Blossomforth was a complainer. Even when she didn't mean to be. Especially when she didn't mean to be. She tried to stay as cheerful as possible, but on some days she couldn't help but be negative about things.
It wasn't a nice day. Too many days in Ponyville were nice. There was bound to be a not-nice day here and there, and today was one of those not-nice days for so many reasons. All of those reasons, by the way, were perfectly valid reasons for her to complain. But she kept it to herself so as not to bother other ponies. Blossomforth was also a philanthropist.
First off, it was raining. On most occasions, Blossom wouldn't be able to blame that on anypony else. With her position on the Ponyville weather team, she typically had a hoof in the shapings of the weather. Today, though, was a different case altogether. Today, she could blame it on others. Mile High had taken it upon himself to move the rainstorm scheduled for next week to today. Blossom had no idea why he was allowed to do this, but the fact remained that the team had looked at the new schedule and followed through on it. Knowing Mile, he had some wacky reason for doing so, and right now she had no intentions of inquiring further to him.
Second...well, there were a number of things that qualified for that vaunted "second" position. Blossom was, on occasion, an indecisive pony, so she figured it was easier to go with the primary weather issue as first and lump everything else into "second."
"A little bit of a wider stance please, darling. I must measure your inseam."
"Sorry, Rarity," Blossom said quietly, trying not to let the frustration she'd been feeling find its way into her voice. As bad a day as she was having, a good friend like Rarity didn't deserve to have it taken out on her.
"Oh nonsense, there's no need to apologize," Rarity responded. "I know some ponies get mildly uncomfortable with this part of the measurements."
"It's not that," Blossom said. "I don't mind that at all." She chided herself mentally for how she worded that. Thankfully, Rarity either didn't notice her faux pas or chose to let it slide. With how badly things were going for her, the last thing she needed was to make things with Rarity awkward.
"Then what is it, darling?" Rarity asked. "Do pardon me for being so forward, but you're one of the most flexible ponies I know, to the point that it seems physically impossible to be so limber. Surely a light stretch shouldn't be an issue?"
Blossom wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. On one hoof, it was nice that Rarity knew her so well. On the other, the question did skirt the line of prying. She knew that Rarity had no ill intent in asking such a question, but it still had the potential to offend. Thankfully, Blossom wasn't easily offended. And either way, the fact that Rarity knew little details like that about her was nice.
"Normally it would be fine," Blossom answered. "But I pulled a muscle in my back while stretching this morning, and it's such a pain right now. I'm lucky I was on the ground or I'd be stranded in Cloudsdale."
"Good heavens!" Rarity exclaimed. "You poor dear! Does it hurt badly?"
Blossom considered her options carefully. Lying to a good friend like Rarity would feel awful, but she also wasn't keen on coming off like a weakling who couldn't handle a little pain. There had to be some manner of compromise.
"Just a little," Blossom replied. "Just enough to make things difficult."
Blossomforth was a genius beyond compare. Few ponies would have been capable of a compromise of that level. A wordsmith the likes of which ponykind had never seen before.
"You poor dear," Rarity repeated, her measuring tape running along Blossom's body. "That stretching of yours is very impressive but you must be careful not to hurt yourself." Rarity's words held the surprising ability to sound simultaneously flattering and lecturing. Blossom was left unsure whether she was being talked up or down to. Perhaps she was being talked straightforward to? She couldn't make left or right of the situation.
"Oh!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed. "I've got the most perfect idea! If you'll indulge me, of course."
"Of course," Blossom said, without a hint of hesitation. Rarity was a sweetheart. It was super-unlikely that any idea of hers would harm her in any way. Although there was the one time Rarity had her try on that particularly tight bodice...
"Well," Rarity began, pulling the measuring tape away and taking note of Blossom's measurements. "I typically go with Fluttershy to the spa, but she's preoccupied today. Seems a favorite ferret of hers has come down with some form of flu. I wouldn't mind going alone, but I would prefer company. Perhaps you'd like to be that company? They give lovely massages there."
Blossom's ears perked up. She wasn't the type to wear makeup or spend hours on her mane every day, but when she did, she liked to go all-out. Considering recent events, there was nothing she wanted more right now than to look pretty.
"Sure, I'll go!" Blossom said, more cheer in her voice than she'd had in the last week or so.
"Wonderful!" Rarity exclaimed. "It's much more fun with a friend. Otherwise I'd have nopony to gossip with, would I?"
