Risks and Rewards

by Kodeake

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 5737

When Rainbow Dash develops feelings for one of her friends, she must question if the risks are worth the rewards.

Rainbow Dash, fast, cool, awesome. These words and more can be used the describe the pegasus mare. But when feeling begin bubbling to the surface, feelings that, if she lets out, could risk that which she holds dear, is she willing to try and get the reward?

Originally written as a short prompt for my other story, "Rainboom and Romance", it became much longer than I originally expected, so I decided to make it it's own story.

(Also, with this story I hit 10 stories released on the site)

Published 2013-09-30 04:40:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-30 04:40:03 UTC

Taking a Chance

Risks and Rewards

“How do I get a date with somepony?” Rainbow suddenly blurted out, drawing an incredibly gleeful grin from the white unicorn whose boutique she sat in.

“Rainbow Dash! This is wonderful! I’m sure you and Twilight will have such a good time!” Rarity exclaimed, earning a low growl from the pegasus on her couch.

“This again? I wish I never told you about that. No, it’s not with Twilight. I just need somepony to take my mind off her for a while until this stupid little crush goes away, all right?” Rainbow said defensively, crossing her hooves as she continued to grumble. Rarity was the only one she had told about her… interest in the lavender librarian. Not asking for advice on how to ask her out or anything, but how to make it stop.

Sure, Twilight was a great pony, nopony could deny that. Rainbow had even openly admitted that she wouldn’t mind dating the egghead, but that option was crossed of her list quickly. It wasn’t that it would ruin her reputation – Rainbow Dash dated who Rainbow Dash wanted– it was that it could ruin their friendship. Something much more valuable to her then how ponies saw her.

Still, Rarity had been insisting day in and day out for almost two weeks that she ask Twilight out. Dreamily concocting ‘romantic’ confessions of love in a dimly lit room and blah blah blah. That was usually where Rainbow stopped listening. But instead of dissipating after a few days, the rather intimate thoughts had grown stronger and more frequent over the past few days. To the point where she would outright avoid Twilight, hoping that the distance would allow her thoughts to quiet down enough for her to forget about this stupid crush.

But that hadn’t worked. Instead she yearned more than anything else to see the unicorn that had somehow wormed her way into Rainbow’s mind and heart. Desperate to keep their friendship alive and get rid of the pesky thoughts, she came seeking a way to get a date with somepony – anypony – other than Twilight to give her mind something else to fixate on.

“Dash, I’m surprised at you!” Rarity said, adopting a motherly tone. It was useful when scolding Sweetie Belle, so why not Rainbow Dash?

“There is nothing wrong with asking our dear Twilight out. If you truly have feelings for her – or cared about her at all – you’d stop this nonsense and just confess to her!”

“But that’s just it, Rarity; I do care about her. Too much to risk our friendship over something as silly as a little crush,” Rainbow sighed in defeat, hanging her head as she continued. “I mean, what if it doesn’t work out? What’ll happen then? What if she doesn’t feel the same way? Things will just get so… awkward between us, and we’ll end up drifting apart. I can’t risk losing a friend over this, especially Twilight.”

It was Rarity’s turn to sigh, which she did with gusto. “Look, Rainbow, I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it will. Even if she doesn’t feel the same, do you really think she’d just abandon one of her friends? She may not be the elemental of loyalty, but surely you can give her some credit?”

“It’s just not an option,” the pegasus countered, lifting her head as she stood from the couch, “the risk is just too high. If you’re not going to help me, then I’ll find somepony who will.”

“Rainbow…” Rarity sighed to nothing more than a faint rainbow trail, left behind where the pegasus had been standing a few short seconds ago.

-_-_-_-

“Hey, Pinkie, you know everypony in Ponyville, right?” Rainbow asked, leaning over the counter of Sugarcube Corner, speaking so that only Pinkie would be able to hear her.

“’Course I do, Dashie. Why, do you want to meet them all? Or maybe you want to throw a party and need to send out invitations? Or maybe-” Pinkie was quickly silenced by a hoof shoved in her mouth.

