"But, but Applejack, I'm not..."

Pinkie was standing shakily in front of Applejack, surrounded by thousands of apple trees. Pinkie had decided earlier to gather advice from everypony who could help, and Sweet Apple Acres was closest to her apartment. She'd been talking everything over with Applejack for the past half an hour.

She shifted her view to the ground beneath her. "I'm not really that brave."

"Right," Applejack snorted. She was leaning against one of the numerous apple trees surrounding them, facing Pinkie. "Ah've always known ya to be outright. As far as ah can remember, ya haven't been any measure of shy or even kept a secret before. Why would ya start when it counts?"

"Because this really matters to me! This is really... important to me." She paced a little bit, forwards and backwards, trying to configure her words before she said anything stupid. "It would be hard for me to just come out and say it. I'd make myself look like an idiot. Like I always do."

"Even if there's so much ridin' on this, it doesn't mean ya can't take a chance. It takes a gamble to win the pot. That's what mah daddy always told me, and it works just as well in this situation."

"I'm still not sure whether I can just say it like that. What if I mess up?"

Applejack sighed, and walked towards the still-pacing pink mare. "Ah don't think that the way ya say it'll make much of a difference, Pinkie," she said, placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "If it'll work out, it'll work out. If it ain't, it ain't. And I doubt Twilight'll hate ya fer anything; but ya just gotta trust in fate."

Pinkie shook her head, and bit her bottom lip again. She could now clearly see the obstacle that she was meant to scale, looming over her like the great mountain range always looking down on the town below. It wasn't the actual asking that frightened her the most, or even the rejection, it was how Twilight would take it. Pinkie had no idea how somepony like Twilight would react to that kind of thing.

Suddenly, she wasn't sure whether she was up to it. "Maybe I'll tell her later," she thought aloud.

Applejack was quick to remedy this. "No, no, no, ya should definitely do it as soon as possible. Today. Puttin' it off'll make doin' it harder and harder until ya'll just give up. Ya can't give up, Pinkie. Ya told me how important it is to ya. Ya gotta do it."

Pinkie let the impact of what Applejack said sink in slowly, before she nodded twice. "You're right. I need to. But," she added, "I should ask Fluttershy what to do first. Maybe she could help...?"

"Fluttershy knows?"

"Yeah."

"...Is she okay with it?"

Pinkie didn't want to reveal anything about Fluttershy before she had the chance to announce it. "Yeah, she's fine with it."

At this, Pinkie thanked Applejack for her help quietly and made her way to the front of the farm. Next stop - Fluttershy's.

"Fluttershy?"

The mention of her name made the light yellow pegasus stop pacing. The voice was recognizably Pinkie's. Fluttershy stood for a second, facing the door, head cocked, and took two steps towards it.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie called for a second time, and knocked twice. She needed desperately to speak to Fluttershy; she'd almost made her decision, but she felt as though Fluttershy would give her the most helpful advice. "Are you there?"

Fluttershy nodded, then, realizing a door was separating them both, called out, "It's open." She continued her nervous pacing, returning to the little circle she'd mentally mapped out on the kitchen floor.

Pinkie quietly entered the house, not interrupting Fluttershy's concentration. As Pinkie watched, Fluttershy stopped, looked to the ceiling, and looked to Pinkie, muttering something anxiously under her breath. She blinked a few times, not tearing her gaze from Pinkie, and shook her head a bit to clear her thoughts.

She smiled warmly, her mood changing as though she'd just come out if a trance. "Hello, Pinkie, I'm so glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you about something. Oh," she said, realizing how rude she'd been. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be so blunt. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I mean, I guess - I mean, I wanted to talk to you about something, too. Can we -" she said, motioning to the living room.

"Oh, yes, of course," Fluttershy replied. "Go on ahead; um, would you like anything to drink? I mean, I have lemonade, iced tea, wh-"

"No, I'm fine. I hope I won't take long." Pinkie had already been rather worried about Fluttershy since she saw her pacing, but now that she was so uncharacteristically talkative, she decided that it would be best to leave her to whatever she was doing.

"So," Fluttershy said, sitting down on the soft white couch in the living room, "you go first."

Pinkie sat across from her friend in a comfortable yellow armchair. She no longer felt any aversion to speaking openly to Fluttershy; she merely focused herself and began. "Fluttershy, I'm thinking about telling Twilight."

At this, Fluttershy grew visibly concerned. "What?" Pinkie asked. "What's wrong? Should I not?"

