“What the hell was I thinking?” Blitz muttered to himself as he placed his foreleg over his eyes. The previous night’s remarks he made to Dusk right before they went to sleep had been replaying in his mind since he woke up. Over and over, he kept hearing himself say he wanted to tell their friends. Each time he got to that part, he mentally kicked himself. “Seriously, what the hell…”

Blitz slammed his hoof down next to him. “Why did I even say that?” he groaned as his foreleg slid up slightly. He was immediately met with a glare of the sun and the vast blue of the wide open sky above him. The sharp sting was enough to make him pinch his eyes closed immediately. With an annoyed sigh, he quickly rolled onto his stomach before opening his eyes again.

He looked out in front of him. The ground was far below and the houses almost like toy models from the altitude. He dragged his cloud up this high hoping the distance from everything would help his fears lay to rest. To the contrary though, the solitude only brought out his worries more now that he could think about them. His head fell limp against the cloud. “I mean…I want to tell them, but…”

A small frown came across his face. He had to tell Dusk he was going back on what he said yesterday—that he had been in a good mood and it was just the excitement talking. “But?” Dusk’s voice came to mind, filling in for his own as he played the inevitable conversation out.

“But, I don’t think I’m ready.” He growled at his own indecisiveness.

There was even a mental pause, and a dejected image of Dusk came to mind. A small frown and fallen eyes. “Why?”

“Because, what if—” Blitz paused. Without really thinking, he pushed his head down into the cloud until the puffy white was level with the top of his muzzle. He felt a sinking sensation in his chest. “What if they aren’t okay with me…” he said, no louder than a whisper.

The image of Dusk faded, and he was left alone with his own thoughts. “Elusive was cool with it, and Barb acted like it’s no big deal.” Even the sound of Dusk’s voice for his thoughts was gone. “Dusk’s cool with it, obviously,” he muttered. He dug his forelegs into the cloud and pull the mass up to make a pillow. His head elevated from the hole he dig earlier as more cloud was pushed under his head.

“Maybe I’m overthinking all this.” He sighed. “I mean, I know the guys, right? They aren’t homophobes or anything…” Blitz trailed off again, realizing he couldn’t speak for all of his friends. It had been a small remark from Applejack that pushed him to Dusk that night.

Blitz pinched his eyes closed. “It’s just some hazing, Blitz, you know AJ isn’t a homophobe!” As much as he wanted to believe in that—believe in his friend—he still felt the creeping voice of doubt in the back of his mind.

He laid in silence for a few moments before finally sighing once more. “It’s only been a little over a month since I’ve been cool with it. He can’t expect too much from me, right? I’ll just have to tell Dusk I’m not ready. He should be fine with that, right? I should just be able to tell him that…”

“Rainbow?” Blitz nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Dusk’s voice next to him. He glanced over at the source, but found a purple cloud hovering next to him that he instantly recognized as his coltfriend’s magic.

“Uh…Dusk?” he asked, poking it with his hoof. His hoof passed right through the cloud, leaving it undisturbed. “You didn’t turn yourself into pure magic or something, did you?” he asked, skeptically.

“What? No…” Blitz could hear Dusk groan through the magical mass. “Look down,” Dusk commanded.

Blitz inched closer to the edge of the cloud until he was looking straight down. He caught sight of Dusk standing below his cloud with a slightly impatient look on his face. “Can you come down here?”

“What are you doing down there?” he asked, turning to the magical mass next to him.

“Can you just come down here?”

Blitz sighed and he jumped up. In a burst of speed he pushed the cloud he had been laying down down to just a few feet above Dusk’s head. Once he came to a stop, he flopped down into the plush surface and drooped his head down. “Alright, I’m here. What’s up”

Dusk’s annoyance disappeared once Blitz was in front of him. A pleased smile soon found its way onto his face and he disappeared in a flash of light. Blitz felt the cloud shift next to him as Dusk gingerly lay down.

“Cloud walking spell?”

Dusk nodded.

“So what’s—” Blitz cut himself short when he felt the warmth of his coltfriend’s body against his side. He felt Dusk’s head come to rest against his neck. His eyes darted around. “W-What are you doing?” He pushed Dusk off him.

“What?” Dusk asked, innocently.

Blitz shot him a glare. “What if somepony saw that?”

“No pony’s around, I looked.” Dusk shook his head and leaned back into Blitz. “Besides, we’re away from town.”

Blitz sulked, but begrudgingly accepted Dusk’s affection. “Yeah, speaking of that, how did you find me, anyway?”

“I placed a tracking spell on you a few weeks back. I can tell where you are at any moment.” Dusk stifled a chuckle.

Blitz stared down at him, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. “W-what?”

Dusk’s face turned a slight red. “I was joking…”

Blitz sighed in relief. “Don’t play around like that.”

“Do you really think I would do that?” Dusk pulled his head back away from Blitz.

“With you, I don’t know. You’re pretty protective.”

Dusk frowned for a moment before shaking it off. “Anyway, I saw Butterscotch and he told me you were out in this direction. When I came out here, I saw your tail hanging down from this cloud, so that’s how I found you.”

He leaned back into Blitz’s side, resting his head against him once more. He felt Blitz’s wing slip between their sides and spread over his back. A smile spread across Dusk’s face and he let out a content sigh.

