ANON POV
 
>Not the best night's sleep you could've asked for.
>You've always found it difficult to go back to sleep once you've woken up.
>So you only got two, maybe 3 hours of shut eye in the end.
>It's not like you look at the clock when you're asleep, so you can only guess.
>Normaly, you'd find it difficult to get motivated after a night like that.
>But you really wanted to see if Rainbow slept OK.
>Seeing her like this, with a big smile on her face, and something about the idea of eating breakfast with your best friend...
>It's...Exciting?
>You're not sure what it is, but it's definitely a postive emotion of some sort. You're too tired to tell.
>You had a terrible night's sleep, but you can't stop smiling.
>Maybe...You should get an extra bed? Just in case this happens again.
>...Maybe in the same room as her...
>...There it is again. That feeling.
>You've been having it a lot lately, and it's all too familiar.
>It...Feels like a crush.
>You're not sure what to do with it.
>Should you even do anything with it at all?
>You've been friends with her for a very long time. Any crushes you've ever had in the past have been...Immediate.
>This is the first time one has ever taken its time to show its face.
>With your best friend, too...
>She's the closest friend you've ever had. You can't risk it.
>There's also that whole; "Different species" thing.
>You've done some research into their society, their physiology, anything you were ever curious about, you didn't hesitate to find out.
>All things considered, all the information you've gathered...
>Even if it worked out, you're not sure it'd...Go anywhere.
 
>"Hey, you read me, Space Cadet?"
>Huh? Oh. Was she talking to you?
>Hope you didn't miss anything important.
"Yeah?"
>"I was just saying, uh, th-thanks for...Taking. Care of me."
"Oh, uh, don't worry about it."
>"R-really, Anon. Thanks."
>Your chest begins to tighten up.
"It's...I'm just glad you didn't have to sleep somewhere cold."
>"Yeah! You totally could've just left me on that bench, so...Thanks, y'know?"
>You wish she'd stop thanking you. It almost hurts.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
>She looks a little puzzled at your response.
>...Nope, you can't leave it like that.
>You pick her up from behind and give her a tight hug.
>"Uhf...C-c...Cut it out!"
>She turns herself around in your embrace to face you.
>After getting her front legs free, she hesitates for a second, but hugs you back.
>You sigh, but you smile.
>Suppose you could hold "that" back if it means getting more of these hugs.
>Yeah, you could live with this.
>Like you said, if she asked you out on a date, you wouldn't say no.
>But until then...
 
>You get to the table.
>You since stopped hugging her, but she's still holding you tightly.
>You attempt to prise her off, but she's got a firm grip.
"Y'know, it's going to be hard to make breakfast with this pony latched onto my chest."
>She giggles into your chest, but you don't get any other response.
"...As in you won't get anything to eat."
>She loosens her grip and takes her head off your chest, still laughing.
>It's contagious.
"Come on, get off."
>"Alright, alright, but you started it."
>She drops off your body and takes a seat.
>You go over to your kitchen, which is, of course, in the same room as your table.
"What you want?"
>"Eh, you got pancakes?"
>Of course you've got pancakes. Who doesn't have pancakes?
"You sure you want pancakes? Nothing special?"
>"...Uh, what else you got?"
>You check your shelves.
"Well, for the breakfast menu, we've got...Pancakes."
>She laughs.
"So, uh, what do you want?"
>You wait patiently for her to stop laughing.
>"W-well, there's...Pfft! Not much to choose from, huh?"
"Hah. I suppose not."
>"W-wait, what's that?"
>Damnit, you left the shelf door open.
"Uh, it's...Nothing at all."
>"Is that a pie?"
 
"...No, it's a quiche."
>"It looks like a pie."
"Quiche do that."
>"It's a pie, quit messing with me."
"It's...It's MY pie. You can't have it."
>"...Oh."
>She just sits there.
>...Is she giving you puppy dog eyes?
>Yep, she's got an exagerated quivery lip, big, wide ol' eyes...She's giving you the puppy treatment.
>God damnit, you're a sucker for that.
>But...You've been saving that pie for a special occasion.
>...You suppose this counts.
"...Fine. I'll share it."
>She gives a triumphant little laugh.
>"Knew it."
"What was that?"
>"N-nothing."
>You wish this place had microwaves.
>Guess an oven will have to do.
>You set the dial and put the pie in the shelf.
>You then sit back at the table with your guest.
>This better be worth it.
>"...What flavour is it? Apple?"
"Cranberry, chocolate, raspberry, apple and toffee." You recite.
>"Holy crap."
"Yep."
 
