More Than A Sleepover

Twilight kicked off from the dirt road, keeping Rainbow's advice from the previous night in mind as she took to the air. She was quite unsteady, barely making it up to the solid porch of the cloudy home before she lost control and fell onto her side. She stood up with a little groan, flexing her wings once before folding them up and reaching out to knock on the double doors to Rainbow's house.

It took a good three minutes and two more knocking sessions before the door finally opened, a messy-haired and surly-looking Rainbow Dash standing just inside. "Yeah, what?"

"Hey, Rainbow. How're you doing?"

"Fine," was Rainbow's clipped response.

"I brought your bags. You left them at my place." Twilight pulled the saddlebags from her back and offered them to Rainbow, who took them and tossed them into her house. "Listen, I think I should apologize for last night." Twilight's head lowered a little. "I might have been a little pushy about... you know."

"Yeah, you were," Dash said flatly.

Twilight's head drooped even lower, her ears falling flat. "I'm sorry, Rainbow. I shouldn't have pressured you like that.” She pawed at the porch a little, looking up at Dash from under her brow. “We're okay, though, right? I mean, it wasn't really that weird, was it?"

"It was pretty weird, yeah." Rainbow sighed, turning slightly to one side as she said, "Yeah, we're cool, I guess."

Twilight sighed, a small smile forming on her lips. "That's great. Well, I have some studying to do. I just wanted to drop by and apologize."

"Uh huh."

"I'll see you this afternoon," Twilight said as her ears perked back up, turning and spreading her ruffled wings.

Rainbow shook her head, running a hoof through her mane. "Wait, what?"

"Today's the day for our Pony Pet Playdate, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right." Dash yawned, pushing the door shut. "See you then."

Twilight nodded, hopping down off Rainbow's porch and making her inelegant way to the ground below. She headed back to the library at a trot, crossing the river and making her way through Ponyville without any interruptions. She pushed open her front door, smiling as she got a look inside. "Oh, you're back already."

"Yep," said Spike.

"Did you have a nice time at Rarity's?"

"Oh, yeah, it was totally great." The little dragon plucked a book from a shelf near the couch, looked it over, and then put it on a different shelf. "I mean, she didn't have any work to do, so she just had me play games with Sweetie Belle so she could be alone in her room for a few hours, but that was actually pretty fun, so it was alright."

"Glad to hear it." Twilight moved into the kitchen as Spike dusted his hands off and followed her.

"I still don't know why you wanted me out of the house so bad." Spike climbed up the counter, reaching for a box of Frosted Wood Chips cereal on the top shelf of the cabinets. "I won't complain about getting to spend time with Rarity, though." He retrieved his cereal and hopped back down to the floor.

"Well, Spike," Twilight began as she put together a sandwich, "sometimes, we girls just need some time to ourselves, with no boys around."

"Yeah, that's what Rarity said last night, too. So, how was the sleepover, anyway?"

A shot of mustard missed its mark as Twilight winced ever-so-slightly. "Oh, it was alright. We watched a movie and then did a little reading."

Spike scooped out a clawful of cereal from the box and shoveled it straight into his mouth as Twilight finished her sandwich and sat down at the dining table across from him. "Cool," he said through the mouthful of food.

A few hours later and Twilight was approaching the park, her pet/assistant Owlowiscious perched on her back. Her friends came into sight as she crested a hill. There was Applejack, tossing a stick for Winona. There was Fluttershy, watching Angel play charades. There was Pinkie Pie, rolling around in the grass as Gummy stared vacantly at a pair of trees some distance away. There was Rarity, tempting Opal with a surprisingly-ratty toy mouse.

Rainbow Dash, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Has anypony seen Rainbow?" Twilight asked as she approached the little gathering.

Fluttershy was the one to respond, "I stopped by her house before I came over, but she said she couldn't make it today. She said she wasn't feeling so well."

"That's odd. She seemed fine when I saw her this morning."

"Are you suggesting there might be something else going on?" Rarity asked, holding out a toy that her cat was completely ignoring.

"Hmm." Twilight turned away, looking out toward the east end of town. "Maybe I should go see her later."

"I was going to check up on her as soon as we were all finished here," Fluttershy cut in. "You could come with me, if you want."

Twilight nodded, twisting her neck around to say something to Owlowiscious. Alas, her pet was fast asleep, because he was an owl. Twilight just sat down and watched the others play with their diurnal pets, as she often did at these meetings.

It didn't take too long before everypony started dispersing from the park with their pets. Some of them had jobs, after all. Fluttershy was one of the last to go, followed (literally) by Twilight, with both mares carrying their tired pets on their backs.

"So," Twilight started, "did Rainbow say exactly what was wrong with her?"

"No, she didn't. I hope it's nothing serious, though." The pegasus sighed. "Poor Rainbow. I can just imagine her, miserable and tired, soaking her hooves in a hot bath. Or what if she has the pony pox? That can get really nasty, sometimes. What if she has the feather flu? Ponies go to the hospital for that, sometimes, and she's just sitting at home, not getting the treatment she needs." The pegasus was hyperventilating by the time she'd reached the edge of the park. "Oh, gosh, what if she broke her wings, and she can't leave the house because she can't fly, but she's too proud and embarrassed to admit it, and she stays up in her house and starves to death because she can't get any food?!" Fluttershy broke into a gallop, her wings flapping along with her steps as she sped across the dirt road toward her ailing friend in need. "Oh, Rainbow, I'm coming!"