"You mean Fluttershy's a gossip?" Blossom asked. She knew Fluttershy, and the concept of her gossiping was about as plausible as Applejack opening a kumquat farm.
"Well, she plays a very important role in the gossiping process," Rarity explains. "Gossip is pointless without somepony to listen, is it not?"
"That makes a lot more sense," Blossom said, smiling warmly as she slowly reassembled her view of the quiet pegasus. Blossom was a gossip, given the right situations. She often did her fair share of gossiping when she hung out with Flitter, Cloudchaser and Silver Speed, but their talks were usually confined to the realm of Cloudsdale ponies. This would be a whole new experience for her, and the thought of it, especially being able to share it with a wonderful pony like Rarity, excited her greatly.
"Shall we go now then, darling?" Rarity asked, giving Blossom a sweet smile. Blossom nodded eagerly in response, returning the smile. Rarity had this way of smiling that made it impossible to avoid smiling back, even if she wanted to. Like a mating call, it beckoned its kind out from hiding, turning the corners of those lips upright, gently calling out to them to come closer and join it...
"Blossomforth, are you alright?" Rarity asked, head tilted. "You look a bit flushed."
Blossom coughed and looked over at a nearby mirror—there were always mirrors nearby when Rarity was involved. She noticed the color in her cheeks and grinned awkwardly.
"Just...a bit warm, I guess," Blossom said, thanking her lucky stars for the day's humidity lending credence to her story. Blossom's romantic proclivities tended to be a bit complicated. Chasing stallions at the bar was pretty easy when all her best friends were eager and willing to rile them up with a little mare-on-mare kissing. Not to mention the fact that they tended to leave quite a few stallions over for Blossom to pick from. She'd never really tried to pursue that other option beyond their kissing games, but that didn't stop her from noticing and having thoughts about particularly pretty mares, and Rarity was a particularly pretty mare.
"Mm, I suppose it is," Rarity agreed, setting her measurement tools aside. "Come come then, let's not dawdle."
"Right behind you!" Blossom responded. She was positive she would enjoy every minute of this.
~~~~~~~~~~
Blossom was not enjoying every minute of this. In fact, so far she had enjoyed very few of the minutes she had dealt with; although to be fair, they had only just arrived at the spa. There was plenty of time for things to get better, but the walk through the rain did not set a good precedent. Blossom liked and admired Rarity quite a bit, but even she had to admit that Rarity's mild complaints about the rain could get a tiny bit irritating. As soon as she'd noticed the severity of the rain, she'd turned right back around and headed inside to get dressed. Blossom preferred the sun to the rain, but as a weather pony, seeing another pony act so negatively towards her team's work was irksome. Still, Rarity did look quite cute in the little raincoat she wore, even if donning it was a tad overdramatic. But seeing her in it, making such a specific statement against her team's weather, frustrated her. She just wanted to rip that raincoat off of her, tear it from her slim yet shapely body...
"Blossomforth, dear, you're red again," Rarity pointed out. "Are you coming down with something? Perhaps this dreadful rain is giving you a cold."
Blossom bit her tongue. If she said one more negative thing about the rain...she quickly shook her head, attempting to clear the images that had caused her cheeks to color.
"No, no, I'm fine," Blossom said. "Just a little...nothing."
"A little nothing," Rarity repeated.
"Yes?" Blossom said awkwardly. "It's like a big something, only the exact opposite." She mentally smacked herself for her idiotic joke, but was filled with relief when she heard the sound of Rarity's musical laugh.
"Oh, Forth, you are a card," Rarity said, giving her shoulder a playful nudge with a hoof. This, of course, did nothing to help Blossom's blushing. Rarity liked her offbeat sense of humor. And did she call her "Forth?" Nopony had ever shortened her name like that. It was always either Blossom or Blossomforth. She liked the new nickname immediately. It was so uniquely Rarity.
"Come on, then," Rarity urged. "The girls are ready to see us." She lit her horn up, demurely shedding her raincoat and hanging it up on the nearest hook. A quick second spell dried it up instantly, leaving Blossom wondering why she hadn't just used that to keep herself dry on their walk. Maybe that would have been too much stress on her? Having spent most of her life in Cloudsdale, and having a pair herself, Blossom knew lots about how wings worked. On the other hoof, horns were a bit of a mystery. She could vaguely recall learning about unicorn magic in class before she'd earned her cutie mark, but without having a horn herself, she hadn't been particularly attentive. Blossom was perhaps not the best student in the world.