>A pie like that isn't made very often.
>You came across it in a sale when you were passing by the market quite a while ago.
>Around the time usually do, too. So most of the other shops were closing down.
>There it was. The only pie left in the shop.
>How could anyone leave that behind?
>It was like fate. You didn't take a chance, and bought it.
>You have to admit, you've been wanting to taste it for a long time.
>You don't even know if it's good, but it definitely sounds good.
>It defintely smelt good, too. As you got it out of it's packet.
>You suppose it must've been getting close to it's expiration date by now.
>Pies ARE made to be eaten.
>...Still, you're a little sad.
>"Where the heck would you even get a pie like that?"
"Some guy at a stall. After I bought it, he told me to keep in touch about it, and told me his name."
>"What was his name?"
"Pudding."
>"Just Pudding?"
"The only name he gave me. He said it was a pretty special pie, and he was only going to sell it to...Someone like me."
>Rainbow looks confused.
>"Like...You?"
>You shrug.
"I don't know. Someone who really likes pie, I guess."
>"Huh. Kinda feel bad for making you cook it."
"Don't be. You like pie too, right?"
>"Yeah, but...If it was made for you...I dunno."
>You give her a smile.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
>She looks pensive for a while, then asks, nevously;
>"H-have you got any ice cream?"
 
>Ice cream with pie.
>Damn. That's a good idea.
"Yeah, hold on. I'll get it out."
>You go over to the fridge.
>Thank goodness they have fridges.
>You go to the bottom shelf and pull out a tub of vanilla ice cream.
"Good thing you brought it up when you did. Still got a while for the pie to cook."
>You put the ice cream on the table, and look over at her.
>To your surprise, she's blushing, looking down at the floor.
"What's up?"
>She looks back up at you, then to the table, the ice cream, and to the pie in the oven.
>"...Eheh...Nothing. W-weird dream last night."
"Oh. What was it about?"
>She looks straight at you for a few seconds, and then turns her gaze away.
>"I...Uh...I-I can't renember."
"Oh. OK."
>You don't buy it, but you promised yourself you'd lay off.
>You sit for a few minutes in silence, and then decide to check on the pie.
>A delicious smell blasts out and invades your nose.
>Hot damn. You're getting this puppy out.
>You close it back up.
>"Daaamn...That smells good!"
>You put the steaming pie on the table, and turn off the oven.
"Not yet, though. Little while longer, so it cools down."
>"Oh! Yeah, right."
>You go over to the cutlery drawer and take out 2 forks, a knife and an ice cream scoop.
>Then over to the cupboard, where you take out two plates.
 
>You lay the table, and Dash watches.
>You put the knife by the pie, and a fork on each side.
>Plate for you, plate for her.
"There we go."
>Dash sits still. Patiently.
>Her eyes direct to the pie on infrequent intervals, however.
>You observe her, seeing how long she'll last.
>She starts tapping a hoof on the table.
>"...Now?"
>That didn't take long.
"No."
>"Rrrnnnn...!"
>She sits back down. Pouting.
>The pie still looks hot, so probably not yet.
>She'll just have to wait.
>She does, impressively, wait for longer than you expected her to before asking again.
>"NOW?"
"No."
>"Oh, come on!"
>You laugh.
"Not long now, Dash, come on."
>"Grrr..."
>It does look like it's cooled down enough now.
>Well, it's rude to keep a lady waiting.
"OK, Dash, It's cool no-"
>You see what's coming, and dive to the pie to stop Rainbow from diving face first into it.
 
>You manage to catch her.
>Her face is inches away from the pie, her tounge lolling out of the side of her open mouth. Her iris looks in your direction.
"Let me cut it." You say firmly.
>You lift her away from the pie, hope she didn't get any saliva on it, and put her back in her chair.
>She sits there, flushed face, avoiding eye contact.
>You cut two slices out of the pie.
>You be generous with the slices, not going to let it go to waste.
>Using your fork, you lift the slices one at a time on to the respective plates.
>...You give Dash the bigger of the two slices, as way of apology.
>You open the tub of ice cream and use the scoop to get two healthy lumps of it onto the two slices.
>Rainbow has since looked up, and stares hungrily at her piece as you push it towards her.
>You don't know why you got a knife for her, and she completely disregards it as she plunges her face into the pie before you even let go of it.
>You pull your hand away, which is now covered in pie and ice cream.
>Carefuly looking at your slice and the pie to make sure Rainbow doesn't, uh, devour them while you wipe it clean.
>You've spent enough time around the apple family to not be fazed by this kind of behaviour, and you retain your appetite.
>You want to savour it, so you take a good look at it.
>It looks really appetizing. A mixture of browns, with redness from the berries and a few apple chunks inside.
>"G-gimmie more!"
>Forget your pie, you need to control your guest.
>You push her back into her seat before she completely loses control.
>She's a mess. You'd be surprised if she actually ate any of the pie at all, and the massacred pastry lies strewn across her breast, face, wings, table cloth...Where ISN'T it?
 