Blitz stared into the distance as Dusk spoke. “So, Butterscotch told you?” He paused for a short while before realizing he was in the middle of a conversation. Blitz shook his head to snap himself back to reality. “He wanted me to help him next week—something about getting ready for winter. Did he ask you for help too?”

Dusk shook his head. “No, he said I did enough during Winter Wrap-up last year and I shouldn’t force myself.” Dusk groaned softly.

“Yeah, I heard the snakes gave you a scare last year.” Blitz Snickered. After he got his laugh and made Dusk puff his cheeks out in embarrassment, he found himself looking out into the distance once more.

“So, how can I break it to him?” Blitz finally mentally voiced the feeling that had been tugging at him. Part of him just wanted to come out and say it. He knew it would be the easiest way, and if Blitz was anything, he was direct. But at the same time, Dusk was in high spirits. Just the thought of crushing his coltfriend’s mood was already tugging at his heart. Blitz looked down at Dusk, seeing he had his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

“You left my house in such a hurry this morning, I thought you might have had a change of heart over yesterday.”

Blitz felt his heart skip a beat. “Damn it, he knows me too well.”

He felt his jaw clench as he groaned aloud. “I did…” he reluctantly said after a few moments of silence. “Look, Dusk, I’m not sure of I’m ready to tell our friends. I mean, we had one date. We were out as a couple once without anypony noticing. What if that was a fluke?”

Dusk nodded and opened his eyes. He glanced around, taking in the scenery. “I don’t think it was a fluke, myself. Rainbow, it’s your decision. I’m a little disappointed if you don’t want to, but I’ll stand by you if that’s how you feel. This is a big step for you, so I want you to be ready to make that step.”

“You don’t have to treat me like that…” Blitz rolled his eyes as he turned away from Dusk. “Just come out and say it, alright? I told you to stop talking down to me.”

Dusk sat there for a moment. “I’m not talking down to you, I just know that I’ve been forceful in the past. I’m reaffirming that I’m not going to do that anymore. This is—”

“Like—I don’t even know if our friends will accept me.” Blitz lowered his head down onto the cloud.

“I guess we’re done with that topic,“ Dusk muttered under his breath. “Rainbow, there seems to be a lot going on in your mind right now, so let’s take it one by one. What’s bothering you the most, that you’re unsure our friends will accept you, or that I’m disappointed in you backtracking on your decision?”

“Both…” Blitz replied.

“Let me just say this then. I am disappointed, but not in you. I may not be pleased with it, but I’ll stand by your decision, regardless. Okay?”

Blitz nodded. “Fine.”

“Now, about our friends.” Dusk heard Blitz make some sound of acknowledgement. “Do you honestly think that after all we have been through, with how good of friends we are, that they would hate you over something like this?”

“Maybe…”

“Let’s run through the list, shall we?” Dusk finally looked back at Blitz to see him sulking.

The pegasus sighed and sat up. “Well, I guess we know Elusive and Barb are cool with it.”

Dusk nodded.

“You too, obviously.” Blitz glanced down at the cloud. “I just don’t know about everypony else.”

“Would you say Butterscotch would be upset?”

Blitz thought about it for a moment. He couldn’t honestly picture Butterscotch being upset about anything short of animal abuse. Thinking back, Butterscotch was never one to question or judge another’s lifestyle. Even when they were in Cloudsdale together, he never made fun of ponies in flight school for possibly being gay. “I guess he’d be fine with it.”

“Berry?” Dusk asked.

“I guess Berry would too.”

“He’s thrown a coming out party for a mare, if you recall.”

Blitz continued to stare down at the cloud. “That kind of slipped my mind.”

“I think you probably weren’t paying much attention at the time. Though, I do recall a comment from you about it being ‘hot’.” Dusk snickered.

“Then it’s AJ I’m worried about!” Blitz crossed his forelegs and thrust his head down ontop of them. “I mean, he’s a country pony who’s big into tradition, right? He’s probably got something against coltcuddlers.”

Dusk frowned. “I can’t say the topic has ever come up between us.”

“He could, right?”

“It’s always a possibility, though that’s a bit of a stereotype. Applejack might be stubborn and a bit too honest at times, but he’s still an understanding—tolerant—pony, Rainbow. He’ll welcome anypony with open forelegs.”

“I don’t know…Even with Berry, he might have thrown that party just to be nice. That doesn’t mean he approves.” Blitz sighed. “Dusk, why do I feel like this?”

“Because you’re letting ponies in.” Dusk placed his foreleg around Blitz’s neck and pulled him in for a small hug. “It’s scary showing parts of yourself to others.”

“I’m not scared.” Blitz glared off into the distance. He heard Dusk let out a small, almost condescending laugh. “It’s only been a month since I’ve accepted it,” Blitz muttered. “I don’t know if I can do this yet.”

Dusk squeezed him closer and placed his head against Blitz’s head. He felt his coltfriend’s mess of a mane press into his cheek as he held him close. Blitz didn’t tense or struggle against his affection either. He sighed happily. “I think you’re underestimating yourself,” he said softly.

“Yeah, right.” Blitz scoffed. “Me, underestimate myself? Good one, Dusk.”

“It’s not like flying, Rainbow. This is something you’re not totally comfortable with.” Dusk frowned a bit and scrunched his brow. “I think I mean to say, it’s out of your element.”

Blitz sat silent for a moment. “So, I should wait until I’m more comfortable with being gay?”

“I would say you’re plenty comfortable, but that’s just me.” Dusk couldn’t help but laugh to himself. “You don’t even realize we’re cuddling in public, do you.”

