That Dumb Flower

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Twilight let out a satisfied sigh as she trotted down the road to Ponyville Square. A content smile spread over her face as she walked, enjoying the gentle breeze that carried with it the scents of flowers and chocolates from couples surprising each other with gifts throughout town. The boundless energy of Hearts and Hooves Day proved infectious as she hummed a happy tune to herself. She waved at a few ponies she recognized, all holding hooves and staring into the eyes of their special somepony, paying her little mind. The few ponies that waved back did so fleetingly, each eager to return their attention to the mare or colt beside them.

As she rounded a corner, Twilight couldn’t help but revel in being ignored. She stretched her wings as she trotted along, taking liberty in the lack of ponies going out of their way to bow or greet her with a ‘good day, your highness.’ For once in the short time since her ascension, Twilight felt like a normal pony.

“Excuse me! Coming through!” A particularly panicky brown stallion shouted as he barreled down the street. Twilight jumped out of the way just in time for the stallion to yell a hasty apology as he careened around the corner and towards Bon Bon’s candy shop.

Twilight shook her head as the pony vanished from sight, joining the hoofful of others running through the streets in a frenzied search for a last minute Hearts and Hooves Day present. A pegasus mare flew overhead with a bouquet of roses in her mouth while a pale green earth pony stallion knocked desperately on the door of Carousel Boutique, begging for Rarity’s help.

On second thought, I almost prefer the bowing, Twilight thought to herself as she dodged another stallion—who she recognized as Time Turner—carrying a bag of muffins from Sugarcube Corner in his mouth.

“You could at least say ‘sorry!’” she shouted after the fleeing Time Turner before turning back towards Sugarcube Corner with a huff. “What is it about this holiday that makes everypony so crazy?” she grumbled as she wound her way through the early afternoon crowds, her mood quickly souring as more ponies pushed and shoved their way past her on their way to the stores or to an early lunch with their date.

“You got me, Princess. I’m not going to complain, though, it’s great for business.”

With a jump, Twilight spun on the spot, eyes wide and wings flaring in alarm. “Oh, Roseluck.” She exhaled as she saw who it was, placing a hoof over her chest. Without even realizing where she was going, she had somehow managed to wander over to Roseluck’s flower cart—which was impressive, considering the sizable crowd perusing the selection of flowers. Putting on a sheepish smile, she looked up at the red-maned flowerpony. “Sorry, you startled me. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“No problem,” Roseluck said, waving one hoof at her while another scooped up a small pile of bits on the counter. After handing one customer a bouquet of tulips, she addressed Twilight with a salespony’s smile. “So, what can I do for you? Looking for the perfect flower for the perfect pony?” she asked with a wink. “If you have, then you’ve come to the right place!”

“Oh, nothing like that. I was just on my way to Sugarcube Corner, actually, and got a little sidetracked by this crowd of crazy ponies.” Twilight looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Time Turner making a beeline for Carousel Boutique, toppling over another pony in the process. She snorted. “They could at least look where they’re going.”

“Yeah, ponies do crazy things for the pony they’re crazy about.” Roseluck sighed with a dreamy smile. “It’s so romantic, isn’t it? Ponies go nuts trying to find the perfect gift for their perfect pony, and I get to help them.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “If you say so.” A few ponies elbowed their way to the front of Roseluck’s cart. Their gazes bounced from flower to flower while their hooves fumbled for their bits. “I never really got the point of today. Growing up, I was taught that if you love somepony, you should show them that every day, not by running around like a lunatic to find a couple of flowers once a year.”

“Oh I don’t know, I think it’s sweet to have a day dedicated to the bond between special someponies.” Roseluck smiled as the last of her customers dropped a hoofful of bits on the counter and sped away. She had the decency to let out a nervous chuckle as Twilight’s eyebrow remained firmly raised. “Pretty sure I’ve already said it’s great for business, too. Ponies have to make a living, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

Roseluck cleared her throat, discreetly sliding the bits off of the counter and into a bit box below, smiling widely all the while. “You sure there isn’t anything you’re looking for? Maybe not for a special somepony, but maybe even to spruce your castle up a bit? Some lilacs in the library, perhaps? Or some petunias in the kitchen?”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Twilight said, her eyes roaming over bouquets of roses, corsages of violets and tulips, and blooming orchids. She couldn’t help but admire the organization and presentation of the arrangements, weaving together to create a single spectacular display befitting the holiday.

“Aww, you super sure?” Roseluck pouted. “Not even some magnolias for the hall? Half price, just for you.”

“No, really, I really don’t think I want...” Twilight trailed off as her gaze settled on a single flower separated from the rest. A long-stemmed, deep blue flower with wide, waving petals and fat red stamens lay across a small velvet cushion, carefully placed away from the stampeding hooves of deranged Hearts and Hooves Day shoppers. With wide eyes, she craned her neck over the counter and inched her muzzle closer to the flower. “Is that... is that what I think it is?”

Rubbing her forehooves together, Roseluck chuckled softly and grinned like a fox. “You’ve got a good eye, Princess.”

Twilight loomed over the flower, her eyes tracing the heart-shaped patterns of the stamens. “A Chaos Rose?”

“Yup. Gotta say, I’m impressed. Not too many ponies around here know about them.”

“But how? Where?” Twilight trotted around the cart and peered at the flower with a skeptical frown and her chin on the countertop. “Do you know how rare these are?” She asked, reaching a hoof out to the flower and gently prodding its petals, as if to make sure that it was real.

It was.

Her smile growing wider and more terrifying by the second, Roseluck nodded. Her eyes radiated pride in waves as she lifted the rose up in her hooves and cradled it as if it were a newborn foal. “You bet I do! I had to pull a lot of strings to get this beauty sent down here.”

“But they only bloom once a year! They don’t even grow around Ponyville or in the Everfree Forest! They only grow in—”

“Canterlot!” Roseluck trumpeted. Her chest swelled and she lowered the flower back to its cushion, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s the gift to get anypony for Hearts and Hooves Day, which is why I always try and get a few sent down here from Canterlot every year. There’s always some lucky colt or mare looking to surprise their special somepony, and nothing says ‘I love you’ like one of these babies.”

“But how did you get one? I’m from Canterlot and I’ve never actually seen one!”

“Weeeell,” Roseluck started in a sing-song voice, “ponies say that ponies only actually find one when they’re about to propose to the love of their life.”

“Ponies say a lot of things.” Twilight shook her head and gave Roseluck a curious look. “How did you actually get one? The flower shops all over Canterlot are sold out before lunch on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“Really? Sounds to me like somepony’s spent some time looking for one. You sure nopony’s caught your eye?” Roseluck teased, waggling her eyebrows. “Who is it?”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked, then chuckled and waved a hoof. “Oh no, you’re mistaken. There is no special pony.”

“Griffon, then? Maybe a zebra? Throw me a bone!”

“I don’t even know that many griffons and zebras, and I can assure you that I’m not pursuing any romantic endeavours with those that I do know.”

“Oh, come on, you can tell me! I won’t breathe a word to anypony, not even to Princess Celestia herself! Client-merchant confidentiality and all that.” Roseluck shifted her eyes from side to side, leaning in to ask in a whisper. “Is it a mare or a stallion? You strike me as the soft and curvy type.”

“Roseluck, I don’t think—”

“I remember seeing you eyeing up Blossomforth last Winter Wrap Up. Oh, is it one of your friends? I bet it’s one of your friends. Come on, who is it? I can’t help you find the perfect flower unless you tell me!”

“I’m not interested in anypony or anything like that!” Twilight huffed. She glared daggers at Roseluck and stomped her hoof. The force of her voice made Roseluck jump and duck under her counter. “And I don’t feel comfortable talking about such personal things with you. No offense,” she added as the salespony poked her head up and opened her mouth.

“Fine, fine, be mysterious,” she said with a huff of her own, her voice flat. “I was only trying to help. If you don’t want to give it to anypony, then why would you want to buy one anyways?”

“I’ve just always wanted to do some experiments with one,” Twilight said, letting out a measured breath. “They have some fascinating properties that I’ve always wanted to study first-hoof.”

“What kind of experiments could you do with a flower?” Roseluck quirked her brow, her expression curious.

“Well...” Twilight shuffled her hooves. Her ears flicked and she cleared her throat. “It... kind of has to do with the legend behind them.”

“Oh! You mean how Discord made the flower for Princess Celestia?” Roseluck giggled, hopping in place. “If he didn’t turn Ponyville into his playground, I might believe it, too! But it’s still sweet to think that he made them for her to only bloom for her on Hearts and Hooves Day, don’t you think? Unless...” Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. “Unless it’s true?”

“I, er, I’m not sure if—”

The counter shook as Roseluck half-fell, half-leaned over it and brought her face within inches of Twilight’s. “Oh come on, you have to know! You were Celestia’s student and now you’re a princess and friends with Discord! You must’ve talked about it at some point!”

“I-I don’t know, actually.” Twilight took a step back from Roseluck and found an interesting patch of dirt to look at. The thought of Discord trying to woo anypony—let alone Princess Celestia—always sent a worm of unease through her stomach. A scene played through her mind’s eye before she could stop it—a candlelit dinner, Discord reaching over to grab Celestia’s hoof before the two leaned in towards each other, their lips puckered and their cheeks red. Twilight felt a bit of bile collect at the back of her throat. “She never told me,” she said in a small voice. “And I’m not that good of friends with Discord, either.”

“Aww.” Roseluck slumped over the counter.

Coughing into a hoof, Twilight lifted her eyes to the rose, suppressing images of her beloved mentor swooning over Discord deep in her mind and locking them away for all eternity. “Anyways, is it true that you can’t use magic on these?”

“Yeah,” Roseluck said, picking herself up off the counter. “I don’t know what it is, but whenever a unicorn tries to use their magic on one of these, they kind of... go poof.”

“Go poof?”

“Yeah, they just sort of fizzle out and disappear.” She shrugged. “Weird, right? They have to be hoof-picked and handled without any magic. Not really a big deal for me, though.” She pointed to her forehead. “You know, being an earth pony and all.”

“Fascinating...” Twilight stared at the flower, her mind abuzz with apparatuses for experiments. If the stories were true, then this would be a rare chance to study the properties of chaos magic first-hoof and without involving a particularly frustrating draconequus. She traced the patterns of the flower’s stamen, mentally noting how they created miniature heart shapes. An eager grin spread over her face as the familiar spark of intellectual curiosity lit up her mind.

“Uh, Princess?” Roseluck said, drawing the alicorn from her reverie. “Not that it isn’t great to have you hanging around the stall, but are you going to buy anything?”

Twilight blinked and straightened. She bit her lip, her eyes glued to the flower. “How much for the rose?” She asked after a moment’s indecision.

It was Roseluck’s turn to blink. “Uh, fifty bits. Why?”

“Fifty bits?!” Twilight’s face paled. She could already feel her saddlebags growing considerably lighter. “That’s a little expensive for a flower, isn’t it?”

“Come on, you of all ponies know how much this flower is worth.” Roseluck leaned on the counter, a suspicious look on her face. “You’re not thinking of buying it, are you? That’s a lot of bits to throw at some ‘experiments.’ I mean, you’re a princess and you can probably afford it, but still, it’s not like—”

“I’ll take it.”

“—Bwuh?” Roseluck simply stared as Twilight fished out her wallet. “You’ll... take it?”

“Yes,” she answered while counting out bits. Nodding, she levitated the bag over to Roseluck. “That should be enough.”

Roseluck gaped at the bulging bag of bits. “Uh... right!” Snapping her mouth shut, she grabbed the bag and tossed it underneath the counter, where it landed with a heavy thump that shook the entire cart. She reached for the rose and paused. “Did you, uh, want it gift wrapped, Princess?”

“No, it’s fine as it is, thank you,” Twilight responded with a giddy smile.

“Great. Well...” Roseluck coughed to the side and pushed the pillow with the flower resting on it towards Twilight. “Here you are.”

As Twilight nestled the flower under her wing, careful to avoid its thorns, her ears flicked as she felt Roseluck’s stare boring into her. Raising her head and an eyebrow, she asked, “Is everything alright, Roseluck?”

“Yeah...” Roseluck’s brow wrinkled and her eyes narrowed in an almost inquisitorial stare. “It’s just... you want that flower for ‘experiments?’ For real?”

“Uh, yes?” Twilight took a step back, squirming under Roseluck’s stare. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, and now I can do it.”

Roseluck’s stare was relentless. It was no wonder that she was second only to Rarity as Ponyville’s local gossip—anypony would have talked if they were subjected to that stare for long enough. “Experiments...” she muttered, both in disbelief and in confusion. Then, her face brightened. “Oh! Ooooooooh, experiments.” She hid a giggle behind a hoof. “I gotcha. Experiments, right.”

“Uh, yeah.” Twilight backed away from the stall and the salespony grinning like a lunatic, forcing a nervous smile of her own. “I’ll just be going. Thank you for the flower.”

“No, thank you for your patronage. Good luck with those ‘experiments,’” Roseluck said with a wave and a wink.

“Thanks, I think,” Twilight called over her shoulder as she broke into a fast trot, almost as eager to get away from the stall as she was to set up her lab equipment. Shaking her head, she breathed in through her nose and shut her eyes, collecting her thoughts. Her eyes opened and fell to the rose she carried under her wing. “Now, what should I do with you?” She felt herself smile. There were so many different tests she could run, she didn’t even know where to start.

By the time Twilight had rounded the corner, all thoughts of her conversation with Roseluck had faded from her mind. In their place were a series of experiment designs, diagrams, and algorithms of chaos magic. But as she walked, Twilight couldn’t help but think that she was forgetting something.

“That would be me that you’re forgetting, silly!”

“Gah!” Twilight jumped, almost dropping her rose as her wings spread once more in alarm. “Pinkie!” She glared at her pink poofy-maned assailant, who had jumped out from behind a streetlight and was facing her with a wide and toothy smile.

“Twilight, there you are! I’ve been looking all over the place for you!”

“You have?” Twilight asked, only for Pinkie to throw a foreleg over her shoulder and pull her into a field of pink that smelled strongly of sugar.

“Well, duh!” Pinkie giggled. “You’re supposed to be helping me make a bunch of cupcakes, cookies, muffins, and who knows what else! It’s Twilight and Pinkie’s Hearts and Hooves Day Bake-a-Palooza Bonanza! Unless!” She gasped, springing away from Twilight and giving her a wide-eyed look of horror. She pointed an accusing hoof and reared up on her hind legs. “Unless you forgot!”