“No, I need to know if you think there’s anypony that’d be a good date for me,” Rainbow whispered, dropping her voice and glancing around the room nervously. Pinkie gasped through the hoof in her mouth, which was retracted as Pinkie nodded vigorously.

“I’m no match maker, well actually I am. I play those fun matching games all the time. I have a deck of pictures upstairs if you wanna play sometime. But anyway, I think Twili-” Once again Pinkie found a cyan appendage shoved into her mouth.

“Pinkie Pie, if you’re about to say what I think you’re about to say, then just… stop. I cannot go out with Twilight,” Rainbow stated firmly, getting a slightly downcast expression from the normally exuberant pink mare. Pinkie nodded slowly, and Rainbow once again let her hoof drop back to the floor.

“But why not? I mean, she’s Twilight. What’s not to like about Twilight?” Pinkie asked suddenly.

“Gah! I AM NOT GOING OUT WITH TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Rainbow shouted, receiving more than a few confused, and some angry, looks from the patrons of the pastry shop. She quickly zipped out of the door, just barely missing a white unicorn on her way in.

“Oh Pinkie dear,” Rarity called as she walked in, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

-_-_-_-

“Stupid Rarity… Stupid Pinkie Pie… Stupid Twilight,” Rainbow muttered as she flew lazily through the sky. After leaving the pastry shop she had debated going to see Fluttershy or Applejack, but quickly tossed that idea out the window. The absolute last thing she needed was more ‘advice’ from her friends.

So instead she flew large loops around the town, not particularly fast by her standards; her mind was too busy to be bothered with focusing on flight right now. Too busy either focusing on what her friends had said, or who they had said it about.

Sure, maybe Twilight wouldn’t let their friendship break up over something like this, but was she really ready to take that risk? No, what they had as friends was simply too good be put on the line. She was perfectly happy with things staying the same as they were between them. No matter what her rebellious heart told her. No matter how much it felt like she was lying. No matter how hard she had to try and convince herself. She was totally, positively, 120% sure she was just fine being friends with the gorgeous purple librarian.

“Oh for the love of Celestia,” Rainbow groaned, smacking a hoof to her face as she continued her laps. Flying always helped clear her mind before. Flying always helped her relax. But today it did no such thing for her. She was stuck with her thoughts and mental images no matter what she did.

“Rainbow Dash!” A voice called from somewhere below. Looking down, she was greeted by both Pinkie and Rarity standing below her, waving their hooves to try and get her attention. Rainbow rolled her eyes, briefly considering flying off and ignoring them, but decided to at least see what they wanted. Let it never be said Rainbow Dash was rude.

“If this is about Twilight then you can just stop right now; it’s not gonna happen,” she said as she lowered herself down to the ground, stopping just above the cobblestone road and hovering there.

“Oh goodness no, you made it very clear you didn’t want to go out with her,” Rarity explained quickly, glancing over to Pinkie before continuing. “Pinkie and I were just thinking, and we may have found somepony else you’d be interested in dating.”

“Yeah, she’s totally exactly like you. She likes flying, she loves speed, a huge fan of the Wonderbolts, and she even likes Daring Do!” Pinkie shouted gleefully. Rainbow raised an interested eyebrow.

“Yeah?” She asked, still a little skeptical.

“Yes, dear. We already asked her and she agreed to meet you for dinner, if you’d be interested,” Rarity added. To Rainbow Dash, Pinkie’s grin seemed a bit too large, but then again, her grin was always too large for her head.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Who is it?”

“Well, you see, she’s a bit shy. Not as much as, say, Fluttershy, but still rather embarrassed to be doing this. So she would rather you wait and see, that way you’re both meeting for the first time and you don’t have any opinions formed from rumours,” Rarity explained, flashing the pegasus what she hoped was a believable smile. Rainbow eyed her for a second before nodding.

“I guess I could understand that. It is a bit intimidating to be going out with The Rainbow Dash, isn’t it?” She cockily, puffing her chest out as she continued to hover in midair.

“Err, yes, quite. Anyway, she wanted to meet you for dinner. Tonight,” Rarity explained.

“Tonight? Awesome; the sooner the better.”

