I don't own these characters or profit from them. Just between you and me I actually came up with this story on the fly when I faked the plot as an episode for season 2 on Wikipedia, but since it got deleted I figured why not make it a fan fic?

MLPFIM: More than Friends

By, Clayton Overstreet

Twilight Sparkle was hanging out with her friends when she noticed that Fluttershy was watching her nervously. She had not noticed because Fluttershy was always nervous, at least around other ponies. Funny coming from a girl who could stare down a dragon or slap around a bear.

"Is something on your mind Fluttershy?" She asked casually, knowing that pushing even a little would scare her bashful friend.

She nodded a little and started, "I was… um.. I mean I… would you…" Twilight waited patiently and Fluttershy took a deep breath. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?" Everyone stopped and stared at her.

"All of us?" Rarity asked.

"No!" Fluttershy said. "I mean um, I won a dinner at a fancy restaurant and I can only bring one other person."

"But why me?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "I've known you since we were kids! I'd think you would at least ask me first."

"Well um, you see…" She flinched under their stares. "Um… it's just that… Twilight did save the… you know… world. Twice. And she didn't really get anything from it."

"I have some great friends," Twilight said loyally.

Pinkie said quickly, "Fluttershy has a point. Twilight did save the world from Nightmare Moon and showed us how to use the elements of harmony and then helped us beat Discord plus she helps us out with everything all the time and we help her too, but I think maybe Twilight does deserve something for saving everyone in the whole world twice, don't you?"

Rarity nodded. "It does make sense. And I agree wholeheartedly. In fact you deserve a lot more."

"I don't think so," Twilight said.

"So you do not want to go with me?" Fluttershy asked, sounding hurt.

Twilight said, "No! I mean, I'd love to. I just feel guilty leaving everyone else out."

"Hey, don't mind us Sugar Cube," Applejack said. "It's just one little dinner. And you can't take everyone if she's only won slots for two. It ain't like when you got us tickets to the gala after all."

"Yeah, it's cool," Dash told them.

Rarity said, "When is this dinner Fluttershy? I can make you two something to wear out to it."

"It's… in three days." She looked at Twilight. "If you're okay with that."

"I'll look forward to it." Fluttershy smiled brightly like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Twilight could not help smiling back just as brightly.

0o0

After they dropped Twlight and Fluttershy off the others stuck together to discuss things.

"Fluttershy did not win any contest," Dash told them. "I enter that sort of thing every time they have one and there hasn't been one."

"And she would'a told us iffin she had," Applejack said.

Rarity nodded. "Indeed. In fact knowing dear little Fluttershy she probably would have offered any such prize to two of us, refusing to take it for herself."

"You mean she didn't tell us the truth?" Pinkie Pie asked, shocked. The others rolled their eyes. "But why?"

"Because she wants to take Twilight out on a date," Rarity said. Pinkie blinked. "A romantic date. As in just the two of them. I think you and Twilight are the only ones who did not realize that."

"Oh." Pinkie said. "I didn't know they felt that way about fillies."

"Fluttershy loves everyone," Dash said. "You know her. It's what's on the inside that counts."

"And as fer Twilight," Applejack drawled. "If she had a bigger crush on Princess Celestia she'd up and explode. Not sure how Fluttershy plans on dealin' with that though. Probably why she waited this long to ask her out."

"It could be a bit of a disaster," Rarity agreed. "I have to say I am impressed that Fluttershy was so forward. In a round about way."

"She always did have a lot of reserves, deep down." Dash sighed. "But just imagine if it all falls apart. The look on her face…"

"We should all go!" Pinkie said. "We can make sure everything goes smoothly!"

"No!" The others all said.

"Don't even think about it Pinkie," Dash said. "Getting involved would be even worse."

"Exactly," Rarity said. "And if Rainbow Dash is talking about showing restraint you know it's serious."

"Yup," Applejack said.

Rainbow glared at them. "Not funny."

"Aw, come on. We can be all sneaky and hide behind our menus," Pinkie insisted. "Aren't you even curious?"