“No, Pinkie, I didn’t forget,” Twilight said in a voice tempered with patience, trying in vain to halt the veritable river of words pouring from Pinkie. “It just slipped my mind for a moment. I was on my way when I stopped by Roseluck’s flower stall and—”

“Oh thank goodness!” Pinkie dropped to her four legs and hopped in place. “I knew you wouldn’t forget! Forgetting about something we scheduled would be like the most un-Twilight thing ever! And if you did something un-Twilight-y, then that wouldn’t make you Twilight which is just silly!” Pinkie rattled on, heedless of Twilight’s attempts to interrupt her. “I mean, come on, if you weren’t Twilight, then who would you be? Definitely not me, because I’m me and there’s nopony like me except me! Aaaaand those five hundred other Pinkie Pies, but you totally zapped them away and now there’s just one! Me!”

“Pinkie, maybe we should just get going,” Twilight said as Pinkie took a rare second to pause for breath.

“Sounds great!” Pinkie grinned her impossibly wide grin and bounced around Twilight, ignorant of her sigh of relief. “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun! But we gotta hurry! We have a lot of baking to do, and we’re already late!”

“We are?”

“Oh yeah, big time! I know how much you like to schedule and plan stuff, so I made this huge chart so we could get everything we needed to get done in a super fun and super organized way! Plus, you said you and Dashie had a hot date tonight!” Pinkie giggled and waggled her eyebrows. “Just kidding!” She added as Twilight leveled her with a piercing glare.

“Fine, then we’d better—Wait... You made a schedule?” Twilight asked in apparent surprise.

“Of course I did! We were supposed to start at eleven o’clock sharp—just like you said!—and when you didn’t show up I started getting all worried because you’re never ever ever ever late so I started thinking that maybe something bad happened to you on the way over! Like what if you fell down a well and nopony could hear you calling for help!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight deadpanned. “I have wings and can teleport.”

“That’s what I thought!” Pinkie cheered, throwing her hooves in the air. “So I then thought that maybe you got lost on your way over, which is just as silly because you know Ponyville like the back of your hoof!” A sudden philosophical look passed over her face as she mulled over her words. “Which is actually a really weird saying if you think about it. I mean, doesn’t the back of your hoof look just like the front of your hoof? And don’t all of our hooves look the same? It’s almost like—”

“Okay, I get it!” Twilight massaged her forehead. As much as she loved Pinkie, there was only so much she could take. Composing herself, she said, “I’m sorry I’m late. I just stopped by Roseluck’s flower stand.”

“Is that where you got this super pretty flower?” Pinkie asked, leaning down to sniff the rose nestled in Twilight’s wing.

“Yes, actually.” Looking over Pinkie’s mane, Twilight’s eyes lifted to her castle glistening in the afternoon sunlight. “I just need to quickly run back to the castle so I can put it in a vase before we get started.”

“No can do, Twilight!” Springing up, Pinkie planted her hooves in the ground between Twilight and the castle. “We’re already late! We were supposed to start making the batter for the first batch of chocolate cupcakes with rosey-red heart-shaped icing ten minutes ago and if you went back to the castle that could be a whole fifteen or twenty more minutes and then we’ll be even later which would throw the whole schedule out of whack and bring everything to chaos—and not even the fun kind of chaos with chocolate rain but the un-fun kind!”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but it’ll only take a few—”

“Mister and Missus Cake are counting on me, Twilight!” A frantic, panicky look crept into Pinkie’s eyes and she grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. “They’re trusting me to handle all the baking today so they can go out and enjoy Hearts and Hooves Day together and I can’t handle all the baking alone!”

Twilight cringed at the pitch of Pinkie’s voice and tried to shrink away from the crazed party pony, her thoughts scrambling and her ears ringing. “B-but I can’t just leave this flower lying around Sugarcube Corner! It’ll get trampled!” Twilight stammered. “I need it for an important experiment and it can’t get ruined!”

“Then we’ll put it up in my room! I’m sure Gummy and the twins can look after it for you!”

For her part, Twilight could only gawk with a twitching eye at the suggestion.

“And besides,” Pinkie continued, oblivious of Twilight’s dangerous eye-twitch, “everypony knows that flowers like that aren’t meant to be put in a vase, they belong to somepony else! Your super special somepony! Unless somepony gave it to you and now you’re rushing home to put it in a vase!” She gasped, her jaw opening dangerously wide. “Who is it?”

“Nopony!” Twilight practically screamed. She ducked under Pinkie’s hooves and made to run around her, only for her hoof to get caught by Pinkie’s. “I only need it for an experiment and I can’t let it get ruined!”

“But we gotta go,” Pinkie whined, pulling at Twilight’s foreleg. “I can’t let the Cakes down! I Pinkie promised and you know I can’t break a Pinkie promise!”

“I just... I just...” Twilight floundered. She couldn’t teleport, not without vaporizing the flower, and she couldn’t leave it in the care of a couple of destructive twins and baby alligator. In silent prayer, Twilight scanned the crowd until she caught sight of a tuft of rainbow mane bobbing among the ponies. Her mental calendar reminded her of a scheduled weekly reading night later that day and an idea was quick to take shape. Grinning in relief, she tugged her hoof away from Pinkie. “I just need a minute!”

“Twilight, where are you going?!” Pinkie shouted as Twilight dove into the crowd. “Sugarcube Corner’s that way!”

“I’ll be right there, Pinkie!” Twilight answered, weaving between ponies. “I’ll meet you there in exactly one minute!”

“Okay, I’ll be counting! One mississippi, two mississippi...”

Author's Note

And away we go!

Man, two stories within six months of each other. It's almost like I write for a hobby or something. Weird. Anywho, everything for this story is completely written and ready to go, so y'all can expect daily updates until it's complete! Since there are five chapters, everything will be published for your viewing pleasure by Friday!

Comments? Questions? Concerns? Feedback of any kind? Let me know in the comments below as feedback is greatly appreciated!

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash had never liked Hearts and Hooves Day. She watched the bustle of Ponyville Square with mild scorn, a practiced stare of apathy, and a frown tugging at her lips.

Couples, she thought bitterly, her face twisting into a grimace as Thunderlane surprised Cloud Kicker with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. Before she could blink, the two pulled each other into a tight embrace and nuzzled each other’s cheeks, looks of tender love and affection shining in their eyes.

It was enough to make Rainbow gag.

No matter where she looked, similar acts flooded the town square. Her frown deepening into a scowl, she scanned the crowd and tapped a hoof against the ground. Her tail flicked behind her and she blew a stray lock of orange mane out of her face.

“Come on, Fluttershy, hurry up and get here already...” Rainbow spotted Lyra sneaking away from Roseluck’s flower stand, a terrifyingly large grin on her face and a bouquet of lilacs in her telekinetic grip. Letting out a huff, the increasingly irritated pegasus jerked her head away to stare at a bush. “How long can it take to buy animal feed?”

Everywhere she looked, Rainbow’s eyes were treated to even more overly romantic gestures befitting the holiday. Another couple, another hoofful of flowers. Two unicorns walked away from a jewellery stall, one wearing a newly bought necklace, the other wearing a light blush. Rainbow’s wings twitched at her sides as she briefly considered flying away from the swarm of mushy ponies and leaving Fluttershy to handle several bags of feed on her own. Directing her gaze skywards, she caught glimpses of the tips of wings and ends of tails poking out from the clouds dotting the sky.

Rolling her eyes and sighing, she folded her wings and leaned against a streetlight. At least on the ground she ran a smaller risk of stumbling on ponies getting frisky in the semi-privacy of the clouds.

She watched Blossomforth shuffle her hooves and stammer something incomprehensible, more to the ground than to Caramel. As the colt laughed and leaned down to kiss a very surprised and beet red Blossomforth on the cheek, Rainbow couldn’t stop a dull pang of jealousy from pounding in her chest. Another sigh pushed its way past her lips. Even Caramel had somepony to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with.

Rainbow huffed and stared at the ground, pushing such thoughts to the back of her mind. It wasn’t her fault nopony was awesome enough to handle The Dash. She stood and stretched out her wings and legs, looking herself over and confirming that she indeed had the hottest flanks and best wings this side of Equestria. Anypony with eyes could see that.

So why didn’t anypony bring her flowers or chocolates and say it already?

“Whatever,” she grumbled to herself, running a hoof through her mane and rolled her shoulders. “Not like anypony here’s worth my time.”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow’s ears flicked as she was pulled from her thoughts. Blinking, she turned in time to see Twilight Sparkle screech to a halt a few inches shy of her snout. A frantic, almost panicked look settled over Twilight’s face and she raised her head to greet Rainbow with a strained smile.

“Uh, hey, Twilight,” Rainbow said, taking a couple steps away from the alicorn. Her mane was a little frazzled and her left eye twitched every couple seconds. Rainbow knew these signs of danger well and prepared for the worst. “What’s up?”

“Hi, Rainbow,” Twilight breathed. She held a hoof over her chest, trying to catch her breath. Then, after sucking in a large gulp of air, a flurry of words flew from her mouth. “Listen, there’s something really important I need to ask you and I only have about thirty seconds to explain it before Pinkie goes crazy trying to find me so can you please, please, please do me a favour?”

“Sure?” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck, her eyes keeping a keen lookout for Fluttershy before returning to Twilight. “But I’m kinda waiting for Fluttershy to take some feed back her place. Can it wait for like ten minutes?” Her eyes fell to the extravagant flower nestled under Twilight’s wing. “And what’s with the flower? You’re not going all googly-eyed and sappy on me too, are you?”

“It can’t wait!” Twilight cried, dancing frantically on her hooves. “I’ve already wasted ten seconds just explaining that I need to explain something to you!”

“Okay, okay, sheesh.” Rainbow raised her hooves and sat on her haunches. “I’m all ears. Whaddya need, Twilight? It’s not another one of those experiment things again, is it?”

“Not at all! Well, kind of. Actually, here,” Twilight said, plucking the flower from under her wing in her mouth and passing it to Rainbow. Rainbow’s eyes widened as she felt the flower stem pressing into her mouth and Twilight’s cheeks brushing against hers.

Spitting the flower into her hooves, Rainbow fixed Twilight with an incredulous stare. “What’s the idea?” She looked from Twilight to the flower then back to Twilight. “The heck’s this for?”

“That’s the favour! I don’t have time to explain properly, but I need you to hold onto that until tonight.”

“What’s tonight?” Rainbow asked with an eyebrow raised.

“It’s our weekly reading night, remember?” Twilight bit her lip and looked over her shoulder with her jaw set, as if expecting something to crash into her at any moment.

“Oh yeah...” Rainbow trailed off, her gaze dropping to the flower in her hooves. Her brow furrowed as her eyes traced the patterns of the flower-shaped stamen. There was something particularly girly and almost romantic about it that made her stomach squirm. Her cheek tingled from where Twilight’s met it and her tail flicked. “Twilight, why d’you need me to—”

“I really can’t talk now, Rainbow,” Twilight said with a forced calm tone leveling her voice. “I’m already running late and Pinkie’s waiting for me at Sugarcube Corner. Just hang onto that flower and meet me at the castle tonight at the regular time, okay? I promise I’ll explain everything then and I’ll make this up to you.”

“Okay...” Rainbow answered slowly. She looked up with a frown. “But—”

“Thank you, Rainbow!” Twilight’s cheek met Rainbow’s again as she nuzzled the pegasus in thanks. She jumped to her hooves and spread her wings with a beaming smile. “I’ll see you tonight!”

“Yeah, but—” Before Rainbow could get a word in edgewise, Twilight’s horn glowed and she vanished in a flash of light and a whiff of ozone. Blinking the stars from her eyes, Rainbow sprang to her hooves. “Hey!” she shouted at where Twilight once was. “Get back here!”

Sparing a few seconds to tuck what was quite possibly the most girly and most uncool flower she had ever seen under her wing, Rainbow darted through Ponyville Square. She weaved through the ponies filling the streets, offering half-hearted apologies as she ran to Sugarcube Corner. She wheeled around the street corner, heedless of the shouts of other ponies, and was only mildly surprised when she crashed headlong into a warm, furry body.

“Eep!” Squeaked the pony as Rainbow collided with it, sending both of them tumbling to the ground in a mess of limbs, feathers, and... bird seed? She blinked open her eyes and was met with a wall of yellow fur and a bright pink mane blanketing her face.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, spitting out a small mouthful of seeds and disentangling herself from the prone pony she bowled into. Standing up, she looked down, an apologetic grin automatically spreading as she saw her friend staring up at the sky with a dazed look and surprised eyes. Fluttershy’s mane was splayed out across the ground, revealing more of her face than usual, and several bags of feed lay on the ground around her. One of the bags had ripped open in the fall, spreading seeds out on the street.

“Heh, whoops.” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck with a hoof as Fluttershy shook her head gently and began to slowly sit up. As an afterthought, she checked to make sure the flower was still in one piece. Once she saw the blue petals poking out from under her wing, she turned back to her friend. “Sorry about that, ‘Shy,” she said, offering her friend a hoof up. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. You okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Fluttershy said as she took Rainbow’s hoof. She wobbled on her hooves before fixing her mane and regarding Rainbow with a demure smile. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going either. I should have figured that you might be getting a little restless by now. I’m sorry for taking so long. I know you hate waiting.”

“Eh, it’s whatever. I’m still sorry for running into you like that. Not cool.” Rainbow shrugged. “And it’s not like I was gonna ditch you for being a little late.”

“Where were you running to, then?” Fluttershy asked, cocking her head. “I thought we agreed to meet over by Golden Harvest’s stall?”

“Sugarcube Corner. I ran into Twilight while waiting for you and she said something about meeting her later tonight before magicking herself off to help Pinkie with some baking or something. She was acting all weird and jittery.” Rainbow frowned at the gingerbread store ahead of her. For a moment, she considered barging in there and demanding Twilight give her a straight answer.

“Oh dear, I hope everything’s okay.” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at Sugarcube Corner. She met Rainbow’s eye and, as if reading her mind, asked, “Should we go check up on her?”

Images of Twilight’s relieved expression when she gave her the flower flashed in her mind’s eye and she chewed the inside of her cheek. She scrutinized Sugarcube Corner and ruffled her wings. “Nah,” she said after a time with a shrug and a smirk. “If it was really important, she woulda told me about it then and there. Besides, she said she’d explain it all later tonight anyways.”

“Okay... if you think so.” Fluttershy turned back to Rainbow, a thoughtful frown on her face. “What’s happening tonight with you and Twilight?”

“Reading night,” Rainbow answered immediately.

“On Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“Well... yeah.” Rainbow shrugged again, watching as couples filtered in and out of Sugarcube Corner in a steady stream of ponies holding hooves and sneaking each other quick nuzzles and kisses. She frowned as her mood began to sour again. “We meet up once a week after I get off work and read. It fell on Hearts and Hooves Day this week and neither of us have dates, so we thought why not? It’s better than doing nothing.”