-_-_-_-

Rainbow Dash paced nervously outside the restaurant. It was by no means fancy or upper class. In fact, if anything it was quite… quant. Cozy, even. Glancing up, Rainbow made extra sure she had the right address, comparing it to the slip of paper Rarity had given her. On the paper was the location and name of the small establishment, along with the table her ‘date’ would be sitting at.

Taking a deep breath and tucking the paper back into her saddlebags, she turned and approached the door. For a second she just stood in front of it, looking at it. As she stood there, looking at the plain, boring door and thinking about what she was about to do, a sickening sense of dread filled her gut. It twisted her stomach into knots, like she was about to lose her lunch.

To say she felt bad was an understatement; she felt awful. It almost felt like she was cheating on Twilight, even if said unicorn was still blissfully unaware of Rainbow’s recent issues. But it wasn’t just Twilight; it was also whoever was in there, waiting for her. Rainbow fully intended on leading her on and dumping her the second she got over Twilight. The thought sent another jolt down to her already nauseous tummy.

She couldn’t do that to another pony, could she? Lead them on for a week or two then just break their heart like nothing? No, she couldn’t do that. She’d rather ask Twilight out than do that to anypony.

But at the same time, it was this, or risking the loss of Twilight as a friend. What was more important to her? The feelings of a single mare she had never even met before, or the lavender librarian who was one of her best friends and the only pony to have somehow captured her heart?

Rainbow Dash was at a crossroads; both paths just as unappealing to her mind. Both of them leading to some form of hurt. Yet a path she had to pick. There was no third option, as far as she could tell. Sure, she could keep trying to ignore these feelings, but so far it had only served to make them stronger.

She could go in there and string this poor mare along until she got over Twilight, or abandon the whole idea, gallop straight to the library, and ask her out. Two choices. Two awful options that she wished she didn’t have to choose.

I… I have to do this. For Twilight; she’d be just as devastated as me if she lost a friend… for Twilight…

Rainbow took a final deep breath to calm her nerves and pushed the door open, walking in slowly.

For Twilight… she told herself again. That one idea just kept repeating in her mind, an endless loop of thoughts, desperately hoping to justify what she was about to do.

The décor inside the small shop was rather homely; nothing fancy. It was not large, nor uncomfortably small. There were a few ponies buzzing about, but other than that, it was empty.

“Hello, I can take you to your seat, if you wish,” a chipper voice offered, drawing Rainbow’s wandering eyes off the room and to a younger looking unicorn mare dressed in an apron.

“Uh, no thanks, I’m looking for specific table, actually; I’m supposed to be meeting somepony. Section two, table six, I believe,” Rainbow said, still looking for anypony she recognized.

“Section two… oh, it’s right around that corner,” the mare said, motioning with a hoof a corner near the back. “Not many ponies use that area; there should be plenty of privacy,” she added with a knowing smile. Rainbow blushed slightly, but nodded in thanks.

“For Twilight,” she muttered under her breath as she slowly made her way through the eating area. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, each hoof feeling more and more like a lead weight as she got closer. It was as if she were walking towards her own grave.

With one final push, she rounded the corner and glanced around, looking for the pony she was supposed to be meeting. True to the waitress’s word, there was only a single pony sitting in section two; a very displeased looking lavender unicorn.

Rainbow’s jaw fell as her eyes landed on Twilight Sparkle, sitting very impatiently at the only inhabited table. Her mind worked on overtime as she processed this sight. Why was Twilight here? Why was Twilight at the table she- was Twilight her date?

Slowly, like the sun crawling over the horizon, it dawned on Rainbow; she had been set up. Biting back a growl of anger, she tried to retreat, deciding to cut her losses and get out of there before Twilight- too late. The lavender mare perked up considerably when she saw the pegasus. She waved frantically, motioning for her to come over.

For a second Rainbow debating making a break for it, but it was already too late for that; she had been spotted. Now she just wanted to know how much Rarity had told Twilight to get her to show up. With a somewhat forced smile, Rainbow wandered over to Twilight’s table.

“H-hey Twi. What’re… uh, what are you doing here?” She asked nervously, keeping her eyes locked on the table in front of her. Twilight sighed in annoyance.

