The short walk to Fluttershy’s only took a few minutes, and I soon found myself back at the door to the cozy little cottage. I let myself in, only to be immediately greeted by a very upset-looking white rabbit. He shot me a sharp glare, gesturing first to the kitchen and then back to his open mouth. I gave him a sheepish smile.

That, um... did take a lot longer than I expected.

“I’m sorry Angel, I didn’t mean to take... so...” I trailed off as I watched the small rabbit approach me, then walk around behind me.

In one fluid motion, the bunny gave me a swift kick in the flank. I let out a small yip, jumping slightly in place. He once again impatiently gestured to the kitchen.

“O-Okay, I’m going... I’m sorry,” I said hesitantly, before swiftly making my way into the kitchen and laying my saddlebags to rest on the floor.

He’s really upset... I hope the fruit salad will make it up to him though.

The next few minutes passed rather quickly as I put away the remaining apples and prepared Angel’s meal. My tummy rumbled a few times as I made it; it just looked and smelled so delicious, reminding me of the fact that I hadn’t eaten yet today.

I really need to start eating breakfast before I leave in the mornings...

I let out a long sigh at the thought; I didn’t like eating Rarity’s food.

Having finished Angel bunny’s meal, I looked the dish over and nodded to myself—it turned out great! Due to the delicate nature of the dish, I decided to use my magic to levitate the treat into the next room and set it on the table. This proved surprisingly difficult, since it was heavier than I had anticipated.

“There you go Angel, just what you wanted!” I exclaimed exhaustedly, wiping a few beads of sweat from my forehead.

The small rabbit hopped up to the table happily, but paused when he got a good look of the dish. He turned back to me with a cold glare, before hopping off the table and into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong Angel? Don’t you want it?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

A few moments later he returned with the cookbook from before and promptly opened it, pointing at the picture alongside the recipe, and then to the actual dessert itself. I looked between the two, scratching the top of my head with a hoof.

“But... I made it just how the book told me—”

I was abruptly cut off with a hard slap, before having the book practically shoved into my face. I let out a loud yip, before taking a step back and examining the image closely, comparing it to the dessert in question. Only then did I see it: it was missing sprinkles.

“I-I’m sorry, but I didn’t think that that would really matt—”

Another hard slap from the small rabbit interrupted me, eliciting yet another loud yip. He stomped his foot a few times before gesturing back to the kitchen.

I nodded slowly. “O-okay...” I replied weakly, slouching as I took a few steps towards the kitchen.

A sleepy voice called out to me. “...Prism?”

My ears perked up, and I turned to the familiar voice to find Fluttershy standing at the bottom of the staircase.

“Are you okay? I heard some noises and I was...” Her words trailed off to a whisper. She quickly trotted up to me and examined me closely. “Prism, what happened to you? Why is your face all red?” She looked me over with great concern, then glanced at the dessert on the table, and finally down at Angel Bunny.

At that moment, something unexpected happened: the kind, sweet and gentle Fluttershy that I had come to know suddenly vanished. She looked back to me with a very stern, upset look. “...Did he ask you to make that for him?” she asked, her tone cold and her eyes narrowed.

“Well, um... yes.” I replied sheepishly, falling to my haunches and slowly tapping the tips of my forehooves together.

Her expression only fell further. “Did he ask you to make it for him?” she repeated herself, slightly louder and with more emphasis than before.

I felt a cold chill run down my spine as she took a step closer; her dominating presence crushing down on me.

“I-I’m... I’m sorry! I tried feeding him a carrot, b-but he wouldn’t take it! Then I tried an apple, and he didn’t want that either! I-I didn’t mean to use so much of your food! I’m so—”

She lifted a hoof, hushing me and shaking her head with a soft smile.

“It’s fine, Prism, don’t worry about that,” she said with her normal, soft demeanor, before turning back to Angel, who was apparently in the process of trying to sneak away.

She trotted up to him and cut off his escape path, and looked down to him with the same soft smile she had given me. Though something was off... Angel Bunny’s expression was slowly slipping into one of sheer horror. Before I could give the scene any more thought, Fluttershy erupted into anger.