"No, no, no," Fluttershy assured her. "Nothing's wrong with it. I was just... surprised." Seeing no reaction from Pinkie, Fluttershy continued. "I'm thinking of... telling Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie suddenly felt guilty inside. She felt as though she caused Fluttershy to want to reveal her secret. This would have been great in another context - they could do it together; but it made Pinkie feel guilty (and, truthfully, nauseous) because she was almost certain that Dash wasn't a - was - that she wasn't like them.

Pinkie couldn't bear to stand by and let Fluttershy get hurt, especially by somepony she obviously cared for. But she had no idea how to tell Fluttershy. She assumed it wouldn't happen to her; after all, Twilight had never even begun to reveal her sexuality to anypony. But that meant anything could happen.

"Fluttershy," Pinkie said, "are you sure you want Rainbow Dash to know so soon?"

"Soon?" Fluttershy asked. "We've known each other for years." She blushed. "I've always considered her... you know; I mean... um..."

"B-but I'm not sure whether -" Pinkie stopped herself. She looked up at Fluttershy. "Well, what if... we found out together?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean, like, we tell them together, I mean we do it at the same time and meet up afterwards." She bit her bottom lip for a second or two. "For better or for worse."

Fluttershy thought for a second. "If..." she began, and stopped for a moment, thinking out what she would say. "If something goes wrong, what do you think'll happen?" Fluttershy had lost her abnormal pep, and had reverted to speaking in a near-whisper.

Pinkie looked up at Fluttershy, with a terribly serious demeanor. "I don't know, Fluttershy." She turned away. "I love her. I don't know what I would do if anything went bad." A few tears rolled down her cheeks, alarming Fluttershy slightly. "What if she'll hate me?"

Fluttershy leaned over and hugged her friend. "I don't know how she'll respond to anything, but if there's anything I know about Twilight, it's that she'll never disown one of her friends." Pinkie hugged back, her sudden emotions dying down.

Pinkie stood and approached Fluttershy, sitting next to her. The two sat in silence for a minute or two, each remembering that short time a few days ago, each feeling almost the same way.

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"I've been wanting to ask this for a while, but I didn't know how, 'cause I didn't want to insult you. Will you please not be insulted?" Fluttershy nodded slowly, and Pinkie continued. "Is your crush on Rainbow Dash, like, um... what's a good word for it?"

"... physical?"

"Yeah."

Fluttershy flushed a light red. "I'm not really sure. I didn't start thinking about that type of thing until a while after I understood it. I didn't consider it being a reason until I started thinking about it... what I think is that it's mainly emotional, but... there's something."

Pinkie remembered when that started happening for her. "That happened to me, too, actually," she said, rather surprised. A sudden thought made Pinkie remember why she was there. "How are we gonna tell them?"

Fluttershy sighed. "I don't know. I was confused at first when I realized you were... like me. I thought I was the only one in Ponyville, if not Equestria." She was visibly upset now. "I never thought it was meant to be, but you gave me some hope that maybe Dash was a... was like me, too."

Just hearing Fluttershy made Pinkie's problems feel lighter. It seemed as though Fluttershy'd never even been exposed to this kind of thing before, at all. She could tell, just by the hollowness in her voice, that she was struggling more with who she was than Pinkie, and, despite the small relief she felt at this, it was still a bitterly depressing sight.

Pinkie stood, staring out the bay window in front of them. The bright greens and blues settled her mind. "Why don't we do it now?"

Fluttershy looked up at Pinkie, and shook her head nervously. "I wouldn't know how."

It had been almost ten minutes after Pinkie arrived at the library door. She'd taken a few extra minutes rehearsing in her head before she actually went ahead with it. The plan was... well, it wasn't as fleshed out as she would've liked. She decided that she would just try her best. Applejack had been right; if it'll work out, it'll work out.

Collecting herself, she opened the door slowly and took a few steps into the library. She looked to her left and right, as though expecting somepony to come out to meet her.

Hearing nothing, though, she stepped further into the room. "Twilight?" she called out, half-hoping that she wasn't there so she would be granted another day of planning.

"Pinkie?" Twilight responded from the second floor. "I'll be right down, gimme a second!"

Pinkie sighed. Twilight was home, and she realized every possible scenario that she'd come up with could happen. Today. Her heart fell into her stomach as she steeled herself, drawing a deep breath. She knew it would have to happen eventually, and it was now or never.

The door at the top of the stairs opened, and Twilight skipped rather quickly down the stairs. "Hi, Pinkie! I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Yeah, I kinda need to talk to you, too." Her voice was weak and far too quiet for her to be comfortable with it. She cleared her throat, hoping Twilight wouldn't notice.

She walked towards Pinkie a bit. "You know, I've been wondering about something."