“Apparently, somewhere along the course of the day, Rarity and Pinkie decided I needed to go on a blind date,” Twilight said, her voice laced with spite.

“O-oh, is that so? I… uh… I wonder why they’d do that…” Rainbow fidgeted nervously, slowly putting the pieces together as she figured out Rarity’s plan.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m here; I don’t want to go on a date with some random stranger. And even if I did, I would much rather them have the guts to ask me out themselves. But anyway, what about you? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked curiously, turning the conversation back in Rainbow’s direction. A direction she decidedly did not want it pointed.

“Uh…” she fumbled with her words for a second, unsure of what to tell Twilight. Should she tell her that Rarity had set them up? That she had just wanted to eat out? “Same reason as you, I was supposed to meet somepony here. Pinkie wouldn’t let me hear the end of it unless I agreed. Though I don’t think they’re gonna show.” Rainbow silently thanked Celestia she wasn’t the element of honesty.

“Really? You agreed to go on a blind date?” Twilight deadpanned, giving her a skeptical look. Mustering what confidence she could, Rainbow continued along with her lie.

“You know how annoying Pinkie can be when she really wants you to do something. Anyway, I’m starting to get the impression it was a prank; I was supposed to have met them almost a half hour ago outside.”

“That would explain so much! Pinkie was probably just pranking us!” Twilight clapped her hooves together, pleased with having found out about it before wasting any more of her time. “Though this is going a bit far, even by her standards,” she added thoughtfully.

“Maybe Rarity talked her into it. All I know is that it was kinda lame, if you ask me.”

“I guess… wait, did you say you were here for a half hour? How? I only showed up ten minutes ago and I didn’t see you.”

“Uh…” Rainbow faltered, caught in her own lie. Thankfully, her mind was used to thinking on the fly, and she quickly came up with another excuse. “I said they were supposed to meet me a half hour ago. I was… kinda late,” she explained, hoping Twilight bought it. Thankfully, Twilight seemed to, as she rolled her eyes.

“You really need to work on being on time, Rainbow,” she lamented playfully, giggling as Rainbow rolled her eyes in response. “Anyway, I’ve been waiting for a while, and it looks like it was just a prank. I don’t know about you, but I came expecting dinner, and I’m starving. How about we make use of the fact that we’re in a restaurant?” Twilight offered, already picking up her own menu.

Rainbow froze, unsure of what to do. She knew exactly what Rarity had been planning by now, and Twilight was falling right into her trap. But the only options Rainbow had was to either accept the dinner invitation, risk being rude to Twilight, or explain everything to her. Seeing no better option, she nodded and picked up her own menu.

She quickly located what she wanted on the menu; nothing fancy, just a basic fruit salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. Twilight, on the other hoof, appeared to be having some difficulty deciding. Sighing, Rainbow set the menu down and glanced out the window on the far side of the room. What she didn’t expect to see was a white unicorn with a purple mane standing outside. Her eyes hardened into a glare, to which Rarity only grinned wider, winking at her as she walked away from the window.

“I’ll get you back for this,” she muttered, drawing the attention of Twilight back onto herself.

“What was that?”

“What? Oh, uh, nothing, Twi. You know what you’re having?” Rainbow asked, tactfully deflecting the conversation. It worked, albeit with a suspicious look from Twilight.

“I can’t decide whether to have the grapefruit or coconut and almond salad… or maybe… hmm, that does sound good...” she responded, frowning as she read back over all her options, getting her no closer to a decision.

“Are you ready to order?” The same chipper waitress from before asked, her bright and cheerful voice breaking Twilight out of her dilemma.

“I’ll order later, you go ahead, Rainbow.”

“We’ll be a few more minutes,” Dash said, the waitress nodding and walking away from the table.

“I said you could order,” Twilight noted, giving her friend an odd look.

“I figured I’d wait for you. Not very fair if I get to eat before you do, now is it?” Rainbow commented casually.

“Oh… um, thanks…” Twilight said, smiling sheepishly, “I’ll try not to take too much longer.”

