The air had been still since work began. It wasn't often Pinkie felt tired of her job; she'd been doing it for so long, but even then there was still a kind of expertise that took her over and kept her focused. When she was baking, she became an artist - at least on any regular day.

Today, though, she just felt like looking out the window and watching ponies walk by and counting the leaves as they fell from the trees. She couldn't get the past few days out of her head - the only one of her friends she remembered seeing was Applejack, and even then she had to go up to the acres. She didn't remember seeing anypony around town and just only remembered Twilight walking by Sugarcube Corner. Even then, it seemed hurried, like she wouldn't stop in and say hi even if she had to.

She missed her friends and the stupid pranks and the laughs and jokes and occasional adventure, sure, but she missed seeing Twilight above all that. Maybe she was just being an idiot again, but usually Twilight came by the bakery every other day at least, for lunch.

Yeah, it was probably just her being an idiot. She slumped on the counter after putting a cake unenthusiastically in the oven. She jumped when she heard a crash and a mumbled curse behind her. When she remembered she still had a coworker-in-training, she sighed and turned around, seeing with surprise that Trixie had already cleaned up the spilled batter and put the pan in the sink with a bit of magical effort.

She managed a smile. "Wow, Trixie, you are really not bad with that horn."

Trixie returned the smile, the same see-through mask that Pinkie was wearing. "Well, you know."

"Aw, come on, you can have a little pride in yourself. You're a lot quicker than Rarity, at least."

Trixie's small smile quickly became genuine as a little twinkle danced in her eye. She shook her head and shot a small burst of sparks out of the end of her horn that exploded with a firework-esque bang.

Pinkie grinned against her better judgment. Well, she felt a little better. There was an odd thought that she felt like she wanted to say aloud, but also keep to herself. Eventually, she decided to just mention it. "You have a bad day, too, Trixie?"

Trixie turned around from the sheet she was glossing over with a bit of surprise evident on her face. "Oh, um... I guess you could say that."

"I can tell," she continued, leaning back on the counter. "You're not usually so quiet. In fact, you're really not quiet, like, ever."

"Neither are you!"

"Ah, there's the Trixie I know," Pinkie replied with another grin.

Trixie groaned, exasperated. "Alright. I haven't been doing very well. I haven't been able to save anything up yet because my landlord's a -" she paused. "And I have to keep coming back to this job that I just can't get around to support myself. Okay?"

Pinkie remained quiet as Trixie turned back to her work, and let the ticking of the oven timer and the mumbles of the light crowd in the front of the store fill the room. "Hey. How's your schedule after work?"

Trixie sighed. "Look, I don't -"

"You wanna grab something to eat? Talk about stuff?"

She shook her head. "I can't see - I mean, I know that - I mean... fine." She turned away again, putting a hoof to her forehead.

Pinkie smiled, more to herself than anypony else. "I mean, ever since you came here you were a mystery to me - I don't know anything about why you came back, or where you were, or anything. All I know is you work with me, and that's not a whole lot. So, I thought we should just... catch up," she finished, finding the right word in time.

Trixie was silent for a while, the air reverting to the stillness Pinkie hated. Soon, though, Trixie smiled softly to herself and turned back to Pinkie with a slight nod. "Thanks."

The staleness of the day had slowly disappeared after work was out. Pinkie greeted her coworker with a smile and a joke, just like she was meeting her for the first time.

Pinkie had decided, when she knew that the Trixie that had caused a bit of trouble in Ponyville a while ago was going to be her coworker, that she had changed entirely for the better. After all, what's trying to start a friendship with somepony if all you can think about is the problems they had in the past?

Oddly enough, though, unlike the other times she'd tried this, she was shocked to find she was pretty much right. Trixie seemed to be a new pony, with few to none of the traits she'd had last time they met. It was a striking difference.

The two left the bakery side-by-side in the late afternoon. It had warmed up quite a bit since that morning, but fall was still in the air. "So. You know that one place on fourth with the missing tile on the roof and all the spackle?" she asked, motioning her head to the left down the street.

"Not really," Trixie replied, still quietly.

