Quibble Pants whistled as he trotted off the train onto the platform of Ponyville. Another Daring Do book club meant his presence was required. Rainbow Dash herself asked for him to come, and he could not do so much other than oblige. Backpack filled with Daring Do books and collectibles, the monochrome mane stallion made his way towards the center of town.
This was not his first time in Ponyville – he had been there quite a number of times since he met Rainbow Dash. Being a huge Daring Do fan – not as big of a fan as he, of course – she frequently coordinated book clubs that usually consisted of avid readers including himself, the rainbow mare, and the Princess of Friendship.
Quibble chortled at the thought of when he first met Princess Twilight. He fell flat on his face in a failed attempt of a bow, muttering a muffled ‘your highness’ into the ground. After collecting himself and finding out that she was also a huge Daring Do fan, the stallion whinnied with excitement. To be in the presence of the Princess of Friendship and finding that the two of them shared a common interest was more than Quibble could handle.
Even though this was his fifth book club in Ponyville, Quibble still couldn’t contain the excitement as he walked up the steps to the princess’s castle. He was a common guest! How much better could that get?
It could, Quibble realized as he stood before the large golden doors. Ever since his and Rainbow Dash’s rendezvous with Daring Do and a few of her nemeses, Quibble started liking Rainbow Dash more and more. They fought all the time, but they always were friends at the end of the day. Fighting was part of the relationship – he being very critical and she being very competitive. And both being extremely opinionated always evoked contention during their interactions. And frankly, Quibble almost found it exciting.
The thought of Rainbow Dash made a warm energy rush through his body, beginning chest and exiting through all four of hooves. Quibble preferred logical and concrete explanations for everything, but feelings and emotions - even his own - have their own agenda. The only thing logical he could understand about that rush of energy was that he -
No way, he thought with a shake of his head, We're just friends. There is absolutely no way in Equestria I could come even remotely close to lo-
The castle doors swung open with a surprisingly quiet whoosh for something of their size. On the other side stood a mare leaning against the door post with one hoof crossed in front of the other. She bore a familiar smug grin that unwittingly made Quibble's heart race.
"'Bout time!"
"Er, uh - R-Rainbow Dash!" He stammered, which surprised him. Aside for almost being done for back on the broken bridge in the jungle, Quibble Pants always knew what to say and how to say it. Stammering for him was as unnatural as a fish climbing a tree.
He cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. "Hi Rainbow Dash!" That sounded better. "Fine morning, isn't it?"
She raised a brow. "Not like you to make chit-chat, Quibble," she teased.
"Just figured I'd be polite and give you a proper greeting, since I am a guest here," Quibble replied with a puff of his chest. "I'm very competent when it comes to good manners, you know? Some ponies these days, especially the children, oughta take some lessons from their predecessors like us. Not that I'm implying we're old because we're not! I'm just saying that I am a guest and I should be polite, being that Ponyville isn't my home and Princess Twilight is kind enough to open her castle up for me."
The look on her face didn't change. "Could've fooled me. You were a guest at the Daring Do convention back in Manehatten and I don't recall you having any manners. All you did was criticize Daring Do's later books and it took a kidnapping and some bad guys and Daring Do herself to knock some sense into you."
Insulted, Quibble retorted. "I didn't have bad manners at the convention! I was being analytic and critical! That's not bad manners! That's factual."
"And if you ask me this fight is pretty pointless."
Both ponies turned their heads to see a purple alicorn appear at the door. Instinctively, Quibble kneeled onto his foreleg. "Your Highness."
"We've been through this before, Quibble," Twilight said, not hiding the awkwardness in her voice. "You don't have to bow at my presence and you can just call me Twilight."
Embarrassed, Quibble scrambled back onto all four legs and gave the princess a nervous smile and then looked back at Rainbow Dash with a smug grin of his own. "And you said I don't have manners."
