20% Sweeter

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Best of Friends
Chapter 2: A Day at the Lake
Chapter 3: Late Night Flight
Chapter 4: The Morning After
Chapter 5: Friendly Advice
Chapter 6: Pre-Party Preparations

Chapter 1: The Best of Friends

It was summer in Equestria, and Rainbow Dash was best friends with Twilight Sparkle. These two ponies could not be more opposite. Rainbow Dash was the coolest pony in all of Ponyville, perhaps even all of Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle was a bookworm. While she did boast some of the most powerful magic since Starswirl the Bearded, that barely ranked up into Rainbow Dash's cool category. However there was a certain bond between these two that nothing could shake.

While they both enjoyed hanging out with the rest of their group of friends, Twilight and Dash often found themselves staying up at night in the top floor of the Library Twilight lived in, talking until the sun rose. It was nothing against Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity or Fluttershy, they were just closer to each other than the rest of the group.

One night, Pinkie Pie was throwing one of her world famous parties for no apparent reason, but in reality, that pony didn't need a reason to party. Dash was hanging out around the punch bowl, observing the crowd and attempting to exude as much cool as she possibly could. After a few glasses she decided to head out onto the dance floor for a little while. She wasn't sure how Pinkie had managed to book DJ Pon-3, but she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to enjoy the best DJ in Equestria.

About 3 songs in, Twilight came up and tapped Dash on the shoulder. "Hey Dash, mind if I have this dance?" she said, shooting Dash a look of sarcasm and friendly wit.

Dash let out a laugh and said, "Sure, as long as you promise not to make me look like a dork."

This friendly banter was rooted at their differences, but was always in good fun. Rainbow Dash, who always liked puling pranks and playing jokes on people, was usually the initiator, but as of late, Twilight had grown accustomed to their back and forths. Dash even had a suspicion that she was starting to enjoy it.

As they danced furiously to the rhythmic beats and harsh bass drops emulating from the turntables, Twilight managed to work up quite a thirst. She nudged Dash to tell her she was taking five, and retreated to the punch bowl. That was where she found Spike, indulging in the various cakes and cookies Pinkie had prepared for the party.

"Looks like you've found heaven, Spike," Twilight said with a laugh.

"Well can you blame me? No one can resist Pinkie's party treats. Especially these gemstone cookies she made especially for me." Spike returned.

"Where on earth did she get enough gemstones to make a whole batch of cookies?"

"I'm pretty sure Rarity lent her a few in return for Pinkie modelling for a new dress for the Gala or something. I'm not entirely sure. Speaking of Rarity, have you seen her anywhere?" It was no secret to anyone in Ponyville that Spike was utterly stricken for Rarity, the fashionista of the group. He was always making excuses to help her or hang out with her.

"I think she already left. Said something about needing to get to work. The Gala is in like a month you know, and she's designing new dresses for all of us," she said.

"Well then I think I'm going to go make sure she doesn't need any help," Spike said in between mouthfuls of cookie as he ravenously finished off the plate.

As Spike left, Twilight's thoughts drifted to the Grand Galloping Gala. The most prestigious even in all of Equestria, Twilight and her friends were invited every year since Twilight was the personal student of Princess Celestia. Last year's Gala had been nothing short of a disaster, and she was hoping that her friends would behave themselves a little better this year.

Across the room, Rainbow Dash had finished dancing and had taken a seat at a table with Scootaloo. Scootaloo was a young Pegasus who admired Rainbow Dash more than anyone in Ponyville, and looked up to her as a big sister. A blank flank, she was one of the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a group that also consisted of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom's cousin Babs Seed. They were dedicated to finding their true purpose in life and finding their cutie marks, and Scootaloo believed she was destined to be as cool as Rainbow Dash one day.

Dash enjoyed hanging out with Scootaloo. It made her feel like a mentor, and she enjoyed her company. She wasn't bad for a little filly. However tonight, Scoots was being a bit insufferable.

"I'm tellin' yah Rainbow Dash, I'm gonna be able to fly as fast as you one day. Maybe I'll even be able to do a Sonic Rainboom just like you! and I'm gonna be as cool as you and-"

Rainbow Dash decided to cut her off right there with a stern "Look Scoots, don't you think you should be with the rest of the Crusaders?"

"They aren't here silly. Apple Bloom has gone to stay with Babs in Manehattan, and Sweetie Belle is at a summer program of some kind in Canterlot. Twilight helped Rarity set it up. Isn't Twilight great, Dash?"

"Yeah I guess she is a pretty cool mare," she replied.

"Well I guess if you want me to leave you alone I'll go talk to Pinkie. Or maybe I can get DJ Pon-3 to teach me how to use the turntables! Hey maybe I'm supposed to get a DJ cutie mark! That'd be pretty cool wouldn't it?" Scootaloo said very enthusiastically.

"If you say so kid," Dash replied with a smile.

