Hearts in the Spring Thaw

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

The moon hung low in the sky, just recently having peeked over the horizon, as a brilliant mix of pinks and purples gave way to the inky blackness above. A similarly lavender unicorn magically dipped a quill into a similarly inky liquid, pausing to softly scratch her notes onto the page.

"Achoo!"

Twilight's concentration faltered slightly, quill shaking a few drops of ink across her scroll, and a few more onto her forehead and muzzle. She was completely wrapped in blankets, sitting in a chair on her own balcony, behind her telescope, and looking worse for wear.

"Ungh. Dat's dhe dhird scroll I'be ruined, now," she whined, nose pink and raw as she levitated a tissue from nearby to blow it, wincing momentarily before tossing it unceremoniously into the nearby overflowing trash can. "Schpiiiiike! Can you make some more dhea for me, please?"

A faint rustling, as Spike climbed up the stairs with a full kettle over his head. "You know, Twilight, I'd laugh at you some more, but this is just pathetic."

"It'ssnot funny!" Twilight shot him a death glare, but her current condition made it look much more like mere pouting. At least, that's what she'd want everyone to believe.

"'Snot' is right. Here ya go," Spike offered, having held the kettle out in his claws in front of him for a moment.

*FWOOSH*

A jet of flame set the kettle whistling, and he deftly poured its boiling contents into the recently drained teapot on the nightstand Twilight had dragged out on the balcony with her.

"Thanks," Twilight replied sullenly, doing her best to lean her nose over the pot, so the rising steam would soothe it. At least, until Spike popped the lid back on and gave a mock salute, before climbing back down the stairs. The unicorn sighed and peered out into the distance across town - a faint thumping could be heard, and a not-so-faint set of multicoloured lights seen flashing intermittently out of the windows at Sugarcube Corner. The noise, she'd be fine with, but the light pollution was disrupting her studies of Barnard 33 - not that she'd ever finish a clean page of notes at this rate. Pulling out a fresh scroll, she set about the meticulous work of recopying her notes from the one she just stained with ink and possibly bodily fluids.

"Whooo, party hard!" Pinkie yelled, rearing up on her hind legs on top of a table. Her closest friends surrounded her, most dancing away almost obliviously - though 'closest friends' looked like more than half of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had taken a seat next to Applejack at a far-flung table in the corner, and both of them were nursing mugs of cider as they talked.

"I'm tellin' ya, Rainbow - she's not gonna like it if you say that sort of thing to her face."

"How do YOU know what she does and doesn't *hic* like? What aren't you telling me... Applesmack?!"

Applejack, for her part, did her best to look offended, but her expression didn't change much, as she swayed a little in her seat. "You wanna try runnin' that by me again, shugah?"

"I said, you must be hiding something from me! I know you're a... terrible, terrible liar!" Rainbow was leaning over the table, her head dangerously close to the top of her mug, but that's just the way she liked it. "You just want her yourself!"

A flash of pink popped out from underneath the table, "Who wants her now? Who's 'her'? Are you guys talking about stealing someone? Ooh, I know the best place for stealing someone! Or is that steeling yourself? It must hurt to be dipped in molten steel because then you'd be all 'Ooh, it burns!' and 'I'm melting!' but it's not you that's melting, it's the metal, but then you'd be all shiny and it'd be like being turned into a really cool statue and-"

"PINKIE!"

Both mares glared daggers at her, and she simply tilted her head. "So who is it you're dipping in molten metal? Is it Lyra? Are you gonna turn her into her cutie mark?!" Pinkie gasped, covering her muzzle with both forehooves, "You can't do that - it's mean to turn ponies into musical instruments!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack slowly turned to look at each other, doing their best to tune out their hyperactive host. "Pinkie, how about another round for us?" Rainbow pleaded, and Pinkie grinned in response. "Haven't you girls had a teensy-weensy little bit too much of Applejack's extra special, super squeezed, extra aged, extra old, and extra spicy cider?"

"NO!" came the chorus again from both of them. If anything, the combination of Pinkie's description and her current grating antics were making them want it more.

"Oookie dokie lokie," she replied, slowly, stretched out, and entirely not convinced, but the poofy pink pony complied and brought out a fresh pair of mugs. "But Auntie Pinkie is cutting you off with this one, okay?"