“I suppose it is. Who’s idea was it?”

“Twilight’s. It was pretty funny, too. We were just finishing up last week when she looked at the calendar and nearly freaked.” Rainbow snickered at the memory. “She already had it written down and was about to scratch it out, apologizing for messing up my date plans for today. As if I ever have any.”

“I think it’s sweet that you two make time for each other.” Fluttershy smiled warmly before glancing up at the sun in the sky. “Goodness, is that the time already? We should get going. Some of the critters get a little cranky if I’m late with feeding them.” She frowned for a second at the torn bag of bird seed. “Sorry again for keeping you waiting for so long.”

“I already said it was no problem. But what was taking you so long, anyways? I was waiting back there for like twenty minutes.”

“There was a bigger line than usual at the store, and they had to check the back for the kind of feed I ordered.” Fluttershy looked through her mane sheepishly. “I didn’t want to be a bother, but Mr. Mouse and his family have a very particular diet. I couldn’t just change it on them without asking their permission first. I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I really do appreciate you offering to help me.”

“No biggie, ‘Shy.” Rainbow shrugged again and snorted as a pegasus with a blue coat and white mane stumbled into her, barely halting to apologize before catching up with his partner. She glared at the happy couple. “It’s not like I had anything better to do today, anyways. Everypony’s off with their boyfriend or girlfriend and there’s way too much romance gunk in the air to sleep. It’s toxic, I swear.” She lifted her glare skywards. “And the clouds are filled with cuddling couples, so flying’s out. Last year I stumbled on Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane going down on each other. I couldn’t look either of them in the eye for a week.”

Fluttershy’s snout turned red, but she offered a sympathetic smile in response to Rainbow’s deflating demeanor. “I’m sorry.”

Rainbow snorted. “Nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault everypony turns into a gibbering doofus on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“You know that isn’t what I meant.”

“I... yeah, I know.” Rainbow sighed, the venom fading from her voice. Her shoulders slumped and she kicked a pebble, sending it clattering down the road. “It’s not your fault nopony in this town is awesome enough to handle me, either.”

“One day, somepony will be awesome enough. Just you wait,” Fluttershy said softly, resting a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “You’re beautiful, Rainbow Dash, and an amazing pony. Somepony will see that someday.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow sighed, letting her ears droop and taking comfort in the gentle tone of Fluttershy’s words for a few seconds before she composed herself. She smiled at Fluttershy, though she knew it did not quite reach her eyes. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. Did you need to talk about it?”

“Nah, I’m good. Just those Hearts and Hooves Day blues, y’know?” Rainbow waved off Fluttershy’s hoof and turned to the scattered bags of animal feed. “Anyways, this all you need help with?”

After pausing for a moment with a concerned frown on her face that Rainbow chose to ignore, Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, this is everything. I’m normally fine carrying it back on my own, but Hawthorn the Owl brought his new friends from Whitetail Woods and those naughty raccoons got into my storage.”

“Yeah, I gotcha,” Rainbow said as she moved over to a bag of feed. She poked it and lifted it with a foreleg, testing its weight. “I don’t know why you let those raccoons get away with stuff like that all the time.”

“It’s in their nature. I couldn’t bring myself to change them like that.”

“You’re too nice to them sometimes, you know that?” Rainbow chuckled. “Actually, make that all the time.” She smirked as Fluttershy checked her saddlebags, overstuffed with more bags of feed. Her ears flicked, and she remembered the flower still nestled in her wing. “Hey, ‘Shy, before we get going, you got room in those saddlebags for this?”

“Room for what?” Fluttershy asked, lifting her head to be met with the deep blue flower held before her. The petals waved in the breeze, making her snout wrinkle as it tickled her nose. Rainbow was too preoccupied with stretching out her wing and realigning a few misplaced feathers to notice the expression of terror overtaking Fluttershy’s face.

When Rainbow looked back, she watched as her friend stumbled over one of her bags of feed in a poorly executed retreat. She was babbling incoherent nonsense as she tripped and fell to her haunches. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a barely audible squeak filled with fear.

“Fluttershy? You okay?”

“O-of course!” Fluttershy shrieked. “And I-I’m flattered th-that you think of m-me that way, Rainbow, b-but this is all so sudden!” She stammered, shrinking away from Rainbow and looking at everything except for her. “Y-you know I-I’ve never exactly dated anypony, a-and I’ve never really considered dating another mare. Not that I’m against it! I-it’s just that I need time to think, but I r-really am touched!”

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow deadpanned and stepped over the bag of feed, “what the hay are you talking about?”

Fluttershy’s mouth snapped shut. Her ears perked, she met Rainbow’s gaze. Confused stare met confused stare as a tense silence fell between them. She worked her jaw, her eyes flicking down to the rose held in Rainbow’s hoof, then back up to the bemused look Rainbow was giving her. “You mean... you don’t love me?”

“Love you?” Rainbow sniggered. “Last I checked, nope. Er, well I do, but as a friend.” She set down the flower on a nearby bag gently. “I know it’s Hearts and Hooves Day and all, but I’m not that desperate. What made you think that I did?”

“The, um, rose,” Fluttershy said, pointing at the flower.

Rainbow raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, what about it? It’s a flower. There are, like, hundreds of them everywhere.”

“I thought you were giving it to me. You aren’t, are you?”

“No,” Rainbow said slowly. “I was askin’ you to hold onto it for me while I helped you carry all this,” she gestured to the mess of bags, “back to your place.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy let out a relieved breath, her hoof hovering over her heart. “Thank goodness.” She stood up and smiled brightly. “Who were you planning on giving it to, then? Oh, if you don’t mind me asking, I know how personal a question that is.”

“I’m not giving it to anypony.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not my style.”

“You mean somepony gave it to you?” Fluttershy’s face lit up.

“Uh...” Rainbow took a step back before sitting on her haunches as Fluttershy smiled at her expectantly. She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

No sooner did the words leave her lips than Fluttershy darted forwards and threw her forelegs around her. “Oh my gosh!” Fluttershy squealed, squeezing Rainbow tightly. “That’s wonderful!”

Rainbow gasped as the air was squeezed from her lungs. She coughed as she caught her breath and stared down at the pegasus’ pink mane with a look of utter bewilderment. “It is?”

“Absolutely!” Fluttershy pulled back and beamed. “I’m so happy for you!”

“You are?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy nodded vigorously. Then, her smile faltered as Rainbow stared at her with a look of complete bafflement. “I think?” Her smile was replaced by a confused frown as Rainbow cocked her head. “Um... maybe it’s not so wonderful after all?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.” Rainbow pried herself out of the unexpected embrace and edged away from Fluttershy. “Why would it be so wonderful?”

“You don’t know what that flower is?”

“Does it matter?” Rainbow’s eyes flicked over to the flower in question with a scrutinizing gaze. Her eyes widened with fear and she jumped to her hooves. “It’s not poisonous, is it?!”

“Heavens no! Nothing like that!”

“Oh, phew.” It was Rainbow’s turn to let out a relieved breath. Chuckling, she wiped her hoof across her forehead. “You scared me for a sec there.” She watched as Fluttershy leaned down to sniff the rose. “So... what’s the deal with it, then? What does it matter if Twilight gave it to me?”

Fluttershy gasped, snapping to attention. “Twilight gave this to you?”

“Uh... yeah?”

“That’s why she stopped to talk to you?” Fluttershy broke out into another smile. “Oh, Rainbow, I’m so happy for you two!”

“Thanks, I think?”

“She must really love you.” Fluttershy tenderly picked up the flower as if it were one of her animals. She cradled it in her hoof, staring at it with an admiring gaze. “And she must have hidden it so well for nopony to notice.”

“Love?!” Rainbow burst out laughing. She tried and failed to hide her galing laughter behind a hoof and soon fell to her back with her forelegs wrapped around her barrel. “G-good one, Fluttershy!”

“Why is that funny?” Fluttershy asked, offering the rose back to Rainbow. “I hope you didn’t laugh like that when Twilight gave it to you. The poor dear would have been crushed.”

“Twilight! Loving me!” Rainbow’s laughter died down to a few low chortles. She looked up through tearful eyes at Fluttershy, who was watching her with a mixture of confusion and admonishment. “Wait,” Rainbow said, pushing herself back up to her haunches. “That’s what you think this is about? Seriously?”

“Well... yes.” Fluttershy nodded. A semblance of doubt crept into her gaze. “Why else would she give you this flower?”

“I don’t know, that’s what she’s going to tell me tonight.” Rainbow smirked and flapped her wings of the dirt from the ground. “Not exactly a love confession.”

“But she did give you this rose?”

“Yeah, so?” Rainbow deadpanned. She rolled her eyes and snatched the rose from Fluttershy’s outstretched hoof and waved it through the air. “Again, there’re like a hundred of these things floating around. It’s Hearts and Hooves Day, ‘Shy, flowers aren’t exactly hard to come by. Especially with Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily selling them across town.”

“Exactly, it’s Hearts and Hooves Day,” Fluttershy pointed out. She winced as Rainbow waved the flower around. “And that’s a very special and a very rare flower that Twilight gave you.”

“I still don’t get it.” Rainbow frowned at the flower, then at Fluttershy. “It’s just a flower. So what if Twilight gave it to me? And so what if it’s Hearts and Hooves Day? Twilight isn’t into me like that. Trust me,” she added with another wave of the rose as Fluttershy opened her mouth to retort, “I’d know. She’s not the most subtle of ponies. I can read her like a book.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, looking around at the questioning glances she and Rainbow were beginning to draw from passers-by. “M-maybe we should talk about this on the way to my house?”

Rainbow sighed. “Fine. Can you at least put this is your saddlebags so it doesn’t get ruined?”

“Oh, no!” Fluttershy shook her head and tightened the strap on her saddlebags. “I couldn’t possibly do that!”

“And why not?” Rainbow asked, nonplussed.

“Because it’s not mine,” Fluttershy said simply, drawing an irritated glare from Rainbow. “I’ll explain once we get in the air, but I couldn’t possibly take that flower from you. It was given to you, not me.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Rainbow huffed. “But what do you want me to do with it? It’ll get wrecked, and then I’ll have a pissy Twilight to deal with later today.”

“You could always, um, put it in your mane?”

Rainbow leveled Fluttershy with a stony glare. “Put it in my mane? Lame. Just let me put it in your saddlebags. It’ll only be for a little bit.” She let out an irritated snort through her nose as Fluttershy shook her head and took a step back. “Come on! Twilight won’t even have to know.”

“I-I wouldn’t feel comfortable. That flower was meant for you.”

“Ugh, fine!” Rainbow snapped, grumbling as she stuck the rose behind her ear. With fumbling hooves, she worked it into her mane and, once it sat snugly in her mane and rested comfortably behind her ear, set another glare at Fluttershy. “Happy?”

“It looks wonderful, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said with a small smile. “Twilight will be so happy to see you wearing it like that.”

“Yeah, whatever, don’t count on it.” Rainbow grabbed a bag of feed in her teeth and tossed it onto her back. “It’s just a dumb flower,” she said as she picked up a bag under each foreleg before jumping into the air. She spotted one of the blue petals in the corner of her eye and huffed. “You coming or what?”

Chapter 3

“Okay, spill,” Rainbow said as she flew next to Fluttershy. The shackled rooftops of Ponyville spread out below them, giving way to the rolling fields of Sweet Apple Acres. Despite her constant needling, Fluttershy had hardly spoken three words since they took off. She spent their flight frowning in thought with her eyes fixed ahead of them. Rainbow’s patience, however, had run its course. “There’s nopony up here but us. Not even any clouds for any pegasi to be hiding in.” She flapped her wings, pulling ahead of Fluttershy by a few wingbeats. She flipped around and flew backwards, staring behind her expectantly. “You’re gonna quit dodgin’ the question and tell me why you think Twilight loves me.”

Fluttershy blinked, then looked away. She chewed her bottom lip and hid behind her mane. “I told you,” she said quietly. “Twilight gave you that rose.”

“And I told you that I don’t see what the big deal is!” Rainbow groaned. “What is with you and this flower? It’s like you think it’s an engagement ring or something.”

Fluttershy squeaked in response, looking anywhere but at Rainbow as her ears folded back against her head. Her cheeks turned pink and she swallowed.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said after a lengthy silence in a voice laced with doubt and fear. Her wings trembled and she had to remind herself to keep flapping. “It’s... it’s not like an actual engagement ring, is it?”

“Um.” Fluttershy shifted the weight of the bag of feed between her hooves and let out a near-inaudible whine.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, hovering in place. “Please tell me it’s not like an engagement ring.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy squeaked. “It’s not an engagement ring.”

“Oh, phew.” Rainbow forced a chuckle. Her shoulders slumped in relief as she turned in mid-air to fly ahead. “You scared me again, ‘Shy.” She let out another chuckle, this one less forced as a her face broke out in a grin. “You gotta stop doing that.”

Fluttershy squeaked again, lagging behind Rainbow and staring intently at the ground. “But it’s the next closest thing.”

The chuckle died in Rainbow’s throat and her smile froze on her face. Her breath hitched as her eyes went wide with fear, confusion, and no small deal of surprise. “What?!” she screeched, sending birds scattering from their perches in the apple trees below. The weight of the rose in her mane seemed to increase ten-fold as the many implications of Fluttershy’s words sunk in.

Fluttershy flinched and flapped away from Rainbow. She hovered in place a few feet away from her, glancing up only to stare back down at the rows of apple trees below. “Th-that rose,” she started, hiding as much behind her mane as possible. “It’s generally taken as a token of l-love. P-ponies are only supposed to give it to s-somepony very, very special.”

“But there’s loads of flowers and necklaces and other junk that ponies give to their special someponies!” Rainbow countered. She could still see at the edge of her vision the deep blue petals waving in the wind, intermingling with the red and orange of her mane. The sight of it made her chest tighten. “This is just a dumb flower!”

“A very special flower,” Fluttershy corrected. “One that only blooms on Hearts and Hooves Day. They’re very rare and very, um, expensive.”

“H-how expensive are we talkin’ here?” Rainbow swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “L-like more than a few bits, right?”

“I’m not sure how much exactly...” Fluttershy flapped her wings, flying around Rainbow and towards her cottage. Rainbow turned and caught up to her in a couple wingbeats, straining to hear her friend’s quiet voice muffled by her mane. “But Rarity told me that it’s the gift to get anypony on Hearts and Hooves Day. Canterlot ponies go through a lot to get one.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “But those ponies are totally loaded!”

Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded. “It’s a token of deep romantic affection.”

“No kidding!” Rainbow eyed the rose, a feeling of dread weighing on her shoulders. “Why the heck would Twilight buy one of these? And why would she give it to me?!”

