Pinkie awoke from another out-of-body dream. They'd been losing frequency, giving Pinkie hope that soon they would disappear. That soon she would have no need for dreams portraying her as Twilight, and they would be replaced by dreams portraying her next to Twilight.

She sat up, and hugged herself a little, plunging herself into an unintentional daydream. In her bubbly imagination, nothing ever went wrong; the world was just as she wanted it. Everything was perfect for her, from the nature around her to her friends' feelings to her own feelings. That included her own relationships.

She remained in her own world for a little longer than she would've liked, just to boost her morale a little. She wanted to remind herself that everything would be okay.

Because tonight she had a date.

A little later, when Twilight woke in the stillness of her library, she began to prepare herself as well, albeit in a different way. She opened her eyes to the early daylight and, almost immediately, she levitated the book she'd been reading the other night from the drawer near her bed.

She looked cautiously around her and flipped it open to her bookmark. She couldn't afford to let Spike see her recent change in reading materials.

The small blue book's emblazoned gold title read, A Few Tips to Know on Your First Date. She'd sneaked it out of the library (to her great chagrin) on Tuesday. She'd nearly hit the end already, despite the fact she was forced to read in secret.

Remember to never let yourself get nervous. You should be able to be yourself, no matter what anypony else does. She thought about this. It wouldn't be hard to be herself - she didn't know how to be anypony else in the first place - but she was sure that Pinkie already knew who 'herself' was. What would she do? What would she say?

She flipped through the pages, as though expecting something to jump out at her. Obviously, nothing did, and she slumped back on her bed.

Maybe it wasn't her responsibility. Maybe she would just go along with it, see where it went. After all, this kind of thing doesn't happen every day; she doubted there was a book written on it. But she still felt an academic responsibility

How are you supposed to date a friend?

She eventually pulled herself out of bed and nudged Spike awake soon after. He responded with a groan before slipping sluggishly off of his pillow and trudging down the stairs, leaving Twilight alone once more.

She began to re-shelve books, stopping periodically to glance through a few, to take her mind off what would occur that evening. It worked well, for a good half hour, before Spike came upstairs again to check on her.

"Twilight?"

She gasped and dropped a few of the floating books, the baby dragon's small voice breaking the silence and stillness of the room. She regained her composure quickly.

"I - um - breakfast is ready," he said from the door. There was a slight pause. "Are you alright in there? 'Cause I heard a few thumps, like something dropped-"

"Yeah, I-I'm good, Spike."

The dragon turned from the door and began walking down the steps. Twilight had been acting funny over the past few days, but be just couldn't place his claw on what it was. He wasn't going to guess, either; he'd never been very good at that.

He shrugged it off and continued down the steps.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, the violet unicorn lowered herself slowly onto her bed, the interruption of her task inviting her thoughts back into her head with frightening power.

She was confused as to why she asked Pinkie in the first place. She'd thought it was an impulse action, but that would insinuate that she had deep feelings for Pinkie. Which she didn't. That was another main point.

She believed that she was testing herself, not Pinkie. But in that case, in the event she finds out that she is a lesbian, she'd be in a relationship with Pinkie. Is that what she wanted? Was it?

Twilight hadn't been given such a strange scenario to work with before. She was torn emotionally - between whether she actually thought going out with Pinkie was a good idea because she wanted to test her own sexuality, or that she might actually have feelings for her.

This made Twilight draw a shuddering breath. Maybe it was a placebo effect. Maybe, because Pinkie had said all those things to her, that she thought she might be attracted to her. But... was it really? She felt as though she couldn't read her own emotions, and it frustrated her beyond belief.

This date would affect so much in her life. She was counting on it to answer dozens of questions for her.

But for those answers, she'd have to wait until eight.

Pinkie busied herself in various ways around the house until the sun began to sink in the sky, and Luna was about to bring the night. By then, she'd taken a shower (it didn't help straighten her hair, though) and brushed herself thoroughly. It all seemed like a dream; like it wasn't really happening.

But it was, and it would, whether Pinkie liked it or not. She hoped she would love it; she hoped this date would be the most successful date in all of Equestrian history. She wanted so desperately for Twilight and her to... to 'work out'.

At a quarter till, she left the apartment and made her way to Mane Street. She scolded herself when she tried to prepare; she wanted everything to be from the heart. Nothing could screw this up - not her, not her mouth, and not her outspoken brain.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw waiting for her at a table in the corner deli. Twilight was beautiful; her coat was shining in the light of the sunset, and the early moon cast a highlight over part of her mane.

Pinkie looked up at the sky. It was almost an omen... almost exactly at eight came twilight itself, a brilliant purple color lighting up the sky briefly before night could take hold. She took a deep breath and began to approach the lavender unicorn.

Twilight noticed her arrival. "Hey, Pinkie," she greeted her, and patted the seat next to her, inviting her over.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie said, trying to contain her excitement. She walked over to the small umbrella-table Twilight was sitting under and sat near her - not quite next to her, but close. She smiled despite of herself and waited for Twilight to begin.

It took Twilight a few seconds to speak. "You know, Pinkie, I've been thinking about this. I just want to start... like, from the beginning."