Pinkie frowned. "Deli with the weird hospital smell on tenth."

Trixie shook her head. "I don't really -"

"Little noodle place off of eighth that the tennis players always go to?"

"I don't eat out much, Pinkie," Trixie interrupted, looking off down the street and smiling. "How about that place?"

Pinkie looked at her questioningly. "But that's the to-go place with the sandwiches."

Trixie sort of shrugged. "I'm okay with that. Are you not? I mean, you know, if you - you could just - we could go eat in the valley," she finished lamely.

Pinkie snorted. "You're acting way too much like one of my friends. It's almost scary." She shook her head. "Yeah, no, to-go is fine." She nudged her playfully. "Too new to have had enough of the valley yet?"

Trixie gave a small smile. "I guess."

Pinkie struggled with balling up her sandwich wrapper as she waited for Trixie to stop laughing. Pinkie smiled. "You know, you laugh a lot more than I thought you would."

Trixie sighed and returned her smile. "Well... you know."

She'd gotten a lot more comfortable around Pinkie over the month or so they'd shared a kitchen, but this was the first time Pinkie had heard her use her... well, her natural voice. She usually spoke a lot quieter or a lot more controlled than she was now.

"So life hasn't been treating you too badly? Like standing on your trachea? Or pulling your tail every thirty-or-so seconds?"

Trixie giggled again, hiding her uncharacteristic grin behind her hooves as well as she could. "Not really. I'm pretty okay with where I am now."

"Well, where are you now?"

The unicorn looked over at her, and looked away again, playing with her mane a bit. "... It's not important." She cleared her throat. "Oh, um, word's getting around town that you came up with a special apple-ish cupcake."

"No, no, it was almost all Applejack. I keep telling everypony that, but nopony pays attention." She sighed. "Oh, well." A brief pause, before Pinkie leaned over and gave Trixie a playful nudge. "Why? You jealous?"

Trixie bit her lip. "No."

"You jealous."

"Fine, maybe a little bit."

Pinkie smiled mischievously. "Oh, you jealous! I knew it!" She pushed her with a hoof, and she retaliated about the same. "Hey, come on. Next time we have a minute off at work, we'll come up something totally new. If, you know, the options haven't been totally exhausted."

Trixie smiled again. "That sounds great." There was a brief moment of silence. "... Hey. You know, not too many ponies are really... kind... around here, for lack of a better word," Trixie said, quiet once more. "It was really nice of you to, you know, do this for me."

Pinkie sat up, looking over at her. "Hey, no problem. What are friends for?" she added with a smile.

Trixie stared at her for a moment, before looking away into the distance. "... I don't know," she replied simply.

Pinkie looked up at the falling sun, before standing slowly to her hooves. "Hey, it's about time for me to get home. Next time, let's hit the deli. With boomboxes," she added with a mischievous giggle.

"R- next time?" Trixie asked, standing as well. "You mean you were... okay with that?"

"Okay with what?"

"Just..." she paused. "Me."

Pinkie smiled broadly. "Of course! What did you expect, I'd just straight-up hate y-"

She was interrupted by a swift embrace. She almost fell backwards, but recovered and returned the hug as well as she could. "Hey, Trix, take it easy. It's not that big of a deal."

She stepped back quickly. "Y-yeah, no, you're - you're right. I'm sorry. It's just - nothing. Never mind."

Pinkie's ear twitched twice. Something was up. She thought for a moment, before biting back a gasp. "Trixie, you've... had friends before, right?"

Trixie looked away.

The smile that was forming at the corners of her mouth disappeared. "Aw, Trixie, that can't -"

"Pinkie?"

She turned back towards the town and, seeing nothing, back towards Trixie, who'd developed a small blush. She did a double take and saw a bright violet form trotting towards them in the paling light. "Twilight?!" she called back, shocked.

Swinging her head back to Trixie, she felt herself blush slightly. "Um... I... You know what? Whenever you want to do something again, I'll invite some of the girls and we'll all go t-"

"Hey, Pinkie!"