Blossom followed behind Rarity and the twin mares that were leading them. At least Blossom assumed they were twins. They had to be sisters, at the very least. Pretty much the only thing that differentiated between them was the color of their coats and manes. Then again, similarly-styled manes didn't necessarily mean the two were related. If it did, then Blossom would have been taking more advantage of her princess sister in Ponyville.
"You'll absolutely love Aloe and Lotus's work," Rarity gushed as they entered the room where their massages were to take place. "I've never met a pony with hooves more talented than theirs." The twins giggled politely at Rarity's compliments as they led the two to their tables. Blossom waited for Rarity to lie down before doing the same. She wasn't too accustomed to the goings-on at a spa and didn't want to pull some major faux pas by lying down the wrong way. Lying down on the hard table wasn't terribly pleasant, but she figured it would have been worse if she'd gone on her back.
"Now you two please relax," Aloe said, in a charming accent that Blossom couldn't quite place. "We shall be right back, yes?"
"Yes?" Blossom responded, unsure if that was the proper way to respond. A soft giggle from Rarity didn't help matters. The probably-twins gave them sweet little smiles before zipping off.
"Aren't they just the sweetest?" Rarity asked, turning to look at Blossom.
"Yeah, they're pretty sweet," Blossom responded. "I love their accents. Where are they from?"
"Oh, they're from Switherland," Rarity told her. "Such a lovely culture. I'd love to visit the Swish Alps one day." Whatever she meant to say after that was lost as the two were started by a sudden shout from the other side of the room. Both mares quickly turned to the source of the noise, just in time to see an overexcited Bulk Biceps slam his hooves into the back of another client.
"Whoa!" Blossom exclaimed. "I had no idea Bulk Biceps worked here. I used to be kinda close with him before he moved to Ponyville." She couldn't help but grin at the concept of such a large mountain of a stallion working alongside the petite twins at the spa.
"Oh yes," Rarity responded. "He's really come into his own since he started working here. Says it feels natural to him. Just look at him pound on that pony." A small predatory grin crossed her face as she stared, her next line more of a purr than a basic statement. "I wouldn't mind a pounding from him, myself."
Blossom's face heated up immediately. She hadn't expected such a naughty comment from the typically-distinguished Rarity. A completely coincidental "YEAH!!" from Bulk at that very moment only punctuated her surprise.
"Too bad Fluttershy's called dibs on him," Rarity mused. "Insomuch as she could be capable of, anyway."
"Fluttershy and Bulk?!" Blossom exclaimed, causing Rarity to wave for her to keep her voice down.
"She's been smitten with him for quite a while," Rarity said with a nod. "Poor dear's far too timid to do anything about it, though. But I've seen the way she looks at him, and to be honest, I've seen the way he looks at her too. One of these days, I'll set them up, even though I wish I could have a turn with him first. But Fluttershy would be devastated if I did. Sacrifices must be made for such good friends, after all." She smiled sweetly. "Plenty of other fish in the sea, hm?"
Blossom still couldn't believe her ears. Rarity speaking so openly about such a private subject? The mere idea of the large, boisterous Bulk and the small, timid Fluttershy as a couple? And this was likely only the beginning of the gossip. It was exciting, but at the same time something about it bothered her. She couldn't quite place what it was, but something about what she'd already heard pulled lightly at her nerves.
"Like that Thunderlane," Rarity said with a grin. "My goodness, but he's a striking one."
"Thunderlane?" Blossom asked incredulously. "I've known him since we were foals. He's probably my best friend outside of the girls."
"Oh, you lucky filly," Rarity said. "My friends and I ran into a terrible catastrophe while visiting Rainbow Dash at the Wonderbolt Academy, and he was the one to catch me and save my life. I swear, I did not want to leave his forelegs. I suppose I just have a thing for pegasi, but my goodness, the thought of being swept up by him once more has helped me through a lonely night here and there."
If Blossom was floored before, she was something deeper than floored now. She wanted to say "basemented," but basements weren't exactly common fare in the sky city of Cloudsdale. Still, it fit the situation, and so she thought it just the same. Thunderlane, the dork who had tried to get her to play Stallions and Stalactites with her when they were young, was being spoken of as an object of attraction by a beautiful mare in Rarity. They'd really come a long way; a way which flustered Blossom similarly to how the comments about Bulk had. And still, she couldn't place exactly why that was. It wasn't just the idea of how Rarity spent a lonely night, either. It was something else.
