Audacia Iris

by Princess Rari

Rating: everyone
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Comedy, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance
Length: 5685

Rainbow Dash asks out her longtime crush with all of the awesomeness and confidence expected of her.

Rainbow Dash: the most confident, cool, radical, and Awesome pony in all of Equestria. With a reputation like that, one could stand to assume that nothing would possibly scare Ponyville's premier daredevil.

And one would be right!

In fact, it was with this confidence that Rainbow was setting off to ask out the absolute love of her life. She was calm, she was collected, she was the very definition of cool under pressure. Fear of rejection? Hay no! She was Rainbow Dash for Celestia's sake.

Rainbow Dash didn't get nervous.

Published 2016-02-09 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-09 04:00:01 UTC

The Story She Told Her Friends

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville; though with Equestria’s most renowned weathermare on the job, that was almost certainly a given. Truth be told, nearly every day was a tapestry worthy of the Canterlot Institute of Art – due mostly to the actions of said weathermare extraordinaire – yet this one managed to stand out as an impossibly more picturesque day than what was normally to be expected.

The skies above the quaint little hovel were bathed in the last waning rays of the sun, with only a minute smattering of clouds left to provide a barrier against the lackadaisical evening sun. A gentle breeze tentatively persuaded movement from the orange-tinted wisps as they lazily cast their shadows about the dwindling masses of townsponies still closing up their stalls in the marketplace below.

The distant symphony of jubilant birdsong caught the cyan ears of an identically colored pegasus that was casually cutting a path through the golden sky, bringing a triumphant smirk to her rainbow-maned head. The day was absolutely perfect; she had made sure of it. After all, the mare she was going to see deserved nothing less. She would need a backdrop as fantastically beautiful as equinely possible for what she had planned today.

Today was the day that she was going to ask out the most beautiful mare to have ever graced the (mostly) unworthy mortals of Equus: Twilight Sparkle.

Luckily, Rainbow Dash’s unbreakable outward coolness prevailed at the thought of asking out her long time crush, as she only stumbled in her flight path for a mere second.

Now, normally, Rainbow would have asked Twilight out sooner. Like, years sooner. She was, after all, an unshakable mare of action. A mare whose Awesomeness could not be bound by the wrought iron chains of time, lest those chains be shattered into a plethora of microscopic shards by a light that reflected the full spectrum of every single color in her hair.

A relationship with Twilight Sparkle, however, was something that deserved to be aged like the finest of wines.

That being said, the cyan colored pegasus had not simply lazed about all of these past years. She had been planning – scheming, really – so that when the time would come to fully disclose her amorous intentions, Twilight Sparkle would be more than amicable. An elusively subtle flirt here, some heavily shrouded flattery there, all topped off with a few passing comments that would be more than questionable should they be uttered between any ponies who were not already romantically involved.

There had been times, – oh goddesses had there been times – when Rainbow had almost given in to the unwavering siren call of her affections. The allure of Twilight Sparkle was like the tide of a great ocean, and more than once she had been poised to drown in the sea of her own infatuation. Yet for all of the temptations inflicted upon her, let it be known to the annals of history that her unwavering patience would not be in vain.

It was as if the stars themselves had grown tired of the lengths of time in which those who were so clearly destined to love had been kept apart. She could hear it, since the very moment she had awoken that morning, the quiet din of destiny telling her that the culmination of her waiting was finally coming to fruition. On that day, the gap that had for so long kept Rainbow from her love was to be leapt over with the all the emphatic fervor of dragon defending its horde. So, with her determination firmly embedded within the very depths of her soul, Rainbow Dash alighted on the doorstep of the totally-not-gaudy Crystal Castle of Rainbow Friendship™.

The setting sun refracted off of every crystalline facet of the castle, lending its normally purple structure a sheen reminiscent a fire’s last dying embers. Keeping watch over the towering architecture – and by extend the radiant princess within – were a pair of massive wooden doors, tinted yellow and engraved with carefully detailed whoosy-whatsits.

The doors were as rigidly imposing as they were heavy, but knowing that within those doors lay the impassioned desire of her heart, Dash could not afford to hesitate.