She smiled weakly. "I - I'll see you Monday at work. I gotta go, though, bye!" With that, she turned to walk away - but instead ran muzzle-to-muzzle with the object of her affection.

Twilight smiled broadly. "Hi, Pinkie!" she began cheerfully. "I've been looking all over town for you. Never expected you to be out in -" she paused, noticing Trixie standing awkwardly behind them, pawing nervously at the ground.

Trixie was surprised, to say the least, when Twilight chuckled. "So what's up with Trixie?"

Pinkie smiled back and turned to look at her newfound friend. "Just an early dinner, I guess." She turned back, slightly worried. "Were you planning something? I wouldn't know."

"No, no, just wanted to talk. I already ate, too." She motioned affably with a hoof for Trixie to come over. "Hey, come on! Fill me in. How's everything going?"

Trixie just shook her head. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I should get going before it gets too dark." She flashed a nervous smile and trotted past the two into town.

The pair watched her until she disappeared into the streets. "... Well," Twilight said, nudging her marefriend, "can you fill me in? How's Trixie doing?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No, no, no, you have to tell me where you've been all week. Then I'll give you the gist with Trixie."

Twilight bit her bottom lip, and turned to walk back into town, with Pinkie closely in tail. "Uh... it's kind of a secret. You'll probably figure it out later anyways. So," she continued, with a flip of the mane, "want to make plans for... Saturday night?"

"Yes, I very well do," Pinkie replied huffily. "I've wanted to for a week, Twi!"

"I'm sorry. It was - important, for lack of a better word," she said, almost shyly. Coyly, maybe? Pinkie thought to herself. Nah. Twilight, coy. There's a thought.

"Yeah," Pinkie sighed. "And then she got all nervous and, truth be told, kinda depressing. I'm not sure whether she actually ever had a friend before." She looked down at the cobbled road, remembering the odd way her coworker reacted.

"I would assume not," Twilight replied. "With the way she used to act, she -"

"But she's totally changed! One hundred percent. And when I say 'changed', I mean, like, reversed."

Twilight didn't answer for a moment. "... I probably wouldn't have done what you did. You're a really good pony, Pinkie."

There was another moment of silence, and Pinkie smiled to herself as she felt herself blush lightly. She heard the wind rustle the piles of dry leaves around them. It was a nice night.

Her ears perked up as her thoughts were interrupted. "But, yeah. My week has been... off, for lack of a better word." Twilight had reverted to that shy, almost nervous tone that she'd been slipping in and out of recently. "In fact..." She faltered, making Pinkie repress a giggle. "You know how you used to ask me if I wanted to come in for a drink? I... think I will."

"Cool!" Pinkie replied with a short bounce. "I've been wanting so show somepony my cider cellar for forever."

"Cider cellar...?"

"You'll see when we get there," Pinkie replied, taking a sharp left and almost tripping over her hooves, "which shouldn't be too long."

There wasn't much else to talk about from there to the door, until Pinkie pulled the quick-unlock trick she'd been working on for ages with only a minor fumble and swung the door open.

"Now, you wait here," Pinkie said, taking a few steps and kicking at the floor. Twilight gasped as a little part of the baby-blue floorboard opened up and the sweet smell of cider almost instantly spread through the small living room.

Twilight lifted a hoof in shock, glancing up at Pinkie and back towards her full and lovely cellar. "H-how much -"

"Gallons and gallons and gallons, Twi."

"I'd never really been a huge cider fan until I met Applejack," Pinkie was saying, classic-style hoofcrafted cider mug emptied and on the floor. She was sunk comfortably into one of the mismatched couches and had a hoof around Twilight, as was becoming more and more common. "Before that, it was eggnog."

Twilight snorted. "Hard eggnog?"

"No. No! I was, like, ten!" She burst into giggles. "Hard cider is okay, though. First time I tried hard eggnog, I choked on it."

"Never had hard anything," Twilight began.

"Why am I not surprised?" Pinkie asked, dissolving into giggles and falling even farther into the couch.

Twilight whapped her with a pillow, grinning. "Shut up," she said with a short giggle. "On my birthday last year - you were there - everypony I know took me out and I had that really, really -" she swallowed "- really tall drink." She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it."

