The soft light of dusk pours into Fluttershy's window, casting a shimmering ray of pale light over the two napping ponies.  A very traumatized Angel Bunny slowly hops down the stairs, having seen things that he wishes he could un-see. Things he knows he can never speak of to anyone; mostly because he can't speak, but also because of his new desire to completely block out the memories.  

Fluttershy stretches her shoulders, unable to move her forelegs as they're wrapped around Twilight's already conscious self.  

"Good afternoon,"  Twilight says with a giggle, leaning in to kiss Fluttershy's nose.  The pegasus smiles right back with her eyes half closed, still as relaxed as she could possibly be from the few hours previous.  

"The same to you... I uhm,"  Twilight cuts the mare off, leaning in for another deep kiss, holding her close and feeling her face grow warm with a heavy blush.  Fluttershy shivers from the affection and returns the kiss, stretching her wings out and letting them dangle lazily over the side of the bed.  

Twilight slowly opens her eyes and pulls away from the kiss, reaching her hoof up and brushing Fluttershy's hair behind her ear.  "I really enjoyed that..."

"I did too Twilight, I uhm... I didn't know that would feel so good..."  Fluttershy can't help herself from trying to hide her face from the embarrassment.

"Mmmn, I've read about that time and time again but I had no idea either.  Thank you so much, Fluttershy...  Do... Do you want to stay with me?"  Twilight asks, wrapping her arms around the yellow mare's back and holding her close.

"Of course, Twilight... I can't think of anything better,"  Fluttershy responds, kissing the lavender unicorn's neck and snuggling against her, folding her wings against her sides once again and resting comfortably against Twilight.

Twilight yawns and sits up, using some pillows to prop up her weight and gaze around the room.  She admires all of Fluttershy's classic decorations: quilts, an old-timey clock, several small pictures of her and her friends, and a couple of hoof-carved toys that seem to be from her childhood.  

"I didn't know you collected things,"  She says after spying the toys, unsure of quite what to say without sounding insulting.  

"Hmm?  Well I guess I just pick up a few things here an there... What do you mean, exactly?"  She responds, following Twilight's gaze to the small group of dolls on the hearth in her bedroom.  "You mean the dolls?"

"Well yeah, definitely the dolls, but some of the other stuff too... It seems almost... Antique.  Don't get me wrong though, they add a very cozy feel to this place, I've just never seen too much like them before,"  The purple unicorn says, looking back down to Fluttershy as she props herself up against the bed.

"A lot of that stuff is from home...  Back where I used to live there were a ton of artisan ponies who made things like those.  For some reason my neighborhood was full of them, and most of the things that people had were hoof-made.  When I was a filly I was particularly fond of the dolls...  They took a lot of love and patience to make, and just having them felt like I had a little bit of that love and patience to keep for myself,"

Twilight can't help but smile at the sentiment.  She leans down and hugs Fluttershy softly, relaxing and humming happily in the warmth of their embrace.  The gentile silence is interrupted first by the rustling of leaves outside the window.  Fluttershy lived in one of the few trees around Ponyville that didn't lose their leaves during the winter; Twilight's library was another of them.  

Both of the ponies find the sound soothing; the soft music of nature flowing around them as they stay safe and cozy in their bed.  As the wind dies down, the silence is once again broken, but this time by a grumbling in Twilight's stomach.  This prompts a giggle from Fluttershy, who looks up at the mare and rubs her tummy, "Hungry?"

Twilight smiles sheepishly and shrugs "I wouldn't mind going out to get something to eat with you,"

Fluttershy sits up and stretches, kicking her legs out of the bed and standing up, looking at the clock and realizing the time, "Maybe getting dinner is a good idea..."  

Twilight lazily gets out of the bed as well, using her magic to place the quilt from atop Fluttershy's bed back perfectly.  Looking over to Fluttershy as she steps toward the stairs and stretches her body out,  "Feel like going to Friesian's?"

"B-But isn't that place expensive?  Like... really expensive?

"Well... yeah... but it's my treat.  It's been kind of a special day so I figure we should end it with something special,"  Twilight says happily as she starts to walk downstairs.  

"Aww, Twilight you don't have to do that..."  Fluttershy follows behind, feeling a gentile warmth in her heart from the gesture.  

"No no, I insist.  I really do want to go someplace nice... I've never been on a real date before, and since you made my entire day back there I can't think of anybody else I'd rather go out with.  Whaddya say?"