"Please tell me you've been involved with him, darling," Rarity cooed, disarming Blossom further. "Perhaps I could live vicariously through your experiences with him?" She gave Blossom a wink, accompanied by that singsongy little giggle of hers.
"No..." Blossom said quietly. "Uh, I kinda suggested it once...but he said it didn't feel right cause of what kind of relationship we had. He said it would be like dating his sister." She frowned a bit as those words escaped her lips. They sounded worse out loud than they did in her head.
"Hm...well, it's his loss," Rarity said simply. Blossom nodded slightly, but the sentiment of what Rarity had said wasn't lost on her. Did she really think that highly of her? A statement like that after she'd praised Thunderlane so heavily kind of implied it. She briefly considered bringing that up to Rarity, but was not given the chance.
"And what about you, hm?" Rarity asked, shifting to lie on her side and look straight at Blossom. "Are you still dating Mile High?"
Lemons would have been jealous of how sour Blossom's mood became after that question.
"No," Blossom muttered, with all the warmth of a yeti's hindquarters.
"What?" Rarity gasped. "Since when?"
"Since last week," Blossom said, looking away.
"I can't believe I hadn't heard," Rarity said, clearly feeling bad for her faux pas; though not bad enough to inquire further. "What happened? You two were so good together."
"It just didn't work out," Blossom said softly. "Mile's a sweetheart and we're gonna stay friends, but I guess we just weren't compatible in a dating sense." She sighed the sigh of a pony who had been through this kind of thing many times before, largely because she had been through this kind of thing many times before. She had dated a number of stallions in the time since she was a teenager, but somehow things always ended up the same way. Her breakup with Mile had at least been incredibly amicable, but it was just one more in a line of failed relationships for the mare.
"I'm so sorry, Forth," Rarity said, reaching a hoof over between tables to pat her on the shoulder. "Perhaps I could help you? Maybe when we get out of here, the two of us could go ‘trolling for stallions,' as it were. Two lovely mares like ourselves are sure to find handsome stallions willing to treat us as we deserve to be treated. That is, if that's what you want."
Blossom looked over to meet Rarity's eyes. She wore the most earnest of expressions, yet at the same time it held an odd curiosity. Her intentions seemed true, but it left Blossom wondering how she could possibly feel that she wanted something like that. Rarity might not have known her entire dating history, but she was aware of enough of it through their previous talks to realize that she was not the luckiest when it came to keeping a stallion. As kind as the offer was, she felt she had to decline.
"I don't even want to think about stallions right now," Blossom said with a frown. She intended to follow that up with a suggestion for Rarity to go by herself. However, she found that those words got caught in her throat. She spent a few moments trying to figure out just why this was. Why wouldn't she want Rarity, a gorgeous mare who could get anypony she wanted, to go searching for—
Realization quickly hit the watermelon-maned mare, a realization which seemed clear as day once she thought about it. That realization, though, didn't seem to really matter in the long run. With how much Rarity was talking about meeting stallions and being with stallions and doing naughty things with stallions, it was pretty clear where her interests lie. It wasn't the biggest deal, though. Sure, dating Rarity sounded like a fun idea, but she had come upon the realization too recently to feel like she'd lost something she'd been pining for. Such was life...even though the appeal of being with her was growing by the second.
It was only then that Blossom realized how silent things had gotten. Rarity was giving her a far more curious look than before, and Blossom quickly began to worry that she had done something wrong. She gave Rarity an earnest smile, one which the fashionista was quick to return. At least that potentially troublesome situation had been diffused.
"So sorry for the wait!" came Aloe's distinctive voice as the twins returned. "Things got quite busy. Are you ready for your massage?"
"Yes!" Blossom and Rarity said in unison. They gave each other a little smile, Rarity's accompanied by a wink. Blossom's cheerfulness was beginning to return, and she greatly appreciated that fact. Being grumpy wasn't very fun. Blossom was an optimist. Except when she wasn't. But she preferred it when she was.
~~~~~~~~~~
Blossom was feeling fabulous. Never before had she received a massage quite as wonderful as the one Lotus had given her, and Aloe's work on Rarity seemed to be equally potent. The pain in her back still persisted, as expected, but it had been significantly dulled. She was quite confident that she still couldn't stretch and bend the way she usually did just yet, but it was a good start.