“ANGEL BUNNY!” she boomed down to the little rabbit with a sinister sneer, her wings flaring open. “You may be demanding with me, which is fine, and you may be disrespectful to me, which is also fine, but you do NOT, I repeat YOU DO, NOT! DISRESPECT. MY. GUESTS!” she roared at Angel, before leaning in really close to him. “Prism is a very special friend and I will NOT tolerate you disrespecting her EVER again!” she demanded. Turning her head and bringing a eye right up to him, she added: “...You got that?”

Angel stood frozen, looking absolutely mortified. After several long moments he swallowed hard and nodded weakly.

“Good, now you take that carrot she offered you and you go and think about what you’ve done!” Fluttershy said sharply and with a heavy glare, before gesturing a hoof to the front door.

In the blink of an eye, Angel disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear an instant later toting the carrot I tried to feed him earlier. In one swift motion he hopped up to the door’s handle and opened it, quickly disappearing outside and shutting it behind him.

Fluttershy let out a long, drawn-out sigh, and then slowly turned back to me.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, but I wasn’t about to let him get away with treating you like that...” she said softly, hiding her face behind her mane.

I quickly made a dismissive gesture with my hoof. “N-No, it’s fine! I didn’t mind!” I blurted out with a forced smile.

She looked to me with a gentle, sad expression as she slowly walked up to me. “Please don't be afraid of me,” she said quietly, coyly drawing circles on the floor with a hoof. “I, uh... just really care about you and, um, can’t stand to see you treated that way by anypony—even another friend.”

She paused for a moment,  looking back to the dessert on the table.

“Um, Prism?” she began softly, and gestured to the treat. “Would you like to, um... share that with me? It’s okay if you don’t want to; I could finish the rest later...” She looked away, hiding her face behind her mane again.

It wasn’t hard to tell that guilt weighed heavy on Fluttershy’s words. I couldn’t stand to see her so sad. I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I looked her over and felt compelled to cheer her up, right away.

“I’m not scared of you Fluttershy. I was just surprised, that's all,” I said softly and reassuringly as I trotted up to her. “I could never be afraid of you, or even upset at you...” I brought a hoof to her chin and lifted her head to face me. “And I would absolutely love to share that with you.” I said, indicating the dessert in question with a tilt of my head. “So cheer up, please? I don’t like it when you look so sad.”

Fluttershy managed a weak smile and brushed her hair out of her face. “Thank you, Prism.”

“You’re welcome, Fluttershy,” I replied, pulling her into a soft hug.

It was at that moment that I realized something: I really, really liked hugging Fluttershy. I wasn’t sure why, exactly, but I felt so warm inside whenever I was close to her; it reminded me of when I would hug Mother. It was a feeling that I couldn’t seem to get enough of, and one I hoped I would never lose.

This must be what it’s like to have somepony you’re close to, somepony you can trust... somepony you can call a best friend.

* * * * * * * * * *

It turned out the dessert was even tastier than it looked. I couldn’t help but notice, though, that Fluttershy was unusually quiet today. She was already quiet normally, true, but today was different. She fidgeted a lot, seemed quick to startle, and frequently struggled with words. It wasn’t long before I began to worry that something was bothering her; it wasn’t like her to be so reserved around me.

“Fluttershy...? Are you okay?” I asked with concern, leaning onto the table. “You’re exceptionally quiet today. Is there something on your mind, something that’s bothering you?”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up as she quickly turned to me. “N-No, I’m fine. I’ve just been, um... thinking...” she replied softly, looking down to the table.

“About what?” I asked, while folding back an ear and tilting my head confused. “Talk to me, Fluttershy... I’m worried about you.”

“No, it’s, um, nothing...” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. ”Don’t worry about me.”

I stared at her with a flat look. “You can’t lie to me that easily. I can tell something’s wrong,” I said, gesturing a hoof to my chest. “You know you can talk to me about anything. You listened to me on several occasions, so let me return the favor, okay?”

Fluttershy paused for several long moments, looking like she was deep in thought, before looking back up to me.

“...Okay,” she replied slowly, sitting up in her seat. “You see, I’ve been reading this book... it’s a romance story, and it’s really good, but...” she trailed off, tapping her forehooves together slowly.

“But...?” I said, sitting up as well, and listening intently. “I may not have read many romance stories, nor have I ever really been in love before, but maybe I can relate.”