"Well... I suppose if you i-insist..."  Fluttershy sheepishly says, very happy about the prospect but still feeling almost guilty about letting Twilight spend the money.  Celestia knows she doesn't have it herself.  "B-but aren't you worried about somebody else seeing us?"

Twilight giggles a little bit and finds her scarf and saddlebag, taking out enough bits to cover the expected cost of the dinner, "Honestly, Fluttershy, at this point I don't mind if someone sees us...  I think Dash was right when she said that our friends would be happy, and who cares about the rest of the town?  We saved their lives several times already,"

"I guess that's true...  Well I won't turn down a gift, but at least let me pay for half..."  

"Tell you what, you can leave the tip,"  Twilight says, leaning in to kiss Fluttershy on the cheek, "But I want this to be my gift to you.  Think of it as a... special thank you for such an amazing few hours,"  

Fluttershy squeaks a little and blushes a deep shade of red; her body was still tingling from all of the 'magic' Twilight had used on her.

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Rainbow Dash, lazily lounging on a cloud and gazing over Ponyville, spots her new favorite couple exit from Fluttershy's tree-home off in the distance.  She feels like going to say hello, but knows deep down that they probably want to be alone.  She does, however, decide to watch them for a while and see what they're up to; not much else to do until the cloudmakers actually finish their jobs and make the snow-producing clouds.  

The cyan pony glances around and flaps her wings a few times; not leaving a trail but propelling the cloud forward into Ponyville, spying on the happy couple.  From up in the sky Dash can see that they are walking together as usual, both wearing scarves that they likely bought from Rarity... And Fluttershy has her wing around Twilight's withers.  The rainbow maned pegasus scoffs a little bit at the overt cuteness of the two of them.  She's jealous but would never admit it; not necessarily wanting either of the two for herself, but upset that she can't even hold a stable relationship.  The fastest pony in Equestria, the pony that saved the lives of Rarity and three of the Wonderbolts at the same time, the only pony that could perform a sonic rainboom and she couldn't find someone that she wanted to stay with.  Fluttershy didn't even want to find a marefriend or a coltfriend for the longest time, and then suddenly poof, now she's with Twilight.  

Rainbow is incapable of being as cute and sweet as Fluttershy, but she likes to think she's at least somewhat attractive to the average pony.  Stallions from all over the country have been sweet on her, and that's definitely a boost to her already swollen self-image, but she fears being too set in her reputation to really admit to the public that she likes mares instead.  To protect said reputation, she just plays hard to get for all of the stallions, sending them mixed messages and eventually chasing them off.  Self-destructive behavior or not, she enjoys being adored, and wants desperately to have someone to call her own.  

Rainbow snaps out of her envious train of thought as she notices the couple headed toward the more expensive side of Ponyville, and more specifically into Friesian's.  Dash always wanted to go there...

She rolls onto her back and huffs as the two ponies disappear into the pricey restaurant.  She stares up into the sky longingly, having only really been in love with flying before but now seeing that she longs for companionship.

"If Fluttershy can do it, why can't I?"  She asks herself aloud, crossing her legs and propping her head up with her forelegs.  Gently kicking her highest leg to the beat of some song she had heard recently.  

"Spitfire wouldn't be caught dead with somepony like me...  Even if she does swing that way she wouldn't want to 'stain her spotless reputation by being with a commoner' anyhow...  Whatever the heck that means..."  Rainbow says with a mocking and sarcastic tone.  She sighs and looks off to her left, watching the sun as it sets below the horizon, painting the sky a deep shade of orange before finally dying out into blackness.  

Hmm... Applejack hasn't ever had a coltfriend since we've known each other...  She thinks to herself, imagining all the times that she and Applejack have had their little competitions.  Maybe...  No, there's no way... A country girl like her?  She'd probably burn me at the stake if I asked her that... but then again...  The pegasus sits placidly atop her cloud, weighing out what could and couldn't happen if she were to approach the earth pony with such a question.  

Screw it...  Fluttershy did it and she's happier than ever...  Tomorrow I'll catch AJ when she's out doing something alone and ask,  She lets a smug grin sneak across her face.  "Applejack..."  She says it aloud, loving the way her name rings off her tongue.  

"I sure hope you're as open minded as you seem to be AJ...  I wouldn't mind having someone athletic to race before a long night of lovin' every single day,"  She can't help but laugh at herself, she hasn't felt this girly since she was just a little filly playing with Wonderbolts dolls.  

