**A Step Out**

[The Jolly Victini]

"Well it's nice ta see you out an' makin' friends. Bonfire's one of the nicest ponies ah know." Applejack got a sly grin on her face as a chance to make Bonfire blush appeared. "And he's single." she said to Autha with a grin.

Bonfire's eyes shrunk and a red tint darker than his coat covered his muzzle. He was frozen.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha forgot to breathe for a moment, she was so frazzled. She forced a bashful smile and said, "Ah, hmm, yes, well, I, um, uh..."
For a pony who normally had an extensive vocabulary, she was at a loss for words.
"Aw, I'm just playin' around with you!" Applejack said with a laugh. Autha caught her breath and found her voice. "You are quite the jester!" she replied with a nervous laugh. She looked to Bonfire, and she felt better as she saw him relax as well.
"I've got an apple pie fresh outta the oven!" said Applejack, "Would y'all wanna slice?" Autha noticed that her stomach was empty and eager, so she said, "I certainly do not wish to impose-"
"No way! Stay right here! I'll be back in a jiffy!"
And with that, Applejack ran off, leaving Autha and Bonfire alone temporarily.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire giggled slightly. "That Applejack." He said. "She's the bearer of the element of honesty, in case you didn't know." Bonfire couldn't seem to stop looking into Autha's eyes. What's this sudden feeling? He thought. I can't stop looking into Autha's eyes. I haven't felt this since... Starsong was alive... is this... am I, do I have a crush on Autha?  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha blushed and wondered why Bonfire was staring at her so kindly. Do I look strange? she wondered. She looked away and attempted to break the silence. "The Element of Honesty, you say?" she asked, "I have read so much about The Elements, but I never dreamed that they would appear... so close to home." She chuckled. "Foolish of me, really. I have gotten my nose so stuck in books that I forget that there is a world outside of them. I... I need to come out of that world more often. This one is incredibly nice." She looked at the ground and studied the individual blades of grass. Now you have done it, she thought as she scolded herself, What a tangent you have woven for yourself! Snap out of it fast, or else you should simply return to the library, where overly-cautious poines such as yourself should stay.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire looked a little flustered. He was going to say something, but Applejack returned with two slices of pie on two plates. "Eat up!" She said.

Bonfire wrapped his piece with magic and brought it to him, taking a generous bite of it. "Mmm! This pie's great, Applejack!" In an act of kindness, and because his mind for some reason was screaming at him to, Bonfire levitated Autha's piece over to her. "Here you go!" He said.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha smiled and put her fears on the back-burner. "Thank you!" she said to Bonfire. She daintily bit into the pie, and her eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, "This is the most marvelous pie I have ever had the pleasure of eating!" She bust out of her shell and devoured her slice in a few more swift bites, completely forgetting about the astonished ponies that were watching her.
Once finished, Applejack commented, "I don't think I ever seen a pony eat a piece of pie that fast!" She laughed, and Autha realized what she had done. She blushed vividly and said, "Ah, t-terribly sorry! I did not mean to make such a spectacle of myself..." Applejack grinned and said, "That's all right! I'm glad you enjoyed it!" Autha smiled back sheepishly, mentally kicking herself for acting like such a pig in front of two... not strangers, but aquaintances.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire smiled widely and gave a gentle nudge. "Don't be embarrassed. I did the exact same thing the first time I had some of Applejack's pie." Bonfire comforted. "Well, I guess we'll be going now. Take care Applejack!"

"No problem!" Applejack replied. "Y'all come back now, y'hear?"

"So... um... Autha..." Bonfire trailed, a bit more nervous now for some reason. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.  

[WritingWithLove]

As they walked along the old pathway, Autha was still a bit frazzled from her first encounter with Applejack's pie. She also thought about why she continued to feel so anxcious around Bonfire, and she did everything to avoid the obvious conclusion. Him and I? No, he is much too... and I am so... What could a wallflower like me have to offer an exciting and lively colt such as-
Autha's train of thought was interrupted by a log that was in her path. She tripped over it and fell flat on her face! She let out a small grunt and stood up, only to hear the sound of crunching glass. She opened her eyes, and the world was blurry. She knew she looked much different without her glasses, and for some reason she feared that Bonfire wouldn't recognize her. "B-Bonfire," she said as she looked around blindly, "where are you?"  

[The Jolly Victini]

"I'm right here, Autha." Bonfire tried to help. He placed a hoof on Autha's shoulder to keep her from walking into something. "Oh no... your glasses are broken." Bonfire picked up the shattered seeing glasses and all it's pieces. "Darn... it's to shattered for me to put back together. Here, c'mon. I'll take you to the optometrist and buy you some new ones." he said. Bonfire liked buying things his friends needed. He didn't use his little amount of money for much anyway. Besides, he's always got food from his garden. He could spare being broke for a couple of weeks.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha closed her eyes and was overcome by a flashback:
"I'm right here, Autha..."
"Miss, who are you? And who is Autha?"
"You are, dear. My, you can't see a thing, can you? Here, let us go and get you some bifocals."
"Yes, ma'am."

Autha snapped out of her trance and regained her thoughts. "You needn't get anything for me, dear. I can manage..."
Did she really just call him "dear?" She addressed ponies as such often, but she grew especially embarrassed now.
"Did I say 'dear?' I am so sorry! I mean, I call most everypony that, so- No, I mean to say, um, you are not like others that I have encountered... Ah! That is all right! I mean no offense! I just, you are wonderful, and, ah, no!" She gave a heavy sigh and decided to be quiet for a minute.  

[The Jolly Victini]

A blush spread across Bonfire's face. "Thank Celestia she can't see me right now.." he thought. "No, I insist. I've got no better use for my money, and you need glasses right now.I'll stay right beside you so you don't lose me." Bonfire still couldn't place it, but the more time he spent with Autha, the more time he wanted to continue to spend with her.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha smiled and stayed close to Bonfire as they walked along. She could barely make out the shapes of buildings as they passed by them, but soon she stood in front of what seemed to be a very nice one. They stepped inside, and they were greeted by a voice that sounded regal and aristocratic. "Bonfire, darling, I haven't seen you in so long! We really must catch up. This order can wait... My, who do we have here?"
"Autha Quill, miss."
"No need to worry, darling! Rarity will have you all squared away!"
Before she could object, Autha was shoved into a dressing room. What appeared to be a light red dress was thrown over her, and she was shoved back out.
"What do you think?"
Autha blushed. She was afraid to make comments; how could she like or dislike a dress she couldn't even see?  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire blushed. She looked... beautiful, to say the least. "Um... it looks, great! But, um... Rarity? We just need some glasses for her. See, she tripped and they broke, and I've got no better use for my money."  

[WritingWithLove]

"No better use, you say?" asked Rarity. Autha could sense the smile creeping across Rarity's face. All at once, a large table of different kinds of glasses was thrust in front of her. There were spotted ones, striped ones, floral ones, thin ones, thick ones, old ones, new ones, chic ones, retro ones, and many, many more! "Which would you like, darling?" asked Rarity. "Do you have any plain glasses?"
"Of course! Silver, hot pink, purple, sky blue-"
"Black?"
"If that is your taste!"
Rarity plopped a pair of glasses on Autha, and she could see once again. She looked down at the dress she was wearing, and she chuckled. "Goodness, one would think I was going to some kind of royal ball!" Rarity winked at Bonfire and replied, "Maybe someday you will!"  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire blushed once again. Was it really that obvious that Bonfire might have feelings for Autha? Bonfire gave a nervous smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Um... thanks, Rarity." He pulled 10 bits out of his bag and they floated over to Rarity. "This should cover it, right?"