Fluttershy paused again in thought for several long moments, fidgeting with her mane.

“Well, this story’s protagonist is a, uh, mare, and she eventually comes to realize that she’s in love with another mare. But the other mare doesn’t know...” she said slowly, looking down to the table. “The problem is, that I, uh... really, really like this story, even though it’s, um... about, you know, fillyfoolers.” She paused for another moment before looking back to me. “What's, um... your opinion on that?”she asked, looking at me expectantly. “A mare loving another mare, I mean?”

I looked to the table, bringing a hoof to my chin in thought. “Well, to be honest, I originally thought it might be a little weird, to love another mare.” I looked back up to her. “But I honestly don’t think there is anything really wrong with it. I mean, love is love, right? So why should gender even matter?”

Fluttershy managed a small smile at my words. “So, you, uh, don’t think it’s, um, weird?”

I shook my head. “Well, no, not really.”

Fluttershy’s smile grew a little, but then slowly faded away. “Would you mind if I asked you a, uh... personal question?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Of course. You can ask me anything, Fluttershy,”

Fluttershy opened her mouth as if to say something, but then paused. Many long moments of silence went by before she tried again.

“D-do...  do you think you could, um, ever...” she said, slowly trailing off into an inaudible whisper.

“Take your time,” I said with a small smile, propping my head up on my hoof.

see yourself with another mare?” she asked, reluctantly and in a hushed whisper, before hiding behind her mane again.

I lost my balance, and my head slipped off my hoof and hit the table.

Fluttershy gasped and rushed to my side. “Are you alright?” she asked with great concern.

I sat up and tried to shake it off. “Yes, I’m fine,”  I said with a nervous laugh. ”I, uh, just wasn’t expecting that, thats all...”

Another mare? Well... they would have to be somepony caring, kind, loving, and beautiful... Somepony like...

I glanced over Fluttershy, meeting eyes with her.

Somepony... like Fluttershy...

I felt myself flushing before I could even look away, and I nodded thoughtfully.

“Y-Yes, I, uh, think I could see myself with another mare, yes,” I replied hesitantly. There was a long pause before I felt ready to continue. “What I think matters most is that somepony loves me for who I am.” I took another moment before looking back to Fluttershy. Her worried look had vanished and been replaced by a genuine smile.

“Thank you... I was a little, um, worried that you might have thought it weird—me enjoying a book like that, that is!” she replied hastily, trailing off into another smile and looking away.

I raised an eyebrow at her before letting out a laugh. “Is that what you were so worried about? Of course I don’t! I would never think less of you because of something silly like that,” I said, bonking her on the head with a hoof, which prompted a small squeak from her. “Now, cheer up, okay?”

She looked back to me with one of her signature warm smiles. “Okay.”

* * * * * * * * * *

The two of us conversed for a short while longer while we finished the remainder of our lunch. As much as I loved to stay and spend some more time with Fluttershy, I still had another item on my to-do list to take care of.

“Well, Fluttershy... You know I would love to stay and chat, but I still have some stuff left to do today, so I really should get going,” I said, looking to the clock on the wall and noting that it was already past two in afternoon. “Twilight's expecting me soon.”

“Okay,” she said, standing up.”I don’t want to keep you if you’re busy. Thank you for visiting me though.”

“No need to thank me,” I replied, ”you already know I enjoy your company. Besides... I wanted you to know I was alright.” I stood up with a long stretch. “Now please, be sure to get some sleep tonight, okay?”

Fluttershy covered a small giggle. “Don’t worry, I will,” she said before glancing at the clock. “I still have a few places I need to go, but after that I will go straight to bed, I promise.”

My ears perked up as I remembered Rarity’s message.

“Oh yeah! That reminds me,” I said, turning to her, “Rarity asked me to give you a message.”

“Oh? What did she say?” She looked at me expectantly.

“She said she wants you to come see her as soon as possible, and that it’s really important.” My expression shifted into one of mild concern. “She looked very serious when she said it, too.”

Fluttershy covered her muzzle with a hoof. “Oh, my... Well, I probably should go see her right now, then...”

“Care to walk with me?” I asked, gesturing a hoof to the door. “It’s on the way to the Library anyway.”

