she..."

"Yeah!"

There was a few moments of silence that spread throughout the farm. Pinkie's face fell when she realized she had no idea what the orange mare was feeling.. "...Applejack?"

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, ah'm glad you two've hit it off." She flashed Pinkie a polite smile before turning away and dragging the apple cart down the broad central dirt path.

Pinkie followed quickly, trotting up alongside her friend. "Is something wrong? I thought you were okay with it..."

"Ah am, Pinkie, really, but..." Applejack paused, stopping beside one of the larger trees in the orchard. "It's... it's jist a little weird to see somethin' develop like this between two o' mah friends. Ah mean, how am ah suppose ta react next time ah see Twi?"

"Well, you don't really have to say anything at all; this is still really between me and Twi. I just wanted to tell somepony." Silence again - one of Pinkie's least favorite sounds. She tried quickly to think of a new subject. "... Hey! What about you? There anypony you've ever... you know..." she trailed off, nudging her teasingly.

Applejack shook her head. "Not yet. If only, right?" she chuckled. "Well, ah'm sure ah'll find somepony one day. Jist not today, apparently. One day, we're all gonna pack up n' move out, around the world, maybe with somepony. But ah hope it won't happen too soon." She smiled, and picked the reins up again to lead the cart down the road, Pinkie walking along side her quietly for a few minutes.

"Oh, um, by the way, I'm having a picnic for everypony, no reason, tomorrow at eleven." She grinned and began to skip away. "Potluck!" she added as she hopped put the gate.

Applejack was left alone in the huge acres, still trying to process the few pieces of information she'd been given. Eventually, she just shook her head and chuckled, continuing her rambling stroll through the farm.

As she entered the cul-de-sac, her tuneless humming stopped abruptly. She peered across the circular tiled street at her apartment, and noticed with a bit of a panic that the lights were on. But she turned them off! She remembered specifically turning them off!

She broke into a swift trot as she made her way to the front door. She glanced at the doorknob, wondering whether, if there was somepony inside, she could defend herself. This hadn't ever happened before.

Her suspicions were confirmed - a loud crash and a low muttering came from the door momentarily. She frantically tried turning the knob, but the door was still locked. What was going on?

She slipped her key as silently as she could into the lock, and turned it slowly. When she heard the click, though, she burst through the door as quickly as she could, hoping to gain the advantage of surprise over the intruder.

The first thought to go through her mind was Why is Twilight robbing my house? before she realized, to her great relief, that Twilight was standing in the kitchen, in front of an open oven and a mess of eggs, flour, sugar, mixing bowls, and the like on the counter.

"Oh, hi, Pinkie, I emptied your fridge," Twilight said as Pinkie walked into the room in a bit of a shock. She left the tray she was levitating down onto the counter before walking over to the pink mare and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Pinkie was still more than confused from the fact that Twilight was in her home, making cupcakes, and became slightly more confused (and turned on) by the fact that Twilight had kissed her. She blushed a little bit and smiled goofily before shaking her head. "Twilight! What are you - I don't... are you trying to make my apple cupcakes?"

Twilight smiled again. "Yup! I found your recipe in the cupboard and read all the directions carefully and... wait." She paused, and raised a hoof to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, Pinkie, saying that out loud makes me realize how weird it is. I'm so, so sorry. I was just - I wanted to surprise you, 'cause... well, I'll tell you later, but I teleported into your living room and I was just waiting but then I remembered-"

Pinkie could see that Twilight was becoming more and more flustered by the second. She stopped her with a gentle hoof on her mouth, and smiled. "You're right, that's really weird. I wouldn't expect that out of you."

Twilight hung her head. "I know. It's probably the strangest thing I've done in years."

"But you know what?" Twilight raised her head a little, looking up at Pinkie with guilty eyes. "I like it." Pinkie grinned, and skipped over to the counter, leaned over, and licked the bowl. "Needs more sugar. Also, it's a bit too thick, you could thin it down with water and maybe add a little olive oil or vegetable oil for -"

"You mean, you're totally okay with the weirdest thing I've done in forever?" Twilight interrupted, walking over to her.