“Take your time, Twi,” Rainbow responded half-heartedly, her mind preoccupied, having realized what she’d just done. She would never normally do that. Normally she’d order, eat, and leave as fast as she could, not wait around for somepony else to order. Why was now so different? It wasn’t like this was a date or anything, so she had no inclination to be any more polite than she normally was around her friends. And yet here she was, sitting without her food all because Twilight hadn’t ordered. Was it just because it was Twilight?

“Alright, I’ve decided,” Twilight cheered triumphantly, drawing Rainbow out of her thoughts and a relieved smile to her face. She waved over the waitress, motioning for Twilight to go first.

The waitress quickly jotted down their orders on her note pad before smiling warmly and saying “It’ll be ready soon,” and walking off to deliver the order to the kitchens.

“So Rainbow,” Twilight started, wishing to break the silence that had befallen their table, “How’s the weather work been going?”

“Alright, I guess. Summer’s a good time of year for me; not much to do other than cloud busting. Gives plenty of time for practice,” Rainbow said, flicking her gaze up from her lap for only a second to answer before staring straight back down.

“And napping,” Twilight added with a knowing smile, making both of them chuckle lightly.

“Hey, I practice more than I sleep… some days…” Rainbow defended, drawing a muffled snort of laughter from Twilight.

Their conversation meandered around a variety of subjects. Ranging from what tricks Rainbow was still trying to perfect to what experiments Twilight wanted to try. Neither one quite understood what the other was talking about, but they didn’t really care. They rarely spent any actual time together outside of a group, so it was nice for both of them to be able to actually connect with one another. The food came and went with little incident. The flow of conversation slowed dramatically while they ate, but it never quite ended. With a seemingly endless range of topics for the two to discuss, Rainbow was quite sure she could just talk to Twilight forever without running out of things to say.

However, while on the outside she was enjoying her dinner and time with a friend, on the inside her mind was a battle ground. While half of her was still fighting the very idea of dating Twilight, the other was already convinced this was a date. She knew she was falling right into Rarity’s trap, but she couldn’t help it; Twilight was just too… Twilight-y for her not to. Meanwhile, Twilight remained ignorant of Rainbow’s inner struggle, too caught up in the moment to really think about what it was the two were doing. To her mind, she was spending time with a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

“-so I had no idea where I was going, I couldn’t see the hoof in front of my face the fog was so thick, and you know what happened?” Rainbow asked enthusiastically, recalling one of her earlier stories from when she had first joined Ponyville’s weather team. Twilight shook her head, grinning as she waited for the story to finish.

“Out of nowhere this huge black thing appears in the fog, and I fly straight into it,” Rainbow cried, smacking her hooves together for emphasis. “Turned out to be a tree. That’s actually how I met Applejack; she wasn’t too happy I harvested her tree before it was ripe.”

Rainbow smile while Twilight laughed at the story. By all rights it wasn’t her funniest story, but for some reason Twilight loved it, barely able to breathe through her laughter. For a brief moment Rainbow found herself wondering if it was the story or the story teller Twilight was so interested in, but quickly pushed the thought out of her mind; she was not risking their friendship to chase this silly dream. No matter how much she wanted it nor how much Twilight seemed to be enjoying herself on this totally-not-date dinner.

Twilight finally calmed down, breathing deeply and wiping a tear from her eye. “Wow, I haven’t laughed like that since… well, I can’t remember when the last time was,” she commented, receiving a happy smile from the pegasus sitting across from her.

“You know Rainbow, we should really do this more often,” Twilight said casually, leaning back in her seat, their plates having been emptied long ago.

“Y-yeah, we should,” Rainbow stuttered out in response, struggling to reach a decision she had been fighting with all night. It wasn’t possible, she shouldn’t do it. And yet, it would be so easy to do it now, get it over with, and let the chips fall where they may. Taking a deep breath, she decided on an answer, looking Twilight straight in the eye as she started.

“Look, Twi, remember how we both got pranked into being here?”

“Yeah. Still a lame prank, if you ask me, but at least we got to spend some time together,” she said with a smile, only making Rainbow more nervous as she fiddled with her hooves. She continued, still managing to keep eye contact.

