"Another glass of cola, Homage?"

"Why thank you, of course." Homage said with a smile, using her magic to offer me her glass.

We were both sitting on a blanket that I laid out for us in the center of my office; I had to move my desk back against the wall to make room for our little picnic, but hey, Homage was worth it.

I opened the picnic basket, then used both of my hooves to pull out the last bottle of Sparkle Cola; the sole survivor of what was once an entire picnic lunch for two. Using one of my desk's corners, I uncapped it, then carefully filled the liquid into our glasses. As I poured, I glanced at the steel grey mare's eyes and smile, she caught me looking and giggled, causing me to tilt my head to the side, trying to hide my blush and smirk.

"Here you are." I said, sliding her the glass now full of dark, bubbly liquid.

Homage looked at the glass, then at me. "Again, thank you."

"Y-you're welcome..." I quietly muttered, trying to hide my reemerging blush with a hoof.

The mare stared at me with a bemused expression before lifting the glass with her magic, right when she was about to bring it to her lips, I spoke up.

"Wait!"

She moved it away from her lips and kept it level in the air, then stared at me, mildly confused. "Hmm?"

I nervously smiled. "I-I almost forgot." I reached my head into the basket, then reemerged from it with plastic tongs held by my mouth. Pulling out the metal container also in the basket, I opened it and revealed a whole slew of ice cubes within. After some careful movements, I snagged two ice cubes with the tongs, then dropped them into Homage's drink.

After adding some to my own, I spat the tongs back into the basket. "There," I said with a smile, "a mare such as yourself deserves a nice, cool beverage."

She eyed the floating cubes in her cola, then me. "Aw, thank you," she replied, before raising her glass towards me as if preparing to make a toast, "you're quite the gentlecolt."

I turned to the side and ruffled my mane with a hoof nervously. Homage didn't seem to pay that much mind, and instead brought her glass to her lips, the ice cubes clinking as they hit the glass. Deciding to join her, I started sipping from my own, moments later, Homage set her half-full glass down, then spoke.

"You know, it's kinda weird..."

My eyes widened as I stopped drinking, the glass still placed on my lips along with some cola still in my mouth. Oh, no. Does she think what we're doing now is weird? With a nervous gulp, I swallowed, then placed my glass down as well.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked.

"Yellow." Homage stated. "I mean, it's kinda weird that, out of the blue, she just decided to go back to her Stable."

I relaxed, so that's what she meant.

"Not really." I answered. "When she was with me, she saw for herself just what the wasteland can be like. When you have an option of living in either a dead, decrepit wasteland, or a nice, safe Stable, why choose the wasteland? Besides," I smiled and tilted my head towards my bedroom, "I get my bed back; I've been forced to sleep on the couch ever since Yellow 'bunked' with me."

Homage's ears perked. "Your bedroom?" She repeated with a hint of...was that nervousness I was detecting?

I slightly raised one of my brows as I faced her. "Uh...yeah. My bedroom..."

"Your..." Homage quietly muttered as she brought her hoof to her chin. She seemed to be in thought as her eyes went to me, then my bedroom, after a couple seconds of this, she nodded, then continued. "Say, uh, P.I.?"

I sat up straight. "Um, yes?"

She sighed as she looked at the glass half full of cola between her hooves. "P.I., I've...known about your feelings for me for quite some time now..."

Upon hearing Homage say that, my heart started pounding so loud in my chest that I could hear it. She knew? I-I didn't know how to respond. I opened my mouth to try to say something, but all that escaped from it was nonsensical mutterings.

"I uh, I..."

"P.I., it's ok." Homage said after she raised her head and looked at me, a warm smile on her muzzle. "You don't have to say anything because...," she then reached one of her hooves over to me and placed it over one of my own, "I feel the same way about you."

With my mouth still hanging open, my eyes went to her hoof on mine, then to her eyes. It was then that I thanked Celestia and Luna together that I was able to say the words I wanted to say.

"Y-you do?"

"Of course." The mare of my dreams said before she got up from the blanket and turned towards the door to my bedroom. "Why don't we go into your bedroom and," she then used her tail to brush under my chin, making my body feel unbearably warm, "...make it official..." She craned her head to look back at me, a sultry smile and desire in her eyes.

"You don't mean--"

"Mhmm." Homage sounded with a nod. "So, are you up for it?"

I knew what she meant, and the second she confirmed what I was thinking, my heart quickened it's pace and my lungs felt as if they were taking in less air or more--I couldn't really tell which. I wanted to respond with something witty, clever, funny, anything! But instead, I just bobbed my head up and down with wide eyes and my jaw hanging open like an idiot.

Homage giggled, then reached her hoof over to my chin and raised it, closing my mouth. She gave me one last look before slowly heading to my bedroom's door, purposely swaying her hips along the way, memorizing me. She opened the door, walked in, then nearly shut it to the point where only her hoof fitted through the opening, which she then used to gesture for me to follow.

I tried to calm down, but found that nearly impossible to do; my heart-rate just wouldn't go down! Ok, P.I, it-it's finally happening... You're gonna...do-the-do with Homage... It took me a while, but I finally manged to get up, once I did, I made small hops in place to warm up my leg muscles, and maybe to psych myself up as well... I was excited, I've always wondered what her cutie mark was--what with her always wearing a dress, and now, I'd finally get to see it!

After a few deep breathes, I walked to my door and opened it.

"Homage, I'm--" Suddenly, I wasn't sure what was going on! This wasn't my bedroom! It was an infinite void of blackness where only me and my door frame leading back to my office resided. I looked around the abyss. "Homage!?" I thought there'd be an echo, but there wasn't...

"P.I...."

That voice came from behind! I turned around and spotted...Yellow? She was very close to me, and had her hoof raised.

"WAKE UP!"

*SMACK!*

My eyes shot open! Yellow was standing over me and was...upside down? Wait, no, I'm upside down! I was laying on my back with my hooves in the air!

My face then twisted into one of agony, my mouth was open, yet no sound came from it. Eventually, I did scream, and for three reasons: My back and neck really hurt, the right side of my face was stinging, and the last but biggest reason, everything just then with Homage was a dream!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"