After knocking loud enough that the echoes could be heard thudding throughout the castle, Rainbow Dash took a moment to make sure that, yes, she was looking just as Awesome as she felt. She had but a moment more to compose herself before the gates in front of her were enveloped in a soft raspberry glow and delicately pulled aside.

Had it not been for the pair of shades that she conveniently wore at all times, Dash’s magenta oculi would have been instantly evaporated by the immaculate light that radiated from within the castle’s entryway.

There, standing in a flowing white dress of silks, was the very embodiment of perfection herself.

Rainbow was a big enough mare to admit that her nose had started bleeding. But only a little bit.

The fur of the princess’ coat shone with a brilliant lavender found only in the beds of wild flowers; an exceptionally rare coat color to Dash’s knowledge, though she was sure the few others who were blessed with such a coat could not hope to replicate the overwhelming beauty with which Twilight effortlessly displayed it. Along her back were a pair of wings larger than any a pegasus could hope to possess, and though the appendages were only a recent addition, the mare wore them with the natural grace as is she had tamed the very skies since birth. Her cutiemark, though it was obscured by the dress she wore, bore the image of a pink six-pointed star, surrounded on all sides by a five lesser white stars. It was a symbol of her mastery in the arts of magic; more so than any other mage who had come before her, or likely any who would seek to master the field in the future. Atop the alicorn’s head, -- for she possessed a horn in addition to her wings – cascaded a perfectly styled mane that could be likened to the navy blue of a starless night sky. The onset quiescent starscape was only broken near the center of her mane by twin rivers of vivid color, one ribbon the same striking magenta as her cutie mark, and the other sharing the illustrious purple of the rest of her coat.

Then there were her eyes.

Dear sweet Celestia those eyes.

The oceans of lavender called to her, drawing in any and all such that they would lose themselves into those violaceous depths. They projected a twinkling intelligence; a curiosity that looked upon the world as if it was some grandiose puzzle to be solved. Her eyes promised the unknown that it would not remain enshrouded within its veil of mystery for long, and that nothing, not even the spawn of Tartarus, could keep her from quantizing and cataloguing each and every secret it hoped to possess.

Yet behind the hardened steely lavender lay the softness of the alicorn’s heart. There was, behind all of her cold logic and determination, an adorkable lack of social grace born from a near lifetime of isolation. There was an obsessive love of literature that left her squeeing like a foal on Hearthswarming whenever she should find a particularly recherché tome by some long lost author, a love that would similarly keep her up until the wee hours of the morning reading the latest Daring Do novel mere hours after its release. There was an immense devotion to her friends, both old and new, that would carry her to the very ends of Equestria should it have even the slightest chance of benefiting those that she loved.

And at her core, partially obscured by a mountain of lists and responsibilities, there lay a deep seeded fear for her acceptance. A fear that, should she fail in the tasks set upon her for even a moment, she should lose every last vestige of acceptance that she had fought so hard to achieve.

A flash of that uncertainty danced across the alicorn’s eyes for a fleeting moment, before she quickly cast her quivering pools to the polished crystal floor beneath her. A delicate silence began to permeate between the two mares as Twilight twirled a lock of hair in her forehoof; looking as if she was desperately working up the courage to say something – anything! – while basking in the unfiltered Awesomeness that was Rainbow Dash.

That was okay, though. Dash may not have been the most patient of mares, but for Twilight Sparkle, she would wait a thousand lifetimes.

Thankfully, she didn’t actually have to wait her entire life, as after almost a minute of reticence the lavender princess seemed to have worked up enough determination to break the fog of silence, albeit without removing her eyes from their apprehensive gaze towards the ground.

“H-hello Rainbow Dash. I, um… Didn’t know you were coming over…”

That was, of course, typical of the rainbow-maned pegasus. Or, at least it would be typical should she be paying a visit to any other pony. Between single-hoofedly managing the entirety of Ponyville’s weather, and her rigorous training for the Wonderbolts, – Equestria’s most exclusive team of stunt fliers – Rainbow would often bless her numerous friends with surprise visits whenever she could find the time.