Well…" Rarity began. Applejack bumped into her. "No! Pinkie we have to respect their privacy. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the other two said while Pinkie pouted. They shared a nod and then broke up, heading for their homes.

000

Twilight examined herself in the mirror. Rarity had made her a fancy dress out of amethysts.

Spike was standing in the door. "Wow Twilight, you sure are living up to the sparkle part of your name."

"Thanks Spike. I hope it's alright. This is supposed to be a fancy restaurant we're going to."

Spike snorted. "As if Rarity doesn't know how to dress a pony up all fancy."

"True," she said smiling at her reflection.

"You're sure I can't go?"

"I told you Spike, Fluttershy only won dinner for two. Besides, Rarity said that if you were bored you could come by her house and help out…"

"Bye Twilight," Spike's voice echoed back as he ran off faster then she could see.

She chuckled and shook her head. "He sure does get excited over girls for a baby dragon." Suddenly there was a knock from the open door. She looked and gasped. "Fluttershy?"

Blushing the yellow pony stepped inside. "Um.. hi."

"You look amazing." Her hair was pulled up and she was wearing a sky blue dress that was made up of crisscrossed fabrics with a large diamond at her throat. Her mane was done up in a diamond studded hairnet. Fluttershy blushed more, but did not say anything. "So where are we going?"

"Um, it's… uh… Pintocelli's."

"Oh I've never been inside there," Twilight said. "But I've passed by. It's really fancy. Lead the way."

o0o

Pinkie snuck through town behind the other two ponies, ducking between shadows and behind buildings. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but it was so exciting seeing her two friends going out that she could not resist. "Wow, they are both so pretty."

Twilight was holding a conversation with Fluttershy, which as usual meant that she was talking about what she knew about fancy food while Fluttershy walked along quietly and listened. Some ponies might have minded all of Twilight's talk, but Fluttershy just smiled and stared at her adoringly. Twilight did not seem to notice.

They arrived at Pintocelli's and the well dressed stallion at the door took Fluttershy's name and led them to a table. After a moment Pinkie tried to follow, only to be blocked by a well fed and snooty looking pony.

"Do you have a reservation?"

"No, I'm pretty easy going…"

Thirty seconds later she was tossed out of the door and into the street.

ooo

Soft music played in the background. Twilight and Fluttershy were enjoying their salads. Twilight used her horn to levitate the tiny bottle of special oils and seasoning over the mix of familiar and strange vegetables. Pintocelli's was known for rare and delicious foods. They even had a special type of apple cider that even Applejack's family could not match. Although neither Twilight or Fluttershy would ever tell that to their friend.

"Would you like some?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded. A dash of oil went into her food too. Leaning forward Fluttershy nippled on her salad while Twilight took a large bite. "Mmm, this is delicious. Thanks again for taking me."

"I wanted to. You deserved it," Fluttershy said softly.

"I don't know about that. I mean you and the others helped me out a lot and really when you save the world if you think about it, it usually includes the bit you're standing on. So I was saving myself too."

Fluttershy smiled. "You do other things too. All the time."

Twilight smiled. "Well it's nice to be appreciated."

They ate in silence for a while. Finally Fluttershy asked her, "Twilight, have you ever been to a place like this before?"

"Not really," she said. "Back when we lived in the city Spike and I usually went to the ice cream shop we showed you and the others. Usually when we had fancy food like this it was because the princess had invited us to dinner." She levitated a radish and popped it into her mouth.

Fluttershy looked down. "You really like the princess a lot don't you?"

"Of course I do! I mean, doesn't everyone?"

"But you like her… a lot, right?" Twilight did not seem to understand. "Like, more than friends?"

"She is my teacher too."

"Do you um…"

'What?"

"Do you like her? Like… um…" She looked down. "I mean like if you were uh… going out on a date with someone… would you want it to be the princess?"

"What do you mean, a date?" Twilight asked, unsure.

"Do you… are you in…" Fluttershy took a deep breath. "Are you in love with her?" She said it so fast the entire sentence was almost one word.

Blinking Twilight stared for a moment and then looked down at her food. "Oh."

"Sorry, you don't have to tell me," Fluttershy said.