“Oh, Rainbow, I thought that would be obvious,” Fluttershy said delicately. “Ponies only buy those flowers for one reason. It’s why I was so happy for you.”

“Twilight does not love me.” Rainbow furrowed her brow and clenched her jaw. “There’s no way. Me and her? Her and me? We both know that’s bogus.” She shook her head, dispelling any doubtful voices from her mind. She frowned in conviction and squinted up at the rose in her mane. “There’s something screwy here.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said slowly. As her cottage came into view, she glided down towards it with Rainbow close on her heels. Her frown turned to a scowl as she watched Fluttershy open and close her mouth and look over her shoulder before turning away, muttering under her breath.

“Maybe?” Rainbow sneered with an air of incredulity as she landed on the grass in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. “What do you mean maybe? There is no maybe.” She stomped her hoof. “Twilight doesn’t love me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

“But why else would she buy that flower?” Fluttershy asked as she undid the straps of her saddlebags.

“I said no buts!” Rainbow frowned and yanked the rose from her mane. She glared at the petals before dropping it on the ground. Her scowl deepened as she grasped for any other explanation besides the obvious. Twilight? Loving her? She scoffed and turned her nose up at the flower, working her jaw all the while. “Maybe she didn’t know what it was? You know her, she’s smart and all, but she can be kind of dense.”

“They only grow in Canterlot.” Fluttershy took a cautious step forwards, eyeing Rainbow with a wary look. “I’m sure Twilight’s heard of them before, and I’d be surprised if her brother didn’t give one to Princess Cadance at some point.”

Rainbow shook her head, her eyes scrunched shut. Her brow wrinkled in thought and she started circling the flower like a predator stalking its prey. “Okay, then there’s gotta be another reason. Maybe she got it for somepony else?”

“Like who?”

“I don’t know!” Rainbow snapped her eyes and wings open and growled. Her eyes flicked across the ground, bouncing from Fluttershy to the flower to the cottage and everything in-between. “Rarity? Applejack? You? How should I know?”

“Then why did she give it to you and not any of them? Or me, if it was meant for me?” Fluttershy asked patiently, sinking to her haunches and watching Rainbow pace. “Pinkie and I were both at the market.”

“How am I supposed to know?” Rainbow snarled. Twilight couldn’t be in love with her. It made no sense. Her and Twilight? The thought of it was enough to make her laugh, so she did. Fluttershy flinched as Rainbow forced out a bark-like laugh. “She could’ve wanted me to hold onto it for somepony else!”

“She could have,” Fluttershy said in a small voice. “But I don’t think she did. Why would she ask you to hold onto it for anypony else?”

“Because she got cold hooves, duh!” Rainbow smiled maniacally at Fluttershy, her wings abuzz and her eyes bright. “Yeah, that’s it! She’s gotta be crushing hard on Applejack or Rarity or something and was gonna tell them, but totally chickened out at the last second!”

“That doesn’t sound like Twilight.” Fluttershy frowned. “But I guess you would know. You spend more time with her than anypony, except for Spike.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow smirked even as her wings drooped. Ignoring it and the small ball of disappointment she felt in her gut, she folded her wings and cackled. “I know Twilight almost better than anypony! If she was crushing on me, I’d totally know it!” She stopped her pacing and nodded to herself. “She probably gave it to me since we were already planning on meeting up later today!”

“So she gave you the flower to hold onto for her?” Fluttershy cocked her head. “Is that what she told you when she gave it to you?”

“Well...” Rainbow found herself staring at the rose again. Her ears began to droop as doubt took hold. She opened her mouth and closed it again, mulling over her words as she spoke them. “Not... not really. She, uh, asked me to keep the flower until tonight. She didn’t say why, just that she’d explain everything later.” Letting out another growl, she spread her wings and stomped her hoof. “But that could mean anything!”

“I’m sure it could,” Fluttershy said, raising her hooves placatingly. “But you said it yourself, you know Twilight better than anypony. If it’s not meant for you, then who is it meant for?”

“I... I...” Rainbow’s jaw worked uselessly. Her wings twitched by her sides and she huffed. “I don’t know! I just know it’s not me!”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because... because...” Rainbow shifted her gaze from side to side. “Because it doesn’t make any sense! She can’t just love me out of the blue! That’s not how love works, right? It has to build up or whatever, right?”

“I guess, but—”

“Exactly!” Rainbow pointed an accusing hoof at the flower. “This doesn’t meant anything! Twilight’s never said anything to me or given me any reason to think she has a crush on me! Even if she did, I would’ve noticed!”

“What if she was really good at hiding it from you?” Fluttershy brushed her mane out of her eyes and looked up at Rainbow. “You aren’t the most observant of ponies sometimes, no offense... and besides, you’re oblivious when ponies hit on you anyway...” she added in a quiet voice.

“What was that?”

“O-oh, nothing.” Fluttershy cleared her throat and looked to the side. “Just that I think it’s possible that Twilight might have feelings for you.” She pawed the ground, shrinking away from Rainbow’s incredulous stare. “I-I mean it is possible, isn’t it? She gave you the flower, asked you to show up at her castle on Hearts and Hooves Day, and you two are obviously very close.”

“We are?” Rainbow asked, sounding more surprised than she would have liked. She shook her head and snorted. “Well of course we are! We all are!”

“I don’t have a special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day,” Fluttershy pointed out. “Neither does Applejack and Pinkie Pie, but Twilight didn’t invite them over.”

“That’s just because our reading night happened to be today! It’s not like Twilight planned it that way!”

“What if she did?” Fluttershy shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “Doesn’t it sound like something she might do? If she’s had feelings for you, then maybe she would plan it so that your reading night fell on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to retort, then clicked it shut. She ground her teeth as she thought about it. Falling back to her haunches, Rainbow could not deny that Fluttershy had a point. She remembered one time Twilight showed her her schedule for eating, going to the bathroom, and when to preen her wings planned for the next month in advance and the pegasus shivered. It really did sound like something she would do. “B-but she’s never said anything...” she said in a quiet voice, her eyes falling back to the rose. In the afternoon sun, the petals seemed to glisten and shine, swaying almost hypnotically in the wind. She shook her head weakly, her ears drooping as the realization settled over her like a well worn saddle. “No,” she whispered. “I-I would have seen it. She would’ve flirted with me, and I’m like the queen of flirting.”

“Maybe you didn’t know to look for it?” Fluttershy sat next to Rainbow, joining her in staring thoughtfully at the rose. “Sometimes if you’re close to something you can’t see what’s in front of you.”

“I... I...” Rainbow closed her eyes, no longer able to stare at the flower without feeling her stomach twist. She sighed in defeat. “Why didn’t she say anything, then? It’s not like I’d laugh in her face, even if I said no.”

Rainbow shivered as a yellow wing wrapped around her. “You’re not the easiest of mares to talk to sometimes,” Fluttershy said in a comforting voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow asked with a shadow of her usual bravado even as she hummed at the warmth of the wing. “You saying Twilight’s scared to talk to me about personal stuff?”

“Heavens no.” A gentle smile played across Fluttershy’s face. “Twilight trusts you, but it’s different when it comes to love.”

A bitter taste filled Rainbow’s mouth. She swallowed and ran her tongue across her teeth. “Love? Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme? I’m still not even sure if you’re right about this whole thing.”

“I think you are,” Fluttershy said, resting a steady hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “You just don’t want to let yourself admit it.” Rainbow grunted in response, drawing a frown from Fluttershy. “Okay, well... what was she like when she gave it to you?”

The scene replayed in Rainbow’s mind. Images of Twilight’s flushed face, twitchy wings, and eyes that never met Rainbow’s bubbled to the surface. “She was... nervous,” she said after a lengthy pause. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she let the scene replay itself a few more times. Without thought, she raised her hoof to her cheek where Twilight nuzzled it.

“Nervous how?”

“Like... I dunno.” Rainbow sighed, dropping her hoof. “She just gave me the flower and said she’d explain everything tonight at her place. She was all...” She waved a hoof in the air, grasping for the right words. “Flustered.”

Fluttershy smiled and gave a small nod. “Anything else?”

“Well...” Rainbow rubbed her cheek. “She did nuzzle me, I guess. But that could have been just her saying thanks. She nuzzles everypony all the time.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded unconvincing. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I think we both know that’s not true.”

Rainbow opened her eyes and stared glumly at the ground. “How can you be so sure? You weren’t even there.”

“I want you to be happy,” Fluttershy said, picking up the rose with a dainty hoof. She brought the flower up to Rainbow and fixed it behind her ear. The confused pegasus remained still while Fluttershy wove the stem between locks of multi-hued mane. “And I think that you and Twilight can make each other happy.”

Rainbow let out a half-hearted snort. “You sound like you’ve been thinking about this for a while now.”

“Maybe I have.” Fluttershy smiled and stepped back to admire the flower in Rainbow’s mane. “I want all my friends to be happy.”

“Yeah, happy... I don’t even know what I’m going to say.” Rainbow’s face contorted into a scowl. “Or if I’m gonna have to say anything. Why didn’t she just tell me then and there? I mean, she gave me the rose. She might as well have kissed me.” The barest hints of a blush coloured her cheeks as she said those final words. “If she was planning on confessing, she pretty much just punked out at the last second.”

“You know you’re not the easiest mare to approach, Rainbow. You always intimidated those colts and fillies at Flight Camp.”

“It’s not my fault nopony’s radical enough to pony up and ask me out,” Rainbow said automatically. She had long since lost count of how many times she told herself or her friends as much.

“Twilight is.” Fluttershy’s lip pulled up in what was as close to a smirk as she was ever going to get. “You and I both know that she is.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow felt herself grin. It was a small grin, but she couldn’t deny that it was there, nor could she deny a small spark of excitement that ignited in her chest. She could barely stop a giggle from escaping her lips as she nodded her mane. “She is.”

A pair of forelegs wrapped around her. “I’m so happy for you,” Fluttershy said in her ear. Rainbow grimaced as she let out a squeal of excitement. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she pulled back, a wide grin plastered over her face. “It’s just so romantic, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s all good, ‘Shy.” Rainbow let out a breath and fiddled with the stem of the rose in her mane. “You okay to take things from here? I think I need to go and think about...” Her hoof ran over one of the petals. “You know, stuff.”

“Of course.” Fluttershy stepped back and turned to the bags of feed that lay forgotten and strewn across the ground. “Thank you for your help.”

“Any time,” Rainbow said as she hopped into the air and turned to fly off. “I’ll catch you later.”

“Rainbow?”

“Yeah?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Good luck.”

Rainbow, to her own surprise, smiled back. “Thanks.”

Hours passed, and Rainbow Dash found herself flying over Ponyville Square with a frown wedged firmly upon her face. The early afternoon crowds from before had thinned, and now the only ponies left in the square walked with the tails interwoven or with a wing draped over the other’s back. It was a small blessing that the pegasi that cuddled in the clouds retreated to more private places, leaving the skies empty for all but Rainbow and her thoughts.

Flying always helped her think—or, rather, it always helped her escape thinking—but as she flew, she kept going over Twilight giving her the rose she wore in her mane. With every pump of her wings, she felt Twilight’s warm breath puff against her ear and with every gust of wind she felt their cheeks meet in brief fuzzy contact. Fluttershy’s words echoed in her ears and Rainbow’s frown warped into another scowl.

“She doesn’t love me,” she said to herself, glaring daggers at the castle in the horizon. “Fluttershy’s a dumb romantic, you know that. She’s just... imagining things.” Her voice was subdued, even though nopony was there to hear her. “This is all some stupid misunderstanding. I would have seen it coming ages ago.” Her scowl turned into a snarl. “Just wait, I’ll go over and she’ll tell me how this was all part of some plan to ask Rarity out. Yeah, those two always get so buddy-buddy whenever we go over to Rarity’s for tea. It’s always ‘Canterlot this’ and ‘magic that.’”

A sigh pushed past her lips when she meant to growl. She knew she should feel comforted, even relieved by her deductive abilities, but instead she felt her spirits sink along with her head. Her scowl vanished, and in its place was a sulky pout. Deciding that her wings ached from flying for so long, she let herself slowly glide to the ground. As she landed, she watched Bon Bon walk out of her shop, followed closely by Lyra. The two smiled and waved at Rainbow before turning their attention back to each other, matching loving smiles easing onto their faces and warmth shining from their eyes that was meant only for the other.

Rainbow hung her head and sighed as they trotted off, giggling and whispering and playfully nipping at the other’s neck or ears. She couldn’t help think that, if Fluttershy was right, that could be her and Twilight. The thought made a flicker of a smile dance across her face before the frown retook its place, settling on like a well-worn saddle. “It was a nice thought, I guess.”

Few of the vendors were still at their stalls as Rainbow trudged through the almost empty town square. Those that did were packing up what was left of their wares or counting out their day’s gains. The rush of Hearts and Hooves Day was over and they likely had special someponies of their own to get to.

“Oh, so you’re the lucky pony!”

“Huh?” Rainbow pulled herself out of her reverie and blinked. Raising her head, she was met with the sight of a familiar rose-maned pony smiling knowingly at her from her half-packed flower stand. “Oh,” Rainbow said, letting out a breath and sinking back into her funk. “Hey, Roseluck. What’s up?”

“A little of this, a little of that.” Roseluck waved a hoof before resting them both on the stall counter. “Hearts and Hooves Day, and business has been booming. Just packing up shop here.” She patted an overflowing bit-box with a satisfied gleam in her eye. “What about you?” She asked with much more interest. “Off to your hot date with Ponyville’s resident princess?”

Rainbow scoffed. “Hot date? Yeah, right. Have you been talking to Fluttershy or something?” She rolled her eyes with unamused fanfare. “Wait. How do you know Twilight gave me this?” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “And what makes you think there’s any date happening at all?”

“Because I sold it to her.” Roseluck shrugged and pointed at the pegasus. “And you’re wearing it in your mane. Now, I’m no romance expert,” she said before grinning and snickering. She brushed a hoof against her chest. “Oh wait, yes I am. Anyways, normally if you’re wearing the love-flower in your mane, it means you said yes, which usually means there’s going to be a date and possibly some action later on if you’re lucky.” She smirked. “And you strike me as the lucky kind of girl.”

“There is no date and there’s definitely not going to be any action!” Rainbow fumed, ignoring the fiery blush that heated her muzzle. She forced her flared wings back down and grumbled. “Trust me, I’m not as ‘lucky’ as you think I am.”

“Really?” Roseluck cocked her brow. “I thought a mare with your looks would have a track record a mile long. Oh well.” She shrugged. “Books and covers and all that.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and made to leave.