"Daring Do has got her style back! I mean, just like the initial trilogy before she went completely fairy tale like, no offense since you like that style. But come on! Not only did those puzzles she had to solve were mind boggling and complicated, they were also thought provoking. Yeah, Ahuizotl holding her family hostage and threatening their lives to get Daring Do to do his bidding was quite cliche, but at least we get some more of Daring Do's story! She's got a family! We get some of her history, and there we have some character development! We get to meet her parents and-"
"And little sister," Rainbow Dash finished.
"-and younger sister," Quibble corrected. "Little implies that she's significantly younger, like she's a child. Based on the description of the story, I'm guessing that she's only a couple of years younger than Daring Do."
"Little. Younger. Same difference," Rainbow Dash replied, clearly annoyed. "Anyways, we already discussed that at the book club and in case you haven't noticed, it's over. So lets move on."
"You're just jealous of my taste in style," Quibble harrumphed as he trotted ahead through the hallway of Twilight's castle. The corridors proved to be a maze, but Quibble had a keen sense of direction and it wasn't too long until he found the front door. He was greeted by the high noon sun; he squinted and shielded his eyes with a foreleg.
Rainbow Dash remained a few paces behind. "Stick your nose any higher and Celestia's sun might burn it off.
Quibble replied with a sarcastic laugh. "Ha ha. The truth hurts."
"Well it's a nice day," Rainbow Dash commented, clearly changing the subject. "You free the rest of the day?"
That question caught Quibble off guard. "Um, I, er, yes. Yes I am. Why?"
"Figured I'd show you around Ponyville, since all you've really seen were Twilight's castle and the train station," Rainbow Dash replied, nodding towards the direction away from the train station.
Quibble never really remembered hanging out with Rainbow Dash other than anything related to Daring Do. At first he thought he knew Rainbow Dash, but now he realized that seeing her outside of the context of Daring Do was going to shine a light on a whole new side of her. The idea of walking around Ponyville with her seemed... lovely.
An odd way to describe that, Quibble thought with a frown but then turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Sure. Might as well see the town."
Every third Sunday of the month became Daring Do Book Club day for the three avid fans. Twilight offered the suggestion and both Quibble and Rainbow Dash were ecstatic about the idea. So Quibble bought a train pass for twenty rides, knowing it would last him ten months. As if a ritual, he and Rainbow Dash walked around Ponyville after the meeting was over. The warm energy in Quibble's body grew stronger and stronger.
It was late fall and the trees were nearly naked. Rainbow Dash had told him that the ponies of Ponyville just completed the running of the leaves race and were preparing for winter. It was very chilly and the stallion started shivering.
"Too cold for you?" Rainbow Dash asked. It was surprising that her voice wasn't tinged with sarcasm; rather, she sounded genuinely concerned.
"I'm f-fine," Quibble replied, his teeth chattering. It wasn't like he never experienced winter before. Year after year he's shoveled mounds and mounds of snow and he's trudged through the white ice without it ever bothering him. It wasn't the cold that was bothering him, though it wasn't making it any easier for him.
Rainbow Dash stopped to look at him. The look on her face was enough to say that she felt something was wrong with him. Her uncharacteristically passionate magenta eyes met his and for a moment, he stopped trembling. It was as if heat transferred from her gaze to his and his body filled up with sudden warmth. It didn't last long until he started shivering again, knowing exactly what was going on.
Just tell her! He yelled at himself. Quibble was a pony of words and always knew what to say and how to say it. But here, standing before Rainbow Dash, he couldn't get the words out. He was grateful that it was very chilly. Otherwise how else would he be able to explain his lack of eloquence?
He wished Rainbow Dash would just grin and tease him. Or find something to argue about. But the look of concern on her face only made him feel worse, yet strangely better in a weird sort of a way.
"Your lips are blue," she said, her eyes now wide.
The discomfort in Quibble's chest vanished into concern of his own.
"Oh no!" He gasped. "I-I'm getting h-h-hypo-hypo-th-thermia!"