As Scootaloo ran off, Rainbow Dash decided that she was extremely tired, and tried to find Twilight to let her know she was going to hit the hay. The dance floor was extremely crowded at this point, and Twilight wasn't at the punch bowl anymore. She decided to go ahead and go home. There was a big fluffy cloud with her name on it.

Author's Note

So this is my first attempt at trying to ship two of my favorites from the Mane 6. I've only been in the fandom for a few months, but I've really gotten into it. This is also my first time writing a fan fic, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm completely open to any type of criticism, so don't hold back. Let me know what you think in the comments, and let me know if this is a story you'd like to see progressed.

-VinylWub67

Chapter 2: A Day at the Lake

Everypony in Ponyville has a way that they like to relax and spend times with friends. For example, Rarity liked to bring the girls along to the spa for a day of pampering. Pinkie Pie threw parties for any reason imaginable. Applejack loved running and playing with Winona, as well as having play dates with the other girls' pets.

Rainbow Dash, however, had a much more relaxed way to blow off steam. She loved to go swimming in the lake just outside Ponyville, and she often brought someone along with her. It just so happened that day that Twilight wanted to come along. The concept of spending a whole day at the lake, swimming and laying out with her best friend made Rainbow Dash very happy, so she was at Twilight's door early the next morning.

The purple unicorn sheepishly opened her door, greeted by the beaming face of her friend. "Rainbow, why are you here already? I told you I had to take care of some studying before we went to the lake."

"I know, but I figured you could maybe use some help or something. I don't know, I'm just really bored and can't wait to get out in the water." Rainbow Dash continued to grin ear to ear. This amused Twilight slightly, and she conceded to leaving early. After all, She had a week before that assignment was due to Princess Celestia. At least that's what Rainbow Dash told her to get her out of the door.

Ponyville's lake was a small body of water situated just outside of town, and was usually completely empty. This was the case that day as the two friends walked up and claimed their spots on the grass. Rainbow Dash wasted no time in dropping her saddle bag and hopping into the refreshingly cool water. Shortly after, the other mare slowly lowered herself into the water, wincing at the sudden cold that enveloped her body.

"C'mon Twi, don't be such a baby!" Rainbow Dash playful remarked as she splashed Twilight with her hoof.

"Oh don't you start today with me missy!" Twilight shot back on the generous splash sent flying towards Rainbow Dash.

They continued splashing each other and swimming around for a short while, and then retreated to the warm shore. They each laid down in one of the chairs sitting on the bank, and it wasn't long before Rainbow Dash was snoozing softly. "I swear. Sometimes I don't get that pegasus," Twilight commented to herself. She had prepared for this happening, and produced a novel from her bag.

Scootaloo zoomed through Ponyvile on her scooter, using her diminutive wings as propulsion. She would often reach breakneck speeds and attempt to impress the other ponies with tricks and flips. Today was not going too well for her, however. Her best friends were both off having fun in Manehattan and Canterlot, and her idol had told her that she was busy today.

She had thought about maybe going to Sweet Apple Acres and asking Applejack, if she needed any help around the farm, but then quickly thought against doing manual labor. Another idea was to go to Rarity's boutique and help her with whatever she was doing, but Spike was already filling that role when she arrived. The only thing she had managed to get accomplished today was learning from Spike that Rainbow Dash was hanging out at the lake with Twilight Sparkle.

"It's perfect," she said to herself as she shot towards the outskirts of Ponyvile, "I'll show up at the lake, and Rainbow Dash can hang out with her two favorite ponies at the same time. And the best part is, it'll be a surprise!" Her lips coiled into a smile as she thought about the joy she would give Rainbow by surprising her.

Twilight Sparkle found herself slowly drifting off as the words of her book began to slowly blend together into a near impassible wall of words. "A small nap won't hurt," she said quietly to herself. She laid the book over her eyes to block the sun, and slowly drifted off.

Shortly after that, the pegasus beside began to stir, and slowly came to consciousness. She stretched her limbs and wings together, and looked over at the peaceful form of her best friend. "Poor kid, she must be beat," Rainbow Dash remarked to herself. She adjusted the book covering her face in an attempt to help block out the sun more effectively, but ended up knocking it off altogether.

She wasn't sure how to process the next wave of emotion that overtook her. She began to look at Twilight's incredibly peaceful face, and watch her chest slowly rise and fall with each breath. Her mind began to fully appreciate just how beautiful her best friend was. So much so that she began to worry herself.

"What's your head doin' girl? That's your best friend! Plus, she's not a stallion! She's a mare!" Rainbow Dash struggled audibly but quietly to herself. It was then that she looked back over to Twilight.

She really is beautiful though...

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to cover Twilight's face back up so as not to rouse suspicion, she heard a faint fluttering. It sounded almost like a buzzing, and seemed to be coming from the hill behind the lake. When she finally realized what that sound was, it was too late to do anything.