Blitz blinked absently for a second as everything clicked. Suddenly he jumped a few inches away from Dusk and pulled his wing back to his side. “We are not!”

Dusk laughed once more before firing up his horn. In a bright flash, he was gone.

“Rainbow,” Dusk called from below. Blitz looked over the edge of the cloud to see Dusk standing just a few feet below him on the ground. “I’m not the one who has to live with the consequences of this decision.”

Dusk had a small, almost hollow smile on his face. His eyes held hints of dissatisfaction, but it was pushed to the back for a more cheerful tone. “It might sound a little more callous than I mean, but I’m comfortable with who I am. I believe, deep down, you are too. Just put forth some of your usual confidence. This is just some lingering doubt. I know you can get through it.”

Blitz buried his muzzle in the cloud. “That means I’m not comfortable with it, doesn’t it?”

Dusk frowned for a moment. “You can still be comfortable and have doubts. You’re scared, I get that. But it’s not you, it’s your outlook—you think it’s something to be ashamed of so you assume others will feel that way too.”

Blitz lay silently.

“I can’t—and won’t—force you to tell our friends, Rainbow.” Dusk paused for a moment, mentally pushing back his own feelings. “I can only show you how good it can feel to be honest.”

Blitz furrowed his brow. “I know…”

“Remember that it isn’t something to be ashamed of and you’ll do fine. Just don’t worry so much. The longer you stress about this, the more of an obstacle it will become.” Dusk saw Blitz’s ears flatten as he spoke. Reluctantly, he sighed. “Look, I can wait until you’re ready to tell our friends,” he said, gently. Blitz’s ears perked up a bit at that.

“But, if you want my honest advice, you should get it over with as quickly as possible. You’ll feel better with the weight off your chest and you’ll find you life to be a lot easier having those you can confide in. That’s not me saying that as your coltfriend, but as your friend.”

Blitz let his head lay on the cloud. He sighed heavily. “Fine! I get it, alright?” He rolled onto his back. “I’ll tell them.”

“They’re our friends. They’ll accept you, Rainbow. Even if they don’t at first, they’ll come around.” A genuine smile came across Dusk’s face. “I hope you don’t feel like I guilt tripped you.”

“No, you didn’t.” Blitz groaned. “I just hate that you’re right…”

------------------------------

“I know I said I would tell them, but it’s still easier said than done,” Blitz muttered to himself as he stared down into the orchard. “Stupid Dusk talking me into this again…Why do I listen to him?” Below, he saw Applejack working by gathering some of the crop into buckets. It was pretty clear he was busy.

Blitz felt his chest tighten once more. He groaned with a scowl on his face. With Applejack being busy, he was feeling it might not be the best time to talk to him. Bothering him might put him in a bad mood, which was a surefire way for the conversation to end badly.

But then again, Blitz knew Applejack was the kind of pony who could work and talk at the same time. Bucking apple trees wasn’t exactly the most involved work, mentally. It might be the perfect time to lay it on Applejack while he’s distracted.

He groaned again at his own indecisiveness. “Come on, Blitz,” he muttered to himself. “It’s like Dusk said, just get it over with. Tell AJ and then the hard one will be over, right?”

“Wrong…” His thoughts immediately betrayed him. Brief mental flashes of a shouting match and a lost friendship sent a pain right through his chest.

“You don’t even know if it will turn out like that,” he scolded himself. “He’s your friend, Blitz. You know AJ’s a cool dude when it comes stuff. He won’t hate you.”

“Besides, he’s my friend. He deserves to know, right?” Blitz nodded to himself. His mind was made up, he was going through with it. Yet, after a few moments, he still found himself sitting there, unmoving.

Blitz took a deep breath. “Alright, listen. Just ease into it. Don’t barge in and say you’re gay, just—” He glanced around for a moment. “How should I ease into it?” He placed his hoof to his chin. “Since it’s getting cold, just talk about keeping warm…and…” Suddenly it clicked. A smirk appeared on Blitz’s face and he nodded once more, this time, with purpose. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Blitz bolted off his perch towards Applejack’s farm. “Sup, AJ!” Blitz said as he touched down behind the farm pony.

Applejack glanced back and gave a small nod. “Howdy,” he replied.

“You busy?” Blitz feigned innocence.

“Yup,” Applejack tipped his hat back and wiped his forehead.

Blitz bit his lower lip and sat down on the ground. “And judging by how he’s acting, this won’t go well.”

“But, that ain’t new ‘round this time of the year.” He turned and gave Blitz a tired smile. “What’s up with you, RB. Haven’t seen ya around too much lately.”

Once Blitz saw Applejack’s smile, his worry melted away. “Not a whole lot. Been working and just hanging around.” He smiled back.

“With Dusk?” He asked, giving a knowing smirk as he did.

Blitz felt his heart skip a beat. But, once he saw Applejack go back to work, he realized he didn’t know the full story. He sighed silently in relief. “Yeah, well, he’s been showing me some new books.”

“Well, what brings ya from your books to my farm?” he asked as he heft a bucket of apples onto his back.

“Well, uh…” Blitz rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to kick himself for a major miscalculation. He had his segue into what he wanted to talk about, but now he had to figure out how he was going to segue into his segue. On top of that, he now had to do this on the fly. “Should’ve just come up with a better lead into this,” he muttered under his breath.