"Okay," Applejack said flatly, as Rainbow glared daggers at her. "I know when ah've had too much, Rainbow, and I can see you're just about there, too," she accused, taking a mighty swig from her mug.

Rainbow, for her part, opened her mouth to object, but faulted. "Wait - you're just avoiding the question!" She raised a hoof to point accusingly, but then decided to follow Applejack's lead and take an even bigger swig of cider - a swig that went straight to her head. "The question... of... I forget. What were we argu-... aragu-... fighting about again?"

"You asking Twilight out, dummy."

"Hey, I'm not a dummy! Wow. Issht this really still cider any more?" She peered into her mug, swishing the remaining contents around in the bottom and eying her own reflection as the liquid's surface shuddered and moved, distorting it wildly and causing her to stifle a giggle at how it made her look.

Applejack sighed, drained the rest of her own mug, and started to stand up, a bit shaky, but steadying herself after a moment on her hooves, "Rainbow - I think it's time I took you home. You ain't flyin' in that state - you crash into things when you're sober."

"I do not! Well, maybe a little. But I'm totally cool; I got this!" A quick hop, and she was hovering above her seat. At least, for a moment, before the world started to spin on her and she fell flat on her side, crumpling neatly.

"Oh goodness! Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Her soft spoken words barely audible above the thump of the music, Fluttershy rushed to her friend's side to help her up. "You really shouldn't drink so much cider, and you especially shouldn't be flying like this, you know." Her motherly tone was enough to give Rainbow pause, as she stumbled a little and looked at the floor dejectedly.

"I need to talk to her. Sshhe's stuck out there, sick on her own, and we're all here. No one's taking care of her, and she's sick!"

"Spike's there - I know he'll take care of Twilight, Rainbow. You need to take care of yourself first."

"Uh, if I may, 'Shy - I don' trust Rainbow to take care of a mouse, let alone herself, and 'specially not Twilight, of all ponies! All she'd do is get herself sick too."

"Ugh! Screw both of you guys - I'm outta here. Thanks for the help, but I gotta do this." Rainbow reared up, and bounded out of the door, hopping up into the air and taking flight as soon as she was outside, leaving Applejack and Fluttershy to watch and wince as she careened sideways into a nearby building before getting up and trying again.

Applejack let out a heavy sigh, "It's your turn to pick up the pieces this time, Fluttershy."

Chapter 2

"Comin' through!"

All Twilight saw in her telescope, for the briefest of moments, was a multicoloured blur careening straight for her. She didn't even have time to react beyond pulling herself away from the eyepiece before Rainbow was on top of her, knocking the telescope spinning on its stand, Twilight out of her chair, and the still-full teapot sailing through the air, its contents splashing right across Rainbow's flank.

A wide-eyed, scalded pegasus screamed, more in surprise than pain, and shot up into the canopy of the tree above, leaving a confused lump of blankets sprawled below. Poking her head out from underneath one corner of the blankets tangled around her, Twilight shook her head to try and clear her dizziness, but the sickness filling her ears only managed to make things worse.

"Rainbow Dasch, juscht whadt do you think you're doing?!" she tried to yell, before sighing and turning her gaze to the fallen teapot, its leafy contents splayed far and wide across her balcony. "That... that was my dhea. I was going to drink that!"

"Hothothot!" Rainbow yelped, zipping back and forth, in and out of the tree branches, scattering more leaves onto the pony below, before finally alighting on the balcony itself, dancing from hoof to hoof. "Sorry, Twi'!"
The other mare slowly pushed herself up, peering at Rainbow, "Where'd it spi- achoo!" The force of her sneeze caused a few harmless sparks of raw magic to erupt from her horn, causing Rainbow to double back in her drunken stupor, trip, and fall flat on her singed flank. At this point, all she could do was wince and shift uncomfortably away from sitting on the worst spots. "Ungh. I can'dt dtake this any more."

"Twilight, you're ssick - and I'm gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not," the cyan mare started, "Y-you need me to."

"Rainbow, I have Schpike for dat. He even made me dhea! Dhea which I can't drink, because SCHOMEPONY SCHPILLED IT ON HER WORTHLESS FLANK!"