>She actually struggles a little before she reallizes what she's doing.
>"...Oh. M-My bad."
>You sigh.
"Come on, Rainbow, you've got to learn how to enjoy your food. Expecialy pies like this."
>"Y-yeah...Sorry."
"Eh, It's OK." You try to change the subject; "Is it good?"
>"Oh, yeah! Awesome! You've really gotta try it."
>You go back to your side of the table, and sit down.
>You cautiously glance over at Rainbow Dash.
>She's sitting there, covered head to hoof in ice cream and pie debris. She looks over at you, expectantly, before looking away again.
>Not quite reassured, but nevertheless satisfied, you look back to your pie, and spear the end off with your fork. You then pop it into your mouth and chew.
>My...GOD. It's...Definitely the sweetest pie you've ever tasted.
>The sweetness of the chocolate and toffee is apparent, but you can also taste the berries. There was a chunk of apple in the peice you skewered, and you bite into it, mixing its juices with the rest of the pie.
>And the pastry. The guy who made this knew how to make pastry right. It's not tough or crumbly, but a soft layer, filled with further sweetness that blends well with the rest of the pie.
"Yep. Thish is really good."
>You swallow the piece in your mouth.
>You sense RD staring at you, and you look up.
>She seems to be in the process of...Licking herself clean?
>Her hind leg is sticking up into the air, and you appear to have caught her mid-lick. Her forlegs, face and chest already appear clean.
>It's amazing that she was able to clean all of that from the time it took you to look back at her.
>It hits her that you're looking at her, and her eyes widen, and her face flushes bright red.
>She appears to be frozen. No movement at all. Impressive, considering her position.
>You manage to tear your eyes away from her, and get back to eating the pie.
>The pie's taste doesn't lose its impact no matter how many bites you take. The ice cream really helps the it go down, too.
>Eventually, you finish your slice.
 
"Slice two coming up."
>You look back over at Rainbow Dash.
>Her coat is fluffing up in some places due to just being "cleaned".
>She looks no less embarresed than she looked when she was licking her leg.
>It's difficult not to laugh, and you feel cruel for nearly doing so.
"Don't worry about it."
>It's all you can really say.
>She gives a smile, though, so...It worked?
>You walk over to the pie and cut annother slice.
>...
>You both finish off the pie in no time.
>She wasn't quite as ravenous with the the other slices as she was with the first, and she seemed like she was trying to hold herself back to a point where it was almost painful to watch.
>You kept encouraging her to eat however she felt like, though, and it did seem that somewhere along the line she found some kind of balance between restraint and self-gratification.
>She looks really happy.
>You're not sure what you did to make her that happy, but it makes you happy too.
>"That...Was awesome. T-thanks for making breakfast for me, champ."
"Well, if you're gonna be a bum, you might as well go all the way."
>She laughs. Not exactly the reaction you were expecting.
>"Well, this bum was the one who got you your job, so show some respect."
>Oh, damn, your job.
>You look at the clock.
>You...Could still make it, but you might need to rush a little.
>You cast a gaze at RD.
>She bursts into hysterics.
>"Y-yeah, good luck with that job, man."
>Touché.
 
>You don't focus too much on looking the part for the job, because, well, you're a farmhand.
>That should cut down some time.
>In fact, you're pretty much ready to go right now.
>Might as well see RD off.
>You open the door for her.
"See ya around, blue."
>She hesitates.
>"Blue?"
"Yeah. That's your name now."
>She smirks, and thinks about it.
>"Eh, I was kinda hoping for something like, "Captain!" or "I'm with stupid.""
>You laugh.
"Come on, get out of my house."
>"Heh."
>She saunters on out through the door.
>Without thinking, you give her a spank on the rump as she passes you by.
>She tenses up and halts, and for a second you're worried she's going to explode.
>She laughs it off though. Nervously, but still.
>...Is she blushing again?
>"OK. Smell ya lat...Uh."
>She seems about to take off but doesn't, and gazes at her left wing for a while.
>Is she hurt or something?
>"...Coooonsidering that I haven't got anywhere to be, I'll just uh...Yeah."
>She walks over to your house and leans on it.
>"See ya."
 
"Really?"
>Weird. But you're not about to question her considering all the wierd things she's been doing recently.
>Y-yeah...Uh...G-get out of, uh, your house."
>You laugh at her attempt at sounding cool.
"Alright, I guess I'll see you later."
>You take the keys from off the hook you keep them on, and run out, closing the door behind you.
>"...Counting on it."
"What?"
>"N-nothing!"
>She's all kinds of wierd, but it's starting to seem like a new charm she has.
>You're not sure how you feel about it, but you don't hate it.
>Anyway, focus on jogging.
>You've got quite a bit of distance to cover, and you know better than to sprint there.
>There it is. As fast as you can go without tiring quickly.
>You'll make it.
>...Oh, right. RD's still gotta hang out with Applejack.
>You'll have to do something about that.
>The times you were having with Rainbow, certain thoughts just took presidence over other ones.
>...Ones involving her.
>You sigh.
>This sucks.
>You can't risk telling her how you feel, and you're not even sure if you want to.
>And here you are, heart slowly melting into slag from the urge to do so.
>You've got to tell her sometime, but...When?
>...What about the Gala?