**A Step Out**

[The Jolly Victini]

Fluttershy jumped at the sudden interruption, but quickly regained her composure and shuffled over to the door. She opened up the door and peeked outside. "Hello?"  

[WritingWithLove]

"Fluttershy, can I come in?"
"Oh, of course!"

Rainbow Dash, who was completely drenched and didn't look too pleased, walked calmly into the house. She gave Bonfire a mischievous glare, and she said, "I've been looking for you! A little birdie told me that you had a certain book?"

Boom!

Thunder and rain that the small group hadn't noticed before poured down from the sky, and Autha yelped and dove under her chair.
***
"When will the storms stop, Mama?"
"Soon enough, dear."
"Is Dad okay?"
"Fine, I'm sure. He just went down to-"
"His workplace, right?"
"Yes, his 'workplace.' All of the very important letters he was writing are there, and he needs to get them before the office floods."
"Will he be back soon, Mama?"
"I certainly hope so..."
***
Autha did her best to restrain her panic attack, which was almost always accompanied by some sort of glimpse of a family. She gasped for air quietly, whispering, "I cannot take much more of this..."  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire backed away from Rainbow Dash. "Hey! I got it first, fair and square! You're gonna have to wait until I'm done reading it!" Bonfire continued to back up until his flank bumped the chair Autha was hiding under. Upon hearing what she said, he bent down and looked at her. "Hey... Autha? Are you alright?" he asked sincerely.  

[WritingWithLove]

What she was thinking: "NO! Under no means am I 'okay,' nor will I ever be, because I have so many things that confuse me, and you seem to be the only thing in my complicated world that makes sense!"
What she said: "Y-yes, I just got a bit of a fright, I suppose."

Autha slowly and anxiously crawled out from under the chair. "Silly me, s-scared of a little..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word.
"What, a rainstorm?" suggested Rainbow Dash.
Autha nodded her head quickly.
Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "Wait, I've seen you before!" she announced, "You're the pony that writes in the library all the time, right?" Autha blushed and replied, "That I am." Fluttershy calmly came over to the group and said, "I-I didn't know you wrote stories, Autha." Autha smiled weakly. "They are not that good, but writing calms me down. It helps me feel... in-touch with my inner pony, I suppose."
She moved a bit closer to Bonfire, hoping, praying, holding on to this faint hope that the rain would go away.  

[The Jolly Victini]

"How long is this storm scheduled for, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow walked up beside Fluttershy and looked out with her. "It should be over in a few minutes. The pegasi wanted to give the town a quick storm so the plants could have a much needed drink of water. We were a little late on last week's storm, so the plants were starting to get a little dry."

While the others were looking away, Bonfire decided to make a move to help comfort Autha. It was a simple gesture, but it spoke more than a thousand words. Bonfire reached his tail over to Autha's and wrapped it gently around hers. "Don't worry, Autha. It'll be okay." he thought.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha's heart skipped a beat, and she moved immediately closer to Bonfire. She wanted to say something, anything, to let him know how much she appreciated him. A thought crossed her mind, and she automatically performed without time to object.
She leaned close and gave Bonfire a quick kiss, and then she proceeded to blush horrifically.
Rainbow Dash turned away from the storm and noticed the two, and she gave them a wink and turned back around.  

[The Jolly Victini]

It was amazing, Bonfire thought. Like something out of a fairy tale. In the span of a single day, Bonfire had made a new friend who he felt a special connection to, and realize that connection, was love. Starsong was right. Bonfire would, did, find love. Autha Quill, was Bonfire's first fillyfriend.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha smiled kindly at Bonfire. She loved his eyes; they were so gentle.
She gave a slight yawn and noticed how dark it was outside. "Goodness, what time is it?" she asked.  

[The Jolly Victini]

"Oh, my. It is getting late isn't it?" Fluttershy hovered over to the coo-coo clock and looked at the time. "It's already 8:00. Thank you all so much for coming over. I really appreciate it."

Rainbow Dash opened up the door and gave a huge smile. "Yeah, and the storm just cleared up! I'll get going then. And hurry up with my book, Bonfire!" and with that, she flew off.

Bonfire left Fluttershy's house, Autha at his tail. He couldn't think of any words to say. He supposed his brain was just telling him to shut up and enjoy the moment.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha paused. She didn't want the day to be over just yet.
"S-so, um, do you know of any places that I have not seen yet?"  

[The Jolly Victini]

"Well... we haven't been to Sugarcube Corner yet. Pinkie Pie makes the best cupcakes I've ever had!" Bonfire said.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha smiled and held Bonfire's tail tighter. "Lead the way!" She blushed and giggled. She had never felt this... at ease before.  

[The Jolly Victini]

Bonfire smiled and picked up the pace a little to keep up with Autha's sudden giddiness. Soon they arrived at Sugarcube Corner. The outside smelled fantastic, as always, but the inside was heavenly. Bonfire always had to stop and enjoy the--

"Hiya there, Bonfire! What can I get you? Ooh! Who's this? I don't think I've seen her around too much! How do you two know each oth-- *GASP* You two are holding tails! Bonfire, don't tell me! You two are going out! Oh my goodness this is so superly ultra fantastically amazing! We need to celebrate! I'll get the cake started! This is gonna be a party to remember!" Pinkie bounced happily around the couple as she spoke, and was now currently hopping in front of the two, waiting for a response.  

[WritingWithLove]

Autha giggled and blushed. Everypony knew who Pinkie Pie was, even if they'd been living in a library since who knows how long ago.
She normally would have been very emberrassed, but since she was feeling especially loose at this particular time, she hopped lightly on her hooves and replied, "Oh, a cake would be delicious!" Pinkie squealed and said to Bonfire, "Ooh, you two are so cute! What's her name?" She turned to Autha. "What's your name?"
"Autha. Autha Quill. It is wonderful to meet you!"
"Oh! You sound fancy! Awesome! Okay, okay, I'll be right back!"
And with that, Pinkie ran into the back room.  

[The Jolly Victini]

"You certainly seem to have come out of your shell. No, no. You didn't come out, you took a battering ram to your shell! You told that shell who's boss!" Bonfire joked, nuzzling Autha afterwards.