The orange figure of Scootaloo crested the hill, and sped into the air. She furiously flapped her wings, but was only able to hover for a moment before plummeting into the lake below. As she broke the water surface, a large splash headed directly towards the two relaxing ponies on the other bank.

Twilight was utterly drenched with water, and was immediately awake. "What's the big idea, Rainbow?!" she piped up incredulously.

"It wasn't me Twilight, it was a certain little filly that is slowly swimming towards us," Rainbow Dash returned. As the smaller pony reached the bank, she climbed out of the water with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"What's up is you just ruined a perfectly good nap. I haven't had a chance to sleep in weeks!" Twilight was still slightly peeved, even though she knew that Scootaloo did not mean to splash her and ruin her nap.

"Oh, right. Well about that, see, I was trying to find something to do today. I went to see if I could help Rarity, and Spike told me you two were out here. I decided I would come surprise you and hopefully go for a little swim with you guys," she was still wearing a grin as wide as her face as she said this. The unicorn began to gather her things into her saddle bag, mumbling under her breath about everything being wet. "I'm really sorry, Twilight."

Twilight looked up from her bag to see the smile on the young filly's face slowly drift into a frown. "I accept your apology, Scootaloo, but I really must get back to the library. I have some important work to get done. Rainbow Dash, I hope we can do this again soon. That was very nice," Twilight shot Rainbow a subtle smile. This made her heart jump for an odd reason, but she brushed this feeling off.

After Twilight left, Rainbow decided to hang out a little bit longer with Scootaloo. At around sunset, she made sure the little filly got home safely, and returned to her cloud in the sky for a sleepless night.

Rainbow Dash slept fitfully that night. If you could even call it sleep. She tossed and turned all night, visions of her best friend dancing through her mind. How beautiful she was, how peaceful she had looked, that cute look she got when she was angry.

This isn't right. We're both mares. This isn't natural. Come on Dashie, you aren't gay...are you?

Chapter 3: Late Night Flight

As the sun set over Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle found herself walking alone back to her library home. She was still fuming a little about how rudely her afternoon with Rainbow had been interrupted, but she couldn't really hold a grudge. She decided it would just be best to bury herself in her studies. Princess Celestia was expecting a report any day now, so she really needed to get to work. Hopefully Spike was still with Rarity so she would have some peace and quiet.

She summoned a heavy volume from one of the shelves and opened it to a bookmarked page. She scanned the words, looking for a logical place to begin. "I do love working for the Princess," she said out loud, "but sometimes I wish I could take a break from studying." Sighing, she slowly closed the book and decided to retire early. The sun had long been down, but it wasn't unusual for Twilight to be up all hours of the morning, completely enveloped by her work. After settling in and getting comfortable, she drifted into wonderful dreams featuring her favorite rainbow maned pegasus.

As Rainbow Dash struggled with the many thoughts that were flying around her brain faster than a Wonderbolt, she decided that sleep was just not going to come to her that night. It had to be well into the early hours of the morning, probably in that awkward stage between when the night owls got to bed and the early birds wake up.

Well I'm not going to get any sleep, and I really need to clear my mind. I guess a short fly around wouldn't hurt anything.

She slowly ascended into the sky surrounding her cloud home right outside of Ponyville, and took off at a rather slow pace. Sometimes, flying was the best way to work out things she had internal conflicts about, and boy was this a big one. For the majority of her life, she had always assumed the role of tomboy. She enjoyed competitive flying and aerial acrobatics, and enjoyed hanging out with colts in general. But there was never a time she could really remember having a coltfriend. But this was just crazy talk. No way in the world could she be attracted to another mare, let alone her best friend. Besides, even if she was attracted to other mares, Twilight would be the last person Rainbow Dash would expect to be gay too.

The more she thought about Twilight, the more Rainbow started to want to see her. She knew it was late, and knew she was in the bed, but it was worth a shot. She picked up her pace, a sudden excitement welling inside her at the thought of seeing her best friend.

Rainbow Dash landed on the patio on the upper level of the library as quietly as she could. She peeked inside the window to see the silhouette of a unicorn peacefully dreaming. She stood there for a moment, again admiring the beauty before her. Twilight shuffled around a bit in her sleep, and turned to where her face was visible. Rainbow's heart fluttered a bit as she noticed a cute grin on her best friend's face. She couldn't stand it any longer. She had to talk to her.

"Twilight! Wake up, Twilight!" she nearly screamed as she rapped on the window of the doors leading into the bedroom. Twilight shook awake with a slight start, and inhaled sharply at the sight of Rainbow Dash standing outside of her bedroom.

"What in Equestria are you doing here Rainbow Dash? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Twilight said sharply as she climbed out of bed to unlock the door, allowing the pegasus to enter.

"Oh you know, just out for a little late night fly. Thought I'd pay you a visit and, you know, chat, and stuff," Rainbow replied nervously.

