RD POV
 
>She did NOT try to take Anon away from you.
>Why?!
>You've tried SO HARD to get with Anon, and you've finally got him on the ropes.
>You know you're close. You're so close to getting him to love you back.
>And she had the nerve to try and SNATCH HIM AWAY?!
>WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!
>Whatever! You won her stupid bet, and you're gonna buy Anon a drink!
>...Uh...Have you even got any money?
>...W-well, he's still yours!
>Yeah! You did good.
>Even though you're pretty mad about Applejack -of all ponies- trying to hit on him, you feel...Awesome.
>Like, yeah, you've won before, and it feels great.
>But the fact you just won back your rights to be with Anon...It feels kinda...Special.
>Like...Those times you saved a friend from getting hurt or whatever, but...Warmer.
>Your mind wanders back to yesterday, when you fell asleep in his arms, holding him tightly.
>...You want more of that. You're not going to let anypony take him away from you.
>Y-you want him...You at least want him to feel the same way you do, first.
>That's all you want. A relationship with him would be...Y-you'd really like that.
>But really, you just want to tell him about it, for it to turn out OK, so you can get back to your old life.
>You don't want these stupid, cruddy thoughts of him blocking your mind any more, making your throat ache and breathing funny.
>Your body is telling you that as soon as you let him know about it, you'll feel better.
>No more dreams. No more stupid romance. A part of you really wants to get this over with.
>...The other part of you, though...The louder part, wants it to be special. It wants to take its time, to take it in.
>To really feel...In love.
>You wish you could make up your mind. It's annoying.
>But enough thinking about that stuff. Back to what's happening.
>You won that bet fair and square.
>So, you're gonna pick up your prize.
 
>You touch down at Anon's house.
>He better be in.
>You knock on the door with your hoof.
>...
>YOU KNOCK HARDER.
>Come on, he's in there. You know he is.
>You can FEEL it.
>"ALRIGHT! Alright!"
>Heh. Right again.
>It takes him a while to open the door.
>He looks tired, but you don't care.
"Hi, champ."
>He sighs.
>"Rainbow..."
"Blue."
>"What?"
>You give him a smug grin.
"Thought you were gonna call me blue."
>"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm...Feeling pretty tired right now. Can you come back later?"
>You're not gonna take that.
"Oh, come on, champ! I...We're gonna have a drink, right? Over at the bar or something?"
>He grins back sleepily.
>"Really? Didn't know you liked going out for drinks with me so much."
>You can feel yourself blushing.
"I...I don't! I...Look, come on, Anon..."
>"Champ."
>You pout at him.
>"Look, I'm not going out. You can come in, though."
 
>...Wha...What did he just say?
"But, I...I've BEEN in, already!"
>"Well, welcome back."
>H-he's making you feel weird again, and you don't like it.
"Bu-but..."
>He gives an exagerated sigh, looking slightly crestfallen.
>"Alright, fine. I can take a hint. You don't like my house."
>SHUT UP.
"...F-fine. I'll...Have you even got anything to drink in there?"
>His 'disapointment' transforms into a cocky smirk.
>"A few bottles of cider in the fridge."
>Damnit. Well, you're not gonna take it back. It's not like it'd be...Terrible, anyway.
>You push past him without a word.
>A memory from the last time you passed through this door resurfaces, however, and you quickly spin around to guard your flank.
>He laughs at your reaction.
>"You worried about something?"
>"N-no!"
>You bet he knows. P-pervert.
>You quickly take a seat on his couch. You should be safe.
>But you'll keep an eye on him.
>He closes the door and walks over to the fridge to get out some drinks.
>You're...In his house. Again!
>Before this morning, you thought you'd ever see the inside of his house, EVER.
>You've never had the guts to ever go inside...Or even look inside.
>But here you are, sitting on his couch, in his house.
>It smells really...Nice, in here.
>It doesn't look all that bad either. It looks pretty comfy.
>And the thought of Anon walking through this room every day, sitting on this couch...
>...L-living here would be...I-it'd be pretty cool.
 
