Fluttershy and I walked through the farmers market. She looked around at the various stands. "What sounds good for our picnic?" I looked at the different foods. My eyes fell on a crate of strawberries. "Definitely some of those."

We began our walk towards the meadow. We had everything we needed to have a perfect summer picnic. But things never work out, do they? Rainbow Dash appeared from the sky, flying at top speed right for us. I don't know why we didn't try to move, but we stood right where we were and watched her shooting towards us. At the last second she pulled up and hovered over us. "Hey guys! Guess what I got?" She held out a blue paper and waved it in front of our faces. "Is this the greatest thing or what?" I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear my vision. I was seeing nothing but blue. I opened my eyes again. "It would be great if we could see what it is." Rainbow stopped waving the paper and dropped to the ground. "It's only an invite to the greatest of all parties. The Cloudsdale Ball!" Okay. That meant nothing to me.

Fluttershy on the other hand seemed to know exactly what Rainbow was talking about. "The Cloudsdale Ball? Wow! How did you get the invitation?" Rainbow's smile grew even wider. "All thanks to Speedy!" Now I'm worse off than before. How had I gotten an invitation for something I didn't even know about? Fluttershy looked just as confused. We spoke at the same time. "Speedy?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Well, Speedy in a roundabout way. He introduced me to Spitfire and Spitfire got me the invites." If Shy's eyes weren't wide enough already, they were even bigger now. "Invites? As in more than one?" Rainbow nodded. That's it. I stepped between the two mares. "Could somepony tell me what the Cloudsdale Ball is?" That sure wiped the smile off of Rainbow's face.

"WHAT?! You've never heard of the Cloudsdale Ball?" Shy looked equally shocked. "Speedy. The Cloudsdale Ball is-" She was cut off as Rainbow appeared in front of me, nose to nose. "It's only the greatest pegasus party in all of Equestria! It's said to be even better than the Grand Galloping Gala. Not hard to believe after our attendance last year of course." I stepped around Rainbow and over to Fluttershy. "Well it sounds like fun." Fluttershy shrugged. "I guess... We've never been." Rainbow smiled. "And that's why I said invites!" From what appeared to be nowhere, she pulled out five, no, six invitations! Could that mean what I think it means?

Rainbow passed a invite to Fluttershy and then to me. "Spitfire got them for all of us! She said she can't wait to see all my friends again. And of course her favorite cousin." She nudged me in the shoulder. I bumped into Fluttershy and we fell onto the grass in a pile. I blew Fluttershy's mane out of my face and looked up at Rainbow. "That's great and all, but aren't we forgetting something?" It was at that moment that Shy unfolded her wings and lifted herself off of me. I pointed at her. "You two have wings. What about myself and the others?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "They've been to Cloudsdale before. Twilight  will probably use her cloud-walking spell again." Impressive.

We arrived at the library a short while later. Rainbow didn't want to waste anytime in giving the others the good news. She had flown off ahead to gather the rest of the gang. Fluttershy and I walked into the library to find Twilight tidying up. She looked over her shoulder as she dusted a shelf. "Hi! What are you guys up to?" I rolled my eyes. "Well we were off to have a picnic, but Rainbow mmpghf..." Shy had put a hoof over my mouth. "Don't spoil the surprise." Now we had Twilight's attention. "What's going on?" The hoof was lowered and I was able to speak again. "Rainbow will be along soon and she can tell you herself."

And in strolled Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity as if on cue. Rainbow followed right behind them. Rarity looked at Rainbow. "Really now Rainbow Dash. What is the meaning of all this?" Applejack chimed in. "I have a lotta work to do back at the farm. What's so dern important you needed to see us?" Rainbow jumped into the air and flashed the invitations. "This is what's so important. Invites to the Cloudsdale Ball!" She looked around for the reactions. Not much. At least Pinkie got excited. Hopefully she knew what we were talking about. Applejack and Twilight looked confused and Rarity had her jaw hanging open slightly.

After a brief explanation, the mares began to show their enthusiasm and joy for Rainbow's good fortune. Rarity still looked in awe. "How did you manage to gain invites for all of us? Is the Cloudsdale Ball not one of the most exclusive parties in all of Equestria?" Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah, so?" Rarity groaned. "So the Ball has always been pegasus only. Why would they let wingless ponies attend?" I stepped forward. "Spitfire got us the invitations. She wants us all there. She considers you all friends." I think I just made Rainbow's smile grow another inch.