"Couldn't it have waited until morning, seeing as that's only about two hours away?"

"Well if I could maybe get to sleep that wouldn't be too hard, but I've got to tell yah, sleep doesn't want to pay me a visit tonight."

Twilight rubbed her eyes and sat down on her bed. She patted the empty space beside her, indicating for Rainbow Dash to come sit beside her. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Ah no reason I guess. Just some silly thoughts I've been having. But I just really felt like talking to you Twilight. You always know how to make me feel better," with that, she shot the pony beside her a sincere smile. As she looked deep into the gorgeous pair of violet eyes across from her, she felt the butterfly return to the center of her chest. Nopony had ever had this effect on her, not even a handsome young colt.

Is this what it's like to be attracted to somepony? Is this what it means to like somepony past the point of friendship? To want a relationship with them?

A faint voice off in the distance brought Rainbow Dash to her senses. Twilight was trying to get her attention, but was failing to do so. "Hey! Are you okay, Rainbow?" she asked gently.

"What? Oh...yeah I'm great. Just got distracted for a moment."

Twilight placed her hoof on Rianbow's, and this sent a wave of warmth up the pegasus's arm.

So soft, so warm, so gentle.

Rainbow Dash yawned wide and laid back on the bed. Twilight let out a little laugh, and sat there until her friend drifted off on her bed. She got up, closed the door to the outside, and covered her best friend up.

You look really tired, Rainbow Dash. I won't wake you.

"Sleep tight, dweeb," she playfully jabbed at the sleeping image of Ponyville's best flyer. She retreated downstairs and curled up underneath a throw blanket on her couch.

Author's Note

There is a bit of a jump back in the story at the very beginning since the last chapter ended with Rainbow Dash being unable to sleep, but it was completely intentional.

That being said, I've tried to take some of your guys' advice and slow things down a bit in terms of the descriptions and what not. I'm trying to make it seem more like you're experiencing the events with the ponies as opposed to reading a summary.

Since this is going up in the early afternoon where I am, I might try and write chapter 4 today. As always show your appreciation with a thumbs up and a favorite, and leave any advice/criticism in the comments section below.

Chapter 4: The Morning After

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, holding a hoof up to block the incoming sunlight. Groaning through a yawn, she rolled back over and threw the covers over her head. Suddenly, she became aware of a strange smell. It was the smell of books.

Her head quickly shot up and she gasped at the scene in front of her. She was in Twilight's library. No, she was in Twilight's...bedroom.

Oh sweet Celestia what am I doing here? Did I really come all the way to the library last night? I thought that was just a dream!

As a million thoughts were racing through her mind, she heard faint hoofsteps coming up the stairs. It was Twilight. Her mind instantly went through every possible scenario that could transpire in the next few minutes. Would Twilight yell at her for waking her up? Would she think this was totally uncool of her? How mad was she going to be?

The door swung open to reveal the violet librarian, carrying breakfast on her back. "Morning, sleepyhead! Or should I say afternoon? You've been asleep almost 10 hours!" She giggled at her friend's confused expression, and laid the plate down on the bed beside her. "I thought you could use some food to help wake you up. I was really concerned about you last night, Dashie."

So this is it? No yelling? No anger? Breakfast and sympathy? You're too good for the likes of me Twilight Sparkle.

"So wait a second. You aren't mad at me for storming into your room at like 3 am and waking you up?" she replied, still bearing the same bewildered expression.

"Are you kidding? I have to admit, it was a bit of an annoyance at the time, but I could tell something serious was up. You said you couldn't sleep, so when you fell asleep on my bed, I wasn't about to ruin that for you, silly."

Rainbow's emotions did about 3 barrel rolls inside her mind. Here she was, having made a complete fool of herself to the pony she thought she might possibly...oh who was she kidding. She liked Twilight. More than a friend. And all of that made the fact that she rudely barged in during the wee hours of the morning like a million times worse. But Twilight was ok with it, worried about her even!

Having come to terms with the fact that she did indeed like Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash found it even harder to be sitting in her bed. This didn't feel right to her for some reason. It was like she was breaking some unwritten boundary. She nervously nibbled at her breakfast, not wanting to deny the hospitality the amazing pony in front of her had provided.

"So, if it isn't too much to ask, what WAS going on with you last night?" Rainbow swallowed with great difficulty that was not in any way attributed to the food she was eating.

No way, Rainbow. You can't do this. Not here, not now. If you're ever going to tell Twilight, this is not the correct place.

"Oh you know, just stuff, and things."

"You're kidding right? 'Stuff and things?' If you don't want to tell me, Rainbow, you don't have to."

"I just don't feel comfortable talking about it right now. It isn't that I don't want to tell you, Twilight. It's just that, well, I'm not even 100% sure what's going on right now. I just had a feeling last night that if I came and saw you it might help. It obviously got me to sleep, so I guess my gut feeling was right, huh?" She shot a weak smile at Twilight in hopes of not making the situation any more awkward than it had to be.