>Anon opens two bottles of Apple cider, smiling a smug smile.
>"Just the way you like 'em. On me."
>You laugh.
"It's not my fault you keep buying drinks for me, idiot."
>He sighs, and sits down next to you.
>"You want me to hold it for you, oh handless one?"
>Grr.
"Stupid...I-I got it."
>You snatch the bottle using your front legs, and take a sip.
>OK, a gulp. But you want this to last.
>You're not sure how many bottles of this stuff he has.
>"So, what was the bet about?"
>It's a good thing you've had a lot of drinking contests, otherwise you'd spit it up.
>You cough a little before trying to talk.
"Ack! Uh, n-nothing!"
>The look on his face tells you he didn't buy that.
>"Come on, blue, you wouldn'tve made a bet if you weren't doing it for anything."
>Come on, Rainbow, think!
"It...Y-you don't need to worry about it! It's...I..."
>You look at him, your core steadily flooding with warm tightness.
"...I already got my prize."
>"Huh."
>...'Huh'?
"Wh-what, y-you don't believe me?"
>"Eh, I can tell when you're lying. I kinda had to pick it up when you kept being fake-mean to me."
>Shoot! He's onto you.
>"W-well...You gotta believe it then! 'Cos it's the truth!"
>Part of the truth, at least.
 
>He stares at you for a few seconds, then shrugs, and sits down.
>Phew!
>You hate it when he bends down so he can talk to you face to face.
>It's so...Annoying! What does he think you are, a dog?
>...Does he...Really know when you're lying...?
>I-it was probably a bluff.
>A-and that meanness wasn't fake...Y-you really do hate him, still.
>You just...Love him too.
>"I don't need to tell you how my day went. You were there for like...All of it."
>You start to blush.
>"So..."
>He rolls onto his side, facing you and propping his head up with his hand.
>"...How was your day...?"
>D-did he mean for that to sound seductive? For him to LOOK seductive?
>'C-cos it's doing things to you. A-and he's an idiot.
"F-f...Fine! It was OK!"
>"Huh...Just fine?"
>"Y-yeah! Stupid!"
>He takes a sip of his bottle.
>"Y-y, I-I th-think you've had enough to drink!" You blurt out.
>He looks confused.
>"I've only had, like, half of this bottle...Wait, wh-what do you THINK I'm DOING?!"
>He looks at his posture, and quickly re-adjusts himself.
>...Is he blushing?
>...T-the cider. Probably just the cider.
>Although...If you could get him drunk, it'd be kinda fun...F-FUNNY!
>Y-yeah, funny.
>Sigh...Funny.
 
>You look back at him.
>He's rigidly staring at the wall in front of him.
>...W-well he deserves it! Making you embarrassed all of those times!
>Although...
>Looking at him now, from this angle, where it's all warm, and C-cozy...
>You sigh to vent some of the heat clouding your system.
>Even if you're supposed to wait for the Gala to happen, there's...
>There's nothing wrong with a bit of...That.
>C-cuddling you mean.
>No way are you gonna let him do ANYTHING to you with...With w-whatever he's got down there!
>You don't even know if he's got stuff you can even USE 'that way'.
>And that's assuming he's gonna say yes.
>No matter how hard you try, you can't stop thinking about there being a chance that this could...Not work out.
>You've been confident about everything that you've ever done in your life. Except for, like, once or twice you were scared...
>...Is. Is that just it? Are you just, Scared?
>If that's the case, th-then, then consider you NOT scared!
>F-for now, anyway.
>You think about what you're about to do twice.
>You think it over again.
>Yep...OK, you're gonna do it.
>No second thoughts.
>Time to make a move.
>You take a glance in his direction.
>Doesn't look like he's going to stop looking away any time soon.
>You shuffle a tiny bit closer to him. Slowly, so it doesn't make too much noise on the couch's fabric.
>Tiiiny bit closer.
>Maybe just a liiiitle bit closer.
>OK, you're in hugging distance.
>You look down at your hooves, rubbing them together, nervously.
>You look at him, waiting for the right moment.
>T-time to go for the kill.
 