"Twi, I'm Pinkie Pie. I AM the weirdest thing ever. In the best way possible, of course," she added.

Twilight laughed. "And you're still gonna help make the cupcakes? 'Cause they're your cupcakes, you know."

"Why not? I mean, after all, there's a potluck tomorrow."

"Is that still on?" Twilight asked.

"Why would I cancel it?" Pinkie replied, and picked up the cupcake tin behind her, pouring its contents into the mixing bowl and starting to measure out the sugar.

"Is everypony coming?"

Pinkie dumped the sugar into the bowl and began stirring quickly, cradling the bowl as well as she could in one of her forelegs. "I'm not sure what you're asking. I invited everypony I know except the princesses. Is that what you're talking about?"

Twilight sidled up alongside her, keeping her eyes on the bowl. "Well... should we tell them?"

"Tell them wh- ohh." Pinkie stopped stirring for a second. "I dunno. If you want to. If Fl-yeah, we could," she replied, hoping desperately that the smartest pony in Ponyville wouldn't catch on.

To no avail, of course. "Flyeah?" Twilight asked. "What was that? If Fl... yeah?"

"Can't tell you," Pinkie said in a singsong voice, trying to keep it lighthearted.

"Is it about Fluttershy? It is, isnt it?"

Dammit. "Why do you do this to me, oh smart one?" she asked.

Twilight laughed again, and Pinkie joined in. "Okay. I'll just wait. Meanwhile, need any help?"

"Just one?"

"Nope."

The sweet smell of apples in the kitchen blended perfectly with the sugary smell that was almost always present in the apartment. Pinkie grinned at Twilight, happy that she was able to share such a great time with such a great mare.

"Half?" Twilight was practically begging.

Oh sweet Celestia, she's too cute. "I... um... I guess. One condition, though," she said, popping a freshly-frosted cupcake out of the pan, "we have to share."

Twilight sighed melodramatically. "Fine."

Pinkie unwrapped the pastry slowly, purposely building the tension, and tore it cleanly in half, letting the popping of air bubbles, the squish of moist cake, and the smell of apples fill the kitchen.

She compared the two in her mind, and handed the larger half to Twilight, who took it gratefully, bouncing in place and giggling before taking a slow bite.

"...You alright there, Twi?" Pinkie asked as she stared in slight confusion at the bouncing, ecstatic mare.

"I feel great today. Not to mention that these are excellent," Twilight replied, before taking another bite and closing her eyes, smiling broadly.

Pinkie blushed a little at this compliment. "Oh, stop it, you," she said, nudging Twilight teasingly with her hoof. She looked over at the lavender unicorn, just grinning. It was more than enough of a surprise that she visited. "Oh, by the way, what did you say you came over for?"

Twilight finished off the cupcake and shivered. "Amazing, really. Oh yeah, um, I just wanted to hang out."

Pinkie squinted at the purple mare. "So, you broke into my house..."

"Well, not really 'broke into', but-"

"... because you wanted to hang out with me? Twilight, that's really weird. So, this entire thing had no point at all? I mean, I'm cool with it, but... you know, it's not like you. Like me maybe, but..."

Twilight sighed. "There wasn't anything to do at the library, and I knew most everypony else was working or something. Plus, I wanted to be, you know, with you. I really do like you. A lot," she added sheepishly.

Pinkie was still stunned. All these feelings for her, coming from the only pony she'd ever had a major crush on. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Twilight as a long-time impulse popped back into her brain. She leaned forward and locked her lips with Twilight's. Her thoughts were screaming at her, but her body wouldn't move.

She noticed with surprise and relief that Twilight wasn't trying to pull away from her; in fact, she seemed to be leaning into it, enjoying it. This was what Pinkie had wanted for as long as she could remember. But it seemed so strange, so unbelievably unlikely that Twilight would just pop into her house and start making cupcakes. Honestly, it confused her.