Pinkie sighed, still grinning. "You're right, I guess." She held her closer and yawned. "You want more cider? i kinda have a lot."

Twilight just shook her head and smiled. "I'm good." She leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Thanks for the evening, though, I needed it."

Pinkie looked up at her marefriend and suddenly felt an impulse, thought it over very briefly, and pulled Twilight back into the couch with her. She yelped as she fell back, the pillows scattered about the couch popping into the air.

Twilight giggled and, without warning, leaned in for a soft kiss. Pinkie smiled. This was pretty much the Twilight she knew. A lot more romantic than she came off, and took every chance she could to grab some kind of love. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Pinkie thought to herself as she returned the kiss.

Twilight was really good at this kind of thing. Pinkie could feel everything she did, every little touch and loving sigh that she gave. Maybe it was just Pinkie, but it wasn't an experience she'd had before - or thought she ever would again. She caught a glimpse of Twilight, who was flushed to that degree that always made Pinkie want to chuckle and was illuminated by her fully glowing horn. She'd always meant to ask about that.

Suddenly, Twilight drew closer. Pinkie felt that now-familiar tingle rush through her, and leaned forwards -

With a surprising pomf, she felt herself being pushed back into the couch, a hoof on her mane and the other already wrapped around her back. Twilight was entirely into it, without the buildup she tended to favour. She opened her eyes in shock, only to be pushed back again, Twilight's mouth opening slightly. Pinkie felt an all-new heat rush through her with a moan from her marefriend, and screwed her eyes shut again.

The pillows practically enveloped them at this point, covering her in even more heat than she was already feeling. There was no way to take control at this point. Twilight had totally given her all into this. Pinkie felt her regular little blush grow.

She suddenly felt the electric tingle of magic on her hooves. She was pushed gently but firmly back onto the arm of the couch, as Twilight followed, their kiss breaking momentarily. Pinkie opened her eyes for a moment to see the mischievous grin on her face that very nearly mirrored her own.

She tried to move her hoof up to Twilight, but found with a shock that they were restrained. Twilight smiled. "My turn," she nearly whispered, letting Pinkie's hooves go as she fell forwards, locking lips with her again and forcing an involuntary moan out of her.

Pinkie finally felt everything catch up with her, finally realized all that was happening. She gasped as Twilight pulled away, already short of breath, and let go, officially letting her marefriend take the reins. Everything was absolutely perfect. She could feel Twilight's hooves trace her slowly, painfully slowly. She finally felt her lips part, and her heart soared as their tongues touched.

She couldn't even draw up the nerve to speak anymore. She could barely even think of anything else except When did this happen? I can't believe this. When did this start? When did Twilight think of this? I can't believe this. I cannot believe this. When... Finally, she felt Twilight press up entirely against her, setting her essentially on fire. She could feel everything about her, from her incredibly soft coat to her heavy breathing.

Pinkie almost burst into tears when Twilight pulled away. "D-don't stop," she murmured, he eyes still closed as she reached out blindly with a hoof.

She felt a heat on her cheek, then on her neck. "To tell you the truth..." Twilight began, whispering with a tempting softness into Pinkie's ear. Pinkie smiled, and opened her eyes, reaching around to embrace her marefriend once more. However, her attempts were thwarted easily by Twilight, who forced her hooves back to the couch, holding them firmly in place with her magic. "Mm-mm," she warned, returning to her neck and kissing it slowly, forcing yet another moan out of her marefriend.

"To tell you... the truth," she began again after a moment, after Pinkie was already good and worked up, "I'm really... really... nervous right now."

"Lies," Pinkie replied in an exhausted murmur.

"I can't... tell you all the time it took to figure this out..." she continued, finishing with another kiss to her neck.

"It - I - uh -" Pinkie stuttered, her tongue not allowing her to form words. "Please let me go."

"No," Twilight replied, giggling and returning to her neck. "Not quite yet."