Applejack dumped the bucket of apples into a nearby barrel. He glanced back at Blitz to see him still lost in thought. “Ya okay, Blitz?”

Blitz snapped out of his thoughts once he heard Applejack’s voice. “Yeah!” He cleared his throat. “Just…uh…” He looked over at the barrel Applejack had poured the apples he was gathering into. Next to the barrel was a few others, some waiting to be filled, some stuffed full. “I was just a little curious why you stock so much for the winter?”

Applejack raised his eyebrow at Blitz. “Ya do know we sell apple goods year-round, right? Where do ya think all the apples come from in the winter?”

“Right…” Blitz laughed nervously. “It gets cold, can’t really grow apples in the winter.”

“Nope, don’t suppose ya can.” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“It’s already starting to get cold, too.” Blitz rubbed his foreleg with his hoof.

“Yup,” Applejack muttered, keeping his eyebrow raised. “Ya never did like the cold, did ya, Blitz?”

“Nah, I’ve always liked the summer better. Gotta bundle up and stay warm.” Blitz swallowed her nervousness. His heart felt like it was about to leap right out of his chest as he prepared for the next part of the conversation. “Sometimes it’s better to stay warm with somepony though, right?” Blitz let out a small, almost nervous laugh.

Applejack chuckled. “I suppose.” Applejack tipped back his hat as he walked up to a tree. He gave it a hard kick with one leg, sending a shockwave through the trunk causing the apples above to shake free from the branches. “I ain’t ever had a problem with the cold, myself. A fire’s nice.” He paused and gave a smirk. “But, can’t say I’d be opposed to spendin’ a cold night next to a sweet mare.”

Blitz took a deep breath. “Well, yeah, I mean, mares are great.” Blitz laughed again. “But…I mean, there’s other ponies to spend a night next to.” He scratched the back of his head with his hoof. “Like…you can cuddle with somepony else, right.”

Applejack stared blankly into the distance for a moment. “I guess? I didn’t think ya were the cuddlin’ type, Blitz.”

“Yeah! Of course I like to, you know. It’s, uh…nice…” Blitz felt like his face was on fire. No matter what he said, it just felt like he was making a bigger fool of himself. “Like…you know, I even saw some stallions cuddling before. Like, they can cuddle with each other sometimes too, right.” Blitz looked down at the ground, tracing in the dirt with his hoof. “Two stallions…cuddling…you know…”

Applejack stared at Blitz blankly once more. A few, painfully awkward seconds went by before he finally broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Uh…” Applejack scooped up a stray apple and tossed it into a bucket at the base of the tree. “I guess some do?”

“They like each other too, right…” Blitz trailed off, almost to the point his voice was barely above a whisper. “Some stallions just prefer other stallions. Love can be like—”

Applejack cleared his throat. “I’m not really into that, Blitz. Cuddlin’s not really my thing.” Applejack pulled his hat down over his eyes and walked over to another tree. “Like if two ponies want to cuddle, sure, but I ain’t that into it.”

“What?” Blitz looked up to see Applejack getting ready to buck another tree. This time he was lifting both legs into the air. A distinct memory of Red Gala holding Applejack, comforting him after he drank too much during the summer festival popped into Blitz’s head. He was trying to tell Applejack something, when did this become about cuddling? Blitz honestly couldn’t tell if Applejack had missed the point or if he was the one missing something. “Hold on. I’ve seen you cuddle with your sister!” he called out.

Applejack’s eyes went wide and he nearly lost his balance. His eyes quickly narrowed in a harsh glare. “Are ya implyin’ what I think you’re implyin’?”

Blitz glared back. “What, that you and Red Gala cuddle sometimes? Yeah.” Blitz puffed out his chest. “Don’t act like you’re above it, AJ. I know you’ve done it with Apple Buck too. So don’t say you don’t.”

Applejack’s jaw fell slack. “You’re are fixin’ for an asswhoopin’ there, Blitz.” Applejack stood up from his bucking position and walked over to the pegasus. “You better not be implyin’ I fuck my sister or my little brother.”

Blitz’s glare vanished as he blinked absently. “Wait, what?” Slowly, the pieces began to come together as to what Applejack was upset about. Somehow, Applejack had managed to pick up that cuddling was code, but he missed the part Blitz needed him to get. It took every ounce of willpower to not smack his hoof against his face. “No!” He shook his head. “I was talking about.” He sighed in resignation. “I just meant cuddling…”

Applejack’s look softened. “Good. I thought ya meant somethin’ else when ya brought up stallions cuddlin’ and then my sister.” He chuckled. “Couldn’t even tell what ya were sayin’…or what we’re talkin’ about, actually.” Applejack scratched his head and a confused look appeared on his face.

Blitz frowned. He felt his ears fall flat and his head lowered on its own. “No…just…talking about having to stay warm, sometimes.”

Applejack gave him a sympathetic smile. He stepped next to Blitz and wrapped a foreleg around him. “Sorry, Blitz. I’m exhausted and I ain’t thinkin’ too well right now.”

“It’s cool.” Blitz found himself staring at the ground.

“If you’re worried about it, why don’t ya ask Elusive to make ya somethin’ warm for the winter?”

Blitz nodded with a sigh. “Yeah, I’ll do that…”

------------------------------

“Okay, yesterday with Applejack was a huge mess,” Blitz muttered to himself as he walked through the streets of Ponyville. The thoughts of leaving Sweet Apple Acres in shame after his miserable attempt at coming out had been haunting him ever since. He was too ashamed to even talk to Dusk about it. Blitz took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m not going to worry about Applejack for now. I’ll save him for last.”