Much to their delight, she was assured.

However, Twilight Sparkle was, again, a very special case. She and Twilight would regularly plan little get-togethers in which they would simultaneously delight in one of their many shared hobbies; often times an event similar to when the newest Daring Do was released.

Yet in spite of this, and Twilight’s usual fondness for planning ahead, Rainbow Dash felt that an event such as this would best be experienced as a surprise.

A confident smirk found its way onto the cyan suitor’s muzzle.

“Oh, I was just flying around the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”

The lavender mare seemed surprised at that, though she quickly tried to hide both her shock, and the small tinge of crimson that delicately painted on her cheeks.

“B-but it’s getting close to dinner time, and I’ve been so wrapped up in boring book stuff that I haven’t even had time to make myself something to eat, let alone something for a guest.”

Seizing her chance to set the mood for her next line, Rainbow delicately lifted her soon-to-be marefriend’s head so that their muzzles were merely inches apart.

“Well then, maybe we could go out and grab something to eat. Something nice. Like, maybe Hayburger?”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled, as the uncertainty clouding her vision slowly gave way to shock.

“Does… Does this mean-?”

Before the alicorn could even finish her question, a pair of cyan lips shot out and closed the distance between the two now-totally-lovers.

An army of fireworks exploded into the air behind them, as a multitude of angels sang their approval to the smiling heavens above. As for the kiss itself, it was every bit as wonderful as all of those trashy romance novels that Rainbow totally-didn’t-read described it to be, leaving her normally sharp-witted mind to become fully enraptured in the sensation of the moment. Comforting warmth enveloped the cyan pegasus from her head to the tips of her hooves as she lost herself in the greatest -- but not only! – kiss of her entire life. The world around her ceased to exist as the softness of her lover’s lips against her own became the only stimulus to be lent any attention by her brain.

All too soon the kiss was ended by biology’s vexingly incessant need for oxygen. As they pulled apart from their incredibly amazing make out session, a longing smile graced her lavender soulmate’s muzzle, with a similar smile finding its way onto Rainbow’s own as she heard the indignant wails of all the mares and stallions who could no longer hope to possess even a microscopic chance of claiming Twilight as their lover. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were, from that point on, forever entwined with each other’s very essence.

The kiss was just that Awesome.

“Let’s go ahead and get out of here.”

In an instant, though not so fast as to dishevel Twilight’s dress, Rainbow grabbed her lover in a bridle hold and rocketed into the setting sun; leaving three rainbooms and an audience of cheering townsponies in her wake.

The day had been absolutely perfect.

What Actually Happened

Twilight Sparkle was... Well, she wasn’t in a bad mood, per se. She wasn’t in the best mood, but if she had to be honest, she was actually leaning towards a more pleasant disposition with just sprinkle of stress.

Well, maybe more than a sprinkle.

She was, standing in one of her favorite places, -- her private chambers – and was sharing her company with a sterling ivory unicorn named Rarity; a unicorn who also happened to be one of her very best friends. Rarity was, at the moment, regaling Twilight with the tales of whatever Canterlot high-society party the unicorn had recently attended.

Admittedly, listening to stories of a bunch of Elitist snobs wasn’t something she’d normally enjoy, but there was just something in the way Rarity spun her tales that lent more entertainment to the lives of Equestria’s world-renown brown-nosers.

Hay, it was because of her friend’s more than excellent storytelling that she almost forgot the main reason her mood was being soured. Almost being the operative word there, as just when she began to immerse herself in friendly conversation, an errant needle saw fit to jab her right in the small of her back.

She tried very, very, hard to ignore the pain and remain absolutely still; considering any substantial flinch ran the risk of ruining the white silken dress clinging to her back. She was a princess; the very definition of serenity. She would not move more than was absolutely necessary because too much movement may tear the garment, and then she’d have to stand here even longer while another dress was fabricated from scratch.

Deep breaths, Twilight.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before her fashion inclined friend notice her spacial lapse in judgement, and a brief glint of azure brought an end to the spindly metal’s reign of annoyance.

“Terribly sorry, dear. This fabric seems to enjoy bunching up in the most peculiar places.”