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The sun finishes setting behind the sky, leaving no trace of orange light against the black canvas.  Luna's moon takes its reign over the land, accompanied only by the beautiful, twinkling stars.  Fluttershy sits back in her chair, dropping the cloth napkin onto her completely empty plate and looking across the candlelit table at Twilight.  Twilight, who had finished a few minutes ago, sits happily grinning at her marefriend, thinking to herself that the candle flame seems to tease across her nose via its position on the table.  

Twilight manages to flag down the waiter pony and ask for the check, declining desert after a quick check with Fluttershy, and looking woefully at the bill.  

"H-How much is it... you sure you don't want me to help pay?"  Fluttershy asks, feeling a little guilty even though her dinner was half the price of Twilight's.  

"Oh, no no it's okay Fluttershy.  As I said, it's my treat,"  Twilight responds with a nervous chuckle, taking out her pouch of bits and counting it, eventually deciding to drop the whole bag onto the table as they get up to leave.  

Fluttershy and Twilight walk side-by-side toward the door, and the pegasus doesn't think twice about putting her wing around Twilight's back as usual.  She feels comfortable, needed and loving with a warm body under her wing, almost motherly, so she forgets the current situation and just does what she feels is right.  This prompts a few dirty looks from the snooty and sophisticated, tux-wearing ponies dining around; she even thinks she can pick out a "well I never in all my years..." from the hushed gasp of a few select tables.  The embarrassed pegasus looks down, her wing quivering from the second thoughts and eventually folding back against her side.

Twilight, having felt Fluttershy shrink away from her at all the commotion, scowls a little.  She's upset at the disdain from the room, especially the judgment of such uptight ponies who couldn't tell the difference between night and day if their butlers didn't dress them in pajamas or three-piece suits.  

"You got a problem?"  Twilight says in a loud, lecturing tone, "Fluttershy here is the kindest, sweetest, and most loving pony in this whole town,"  She doesn't quite focus on any one table, but looks around to all of the offenders, making absolutely sure to lock eyes with every single one of them, "She saved the town from a dragon almost single-hoofedly, and was necessary for stopping Nightmare Moon and Discord... What have you done lately?"  Many of the snooty ponies understand where Twilight is coming from and try to hide their faces.  The usually timid unicorn finally snapped at having her relationship insulted so readily.  

"T-T-Twilight..."  Fluttershy stutters, embarrassed beyond belief, though flattered, that Twilight would go out of her way to defend the pegasus.  

"I love Fluttershy and I'm not afraid to say it.  If you don't like it, fine... but we won't stand to be insulted by a bunch of losers who have about as much class as a rock.  You all should be ashamed of yourselves, not us, how dare you!"  

Fluttershy just wishes that she could be someplace else, shivering under the spotlight that had been placed on the two of them as deviants; she's terrified.  

"Madams, I'm going to have to ask you to please leave the restaurant,"  A pudgy green earth pony in a tuxedo and with the most ridiculous mustache that either of the pair had ever seen had managed to walk up to them without being noticed.  Twilight huffs and stomps the ground as she obliges; Fluttershy ducks her head and follows without so much as a peep.  

As Fluttershy meets the frustrated unicorn outside she almost doesn't want to look her in the eyes.  That outburst was a little too much, and when Twilight said she 'loved' the mare she felt like she was moving a little too quickly.  "Twilight... Are you okay?"  She can't even berate without being nice.

Twilight kicks a rock out of the road with her foreleg, turning to meet gazes with the mortified Fluttershy,  "I'm really sorry about that... I... I-I felt you pull your wing away when they started scoffing and I just couldn't deal with someone else hurting your feelings that badly... I didn't mean to embarrass you, I just... I..."  Twilight has come down off of her soap box and realizes the damage.  She tries her best to apologize to Fluttershy, who seems accepting but still somehow hurt.  

"M-maybe we should keep this a little more quiet for a while... I just don't think I'm ready for public episodes like this..."  Fluttershy says, walking over to kiss Twilight on the cheek and then taking flight,  "I need to go home...  I think you should too... I'm sorry, Twilight, but we'll talk a little more tomorrow..."  She fights away some tears as she turns around and flies toward home; the unicorn isn't quite as stoic, surprisingly.  

"Fluttershy, wait!"  Twilight calls out, tears already streaming down her cheeks, "I-I-I... I just... want you to be happy..."  But it's too late, the pegasus is almost gone into the night sky and her voice trails off toward the end.  She can't do anything but run home, sobbing.