After Dusk went to sleep, he had spent some time coming up with a plan for Berry—the pony he was probably the least worried about. Berry was accepting of pretty much anyone, so Blitz knew he shouldn’t stress over it. He just had to ease into the conversation, just much smoother than he did with Applejack. “And try to actually make sense today, okay,” he added under his breath.

Blitz looked up from his musings to see Sugarcube corner already in view. He took a deep breath to brace himself for the coming conversation. While he knew he had to tell Berry, he was still working out the details on exactly what he was going to say. He realized with Applejack that steering the topic with an odd remark wasn’t the best way of doing things—even Berry would be thrown for a loop with that one. No, Blitz now knew he had to be subtle.

“I was thinking I would buy something and go from there, but what should I actually say?” As he drew closer, he noticed a sign out front of the store. “Eclairs, two for three bits.” he read aloud. A frown came across his face. “Why couldn’t they have cupcakes or fritters on special today?” he groaned, softly.

Eclairs had never been his favorite dessert, and though he hated to admit it, the ones at Sugarcube Corner were possibly his least favorite. A brief mental flash of squirting cream all over his face as he took a bite of a donut came to mind and made his face scrunch. “That’s happened too many times…”

“I don’t get why ponies eat something long and filled with—” Suddenly, something clicked for Blitz. His eyes went wide and a smile slowly worked its way onto his face. “Oh, that’s good, maybe eclairs aren’t such a bad thing,” he muttered to himself. After he let out a small snicker, he nodded, confidently, and walked inside.

As soon as Blitz stepped inside the store, he caught Berry waving at him excitedly. “Heya, Blitz!” Berry called from behind the register.

“Hey, Berry. What’s up?” Blitz casually strolled up to the counter and placed his foreleg on it.

“Nothing much, just working.” Berry leaned forward onto the counter, his forelegs spread wide and a big smile on his face. “So, where you been? I haven’t seen you around much lately!”

Blitz felt his face turn a little red. “B-been busy with work…”

Berry’s grin turned devious and his eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer. “And hanging out with Dusk, too?” he asked just above a whisper. Berry couldn’t contain his laughter as he saw Blitz’s eyes nearly pop out of his head. “We all know you like books now, Blitz-y you don’t have to be so shy about it!”

Once it was clear Berry wasn’t implying what Blitz thought he was implying, he cleared his throat. “Y-yeah, well…” His eyes shifted around for a moment, catching a glimpse of a few customers enjoying their afternoon inside the bakery. “I still got a reputation to maintain, you know.”

He stared out at the patrons, only a few in number, but still too many as far as he was concerned. “I was too eager to just tell Berry, I forgot ponies actually come in here to eat…” His jaw clenched. “I can’t tell him while these ponies are here, but if I ask him to go on break, my whole lead in won’t work…”

“So, what brings you in today, Blitz?” Berry tilted his head to the side, an oblivious curiosity in his eyes.

Blitz looked back at him, feeling his chest tighten. “I don’t have time. Just lead in and then ask him to go on break to break the news.” He took a deep breath. “Just came in for a quick snack.”

Berry nodded rapidly. “Cool! We got plenty of snacks!”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what to get, though.” Blitz placed his hoof against his chin, feigning thought. For once, this conversation was going just how he wanted it to. “I was thinking something doughy and fried. Like, a donut, maybe? But not a donut.”

Berry’s eyes shot opened and he bounced into the air. “Oh! I can make donuts if you want! We’ve got the batter already made up since today’s special is eclairs!” When he landed, he had a huge grin on his face. “Want your donuts with chocolate drizzled on top or glazed?”

“I don’t really want donuts, I just want something like donuts.” Now was the moment of truth.
“Wait, back up, you’ve got eclairs today?” Blitz did everything to hold back his smile. It was going too perfect. All he had to do was go a bit further.

“Yeah, chocolate covered eclairs!” Berry’s tongue quickly ran across his lips. “They’re super good! I made the cream myself!” He giggled.

“Eclairs, huh…” Blitz continued pretending to contemplate his options. “Not everypony likes eclairs you know.”

Berry tilted his head to the side. “That’s news to me. Eclairs are super good.”

“Well, between eclairs and donuts, right?” Blitz kept a close eye on Berry, seeing if he would follow. “Some ponies just like donuts more than eclairs and some like eclairs more than donuts.”

“I like both to be honest,” he said with a shrug. “They’re both so sugary and sweet, what’s not to like?”

Blitz shook his head. “No, I mean—like, some ponies like eclairs more than donuts…Get it?” He was only met with a blank stare. His hoof found its way to his forehead for a brief moment before he dragged it down his face. “Berry, I’m saying I like eclairs more than donuts.”

Berry continued to stare with a confused look. “You want some then? Why didn’t you just—”

“No, Berry, like—” Blitz groaned. As strange as it was, Berry was a wildcard on pretty much any issue brought before him. He was oddly thick at times when it came to subtlety, but other times, he knew exactly what was being implied. He sighed and collected his thoughts for a moment. What Blitz realized he had to do was he had to make it a little more clear that it was an innuendo. “Eclairs are long and filled with cream, right?”

Berry nodded. “Yeah…” He raised an eyebrow. “They’re good, what about them?”