Pinkie's blood, recently on fire, froze as Twilight moved to her chest. She forced her eyes open briefly to see Twilight's horn glowing with spell upon spell. Its glow swelled briefly as the lights flickered out one by one, leaving the candle in the kitchen and her horn the only two sources of illumination. Pinkie sighed, enraptured, and let her head fall back onto the pillows as Twilight continued her slow, passionate kisses, with the occasional extremely exciting lick.

Her heart may have skipped a beat as Twilight's kisses grew lower and lower, and she was positive it did when she felt a hoof against her flank. And then the other. At a snail-like pace, Twilight's kisses descended further and further. Every time she took a brief detour, Pinkie could feel her heartbeat quicken. Finally, she'd traced along her stomach... just past her hips... lower -

Twilight raised her head, making Pinkie look up and strain at her magical bonds. Twilight had reverted to sounding nervous again, which made another slow wave of heat flow through her marefriend. "Like I said, if I'm doing anything wrong, just let me know -"

"Don't stop!" Pinkie cried, looking up in distress, still breathing heavily. She made eye contact with Twilight for the first time in quite a while, and was struck by how much Twilight's eyes were like amethysts in the pale pink light of her horn. If anything, this realization shortened her breath even more.

Twilight grinned, and shook her head. "You're as red as a tomato."

"So are you!" Pinkie replied, sounding uncharacteristically desperate, before Twilight rose to sit beside her. She was kissed once more, soft and without a lot of the passion that she'd been feeling. But at the same time, overflowing with real, honest love, plain and simple. She couldn't take it. She tried her best to lean into it and get the most out of it, but was restrained by the pink strands of magic that she couldn't help but hate to death.

Twilight pulled away. "Am I doing it right?" she asked quietly.

Pinkie tried to catch her breath, before opening her eyes to a deep red and genuinely confused-looking face. "Are... are you kidding?" she asked.

Twilight shook her head.

Pinkie looked up at her in absolute shock. "You're... kidding."

Twilight looked at her, and looked down at her hooves, then back at her, the remains of her mischievous grin spread across her face. "Not really."

"Twilight..." Pinkie began, her excitement not dulling, "just - just - just - oh, dear Celestia, I love you so much. So - so much."

She paused as Twilight drew her in for another short, soft kiss. "Do you r-"

"I do! I do, I really, r-really do. I can't - you - everything is.... perfect. It's - I - I -" she stuttered again, screwing her eyes shut once more. "Please, just let me go..."

Twilight smiled, and laid down again, tracing a hoof down her chest again and eliciting a soft moan. She leaned close, giggling briefly. "When I saw you for the first time today... I couldn't stop thinking... everything I learned about... everything I studied... I wanted to apply so badly..." she trailed off, bringing a hoof to Pinkie's chin and turning her head towards her own, drawing her tongue slowly up her marefriend's burning red cheek and making her gasp. "But I didn't know how. I didn't think it would work." Her whispers fueled the fire in Pinkie's chest. "I'm trying my best..."

By this point, there was little Pinkie wanted more than to return all of Twilight's advances. Every touch by then was magical. She felt nearly numb.

"S-Seriously, T-Twi, just... let me -"

"I've always been... good at testing..."

That was a purr. Oh, Celestia. She whimpered, every thought crossing her mind now something soon the lines of 'this is Twilight'.

"You want to know something?" Twilight asked, giving her ear a delicate nibble.

"Mm."

"You haven't been... restrained... for a few seconds now."

It took a second to get this thought through her mind, but when she did, she reached a hoof up and gasped. Without any hesitation, she threw a hoof around her marefriend and pulled her close, finally feeling for herself every curve on -

She was shocked for a moment when her hoof was brought slowly back down to the couch. She strained, but she was again held in place. "Twilight!" she cried, before hearing a snort and a giggle. She looked over at the violet unicorn, almost tearing up.

Twilight smiled again. "Are we ready?"

Pinkie closed her eyes. "I don't... I don't know... anything, as long as I can do something..."

Twilight smiled, and kissed her cheek gently, before reaching a foreleg around her and enveloping her in a cocoon of magic.