“Hang on a sec,” Roseluck said, drawing Rainbow’s attention back to her. She turned and saw the flower pony scratching her chin with a hoof. “If there’s no hot date, then there’s at least a date-date, right?”

“What?”

“You know, candlelit dinner, just the two of you struggling to make conversation while you get lost in each other’s eyes. You hooves slowly inching closer and closer together before you kiss her goodnight and leave to go dream about her.” Roseluck sighed and leaned against the counter, a faraway look on her face. She blinked and straightened, looking sheepish for a second. “A date-date. I guess Princess Twilight seems like the mushy romance type.”

“There’s no date,” Rainbow growled. What little patience she had was worn to the bone.

“Oh.” Roseluck frowned and squinted at Rainbow—or rather, at a spot just behind Rainbow’s ear. “Then why do you have that rose if you said no?”

“I didn’t say no,” Rainbow said through grit teeth.

“Oh,” Roseluck said again. She blinked. “Wait, what? How could there not be a date, hot or otherwise, if you didn’t say no?”

“There was nothing to say ‘no’ to!” Rainbow yanked the flower out of her mane and stomped up to Roseluck’s stall. “Twilight just asked me to hang onto this for her until tonight. That’s all. No dates, no love, no romance, so would you and Fluttershy just leave me alone already? I don’t need a date for Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“I didn’t say you did.” Roseluck leaned away from Rainbow’s hoof, going cross-eyed as she tried to look at the flower caught in its grip. “I always figured you thought you were too cool for anypony that wasn’t a Wonderbolt or a princess or something.”

“Exactly!” Rainbow huffed.

“So...” Roseluck’s lip curled up in another smirk. “Princess Twilight totally fits that bill for you, right?”

“Righ—I mean no!” Rainbow corrected herself quickly, but the damage was done. She glared over the counter at Roseluck’s infuriating smirk. “Twilight totally doesn’t fit that bill!”

“So you think she’s ugly?”

“What?! No!” Rainbow shook her head and flared her wings. “Twilight’s not ugly! She’s, like...” Her brow furrowed as she thought about it. Slowly, she began to smile as her face relaxed and as her wings rose ever so slightly. “She’s actually pretty hot.”

“Then what is it?” Roseluck pressed. “Her personality? The way she laughs? Her interests?”

“No, none of that! Look, Twilight’s awesome, okay? Is that what you want me to say?”

“Not really, but it doesn’t hurt.” Roseluck leaned back and sat on her haunches. “I just want to know why you think she’s not your type. You just said she’s hot, which she totally is, and you like her plenty.”

Rainbow frowned again, finding herself staring once more at the rose in her hoof. She didn’t even need to look at it anymore to picture the heart-shaped stamens. “You’re just trying to trick me into thinking that Twilight might be into me and that I’m into her. Which she isn’t, and I’m not.”

“Oh yeah?” Roseluck challenged. “Then why’d she give you the flower?”

“I told you.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “She asked me to hang onto it for her until tonight.”

“Yeah, I know that’s what you said, but I don’t think you get it.”

“Get what? That she chickened out at the last second? That this is all some big plan to get me over to her place on Hearts and Hooves Day?” Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, fat chance.”

“Come on, how could you not believe it?” Roseluck leaned over the counter to nudge Rainbow. “Look, normally I’m bound by client-merchant confidentiality, but I’m picking up on a major love crisis here and it’s my job to stop that from happening.”

“Oh really?” Rainbow deadpanned. “You’re worse than Rarity.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyways, when I sold that beauty of a rose to Princess Twilight, she told me that it was for some ‘experiments,’ if you know what I mean.”

Rainbow frowned at the rose. “What kind of experiments could you do with a flower?”

“That’s what I said!” Roseluck threw her hooves to the air, a near-manic smile appearing on her face. “And when I asked, she said it was about the whole story behind them with Discord trying to hook up with Princess Celestia and all that.”

“What?” Rainbow asked, thoroughly confused.

“Love!” Roseluck giggled. “Her experiments were about love! That’s why this rose is so special for special someponies on Hearts and Hooves Day, after all! And,” she added, poking Rainbow in the snout, “it looks like her ‘experiments’ are supposed to be with you!”

“N-no way,” Rainbow said, backpedalling away from Roseluck. “J-just because Twilight spent a few bits on some flower—”

“More like fifty bits, but who’s counting?”

“Right, fifty bits—” Rainbow’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped. “F-fifty bits?!”

“Yeah-huh.” Roseluck nodded. “These things are rare, and ponies in love will pay a lot to get their hooves on one. That, and it was the only one I had in stock this year.”

“I... I...” Rainbow floundered, staring at nothing and trying in vain to still her trembling legs. She lifted her hoof, regarding the rose clasped in it in a new light. It looked almost beautiful to her now. A breathless chuckle made its way past her lips. “She really... she really gave this to me, didn’t she?”

“Yup!”

Without thinking, Rainbow found herself fixing the rose back in her mane. As she finished, she shook her head as she gave a tired smile. “But she never said anything.”

Roseluck giggled and pointed at Rainbow’s mane. “I think she just did.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow lifted her head and stared up at the castle, finding herself lost in her thoughts again. Memories of time spent with Twilight surfaced, and the pegasus reflected on them in a new, rose-tinted light. A picnic last week when she sat pressed up against Twilight’s side. Now that she thought about it, she distinctly remembered Twilight’s tail flick across her own and her feathers ever-so-lightly trace around her flank. At the time, it seemed like an accident, but now it felt like something much more meaningful.

Other memories replayed themselves in this new light, and with each one Rainbow smiled a little bit more until an excited spark filled her chest and made her wings tremble and an easy laugh spill out past her lips. Twilight jumping into Rainbow’s forelegs as a snake slithered out from a bush, Twilight and Rainbow curled up under a blanket with warm mugs of cocoa and a book between them as a blizzard howled outside, Twilight insisting she didn’t mind sharing a milkshake with Rainbow when Sugarcube Corner ran out of clean glasses...

“You know, I think I saw her heading back to her castle a little while ago,” Roseluck said, trotting around the stall to sit next to Rainbow. “She’s probably waiting for you right now.” Rainbow giggled as she was nudged away from the flower stand. “Go on, don’t keep her waiting.”

“Hehe, thanks.” Rainbow smiled in thanks before spreading her wings and launching into the air. As she flew, she decided that she liked the feeling of the flower in her mane, despite how girly and lame it was. It made her feel special, and it was a new reminder that Twilight thought she was special. As the castle neared, she could already picture Twilight’s ecstatic smile when she would say yes. The image drew a smile to Rainbow’s face and a warmth to her chest.

“Best Hearts and Hooves Day ever!”

Chapter 4

Twilight groaned and collapsed into her favourite cushion, taking relief in its plush and velvety embrace. Her hooves felt rough and coarse like they were still coated in flour despite the repeated washings they had received. She sank into the cushion and let out a long, slow moan as her muscles ached from long hours spent mixing, kneading, and stirring batters and dough of all kinds without rest. It was no longer a mystery to her how Pinkie stayed in shape with all that she ate—that baking session might have been the most intense workout of Twilight’s life.

Baking always sounded like fun to Twilight. Not that Pinkie Pie didn’t make the experience enjoyable—there were plenty of laughs as the two ponies talked and sang and engaged in the occasional exchange of batter or icing from across the room—but now that it was over she found herself completely drained. Even after the long walk home she could still hear Pinkie’s voice ringing in her ears and could still see the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner when she closed her eyes.

She brought her hooves to her chest as she snuggled into the cushion, wanting nothing more than to rest and forget her aching everything. She inhaled deeply, trying to ease her descent into sleep, and her lip curled. All she could smell was the sickeningly sweet icing sugar Pinkie loved so much.

Sighing, she cracked open an eye, smiling fondly at the Daring Do poster grinning down at her from her study’s wall. When Rainbow Dash told her that she put up a few posters of the intrepid hero in the library, she either forgot or conveniently neglected to mention that she stuck one up in her private study. Regardless, Twilight felt no need to take it down. It added a bit of colour and personality to the otherwise blank crystal room and seeing it reminded her of her likewise intrepid friend. Besides, it only made sense to keep it up, since this was where Rainbow and Twilight spent their reading nights since Golden Oaks was destroyed. The thought brought a frown to her face, but only for a moment.

No, don’t think about that, she told herself. Things are fine, and better than ever. I have my friends, a castle, and everything is as it should be.

Smiling to herself, she let her eyes slowly shut. As she began to relax, the ache in her hooves and the smell of icing sugar faded away as her thoughts became fuzzy and disoriented. Just as she was about to drift off, a knock from the front door pulled her back into the world of the conscious. She groaned into her pillow and covered her head with her hooves. A few seconds passed, and she hoped that whoever it was would go away and leave her to her rest. As her eyes slid closed for the second time, another knock pulled her back from the brink of sleep.

“Oh, come on.” After taking a few long breaths, she begrudgingly fought to her hooves and trudged through the library. She spared a second to appreciate the rather generous pile of cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, and lemon squares that Pinkie Pie insisted she take as thanks for her help. The work may have been hard, but it was even more rewarding to see the smiling faces of satisfied customers. Twilight was sure it would all taste delicious once she was more awake to enjoy it.

As she continued her slow march to the front door she couldn’t help but wonder for the second time that day if she was forgetting something. She scratched her scalp as she approached the door, puzzling through her sluggish mind for any answers. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she groused as the knocking increased in frequency and insistence.

She barely registered the sky-blue pegasus staring at her with an expectant smile on the other side of the door until she spoke up.

“Heya, Twilight!” Rainbow beamed. It took only a second before she chuckled and brushed her mane to the side. “Whoa, you look like you’ve been put through the ringer. How bad does the other pony look?”

“Hey, Rainbow,” Twilight said with a small yawn and roll of the eyes. “Nothing like that, just a long day helping Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner. I don’t know how she does it.” She slumped against the doorway, rubbing one of her sore hooves. “I feel like I’m about to drop at any second.”

“Oh, really?” Rainbow asked, flashing her wings and a toothy smile. “So that’s what you’ve been up to all day.”

Twilight blinked at the display and stared at Rainbow dumbfounded when she swore she saw her flutter her eyes. It was almost like she was flirting. Twilight shook her head, convincing herself that she must just be tired beyond belief. “Yeah,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t have any other big plans today, and Pinkie mentioned that she could use the help.”

“Is that so?” Rainbow asked, as an excited and confident grin tugged at her lips. “Was that the only big plan you had for today? Nothing else, perhaps having to do with the day and you and me?” She cocked her head to the side and Twilight gasped.

“The Chaos Rose!” Twilight’s eyes widened as she spotted the flower poking out from behind Rainbow’s ear. Their earlier conversation came flooding back and she gasped again. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about our reading night! I’m so sorry, Rainbow!”

“Eheh, it’s no biggie, Twi.” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck and her smile faltered. Shaking her head, she grinned up at Twilight. “All that counts is that you remember now, right?”

Twilight nodded, nuzzling Rainbow’s cheek. Idly, she noticed the pegasus’ wings quiver, but she payed it no mind. “Thank you for holding onto this for me, Rainbow, and thank you for remembering to bring it back!”

“N-no problem!” Rainbow said, her voice cracking. She looked to the side and cleared her throat, though she failed to hide a dopey smile.

Twilight blinked again as a pink hue coloured Rainbow’s cheeks. “Rainbow, are you feeling okay? You’re looking a little red.”

“Fine!” Rainbow whipped her head around to face Twilight, making the rose rustle but otherwise stay comfortably entwined in her mane. “Just been flying around a lot, you know? Tired and all that.” She started to chuckle before an unsure look passed over her face. “Wait... remembering to bring it back?”

“Oh, yes, the flower!” Twilight gently plucked the flower from Rainbow’s mane. Rainbow’s breath tickled her throat as she pulled away, smiling around the rose’s stem. That smile quickly turned into a look of confusion as she caught Rainbow staring at her with wide eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Y-yup! Just, uh,” Rainbow stammered, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof and looking anywhere but at Twilight. Opening and closing her mouth, she fidgeted her wings and puffed out a breath. “What are you doing? Isn’t there something that you want to, y’know, ask me?”

“Oh, right, I’m sorry.” Twilight shook her mane, laughing softly as she put the flower under her wing. “I don’t know where my head’s at today.”

Rainbow let out a breath, sagging with visible relief. “Good, for a second I thought—“

“Would you like to come in?”

“Uh…” Rainbow’s face froze, caught somewhere between disbelief and panic. “Wh-what?”

“I asked if you would like to come in.” Twilight frowned, raising a hoof to Rainbow’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You’re really warm.”

“I’m fine!” Rainbow swatted away Twilight’s hoof before looking down. Her face was unreadable as she pawed at the front step. “I-it’s just… I-I thought…”

“Is this because I forgot about reading night?” Twilight smiled apologetically. She wrapped a hoof around Rainbow in a quick embrace. “I’m sorry. Today’s just been so hectic. It means a lot that you still wanted to come over, especially on Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“It’s nothing, Twi,” Rainbow said in a low voice, leaning into Twilight and running a hoof down her neck. “You know I’d be here. It’s not like I had any other plans.” The alicorn watched with a curious expression as Rainbow’s ears folded back. “Besides,” she said after taking a slow breath, “I’d rather hang with you then be with anypony less awesome.”

“Aww, you’re really just a sappy, lovable pegasus under all that ruff-and-tumble cavalier bravado, aren’t you?”

Rainbow, to Twilight’s surprise, blushed and said nothing.

“Er... right. Come on.” Twilight pushed Rainbow’s shoulder before stepping aside and welcoming her in. “Go make yourself at home up in the library. Spike’s out, so it’ll just be the two of us tonight.”

“Just us?” Rainbow asked, her face lighting up.

“Looks like it. Rarity and Sweetie Belle asked him to help with some gem hunting and invited him over for the night.” Twilight shut the door and turned to walk to the kitchen. “I brought home a bunch of sweets from Sugarcube Corner, though, so help yourself. I really shouldn’t eat them all on my own. I’ll just get a vase for this,” she ruffled the wing the flower was nestled under, “and meet you upstairs.”

“Sounds great!” Rainbow jumped to the air, grinning ecstatically at Twilight before zipping up the stairs and out of sight.

Chuckling to herself at her friend’s speedy exit, Twilight trotted into the kitchen. As she extended her magic to reach for a vase, however, her brow furrowed and a creeping sense of worry and confusion tugged at her heart. Rainbow was acting weird, there was no doubt about that. She was excited, nervous, and frightened all at the same time. “She wasn’t like that this morning,” Twilight murmured, filling the vase with some water from the sink. “And why was she wearing you in her mane?” she asked the rose as she lowered it into the vase. As an afterthought, she brought out two cups and set about preparing some coffee

Something about the rose caught her eye as Twilight turned and caught it glistening in the evening sunlight. Squinting, she ran a hoof along one of its petals as her eyes traced the heart-shaped patterns created by the flower’s stamen. She didn’t remember the rose being so vibrant before. It sparkled almost as if it were made of crystal, casting motes of royal blue across the kitchen as it caught the light. It was beautiful. Not that it wasn’t before, but since she gave it to Rainbow it looked even more so.