“And donuts have a hole in the center…” Blitz leaned in close, lowering his voice as he did. “I’m saying I like the one that’s long and filled with cream over the one with the hole…Get me?”

He watched as Berry blinked absently a few times. A few moments of awkward silence passed and Blitz felt his chest growing ever tighter. He had all but come out and said it, now he just had to wait and see if Berry would pick up on the hint. He kept his hoof ready, prepared to snap it up to Berry’s mouth in case he freaked out.

Suddenly Berry’s eyes went wide and a small tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. “Um…Blitz?”

Blitz felt his heart race and his hoof trembled in anticipation. He swallowed the pooling saliva in his mouth.

“I, uh…I guess what you do with food is up to you, but can you not talk about banging our deserts? It’s kinda weird.”

Blitz nearly choked. “The hell, Berry! I didn’t say that!” He placed both hooves on the counter and stood up tall on his hind legs. His eyes narrowed in a glare and he felt his face burning with embarrassment.

“Boys?”

Blitz stopped glaring and both he and Berry turned to see Mrs. Cake standing at the other end of the counter. The short mare’s face was a bit brighter red than Berry’s. “I would prefer if you didn’t talk about this type of stuff in our store.”

Blitz stared at her, blinking for a moment as the gears started to turn. He glanced back to see the customers staring at him in turn, each having a similar shade of red on their faces. Blitz felt his own face burning even hotter. “Look, I—”

Mrs. Cake cleared her throat.

Blitz sighed, reluctantly. His head fell down and his ears laid flat against his head. “Sorry, Mrs. Cake…I’ll just take a half dozen eclairs to go.” When he looked back up, his eyes met Berry’s for a brief moment. The innocent look on his friend’s face just made him want to yell, but he knew it wasn’t Berry’s fault.

A brown bag appeared on the counter after Berry ducked into the display case for a moment. When he popped back up, Blitz tossed him the bits, grabbed his bag, and left. But just as he made it to the door, he heard Berry call out, “Don’t get any of my cream on your face this time!”

Before he could turn around, he heard Mrs. Cake yell Berry’s name. “Serves him right.”

------------------------------

“Why is this so damn hard?” Blitz found himself laying on a cloud once more. He stared up at the sky, oozing lethargy. After two failed attempts, it was as if any motivation he had summoned up from his talk with Dusk before had been sucked out of him. Two days, two colossal failures that only left his friends thinking he was some kind of sick pervert. “AJ probably thinks I’m into incest and Berry thinks…”

“Berry really thought I was talking about fucking the eclairs yesterday? Seriously?” Blitz smacked his hoof into the cloud. He was too embarrassed to even finish what he had planned yesterday. After he had told Berry, he was supposed to go to Butterscotch’s cottage, but that never happened. Instead, he just went home to wallow in his shame. With a sigh, he rolled onto his stomach.

“Hell, I still don’t want to go,” he muttered to himself. Everything Dusk had said was coming true. The more Blitz thought about pushing off talking to Butterscotch, the harder telling him felt in his mind. Berry and Applejack would be impossible at this rate. If he screwed up telling Butterscotch, would he even be able to tell his friends at all? Just the thought of screwing it up with Butterscotch felt like a punch to the gut. And the way things were going for him, that was starting to feel like a given. “It’s all because I can’t just say it…”

He took a deep breath to calm down. “I mean, if I was dating a mare, this wouldn’t be hard. I’d just come out and say it.” Blitz narrowed his eyes as he stared off into the horizon. His previous thought dug at him, only pissing him off, mostly because it was true. If he was banging a mare like Dusk, he’d be proud of it. A smart, talented filly who made him feel good about himself? He’d be shouting that from the rooftops.

But, change one thing and he’s ashamed? Why should he be? Blitz punched the cloud again. “That’s it. No more being subtle or easing into it!” Blitz jumped up, a newfound fire in his belly. “I’m just going to go tell Butterscotch. I mean, he knows about nature, right? I’m sure he’s seen two dude animals getting it on before.” Blitz nodded his head, confidently. With a powerful flap of his wings, he bolted off to Butterscotch’s cottage.

“Perfect,” he thought as the cottage came into view. He could just make out Butterscotch in the yard, surrounded by chickens and other birds. Blitz took a deep breath and set down behind his friend. “Hey, Butterscotch, what’s up?”

Butterscotch jumped slightly from the sudden interruption to his chores, but when he saw Blitz, he smiled. “Oh, Hello, Blitz. I’m just—” He looked down in front of him, holding up a small cup of feed. “Feeding the chickens.” He laughed to himself. “The same thing I do everyday around this time.”

With a quick flick of his foreleg, Butterscotch tossed the feed into the yard. Once the birds had scattered, he turned set the cup down in the bag of feed and turned to his friend. “How have you been? It’s been awhile since you’ve stopped by. Did you want to have some tea?”

“No thanks. I just came to—” Blitz felt his chest tightening again, but he pushed it from his mind. “I just came to ask you something.”

Butterscotch’s eyes widened a bit before a small smile came across his face. “Sure, if there’s something I can help with, I’ll be happy to answer…That is, if I know the answer.” He laughed slightly, shrinking down a bit. “I mean, I might not know the answer, so I shouldn’t sound so sure—”

“Butters, I’m sure you know.” Blitz rolled his eyes. He just barely noticed Butterscotch mouthing the word ‘okay’ before taking another deep breath. “Alright, you know a lot about nature right?”