Uugh... She hated this. Not the posing for a dress or the spending time with her friend, mind, -- she actually thought that the half-finished white dress Rarity was fitting her with was kind of cute. No, the thing that was really ruffling her relatively-new feathers was all of the time she was wasting just standing around. She had a very, very, tight schedule for today, and although she did work ‘dress fitting with Rarity’ into her plans, the fact that she could be doing something more productive, -- like maybe anything else -- was beginning to literally make her itch.

That, or it was the poke from the needle...

Still... It wasn’t Rarity’s fault the lavender alicorn needed a more ‘royal’ wardrobe; it wouldn’t do to take her anger out on her friend. Besides, there were celebrity rumors to ruthlessly poke fun at.

“It’s fine, Rarity. No harm done.”

Nothing a little self-indulgent gossip couldn’t fix, at least.

“Now, what was that about Fancypants?”

Twilight caught sight of her friends azure aura from the corner of her eye as the fashionista once more returned to her zealous machinations.

“Oh, yes! Well, it was at that point that Fancypants stormed right on up to Fleur – looking absolutely livid, I might add – and he said straight to her face-”

A rapt trio of knocks interrupted her friend’s retelling just when it was getting to the good part! Seriously! She didn’t pay attention to gossip very often! Was it really so wrong of her to want to hear about miserable celebrities living their miserable lives without being interrupted?

Apparently, the would-be intruder sure thought so, as another trio of incessant knocks sounded just moments after the first set.

Not for the first time in her reign did Princess Twilight Sparkle consider ignoring whatever beckons had been set upon her. She was having a lovely-ish time, with a lovely friend, and said lovely time with said friend was scheduled dangit! Whatever this was could wait until she was free!

But, just like every other time, she begrudgingly had to admit that whatever this pony wanted was probably important. The knocking itself didn’t seem that urgent, but the fact that whoever was knocking saw fit to gain audience with her in her own room spoke volumes of the mysterious messenger’s information.

Or at least it had better. If it wasn’t, this pony’s severe lack of respect for her day plan would not go unpunished. Maybe a year in the dungeons? Or civil servitude cleaning up whatever messes Twilight didn’t want to clean? Whatever it was, she’d have to make sure the severity of the punishment fit the severity of the crime.

After all, what was the point of a schedule if it was just going to be ignored by mysterious knocking someponies?

“Come in!”

With not but a squeak from its well-oiled hinges, the door opened inwards to admit the small purple scaled, green spined form of her number one assistant, Spike. He didn’t walk past the doorframe, electing instead to simply wave at the two mares from outside of Twilight’s room.

“Hey guys. Sorry to interrupt and everything, but Rainbow Dash is still pacing around outside the gates.”

Really? That’s what all the knocking was about? Twilight simply rolled her eyes.

Yes, it was a little rude. But Spike new better than to bother her with something so benign!

While, normally, she would applaud her assistant for diligently informing her of possibly important happenings, Rainbow Dash standing outside her door was decidedly not schedule-interrupting levels of important. Interrupting her day to say Dash was outside would be like interrupting her to inform her that gravity made things fall, or that the sun was bright.

Really, she wasn’t exaggerating. It was that common.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that Ponyville’s premier chromatic weathermare had a none-too-subtle crush on the town’s librarian-turned-princess. The prismatic pegasus had somewhat of an obsession with her; an obsession that was able to turn the bravest pony Twilight new into a meekly doormat that could out-nervous Fluttershy. And although Dash’s infatuation was... Excessive, it never really amounted to anything too overtly annoying. Back when she lived at the library, Rainbow would usually just crash in through her windows every couple of days; therefore ‘accidently’ making a mess that she’d stick around to clean up.

Of course, her new Crystal Castle of Friendship had reinforced crystal windows... So... Yeah. Now Rainbow Dash just stood around outside until she either worked up the courage to knock on the door, or until she suddenly ‘remembered’ some prior obligation that absolutely required her immediate attention.