The others became even more ecstatic. We were going to a party! Applejack looked up at Rainbow. "So when is this Ball?" Rainbow looked at the tickets. She was silent for a moment as her eyes scanned the paper. "It says that it's going to be tomorrow night." Rarity screamed. We all covered our ears until she stopped. I looked over at the unicorn to see her frozen in place, eyes wide. "The Cloudsdale Ball is tomorrow? I haven't a thing to wear!" And with that she was gone, racing out the front door for the boutique. The rest of us laughed. A shop full of dresses and nothing to wear? Only Rarity.

I walked with Fluttershy back to her cottage. "Well I guess we have a party to get ready for." She smiled. "There's not too much to do. I just have to pull out a dress and put it on. And I'm sure you must have something nice you want to wear too." Oh... I gave her the best grin I could. I don't think I have anything formal. I nuzzled Shy's cheek and said goodbye, heading for home.

I searched my home, looking for anything. It was no surprise that I couldn't find so much as a tie. I had never been to any formal events before, so why should I have any nice clothing? What was I going to do. The Ball was tomorrow night and I didn't have a thing to... Oh the irony.

I walked into the boutique to see dresses flying around the room. Rarity stood in front of a mirror muttering to herself. All of this trouble for a party? I walked towards her until I could see both of our reflections in the mirror. Rarity had a blue dress in front of her. I smiled and nodded. "That one's nice." Her reflection's eyes darted towards me. "Speedy! I didn't hear you come in." The dresses flew off in a neat line and settled onto their hangers. Rarity turned to me. "What can I do for you?" I looked around the room. "I was wondering if you could help me with my choice of Ball attire." She looked thrilled. "Of course I can! What are you going to wear?" I smiled bashfully. "I don't have anything." Thrill turned to shock. "What? Oh we simply must find you something."

The rest of the afternoon was spent deciding on outfits. Of course only an hour of this was spent on me as I found a tie and vest to wear. The rest of the time was spent with Rarity asking for my opinion on different dresses. The only thing that stopped the endless sea of fabric was when the others came walking in. Of course I didn't see them come in, I heard their voices. I was stuck under a pile of dresses that Rarity had continuously flung at me as each dress was rejected. I heard Twilight. "Hi Rarity. I was wondering if you could alter something on my dress for the party." And then Fluttershy chimed in. "Me too." I could hear Rarity walk across the room to them. "And what about the rest of you?" Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow had come to borrow dresses. I guess the dress code for the Ball was somewhere between casual and fancy. Something like look nice, but not too nice. That must mean simple dresses. Something I hadn't seen much of in this pile.

At that moment, the conversation took an interesting turn. "Fluttershy, this dress is wonderful and it's the same green as the outfit Speedy just chose!" I could picture Rarity eyeing a green dress. Then I heard Shy speak up. "Speedy was here?" Rarity giggled. "The poor dear. He didn't have anything to wear for the Ball. But now he does and you two will match! You'll make the perfect couple." I heard Rainbow Dash laugh. "Fluttershy and Speedy?" I knew it was time to reveal myself. "And what's so funny about that?" I could feel the six pairs of eyes staring in my direction. Applejack spoke up. "Uh...Did that pile of dresses just talk?" I began to burrow through the dresses until my head poked out into the open. I was looking at the mares and they stared right back. Pinkie bounced over to me. "Ooo! It's Speedy! He's the pile of dresses. I don't think any of these are your color though." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks Pinkie. Could you give me a hoof here?" With that, Pinkie pulled me out from under the pile.

I eyed Rarity. She looked surprised. "Speedy, darling! I had forgotten you were here." I walked towards her. "You my little unicorn, are nosey." I passed her and stood next to Fluttershy. I looked up at Rainbow. "And what's so funny about us being a couple?" Rainbow didn't respond, but Rarity sure did. "Then you really are together! I knew it!"Her attitude went from happy to furious instantly. "Why didn't you tell me you were a couple?" We both ignored the question as Applejack and Pinkie congratulated us. Twilight winked at me. Rainbow's mouth hung open. "Fluttershy and Speedy are...dating?" We both looked up at the pegasus and smiled. She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. As if we need a bunch of mushy stuff around here." I could see that Shy was embarrassed of all the attention, especially with something so personal. I felt embarrassed too. I stepped a little closer to her and looked back at Rarity. "Anything else Nosey?" She didn't seem to catch the jab. She smiled and looked from me to Fluttershy and back to me. And then I noticed a mischievous glint to her eyes. That couldn't be good. "Have you two kissed yet?"