Shrugging it off to exhaustion and a long day, Twilight lifted the vase in her magic. The beauty of the flower wasn’t important—at least not right now. Once she started her experiments, whatever might have caused any changes would be incredibly noteworthy. Could it be close proximity to Rainbow’s ambient pegasus magic making it change? Perhaps over the course of the day it picked up on the love permeating Ponyville’s atmos—Twilight shook her head, dispelling such thoughts. No, what was important right now was figuring out what was weighing on Rainbow’s mind.

As Twilight paced her way up to the library, the vase and two cups of piping-hot coffee in tow, she clicked her tongue in thought. Rainbow seemed fine this morning as far as Twilight could tell. A little impatient, perhaps, but she was always fidgety if she sat still for longer than five minutes. Then again… Twilight sighed. She barely took the time to explain herself, let alone ask how Rainbow was doing. She made a mental note to apologize for that as she pushed the library door open.

“There you are!” Rainbow smiled at Twilight from one of the library’s windowsills. She lay with her head resting on an outstretched hoof, seemingly content. The way her tail swished behind her and the twitching of her wings betrayed her impatience and drew a giggle from Twilight. Hopping down from her perch, Rainbow brushed her bangs out of her face in a show of nonchalance. “I thought you got lost in your own castle… again.”

“That only happened one time,” Twilight retorted as she closed the door behind her, ignoring the building warmth in her cheeks. She levitated the two steaming cups of coffee and the vase holding the rose in and set them down on her desk. “I thought you might like some coffee to go with the desserts while we read.”

Rainbow smiled, fluttering over to the coffee and eyeing the rose fondly. “Thanks, but I’m not really that hungry.”

“You’re not?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Not even for Pinkie Pie’s cinnamon buns? I know they’re your favourite.”

Rainbow bit her lip and shook her head. “No thanks.” She wrapped a hoof around her stomach. “Just not really digging it right now. Coffee sounds great, though.”

Something was definitely wrong. Rainbow never turned down a cinnamon bun from Sugarcube Corner.

“Okaaaaay,” Twilight said slowly, her eyebrow remaining firmly raised. With her eyes trained on the pegasus staring at the flower, she walked over to her favourite cushion before pulling another one next to it for Rainbow. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Rainbow said, finally turning away from the flower. “I’d rather save my appetite for dinner.” She picked up her coffee and gave Twilight a knowing wink.

“Uh, okay?” More confused than ever, Twilight settled down on her cushion. Shaking her head, she pulled her forelegs under her as she brought her mug of coffee over to her and plucked a few books from their shelves with her magic. “So,” she started, aiming for a semblance of normalcy, “what would you like to start with today?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow said in an impish tone. Sporting a sly grin, she flapped her wings and settled down next to Twilight. “What do you feel like starting with?”

“Uh…” Twilight stared at Rainbow, whose muzzle was now only a few inches away from her own. Her eyes flicked from the empty cushion a hoofstep away and back to the pegasus pressed up against her. The cushion they were apparently sharing was big enough for two ponies, but only just. The feathers of Rainbow’s wing mingled with Twilight’s and their flanks brushed against each other as cerise eyes filled Twilight’s vision. “Rainbow? What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing?’” Rainbow asked innocently. “I’m just sitting next to my best friend in the world, who I would never leave hanging no matter what she might want to ask me.”

“That’s… really nice to know, but…” Twilight tried to lean away as Rainbow leaned in closer. “You know there’s an empty cushion right there, right?”

“Yeah, but this is more fun,” Rainbow said, her eyes lidding never leaving Twilight’s. She smirked as Twilight began to sweat before straightening up and ruffling her feathers. “I figured it would be easier for us to share a book like this… unless you have a problem getting a little cozy with me.”

“No, of course not.” Twilight cleared her throat and turned her attention back to the books. She tried to ignore Rainbow pressing into her side and nearly jumped when she felt a feather that wasn’t her own trace along her side. She whipped her head around to glare at the owner of the offending feather.

“Sorry,” Rainbow said, spreading her wing with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Twilight got the feeling that she wasn’t. “Just stretching.”

“It’s fine,” Twilight said, looking back at the books after a prolonged lingering stare. She cleared her throat again, mindful of any wandering feathers, and said, “I was thinking we could reread Daring Do and the Sunken Palace since the next book is supposed to come out in a few weeks. It might take a while though since it’s one of the longer books in the series.”

“Sounds good to me, Twi.” Rainbow purred and rested her head on her forelegs. “You take all the time you need,” she added in what could only be described as a suggestive tone.

Twilight raised both of her eyebrows at that. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothin’.” Rainbow chuckled. “That’s a really nice flower you picked up today.”

“Yes, I guess it is,” Twilight said with a frown, trying to guess where Rainbow was going with this change in conversation. “It looks different from this morning, though, doesn’t it?”

“I dunno.” Rainbow shrugged, staring fondly at the flower once more. “It was in my mane most of the day, so it was kinda hard to watch it.” She fell silent for a moment, then added, “You know, I bet any pony would be really lucky if you gave it to them.”

“I… suppose.”

“That was a compliment, Twi.”

“Oh.” Twilight pulled at a loose thread on the cushion. “Thank you.”

Rainbow chuckled again and snuggled up closer to Twilight. Their hooves brushed against each other as Rainbow settled down. “So, any plans for Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“I’ve been at Sugarcube Corner helping Pinkie Pie bake everything from muffins to cakes all day.” Twilight glanced out the window and regarded Rainbow with a flummoxed stare. “And it’s almost sunset.”

“Yeah, but the day isn’t over yet, is it?” Rainbow smirked and waved a hoof. “I remember Rarity saying that the real magic of Hearts and Hooves Day happens at night, or something like that. There’s totally still time and for all I know you could have the foxiest mare in Ponyville lined up and waiting for you.”

“That’s true enough.” Twilight tried to edge away from Rainbow only for her hindleg to drop off the pillow and land on the cold, crystal floor. She stifled a yelp at the contact. “But besides this, I don’t have any plans. Just you, me, and whatever we decide to do.”

Rainbow’s eyes seemed to glow at that. She looked to the side, a soft smile on her face. “That means a lot to me, Twilight. Thanks.”

“No problem?” Twilight cleared her throat and pulled her leg back onto the cushion. “What about you? Anypony catch your eye?”

“Something like that.” Rainbow giggled.

“Oh?” Twilight’s ears perked up and she lifted her head. “Who?”

“Well, they didn’t exactly catch my eye,” Rainbow said with a coy smirk. “More like I caught theirs, which doesn’t surprise me.” She stretched out a leg and wings and tossed her mane to the side. “Not to brag, but I’m a total knockout, don’t you think?”

Twilight rolled her eyes but couldn’t help a small giggle. “Judging from how many heads you turned at the Gala a few weeks ago, I’d have to agree. So,” she said with a playful jab to Rainbow’s shoulder. “Who’s the lucky pony? And did you say yes?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow teased. “That should probably stay between me and her.”

“It’s a her? Come on, Rainbow, you know I won’t make fun of you or go crazy over it. I just want to know.”

Rainbow tapped her hoof to her chin, the twinkle in her eye belying her seemingly thoughtful mask. “Well… okay, I’ll give you a hint.” She shuffled a little closer to Twilight and grinned like a fox. “You know her.”

Twilight frowned. “That isn’t much of a hint. I know a lot of mares and over half of Ponyville is mares.”

“Oh, I think you know who I’m talking about, Twilight,” Rainbow murmured.

“I do?” Twilight swallowed and took a hasty sip of her now cool coffee. “Can you at least tell me if you said yes or not?”

“That depends.” Rainbow smirked as Twilight stared at her coffee. “She hasn’t asked me yet.”

“She hasn’t?” Twilight lifted her gaze and looked out the window at the sky turning a dark shade of blue. “Well, she’d better hurry up or she’s going to lose her chance.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Rainbow snickered and stretched out on the cushion. “But there’s still time, you know. Hearts and Hooves Day isn’t over yet. She’s a really brave, really radical mare, and I know she’s got the guts to just come out and say it, even if she needs a little push.” She gently shoved Twilight’s shoulder as if to prove the point.

Twilight nodded and rubbed her shoulder. “I guess if you think so…” She frowned. A lot of things about this conversation were bugging her, and all of them were in the form of the pony pressed up against her. After a few seconds, she added, “I hope things work out between you two.”

“Oh, I know they will,” Rainbow said with an air of ease and confidence. She winked at Twilight. “If it’ll help her, I’m totally thinking about saying yes.”

“That’s… good to know.” Twilight looked away from Rainbow’s encouraging smile. The two fell into a lapse of silence, one stretched out and laid back while the other frowned at her coffee, lost in her thoughts. She played the scene of Rainbow’s arrival over and over again in her mind’s eye, trying to piece together a puzzle she knew she had all the pieces to but didn’t know the picture they’d eventually create.

As the silence dragged on, Rainbow got more and more restless. Twilight could tell she was trying to maintain her posture of cool and relaxed, but every few seconds she caught her stealing quick glances before pretending to stare at a spot on the wall. Her hooves began to fidget on the velvety cushion and her tail began to flick behind her.

After she cleared her throat for the third time, Twilight huffed and turned on her. “Okay, spill it.”

“Spill what?” Rainbow propped herself up on her hooves. “I don’t have anything to spill.”

“Oh, yes you do.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed.

“Nuh-uh!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Twilight before giving her a teasing smirk. “I think you got it backwards, Sparkle.”

Twilight, for her part, responded with an incredulous stare.

“Oh, come on, I won’t bite.” Rainbow tapped her chin with the tip of her hoof. “Unless you’re into that. Then I totally will and it’ll be totally hot.”

“What?!”

“Okay, okay.” Rainbow sat up and raised her hooves placatingly even though her eyes radiated mirth. “No biting, I got it.”

“Rainbow, what are you talking about?”

“Would you stop playing around?” Rainbow’s confidence faltered and her smirk fell into a small frown. “It’s really not cool, Twilight. It was kinda fun and cute at first, but now you’re just dragging it out.”

“Rainbow,” Twilight deadpanned with a tired sigh. “I’m being completely honest with you when I’m saying that I have no idea what you’re going on about.”

“Ugh, seriously?” Rainbow continued on, not dissuaded in the slightest by Twilight’s words. “I’m not even being subtle about it here!”

“Subtle?” Twilight’s brow furrowed. Something clicked as the gears in her head started to turn. “Wait…”

“Twilight, are you sure there isn’t something you want to ask me?” Rainbow asked in a strained voice. The playfulness and content that coloured her features was gone and in its place was a mixture of frustration, exasperation, and the tiniest bit of desperation.

“Rainbow…” The dots began to connect, and a dawning realization grew in Twilight’s eyes. “Are you—”

“Oh, for the love of Celestia, Twilight!” Rainbow huffed and prodded the alicorn’s chest. “Are you gonna ask me out or what?”

And then everything made sense.

Chapter 5

Things weren’t going according to plan.

Granted, there wasn’t much of a plan to begin with. Rainbow Dash didn’t really do plans. She was a mare of action, who kicked dragons in the face first and worried about the consequences later. Sometimes, like when she kicked dragons in the face, she came to regret not considering those consequences earlier. This was another one of those times.

A pregnant silence fell between her and Twilight, and Rainbow felt her mouth go dry and her brow starting to sweat. Her stomach somersaulted, knocking her heart into her throat as her friend stared at her, boring holes into her with her violet eyes. As she scrambled to collect her thoughts, a nagging, doubtful voice shunted to the back of her mind surged to the forefront of her mind.

Was I wrong?

Her throat seized shut. She couldn’t be wrong. She was so sure. No, the nagging voice said. Fluttershy was so sure. Her and Roseluck, and they talked you into it all.

It would be so unfair if she was wrong. As much as Rainbow refused to admit it, she was excited at the thought of Twilight bearing a crush for her. Her heart seemed to glow on the flight over, empowering her wings with every flap and making her want to cheer into the wind. She felt wanted. She felt special. Of course she knew she was special, but this was something different. Now, though, that feeling was washed away and in its place was an icy ball of doubt that sat in her gut, freezing the blood that had been previously pumping in her ears and was filling her body with a heated excitement and giddiness.

Don’t think that way. She’s totally into you. She has to be.

She remembered what Roseluck told her, and a spark of hope warmed the ice in her veins. Twilight bought the flower for ‘experiments,’ and there was no way those experiments could be for anything else than getting Rainbow between the sheets. Of this, she was sure. Then, she remembered who the alicorn sitting just a few inches was, and she decidedly ignored the fact that it was equally possible that Twilight bought the rose for actual experiments. Not the ones Rainbow was into, but the ones that involved measurements, recordings, and machines that went beep.

Part of Rainbow wished she could wind back time and stop herself from saying what she just said. Maybe if she gave Twilight more time, she would have asked her out on her own and in her own way. For all Rainbow knew, there was some extravagant plan that involved magical fireworks and an awesome first date and she screwed it all up. The thought added a smidgen of guilt to the already overwhelming mosaic of emotions blanketing her heart and mind.

However, the fact that Twilight—up until recently—was staring at her with uncomprehending eyes made that plan seem less likely to exist. Now, her friend and thought-to-have-been crush was regarding her with a look of realization and surprise. Rainbow’s heart hammered in her chest and an embarrassed blush warm her cheeks. As the seconds dragged on, she began to panic. She couldn’t show it, of course, but the creeping understanding that she had been making a fool of herself in front of her best friend because of a flower and a couple overly-romantic ponies gnawed at her thoughts and sent her confidence into a tailspin.

Just as she was about to babble out an excuse and fly far, far away, Twilight broke the silence with a laugh. Rainbow’s face was an unreadable mask as Twilight threw her head back, her peals of laughter filling the library and bouncing off of the crystal walls. Not sure whether she should be terrified or relieved, Rainbow twisted her mouth into a smile and forced a few stiff chuckles.

“Oh, Rainbow, of course that’s what this is all about,” Twilight said once her laughter died down to the occasional giggle.

“I-It is?” Rainbow asked, trying and failing to keep her voice from cracking.

“Yes, it all makes sense now.” Twilight wiped a tear from her eye and giggled again. “I’m sorry for laughing, but it’s just so obvious what’s been bugging you and I was blind enough not to see it.”