It was an oddly effective strategy. Originally, Twilight was just going to find a way to let the pegasus down gently. A firm denial that left no room for false hope, wrapped in a plethora of niceties that would ensure that they remained friends; it was the perfect plan.

But... Seeing Rainbow crashing into the library so often was... Well, she couldn’t deny that seeing the normally brash young pegasus get all flustered was pretty cute. Add that to the fact that Dash was already one of her best friends, and Twilight really couldn’t think of a valid reason why she shouldn’t give the prismatic stuntmare a fair shot at a date.

As soon as the pegasus managed to actually ask her out, that is.

Twilight waved her hoof dismissively.

“I told you, Spike; Rainbow will knock when she’s ready. She just needs a couple of minutes to psych herself up.”

The young drake crossed his arms; fixating Twilight with that look he had whenever she was missing something she really ought not to be missing.

“Yeah? Except this time she’s been standing out there for nearly an hour.”

An hour?

“An hour?”

Both mares turned their heads to check the clock hanging behind them; confirming the fact that it had indeed been an hour since last Spike interrupted them.

Or the clock was broken. Twilight normally had an amazing sense of time, so she could never rule out that possibility.

“Well,” began the ivory unicorn, “I suppose one does have a way of losing track of time when in the company of friends.”

Now it was Spike’s turn to wave his hoof- er... Hand, dismissively.

“Sure, whatever. But could one of you guys go do something about her? She’s just pacing back and forth while muttering stuff under her breath. It’s starting to seriously creep out the neighbors.”

Of course. As if those very same neighbors didn’t do their fair share of creepy things all the time. This was Ponyville! Odd pacing and muttering was just a regular saturday evening!

Still... It would be rude to leave Rainbow out in the proverbial cold...

“I suppose I may as well go talk to her. Knowing Dash, she’d probably keep standing out there until the moon rose without a nudge in the right direction.”

With that decision made, the lavender alicorn set off on her schedule-rending trip to the front gates. From back in her chambers, Twilight could hear her friend calling out to her.

“Oh! Do tell us how it turns out, darling! Can you believe it, Spike? To think that Rainbow Dash is finally going to confess her undying...”

The rest of the unicorn’s words faded away as Twilight briskly navigated the incessantly reflective hallways of her Ponyville residence. That was okay, though; the purple princess already knew the gist of what Rarity was going to say. However, contrary to what the fashionista was expecting, she was probably not going to be swept off of her hooves by her knight in prismatic armor. Rainbow had likely just brought her another... Um... ‘Thoughtful’ gift... And if that was the case, in spite of the urges from her less romantically inclined friends, she would not throw it away. Twilight had a whole room in her palace dedicated to all the assorted knick-knacks Rainbow thought to gift her; due partly to the fact that she just had a lot of empty space in this giant crystal tree-thing, and partly because she wanted a whole slew of embarrassing memories in case the two ever ended up tying the knot.

Wait, that wasn’t planning too far ahead was it?

...

Nah, of course not; she’d know if it was. Twilight was an expert on planning.

Before she knew it, she had reached the end of the hallway; at which stood a pair of fairly large yellow doors that acted as the solitary guards over the Castle of Pretty Crystals.

A raspberry glow quickly enveloped the gates and pulled them open to reveal the familiar cyan form of a rainbow maned pegasus. Immediately, said pegasus froze in place; whipping her head towards the thing that had interrupted her pacing and...

Just... Stood there...

She was just... staring at Twilight; unmoving and unblinking. A pair or magenta oculi fixated on her like a changeling who had found love for the first time.

It was... Kind of starting to creep her out... Was there something on her face? Had she forgotten to bathe this week? Probably not, considering her more ick-conscious friend was just working on her dress andholy sweet goddesses Rainbow’s nose was bleeding!

Twilight was at her friend’s side in an instant; grabbing the pegasus’ face and looking straight into her previously unresponsive eyes.

“Oh no! Rainbow! Can you hear me? Did you have a flying accident? Did you get in a fight? Are you concussed!? Nonononono! We have to get you to the hospital right now!”

Twilight’s shouting seemed to snap the chromatic stuntmare out of whatever stupor she had fallen into, as Dash quickly backed away from the lavender alicorn before she had a chance to envelope her friend in a protective layer of telekinesis.