There was a tension in the silence of the library. Pinkie's pulse began to quicken, and she grew more and more nervous. "Wondering?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could muster.

"Well, you kinda seem like you're avoiding me. What did I do wrong?" Twilight stopped walking towards Pinkie and turned to walk towards the bookshelf.

"What did - what?" Pinkie said in return, genuinely confused.

"Look. I've been reading up on what you've been doing, and everything points to one thing..."

Pinkie swallowed. "One - one thing?"

"Yeah... some kind of loss of friendship." She pulled a book down from the shelf, its gold-emblazoned title reading 'Basic Pony Psychology: Interpersonal Relationships'. She flipped it open and levitated it over to Pinkie. "That's probably not a good thing, for the Elements or, you know, just for being friends. What did I do wrong?"

"A loss of -" Pinkie stopped herself, relieved. She pushed the book away with her muzzle; now would be as good of a time as ever. "No, wait, Twilight, I didn't - you didn't do anything wrong."

"But, but, see, you're quieter around me, and you're avoiding me, and you talk to me less, and..."

"Twilight, wait. Stop." Twilight quickly became silent. "I... uh, Twilight..." She turned her head away from Twilight and blushed deeply. "Twilight, I - rrgh." She stomped her hoof, now a shade of maroon.

"You what?"

"Gimme a second!" She sighed again, and glanced briefly into Twilight's eyes. She squeaked awkwardly, like Fluttershy may have - oh. She remembered the conversation she and Fluttershy had had that afternoon. She concentrated on her friend, who was somewhere out there right now experiencing exactly what she was. If Fluttershy could, she could.

"Twilight, I think I love you."

Twilight took no time at all to respond. "Well, I love you too, Pinkie; I mean, we are best friends, after all -"

"No, no, no, no, wait! Please, listen to me! It's... not that. I think I'm in love with you."

Twilight opened her mouth as though to speak, but her tongue refused to form words. She stood stock-still, staring at Pinkie, who was still looking at the ground, turned away from her

"Wait a second..." Twilight grinned. "Is this like that one prank that you said you played in school with the -"

Oh Celestia, it's happening again. I should never have done that. "How do you even know about -" she interrupted her, and paused, closing her eyes. Deliver. "Twilight..." she interrupted, softly but firmly. "I think I'm in love with you."

Twilight blushed almost as hard as Pinkie had, if not harder. Pinkie was staring at her dead in the eyes, no expression on her face. There was no way Pinkie was lying to her. Twilight found it rather hard to breathe; one of her best friends just admitted an actual attraction. To her. It was strangely flattering, but it was also really uncomfortable.

"Pinkie, nopony's ever said they... loved me before," Twilight said shyly. "Especially not my friend... especially not a mare. I didn't even know..."

"Neither did I. But it wasn't long ago when I realized it was... you. It really is only you. I dated colts in school, and even kinda recently, but nothing's ever worked out." She had locked her gaze on Twilight, not turning away from her since. "Now I realize why."

"I don't think I'm a lesbian, though, Pinkie," Twilight said, still slightly shying away from the pink mare.

"Look," Pinkie sighed, playing everything out in her head. "I'm not trying to insult you or - or anything, but I -"

"I'm not - it's not an insult, it's just - I mean..." she responded, trailing off into murmurs.

There was already too much silence. Why did she think it was a good idea to come into her home and make her so uncomfortable? She pushed these thoughts away and smiled to the best of her ability. "Can you give me a chance?" She held out her hoof to Twilight.

Twilight's brow furrowed in confusion. Embarrassment and confusion swirled around hazily in her mind, filling her to the brim with questions.

Light footsteps echoed throughout the now dead-silent library. Twilight gasped again, this time along with Pinkie, as her reptilian assistant walked through the doorway from the den, carrying a glass of chocolate milk. It was odd how oblivious he seemed to the drama.

He walked between the pair, to their total shock. "Hey, Twi. Hi, Pinkie," he said, continuing on his way to the kitchen.

Twilight stopped him with a hoof. "Hey, Spike," she began, noticing with worry that her voice cracked. "Can you run out and pick up some ice cream for dessert tonight?"

Spike turned around, confused. "You don't keep ice cream in the house anymore. You said it melted too fast and it wasn't safe -"

"We can eat it all tonight. That way it won't melt."

Spike's eyes narrowed, and the silence in the library was overpowering. "...Alrighty then," he said, finished his milk, and walked out the door, throwing a suspicious glance behind him.

Both mares watched Spike leave, and when the door shut, Twilight sighed in relief. She turned back to Pinkie, and laughed nervously.

She sighed again, her blush returning as she was pushed back into the awkward situation. "H-How? Why me?"