"Gee thanks. Glad to know I'm the first one you think of when you need someone to put you to sleep," Twilight quipped with a grin. Both ponies shared a small laugh as Twilight's remark helped eased the tension between them. "Now come on. Don't you have something to do with the weather today-"

"THE WEATHER! Oh no, Twilight this is terrible. It was supposed to rain today. I completely forgot! I gotta go!" Rainbow Dash ravenously wolfed down what was remaining of the hearty breakfast and shot out the door as fast as her wings would take her.

Roughly a week had gone by since the incident at the lake, and Scootaloo was happy for her friends to be back in town. She realized just how much she missed going to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' meetings, and listened intently as Apple Bloom and Babs both recounted the amazing week they had had in Manehattan.

"So yeah, that's purdy much it," Apple Bloom finished, shooting a smile towards Babs, who gave a resounding agreement.

"Wow, I can't believe it! You managed to have more fun than I did in Canterlot!" Sweetie Belle remarked. She had been away at a baking school's version of summer camp that Rarity had managed to set up for her. She had had a blast, but listening to Apple Bloom and Babs' story about staying up late and going to plays and everything else they had done in Manehattan completely trumped her week.

"What about you Scoots? What did you do this week?" Babs asked.

"You should have seen this flip I did off this hill earlier this week!" she had been waiting to tell this story all week. "I was going to the lake to hang out with Rainbow and Twilight, and I was going like 900 miles an hour. I shot up the hill, did a 360 backflip, and splashed right into the lake! It was AWESOME!" Scootaloo had been doing a rough impression of her tricks, and was panting rather furiously by now.

"Wow Scootaloo, that sounds amazing! Too bad I already talked to Applejack who told me it was more like you accidentally flew over the hill and panicked on the way down," Apple Bloom had barely gotten the sentence out of her mouth when all 3 ponies started laughing rather loudly. Scootaloo's face turned a harsh shade of red. She sat down in place and crossed her hooves in anger.

It was no secret that Scootaloo liked to fabricate awesome tricks she had supposedly pulled off, but this was one of her more elaborate lies. Not that any of the other Crusaders minded hearing how awesome Scootaloo thought she was, but it was always funny to see her expression when she was caught.

The rest of the CMC meeting went as normal. All 4 fillies offering up ideas to find their cutie marks, and ended ultimately with them stuffing their faces full of apples from Sweet Apple Acres. It had already been determined that since Babs was in town, there was going to be a CMC sleepover there, so they headed into the house to see what Applejack was up to.

Author's Note

Alright guys! I finally got a chance to write! Things have been so hectic with exams, and I feel like this chapter might not be as good as the others. Hopefully you disagree, but what the hay.

Shameless Walking Dead reference.

Chapter 5: Friendly Advice

Sunset in Ponyville was truly amazing. There was something about the way the reds and purples and oranges melded into one perfect color that graced the early evening sky. Rainbow Dash had seen plenty of sunsets in her life, but she found tonight's to be especially beautiful. After a hard day of setting up rain clouds and then clearing them away, she decided it would be a good idea to just go home and rest. From atop her cloud home, she watched as the amazingly bright orange orb slowly decided behind the hills of Equestria and tinged the skies a lovely magenta.

Just as the sun was finished setting, Rainbow decided to retire to her bedroom for the night. As she laid her head down on the soft clouds she used as a pillow, her thoughts began to drift again towards Twilight. Since she had come to terms with the fact that she did indeed like her best friend more than a friend, she had attempted to push it form her mind. She was afraid of the effect it was going to have on Twilight, on their friendship. But the setting sun coupled with the warm feeling she got from being enveloped in her bed during a summer's eve caused her mind to drift towards more romantic thoughts...

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were sitting on a hill just outside of Ponyville, embraced with each other. Rainbow was sitting in Twilight's lap, who had her hooves wrapped around the upper body of the cyan pegasus. As they sat there in the early hours of the day, they both started to think of how lucky they were for finding each other.

"You know, Twilight, you really are the best marefriend a pony could ask for," Rainbow remarked to the unicorn sitting behind her.

Twilight blushed slightly, and replied simply, "I'm sorry, Dashie, but I'm afraid that title has already been taken by a certain rainbow maned pegasus pony." Rainbow looked around at Twilight's smiling face and her heart instantly melted. The first thing she had ever noticed about her marefriend was her smile, but it had not lost its luster.

"Twilight, I think I..." Rainbow trailed off.

"You think you what, Dashie?"

"Never mind. It's really stupid." Close one there, Rainbow.

Rainbow gasped as she felt herself falling backwards towards the ground. She hit the grass, and rolled over to see Twilight standing above her, a playfully stern look on her face. The light breeze flowing through the air caused her mane to blow slightly, and gave her an extremely majestic look.