Fluttershy’s expression quickly lit up. “Sure, I would love to! Just let me get a few things I’ll need for my errands real quick,” she said as she darted to the stairs, before disappearing up to her room.

This brief moment alone allowed me to reflect on today’s events. So much had happened in only half a day; it was all a bit overwhelming. The first thing that came to mind was my encounter with Big Macintosh at the marketplace, not too long ago.

I still can’t believe that actually happened. According to Applejack, he likes me as much as I like him, apparently... And he made the first move!

One of my signature goofy smiles crept onto my muzzle.

A stallion with confidence, I like that. Although Applejack did say he isn’t really very confident at all, of course... But at least he was confident enough to not just talk to me, but actually ask me out to dinner! That’s more than good enough for me!

I let out a soft, dreamy sigh before my mind drifted off, and I ended up contemplating my newfound wealth once again.

What can I do with all that money? Besides the obvious fancy art supplies, what’s something that I have always wanted, but could never afford...

Sitting down to my haunches, I brought a hoof to my chin in deep thought. I loved arts and crafts, of course; painting had been everything to me before my world came crashing down around me, back in Manehattan.

I would love to get more involved with my painting—and perhaps other some projects—again, but I don’t have anywhere to really... put...every...

My ears perked up and I jumped to my hooves.

“AN ART STUDIO!” I exclaimed in excitement, and I began to trot back and forth in the middle of the room as I considered all the possibilities. “No, wait... I could probably even afford—” I quickly covered my muzzle with with a forehoof, stifling a sharp gasp. “An art gallery...” I said softly to myself, in a shocked whisper, before falling back to my haunches in a daze.

I hardly dared believe the idea was even feasible... When I was a little filly, sure, I had dreamt of owning my own gallery; a place to put all my colorings and show them to the world. But as I got older I quickly realized that that was just a pipedream, something I could never afford...

But now, I can...

My train of thought was interrupted by a mild shaking accompanied by a distant voice.

“Prism! Prism, are you okay?!” Fluttershy cried out to me as she literally shook me back to reality. “I heard you yell and—”

“FLUTTERSHY!” I shouted out, unable to hold back even a single ounce of my excitement as I sprang to my hooves and laid my forehooves on her shoulders. “An art gallery!” I must have had the largest smile in years plastered on my face; I could feel myself beaming with unbridled joy.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy did not quite share the same enthusiasm, given that she had promptly fainted and was now falling limply to the floor. I quickly came to my senses and caught her against me, which, of course, resulted in me falling over, too.

I, uh... I think I must have scared her...

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy, wake up!” I called out to her, mildly shaking her. “Wake—”

I was interrupted by a sudden, loud knock at the door. I nervously glanced back and forth between the door and Fluttershy a few times.

Maybe if I ignore them, they will go away? Maybe they’ll think nopony is—

“I know you’re in there, Fluttershy! Open up!” shouted an oddly familiar voice from outside, and the knocking turned into pounding. My ears fell back as I let out a small whimper.

“Fluttershy! Please wake up!” I called out to the unconscious mare as I began to panic, violently shaking her. “I need you!”

There was a loud groan from the door. “That’s it, I’m coming in!” the voice called out, before the door quickly opened to reveal a very agitated-looking Rainbow Dash. “I can’t believe you! You said you would be... there...” She slowly trailed off into stunned silence after her eyes fell upon us.

There was a long moment of awkward silence, and then her cheeks suddenly flared up red. “I-I’m so sorry!” she blurted out, taking a step back.

I raised an eyebrow at her before looking back to Fluttershy, and I felt myself pale. I hadn’t realized it until now, but the two of us were laying atop one another in a rather... suggestive pose, to say the least. The paleness in my face was immediately replaced with a fiery blush. I turned back to Rainbow Dash, wanting to explain, only to be met with a slamming door.

“W-WAIT!” I called out after her, jumping to my hooves.

The effect of this ill-considered act ended up being Fluttershy landing on the floor with a hard thud right next to me. I glanced back to her with a wince, but still made for the door and quickly bolted outside.

I looked frantically around the sky above the cottage, for a brief moment, before taking a deep breath. “COME BAAAAACK!” I cried out as loudly as I could, causing several birds to fly out of the nearby trees in fright.