"First of all you need to calm down," Rainbow Dash began. "Let's get you into a warm building." She pointed down the lane towards Sugar Cube Corner.
The two walked, Quibble's knees buckling. When they entered the bakery, Rainbow Dash ordered a hot chocolate and sat Quibble by a vacant table. Her friend Pinkie Pie was back in a jiffy with a steaming hot cup and a warm blanket that she gently draped over the stallion's shoulder.
"I wouldn't drink that so soon," she sang, gently pushing the cup away from Quibble. "It's waaaaay too hot. You need to let your body temperature warm up slowly. Don't want to shock your body!"
Quibble gingerly wrapped the blanket tightly around himself, feeling the warmth seeping into him. "Thank you," he murmured.
"Absolutely-tootly!" Pinkie replied before bouncing away to assist a customer that walked into the building.
Rainbow Dash sat across from Quibble, her brows creased. She was studying him, and he knew he was being uncharacteristically quiet. Quibble never liked sitting in the presence of another in silence, but he did not know what to say.
"I get the sense it's more than hypothermia," she finally said, breaking the silence. "The Quibble Pants I know always talks, even when you had laryngitis a couple of months back and you still came to the book club."
That was true, and Quibble took a trembling breath. "Y-you're right," he stammered. Quibble was very good at articulating his opinions, but that didn't mean he was good with his feelings. "The cold didn't make it any easier, but - gah!" He threw his hooves in the air, the blanket falling onto the floor.
Rainbow Dash leaned back by the sudden change in behavior, her eyes wide in bafflement.
Quibble leaned forward, burying his face in his hooves. "Why is this so hard? I can talk my mouth off about Daring Do and everything else! I can talk to you about pretty much anything except for my feelings for you! I can't simply say Rainbow Dash, I really like you. Not like you, but like like you and I have since always - well, not always, but I have for a while - and I can't even tell you a stupid little sentence like I love you and-" Quibble's head snapped up and his eyes widened. "I... I didn't just say that out loud, did I?"
The mare across from him didn't say anything. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. She blinked a few times, which was the only motion she made.
Quibble's cheeks grew hot and he knew he was blushing. "Rainbow Dash..." Words failed him again.
But she responded this time. Her eyes snapped into focus. "Was what you said really true?"
The stallion managed a sheepish nod.
Her lips curled into one of her iconic smug grins, and Quibble felt that rush of energy in his heart. "Well, I guess you do have a good taste in style."
A strangled croak emanated from Quibble's throat.
"Didn't know you were the shy type when it comes to romance," Rainbow Dash laughed. "Come on, Quibble, it's just me. Just talk."
"Well," Quibble was grappling for words. This was very hard indeed. "D-do you return my..." his voice faltered, and her snorted in frustration. He finally just said it. "Do you return my affection?"
Now it was Rainbow Dash's turn to go speechless. Once again her eyes widened and she looked almost too shocked to speak.
But her voice came out smoothly in contrast to her flabbergasted expression. "I can't say yes..."
Quibble's ears flopped flat on his head.
"...but I can't say no, either."
His ears perked up. "And that's supposed to make sense?"
A sheepish grin etched the edges of Rainbow Dash's lips. "I know, weird, huh?" When Quibble didn't respond, she went on. "You're an awesome guy and a great friend. Maybe we could try dating and see where life takes us. Whadd'ya say?"
Quibble opened his mouth to speak, but only a small gurgle came out.
"What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash teased. "Cat got your tongue?"
He had no idea where it came from, but Quibble replied with an animated and sarcastic, "Meeeoooow!"
Laughter broke out between the two of them, filling the whole Suger Cube Corner. Nopony seemed to pay attention. That or the couple didn't notice their stares.
But Quibble didn't care. Their eyes locked before they lost control and laughed again.
Author's Note
Just a disclaimer: I am a Soarindash fan all the way. It's just that this ship is such a close second it's almost compelling.
Either way, I can be flexible and every now and then and experiment, amiright?