"No, it's… it's okay." Twilight took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I care about her a lot. And she has always told me that she cares about me. But she has never… she never mentioned anything past friendship. I guess it's hard for her, since she is immortal. Luna is really the only pony she knows who she won't outlive."

"But you…?"

"I… I don't know," Twilight said. "I never really gave it much thought. I do enjoy spendng time with her and she is beautiful, but I've always been so focused on my studies. Learning magic and being her special student." Twilight sighed. "Until I came to Ponyville I never even had friends.

"And how would that work? We're both female. Can two fillies even do that?"

"Oh yes," Fluttershy said. "It happens quite a bit."

"Well there are definitely not as many boys in town as there are girls," Twilight said. "I suppose if some want to find someone they can be like that with they would have to…" She smiled a little. "Have you ever gone on a date?"

"When… when I was younger there was a boy I knew at flight camp," she said. "We used to fly sometimes. But since I was afraid of heights and going fast his friends teased him and he stopped playing with me. Then I found my talent and I've been really busy with helping my animal friends. Rainbow Dash is the only one of the people I knew growing up that I still see much of."

"I guess it would be hard." Twilight knew Fluttershy, like most pegasi, had been raised among the clouds. Living on the ground was probably not a good way to keep in touch. None of her animal friends could walk on the clouds either. "Don't you get lonely?"

"I did." Fluttershy smiled and said, "But then you came to town and brought all of us together."

"Not really," Twilight said. "I… I wasn't that friendly. You all just… you were all so kind even when I was not being very friendly."

"You were worried about Nightmare Moon, right?"

Twilight nodded. "And it turned out she was not as bad as we thought." She took a sip of her cider glass (they used straws). "I wonder if maybe you have a point. It might be nice to date someone."

"I think so," Fluttershy said.

"Is there someone you like?" The yellow pegasus blushed and nodded. "Do I know them?" She nodded again. "Is it Big Mackentosh?"

"No."

"Um… Derpy?"

"No!" Fluttershy stared at her. "Um, Twilight you have… um… on your mouth."

Twilight crossed her eyes. There was a piece of lettuce by her lip, but she couldn't see it. "What? Where? Can you get it?"

Fluttershy leaned forward, but paused just next to her. She felt Twilight's breath on her face. Inhaling deeply and closing her eyes she darted forward. She completely missed the lettuce.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment. Twilight was a little slow on social things sometimes, but as Fluttershy sat there, lips pressed on hers, she began to realize that what was going on was bigger than a bit of food on her face. Looking at Fluttrshy who had her eyes squeezed tight she tried to think, but was not sure what to do? Should she try kissing back or…

A loud clang came from the kitchen. Fluttershy's eyes snapped open and she squeaked out, "Eek!" Before falling to the floor, legs pointed up.

A moment later Pinkie came out of the kitchen door dressed as a chef and carrying a large cake. She even had a fake moustache painted on her face. The head chef was yelling at her. "Idiot! Buffoon! I do not care if you are only a temporary chef! This establishment does not serve anything as common as mere cake!"

"But it's really good cake!" Pinkie said, backing up.

"Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?"

She turned and smiled brightly. "Oh hey Twilight I…" She froze. "I mean… who are you? Who is this Pinkie Pie?"

"What do you think you're doing?" The chef said. Pinkie turned to him. "Don't talk to the customers!"

"But… I…" Pinkie took another step and her hoof caught on Fluttershy's prostrate form. "Oops!"

Twilight closed her eyes in resignation as the cake blocked out the light. As she felt the frosting cover her from head to toe she thought, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about whatever was on my face now."

Oo0

"Are you alright Twilight?" Fluttershy asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine Fluttershy." She sighed. "But I don't know about this dress. Rarity might be able to clean the chocolate out, but she'll probably just end up feeding the thing to Spike."

"I'm real sorry," Pinkie said. "I didn't mean to do that."

"I know. But what were you doing there Pinkie?" Twilight said.

"I was… uh…" She stopped talking.

Twilight frowned. "Were you spying on us?"

