The day was getting better and better. I had woken up, done a little writing, and then been surprised by a knock at my door. When I had opened the door, I found Shy standing there with an invitation to lunch.

And now here I was sitting at a cafe table across from my marefriend. She smiled at me. "How are you doing?" I thought for a moment on what to tell her. I pushed the more disturbing event to the back of my mind and smiled. "I'm doing better than before. Especially now with lunch. I needed to get out of that house. I've kept myself locked up for the past few days getting some work done." Fluttershy giggled. "You work too much." We laughed for a minute before the waiter brought our food.

As we sat enjoying our meal, I looked around the street. Ponies passed by, going about their business. My eyes froze as I spotted Twilight walking along with a book hovering in front of her. She was reading and walking? How did she see where she was-?

*BOOM*

I stood up as Twilight fell back from walking into Applejack's brother, Big Mac. Fluttershy followed my gaze to see what had happened. "Omygoodness!" She ran over to Twilight and I followed close behind. "You okay Twilight?" She shook her head vigorously and looked up at the red stallion. "Sorry Big Mac! I should have been watching where I was going." The stallion smiled. "It's okay Miss Twilight. I shoulda spotted ya before we hit." He held out a hoof to help her up and she took it. Fluttershy looked Twilight over. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" She nodded. "I'm fine. Sorry again Big Mac." Big Mac smiled and nodded his head. "Weren't nothin'." And off he walked, pulling his cart of apples. While Shy kept looking over Twilight, I watched Mac go. I noticed him glance back at us. When he saw me watching though, he snapped his head forward again.

It was two days later when I brought up a question to Fluttershy. We had decided to spend every lunch at the cafe together. She was about to sink her teeth into her sandwich when I asked my question. "Shy, do you ever wonder if the others are jealous of us?" She froze and looked at me. I could tell the question troubled her. She slowly set the sandwich down. "What...what do you mean?" I stammered for a moment trying to gather my thoughts. "I-I don't mean like that...that their jealous as much as-as-as....envious?" She continued to stare at me, clearly confused. I rolled my eyes. "What I'm trying to say is...do you think the others could use special someponies in their lives? So they can have what you and I have?" She sat quietly for the next few minutes. I didn't say anything else. I just waited.

Finally she spoke. "I...I don't know. They all seem...happy. Why do you ask?" I sighed and leaned in. "Well...do you remember the other day when Twilight and Big Mac bumped into each other?" She nodded and continued. "Well as he walked away, I noticed him glance back at her. I wonder if...if he might like her." Shy's eyes grew wide. "Are you sure Speedy?" I shrugged. "I don't know. But usually when a stallion looks back as he walks away, he's wanting to catch another glimpse of a pretty mare. I do that all the time with you." She blushed and kissed me on the cheek. "You're sweet. And I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight had a stallion eyeing her. She's a great mare. But do you really think it's Big Mac?" I shrugged again.

We spent the next hour talking about our friends. I asked Fluttershy all I could about their personal relationships. That is, I asked everything I could without crossing the line. There wasn't much to tell though. None of the mares had been in relationships. "You mean none of them? Not even Rarity, our local love guru?" She shook her head. "I guess none of them have found the right stallion." I thought about it. It was possible I guess. But what if... "What if the right stallions are here, but they're too shy to come out with it?" Fluttershy nodded. "That makes sense. But stallions liking them is only part of it. They would need to like the stallions too." Right.

How to figure out if two ponies like each other. It was intriguing. It was a doozy. I was in over my head. But my mind was made up. I leaned in closer to Shy. "I have an idea. Tomorrow, ask Twilight to join you for lunch." She cocked her head to the side. "Just me and her? Why?" I smiled and winked. "Leave the rest to me."