ANON'S POV
 
>That was stupid.
>Stupid, stupid, stupid.
>Why did you do that? WHY?!
>You'd slap your hand to your face right now, but RD would notice.
>You sigh, and scratch your ribs using your right hand.
>Whatever, forgiving and forgetting are what friends are for.
>She probably won't hold it against you.
>Who are you kidding. It's Rainbow Dash.
>She's definately not gonna let go-ooOH!
>Something pounced at at you, and is currently gripping tightly around your waist.
>You look down.
>It's...Rainbow Dash.
>Well, there's no one else here who could've done it, so maybe it was a little obvious.
>Why is she hugging you? IS she hugging you?
>You guess. Either that, or it's a failed attempt at a tackle.
>You'll ask.
"Uh, Dash, what are you-"
>"Shh."
>Uh...Oh, kay.
>You can feel her hooves re-adjusting from the other side of your waist as she tries to hold as much of you as she can.
>The way she's just lying there, there's no way you could hug her back without moving her.
>You've got a feeling she doesn't want to be moved, though.
>Eh. Too bad.
>You scoop her up into your arms, much to her dismay.
>"H-hey! P-put me down, i-idio-"
"Shh."
>She makes a cute, stifled growling noise. Not because of you blocking her mouth or anything. She's just making it through closed lips.
>It's making her cheeks puff up with air. The blush she has probably has nothing to do with the strain.
>You simply smile back at her until she stops pouting.
>"F-fine. Whatever."
>She flaps her wings, pulling you away from the couch long enough for her to wrap her hooves around your back.
>Yep, she's hugging you tightly again. You're not sure if it's out of companionship, or with intent to squeeze all the air from your lungs.
 
>Knowing her, it's probably both.
>Despite the danger of her actually succeeding in doing so, you show no weakness.
>You ruffle her mane, and start rubbing her back.
>"S-s-stop it."
>You laugh, which makes the hug uncomfortable for both of you, and she re-adjusts to a lower level.
>Since you can speak, now, you might as well say a few things. Because she doesn't want you to do it.
>Although, you think she'll like what you have to say, this time.
"Dash...You're my best friend. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're in my life."
>You can feel her twitch a little bit, and she tightens her grip, accompanied with a whinny that heats up a part of your chest for a second.
>She doesn't say anything else.
"Hah. You ain't got much to say, have ya?"
>She mumbles some words into your chest.
"Didn't quite catch that."
>She pulls her head free.
>"D-drinking contest!"
>What?
>She pulls out of the hug with enough force to land on the coffee table, knocking over your bottle.
>Eh, you finished it anyway.
>"You, me, DRINKING CONTEST! N-NOW!"
"Uh...What?"
>She looks exaggeratedly angry. It's almost comical.
>"Y-you AFRAAID, HUH?! Ch-chicken!"
>OK, now it's comical. You laugh, loudly.
"E-eagle," You manage to retort, mid laughter.
>"M-MOUSE!"
>She slams her hooves under your arms, pinning you there.
>"Now enough changing the subject! Y-YOU IN?!"
"Geez, fine, sure."
>You're still laughing. This is too stupid.
 
>She looks surprised, which makes you laugh even more.
"Wh-what, you weren't expecting me to agree?"
>She's back to angry.
>"I-I was counting on it!"
>She jumps off the table and onto the floor.
>She points an almost shaking hoof at her bottle.
>"I-I'm gonna finish my drink! You've got until then t-to prepare!"
"I'm sorry, what?"
>"G...GET SOME BOTTLES! IDIOT!"
>You suppose that's fair.
>You go over to the fridge and get out two six packs of bottled apple cider.
>This is chump change compared to what you usually take into your system.
>Pony alcohol intake is different to humans, so the amount of alcohol per bottle actually amounts to about 3 'mil. That's per 100.
>The stuff at the bar is generally stronger, so you expect the fridge to be cleaned out.
>She looks worriedly at the amount of bottles you've brought forth, but she quickly regains face.
>"G-good!"
>You wait for her to do the thing she said was going to do before.
>After a few seconds of standing there, she realizes her mistake, and goes over to her bottle.
>"I-I was just making sure you got 'em first. Y-you're slow!"
>She picks up the bottle, and empties the contents into her gullet.
>She rolls it away on the floor in true drinking contest etiquette, and goes to sit down.
>You look at the bottle she just littered your house with.
"If I win, you clean up."
>She seemed unprepared to make a wager, but quickly thinks of one.
>"A-and if I win, I make you...I...I get you to...DO STUFF!"
>You look puzzled.
"Stuff?"
>"S-stuff! Stupid drunk stuff!"
>You're not sure that's what she meant, but you pay it no mind, and drop the two packs on the table, which shakes from impact.
>...
>And that's all you can remember.