Rainbow swallowed and scratched the back of her neck. Unable to meet Twilight’s gaze, she settled for staring at her hooves. “Yeah…” She bit her lip. “I’ve just been waiting all day for you to ask me, and I guess I kind of snapped. Sorry.”

“No, I should be apologizing,” Twilight said as she rested a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, giving the pegasus the confidence to look back up and smile sheepishly. “Like you said, you weren’t exactly being subtle. I should’ve known better.” She looked over her shoulder at her wings. “Even though I’ve been crowned the princess of friendship, I still have a lot to learn, even about my own friends.”

Rainbow sighed, relief rolling down around her in waves. “It’s no biggie, Twi. I just figured you would’ve asked me right off the bat,” she said with a chuckle.

“Why would I do that?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Unless… of course.” She returned the chuckle and shook her head. “I really have been blind, haven’t I? I’m sorry for not noticing sooner.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll need to think about it,” she said, smiling in an understanding way that Rainbow didn’t quite understand herself. “But I promise things won’t change between us. It means a lot that you think of me this way.”

“Um, thanks, I guess?” Rainbow cocked her head. She was no fan of mushy romance stories, but even Daring Do had the odd romance subplot, and from what she knew she was pretty sure that she should be the one making this speech.

“I just need to know one thing before I answer.” Rainbow’s confusion grew when Twilight looked down, a light pink colouring her cheeks. “How long have you had a crush on me?”

A second passed.

“What?!” Rainbow shrieked, making Twilight jolt up in surprise. “What do you mean how long have I had a crush on you?”

Twilight stood up and stepped away, rubbing her ears. “I mean exactly what I said!” She stared at Rainbow with a mix of confusion and annoyance. “How long have you had a crush on me? It’s a simple thing to ask, really, since you just asked me out.”

“No I didn’t!” Rainbow said, jumping to her hooves and flaring her wings. “I asked you when you were gonna ask me out!”

“Technicality.” Twilight waved a hoof and rolled her eyes. “It’s the same principle.”

“No it isn’t!” Rainbow insisted, pointing an accusing hoof at Twilight. “Because you’re the one with the crush! I’m totally the mare of your dreams, not the other way around!”

“What?” Twilight, to Rainbow’s chagrin, chuckled. “You think I have a crush on you? What in Equestria gave you that idea?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Rainbow grit her teeth even as her heart fluttered weakly in her chest. “You and I both know that you totally have the hots for me!” She grinned wickedly and drew a hoof down her side. “Not that I’d blame you. You’d have to be blind not to be drooling over me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Twilight grumbled. “Rainbow, I do not have a crush on you. Believe me, I would know if I did.”

“Do to!” Rainbow glared and stretched out her wings, showing them off fully. She put on her best sultry look and smiled at Twilight with half-lidded eyes. All she needed to do was make her blush and slip up and her point would be proven. Twilight would be exposed for the liar that she is and then she would be swept off her hooves, just like Rainbow knew she always dreamed. “You know you can’t take your eyes off of me.”

“Rainbow.” Twilight sighed and rubbed her temples with her hooves. “I know you can be afraid of admitting how you feel sometimes—”

“I am not!” Rainbow barked, her sultry gaze slipping away.

“—but this is ridiculous.” She shook her head and frowned. “There’s no need to be afraid of confessing that you have feelings for me. For a long time too, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah, well, then your guessing stinks!” Rainbow growled and stomped over to the flower, which was glistening innocently in its vase. Twilight may have been immune to her bodily charms, but she still had tangible evidence. “Because I’m not the one who bought a super rare, super expensive love flower!”

“Love flower?” Twilight deadpanned. “It’s called a Chaos Rose, Rainbow.”

“Whatever! You still bought it!”

“So?” Twilight huffed and walked across the room. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh, come on, Twilight.” Rainbow rolled her eyes theatrically. She jumped into the air and hovered over the flower, prodding it with the tip of her hoof. “It has everything to do with it, and you know it!”

“No, I don’t, because it has nothing to do with anything.”

“Yes it does! You gave it to me! That’s, like, one step away from asking me to hop into your saddle and take you for a night-long ride.”

“Wh-what?!” Twilight stammered as her face turned red.

Rainbow grinned at the small victory. “You heard me! You gave me the love flower, so you totally love me!”

“That isn’t how it works!”

“Yes it is,” Rainbow said in a sing-song voice. “What were you saying? Don’t be afraid to confess that you have feelings for me?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Well? I’m waiting.”

“I do not have a crush on you!” Twilight stamped her hoof on the crystal floor, meeting Rainbow’s teasing gaze with a leveling stare. “If I did, don’t you think I would have told you? It would be kind of important to me!”

“Aha! You just admitted that I’m important to you!” Rainbow landed on the floor in a clatter of hooves. “See? Totally crushing on me.”

“Of course you’re important to me!”

“I knew it!” She pumped her hoof before a smirk eased its way onto her face. “So, you gonna ask me out or what? Most mares might be put off by all this commotion, but I know you and you’re really hot and really awesome.” She winked. “Well?”

Twilight groaned and brought a hoof to her forehead. “Yes, Rainbow, you’re important to me. You’re one of my best friends!” She dragged the hoof slowly down her face. “But that doesn’t mean that I have a crush on you.”

“But you gave me the flower!”

“To hold on to for me!”

“Wh-what?” Rainbow faltered. A dreaded sense of doubt crept into her thoughts and she looked at the floor, searching for answers that weren’t there. Fear gripped at her as every possible scenario flew through her head at speeds even she marveled at. “Was it meant for somepony else?” She asked in a voice too quiet for her liking.

“No!” Twilight shook her mane. “It wasn’t!”

“Then what are you even talking about?” Rainbow’s face slipped from a frown to a scowl in record time. “You’re not making any sense!”

“I’m not making any sense?” Twilight scoffed and trotted up to Rainbow with eyes glaring daggers. She felt herself take an instinctive step back when the alicorn towered over her—albeit only by a few inches, but she shrunk away all the same. “You’re the one who barged in here— ”

“I was invited!” Rainbow protested, trying to draw herself up to Twilight’s height. “It’s our reading night and you insisted on having it!”

“Minor details!” Twilight growled, then took a deep breath. She backed away from Rainbow and sat on her haunches. “Listen, Rainbow,” she said in a voice that made the pegasus groan. It was the voice Twilight used whenever she was frustrated with her but was trying to stay calm and was only marginally worse than her lecture voice. “This is a really poor way to confess your feelings for me. If you wanted to try going on a date, I wouldn’t have said no.”

“My feelings?” Rainbow started with a huff of exasperation. Then, Twilight’s words caught up to her and she hesitated mid-snarl. “Wait… you’d say yes?”

“I didn’t say that.” Twilight shook her head with a face that masked any emotion. “I said I wouldn’t say no.”

“Oh…” Rainbow muttered, clenching her jaw and staring at the floor. Her wings betrayed her as they sagged to the floor as she took in Twilight’s words. She shook her head and mentally slapped herself. She knew she shouldn’t be sad over this. There was nothing to be sad over.

“But if it was really that important to you…” Twilight lifted Rainbow’s head with a hoof and smiled warmly down at her. Her ears perked and the corners of her lips tugged up as she began to return the smile. It was impossible not to with the soft, glowing look in Twilight’s eyes. “Then I’d be willing to try. Am I that important to you, Rainbow?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to answer, then immediately shut it. “Wait a minute.” She pushed Twilight’s hoof away as her eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re turning this around on me! You’re still just trying to make me think that I have the crush here!”

“Not this again. And we were making some progress, too…” Twilight facehoofed and Rainbow grit her teeth. “Rainbow, you said it yourself. You haven’t exactly been subtle about it today.”

“Only because you wouldn’t have ponied up to ask me out!”

“If I wanted to ask you out, I would have. But I didn’t, and you asked me out of your own volition. Don’t pretend like I had anything to do with that.” Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof. “Well, besides me being the object of your crush, but that goes without saying.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow spread her wings in an unspoken challenge. “You wanna talk about subtlety? You haven’t really been all that subtle either!”

“…What?”

Rainbow ignored the look of incomprehension on Twilight’s face and pressed forward. “Sweet Apple Acres!” She grinned wildly, feeling her heart hammer in her chest as she suppressed the voice of doubt clamouring in her head. “Last week you jumped on my back and hugged my neck! Heck, you practically rode me like a wild bronco!”

“Jumped on your… what?” Twilight stood her ground as the pegasus advanced, meeting her accusing stare with unwavering calm. Rainbow’s eye twitched. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about anymore!”

“In the barn!” Rainbow stood her tallest, coming short of Twilight by a few inches. She would make her tell the truth. The way her friend just raised her eyebrows made her hesitate for only a second before continuing. “And don’t think I haven’t caught all those times you were staring at me or all those times when your feathers brushed my flanks! I thought it was all a bunch of accidents, but it was totally feathermarking.”

“The barn? That’s what you’re basing this theory off of?”

“No!” Rainbow looked away. The calmness of Twilight’s voice was unnerving and she couldn’t shake the doubt that nagged at her mind and clawed at her heart. “You giving me the most romantic flower ever on Hearts and Hooves Day is a pretty big hint though.”

“I told you, I gave you that flower to hang on to for me,” Twilight said in a voice that hid no false truths. “And if I recall, a snake slithered out from behind one of the barrels that day.” She shuddered. “You know I can’t stand snakes.”

A pit formed in Rainbow’s stomach. She looked back at Twilight, searching her eyes for any hints that she was lying. When she found none, she took a step back. The burning passion and certainty slipped away into the pit in her stomach. “But… then…”

A purple hoof rested on Rainbow’s shoulder. “As for my wing brushing up against you… those were all accidents. I wasn’t feathermarking you.” Twilight paused and studied Rainbow. “I don’t know what made you think otherwise.”

Even though the hoof was meant to be comforting, it felt like an iron weight on Rainbow’s shoulder. She watched Twilight’s eyes as she spoke and hung onto every word, listening for any stutter or any hesitation. The sincerity that filled them, however, sent her confidence and her surety crumbling away into dust.

“Rainbow?” Twilight asked with a concerned frown. “Are you all right?”

Rainbow clenched her jaw in response. She didn’t know if she should scream, laugh, run, or all three at once. A tempest of emotions left her mouth dry as she tried to speak. What came out was little more than a croak. Her eyes stung and she felt like she had been kicked in the gut. Winded, she hung her head, but what was even worse was the hollow pang of disappointment that echoed through her form.

“Rainbow?” Twilight asked again, her voice more urgent.

“Roseluck and Fluttershy said!” Rainbow said in an unsteady and wavering voice, holding on to the last shreds of her dignity. She looked away from Twilight and her breathing quickened. “Th-they said!”

“Roseluck and Fluttershy… is that what this is all about?” Twilight tried to catch Rainbow’s gaze even as she stared at the ground, shadowing her eyes behind her bangs. “Did they convince you that I had a crush on you?”

“Why else would you give me a Chaos Rose?” Rainbow asked in a weak and vulnerable voice that she despised. “On… On Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“Pinkie Pie needed my help at Sugarcube Corner today. I got distracted by Roseluck’s flower stand. One thing led to another and I ended up buying a Chaos Rose.”

“The only one she had.” Rainbow bored holes into the floor with her eyes. “For fifty bits. And you gave it to me, and she said…”

“I was running late and Pinkie was starting to panic. I couldn’t leave the flower hanging around Sugarcube Corner. It would get trampled or lost in the flour or Celestia-knows-what. You know how hectic it can get there. Then I saw you in the crowd.” Twilight shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “It was a fortunate coincidence.”

“But she said you bought it for experiments,” Rainbow pointed out, her voice cracking. “Experiments that involved a special somepony.”

“Legend has it that the Chaos Flower was created by Discord a long time ago. I wanted to run a series of experiments to test and analyze the properties of their latent chaos magic.” The calm and steady tone of Twilight’s voice shook Rainbow to her core. Her gaze dropped to the floor even as she heard Twilight clear her throat. “If I wasn’t so exhausted, I probably would have chalkboards with experiment procedures drawn up already.”

Experiments with beeping machines it was.

“But…” Rainbow sank to her haunches and her forelegs wobbled. She swallowed against her dry throat. “But I thought…” She looked up, her head swimming and a bitter taste on her tongue. “You were so antsy, a-and you ran away!”

“Pinkie was breathing down my neck,” Twilight said in a gentle voice. Concern and a comforting warmth radiated from her eyes and Rainbow looked away. She still had her pride, and she couldn’t bear the look of sympathy aimed at her. “I panicked, and I should have explained to you better what was going on. I’m sorry.”

Rainbow rubbed her eyes, cringing and scrunching her eyelids shut when her hoof came away wet. She bit the inside of her cheek and scolded herself, willing her eyes to dry. Rainbow Dash did not cry, especially not over a flower.

“Rainbow? Are you crying?”

“No!” Rainbow snapped, hiding her face from Twilight. “It’s just…” She turned away and sat facing the wall. She took several deep breaths, going through the breathing routine she was taught at the Wonderbolts Academy. It did little to help. “You nuzzled me and everything! I was so sure! That didn’t mean anything?”

“I was saying thank you.” She heard Twilight take a few steps towards her. Each step was slow and cautious, as if she was afraid that Rainbow would fly away at any sudden movement. With how she was feeling, maybe that wasn’t too far from the truth. She let out a half-hearted huff and stared at the wall, hating how her reflection stared back at her with red, puffy eyes. “I nuzzle my friends all the time.”

Rainbow hung her head. As much as she couldn’t handle Twilight’s sympathy, looking at the hurt, disappointment, and sting of rejection colouring her features was worse. Her shoulders sagged as she stared at her hooves. “Then… then this really was all a big misunderstanding. You didn’t mean to give me that flower.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” She didn’t need to look to see the concern etched over Twilight’s face. “I’m sorry I got your hopes up.”

“I’m such an idiot,” Rainbow muttered, wiping her cheek.

“I didn’t mean to lead you on,” Twilight said, her voice barely above a whisper as she rested a gentle hoof on Rainbow’s back. The pegasus’ wings twitched as she made contact, but she didn’t resist. “I didn’t even know you had feelings for me.”

“I don’t have feelings for you,” Rainbow said dourly, shrugging off Twilight’s hoof. She knew it was true—right down to her shaken core, even if it felt like she swallowed something incredibly sour. It was so silly to think otherwise. Nopony had ever asked her out before, and Twilight was no different. An ache in her chest, however, suggested otherwise.

She is different, and you know it. She’s one of the most amazing ponies you’ve ever met.