Uh-oh. Rarity had been mad at not knowing about us going out. How would she react if she knew that me and Shy had already kissed too?

Out of nowhere I heard a 'No'. I was shocked to see it was Fluttershy that had spoken. Had she just lied to one of her close friends? But surprisingly, this seemed to work really well. Rarity looked even more excited. "Ooo! And what better place is there to have your first kiss than at a ball?" Well I thought Shy's front porch was fine. My thoughts became interuppted as Rarity put her hooves around me and Shy. "I'm going to make sure that you two have the most romantic evening ever!"

I woke up the next morning with a question. The same question I had been asking myself since Shy said we hadn't kissed. Why lie about it? Was she embarrassed of it? Of me? I had to know. I trotted off towards the cottage. I had to know. I walked up the path and knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal the most beautiful pegasus ever in a slender green dress. I almost forgot why I had come. Fluttershy smiled at me. "Hi Speedy. Come on in." I walked inside and looked at her again. "You look beautiful." She blushed and kissed me on the cheek. Kissed...Kiss! That's right. My question.

I backed away and sighed. Fluttershy looked concerned. "Is everything alright?" I couldn't bring myself to smile and shrug it off. I had to know. "Why did you lie to Rarity yesterday?" She seemed shocked at the question. Before I could stop myself, I asked the next question. "Are you embarassed of me?" She stood in silence for a moment. What would she say? I couldn't take the silence. Answer already for Celestia's sake!

Nothing. Nothing but a smile. Fluttershy walked up to me and gave me a hug. And then she kissed me. What was happening? What was she-? Oh what the hay. I kissed her back and we stayed like that for a few seconds. When we broke apart she whispered in my ear. "I would never be embarrassed of you." I believed it. She backed up and stared at me with those wonderful blue eyes. "I only lied so Rarity wouldn't be upset. She really enjoys knowing about relationships. But if she found out we kissed without her knowing, she would be crushed. I couldn't do that to her." I smiled and approached her. I kissed her on the forehead and then looked into those blue eyes again. "You are a real friend. That's one of the many things I love about you."

There was a knock at the door. Fluttershy walked over and opened it. Rarity came waltzing in. "Fluttershy we simply-" She paused when she spotted me. "Oh. I didn't know you had company." I began to walk towards the door. "That's alright. I was just leaving." Rarity blocked my path. "No. This is a good thing. I can discuss the plans with both of you." The plans? Oh. Right. Our romantic evening. Rarity began to go over how we would have our own table with candlelight, the band would play a romantic tune, and so on. She went on for twenty minutes describing all the different steps that would lead up to our "first kiss". Rarity sighed. "I think that it would be so romantic if it happened during the final dance!" I looked at Fluttershy to find she appeared nervous.

I nudged her. "Is something wrong?" She looked between me and Rarity. "The...the final dance?" Rarity grinned and nodded. Fluttershy looked away. I walked around her until I could see her face. "What is it?" She glanced up at me. I thought I could see a single tear in the corner of her eye. "The last dance of the Cloudsdale Ball is called Hope On Wings. It's where every pegasus and their partner dance while...flying." The tear fell from her eye to the floor. I tilted her chin up and smiled at her. "Now don't be sad. We'll figure something out." I turned to Rarity. "If you don't mind I would like to make the plans for the last dance. We love the rest of the evening, but I think the big moment needs a...personal touch." Rarity smiled. "Oh you are such a gentlecolt! Of course you can! Now I'll leave you two to get ready. Twilight said we'll be leaving in a few hours." With that she left the cottage. I turned back to Fluttershy pulled her into a hug. "Don't feel bad about it. I'll come up with something." I had nothing.

What could I do? A flying dance?I don't have wings. And I wasn't about to grow any either. I guess I could think of something once we got to the Ball. I pulled out of the embrace and looked at Shy. "We'd better get ready. I'll meet you at Twilight's later." She nodded and I left. And that's when it hit me. Twilight!

Night had fallen. Fluttershy and I arrived outside the library where Twilight and Applejack were already waiting. Twilight waved to us. "Hi you two! Excited for tonight?" I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Thrilled. Rarity has the whole evening set up." And that's when Rarity appeared. "And it's going to be marvelous!" We didn't have to wait long for Pinkie and Rainbow to arrive and then we were off. We piled into the balloon and took off for Cloudsdale, Rainbow and Fluttershy flying next to us.