I set down the basket of apples and wiped the sweat off my forehead. I heard my stomach growl. "Whew! Nothing like some harvesting to work up an appetite." Big Mac stopped next to me, setting down his load. "Eeyup." I stretched my legs. "Ah! What do you say to grabbing a bite in town?" Big Mac stared at me. "We could just eat here like always." I rolled my eyes. "You and Applejack have fed me so many times, I feel like I'm made of apples. Come on. It'll be my treat." I turned towards town and then looked back at him. He shrugged. "I don't usually eat out...but I guess once wouldn't hurt." He began to follow. I smiled and led the way to town.

I spotted the cafe as we got closer. Perfect! All of the big tables had been taken. I chuckled. The sudden advertising of a family lunch special is bound to do that. We arrived just in time to see Fluttershy and Twilight approach. We all stopped in front of each other. I could just notice the twitch of a muscle in Mac's neck. I looked at Fluttershy. "I didn't know you were going to be here today. I would have asked you." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Oh! Um...I'm sorry. It's just that I was with Twilight and...we both got hungry.." Twilight stepped up. "We could get lunch another time Fluttershy. I wouldn't want to intrude." I shook my head. "It's okay. I was helping Big Mac out in the orchard and brought him out for lunch. Why don't we see if there's a table to share?" We walked through the sea of tables, trying to find a spot.

I leaned in close to Shy. "Whatever I say next, I want you to interrupt me by whispering in my ear." She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. We left the bigger tables and were now around the smaller tables. Tables made for two. "Well, I guess all the large tables are taken. I guess we can-" Shy leaned in and whispered softly. "I hope this works. It'll be great if it does." I smiled and leaned away from her. "Um...what was I saying?" Twilight looked between the two of us. "Were you about to suggest we sit at two of the smaller tables instead of waiting for a large on to clear?" I nodded. "You read my mind." I leaned in and whispered into Shy's ear. "I'm hopeful as well. When I pull away, giggle." I leaned back smiling and she giggled.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Excuse me sir." I turned to see one of the waiters. "If you're in the same party, a larger table just opened up." No! No no no no no no! Twilight beamed. "Great! We can all sit together!" She and Big Mac walked towards the table. I looked at Fluttershy. She looked as surprised as me. "Was this part of the plan?" I shook my head and we trotted after the others. I dealt with the problem and made sure that Twilight sat across from Big Mac.

Fluttershy and Twilight sat talking while they looked over the menu. I noticed that Big Mac looked a little tense. I leaned over to him. "You okay Mac?" He nodded "Eeyup." I made sure the mares weren't watching and turned back to Mac. "You sure? You're starting to sweat." He wiped his forehead. "It's just from work today. I'm fine." I narrowed my eyes. He forced a smile. I sighed and turned to the girls. "If you'd excuse us for a moment, we're going to find a bathroom." I stood up and nudged Big Mac. He got up and followed me.

We walked off towards the bathroom only for me to lead us to a spot that was out of sight from the mares. I turned to Big Mac. "What's wrong?" He kicked at the ground. "Nothin'." I sat down and stared at him. He fidgeted for a moment. "Please Speedy. Don't make me do this." I sighed. "If something's wrong, I want to help you." He looked at me for a moment. Finally, he sat. "It's just...I didn't expect to see Miss Twilight here. I thought it just us stallions." I hadn't expected him to confess so easily. "Why would it matter that Twilight's here?" He gave me a stern look. "Come on now. You can guess why." I put on a show as if I was trying to figure out what he meant. I finally made my eyes go wide and looked back at him. "You mean you have a-!" I never finished. I looked down to find a large red hoof over my mouth.

The look he was giving me would have made a lot of ponies cringe. "If you say anything-" I pushed the hoof away. "I won't. Stallion's honor. It's not my place to tell her such a thing. It's yours." His anger turned to shock. "Me? I...I couldn't!" I rolled my eyes. "Why not?" He was at a lose for words. His mouth moved for a moment without actually saying anything. I put a hoof on his shoulder. "Look. Why don't we go back to our table and just enjoy lunch. You don't have to tell her, but you should at least talk to her. Just casual stuff." He stared at me and then gave a curt nod. I smiled and led him back to the table.