A few moments of silence passed. I landed on my haunches with a soft whimper.

That was such a horrible misunderstanding! She thought Fluttershy and I were...

My eyes widened at that mental image, and my face flushed hot again; I quickly covered it with both hooves in my embarrassment. I was desperately trying to think of something else, but my mind soon wandered back to that thought, subconsciously toying with it for a minute...

Fluttershy and me. Alone. Laying ever-so-close together, and then—NO!

I swiftly shot up to my hooves and shook the thought out of my head, trying to convince myself it was absurd.

I can’t think that way about her; she’s my best friend! And besides, she's a mare...

I paused for a moment.

“She’s a mare, but...” I softly mused to myself, bringing a hoof to my chin.

Before I could give it any more thought, however, I was distracted by a sudden thud next to me, which startled me and prompted another small jump. I turned to the sound to find a blushing, sheepish-looking Rainbow Dash.

“Oh thank Celestia! You came back!” I cried out in relief. I sighed and began, “Look, I—”

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof, stopping me short. Her expression turned very serious.

“Look, I just wanted to talk to you about Fluttershy,” she said sternly. “Looks like you two are getting a little, uh, close...” She began slowly walking circles around me. “I’ll have you know Fluttershy is a really good friend of mine, and—”

I nervously fell to my haunches and frantically began waving both forehooves at her. “B-But, it’s—”

“Let me finish,” she interjected with a small frown.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Rainbow Dash promptly cut me off again by clearing her throat. Her frown grew and she narrowed her eyes at me slightly. I looked to the ground with a small whimper before slowly nodding.

“Anyways... I’ve known Fluttershy since we were just fillies, and as far as I know, she has never really been close to somepony before—emotionally, I mean. So I’m a little worried about her.” She was still walking while she spoke, but now stopped right in front of me. “She’s delicate, and I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

I quickly shook my head. “We’re not like that!” I blurted out, looking up to her. “We're just friends!”

“Y-You're not?!” Rainbow Dash sputtered, taken aback. “But—I... that...” She just gestured a hoof to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“...was just a big misunderstanding!” I finished for her, shaking my head once more. “Look, here’s what really happened...”

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, and then nodded.

I let out a long sigh. “Thank you. Um, anyway... how we ended up like, uh... that: I got really excited from an idea I had and suddenly shouted really loudly, and I guess I, um, scared her, because she fainted.” I sat nervously tapping my forehooves together. “And, well, I didn’t want her to get hurt, so I caught her as she fell and she landed right on top of me... It was only a few moments later that you showed up and, well... you know the rest.”

Rainbow Dash stood frozen, slackjawed for several long seconds before turning away and beginning to laugh, sheepishly scratching the back of her neck.

“Oh! Um, eh-hehe... Right.” Her ears fell back as she looked back to me. “Hey... look, I’m sorry about all of this.”

I shook my head with a dismissive hum. “No, it’s fine Rainbow Dash,” I said with a warm smile, ”Fluttershy is a close and important friend of yours; you were just looking out for her.” I beamed at her when I added: “I’m glad she has a good friend like you looking out for her.”

I slowly stood up to my hooves.

“Fluttershy worries and cares so much for others, that she sometimes forgets to take care of herself,” I said, looking back to the cottage.

“...I like you.”

My ears perked up and I turned back to Rainbow Dash, tilting my head confused.

Rainbow Dash let out a small laugh. “I can see why Fluttershy speaks so highly of you. You’re a good pony,” she said, walking up to me. “Anyways, so how you doing? Everypony was worried about you after what happened at Winter Wrap Up...”

“Oh, I’m doing good—great, actually,” I said as a grin crept onto my muzzle. “Today has been a good day so far. Busy, but good. Speaking of which, I was just about to head toward Twilight’s before all of this happened, but now...” I glanced to the cottage for a moment.

“Don’t worry about Fluttershy, I’ll look after her until she wakes up,” she said, trotting up to the cottage door and looking back to me. “I wouldn’t keep Twilight waiting, she’s craaazy serious about keeping schedules.”

I nodded before turning to walk away.

“Thank you!” I called out over my shoulder.

“No problem!”