The mud bath had been another very enjoyable touch. Having spent most of her life living in the clouds, mud wasn't something that she dealt with very often, and she tended to stay away from it when she did encounter it. It took a bit of convincing from Rarity to sway her from this mindset. The concept of this mud being "different mud" was hard to swallow, but Blossom knew Rarity's aversion to dirt rather well, and if she was willing to submerge most of her body in it, then it couldn't be too bad. She was quite happy with her decision too, as it was possibly one of the most soothing baths she'd had in a good while.
Rarity stayed true to her word, gossiping Blossom's ear off. Thankfully, though, the topic strayed away from stallions this time. Blossom learned a lot about Rarity's friends and the other various citizens of Ponyville in that time—she never would have taken Rainbow Dash for the type to nearly wet herself during a scary movie—and made sure to reciprocate with the best juicy bits she could dish about the Cloudsdalers. Rarity, for her part, seemed very intrigued, even when the ponies being talked about were not ones she knew. That did make sense, though. One didn't need to know who Open Skies and Clear Skies were to see the sauciness in them wanting to bring their coworker Sunshower in for a night of debauchery.
Blossom walked out of her post-mudbath shower feeling utterly refreshed. Sure, things weren't perfect, but they were nearly there. The pain in her back still persisted, but it was far more muted than it had been, and she was quite thankful for that. It was at least dull enough to be able to fly home without much of an issue.
"Ahh...I feel divine!" Rarity sang as she exited her shower. Blossom couldn't help but stare in awe at Rarity's radiance. Her mane and tail, usually impeccably styled, now cascaded down, limp and straight from their thorough soaking, mane almost long enough to touch the floor. In a perfect world, Blossom would have swept the lovely creature into her forelegs and told her how beautiful she was, how much she desired her. Blossom did not, however, live in a perfect world. She lived in a world where it was obvious that Rarity was interested in stallions, and a stallion she was not.
"I know, right?" Blossom responded, smiling brightly. She stretched her wings, wincing a little as she did. She looked towards Rarity, only to notice that her attention was drawn to her wings.
"Oh darling, I should have warned you what a nightmare mudbaths are on wings." Rarity said.
As with the question earlier about her stretching, part of Blossom felt like she should have been offended. Rarity said she usually went to the spa with Fluttershy, after all. She let it go, though. She knew Rarity didn't intend to offend her because Fluttershy wouldn't have needed to be reminded.
"I don't mind. I have to preen them a lot as a weather pony anyway." Blossom responded. She tried to turn back towards one of her wings, but the pain in her back wouldn't allow for it.
"Oh Forth, don't strain yourself, please," Rarity said, sitting down on a nearby bench and patting the space next to her. "Come come, I'll take care of it for you."
"You...want to preen my wings?" Blossom asked, her cheeks heating up. The last pony besides her to preen her wings was Mile. Before that was her previous ex, and so on.
"Mm," Rarity hummed in response. She patted the space next to her on the bench once more, and Blossom found herself walking over, the action feeling practically autonomous. She eyed Rarity as she sat down, trying to read her intentions.
"Oh relax, Forth, I've done this before," Rarity said with a smile, waving for her to give her the first wing. "Come now, we need those wings looking pristine."
Slowly, Blossom extended the wing closest to Rarity in front of her. She watched her carefully, expecting her to attempt to do it with her magic. Her eyes widened as she watched Rarity eschew her magic completely, instead leaning in and gently touching her muzzle to Blossom's wing. With a level of delicate accuracy rivaling the most competent of pegasi, Rarity bit down on a damaged feather, gently pulling it from its place. Her front hooves moved up to the wing, gently ruffling through the feathers in search of more damaged ones.
Blossom stared at Rarity in awe, watching this beautiful creature treat her wings with an impressive level of care. She sat in utter silence, feeling her heart rate increase as she looked at the gentle determination on Rarity's face as she worked, treating her wing as if it was one of her myriad garments that needed love and care to flourish. Each pull of a feather was accompanied by a barely audible vocalization from Rarity, something tiny and adorable that Blossom might not have noticed if the entirety of her attention wasn't currently devoted to the fashionista. Conversely, had Rarity not been focusing so intently on Blossom's wing, she might have noticed Blossom staring at her with a level of affection that she likely would have found staggering. Yet the look went unnoticed, Rarity too focused on her delicate task.