Pinkie thought for a minute. "Well, I guess I can do that. Um... lessee... well, first, I'm really happy to be here." She paused. "I'm glad we could do this. I know it's a long shot, but I'm so, so glad you agreed to try."

Twilight smiled. "Well, I'm happy to do this, too. I..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say. How could she talk about what was going on in her head? She barely understood it.

Pinkie continued. "I dunno. I guess that since I've been thinking about this a lot, and then I actually see it happening, I just get ecstatic. I'll... I guess I'll just try my best."

"Pinkie, I don't want you to try, I want you to be yourself. In fact," Twilight added, "I've noticed another side to you. A quiet, thoughtful side that I haven't seen before. I'd like to get to know her better."

Pinkie swallowed. Just be herself? Herself around Twilight was different form herself normally. Maybe that's what she was talking about. "I think I started acting like this a few months ago, almost a year now, I guess, when I first met you. You calmed me down - no wait, that's not right - you... made me think. It was a challenge keeping up with you."

Twilight was listening carefully. The same thing, or, rather, the polar opposite happened to her. Instead of making her think, Pinkie let her have fun. She taught her indirectly how to let go and stop worrying. "Is that bad?"

"No! Of course not! I'm not challenged much, but I like to be. That's why I play sports and enter competitions and stuff. I like a challenge... but nopony ever seems to think that about me."

The two continued talking quietly in the dimming light, until the deli closed at nine. By then, of course, their conversation had grown so complex that it was impossible to just stop where they were. Pinkie found herself unintentionally accompanying Twilight back to the library.

"What, are you kidding? I wouldn't ever play the lottery. It's too much of a risk of getting nothing," Twilight was saying.

"Well, yeah, but the point is the thrill you get when scratching off the stuff. You're never really gonna win anything; I think it's set up that way." Pinkie giggled before she looked up and noticed that they were in view of the library.

She turned to Twilight. "Well... um... it looks like you're home."

Twilight looked up, too, and nodded. "Yeah."

Pinkie looked at her and opened her mouth as if to speak. It remained silent for a minute or two.

Finally, Twilight spoke. "That was really nice, Pinkie. I'm glad we did this."

Pinkie had been thinking of the best way to respond. "...Are you free Wednesday?"

Twilight smiled. "No, but I am Tuesday."

Pinkie tried to keep from grinning from ear-to-ear. She didn't screw up. It was gonna happen again. "Six?"

"Sure."

Pinkie's pulse picked up speed, but she declined herself her desires. "Well, good night."

Twilight watched her walk away, her hooves striking the tiled street to produce the only sound audible in all of Ponyville. The moonlight formed Pinkie's silhouette as she walked farther down the road. Twilight sighed shortly and looked to the ground, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

It didn't stay long, though; when she heard her name, her expression changed to one of surprise.

"Hey, Twi," Rainbow Dash called from above her. She flew around her until she met her face-to-face. "What's up? What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?"

"I saw Pinkie and you walk up like you were going to the library, then you stopped, then Pinkie walked away. You know it's, like, ten, right?"

"It's barely nine!" Twilight was developing a defensive tone.

"Okay, okay! Jeez!" Dash came down to earth in front of Twilight. "I was just asking."

"We had a sort of girl's night out." It wasn't really a lie, and Twilight was still reluctant to tell any of her friends about her and Pinkie's... whatever they were doing.

"Oh." Dash didn't want to mention where she'd been all evening, either. Instead, she quickly changed the subject. "I know it'd be asking a lot, but is the library still open?"

Twilight forced herself not to laugh. "You said it yourself, Dash - it's, like, ten."

"But you said it was barely nine!" Seeing the look on Twilight's face, she groaned. "Fine. I'll come back tomorrow." Without another word, she took off into the air, flying in the direction of Cloudsdale.

Twilight shook her head at the quickly departing pegasus, and chuckled to herself while walking into the library door. I've sure set her to the books, haven't I?

She slept peacefully that night, but not before she documented her findings. She learned two things: the only two things she'd ever learned that she didn't feel comfortable sharing with Princess Celestia.

First: Pinkie had indeed captured her attention. She'd opened Twilight up to a whole new side of her, a side she'd never seen before, with thoughts and emotions that she didn't think Pinkie was capable of. Second: she'd learned that it didn't seem to matter that Pinkie was a mare. She'd set a spark; although Twilight wasn't really sure what it meant, she did feel something - something she hadn't read about, and something that she would have to learn about.

She was hoping to get some more answers on Tuesday.

The door shut behind her quietly, breaking the quietness of the night for less than a second. It was enough to break her out of her trance, though.

She never thought it would go so well. She dwelt happily in this thought until another, less comforting thought crept into her mind. She couldn't really determine how well it went. Well, Twilight did say it was nice... but she's always been kind to me. What if she was trying to make me feel better?

No. She wouldn't. I could've sworn she was being serious.

She shook her head and tried to take her mind off of everything by baking a little. She didn't often bake so late at night, but she just had a compulsion. Soon, the smell of batter filled the small kitchen, and Pinkie lost herself momentarily in her task, all the while thinking positive thoughts.

Another realization came to her mind soon: she agreed to a second date. She must like spending time with her.

Maybe, she thought as she laid in her bed, just maybe, I'll be able to follow my dreams. This could work.

She hugged her pillow tightly until she drifted off to sleep.