* * * * * * * * * *

With Rainbow Dash’s words in mind, I hastily made my way into town and headed toward the library. Before I could get there, though, I ended up finding myself in a situation I had never encountered before.

“Hey there gorgeous, what's the rush?” called a voice from above.

I paid the voice no heed, assuming it was addressing somepony else, but a few moments later a stocky, dark brown pegasus stallion landed right in front of me, cutting me off. He was quickly joined by two other stallions who landed on either side of him.

“Well, well, well... what do we have here?” he said to one of his companions, before he began to circle me. “A unicorn mare who’s as white as flour?”

“Uhm...Yeah! Even her mane is white,” chimed in the larger orangish-brown stallion.

“Say, Hoops—hows abouts we show our little friend here a good time, huh?” the obvious leader of this little gang suggested. ”What do you say, Score?” He turned to his second companion: a dark grey stallion, who replied with only a nod.

I shrank down as my ears fell back. “I-I’m, uh, a-actually pretty busy...” I began, taking a few steps back from the trio, “R-right now...”

The stocky brown stallion that had been circling me now stopped at my side, and folded a wing over me.

“Aw, c’mon!” he insisted, leaning in uncomfortably close to me. ”Surely you’re not too busy for, say... some dinner and a movie, right?”

I quickly ducked away from him. “P-please... j-just leave me alone...” I whimpered softly.

I felt myself starting to shake in fear. I’d never had a stallion approach me like this before, let alone a whole group of them! It seemed they wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and I wasn’t sure what to do...

“Playing hard to get, I see?” the unknown stallion commented while he and his friends slowly began to surround me. “I like that! Now come with us and everything will be juuuust fine... I prom—”

“Y’all best be leaving the little miss alone, if ya know what's good for ya,” a distinctive, deep baritone voice said from behind me.

I turned to see none other than Big Macintosh approaching us with a rather unpleasant look on his face.

The stocky stallion turned to him with a sharp glare. “Mind your own business, buddy! Us and the lady are just having a little chat,” he stated sharply.

Big Macintosh walked right up to the stallion, literally looking down on him due to his massive advantage in size. “Well, ah’m about to make it my business,” he declared. He gestured a hoof to me. “The miss here kindly asked y’all to leave her alone. Now Ah’m gonna ask y’all to do the same. Or else...”

“Or else what!” the stallion spat out, stepping right up to Big Macintosh.

His friend—’Hoops’, I believe it was—leaned in close and whispered to him. I could just barely make out the words: “Uh, dude... look at the size of this guy. I really don't think we should mess with him...” He looked extremely reluctant.

Macintosh stomped down a forehoof with a thunderous clop, immediately gaining the attention of the three (and everypony else in the surrounding area). “Or else the three of ya’ll’re gonna get front-row seats to the biggest flank-kickin’ this town has ever saw!” he said in a confident, commanding tone. “Now, y’all have to the count of three before Ah open up a fresh can’o’whoop-flank on y’all,” he warned the trio, before taking a strong, offensive stance.

“One...”

Hoops swiftly glanced back and forth between his friend and big mac. “Uh, dude? I really think we should—”

“Two...”

“Dude! Dumb-Bell, I’m outta here!” Hoops said hastily, before flying away. The stallion called ‘Score’ seemed to hesitate for a moment, glancing at his seemingly unfazed peer, but then followed suit and flew off as well.

“...Three!”

“Cowards!” Dumb-Bell yelled after them, scowling up at his fleeing friends.

When he turned back to face Macintosh, he was immediately met with a hard buck right to the snout. A loud crack echoed through the streets as the mighty hoof connected with his jaw, and the resulting impact sent the stallion soaring backwards through the air. He landed some forty-odd hooves away, with a hard thud, and actually skipped along the ground several times before finally coming to a crashing halt against the wall of a nearby building. As the dust settled, I spotted the stallion lying in a crumpled heap. He wasn’t stirring; it looked as though he had been knocked out clean.

Big Mac let out a hard snort, but then relaxed his posture and turned to me.

“You okay, Prism?” he asked, his expression softening as he walked over to me.

I stood there frozen, dazed by his display of sheer strength. He had sent that other stallion flying as if he were a sack of potatoes...