“W-what? No! No. I’m fine. Just fine; perfect, even! Hehe...”

Frowning, Twilight took a step back towards her door.

“But... What about your nose? If you’ve sustained any sort of extreme physical trauma, then you probably need to see a doctor.”

A look of confusion momentarily overtook the cyan pegasus’ face.

“Physical what? No, listen. I didn’t cru- crash! I mean I didn’t, uh... Crash or anything, it’s just that... Y’know... The air’s all dry and stuff.”

The prismatic weathermare quickly tried to wipe the blood away with her forehoof; only really succeeding in smearing it along her leg and leaving a stain that would make Rarity faint on the spot.

“See! No injury here! There’s no reason to, um... To leave right now...”

Twilight cast a soft frown over at her friend; trying and failing to look the pegasus in the eyes. She was still worried, but… The injury hadn’t looked that bad, and she knew Rainbow had taken far worse beatings from her more than frequent crash landings...

“If you say so...”

And just like that, all semblances of a conversation dissipated into the evening air; leaving the two ponies to stew in a quiet neither pony was sure she wanted to break. How long the silence lasted, Twilight didn’t know. Rainbow just stood across from her while avoiding the violet alicorn’s gaze like the plague; all the while the only sounds the pegasus made came from the occasional nervous shuffle of her cyan wings.

All in all, it was about as awkward as it sounded.

After about – gosh, it must have been an entire minute, right? Rainbow finally found within herself the determination to break the ice; though she still refused to meet the princess’ eyes.

“S-so... Funny running into you here, huh?”

Was... Was she experiencing some sort of memory loss? Maybe Rainbow really should see a doctor...

It was either that, or infatuation messed with a pony’s cognitive abilities more than her books had led her to believe.

“Yeah... This is where I live... So...”

Rainbow nervously rubbed the back of her head.

“O-oh... Hehe... I was just- um... Pretty nice weather, huh?”

Weather? Oh yes! It was apparently the perfect weather for dancing around the obvious chimera in the room...

Alright, think Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow needs to overcome her fears on her own, but that didn’t mean she had to make facing those fears any harder than it already was. Just give her an in, Twilight; project an aura of patience.

The lavender alicorn put on a smile that hopefully seemed a fraction as inviting as she was trying to make it.

“So, Dash. Is there any particular reason you dropped by?”

There you go, Twi! Get that metaphorical conversation ball rolling.

Unfortunately, metaphorical conversation ball seemed to be one of the only sports Rainbow wasn’t good at.

“Oh, y-you know. I was just in the, um... Neighborhood, and thought I’d drop by to say ‘hey.’ So... Um... H-hey...”

Twilight tried not to let her smile waver. She was all for being patient for her friend, but if Dash wasn’t going to get to the point...

The lavender alicorn didn’t have much more time to diverge from her day plan. As much as she’d like to help Rainbow’s apparently fledgling conversation skills – and believe her, she would much rather spend her day helping a friend – there were still quite a few things on her now even tighter schedule. She still had to get back to her dress fitting, and there were probably some leftover court issues that she was sure required her immediate and undivided attention. Coupled with all of the paperwork she had back in her office, and she really couldn’t afford Dash the time she deserved.

It’d probably be best to cut her loses here and hope Rainbow gave... Whatever she was trying to do... Another go sometime soon.

Twilight cast a glance back at the setting sun.

“It’s, uh... Getting pretty late.”

If it was even possible, Rainbow seemed to shy away even more at that declaration.

“O-oh... Yeah, I’ll just... Sorry...”

The prismatic pegasus lethargically turned around and began trotting off, her head hanging so low she was basically scraping it against the dirt road. Seeing her normally confident friend so utterly crushed sent unsettling pangs of pity throughout the entirety of her being.

She probably had enough time to at least comfort the distraught pegasus, but before she could lift a hoof to go try and help her friend, the chromatic stuntmare suddenly froze in her retreat.

For a little while, Rainbow simply stood there; her head held just slightly higher than it had previously been. However, after what was most likely a fierce internal debate, the pegasus briefly steeled herself before determinedly trotting right back over Twilight.

