"Come on, Twi."

"I don't want to."

Pinkie groaned. "That's the point of talking to them. Once we follow their advice, you won't be all nervous about telling everypony."

Twilight threw a dramatic hoof towards the massive crowd in the valley. "Pinkie, you invited the whole town! When I said we could tell everypony, I didn't mean everypony! I mean, really, Pinkie, I - I don't think I'm prepared for that!"

"Well, what if they say, like, not to come right out with it... or something?"

"Pinkie, you're going to ask them advice for coming out! They're not going to tell you to just... to not to!" Twilight's voice was rising considerably, almost to a panic. She cast another glance over the valley. "I'm sure that there's gonna be at least one pony in there who... well, who hates ponies like us. I'm sure of it. Not to mention the fact that I don't know a quarter of these ponies! It's just..." she trailed off, and looked at the ground, rocking on her hooves.

"Can we... can we just try?"

Twilight looked over at Pinkie. She'd only heard her say that once before, and once she accepted, things turned out for the better. Definitely for the better. A half-exasperated, half-amused smile played on her lips. "Alright. I guess. But - but I'm not talking," she added weakly.

Pinkie grinned her characteristically sunny grin. "Okay! Let's go!"

"What, now?!"

"Well, yeah, now, they're right over there behind you."

Twilight turned to face the giggling pair of mares; they didn't seem to have paid any attention to the two, but Twilight didn't dare assume. "Oh, no, do you think they heard us?" she whispered urgently to Pinkie.

"I dunno. Let's go talk to them."

"Celestia, Pinkie, not -" she was cut short. Pinkie put a hoof around Twilight and trotted happily over to Lyra and Bon-Bon.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted them, a little louder than necessary.

"Oh, hi, Pinkie," Lyra replied, turning to her. "Great party as usual."

"What's up?" Bon-Bon asked cheerfully.

"Well, um..." Pinkie leaned in closer, and began speaking a bit quieter. Much to Twilight's chagrin, she was pulled into the little huddle along with the others. "... We wanted to ask you guys a question or two."

Lyra and Bon-Bon exchanged looks, but said nothing.

Pinkie shifted her eyes around and began fiddling a bit with her hooves. "I, um... we... I... uh... I can't talk, Twi, you're so much better at it than I am."

Twilight opened her mouth and shot a stern look at Pinkie, who shrugged and looked at the ground. "Okay, so, um, P-Pinkie and I," she began, her voice barely more than a whisper, "we, um, we're in - in a relationship" - she glanced quickly at their faces and flushed an embarrassed pink - "and we're, um - we're planning on-on letting everypony know about it soon." She finished and shut her eyes, as though expecting the pair to begin an argument.

"Oh, seriously? Coolio, that's another!" she said brightly, before taking into account the look on Twilight's face. "Oh. Um. Sorry. Anyways, why did you tell us first? Why not your friends? Er - closer friends."

"Well, Pinkie was, um, was thinking that we might need some - some advice?" she asked, and Pinkie nodded, brightening once more. The way that Pinkie raised her head was absurd enough that Twilight let out an unintentional giggle, before blushing and turning away.

"Wow, honey, you are beet-red. How long have you two been together?" Lyra asked, to Twilight's further embarrassment.

"Um... not too long," Twilight said slowly. "A few weeks?"

"And you guys are ready to tell eveypony already? Not bad," Bon-Bon added. "Well, we didn't really 'come out', per se. I mean, we just did what couples do - we went on dates and walked around together and celebrated Hearts and Hooves day together." At this, Lyra winked at Bon-Bon, and she giggled, blushing a bit. "Maybe you two should just act like a couple. Eventually, ponies'll start putting two and two together."

Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who was nodding vigorously. "So... that's it, then? We just, like, do what we would do?"

"Yeah. That's, uh... that's pretty much it. If you wanna see a movie together or something, then by all means, don't feel weird about it. Most ponies you see won't recognize you. Or won't care."