All it took was one long look at the flustered mare in front of her, and her horribly plugged nose, for Rainbow Dash to break into laughter. A giggle fit at first, descending into the depths of almost maniacal laughter. "Oh, Twi'! You... you can't even talk!"

"It'ssnot funny, Rainbow!"

"Hee-hee - snot!"

"I said that already!" came a voice from inside the tree.

"Rainbow! You ruined my... drink. You messed up my notes that I was already rewriting, again, and you're making fun of me when I'm sick." Twilight started out angry, but her anger fizzled out as she realised just how much of a mess her friend made. To top it all off, her inkwell had spilled its contents over one corner of her blanket. She, too, sat down, with a *whump*, and lowered her head, trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

While the words barely registered in her tipsy state, the sight of those tears stung more than her scalded flank ever would. "I... I'm sorry, Twi'. I maybe kinda had a liiiittle too much of Applejack's cider at the party, before coming here. Maybe. Just a little." The pegasus stood up, looking a bit dejected, and walked over
to help Twilight up.

Is that a blush? No - she just said she was drinking; that must be it. "Thanks." Surveying her surroundings, Twilight let out a groan she didn't know she was holding. I'm going to have to start all over again. If only it were some other pony that kept crashing into my life...

Rainbow coughed, tilting her head slightly, "Uh, Equestria to Twilight - are you there?" She waved a hoof in front of the other mare's eyes, snapping her out of her stupor.

"Y-yeah. Sorry, Rainbow." Using her magic, she set about uprighting her things and putting them back in the proper place, "Look, I'm really nodt feeling good, and since this night's a wash, I'm jusdt going to gedt some sleep." Her face felt warm, but that was surely just the fever taking hold again.

Rainbow nodded... sullenly? "Aw, okay. Uh," she glanced around, then in the general direction of her own home, up in the sky. Made of clouds. That she would surely crash into and possibly pop more holes in, in her current state. "About that... do you mind if I crash here until I'm a bit less, uh..."

"Intoxicated?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you could say that."

There's that blush again. Twilight squinted warily at the flyer, and opened her mouth to protest - Why couldn't she have just stayed at Pinkie's instead of - ugh - crashing here? Pinkie always lets ponies stay over. - but faulted and closed it after a moment. Then again, I'm not sure I'd want to listen to Pinkie any longer than necessary with a hangover. "A-...alright, Rainbow. Let's schee if Schpike can schet up the guescht bed." I hate talking like this. Please, Celestia, don't make me try to scour my own sinues with magic!

Perking up instantly, her wings fidgeting slightly, she grinned and nodded, "Thanks, Twi' - you're the best!" She resisted the overwhelming urge to leap forward and hug her - though that may have been the alcohol. It must have been - she was just drunk, and everything would go back to normal in the morning.

Celestia's sun streamed through the windows of the library, the early morning light passing in a neat beam over Twilight's bed, and straight into the face of the mare sleeping on the futon on the floor beside her.

"Unngh..." Pain... turn off the sun... Rainbow rolled over to put her back to the incessant fire trying to burn its way through her eyelids and directly into her brain, but the sheer act of moving just made things worse. Oh, buck me - I'm never drinking again. I hate you, Applesmack, and your tasty cider. She rustled under the blankets, pulling them over her head to try and block out the world, groaning quietly under her breath.

Twilight was completely out of it, sprawled spread eagle on her back under her own blankets, a now-melted icepack half perched on her forehead and eyes, her horn the only thing stopping it from sliding back onto her pillow. Her jaw hung open to breathe, a line of drool running out the corner of her mouth and down her cheek, as pieces of tissue were rolled up and pushed rather unceremoniously into her nostrils. Any other day, she would at least worry a little about her appearance in front of other ponies, but she was sick - sicker than she'd been in months, if not longer - and she knew Rainbow, of all ponies, wouldn't really care. The sound of shuffling and moaning knocked her out of her pleasant dream, and she opened her eyes slowly to stare at the empty space above her. Oh, Rainbow... why'd you stop? Reassembling the last moments of her dream, she blushed hard, and sat up quickly, head slowly turning to peer at the lump on the floor beside her. The prismatic tail poking out from underneath gave that much away. That was just a dream, right?