We sat down just as the waiter arrived to take our order. "I hope you aren't in a hurry. We have been so busy today, we're a little behind on the orders. But we will bring your food as fast as we can." We all expressed that it was no trouble and the waiter left. Perfect. Time for some conversation. I began talking about our day on the farm. It had actually been more fun than actual work. Big Mac and I had made a contest out of it. Of course with his larger build, he beat me with plenty of time to spare. The girls laughed at my expense. I sank a little in my chair. That made Big Mac chuckle. "You were still pretty good for  a pony who didn't grow up on a farm." I shrugged.

At that moment a couple of mares walked past the cafe. I noticed them glancing at Mac and smiling. Were they trying to catch his attention? I looked at Big Mac. He apparently hadn't noticed them. But Twilight sure did. She glanced at the mares as they walked away and then turned to Big Mac. "I've noticed a lot of mares do that around you Big Mac." Mac was caught off guard by the comment. "Huh?" Twilight smiled. "Mares seem to really like you. I'm surprised you don't have a special somepony yet." Mac stammered. "Uh..I just haven't.....thought about it much. What with....work." Twilight nodded. "That's how I am. I'm always so busy at the library, when would I have time for a relationship?" I saw Mac's shoulders sag a little. We were losing him. I cleared my throat. "You're not in there all the time Twilight." She shrugged. "Well...maybe I exaggerated a little, but I do study a lot." And then the last thing I ever expected happened. A response. "That's what makes ya so smart." We all looked at Big Mac.

He didn't try to look away or anything. His face was neutral. Twilight beamed. "Thanks Big Mac! That's so nice." He smiled. "And it's the truth." I looked at Twilight out of the corner of my eye. Was she...blushing? It was faint, but it was definitely there. I looked at Fluttershy and winked.

The waiter arrived with our food shortly after. The table was silent except for me and Shy. We would address the others and get short responses. When we were finished with lunch, Big Mac stood up. "I'd best be gettin' back to the farm." I stood up. "Right. We have to get those apples stored away." He waved his hoof. "That's okay. I can handle it." With that he was gone. I looked at Shy. "You want me to walk you home?" She rubbed her hooves together. "Um...I actually have to get a few things in town...for the animals." I nodded in understanding. I turned to Twilight. "Now that I think about it, tere was a book I wanted to pick up." She smiled and stood. "You can come with me then." I kissed Fluttershy goodbye and followed Twilight.

We walked side by side along the street. "That was a good lunch wasn't it?" She nodded. "It certainly was. It's nice to have lunch with friends." She giggled. I looked at her. "What?" She smiled. "Just seeing you and Fluttershy. You two are so good together." I chuckled. "I know. But it's all her of course. I don't know how I got such a great mare." Twilight bumped my flank. "Because you're a great stallion." I smiled and glanced at her. "Well Miss 'I never get out of the library', you seemed to be working on finding a great stallion yourself." She stopped walking. "What do you mean?" I stood in front of her. "you mean youweren't flirting with Big Mac?" I could see her blushing again.

Twilight looked everywhere except at me. "Mac? Why would I flirt with Applejack's brother? Just because he's strong and muscular and...handsome and...such a gentlecolt..." Her eyes had gone dreamy on me. She notice my smile and shook her head. "I wasn't flirting!" I gave her a hug. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." I pulled away from her and she giggled. "That's what I said about your crush on Fluttershy." I nodded. "And now I'm saying it about your crush on Big Mac." She pushed me away. "It's not a crush! It's...just a liking. There's a difference!" I rolled my eyes. "If you say so. Now how about we go find my book." We continued on towards the library.

"You like him."

"Not in that way."

"Mm-hm."

"Speedy!"

"Just admit it."

"Fine! I...kinda sorta maybe-"

"That's good enough for me!"

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"Doesn't matter! You admitted it!"

"If you say anything, I'll make your mouth vanish!" Next Chapter: An Unexpected Visit Estimated time remaining: 60 Minutes