Twilight groaned. "Um, I'm kinda... famous. Ponies pretty much know who I am. I mean, as the Element-bearers, we saved the world a few times. And Pinkie knows everypony."

"Yup! It's a hobby!" Pinkie agreed enthusiastically.

Lyra clicked her tongue. "Yeah, that might be a problem. If you, uh, if you're really that nervous, then just pretend you're alone. I mean, if you're really against letting ponies see you as a couple... you know."

Twilight thought for a moment before believing she caught on. "Oh! No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you guys! I didn't -"

Bon-Bon began laughing. "Aw. It's okay, honey, you didn't do anything wrong. I, of all ponies, get that it can be hard. It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes." She glanced over at the long buffet tables down in the valley and gasped. "Lyra! Look! Caramel apples! I cannot possibly remember the last time I had caramel apples..." The pair began walking away, after Lyra waved a quick goodbye.

Twilight watched them leave, and looked over to Pinkie and smiled. "Well, that's it, then. Just... be ourselves."

Pinkie grinned. "So... we get to hang out more?"

"We've been able to 'hang out more' ever since I k - we started - since we, um, got together," Twilight replied. She smiled again. It wasn't hard now to see why she liked Pinkie so much. Just that last question. She really does like me back, too, doesn't she?

She leaned in to give Pinkie a short kiss and smiled again, before blushing lightly and turning to walk away. As she struck up a few short conversations with ponies she knew while walking down the hill, that last statement Bon-Bon made kept playing over and over in her mind. It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes.

It had been hard. It'd been hard for her to accept that fact since she first asked Pinkie out (which seemed so long ago now). That one little statement her mind made kept with her too: it's love. Pure and simple.

"Love her," she whispered. She opened her eyes and suddenly felt alone in the crowd of ponies. Where were her friends? Where was Pinkie? How do you get lost in a party?

She sighed and turned around, scanning the crowd for any familiar colors. Olive green, sea-blue, maroon, rainbow - Ah! she thought. Rainbow Dash, hopefully. She smiled and nudged her way through the sea of ponies, glad she caught one of her friends before she really got lost.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out, nudging past the last few ponies. "I was wondering where I'd -" she stopped short.

Dash grinned back. "Hey, Twi!" she greeted her, chuckling and raising her hoof. "How's it going?"

Twilight was still a bit stunned: Rainbow Dash still had her wing around Fluttershy. Still. Like it wasn't rude. She shook her head and slowly accepted Dash's high-hoof. Not gonna ask. "Um, I just wanted to... I mean, I was trying to find somepony I knew, um, in the crowd, and..."

"Well, here we are," Dash said, pulling away from Fluttershy for a moment. Twilight looked at Fluttershy with a face that was clearly asking, When? Fluttershy just blushed and smiled shyly, hiding behind her mane and looking sheepishly up at her friend.

Dash nudged Fluttershy gently with a hoof, and as if on cue, commented, "It's been a few weeks. In case you wanted to know."

Twilight looked around at the partygoers vaguely, still processing. Should I? What would happen if I did? What wouldn't?

Just suck it up and say it. "S -" she shook her head, still standing awkwardly and silently in front of her two friends. "Same thing with - um - with me and Pinkie," she said as casually as she could. She nearly winced as she sensed the anxiousness in her own voice.

Dash looked confusedly at her friend, and let out a small, nervous laugh. "...What?"

"Yeah. Um, Pinkie and I have been - been dating for weeks now," she trailed off, looking down and blushing terribly. The relative silence between the two was broken by Fluttershy's squeal of happiness.

"Oh, yay!" she said, clapping her hooves together. "Good for you guys! Think about it - that makes four of us!"

"Yeah, that's cool. But why are you so excited that there's four of us now?" Dash asked, chuckling a bit.

Fluttershy put her hooves back on the ground slowly. "I, um... I... I feel less alone," she admitted quietly.