“Rainbow, you don’t need to lie.” The frown on Twilight’s face carried into her voice. She stepped around Rainbow and sat in front of her, a pair of purple hooves joining the two cyan ones in her field of view. The tip of a tail flicked into view, and the pair of hooves shuffled before one rose and found its place back on Rainbow’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You don’t need to hide your feelings from me anymore.”

“I’m not lying,” Rainbow grumbled, her voice hollow to her own ears. She tried to shrug off Twilight’s hoof again, but it remained firmly in place. Grunting, she pushed it away only for it to settle back down on her shoulder a second later. “Lemme go.”

“I can’t do that,” Twilight said in a firm but kind voice. “Not when one of my best friends is hurting.”

“I’m fine,” Rainbow spat as her eyes started to water. She rubbed them roughly with a hoof and tried to turn away, only for Twilight to tug her back. “I said I’m fine! Lemme go and lemme forget that this ever happened!”

The hoof left her shoulder and she turned to tear through the door and fly as far away from Twilight’s castle as possible. Maybe in a couple weeks she could look her in the eye without feeling like a complete loser. Just as she spread her wings, Twilight’s hoof returned and lifted Rainbow’s chin. Paralyzed by the unexpected touch, she didn’t resist as her eyes met Twilight’s.

“Then why do you look like I just broke your heart?” Twilight asked in a whisper. Her eyes shined with concern and warmth, making Rainbow’s stomach squirm and her chest tighten.

“I...” Rainbow licked her dry lips. “I’m not...” Her wings fluttered weakly by her sides.

“Please, just talk to me.” Twilight lowered her hoof and sat down, a patient smile gracing her lips. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Rainbow nodded dumbly, enraptured by Twilight’s gaze. Her mouth drew into a wobbly line and she looked back down at her hooves. Her face warmed and her heart fluttered in her chest as she tried to collect her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she looked up through her bangs, her ears perking up when she saw Twilight’s smile. “I don’t have a crush on you,” she said in a quiet voice.

Twilight frowned. “Rainbow, you don’t—”

“I mean it.” Rainbow scratched one foreleg with the other, forcing herself to not look away. She swallowed against her throat and her wings twitched and flicked by her sides. “Or I didn’t before today.” She felt the blush heating her cheeks as the truth of those words made her wings quiver. She knew it was silly—perhaps even more silly than thinking Twilight had feelings for her—but there was no point in fooling herself otherwise. She had played the fool enough for one day.

“What changed?” Twilight asked, unfazed by Rainbow’s words. She stood steady and unwavering by Rainbow, like she always did.

“Well, um...” Rainbow looked over Twilight’s shoulder at the rose and chewed her lip.

“Oh...” Twilight followed Rainbow’s gaze and frowned at the flower. Her horn lit up and the vase floated over between the two ponies. She ran a hoof along one of its petals, contemplation and reservation filling the contours of her face. “This made you have feelings for me?”

Rainbow shrugged, dropping her gaze. “Not really. You know I’m not big on flowers and all that junk.” She gave a small smirk. “I actually almost gagged after you left. It’s so not me.”

“But you were wearing it in your mane,” Twilight said in a distant voice, her lips pulled down in a frown.

“Yeah, well, it grew on me.” Rainbow’s face softened as she watched Twilight examine the flower. A weight felt as if it had lifted off of her shoulders and her wings sagged to the floor. “I really let myself buy into it, huh?”

“But why?” Twilight lifted her head and subjected Rainbow to the same scrutinizing stare. “What changed? Was it Fluttershy and Roseluck?”

“Kind of...” Rainbow closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath. “It was just... nopony’s ever asked me out on Hearts and Hooves Day, you know?”

“No, I don’t.” Twilight’s brow furrowed and her frown deepened. “Well, I guess I do. Nopony’s ever asked me either, but what does that have to do with this? And for that matter, since when do you care about Hearts and Hooves Day?”

“I don’t.” Rainbow’s tail flicked behind her as she ruffled her wings. “It’s just... when I thought that you gave me the flower, and I thought that you wanted me to be your special somepony...” She sighed and let her ears fold back against her head, a familiar pang of loneliness thrumming through her body. “I dunno, it made me feel like somepony wanted me.”

“Of course somepony wants you, Rainbow,” Twilight said in a soft voice. “You’re an amazing pony. Anypony would be lucky to call you their girlfriend.”

Rainbow chuckled dryly. “You don’t need to tell me how awesome I am, Twi,” she said with a hint of her usual bravado. Even though she knew there were no implications behind Twilight’s words, she couldn’t help but feel a little elated. She flapped her wings and scratched her scalp. “But thanks. After you gave it to me and after Fluttershy convinced me that... you know... I started to think about things.”

“Like what?”

“Like how I actually wouldn’t mind being with you.” Her wings twitched and she shuffled her weight from hoof to hoof. On the flight over, she pictured this exact same scenario but the other way around. The irony almost made her want to laugh. “It’s fun being around you, Twilight. You’re smart, and funny, and caring, and after I thought about it for a bit really hot.” She cleared her throat and stared into the alicorn’s eyes, feeling a bubbly warmth seep throughout her body. “I guess I saw things in a different light, and I liked what I saw.”

“R-really?” Twilight’s eyes bulged as her cheeks turned pink. She ruffled her wings and looked away, the change in demeanour enough to make Rainbow smirk. This was more like what she planned.

“Yeah. The best part of it was how I thought that you thought I was special enough to give me that rose.” She prodded one of the flower’s petal, smiling slyly up at Twilight. The alicorn was staring down at her, her hoof over her chest and visibly having difficulty keeping her wings folded at her sides. “It made me want to make you feel just as special. Nopony’s ever gone out of their way to make me feel like that, and it felt really, really good. It was kinda like winning the Best Young Flier’s contest all over again. But...” Her face fell. No matter how good it felt to be wanted, the reminder that none of it was true took away that special feeling, leaving her empty and hollow. “None of that was true. It was all a stupid misunderstanding, and I stupid enough to think...”

“Rainbow...”

She looked away, her pathetic reflection staring back at her with shining eyes. She ground her teeth at the sight. “It’s fine.” She looked up and forced an overly-wide grin, one that neither she or Twilight would believe. “See? Just another dumb mistake I made. Sorry for messing up reading night. I should go before I really screw up and kiss you or something.”

Before she had a chance to leave, she found herself engulfed in a sea of purple smelling faintly of Twilight’s lilac shampoo. A pair of forelegs wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her in like a vice. Rainbow stiffened in the embrace, her breath catching as she felt warm puffs of air against her ear and Twilight’s warm coat brushing up against hers.

“You didn’t mess anything up, Rainbow.” Twilight’s voice came in warm and comforting waves and Rainbow leaned into the hug, letting the warmth spill over her. “And you’re not stupid.”

“You didn’t let a flower convince you that your best friend had a crush on you,” Rainbow murmured into Twilight’s mane. “Sounds pretty stupid to me.”

“No, not stupid.” Twilight squeezed Rainbow tighter and her hooves started moving in small circle along her back. “It’s really kind of sweet, actually.”

“Sweet?” Rainbow bit back a sharp laugh. She buried her face in the crook of Twilight’s neck, revelling in the comfort that it provided. She stifled a gasp when a set of large, downy wings joined the embrace and covered her in a blanket of affection. She shuddered and closed her eyes. “What part of this is sweet?”

“Well,” Twilight started slowly, her voice hesitant to Rainbow’s ears. “You did just confess to having feelings for me.”

Rainbow pulled back enough to look Twilight in the eye. Her ears were folded back and she bit her lip in a frown. Warring emotions played across her face and Rainbow raised an eyebrow. A spark of giddy excitement and a mote of hope reignited somewhere in the recesses of her mind. Her wings twitched as she opened and closed her mouth. Tentatively, she asked, “What are you getting at?”

“My offer from before still stands.” Twilight’s tail swished behind her as her face settled into a small smile. “If you want to take me up on it, that is.”

“Offer?” Rainbow suddenly felt incredibly warm under Twilight’s wings. She stammered, trying to reign in control of her breathing. “What do you mean?”

“I told you, if I’m really that important to you, then I’ll give this a chance.” Twilight retracted her wings, folding them up neatly at her sides. She ran a hoof down her mane, sitting not even a single hoofstep from Rainbow with an almost bashful look in her eye. “And... well... am I important to you?”

“I-Important to me?” Rainbow echoed as her heart floundered. She shut her eyes and backed away from Twilight, her wings flaring and flapping haphazardly. The spark of hope grew into a steady glow, but she knew better now. “I don’t need a pity date, Twilight.”

“It isn’t a pity date!” Her eyes flew open at the urgency of Twilight’s words. Twilight surrounded her senses and her hooves clutched Rainbow’s own. “Rainbow, I may not have ‘feelings’ for you the way you do about me, but you’re still important to me,” she said in a calmer and soothing voice. “After hearing what you said, I want to give this a chance. I want to give you a chance to show me what you felt.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “Wh-what?” she croaked, blinking hard as if to make sure that she wasn’t hearing things. With wide eyes, she stared at Twilight’s hooves holding her own. “B-but why? How? It wasn’t even real.” She shook her head, her whole body tense and taut, ready to spring away at a second’s notice. Her heart had taken more than enough punishment today and she couldn’t let herself get her hopes up. “I-it was just a dumb mistake!”

“Who said mistakes were always bad things?” Twilight reached out and brushed Rainbow’s mane out of her face. She giggled lightly at the utterly baffled look Rainbow knew was painted over her face. “Meeting you girls wasn’t a bad thing, was it?”

“No, but what does that have to do with this?” Rainbow asked in a numb voice, her form trembling as Twilight’s hoof left her face.

“That was a mistake, wasn’t it?” Twilight gave a demure smile and fiddled with the tip of her tail. “I didn’t come to Ponyville to make friends. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t have befriended any of you. Now look at where we are because of that mistake.” She met Rainbow’s gaze with pinkened cheeks and a twinkle in her eye that Rainbow couldn’t place. “I think that this mistake could lead to something just as wonderful if we let it.”

“B-but how do you know?” Rainbow’s ears folded back against her head and she drew away from Twilight. “You said it yourself, you don’t even have feelings for me.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not important to me or that I don’t care about you,” Twilight insisted. “I already know that I’m happy when I’m around you and I can talk to you about anything. Like I said, you’re an amazing mare, and anypony would be lucky to call you their girlfriend, myself included.”

“B-but—” Rainbow sputtered, her voice failing her. She found herself searching Twilight’s face for any sign that she was lying for the second time that day. She strained her ears, listening for any falters in her voice betraying how she really felt. Twilight was either telling the truth or Rainbow was a poor judge of character. “You... you mean that?” She asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course I do. You know me better than that, don’t you?” Twilight grinned and then frowned when Rainbow didn’t return it. Rainbow was too far gone, her mind reeling and her thoughts scrambled as Twilight’s words sunk in. “Here, if that won’t convince you, maybe this will.”

“Huh?” Rainbow snapped to attention as Twilight bent down and plucked the rose from its vase. With eyes as wide as dinner plates and pupils shrunk to pinpricks, she sat stock-still as Twilight leaned in, filling her senses. Their cheeks met as the rose was placed with care behind Rainbow’s ear. She sucked in a deep breath as the rest of the world fell away. Vaguely, the pegasus was aware of her heart hammering in her chest and the burning blush that filled her cheeks.

Twilight sat back, her muzzle bright red. “There,” she said in a surprisingly even voice. After giving Rainbow an appraising look, she added, “It really does look good in your mane like that.”

Rainbow nodded, dumbstruck and not trusting herself to speak. She lifted a hesitant hoof to her mane and twitched when it made contact with the flower. It was there. This was real. This was all really happening. As the realization sunk in, a large, wobbly smile grew over Rainbow’s face. “Then... you mean...”

“Yes, Rainbow.” Twilight nodded and scuffed the floor. “One of us has to do it, so it might as well be me. I did buy the flower, after all.”

“But it’s yours, I couldn’t—”

A hoof pressed lightly to her lips silenced any more of Rainbow’s protests. “I may have bought it, but somepony today told me that it belongs to somepony else—somepony very special to me—and not under a microscope or in a vase. And I guess you’re that special somepony, Rainbow Dash.”

“I am?” Rainbow asked, her voice high-pitched and cracking, but she didn’t care. A bubbly happiness swelled in her chest, making her feel lighter than air.

Twilight giggled in response. “Yes, you are. The flower and what I’m about next to do should make that official.”

Rainbow’s brow furrowed. “What you’re about to do? What’re you—” Her voice cut off with a sharp intake of air as something warm and wet pressed against her cheek. An electric jolt ran down her spine, making her wings flare out in surprise and her cheeks ignite in a fresh fiery blush.

Twilight pulled away, her lips making a small pecking noise as they left Rainbow’s cheek. She took one look at the dopey grin that wormed its way over the pegasus’ face and burst out in a fit of giggles. “Come on,” she said between giggles, nuzzling Rainbow as she walked past her. Rainbow turned on auto-pilot, watching Twilight’s sashaying flanks walk to the library door. “You said you wanted me to feel as special as I made you feel. Well, now’s your chance.”

It took all of five seconds for Rainbow’s brain to restart. Coming to with a start, she bolted after Twilight. Her wings fluttered and flapped in an uncoordinated fashion as her hooves fumbled to carry her. Her date laughed as she skidded to a halt beside her, one that she returned heartily. “Oh, you can bet I’m going to make you feel special. Trust me, I’m going to make this a Hearts and Hooves Day you’ll never forget.”

“You already have,” Twilight said as Rainbow stretched a wing over her after a moment’s deliberation. The feeling in Rainbow’s chest expanded when Twilight leaned into the warmth of her wing. “But I can’t wait to see what else you have in store.”

Rainbow simply grinned in response, a skip in her step as the two walked out of the castle and down the road to Ponyville Square. “So, where are we going anyways?”

“Sugarcube Corner.” Twilight shivered and pressed into Rainbow’s side as a cool wind blew down the road.

“How are we gonna get a table this late?” Rainbow asked, trying to keep her eyes on the road in front of them and not on the pony nestled under her wing. The giddy smile she wore never faltered and the bounce never left her step as they passed other couples eyeing them with looks of surprise.

“Pinkie owes me a favour. Unless you have something else in mind?”

“Nope! Sugarcube Corner sounds great! You think we could still get in some reading tonight after?”

“We’ll see,” Twilight said in a teasing tone. Her hip bumped against Rainbow and they both chuckled. “Rarity might throw a fit that I let somepony in after the first date, but I think for you I could make an exception.”

“Well, I am pretty exceptional.”

“That you are,” Twilight murmured. “You know... this does feel pretty nice. I’m already glad that I gave you that flower by accident.”

The flower bobbed in the corner of Rainbow’s eye and she grinned. “Me too, Twi. Best Hearts and Hooves Day ever.”