Groaning a bit louder, upon hearing Twilight move - was that a gasp? - the pegasus finally gave up and pushed the blankets off of her, struggling to get to her feet. "Twi'... don't you have blinds?" She squinted through the blinding sunlight at the mare in bed. "My head is killing me... I swear, Celestia makes the sun brighter just to buck with us."

Twilight stifled a snort - or rather, the tissues did, and she hacked and coughed once she came to the painful realization that they were still there. Horn flaring, she set aside the icepack and yanked the tissues out of her nostrils, tossing them into a nearby garbage can. I hope she didn't see that - yuck! The tissues had mercifully done their job, and, wiping the drool from her mouth, she managed to speak a lot more clearly, "Yes, Rainbow. In fact, before we went to bed last night-" Bad choice of words... stop that train right now! "-I wrote a letter to Celestia to ask her to make sure she helped me get you back." She smiled sweetly, but nopony could mistake the way it turned into a mischievous smirk.

"You're evil, 'Twi."

"Says the pegasus that decided to drunkenly ruin my already ruined night last night. What made you come bother me, anyway? We're not getting the next Daring Do book for at least another week."

Scratching the back of her head with a hoof nervously, Rainbow stammered, "Uh - well - you see..."

Twilight just sighed - an exasperated, annoyed sigh, "Forget it. It's your mission to ruin my waking world, and my dreams, too..." Wide-eyed, she covered her mouth with a hoof, then quickly made her way out towards the stairs and kitchen. I didn't just say that - please don't notice, please don't notice! "Coffee. I'm making coffee. Want some? Yes, of course you do - you're hung over, and coffee fixes everything, right?" She grinned nervously, and zipped off.

It was Rainbow's turn to facefault this time. She dreams about me? Oh, this is going to be fun... The prospect of coffee to soothe her throbbing brain was too much to resist, and she - much more slowly - followed along.

By the time Rainbow got to the kitchen, Twilight was already in full swing, levitating and magically heating the kettle, with a strange looking jug in front of her.

"Huh. I'd have figured you'd have Spike make you coffee in the morning."

"Sometimes - but, uh... I just wanted to do it myself today!" Anything to get out of that room... "You know, give him a break, and let him sleep in."

"Uh-huh."

"..." "Okay, now we wait."

The kettle's contents in the jug, and the lid on it, Rainbow realized Twilight had just poured the hot water straight on the coffee grinds, "Uh... please tell me we're not going to drink it like that?!"

"Huh? Oh! You've never seen one of these before, have you? It's a neat little contraption I had shipped from Seaddle. It's a Fancy Press. See the handle on top? You push it down, and it pushes the coffee grinds to the bottom with a filter, and you pour from the top. That way, you don't get the grinds in your drink, it's nice and strong, and you don't get that papery taste from a regular old coffee machine's filters. Plus, it keeps all the coffee oils in the drink, so it tastes even better, and you can reuse it, too, since the screen is made out of metal."

Rainbow blinked slowly, then rubbed her temples, "I'm sorry I asked. Twilight, you're worse than Pinkie sometimes, you know?"

"...I get my coffee from this really neat roaster in Canterlot - they get the best green beans from all over Equestria. Except they're not really 'beans', they're just seeds - coffee's a fruit, and there's actually a berry around it, just like a cherry! Just think, we're basically drinking roasted cherry pit tea- huh?" Twilight tilted her head, then snickered, "I could never beat Pinkie."

"You're not the one hung over."

"True. Anyway, how do you like your coffee?"

"Lots of sugar, please." I'd get coffee syrup if I told Pinkie that. Hopefully Twi's more normal.

"Figures." Twilight pulled down the sugar jar with her magic, and two cups, then pressed down the device's filter screen to finish the brewing. Two spoonfuls into Rainbow's cup, but leaving hers black, she poured them both their liquid brain starters, and brought them to the table where the pegasus had sat down to wait.

"Mmn, this smells really good - you said this was from Canterlot?"

Twilight didn't answer - she had lost herself in thought for a moment as she brought her own cup to her lips, letting her eyes roll back into her head as she closed them to drink that first, delicious sip in bliss. She knew full well that this was just a chemical addiction to caffeine, and the wonderful massaging of her brain was just endorphins being released from feeding that addiction, but oh how it made everything better. Her head tilting back for another sip, eyes still closed, she sighed breathily.