"Well, come on! You got me, right?"

Twilight wasn't sure whether she should feel bad or not, and by this point, she wanted more than anything else in the world to leave this terribly awkward social situation. Oh, Celestia, I knew I did it wrong. That was weird. "Um, I - I should - uh - congratulations!" she said quickly, and trotted away without waiting for a response. She could feel herself start to blush as she put a forehoof to her face in frustration at her own stupidity.

It didn't take her too long to find the top of the hill again. She just followed the scent of food; everything everypony brought (except the snacks; they were down in the valley) was sitting either on a few tables or practically stacked on the grass at the top of the hill. There must have been hundreds of pounds of food just sitting there, waiting for the official lunch-is-served proclamation.

Pinkie was chatting with a few ponies that Twilight didn't recognize. She trotted up the hill, and stopped a few feet from the pink mare. She didn't want to interrupt her conversation, after all. She turned back and gazed over the valley, suddenly thrown into deep thought by the remembrance of her recent, um, discovery.

Apparently, Pinkie would have none of it. "Hey, Twi!" she shouted, snatching her attention. "Come here! I want you to meet somepony!"

Twilight sighed and trotted over, smiling politely. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. And y-"

"This is Austin, and this is Sunflower!" Pinkie interrupted, throwing a hoof over each of them and beaming. "Oh, um, Austin can't hear."

"You mean, well?"

"No, um, not at all."

"He's deaf," Sunflower tried to clarify.

"Got it," Twilight replied. She closed her eyes for a second, thinking, before looking back at Austin with a forehoof in the air. I assume you can sign? she asked slowly, moving her hoof and head around silently.

Austin smiled. I'm surprised you can, he replied. That's really cool.

Twilight smiled and offered her hoof, which they accepted, one at a time. "Hi, Twilight! I've heard about you, you know," Sunflower said. "Aren't you an Element-bearer like Pinkie?"

"Yes, I am," Twilight replied, hiding the ecstasy she felt at being recognized. "Element of Magic -"

"Currently paired with the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie said, popping up from behind Twilight and giggling.

"Paired?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie replied, and leaned over to Twilight, pulling her in for a kiss.

Twilight was momentarily rendered immobile, which is a fancy way of saying she was shocked. She glanced over at the two standing near them, and thought for a moment about pulling away. But then she remembered Bon-Bon's words: It's hard to come to accept yourself sometimes.

Although it wasn't a long kiss, Twilight suddenly, inexplicably felt herself drawn into it. She could feel a tingle run down her spine, she could feel a blush come to her cheeks, and she could sense that one feeling she'd sensed when she was with Pinkie before. Love her.

By the time Pinkie pulled away after a few seconds, Twilight had just begun getting into it; but then her surroundings caught up with her and she whipped her head around at the two standing near them. Surprise was more than evident on their faces, and Twilight felt her blush deepen. Should she feel so embarrassed?

Pinkie took no note of the awkward silence in the air. "We've been together for few weeks now," she began. "You know, I never would have thought that it would lead up to this, but... well, now that it has, I'm just so happy..." she trailed off, staring at Twilight with a faraway look in her eye.

She snapped back to attention with the clapping of hooves. Austin was looking up at them and smiling, clapping his hooves together and nodding. Glad for you two, he signed quickly to Twilight, who in return translated for Pinkie.

Pinkie smiled. Thanks, she signed back.

Twilight looked over at her, her mouth open. "When did you - how did you -"

"I pick things up," she said, giggling.

Sunflower smiled. "I agree." She paused. "And it's weird that all of us know sign. Ooh! It could be our secret language or something!" she said enthusiastically.

"Sure. Next time we meet up," Twilight replied.

"Oh, we should get going. Nice meeting you! Bye!" Sunflower called, turning and walking away with Austin in tow. Just before they ducked out of sight behind the hill, Austin turned and signed wildly: Invite me to the wedding!