Fluttershy shot straight up and onto Rainbow's porch, whimpering with worry as she gently tapped on the double doors.

The door opened after a few seconds of Fluttershy anxiously dancing in place. "Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow said once the door was open.

"Oh, Rainbow!" Fluttershy flung herself forward, wrapping her hooves around Dash's neck. "I just got so worried!"

"Um, okay." Dash reached around, patting Fluttershy on the back with a look of mild confusion. "Why?"

"You said you were sick," Fluttershy explained. "I was coming to see if you needed anything, and I just kept thinking about..." Fluttershy sniffled a little, "thinking about what you must be going through." She pulled back a little, looking Rainbow in the face as tears slid down her yellow face.

"Oh, right," Dash said, rubbing a hoof against her head and coughing a few times. "Yeah, I have hay fever. It's no big deal, though, I just need to get some rest."

Fluttershy finally pulled away, letting Dash go and sniffling again. "A-are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Did you say, 'hay fever?'" Twilight pulled herself up onto the porch, her wings and mane a mess after struggling to attain enough altitude. "I know of a recipe for a soup that should help you recover faster. Zecora taught me about it. I could make some for you."

Dash waved a hoof. "Nah, it's fine. I'll be okay."

"Don't you want to get better?" Fluttershy asked.

"It won't take long, and it's guaranteed to reduce the symptoms of hay fever by at least sixty-four percent."

"Did I say 'hay fever?' I meant, uh, pneumonia. Y'know, because it's really wet in my house, because clouds."

"Why do you live in a house that makes you sick?" Twilight inquired, one eyebrow rising above the other. Fluttershy, too, was tilting her head with a quizzical look.

"Well, uh, it's not normally this humid, but there was an accident with my air conditioner, and it, um...."

"Rainbow, is there something else going on here?"

"Pfft," Dash rolled her eyes, "of course not. My air conditioner is just on the fritz and it's making me sick."

"Then why are you staying home with the thing that's making you sick? Pneumonia is a serious problem."

"Why the hay won't you just leave me alone, Twilight!?"

Both of the others recoiled at Rainbow's outburst. "Rainbow, what's going on here?" Twilight demanded. "You've been acting really weird ever since—"

"Ever since last night? Really? Wow, I wonder why?" Dash cut in.

"Wha-what happened last night?" Fluttershy asked, barely above a whisper.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy for a second. "Fluttershy, I think maybe you should go."

Dash huffed. "Oh, now you care about how your friends feel."

"What happened last night?" Fluttershy said again, this time a little more firmly.

Twilight faced Rainbow again, her expression sour. "I said I was sorry, and you said that things were okay. Maybe if you would stop lying to me—"

"What happened last night?!"

This time, it was Twilight and Rainbow's turn to recoil, both turning to Fluttershy as she stared them both down, alternating from one to the other and back again. "Nothing happened," was Dash's reply.

"Don't you lie to me." Fluttershy "stomped" over to Rainbow, bringing their faces close. "Something bad happened last night, and you're holding all your hurt inside." Fluttershy reached a hoof up to Dash's face. "Don't be afraid to let it out, Rainbow. Tell me what happened."

Dash stared forward, rose eyes fixed on Fluttershy's. She reached a hoof up, draping it over that of the other pegasus. Then she sighed, her whole body slouching slightly as she shut her eyes. "Twi and I were hanging out last night and... she, uh.... She kissed me."

"Wow," Fluttershy responded, looking over at Twilight. "I had no idea you felt that way. But, you do know that she's—"

"Straight, yeah, she told me."

"Wasn't enough for you, though," Rainbow hissed.

"I was just giving you the chance to try something new," Twilight said with a shrug, "I thought you would like it."

"I told you I didn't wanna do it, but you wouldn't leave me alone."

"Well, sorry, but I thought you would be assertive enough to walk away or something if you didn't wanna do it with me."

"I tried! You kept bugging me about it and pulling me back! I said 'no' twelve times!"

"It was nine times." Twilight rubbed a hoof to her chin for a second, turning her eyes to the floor. "Well, actually...."

Dash rolled her eyes with a groan. "I don't care how many times I said it, Twilight."

"That brings up another question, though," Twilight said, looking back at Rainbow. "Why were you freaking out about it so much? Even before we kissed, you got all nervous."

All traces of Dash's anger vanished in a moment. Her ears fell flat, her brow softened, and she turned away from the alicorn.

"She doesn't like to talk about it," Fluttershy answered, stepping in front of Rainbow. "And why would you even think about trying to flip her like that? It's... it's just awful!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't... I was...." Twilight took in a breath. "I've liked Rainbow for a while, now, and I guess I didn't want...."

Dash spoke up. "You didn't want to lose me, huh?" Twilight nodded, and Rainbow huffed once as she stepped away and into her house. "Great job."

The door slammed shut, leaving the other two alone together on the porch. Twilight simply stared at the set of doors for a few seconds, her gaze eventually drifting to Fluttershy's disapproving leer. "I really screwed up, didn't I?" Fluttershy merely nodded, glanced back at the front doors, and hopped down off the cloud without a word. Twilight stood there on the porch, eyes glued to the big, blue doors that lead inside Rainbow's house. Four words dripped softly from the alicorn's mouth.

"What have I done?"