Rainbow smirked, watching her friend's almost lewd reaction to a simple drink, "Well, if it's that good..." She picked up her own mug with her hooves and sniffed the still steaming drink. Wow. That's really coffee-ey. A cautious few sips later, she, too, felt more refreshed. "Wow, Twi'. Just... wow."

"I know, right? This is so worth it. Just you and me - uh, I mean - and coffee. The coffee is worth it." This time, she knew the burning in her cheeks wasn't the flu. It was the hot liquid, of course.

She's so cute when she's embarrassed. "Uh-huh."

"So, you were saying - why you came over last night?"

"Yeah... about that..." Damnit. Think think think. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while, now."

Oh no. I knew this was coming - please don't say it... don't say it!

"I, uh... 'Twi..." Now's the time to pony up and tell her! "Did you, uh... want to go out for coffee with me some time?"

Twilight just blinked. "Like... outside? Aren't we kind of having coffee now?"

"Oh!" Horseapples. "Uh, yeah, I guess so." She blushed furiously, then shook her head, "That's not what I meant. Like... another day. Just you and me, out. Side. I'm asking you out - uh, for coffee."

The unicorn narrowed her eyes, "Rainbow... are you asking me out?"

"That's what I said, right? Out?"

"...like on a date?"

Shitshitshit... "No! I mean... yes! Maybe?"

"Rainbow, I'm flattered, but..."

Oh no, not the 'but'.

"...I... I can't."

"What - why?"

Turning her head to hide a choked tear, she shook her head, "Rainbow, you're a good friend... but I can't. I just can't."

The vice around her heart tightened, and Rainbow visibly deflated, "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Stupid, stupid, stupid! "Uh, thanks for the drink - I needed it." She hurriedly set her not-quite-empty mug down and bolted for the door, taking off for home before Twilight could react.

W-was she... crying? Oh, Celestia, what have I done?

"I'd just hurt you..." she sighed under her breath, alone again.

Chapter 3

It was a chilly winter afternoon in Canterlot, and a young unicorn, barely older than a filly, stepped out of the ornate wooden doors to her school, and into the brisk late afternoon air. Close behind her, a similarly aged brown colt with a streak of blue in his mane followed.

"Twilight, wait up - I wanted to ask you something!"

She froze mid-step and closed her eyes for a moment in frustration before softening her expression and turning to face him, "Yes? You know the exam's not 'till next Tuesday - that gives you plenty of time to study; I don't really have time to help tutor anyone else with my own classes to worry about-"

"I'm not asking you to tutor me... Twilight... I- I'll just come out and say it: I think you're cute, and I'd... like to take you out for coffee some time," he hesitated, scratching the back of his head with a hoof.

Me? Asking me out? I can't! There's just so much to do... but... he is kind of cute. Oh Celestia, I know this is just my brain pumping me full of hormones. Rationally I shouldn't even think this way; I'm not ready for a relationship with anypony! Oh gosh - is that why he's been staring at my flank all class-

The colt coughed and scratched at the ground, "Uh - you know, if... if you don't want to answer, that's fine... I understand - I can take a hint." Head still tilted down, he stole a hopeful glance at the seemingly paralyzed pony in front of him.

"Agh! Uh, I mean!" Twilight shook her head nervously and one eyelid took on a bit of a nervous tic, "Yes. Yes - it's just coffee, right? What's coffee between friends?" She grinned, trying to look casual, yet interested.

The expression on the mare's face looked more like downright insanity, but the brown colt pressed on, smiling - "Okay, right. Coffee. It's almost the weekend; it'll be alright to stay up late one night, right? Here, I know the perfect place," he said, offering to lead.

"Yes! Staying up late is grrreeat! It'll be just... peachy!" Another few eye twitches, and a disturbing, almost maniacal grin, but she followed alongside, as the pair headed for a newly opened donut shop down the street.

"So there I was, trying to demonstrate the spell in front of the entire class, with Celestia herself watching! I was so nervous, with all those ponies staring at me-"

"You have really pretty eyes."

"...uh. Thanks?" Oh no, am I blushing? He's hitting on me - this isn't good! Not good, not good at all!

The colt leaned in a bit over his drink and the half-eaten plate of donuts perched between them, to get a closer look, as he reached up to brush a stray lock of hair out of the other unicorn's face, "They're even better up close."