After one wing came the other, as logic would indicate. Blossom sighed happily as Rarity took care of her, the little pile of damaged white feathers growing. Something about this just felt right to her. The more she watched, the more she wanted to be with Rarity. That, however, only served to make her more disappointed that Rarity's interests did not seem to allow for that. She wanted that gorgeous mare for herself, wanted to ferry her away to a place that nopony else could go and keep her for her own. Though not in a creepy ponynapping sense. Everything would be consensual, had she her way. Blossom was not a ponynapper. Although she would be willing to pretend to be one of that was what Rarity was into...
Blossom quickly let that thought go. Such things, besides being inappropriate, were fruitless to think about when it was clear that Rarity's interests would not allow it. Still, she wanted to say something to her about her feelings. Her amazing actions warranted high praise at the very least. Blossom's mind raced as it searched for the right words. Something approving, yet not gushing. Playful, maybe even a tiny bit flirty, yet innocuous enough so as not to make her uncomfortable. Thankfully, Blossom, as stated earlier, was a wordsmith the likes of which ponykind had never seen before.
"You're so good at this, Rarity," Blossom cooed. "Such a gentle touch. I swear, I'd ask you out if you were into mares."
Perhaps they could have been more subtle, but Blossom was happy with the words she'd chosen. Her satisfaction, however, began to fade when she saw Rarity look up from what she was doing, now staring directly at her. She had screwed it up. She had screwed everything up and now Rarity was weirded out and she would never talk to her again. Blossom was a failure.
"What was that, Blossomforth?" Rarity asked, head tilted. The tilt of the head was adorable, but Blossom tried to ignore it. She briefly debated lying, but something in her told her such an idea was futile. Rarity wouldn't have responded in such a fashion if she really hadn't heard what she'd said. As embarrassing and damning as it was, honesty was needed here.
"I said I'd ask you out if you were into mares?" Blossom repeated nervously. A bead of sweat dripped down her brow, one that would have betrayed her and revealed her fear had the rest of her body not beaten it to the punch. She watched as Rarity's look became more confused. She began mentally preparing herself for Rarity never wanting to see her again. When she realized that such an idea was preposterous, she repurposed those efforts towards preparing for Rarity's rejection.
"Blossomforth," Rarity said.
Blossom got ready to get up and leave. As long as things were already massively awkward, it couldn't hurt to make them even more so. Just as she was about to make her exit, a grin crossed Rarity's lips.
"What do you mean, 'if?'" Rarity asked.
"If," Blossom responded. "It's a conjunction used to present a conditional statement."
Blossom was a smartass, albeit not intentionally. She idly wondered if perhaps she really was Twilight Sparkle's long lost sister. She'd managed to pack a grammar lesson and snark into a single sentence. Thankfully, Rarity found it more entertaining than irritating.
"You're too much, Forth," Rarity said. "I mean, what makes you think I'm not attracted to mares?"
Realization had begun to blossom in the watermelon-maned mare, but it still needed more fertilization to grow fully.
"You were talking about all these stallions you liked..." Blossom said quietly. She listened carefully to the words she had just said and predicted Rarity's response mere moments before it came.
"You were dating stallions and you still seem to like mares," Rarity said coyly. "Unless I've misinterpreted."
"N-no, you're right," Blossom squeaked, more than a bit embarrassed of her own silliness. So Rarity did like mares! This changed everything! She just had to spend time finding the right opening to–
"Well?" Rarity asked.
Blossom looked back at her, back into those soft blue eyes.
"Well what?" she asked.
"You said that you would ask me out if I were into mares," Rarity said matter-of-factly. "I've fulfilled my part of the conditional statement that your conjunction presented. Now it's your turn."
Blossom's mouth dried up. The seed of realization had flourished into a fully-grown blossom, and all that was left was to pick it.
"Would you...want to go out sometime?" Blossom asked, kicking her nervousness to the curb in favor of all the bravery she could muster.
"Hmmm," Rarity responded, like a predator toying with its prey. She let the tension hang in the air for a moment longer, then nodded. "I'm free after we're done here. Lunch?"
Blossom felt her heart attempt to beat its way through her ribcage. Her wingtips fluttered excitedly, as they often did when something made her particularly happy. She quickly stopped this when she realized that she was unintentionally batting Rarity in the face. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind too much.
“Date,” Blossom replied.
Blossom was a complainer. Right now, though, she couldn’t find a whole lot to complain about.