We landed a short while later. Rainbow and Shy landed on the clouds and waited. Twilight turned to the rest of us and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up and went out in a split second. Was that it? I looked out at the clouds, not too eager to take the first step. What if the spell hadn't taken to me? I watched as Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity climbed out of the balloon and onto the clouds. They didn't fall through. I looked at Twilight and she smiled. "Go on." I looked at the clouds for a second longer and then hopped out. Wow...clouds are soft.

We had landed just to the side of the hall where the Ball was being held. We walked to the entrance to find a large pegasus blocking the entrance. He looked down at us. "Invitations?" Rainbow stepped forward and handed the stallion the invites. He stepped aside and let us through.

The Cloudsdale Ball. How to describe it? If you could somehow combine an elegant garden party with a dance party, that would only begin to describe the sight before us. This looked like the coolest party in the clouds. We made our way over to a table. I was about to sit when Rarity pushed me over to the next table. "Come now Speedy, remember what I said. You and Fluttershy are sitting here." I didn't argue. I played along with it. Fluttershy sat across from me. When Rarity left, I shifted around the table to sit right next to Shy. She smiled at me and I smiled right back.

Before we could grab any food though, I spotted a certain pegasus walking across the dance floor towards us. I grinned and waved. "Spitfire!" She trotted over and sat down. "Speed, I'm glad you and the others could make it." I gave her a hug. "Thanks for sending the invites with Rainbow. But you cut it a little close on timing." Spitfire laughed. "Well Cloudsdale may be on time when it comes to weather, but when it comes to parties invites are always the last thing that get done." I turned and motioned to Fluttershy. "You've met Fluttershy before. She's my date...and my girlfriend." Fluttershy blushed a little. Spitfire nugded me with her elbow. "Why didn't you say so cuz? I'll leave you two alone. Have fun tonight." She got up and walked off to another table.

The  evening went smoothly. There was food, dancing, laughter, and anxiety. Why was I so nervous about the last dance? As long as Twilight could do it, I had nothing to worry about. It didn't help though that Rarity seemed to separate Shy and me from the others every five minutes. She stopped however when Fluttershy spoke up. "Rarity, thank you for helping us tonight, but it's not as if we're trying to get together. We already are." Rarity smiled. "I know dear. I just want it to be a special night for the both of you." She trotted off to talk to some of the upper-crust crowd. Twilight joined us and giggled. "I think Rarity wants this kiss more than you two." Fluttershy and I looked at each other and laughed. Shy turned to Twilight. "More than you know."

The full moon was at it's peak when it was announced that the last dance was about to begin. Every pegasus in the hall took off and hovered several feet up in the air. Fluttershy looked at me. I saw sadness, nervousness, and embarrassment occupying her eyes. I smiled at her and led her onto the dance floor. She looked up at the ponies flying above. Her voice was soft. "Speedy, we can't. It's a flying dance." I glanced up and shrugged. "Don't worry about them. Just enjoy yourself." And so we began to dance. Shy's eyes glanced up every few seconds in the beginning, but soon she relaxed and put her chin on my shoulder.

I looked and Twilight and winked. I turned Fluttershy away from Twilight and locked eyes with her. "Thank you for this dance. I know it's an important one. I'm glad we could share it." Shy smiled. "I am too." She rested her head on my shoulder again. I looked around and smiled. I leaned in close to Shy;s ear and whispered. "But you do know that a pony doesn't need wings to fly." Fluttershy looked at me, obviously confused by my cryptic message. And then she looked around. We were level with the other dancers. She looked down to discover the floating floor that Twilight had conjured under us. She looked back at me and smiled. We embraced for a moment before continuing the dance. We were drawing attention from the others. I'm sure it was quite the shock to see an earth pony up in the air.

I looked at Fluttershy and whispered again. "Ready for our second first kiss?" Her eyes grew soft and she nodded. I leaned in, connecting my lips with hers. Down below I heard Rarity squeal in delight. But it didn't matter at that moment. All that mattered was the beautiful mare I was kissing. The dance ended and was replaced by...applause? We broke apart to see that everypony was applauding for us. We had danced our way to the center of the floor. I think we both blushed. Twilight lowered us back down to the clouds. I saw Spitfire standing next to Rainbow Dash. She winked at me. I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned to find Fluttershy an inch from my face. She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. I nuzzled her cheek. In the background I heard Rarity. "That was the most romantic thing I've ever seen!" We smiled and walked towards the group. Fluttershy whispered in my ear before we reached them. "It really was. It was the best second first kiss ever."

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