Twilight shrank further back into her chair subconsciously, a firey blush on her cheeks, but the rest of her skin pale. I had too much - I must be going through caffeine overdose - the dizziness, flushed face, the way my heart is beating in my chest... "ThishasbeengreatIgottago!" She dropped a few bits on the table to pay for her share, and bolted out of her seat for the door.

"Huh? Wait! Twilight, wait - what did I do? I'm sorry!" The colt fumbled for his own change, before hastily getting up and chasing after her. He didn't have to go far, for in the panic, Twilight had tripped down the small flight of stairs outside the doorway and was nursing a scraped knee.

Panic. Animalistic panic. I'm injured and cornered and he's closing in on me - just... just let me get away!

"Oh no - I'm so sorry... here, let me hel-"

"GET AWAY! BACK!" Her eyes bloodshot and chest heaving, Twilight's eyelid spasmed uncontrollably as she glared daggers at him.

"But Twilight, you tripped - the least I can do is help walk you home," he said, leaning in to lend a hoof. The patch of ice under his remaining footing would prove its infamy, however, and startled, he slipped and fell right on top of her, hooves on either side of her shoulders.

"GAH! I SAID GET AWAY!" He's - he's trying to take advantage of me! I knew it! Before she could comprehend what she was doing, her horn flared, and her instincts took over. Push.

It was a full week before the colt woke up - the force of the blast had put him into a small coma, and broken one of his legs. A small card and pot of flowers sat on the nightstand beside his hospital bed, but aside from the nurse, no one was there to greet him when he woke up - to be honest, some thought he simply may not. Wrapped in bandages, and hooked to a heart rate monitor, one thing was for certain - he wasn't planning on going anywhere near that crazy unicorn again.

Twilight paced inside the main room of the library, sweating nervously - or was that what was left of the flu? She couldn't quite tell anymore. "Spike! Spike, I need you to get some more supplies - I think we need more of that herbal tea from Zecora; I don't think I'm quite better yet."

"Wow, Twilight - it's been two weeks; are you sure you shouldn't see Nurse Redheart again? You look pretty bad."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Spike-" she snapped, then sighed and hung her head, "I'm sorry - it's just... yeah. I must still be sick, and I'd reeeally appreciate it if my number one assistant would help me get better, isn't that right, number one assistant?" She hated having to pull that card on him, but desperate times and all that.

"Alright, but only because you asked nicely."

"Thanks, Spike! You're the best. As always. I'll put in a good word for you with Rarity - maybe she'll take you with her on her next trip to the spa?"

"Ooh, you really think so?"

"Maybe, if my number one assistant delivers like I know he can!"

"Right! I'm on it - you can count on me!" Spike offered a mock salute before marching out the door with a backpack.

Perfect. Now, to figure out what's really wrong with me... Twilight started pulling down various tomes from the library shelves. Magical Ailments, a compendium - No. Equine Cardiology - no. Wait, maybe? She set it aside for later. A Mare's Guide to Love, Romance, and Lust. Whoa - is this supposed to be in the general audience section? Cracking open the cover and flipping through a few pages towards the end of the book, she stopped on a particular page, wide-eyed for a moment, before slamming the book shut. NOPE. That's not safe for anyone's eyes! She hesitated, trying to decide where to re-shelve the book where the younger folk were least likely to see it. Welll... maybe later. She smirked, and added it to the pile with the cardiology reference.

Rainbow Dash's cloud house was completely devoid of life - well, Tank was hiding in his shell, napping in the corner of one room, but the turtle hardly counted when he was tucked inside like that. A cloud rustled, and a vibrant tail poked out from inside it. Perfectly normal for clouds to sprout tails, of course.

"Ungh... get out of my head... no, Twilight - that tickles... hey! That's not nice! O..okay. Maybe a little. S-stop i-" The mare gasped and sat up, her cloud blanket vanishing with a quiet pop. "Oh my gosh. Okay. I'm home. Alone. It was just a dream." A really nice dream... Her thoughts were short-lived as memories came flooding back, and her world crashed down once more.

"She hates me. I'm the coolest flyer in Equestria, the best, and she hates me. All because she's an egghead, and I'm stupid." She sighed, kicking the ball near the foot of her bed against the wall, watching it bounce harmlessly out the door into the hallway. "I blew it, Tank."