"Oh well yeah, I guess. It's just that the others all said that you and Fluttershy were really going on a date and I wanted to know what happened so I… yes I was spying."

"A date?" Twilight looked at Fluttershy. "Was that a date?" She remembered that as they were leaving the head waiter had told them that the evening would be on the house. He wouldn't have done that if they were there for free anyway.

"Um…" Fluttershy did not seem to be able to look at Twilight.

They walked on in silence for a while. When they got to Twilight's tree she turned and looked at Pinkie. "Well whatever we were doing, I'm very disappointed in you Pinkie. You should know better than to spy on your friends. If we wanted you to know what happened we would tell you and the others wouldn't we?"

"I guess…" Pinkie said. "I'm real sorry Twilight."

"I'm just glad the others respected our privacy," Twilight said haughtily. "Pinkie you should head home and we'll talk about this tomorrow."

"Okay," Pinkie said, head hanging. She turned to leave but paused. "Um, Twilight, we're still friends, right?"

"Yes, but I am still mad at you. Go on now." Pinkie hurried away. When she was out of sight Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "So… this was supposed to be a date?"

"Yes." She swallowed. "I'm sorry I tricked you."

"That's okay," Twilight said. "It… it was kind of romantic."

Fluttershy looked up at her. "It was?"

"Yes. I think so anyway." She used the tip of her hoof to draw a circle in the dirt. "It… it was really sweet." She stepped forward. "Or am I just reading things into this?"

"Um… no."

"So you did take me out, on a date?" Fluttershy nodded. "Then thank you for a lovely evening." She leaned in and before Fluttershy knew what was happening, gave her a kiss on the lips. Fluttershy stared for a moment, but then melted into it, kissing her back. When Twilight finally pulled back she said, "Oops."

"What?"

"I seem to have gotten some frosting on your cheek." There was a brown smudge on Fluttershy's chin.

"I don't mind." She smiled happily.

"Look, I should go clean up. But since our date was cut short how about we go out for a picnic tomorrow?"

"What about the others?"

"Well from what Pinkie said, they should understand." Twilight tilted her head and looked into Fluttershy's eye. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Yes. Very much."

"I think I'll also write to Princess Celestia and tell her that I've learned something about friendship and how it's okay if maybe you like some pony more than other ponies. Even your other friends."

"Really?" Fluttershy looked up hopefully.

"Sure, there's nothing wrong with having a favorite person, is there?"

The pink maned pegasus shook her head. Then she kissed Twilight again, getting more chocolate on her face. She did not seem to notice. Then with a small giggle she turned and trotted away.

Twilight felt her heart rushing. She did not know how she felt about the things that were happening. She had never been on a date before and had never really even considered it. It had been a surprise when Fluttershy had demonstrated her feelings and kissed her. A nice surprise. And apparently her friends had all seen it happening even if she had missed it. Knowing Fluttershy the evening had taken a lot for her go through with it. That made it really special.

"See you tomorrow." Twilight sighed. Fluttershy had looked really beautiful. What would have happened if Pinkie had not interrupted them? "At least my other friends respected our privacy." She was feeling sticky and wanted to clean up. Turning around she headed inside and then shut the door hard behind her.

When it slammed something fell out of the tree and landed in the nearby bushed. There was a course of "Ow" from several voices.

"Sorry," Rainbow Dash said.

"Just get off," Applejack grumbled.

"Indeed, you're quite heavy for someone who flies," Rarity said.

Spike said, "Sh! She'll hear us!"

An upstairs window opened letting out steam and the sound of a shower.

Twilight called, "I did hear you! Now go home before I turn you all into frogs!" The ponies and the dragon all scattered. Twilight laughed and shut the window.

Author's Note

What can I say? They make a cute couple. And while it's clear that Twilight has a crush on Celestia, I'm sure a lot of the ponies the princess has outlived over the centuries felt the same way. Wouldn't it be fun if they actually did an episode like this? But no. While apparently it's okay for Spike to have a crush on Rarity and Rarity to try to get a date with the guy at the Gala and Twilight to have rather obvious feelings for Celestia, apparently two girls having a completely non-sexual romantic date is somehow too much for TV. Go figure.