"Look here, Rainbow Dash," Oh crap. She used my full name. What did I do? "you took far too long to admit your feelings for me. I won't have you tip toeing around anything now. Come on, now. Tell me what you were just thinking."

Rainbow wasn't about to say that. Not here, not now. It was just too much too soon. As she sat there deep in thought a voice rang out from seemingly nowhere.

"Rainbow Dash..."

What in Celestia was that?

"Rainbow Dash..."

She attempted to pinpoint its location, but it seemed to be coming from her head.

"Rainbow!"

"Umm Twilight, do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Twilight replied with a puzzled look on her face.

"Rainbow Dash!" the voice was starting to become clearer, and soon picked up frequency. Rainbow was sure she could also hear...bouncing?

Rainbow Dash awoke with a start back in her bed. She groaned loudly as she realized that the entire romantic scene she had just been a part of had been nothing but a dream. But what woke her up so suddenly? It was then that she became aware of the sound of bouncing somewhere below her.

"Rainbow Dash, don't make me go get my flying machine to come up there after you sleepy head!" She could recognize that bubbly voice from anywhere in Equestria.

"Pinkie Pie what are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember, silly? You promised me that you would come help me set up Gummy's birthday party! We were supposed to do it yesterday, but you were too busy making it rain, so I asked you if you would help me today and you said yes." The entire time she talked, Pinkie bounced up and down in place, her enthusiasm reaching dangerous levels of annoyance.

Rainbow did remember Pinkie saying something to her yesterday, but she was too busy and too tired to pay her any attention. She had agreed with her just so she would leave her alone, and had apparently enlisted herself as Pinkie's personal assistant for the day.

Rainbow groaned as she stretched out her wings. This was the last thing she wanted to do today, but she wasn't about to let Pinkie Pie down. "Give me five minutes."

"Okie Dokie Lokie," Pinkie replied enthusiastically, still bouncing in place.

As she trotted out her door in the early sun towards the Ponyville market, Twilight Sparkle levitated her checklist in front of her to check it for the 5th time that day. She had needed to go shopping for the past few days, but had finally found the time to do so.

"Grain, flour, milk, eggs, and sugar. Looks like I've got everything here," she remarked out loud, reading off the last few items of an extremely long list. As she trotted down the road, sun beaming onto her fur, the bits in her saddlebag jingled merrily, as if they were happy that they were about to get spent.

Once in town, she was surprised at the number of ponies darting here and there, visiting the many booths that were set up in the town square. There were people buying carrots, cherries, flowers, and pretty much anything imaginable. She decided to start at the top of her list and visit Applejack's booth to buy a much needed bushel of apples.

"Howdy, Twi! Whatchy'all doin' out here so early?" Applejack greeted her friend heartily. She was standing in front of her booth that she had apparently just opened. Big Macintosh was standing behind the booth, putting apples form their cart into baskets.

"Hey, Applejack, Big Mac! I just needed to get a bushel of your amazing apples. Spike went on an eating spree a couple days ago and completely cleaned out the cupboard," Twilight responded with an extremely cheery smile on her face.

"Well here then! Have these, on tha house." Applejack grabbed a basket from her completely full stand and and put in on Twilight's back.

Twilight beamed even wider, and responded, "Thanks, AJ! You really shouldn't have though."

"It ain't a problem fer friends, Twi," she said as she began to smile as well. It was then that she noticed the giant list levitating in a purple aura beside Twilight. "Golly, that ain't what all y'all gotta buy is it?" she said in a concerned tone.

"Well, actually yes. It's been a while since I was able to do some shopping, and I really need a lot of stuff."

"In that case, I'm gonna help you out. Ain't no need fer you tah be carryin' all that stuff around all by yer lonesome. Big Mac, will you watch the stand fer a few hours till me an Twilight get her shoppin' done?" she inquired, looking back at her big brother, who had stepped around front having filled all the baskets up with apples.

"Eeyup," he replied with a smile towards Twilight.

The two ponies set off towards the other shops, stopping at each one and making sure they didn't have anything on Twilight's list. As they walked, Aj talked about the CMC sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres last night, and about how happy she was that Babs was back in town.

"So yeah, that's purdy much it. Them girls sure had a good time last night. But what about you, Twi? Anything interestin' happen to you in the past couple days?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I was paid a visit by the one and only Rainbow Dash the other night," she replied.

"Oh, well wasn't that sweet of her."

"Not really, considering it was at about 3 in the morning," Twilight said with a slightly comical tone her voice. Applejack couldn't hold her surprise. "Boy I sure am tired. And hungry. Let's go grab a bite to eat and I'll tell you all about it"

They headed into a small diner just outside the shopping district in Ponyville, and were seated at a small booth near the back. After the waitress had come and taken their orders, Twilight launched into her story about her late night encounter with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow fluttered along slowly behind Pinkie Pie as she bounced towards Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had informed her that Fluttershy was also going to be helping them set up so it wouldn't take as long as if it was just the two of them. As they reached the bakery, Rainbow noticed the pink maned pegasus standing outside, waiting for Pinkie before she went in.

