Au Naturale: Part 2

>You wake up in a familiar room.
>It’s not your own, but it’s somewhere safe.
>It’s very pink, and smells of delicious baked goods and sweets.
>You’re in Pinkie Pie’s room.
>You look out the window.
>It’s sunset.
>You’ve been out all day it seems...
>Your head doesn’t hurt too much, however.
>You assume you must have fallen into Anon’s arms.
>You almost swoon at the thought.
>You remember how happy he made you.
>You’re going to see him tomorrow!
>And you’ll be his very special somep0ny!
>You sigh wistfully at the thought.
>That went so much better than you could ever have hoped for.
>You don’t even know why you were so nervous now.
>Well, you do know.
>You can’t handle rejection very well...
>So you don’t tend to commit at all.
>You’ve been relatively happy tending to your animals.
>They’ve always stuck by you, in the thick and the thin.
>You wonder if Anon would mind them when you move in together.
>He says he worked on a ranch before, so he should be used to animals...
>Or at least you heard that from Twilight.
>She’s the one from whom you’ve learned the most about Anon.
>Hence the arguments.
>The more she learns the more she disbelieves.
>She of all p0nies should be open to new ideas.
>You guess she’s still having trouble accepting a world with no magic.
>Anyway, you feel ok now.
>You get out of Pinkie’s bed.
>You blush heavily at the thought of sleeping in her bed.
>You’ve never thought about mares that way.
>You shake the thought out of your head.
>It’s not useful to dwell on such things.
>You have to find Pinkie and thank her for her hospitality.
>You walk downstairs, saying hello to Gummy on the way down.
>You arrive in Sugarcube Corner, where some music is playing.
>You enter the main room to see p0nies of all colours dancing to the music that you heard earlier.
>A party is in full swing, hosted by the Party Princess herself, Pinkie Pie.
>Of course! She invited you this morning to this party.
>You completely forgot.
>Well, you’re here now anyway.
>Pinkie is behind the counter, which has now turned into a bar.
>She’s serving out drinks with insane speed.
>Her dexterity with her hooves is off the charts.
>She’s juggling bottles and glasses with such little effort.
>All the p0nies at the bar are more impressed with her skills than with the actual drinks she’s serving.
>You fly over the dance floor and set yourself down next to her.
“Pinkie.”
>She can’t hear you over the music.
>Oh... you hate when you have to shout.
“Pinkie!”
>Nope, she’s still pouring those cocktails like a pro.
“PINKIE!”
>”Yes, Fluttershy?”
>She cranes her neck round to face you, all the while still juggling cocktail shakers and bottles.
“Um... Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed today.”
>”Oh, you’re welcome, Fluttershy! Auntie Pinkie is always ready to help a friend in need!”
“I’m a year older than you...” You mumble.
>”But I’m not the real hero. Anon is! He caught you when you fell. You should go thank him! He’s over there!”
>She raises a hind leg off the floor and balances on the other whilst continuing her juggling act.
>She points to a corner of the room, where Anon is propping up the wall as he nurses a drink.
>The ponies at the bar clap their hooves together in applause.
>So he saved you. He’s so dreamy.
>You’ll have to find some way to make it up to him.
>Your tail lifts involuntarily again.
>You fight it, and lower it again.
>There’ll be time for that later.
>Right now you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of Anon.
>You flutter over the dance floor again, but only get halfway before Pinkie shouts out to you.
>”Here, Fluttershy! It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this!”
>Out of her whirling maelstrom of alcohol she somehow manages to eject a glass in your direction.
>You fumble with it, but manage to catch it.
>Then Pinkie launches the drink at you.
>It lands perfectly in the glass.
>You don’t know how she does it, but that mare has skills.
>”Now go get ‘im, Tiger!”
>She winks at you and returns to her form of “bartending.”
>You continue your journey to the seemingly content, if a little bored, Anon.
>He’s happily sitting on the sidelines, watching the party go by.
>He’s got a smile on his face anyway.
>You think you can understand why.
>He just loves seeing p0nies being happy.
>He’s just like you in that respect.
>You hesitate before you close in on him.
>You know you shouldn’t be nervous, but you can feel the butterflies in your stomach threatening to overtake you.
>You eye the drink Pinkie gave you.
>She has some hidden wisdom sometimes.
>You down the drink.
>Wow. That had quite a kick.
>But it ought to teach those butterflies down there to stay out of your stomach and on your flank.
>You’re about to swoop in for the kill, when a mint green unicorn starts talking to Anon.
>It’s Lyra. You can tell from her lyre cutie mark.
>She’s been almost as obsessed with Anon since he got here.
>She’s firmly in the “enjoys scratching” camp, and is a vocal advocate of human/pony relations.
>Anon smiles his warm smile at her, as she talks at him.
>You hover for a moment, but then decide with your liquid courage in your stomach that you should go and make yourself known.
>”So I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Lyra asks Anon.
>”Sure. It’s a date.” He replies warmly.
>You’re absolutely gobsmacked.
>Did you hear that right?
>Anon’s making plans with another p0ny?!
>No. You’ve got to find out what he means.
>You land and approach Anon.
>You can’t hide the betrayal on your face.
>”Oh, hello Fluttershy. It’s good to see you up and about. Are you feeling ok?”
>No. You’re not. You’ve just found out you’re being cheated on before you even got to have a first date.
”I’m feeling better. What’s this I hear about Lyra and you?” You reply, coldly.
>Anon bashfully scratches the back of his head and looks away from your penetrating gaze.
>”Heh, yeah... To be honest I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess you overheard us, huh?”
>Yeah. The cat’s out of the bag now.
>”You see, I wanted to start a project. Coming here to Equestria is like a dream come true for me. I’m surrounded by what I love. I love horses and p0nies. But more than that, I want to care for them. And I also want to show them the care I can give them.” Anon explains.
>”Yeah, and I think it’d be a great study to see firsthand how p0nies and humans interact on Dirt!”
>”Earth, Lyra.”
>”Oh yeah!”
>Oh. Well you guess that makes sense.
>”I asked you to join us, Fluttershy because I know that you care for all kinds of animals. Someone with as much experience caring for others as you have, must be an excellent judge. I’d like for you to experience my care and if you like it, I’d like to start a ranch.”
>Whoa, that’s crazy.
>So... It was never going to be a date tomorrow.
>Your ears flatten at this news. You can’t help but feel disappointed.
>But on the other hand you get to be around Anon.
>And he’s promised to take care of you.
>That’s all you wanted from the start, wasn’t it?
>This could work out!
>You decide to play along.
“O-oh! I see. Well that sounds great! It seems like a very interesting project! I’d love to join in.”
>Anon is overjoyed by your reaction.
>”That’s great to hear! I was going to explain more about it tomorrow, but now that I’ve got you and Lyra here, we might as well discuss it now!”
>You don’t particularly want to hang around though.
>You’re still kind of bummed about it not being a date...
“Um... I think I’ve heard enough. It’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
>You take off swiftly and leave the party.
>You fly straight home.
>You get into bed and take refuge under your covers.
“How could you be so stupid, Fluttershy...?”
>You chastise yourself over and over again.
>Eventually you fall asleep, dreaming of unrequited love.