“Yeah… well, I think that… well… maybe… I was supposed to be your blind date…” Rainbow whispered, barely audible above the normal drone of the few other patrons in the eatery. Twilight started in surprise, unsure of what exactly Rainbow meant.

“Wait, are you saying Rarity and Pinkie were trying to set us up?” Twilight asked incredulously.

Rainbow lost her nerve, her eyes falling back to her lap as she nodded weakly.

“Why would they do that?” She pondered aloud, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

Rainbow tried desperately to calm her nerves, but was unsuccessful. This was her last chance to back out. She either agreed with Twilight and say she found it odd, saying that she never viewed Twilight as anything more than a friend and permanently block off any chance she had, or she could tell her the truth.

“Well… I… uh… I may have mentioned to them that I might have the… tiniest crush on you,” Rainbow finally blurted out, clenching her eyes shut as she waited for Twilight to say something. This was it; she took too big a risk. She was going to lose Twilight as a friend.

Twilight burst out laughing.

Rainbow did a double take, her jaw dropping at Twilight’s hysterical laughter.

“That’s a good one. For a second there I thought you said you had a crush on me!” Twilight wheezed out between gales of laughter. The look on Rainbow’s face, however, stopped her mirth dead in its tracks. On her face was an expression of complete and utter devastation.

“Wait… you’re serious?” Twilight asked, not quite believing it. Yet Rainbow’s nod confirmed it. Rainbow Dash had a crush on her. The nerdy little egghead shut in. How was that even possible?

“Yeah, I am… look, just forget about it, alright? It was stupid of me to think you’d be interested,” Rainbow said quickly, trying desperately to backpedal away from the assured destruction of her friendship.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Twilight said, cutting in to try and calm the pegasus down. She wasn’t sure how she felt, but she knew she had never thought about Rainbow that way. She also know she didn’t want to flat out reject the mare. “I didn’t say I wasn’t interested.”

“Of course you’re not; how could you be? I’m not smart enough for you. I’m just the dumb jock with nothing but athletics going for them,” Rainbow muttered dejectedly. She gasped silently with she felt a hoof grasp her chin, gently lifting her head back up.

“Rainbow, you’re not dumb and you know it. Just because you’re not good at math or science doesn’t make you stupid,” Twilight assured with a comforting smile. Rainbow returned the smile before shaking her head violently, knocking Twilight’s hoof away.

“It doesn’t matter; you’re still not interested.”

“Rainbow, I never said that, I-”

“You don’t need to say it. In fact, please don’t say it. I know I ruined our friendship, I just… I thought that maybe… I don’t know. I’m sorry,” Rainbow continued, cutting off Twilight before she could even explain herself.

“Rainbow, listen to me, you-”

“I’m so sorry, Twi. I just… I thought that maybe I had a chance. I mean, you were enjoying yourself so much tonight that I thought, you know, maybe, but-” Rainbow was silence by a lavender hoof jammed in her mouth.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said firmly, making sure she had her full attention before removing her hoof. “I did not say I wasn’t interested.”

“But why would you-” Rainbow started again, only for Twilight to silence her with a firm glare.

“Let me finish,” she stressed. Rainbow’s muzzle snapped shut. “Thank you. Now then, while I would like to remind you I’m not saying ‘no’, I’ve never really thought about you like that.”

Rainbow’s ears fell, pinned back to her head. Twilight frowned at the reaction, deciding to forego the rest of her explanation, at least for now.

“I’d be willing to try a relationship,” she summarized quickly, smiling gently as Rainbow rushed to process what she had said. When she did, her jaw fell open. Surprise was one word that came to mind for the rainbow pegasus. Among others such as shock, relief, and even a little hope.

“You’re kidding, right?” She asked in amazement, unable to truly believe what she had heard.