"Come on in, silly," she said to Fluttershy as she opened the door and hopped inside. "You ponies stand right here, and I'll go get everything we need to make this place look superduperlicious for Gummy's birthday partaaaay," she squeaked as she hopped into another room.

Rainbow suddenly had an idea. It was very risky, and might not work, but if anyone knew about how to deal with unnatural tendencies, it would be Fluttershy. "Hey Flutters, I've got a question for you. What do you do when an animal starts doing something that it wouldn't normally do? Like if it developed an unnatural tendency or something like that."

"Oh, Rainbow Dash. Animals may have certain ways they normally act, but there's nothing wrong with them acting a little bit differently than the others. Every animal is a unique creature with a unique personality. When it comes down to it, as long as they aren't harming themselves or something else, there isn't anything they can do that I would consider wrong," Fluttershy said softly, a smile creeping onto her sheepish face.

"So, do you think that same policy applies to ponies?"

"Of course! Like I said about animals, everypony is completely unique and different in their own ways, and there is nothing wrong with that. Why do you ask, Rainbow Dash?"

This was what Rainbow was afraid of. She didn't know what to say in response. She gulped silently, and then said the first thing that came to mind. "Oh no reason. I just know a mare who is, well, let's just say she thinks she has feelings for another mare, and I was wondering if there was anything wrong with that."

"If somepony truly has feelings for somepony else, whether it's two mares or a mare and a stallion, there shouldn't be anyone who could say anything negative about that. True love is hard to come by, and when it happens, ponies shouldn't be worried about what everypony else thinks." Fluttershy had seem to have given this a lot of thought.

"Thanks for the advice, Fluttershy," Rainbow said to her friend with a quick smile.

"Okay, here's what I want you girls to do!" Pinkie Pie had just bounded back into the room carrying a basket of streamers, bows, ribbons, noisemakers, and tissue paper of every color imaginable. The three mares proceeded to cover every square inch of the walls and ceilings of Sugarcube Corner with the colorful papers. When they were done, it looked like a rainbow tornado had gone through and thrown colorful paper everywhere. But Pinkie insisted that Gummy enjoyed bright colors, so Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went along with it.

Back in the diner, Twilight had just finished telling her story to Applejack, who was listening intently while she munched on her carrots and daisy salad.

"I tell yah what, that Rainbow Dash sure can be awfully odd sometimes," she said to Twilight through a mouthful of carrot.

Twilight took a sip of her lemonade and replied, "But I'm worried about her AJ. It seemed like something was really wrong with her. Like she had something weighing pretty heavily on her mind. Don't get me wrong, it's flattering that she would come to me for advice, but I get the feeling that there's something else at work here."

"Well maybe y'all need to sit down an' have a talk about it. After all, yah ain't gonna know anything more than yah already do without askin'," The orange earth pony suggested.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I do need to talk to her. After all, what are friends for? She obviously trust me and respects my opinion. It's settled then. I'll ask her to come over tomorrow, and we'll take it from there."

Twilight and Applejack both munched at their salads for a few more minutes before deciding they were full. They payed the waitress separately and walked back outside. Once they had purchased the last few items on the list, Applejack helped Twilight carry everything back to the library.

"Alright, Twi. I need tah be gettin' back to the apple stand. Big Macintosh is liable to have a fit if I stay out much longer. Let me know how things work out with y'all tomorrow. I'm real curious to see what's eatin' Rainbow."

"Don't worry I'll keep you in the loop," Twilight smiled to AJ, who departed with the tip of her hat.

Author's Note

Alright guys! I finally got a chance to write while I was inspired. As you probably noticed, this chapter is a bit longer than the first few. Let me know if you prefer it this way or if you want the chapters broken up a little more!

Once again guys, sorry for the delay, and thank you so much for all the support! You guys are awesome!

Chapter 6: Pre-Party Preparations

The next morning, Twilight woke up early in anticipation to talk to Rainbow Dash. Now that she had been thinking about it, she was extremely worried about her best friend, and was anxious to get to the bottom of the situation. Once she had a small breakfast of apple slices, she left Spike in charge of the library, and instructed him not to finish off the rest of her fresh basket.

As she stepped outside, Twilight couldn't help but notice how beautiful the weather was. The light blue sky seemed to have a certain cheery glow to it, and was dotted here and there with a small piece of white fluff. "Rainbow sure has been hard at work this morning," she said out loud to herself.

"Well I figured that it should probably be pretty today. You know, for Gummy's Birthday Party," she heard a voice say behind her. As she turned around in shock, she began laughing as she almost bumped noses with Rainbow Dash hovering right behind her.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

"Oh, come on Twilight. I thought it was funny. You should have seen your face!" Rainbow then proceed to twist her face into a mix of panic and laughter. The end result was not very flattering, but caused Twilight to giggle a bit more.

