…Straight to Pinkie Pie’s house. Well, it was Sugarcube Corner, but same thing really.

“Hiya, Twilight!” called the baker, chipper as ever. She was busily doing something or other behind the counter.

“Oh, uh, hi, Pinkie.” Twilight glanced around as she walked uncertainly forward. The place was empty, except for her. Hardly surprising this late in the day.

“Whaaaaaaat can I getcha?”

“Um…” It wasn’t until now that Twilight stopped to consider why she might have come here first. “Actually, I don’t really even want anything to eat. I just…” She didn’t know what else to say, so she just stood there for a second.

“Huh.” Pinkie gave an exaggerated tilt of her head. “Well, that must be because…something’s eating you!” The pink pony clapped her hooves together, then hurtled forward, grabbing Twilight and tossing her onto a stool that had at some point materialized near the counter. Reappearing behind said counter, Pinkie began methodically wiping down a mug, and asked “So. What’s eatin’ you Twilght?”

Was she going for a bartender thing? Twilight didn’t bother trying to figure her friend out. She had plenty of other things to worry about. Things like… “Well, I just got kicked out the Library by Luna.”

“Mhmm,” said the wise barkeep, who had heard it all but was always ready to humor her favorite patrons.

“Because she…well, she wanted to talk to Spike about-”

“Wait!” interjected Pinkie. “This sounds like a job for…”

Pinkie let the suspense build for a bit.

“A party?” guessed Twilight.

“A PARTY! Or just a night out with some friends who will totally help you get through whatever’s got you down! Same thing! Get to the pub, STAT! I’ll get the girls! GOGOGO!”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile as Pinkie rushed her out the door. This was why she came here first. Pinkie wasn’t exactly the best listener, but she was great at making a pony feel better. Yes, maybe a little night out was exactly what she needed.

Thusly did Twilight and friends end up taking over a big, round table near the back of their local pub. And, consequently, did the following conversation ensue.

“Ssssso,” said Rainbow Dash, eyeing Twilight. “Not that I mind an excuse to sleep in tomorrow, but what’s the occasion?”

“Hah. As though you need an excuse,” said Rarity. “But I must admit I’m curious as well. Pinkie wouldn’t say anything more than that you were in desperate need of solace.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t go that far. It’s just that I saw Spike, er, that is…” Twilight pointedly did not look at Rarity; she didn’t want to embarrass the little guy, er, Spike, any more than necessary. “I mean, it’s just…Spike is…You know, he’s growing up.” That last part came out a little faster than she intended. When Twilight finally looked up, she saw sympathy and amusement on the faces of her friends.

“Ahhh,” said Applejack, leaning back in her chair with a smile and fanning herself with her omnipresent hat. It was rather crowded, and therefor warm, in the pub this evening. “I gotcha. Rough stuff, that.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Pinkie. “He took forever! Dragons must age super slow or something!”

“Yeah, I guess so,” agreed Twilight. “I never really thought about it, but he’s seventeen already isn’t he? Augh, when did that even happen!?”

Her friends murmured various sounds of agreement. Rarity reached over to give her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“There there, darling. I’m sure you’ll handle it better than I did. I remember the day I found out Sweetie Belle had a boyfriend.”

“Hah! You just ‘bout killed that poor colt!” Applejack chortled and slapped the table. “Pretty sure he’ll never date a filly again after that mess.”

Rarity sniffed disdainfully. “And he deserved every bit of it. Showing up to a date with my little sister dressed like that.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “So, Twilight. You catch him, uh…” Dash raised both hooves and made a profoundly dirty gesture with them.

“What!? Ew, no! I don’t even know if dragons do that! I mean, with the claws? How would they? Jeez, Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Yeah, I’m gonna guess they’ve figured out a way by now. But anyway, what’d you see him doing?”

“I, uh. Well…”

It was Fluttershy, of all ponies, who saved her. “You don’t have to tell us. No need to embarrass anypony. Or dragon.”

“Psh. Buzzkill,” responded Rainbow. There was a moment of silence at the table as Twilight smiled gratefully at the yellow pegasus. Twilight decided she had best get things moving again before Rainbow Dash made any more lewd gestures.

“So, maybe I’m only asking because I’m trying to figure out what to do, and we can talk about something else if you girls want, but…” Twilight threw back maybe half a mug of cider, thumping the thing down decisively. “Actually now that I think about it, we’ve never really talked about this. Anyway, how did everybody else learn about sex?”

Wait...that wasn’t going to prevent lewd gestures at all, was it?

Twilight received a wide variety of reactions to her question. A quick laugh from Rainbow Dash, a wry grin from Applejack, something unreadable from Rarity.

“Well, you brought it up, sug, so how ‘bout you start?” suggested Applejack. “You’ve never been shy about that sorta thing.”

“Hm. Fair enough." Twilight smiled fondly at the memory. "Ok, so, one time, I stayed at the castle when I was supposed to have gone home, and I walked in on the Princess…”

Author's Notes:

Twilight's little adventure is detailed in the prequel, to be found yonder. Check that out if you'd like to know more.