He nodded, his ears perking up when he realized the topic. “I suppose…”

“And I don’t mean just the cute or nice stuff, either…” Blitz still found himself looking at his hoof and his face felt like it was burning.

“Um…” Butterscotch rubbed his foreleg, nervously. “I-I suppose?”

“You’ve seen some animals do some weird stuff, right?”

“Weird might be a stretch…” Butterscotch muttered, just barely audible. “What is it you wanted to ask?” His voice found some confidence, once his eyes saw Blitz fidgeting.

“You’ve seen animals doing it, right?” Blitz glanced up.

Butterscotch’s eyes went wide and his face turned bright red. “I-I…uh…” He shrunk down and quickly turned his gaze to the side. After a few moments of awkward silence, Butterscotch muttered. “I don’t think they would appreciate me talking about it.”

“Look, I just needed to know, have you—” Blitz swallowed. “Have you seen any…gay animals?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“What?” Butterscotch shot his attention back to Blitz. A disturbed, but still curious eyebrow raised.

“Like, two dude animals fucking?” For a moment, Blitz felt like his face might combust from the sheer heat he felt. He had never been so utterly embarrassed and exposed in his entire life. “I was to know because I—”

“Um…“ Butterscotch interrupted with a soft interjection. “Blitz, I’m not too comfortable discussing this…” His face was bright red as well.

A frown appeared on Blitz’s face and his forehead scrunched. “But, Butters, listen—” Blitz groaned. His conviction was beginning to wane before his growing shame. “I mean, if animals do it, it’s not weird for ponies to do it, right?”

Butterscotch stared down at the ground, completely silent. His face was beat red. After a few moments, he managed to regain control enough to actually speak. “W-what the animals do is between them.” Butterscotch glanced back. He found the chickens gathering behind him, awaiting the next helping to be thrown for them. “But…if it’s okay with you…I think the animals would both prefer if you didn’t try and…” He stumbled over his words for a moment before whispering, “have…sex with them…”

“Wait, what? No!” Blitz took a step forward.

Butterscotch flinched from the sudden approach. “I’m sorry, Blitz, I have to get back to work.” He turned around, reaching for the cup inside the bag of feed once more. “I won’t judge you or anything…but, please don’t force them…They’re sensitive…”

“Butters, I’m not into animals!” Blitz yelled.

------------------------------

Dusk hummed a small tune to himself with a smile on his face. He held a small package aloft in his magic as he trotted towards the Golden Oak Library. Once at the door, he set the package on his back and turned the handle with his magic. He giggled to himself with delight as he thought about the package. “I can’t wait for Rainbow to see—” His thought stopped short when he noticed Blitz laying in his usual spot in the living room.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.” A faint sound of acknowledgement graced his ears from his unmoving coltfriend. Dusk half-frowned once he had a chance to take in the sight more.

Blitz was sprawled out with his head flat on the floor. His ears were flat and half-closed eyes seemed to lack any life. Even Blitz’s mane seemed unusually flat.

“Is…everything okay?” Dusk asked, cautiously as he approached.

“Yeah,” Blitz said, barely audible.

“I’m not exactly convinced.” He levitated his package onto the table by the couch and sat down next to Blitz. “You’ve been pretty down the past few days.

“I guess…”

“Did you…tell everypony?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Get off my back, alright!” Blitz yelled as he rolled onto his side away from Dusk. “Between work and you’re nagging, I haven’t had a chance!”

Dusk’s flinched from the sudden outburst. Dusk furrowed his brow and his ears fell flat. “That was the first time I asked about it since we spoke a few days ago. I was just asking, Rainbow.”

“Well, it’s too much, okay?” Blitz didn’t move.

Seconds passed without a sound coming from either of them. Dusk could only bring himself to stare at Blitz as he contemplated how to respond. After a few minutes, he moved closer to Blitz and laid on his stomach next to him. He kept his gaze to the opposite side of the room, and simply waited.

His patience was rewarded when he heard a sigh next to him. Dusk nodded as a silent self-congratulations.

“Sorry,” Blitz muttered. “I’m just…pissed.”

“Did it really go that bad?” he asked, innocently.

“Yeah…” Blitz sighed again. “I couldn’t even tell them. I tried, but anything I tried to say just came out wrong.”

Dusk nodded again, this time in understanding.

“Like, Applejack thought I was talking about incest, Berry thought I meant I wanted to fuck some donuts I was buying—”

“Is that why you brought those eclairs over?” Dusk raised an eyebrow and chuckled to himself.

“Yeah…And then Butterscotch thought I wanted to fuck some animal.” Blitz ended with a loud groan. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Dusk. “What am I gonna do?”

A sympathetic smile came across Dusk’s face. “Well, I don’t know the whole conversations you had with each of them, but I’m guessing you cleared up the misunderstanding at least?”

Blitz rolled his eyes and nodded.

“I believe I told you not to worry so much about this.”

“And here comes the ‘I told you so’s.” Blitz pinched his eyes shut and pulled his foreleg over them. “Dusk, skip it, okay? I’m not in the mood.”

“I’m just trying to tell you that I think you were too worried about easing into the situation you lost what you were trying to say. You need to not worry.”

“So just walk up and tell them I’m gay?” Blitz peeked out from behind his foreleg.

“You wouldn’t be in this predicament if you did that.” He couldn’t help but laugh.