Twilight blushed furiously as soon as they passed out of sight. She looked quickly over to Pinkie, who was grinning as usual; she didn't seem to have caught on. She chuckled to herself, keeping the thought out of her head for now. "Pinkie?"

"What's up?"

"Why did we - um - why did you kiss me?"

Pinkie's face fell. "Was I not supposed to?"

"Not, um, not really," Twilight replied. "I mean, it wasn't bad or anything, but... well, what if they didn't like fillyfoolers?" The word still stung a bit. "I know there's ponies like that out there. Look, all I'm asking is why."

"Well, Lyra and Bon-Bon said to do what we felt like, and - and that's how I felt."

Hearing this, Twilight softened. "Aw. That's sweet. But you should still, you know, think before you... you do something like that."

Pinkie grinned. "Okie dokie lokie!"

"How about we wrap up the party soon, too?" Twilight asked. "I have something we could do together."

It took a bit longer to wrap up the party than either of them expected. In fact, by the time they got back to Pinkie's apartment, there were only a few hours of daylight left.

She hoped there would be time for what she had planned. In case there wasn't, though, she made sure to get right to work the minute they stepped into the kitchen.

"Okay, look, Pinkie," she said, grabbing the saddlebag happily from the couch where she left it and pulling out the book with her magic. "I found this cookbook written entirely in Most Ancient Tongue!"

Pinkie looked at her, at the floating book, and back at her, giggling. "I have no idea what that means."

"Look, look, look, I can translate this, and you can cook it!" She sighed, flipping open the book and scanning the characters written carefully across the yellowed pages. "Won't it be amazing to taste something invented thousands of years ago?"

Pinkie giggled again. "Sure. If you want to." She smiled and brushed past her, humming tunelessly.

Twilight felt a chill run through her, and, as she turned to follow Pinkie into the kitchen, a thought popped into her mind. Save it for later, Twi. She closed her eyes for a second before trotting up happily to the counter.

"Okay, look, let's start in the desserts section first," she began. "It might take me a few minutes to work through some of this stuff - you know, just letting you know. Okay, um, first thing - farina. Farina, far - far - flour. Flour! Two cups of flour, madam! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Pfft! No, get - ha!"

Twilight shook her head, a dusty cloud of flour forming around her mane. She laughed again, and snatched a bit more from the bag with her magic. "Hey! Stop moving!"

"What, and let you win? Please!" Pinkie laughed, and ducked behind the counter. "Why exactly are we doing this?"

"I have no idea!" Twilight replied, and jumped around the island, tossing the flour into the air and listening with expectation for the poof when it collided with Pinkie.

But it didn't come. Instead, she heard a ding from the oven behind her, and turned around to face it.

"Ooh, yay, it's done!" Pinkie cried, bouncing down the stairs and trotting up behind her, kicking open the oven and throwing on a pair of heat pads. Twilight looked at Pinkie, at the staircase, and back at Pinkie, before sighing and shaking her head

"So, what did we make again?" Pinkie asked, pulling the two trays out of the oven and lowering them cautiously on the island behind them.

"I dunno... lessee... crustulum. Cookie. Or cake. Little cake. Cupcake?" She looked over the small tannish pastries. "...Logs?"

"Alrighty, ancient logs."

"That's good," Twilight replied, laughing. "Ancient logs."

Twilight turned away again, looking over the little cakes. "We didn't do too bad, did we?" she asked, turning to Pinkie - and receiving another puff of flour in the face. "Pfff!" she shouted, and giggled. "You haven't won yet, Pinkie!" she said, pulling another bit of flour from the bag and throwing it towards the pink mare - or where she was.

"Pinkie?" she called. "Pinkie, how do you even-"

"Gotcha!" Pinkie shouted from behind her, and she felt Pinkie's hooves on her shoulders as she was pulled into a hug.

Twilight reached a hoof around to Pinkie's neck, and turned her head to kiss her lightly on the cheek. She could feel her heartbeat. And her body. Her soft, warm pink coat and her tender embrace. She smiled, and felt herself blush. Love her.