“No, Rainbow, I’m serious,” Twilight assured calmly. Honestly, she didn’t know what she was getting herself into, having been too busy with studies for any actual relationships. But she thought back to the dinner she had just shared. Then she imagined another one, only a little more… romantic. It would be a flat out lie to say she didn’t like the idea.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, was practically vibrating with both nervousness and excitement. This wasn’t supposed to happen; she was supposed to be getting over Twilight, and instead she had fallen right into Rarity’s trap. She had risked one of the strongest friendships she’d ever had – barring only Fluttershy – for this. And now she was given the chance to take that which she desired. Could she really say no to preserve their friendship when this was the other option?

“Then let’s give it a shot,” Rainbow smiled confidently, pushing her fears to the farthest corner of her mind that she could reach. With her doubts silenced, all that was left over was the blissful silence of the possibility she had right in front of her

“Then what do you say we make this an ‘official’ date and go for a walk?” Twilight offered, already standing from the table. She reached into her saddlebags with her magic, extracting the bits for dinner before Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder.

“How about I make it even more official and pay for you?”

-¬_-_-_-

Almost a full hour later the two found themselves walking down the lonely path towards Twilight’s library. The moon and stars hung high in the sky as the land around them was illuminated in an iridescent glow. The peaceful moonlight provided them both with a soothing, calming effect as they smiled, trotting down the path at a slow, leisurely pace. If one were the see them, it would have been easy to tell they were a little more than friends; they walked so close together their sides would occasionally brush against each other, and their tails were on the verge of intertwining. But what really gave away the romantic atmosphere the two found themselves in was a feathery cyan wing draped carefully over Twilight’s back.

“We’re here,” Rainbow said, unable to supress the slightly disappointed tone in her voice as they walked up to front door of the tree.

“Yeah…” Twilight trailed off, unwilling to separate herself from the downy wing wrapped protectively around her. Eventually, Rainbow did it for her, removing her wing and tucking it back in against her body. The action caused Twilight to sigh heavily, finally mustering the energy to unlock and open her door. Stepping in before turning around to address her date.

“I had a great night, Rainbow. And I’d love to do it again soon. But I have to ask; if you had a crush on me, why tell Rarity instead of asking me out yourself?”

“I... well… it’s a long story, and I have weather work in the morning. I’ll tell you some other time,” Rainbow evaded carefully. In reality, she didn’t have to go to work the next day. Twilight knew that, though, blasting a hole clean through her lie.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, just don’t lie to me, alright?” Twilight asked gently. Only a little hurt that Rainbow would rather lie to her.

“I… yeah, I guess. Sorry Twi, it’s just a bit… embarrassing.” Rainbow confessed with a blush. Twilight just giggled, leaning forward and gently nuzzling her cheek.

“It’s alright. Though for this to be an official date instead of a prank, one more thing needs to happen,” Twilight smiled sheepishly.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow said aloud, more to herself than Twilight while she thought back. Her mind went over everything they had done today and compared it to every cheesy romance she had ever seen or read. Dinner, check. Paying for said dinner, check. Romantic moonlit walk, check. Walk date home, check. What was she missing? Unless Twilight meant…

Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise as it finally dawned on her, but her wide eyes shut quickly as Twilight pressed their lips together firmly. It lasted for mere seconds, but for Rainbow it may as well have been an eternity. Her mind took in everything; the smell, the feeling, the sounds. Everything, to her mind, was perfect. Unfortunately, all too soon for the pegasus, it was over, and Twilight was smiling at her with a scarlet blush.

“Good night, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she gently backed all the way into her house, flashing a grin before she closed the door with a quiet click.

“’Night, Twi…” Rainbow whispered dreamily, a goofy smile on her face as her wings started flapping, lifting her into the sky on her way home. Once she was high enough above Ponyville, she shot off towards her cloud home, a huge rainbow ring exploding outward from her path.

Twilight smiled as she watched the Rainboom out the library’s window, taking a moment to admire it before magically snuffing her candles and crawling into bed.

Author's Note

Four days of writing, an hour and a half of editing, and it's done. There may be an epilogue at some point, but I'll wait and see the response. Post what you think, and don't forget to point out any errors I missed.

EDIT: I would like tot thank the ever-awesome AppleDashFan132 for taking the time to edit this for your viewing pleasure, and for being generally awesome about it (seriously, it was done in like an hour. My editing took 1 1/2 hours).