After a few long moments, I shook myself out of it and darted up to Macintosh, to nuzzle into his chest. “Oh Macintosh, I was so scared!” I exclaimed, feeling tears come to my eyes. ”I didn’t know what to do! And I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t come along and—”

He softly shushed me, patting my head with a hoof. “Don’t you worry none about that. Ah wasn’t gonna let them goons do anything to ya,” Big Mac said, giving me a wink. “And Ah sure as hay wasn’t ‘bout to let another stallion take you out before Ah got a chance to...”

I let out a sudden gasp and blushed profusely, staring into his gentle eyes for several long moments before shrinking down.

“Um... Big Macintosh?” I said softly, just above a whisper before looking away. He leaned in close to me.

“Eeyu—”

As he leaned in, just close enough for me to reach him, I stood up on my tippy-hooves and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, before taking a few steps back and pawing bashfully at the ground.

“I-I’ll, um, s-see you tomorrow night!” I blurted out, and quickly darted away.

I can’t believe I just did that! I kissed him! Well, on the cheek, sure, but still! A KISS!

I broke into a gallop, and just couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear for the remainder of my trip to the library.

************************************

Upon reaching my destination, I slowed my pace and tried my best to compose myself as I trotted up to the library. This was only my second time here, and I finally got a good look at the place now that I had daylight to aid me.

It really is a giant tree, isn't it? By the looks of it, the tree was actually hollowed out to house the library, but then... how is it still alive and well?

I pondered that mystery for a few moments, but eventually approached the door to give it a couple of soft knocks. A short while later—much to my surprise—only the top half of the door swung open. Spike quickly filled the open gap.

“Oh hey Prism, what’s up?” he asked as he opened the remainder of the door for me. “Here to see Twilight?”

“Yes, she should be expect—”

Before I could finish that sentence the unicorn in question crashed into Spike from behind, bumping him out of the doorway.

“Prism!” she called out excitedly. “I’m so glad you could make it! I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Hopefully not for too long...” I said with a nervous laugh, while sheepishly scratching the back of my neck.

Twilight shook her head. “No, not very long, and besides, I cleared up the whole day for us,” she said, before turning and walking back inside. “There’s just so much to do!”

I reluctantly followed her inside. “Um, w-what did you have in mind?” I asked quizzically, albeit hesitantly.

Twilight trotted up to her desk, unraveled a very large scroll with her magic, and proceeded to rattle off a rather lengthy list: “Well, first off I would like to get an idea of your magics uniwatt threshold, then I obviously need to check its magnetic polarity, but not before we gauge the average circumference of—”

“Um, Twilight?” I softly called out to her, but she didn’t seem to hear me.

“—because if we don’t know the volatility of your field, we might run the risk of—”

“Twilight?” I repeated, somewhat louder than the first time.

“—and half of Ponyville could go up with us if those levels are off by even the slightest margin, so—”

“TWILIGHT!” Spike suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, snapping the studious unicorn out of lengthy-discourse-mode.

“Oh, uh... sorry about that,” Twilight responded sheepishly. She let out a nervous laugh, but quickly regained her composure. “So like I said: a lot to do.” She rolled up the scroll still caught in her magic’s field and returned it to the desk.

“Um, Twilight?” I once again softly inquired, figuring she might actually hear me this time.

Twilight stopped mid-stride and turned back to me. “Yes, Prism?” She looked at me expectantly.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to teach me how to better control my magic?” I said hopefully, ”After the incident during Winter Wrap Up and what happened to Fluttershy’s painting, I want to learn to control it more than ever, so something like that doesn’t happen again.”

“The painting didn’t make it then?” Twilight replied with a hint of concern in her voice.

I slowly shook my head. “It was completely ruined...”

Twilight gave me an acknowledging nod. “I would love to help you gain greater control over your magic, Prism, but in order to do that we have to understand it a little better first,” she said, trotting up to the door to the next room. “Your magic is raw, untamed, and unknown; I have no idea how to even begin guiding you, at this point...”

She opened the door and gestured for me to follow. “So let’s get started, shall we?”

I gave a small nod in response and trotted after her. Twilight clearly had a lot planned for us and, nervous as I was, I honestly couldn’t wait to get started either.

Tonight, I would finally get some answers.