She leaned over again, to Pinkie's ear, and whispered, "I love you."

There was silence throughout the apartment, save the light staccato snoring of Gummy in the den. Pinkie let out a short squeak, one of joy, of love. She turned Twilight around and kissed her slowly, passionately. Twilight closed her eyes and leaned in, her forehoof still lying on Pinkie's neck.

She was drawn closer, until their chests were touching. Twilight's blush deepened as she reached her other hoof around Pinkie's neck, until both mares were standing on their back legs.

That tingle, that clever tingle that gave Twilight's feeling finality, swept through her spine, being careful, as it would seem, to touch every last nerve. She moaned involuntarily, and leaned in more.

Too much. Pinkie stepped back twice, before her hooves slipped out from under her and she toppled backwards, breaking away from Twilight and let out a short shriek - before she was surrounded by a light pink glow and lowered gently to the flour-coated floor below. She looked up at Twilight, and smiled, putting a hoof on her face and guiding her down on top of her.

"I love you, too."

She moved her forehooves and, in one smooth motion, swapped positions with Twilight, until she was standing over her. She leaned in for another kiss, and Twilight accepted it gratefully, sitting up slightly to give herself more leverage.

They moved back across the kitchen together, their lips touching at different frequencies now: kiss, pull away, touch, kiss, pull away, touch. Eventually, Twilight back up against the back wall of the kitchen, near the doorway. She sat up and pulled Pinkie in closer, holding her head close to hers, touching the ends of their snouts together. Pinkie leaned forwards and kissed her again.

Twilight gasped as she felt Pinkie's tongue brush against her teeth. She thought it over for a few seconds. Was this what she wanted? It had always seemed... well, gross when she'd heard about it before. But now, now that she was here, experiencing something she'd never dreamed that she'd experience... she was more than willing.

There was only one thing she would ever be able to say about it was that it was sweet. So, so sweet.

It must have been minutes before they pulled away. Twilight gasped and touched noses with Pinkie again, now short of breath. Pinkie reached her head down and kissed alongside Twilight's neck slowly, while drawing her hoof slowly across Twilight's chest.

Suddenly, Twilight's heart leapt. She felt Pinkie's hoof begin to move down, tracing the center of her belly. Her pulse began to quicken even more than it had been. She wasn't ready for this! It was - it was too early! "Pinkie, s-stop," she said, quieter than she'd intended.

She didn't think Pinkie heard her, and she felt her hoof continue traveling slowly down her body. "Pinkie. Stop. P-Pinkie," she said, a little louder.

Pinkie continued kissing her neck slowly, and continued moving her hoof. When it finally passed her hip, Twilight's anxiousness burst. "Pinkie!" she cried, and moved away, rising slowly to her hooves.

Pinkie followed suit. "Twilight! What happened? Is there something wrong?" she asked, sounding more distraught than Twilight had ever heard her sound.

"Yes- n- Pinkie, I - I just don't think I'm ready for something like that!" she said, her pulse still racing.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"I should go. I'm sorry. I - I have to go." She turned promptly and trotted quickly out the front door, trying not to look back. She didn't want to make it too hard.

As she left the cul-de-sac, she felt tears streaming down her face. I'm such an idiot! What if I ruined everything?

It's not your fault, don't worry, I'm sure she'll understand.

I don't want her to be mad at me! I don't want her to be upset at all! I'm just not ready! She closed her eyes and trotted faster. I'm such an idiot...

A few minutes later, she walked quietly into the library, shutting the door behind her. The room was dark. Quiet. Safe. She wiped at her eyes and walked upstairs and into her room. Dark. Quiet. Safe. Here she could let her emotions out.

So she did. She sat on the edge of her bed and thought. The time for caught-up-in-the-moment emotions like sadness and frustration was over. Now only one question ran through her head.

What am I going to do?