Blitz struggled not to laugh, but ended up doing so too. “You’re such a dork.” He pulled his foreleg up to over his forehead and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t think I can though. Not yet.”

“Need more time?”

“I don’t even want to think about it right now. After I cleared up that mess with Butters today, I ended up volunteering to help him get the animals ready for winter. And I’m pretty sure Berry’s probably going to get me a giant eclair to fuck for my birthday next year.”

Dusk chuckled. He covered his mouth when he noticed a glare from Blitz. “Sorry.”

“I’m still going to tell them, but for now, I just want to put it out of my head.”

“Do you want me to help next time?”

Blitz stared up at the ceiling for a moment before giving a small nod. “Yeah…Maybe then I can keep things from getting so crazy.”

“Good.” Dusk smiled. His horn lit up and he glanced over to the table. The box he brought in earlier levitated over to him. “I bought a little surprise for when you finally do tell them.”

“I swear, if it’s a dress—”

“It’s not.” Dusk gave a sly grin. “I think you’ll have some fun with it, but I’m not even going to let you see it until you’ve told them.” Dusk looked back at the box. A translucent purple lock formed inside the cloud of Dusk’s magic and clicked shut around a small tab. “Think of it as a bit of incentive. So, no peeking.”

Blitz moved his foreleg from his forehead and placed his hoof on Dusk’s cheek. “You really are a dork.” He pulled Dusk’s head down and brought his muzzle up. “If you think some kinky sex is going to make me tell them, I’m going to have to disappoint you.”

“No, it’s an added bonus.” Dusk placed his lips on Blitz’s, pushing his tongue into his waiting mouth.

Blitz let out a small moan. Their tongues danced with one another in perfect harmony. In that moment, Blitz felt his unease melt away. Everything became a blur where only he and his lover mattered. He was barely aware that Dusk stood up and moved over on top of him. He felt his coltfriend’s forelegs slipping under him, pulling him in for a tight hug.

Blitz let his eyes drift closed. His body moved on instinct, reacting only to its desires. But, just as he was about to fully let himself immerse in this bliss, the sound of the front door opening snapped him back to reality. His eyes darted over to see a big, orange shape stepping inside.

“Hey, Dusk?” Applejack called into the library as he stepped inside backwards, using his rump to push the door opened. Just as he turned around, Blitz tossed Dusk off him and rolled onto his stomach.

“Uh, hey, Applejack!”: Blitz said, nervously.

Dusk groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach. He shook her head and placed a hoof to it. “Hi, Applejack.”

The farmer raising an eyebrow at the peculiar sight. Blitz and Dusk were both laying in the middle of the room, faces flushed and Dusk looked like he was recovering from a hangover with the way he was rubbing his head. “Am I interruptin’ somethin’?”

“N-no!” Blitz blurted out. “W-we were just…” Blitz’s eyes darted around for a moment before locking back onto Applejack. “Wrestling!”

“Uh-huh…” Applejack gave a raised eyebrow as he walked further into the room. He stopped after a few steps and hoisted a bag of apples off his back. “Ya alright, Dusk?”

Dusk nodded and forced a smile on his face. “Of course. We just got a little carried away over a scene in a book we were reading.”

Blitz nodded. “Right.”

“Whatever y’all say.” Applejack adjusted his hat and chuckled. “I just came to drop off some apples for ya since I was in the neighborhood.“

“Thank you.” Dusk hopped up onto his hooves and walked over to the bag of apples. He levitated them with his magic and put them into the kitchen while he talked to Applejack. “How’s the harvest going?”

“Much better now that Big Red’s back on her hooves. I swear, she works herself too hard—but, now that she’s up and movin’ again, we should be able to finish no problem.”

“That’s good to hear.” Dusk smiled.

“Wait, your sister was hurt?”

Applejack nodded. “She just twisted her leg wrong and needed a few days off s‘all. It’s why I was so tried the other day when you stopped by. Not that I’ve had a chance to get much rest since.” Applejack fought back a yawn. “So, ya gone to see Elusive yet about gettin’ some warmer clothes, Blitz?”

Blitz’s ears fell flat. “N-not yet.”

“Might wanna hurry. He get’s mighty busy ‘round this time of the year.”

“Yeah…” Blitz sighed.

Dusk looked at Blitz to see his ears flat once more and that depressed look back in his eyes. A small frown came across his face for a moment at the sight of his coltfriend so down.

“Well, I gotta get back. Can’t have Gala pushin’ herself too hard, yet. See y’all around.” He tipped his hat and started towards the door. After Dusk and Blitz said their goodbyes, Applejack left.

Once they were alone, Dusk turned back to Blitz. “We could have just told Applejack while he was here.”

Blitz sighed. “Yeah right…”

Dusk walked back over to his lover and lay next to him once more. He placed his foreleg over Blitz and pulled him in for a hug. “Is it that hard to just say it?”

“After how he reacted earlier this week, I think Applejack’s going to freak out about it. I just feel like he’s going to have an issue with me being gay.”

Dusk frowned again. “I don’t know if that’s the case. He’s a pretty accepting pony, Rainbow.”

Blitz laid his head into Dusk and rubbed his cheek against his coltfriend’s. “It feels like he’s going to have an issue…”

Author's Notes:

So, a few things. I had originally planned to have a clop scene in this chapter, but I decided against it. It was going to be more of the same and just felt dull. I don't want to force one into every chapter, especially if it's going to be soulless. The next two chapters however will have some big sex scenes to make up for it.