Of course, now wasn't the time to think about it. She raised one foreleg slowly to Twilight's face and placed a hoof on her cheek, sending a tingle down her spine. Her heart beat faster and faster in her chest as she shivered with delight.

Finally, Twilight broke off, her eyes still closed and her muzzle darkened by a blush and her horn glowing dimly. Pinkie dropped her hoof back down to the floor and smiled shyly. "I - you - I'm... I don't..."

"Pinkie, calm down," Twilight giggled. "I thought we were in a relationship. Right?"

"Yes. Yeah. Definitely."

"Well, then, why are you still getting all flustered, like the first time? I don't want drama; I like the bouncy, happy Pinkie I know, but I also like the Pinkie that you showed me when we were dating - that witty, funny, smart Pinkie that I've come to like. A lot. This... well, it's good. I think I made the right decision."

Pinkie blinked, trying to understand exactly what Twilight was saying. She smiled widely and raided a hoof quickly to her eye.

"You okay, Pinkie?" Twilight teased.

"Yeah. It's fine." She paused. "You said you wanted to hang out. What do you wanna do first?"

Twilight smiled back. "You mean second."

"Still," Pinkie giggled.

"I dunno. We could walk around town, or just sit here and talk. Whatever you wanna do - I'm ready for anything."

Pinkie laughed. "Well, things do require careful planning, Pinkie," she said, mimicking Twilight's voice playfully. "Did I win you over or something? Isn't flexibility awesome?"

Twilight smiled, and looked away. "It is. But it took me quite a bit out of my comfort zone. Never thought I'd see the day when I was teleporting into somepony's house." She turned back to Pinkie and giggled. "It's your fault."

"Ha. I never thought I'd see the day that I enjoyed it when somepony teleported into my house." The kitchen became quiet again, but it wasn't an uncomfortable quiet. It was a nice quiet (something Pinkie didn't think existed).

Finally, after a minute or two, Pinkie broke the calm. "... Did you really mean all those things you said about me?"

"Did you mean all those things you said about me?" Twilight replied.

"Of course!"

"Well, then, there's your answer," Twilight smiled, kissing her gently on the cheek once more.

It was almost nighttime before Twilight decided to retire for the evening. Pinkie followed her to the door, laughing, having just finished what was leftover from their dinner conversation.

Twilight turned as she began to step into the now-dark cul-de-sac. "Tomorrow, then, Pinkie?"

"Well, you don't have to leave so soon, Twi -"

"Soon? It's, like, eight. Nine, maybe."

"I mean, do you wanna stay the night?"

A smile crept onto Twilight's face that looked almost coy. "I'm not totally comfortable with that, yet, Pinkie -"

"Oh! Oh, Celestia, no, not like that! I mean, not that I wouldn't, but, I mean, you, um, I thought you -" Twilight giggled, and Pinkie paused to think for a second. "Sorry. Um, I mean, like a friendly, sleepover-y thing. I didn't mean..."

Twilight's smile spread back to being friendly. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, I still can't. Maybe next time. Maybe we could set up a date sometime, but this has all become... a bit too random for me. I'm not kidding, I'm still confused as to what's been happening." She laughed a little, the sound echoing in the empty street behind her.

She leaned forwards and gave Pinkie a warm hug and a short kiss. "Goodnight," she said softly before turning and walking quietly away.

Pinkie closed the screen door and leaned back against it, slowly slumping down to the floor. She heard a familiar sound off to her left, and smile when she saw Gummy staring blankly open-mouthed back at her.

She invited him into her forelegs and petted him slowly while thinking back over the terribly strange night. Her thoughts were interrupted by a little nibble from the tiny alligator and the sensation of a reptile snout nuzzling into her chest. As she sat, she felt his breathing slow, and heard a short, yawning sigh before he drifted off to sleep.

Pinkie yawned too (contagious indeed) and placed him gently on the couch next to her, tucking him in with an empty pillowcase she pulled from the loveseat nearby. She patted his head again, before trotting up to bed. Tomorrow would be a full, hopefully Twilight-filled day.