All Pinkie felt for a second was a tingling, and then a burning. Then the pink cleared, and she was sitting upright beside Twilight. She looked around, but couldn't make anything out in the dark. All she could see was an endtable and a wardrobe and...

They were in her bedroom.

She realized momentarily she wasn't bound anymore. She reached a hoof up to Twilight - before being pushed away and onto the pillows at the head of the bed.

They were in her bed.

Pinkie looked up at the lightly illuminated Twilight, who looked rather worried. "Am I... are you, um, okay with -"

"Yes! Yes, so much," Pinkie replied, just able to speak before she ran out of breath again. Her head was spinning. Twilight laid down next to her, and she felt another kiss on the other side of her neck.

It was tense and silent for a moment. Pinkie felt herself flush all over again when Twilight's whisper tickled her ear.

"Thank you."

Pinkie felt a burning behind her eyes, and turned to her left, leaning into a deep kiss and stroking her marefriend's mane slowly, reveling in her ability to. She felt Twilight's tongue press against her teeth and let her in, letting out a fluttering sigh. She never wanted to pull away. She ran her hoof gently, but firmly, along the arc in Twilight's back, and along her body until she reached her flank and traced along that as well. The fact there was no protest from Twilight excited her endlessly.

After not long enough, she felt surrounded by the tickle of magic and was levitated gently away, before Twilight sidled up alongside her and finally began to trace down the middle of her stomach with a hoof. Another involuntary moan.

Twilight smiled at her marefriend, before the smile was replaced by a look of confusion. "Pinkie, are you... crying?"

Pinkie looked over at her, panting heavily and leaning her head back onto the pillows.

Finally, she wiped at her cheeks. "N-no."

With a final, exhausted sigh, Twilight collapsed on her marefriend, glad to be able to relax entirely. Slowly, the quiet sound of gasping replaced the previous sounds that echoed through the room. She looked up at Pinkie, who was lying back against the pillows. Without too much of a second thought, she scooted up the bed and threw a hoof over her marefriend, pulling her close.

Pinkie looked up, and tried despreately to speak. "Twi - I - I don't know wh - what to - you..." She decided against it, and instead leaned forwards for a kiss.

Twilight giggled, and put a hoof on her muzzle. "Hold... hold on a second. I have to... have to catch my breath." Pinkie opened her eyes and smiled, and Twilight noticed for the first time how crystalline her eyes really were. They seemed to reflect all the light from her horn and just project it all over the room like a disco ball. How fitting.

She smiled back, and kissed the tip of her nose gently as they began settling down slowly. There was a moment or two of heavenly silence, a peace that nopony could find anywhere else.

"... Hey," Twilight said, surprised at how loud her voice seemed after such silence. She ran a hoof slowly down Pinkie's side, grinning to herself as she felt her shiver. Page 16, number four. A lot of gentle touches before and after. "I don't think I say this enough, but... Pinkie, I love you."

Much to her surprise, Pinkie didn't reply, but instead blushed slightly deeper and looked down at her hooves.

"But I... I really do. I really think that... I don't know. That this is right. And... I really do love you."

Pinkie's legs practically enveloped her marefriend in a tight embrace. "You don't have to say anything else," she whispered quietly, her lips just barely touching the side of Twilight's tingling, glowing horn. She gasped, and heard Pinkie chuckle through the darkness. "Hm. Like that?"

A rush of electricity pulsed through Twilight's body, almost literally, as she felt a tongue run slowly alongside the length of it. She gasped louder, and felt as though if her body retained any more heat, she could implode.

Suddenly, she felt herself swung forwards, onto her back, onto the pillows, as Pinkie stood above her with the most... powerfully alluring eyes. There was an entirely silent moment, until Pinkie leaned down close to her and whispered quietly to her, causing a chill to run through her whole body.

"That was your turn."

Author's Notes:

Mark jumped in for the ENTIRE couch scene. All of it. That wasn't my plan, but.. I can't just delete it. It's too damn cute. Anyways, I did the Trixie bit and extro. In case you care.

~ Dan

EDIT: Have you ever thought "fuck me my life's been weird innit"
this is that for me