"I guess... I just admire you. I don't know how you can be so nice and accepting when I'm acting like... well, like Pinkie Pie. I love the way you always find time to spend with each of your friends, including me." She could feel an embarrassed tickle in her chest. "I don't feel good about avoiding you, but I didn't wanna let anything slip out before I could tell you."

"But you've been avoiding me for almost two weeks..."

"...Yeah."

Twilight didn't know how to respond to any of this. Yes, she liked Pinkie, but she never liked her any more than any of her other friends. But she could see the hope in Pinkie's eyes; she was torn between keeping a friendship intact and advancing it.

"Pinkie, I... I have to say no."

Pinkie blinked a few times and put her hoof down. Her mouth suddenly went dry.

"It's not you, Pinkie, really; I know it's a cliche but it's not you at all. I just don't think I'm ready for anything like that... I mean, I haven't even figured anything out about myself yet." She sighed. "I don't want to ruin what we already have with something so tentative. That's why I hope you can forgive me. Can we stay friends?"

Pinkie's eyes began to burn, but no tears came to them. That was fine with her; she'd rather not have let Twilight see her cry. However, she did have one feeling she couldn't explain to herself: she felt completely calm. Not at all as upset about it as she would've thought. In fact, she looked back up to Twilight, and nodded. "I understand."

Twilight hesitantly gave a small smile. "Thank you."

"I'll just... we'll just pretend that this didn't happen. It would help everypony, including me. We should just forget about it."

"That's... great! Um... I mean, I thought you would've been more broken up. I'm glad to see that I didn't hurt you. You know that I wouldn't ever have tried to do that." She held out her hoof. "Friends?"

Pinkie smiled back, and took her hoof. "Friends."

The sun was starting to set as she left the library silently. She didn't look back. A brilliant purple glow was cast over the clouds above and the ground below as Princess Luna began the night.

Pinkie walked slowly, as she had been the past week. She felt no hurry to go anywhere the past week; she didn't really have a schedule. Everything was focused on Twilight. But now that that was over, she had enough time to get back to her usual schedule.

Over.

This final, ending word gave Pinkie a sense of sadness over the death of a first real romance, but a sense of renewal in that it was finished. Her life was now open to so much more now that the abnormal drama was over.

She hadn't forgotten the plan she'd made with Fluttershy; she made her way to the corner cafe where they planned to meet. She saw her friend sitting at one of the tables alone, with a small smoothie she'd ordered beforehand.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie called cheerfully, and skipped over to give her friend a hug. "How'd it go for you? You tell me first."

"Hi, Pinkie." Fluttershy seemed relatively normal; maybe not as talkative as that afternoon, but nonetheless normal.

Pinkie took a seat across from Fluttershy. "So?" she prodded. "How'd it go?"

"I-I-I failed," she stuttered lowly. She was totally stoic, without any hint of emotion, and was staring intently at the ground. "It took me almost half an hour to asks her. And w-w-when I did, she almost shouted at me and said that she wasn't a lesbian. We were alone, she wouldn't do that in public, but it still scared me."

She couldn't really comprehend it. She just naturally assumed that Fluttershy would have everything go right for her - she was Fluttershy, she basically deserved it. It was silent as she moved over to her and put her hoof over her, but the silence broke as she began sobbing quietly.

"Don't cry, Shy, come on," she said quickly, her own voice breaking. "I don't believe that Rainbow Dash would do that," Pinkie said softly to her friend.

"She said she was sorry," Fluttershy said quietly, her cheeks still wet with tears, "and I could tell she meant it. And she seemed exasperated. And then she hugged me. But it - it s-still hurt."

"Well, I mean, there are other ponies, you know, in the..." she trailed off, wiping away a tear of her own. "...I guess I messed up too," she murmured. "She said no. Fate just didn't... didn't want us to be together." She held Fluttershy's head to her chest, and the two of them sat together, each alone in their own personal disappointment. By the time the tears stopped, it'd already become dark.

Nonetheless, they sat in each other's company at the cafe table for quite a while. She felt comfortable just sitting there with her. She felt like she could rely on her.

Pinkie suddenly felt more than she'd thought; the death of a first real romance would've been enough to shatter her, if it hadn't have been for Fluttershy. By then, just because of that, she felt like they were practically inseparable. When each finally decided to go home, Pinkie finally understood that Twilight wasn't a lost cause; it wasn't over; and there was still enough love for her in Pinkie's heart for her to persevere.

Although it was cliched, Pinkie knew that she would always have a place for Twilight somewhere in her heart. It wouldn't be impossible, for her or for Fluttershy; love always comes around in the end. But she would have to wait. Right?