This time, the alicorn’s smile was much more genuine.

“H-hey Twilight; have you, like, um, eaten dinner yet?”

Wait, was this?- Oh! Yes! Way to go, Dash! Alright Twilight, keep it together. Don’t say anything that could scare her off. She’s finally asking you out; let her take this at her own pace. Give her an easy response.

“No, I haven’t.”

She really hoped that was the right answer, because about at that moment Twilight noticed that Rainbow was visibly trembling.

“T-that’s cool... Do you w-want to, m-maybe come grab something at H-Hayburger?”

Something at Hayburger... Well... Props to Dash for choosing a more avant-garde first-date destination... It certainly wasn’t the kind of place her dating advice books had recommended…

Ah whatever. So what if it wasn’t some fancy sit-down restaurant? Twilight happened to quite enjoy Hayburger’s culinary selections; even if Rarity would throw a hissy-fit when she found out where her first date transpired.

Speaking of Rarity, she’d have to tell the unicorn that her fitting session would need to be postponed. The ivory fashionista would understand, of course; this schedule aversion was in the name of romance, after all. Though she would also need to postpone her court meetings... The townsponies weren’t going to like that... And all of her unfinished paperwork... W-what if there was something important in there!? A-and what about Spike! And Owlowiscious!

She couldn’t do this! She had to call the date off! Or, at least postpone it until a sometime when she was free – there was just too much she had to do today! She would just need to go out tomorrow.

Except for the fact that her schedule was full tomorrow... And the next day... And the day after that... And the day after that... And...

And Rainbow Dash was looking right at her.

For the first time all afternoon, those glittering magenta irises were on perfect display for the violet princess to see, and the quivering hope that sat within them stopped Twilight’s errant train of thought cold.

Rainbow was finally doing it; she was putting her heart on the line in the hopes that it wouldn’t be shattered into billions and billions of microscopic shards. Those eyes that bored into her with hope beyond hope also held within them a fear the likes of which Twilight would never have thought to associate with the normally cocksure daredevil. This was Rainbow’s most vulnerable self; a part of her that she had chanced revealing to Twilight. This was a Rainbow that was racked with fears and worries that only an affliction of the heart could yield, yet even as she stood literally trembling, she remained resolute to face said fears.

In the face of her friend’s bravery, how could she possibly be scared of a little change in plans?

“Sure, Dash.”

Slowly, as if not entirely comprehending what Twilight had just said, Rainbow’s expression began to morph from a look of hopeful apprehension, to a face of disbelief and mounting excitement.

“Wait, really?”

Twilight adopted the most reassuring smile in her admittedly small arsenal of emotions.

“Yes, really. Just let me change out of this dress first. You wait here for a moment.”

Rainbow eagerly – and with no small amount of adorable enthusiasm – nodded her head as Twilight shut the gates with a flick of her magic.

As she turned to walk back to her private chambers, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if it really was such a great idea to cancel all of her prior obligations in favor of her upcoming soirée. Her princessly duties weren’t something that she was supposed to so carelessly neglect, and there was sure to be some sort of fallout for her callous disregard for them.

Of course, no sooner had the thought entered her head than it was drowned out by an uproariously enthusiastic cheering that the crystal palace walls just barely muffled out.

With an amused shake of her head, Twilight continued her trek through the reflective hallways. This would, without a doubt, end up being the most awkward afternoon of her entire life. Yet despite the impending onslaught of butterflies in her stomach, and the mountains of paperwork that would await her return, she was beginning to feel that she couldn’t have picked a better way to spend her evening.

And all things considered? Twilight was in a pretty great mood.

Author's Note

Happy (early) Hearts and Hooves day everybody! I hope you enjoyed reading this little something-something, and may you read many another trashy shipfic on this fine day of days; I know I certainly will! :raritywink:

Anywho, I'm still new to this whole "writing" thing, so feel free to kick me in the shin and tell me what you didn't like. There's only one way I'll get better, after all.

Also, preread by Kazi. Just in case you wanted to know.