"Actually, Rainbow, I was looking for you. I've been doing a lot of thinking since you came and visited the other night, and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about what's going on," she said matter of factly.

"Umm well I can't really talk right now, Twilight. I've got to finish helping Pinkie get ready. We can just talk at the party tonight," and with a quick flourish of her wings, she was gone in the distance towards Ponyville.

Twilight giggle once more and started trotting down the small dirt path into Ponyville. She decided that, since talking to Rainbow was obviously out of the question for the time being, she might as go and take care of a few errands. First on the list was finding a good gift for Gummy, so she made her way towards Sugar Cube Corner.

Once inside, she gasped at the eclectic design choices that were obviously Pinkie Pie inspired. All of the walls were covered in an untidy rainbow of colors. The walls were so loud that it was a veritable cacophonous assault on her eyes. As she stood there, mesmerized by the unconventional blend of colors and shades, she was snapped out of her trance by the voice of Mrs. Cake greeting her.

"How are you doing dear? What can I get you?" she said with a smile.

"I'm doing fine, Mrs. Cake. I was actually wondering if you had any idea what I could get Gummy since his party is tonight."

"Oh dear, I'm afraid you're going to have to ask Pinkie about that one, but I think she ran off to the Carousel Boutique. Something about helping Rarity with an important project."

Twilight let out a smile sigh of exasperation. "Well I guess I better get going then. See you tonight, Mrs. Cake."

It was no secret that Rarity had been busy at work trying to prepare for this years Grand Galloping Gala. She had insisted that she make all of her friends new dresses because they just simply could not wear the same thing two years in a row. Naturally, no one wanted Rarity to go through that much trouble for them, but she was the Element of Generosity after all.

As Twilight made her way into the Carousel Boutique, she could hear Rarity's voice coming from a back room, accompanied by an extremely bubbly giggle that could only belong to Pinkie Pie. She couldn't quite make out what they were talking about, but decided against eavesdropping and announced her presence by rapping hard on the door.

"Oh hold on one second and let me see who that is. Oh, Twilight! So good to see you, darling. What brings you to my boutique?" Rarity greeted her friend with a smile as she opened the heavy wooden door leading into her very crowded Inspiration Room. It looked like a tornado had come through and littered every open surface with some type of fabric or fashion designing utensil. But Twilight decided that Rarity simply enjoyed working in this kind of "organized" chaos.

"I was actually looking for Pinkie Pie. I wanted to ask her what I should get Gummy for his birthday tonight."

"Oh tonight isn't his birthday, silly. I thought I told you that tonight is the PRE-birthday birthday party. Gummy's birthday isn't actually for another week. I just needed an excuse to throw a party because let's be honest with ourselves it's been far too long since we had a good party," Pinkie piqued up at Twilight's question.

Twilight groaned at Pinkie Pie. "We JUST had a party like a week ago Pinkie. You even had DJ PON-3 there! Remember?"

"Oh I know Twilight. It's been a whole week since the last party in Ponyville. I can't believe I've let it go that long!"

Twilight decided it would be best to not try and understand the pink earth pony in front of her, and simply accepted it as her just being Pinkie. "Well, since Gummy doesn't need a present, and I've got nowhere to be, how about you let me in on these designs you have for the Gala, Rarity."

The party tonight. We can just talk at the party tonight.

Rainbow Dash was sitting on a cloud just above the market square in Ponyville. Every now and then, she liked to rest up there and watch the other ponies as they went about their daily shopping, happy to be able to rest whenever she wanted to. She had taken extra care today to make the weather just perfect for Gummy's party, per Pinkie's request. The few clouds that were in the sky hung there as a reprieve against the somewhat harsh summer sun.

"Oh who am I kidding. We aren't going to be able to talk at the party tonight. Knowing Pinkie, there's going to be super loud music. And knowing Twilight, she's just going to want to dance." A sudden, exciting thought crept into Rainbow Dash's mind. "I get to dance with Twilight tonight!"

While it was true that they had danced at Pinkie's party earlier that week, that dance was simply between friends. There were no latent romantic feelings. But then again, Twilight was not aware of Rainbow's feelings yet. This could be a big night for her if she played her cards right.

Author's Note

Don't hate me guys. I know this chapter is short, and I know it's probably pretty bad. I just feel terrible leaving you guys out of the loop for so long.

Hopefully, once things get a little more sane in my life, I'll be able to update a little more frequently, and I can go back to giving you guys the high quality content that you deserve.

As far as the content of this chapter, I decided to end it where I did because I felt that this was more of a transition chapter, and that it wouldn't fit in with my plans for the next chapter. I want the night of the party to be a full chapter itself so it doesn't have to share glory with anything.

Alright guys. Once again, don't worry. I'll get to posting better content in the next couple of days. Just bear with me for a while :D