Slowly poking his head out, the turtle yawned and blinked indifferently at Rainbow.

"Yeah, I know - I'm just a dumb filly and I didn't know she wasn't into mares." Or other ponies at all, probably.

Another slow blink.

"What're you talking about? Of course she's not - if she didn't want to go out with me, that must be why!"

A completely blank stare.

Rainbow gasped, "You take that back! Fine! You know what, I'm gonna try again. I'll prove you wrong, you just watch!" She choked back a nervous tear, before finding a small hoof-mirror buried underneath various sporting paraphernalia and checking her mane. "See - smokin' hot. There's no way she could say no to the Dash, unless she just didn't swing that way." She snickered, "Heh, speaking of swinging, and barn doors, I should check on Applejack. I know she was pretty drunk, too. Who knows what she did after I left?" Giggling like a schoolfilly, she rushed out of her door and took to the skies.

Tank, for his part, rolled his eyes, and ever so slowly settled back into his shell to resume his nap.

"Ah did no such thing!"

"Aw, come on, Applejack - admit it - you were eyeing up Rarity at the party!"

"W-what? What do you mean 'eyeing up'? I would never stoop so low and degrade such a fine lady-"

"Ooh, so you think she's fine, now, do you? Wait 'till I tell her!" She leapt up into the sky, teasingly flying right over Applejack's head before preparing to zoom off towards the Carousel Boutique.

"Now you just wait a cotton pickin' minute, missy!" Applejack took the bait, and snagged Rainbow's tail in her teeth, digging her hooves in, "Ye ain' goin' nuhwhur!"

Dash pretended to give in, sighing and settling down on the ground beside Applejack, "Fine - I won't say anything to Rarity if you promise to help me fix things with Twilight."

"Good - now that that's settled- wait, what? Am I hearing things right, sugarcube? So is this why we haven't seen her all day? What did you do to that poor girl?!"

"Whoa, Applejack, easy - this is Twilight we're talking about. It's kinda normal for her to like... not come out of her basement for days at a time."

"Point. You still said or did somethin' you shouldn't have," she scowled slightly, "You gone'n done something stupid, haven't you?"

Rainbow looked flustered, "N-not exactly, you see, I-"

"You asked her out, didn't you? You silly pony..."

"Hey! Why does that make me silly? How else am I supposed to do it?" The pegasus flared her wings instinctively.

The orange mare just sighed, "You have no idea, do you? Twilight's got... issues."

"Well, duh - we all saw the way she broke down when she didn't hand in her friendship report on time."

"Yeah. Yeah, we did."

"...just what are you trying to say?"

"You know what, Rainbow - you're on your own. You done goofed, but it'll be okay. Twilight's a smart pony, and I'm sure she'll figure it out and forgive you for whatever you did." I bet she's got her muzzle buried in some dusty books right now...

"Hey! I'm not just trying to get her to forgive me, I'm trying to fix things, if I'm ever going to have a chance with her. She just needs to realize how awesome I am, and how awesome I think she is."

"And just why do you think she's so awesome?" Applejack grinned coyly.

"She's smart," Rainbow started, quietly.

"Uh-huh."

"...aaand, she's nice! She brought me that book to read when I was in the hospital, even though I pretended to hate it. She knew I'd like it, because... because she must care about me."

"And why do you think she cares about you as more than just a friend in need, hon?"

"I... I don't know," she sighed, staring at her hooves, "I don't know if she does. But I need to know - I need to find out. Applejack, she makes me crazy - I have these dreams, that won't go away! Every night she's in them, and we're out having fun, or I'm taking her flying with me, or we're dancing, or cuddling, or..." she trailed off and blushed heavily for a moment, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts, "My point is - I need to know for sure. I can't keep doing this, or I'm going to go nuts!"

"Sounds to me like you already are."

If eyes could have lasers in them, Rainbow Dash would be shooting them right now, burning a hole through Applejack's prized stetson. All she could manage was a narrow glare.

"Whoa, there - you know, Dash? I can see this is really eatin' you up. I'm not gonna stop you from doing what you need to do, but just... promise me you'll be careful, okay? Twilight's a lot stronger than you think, but a lot weaker, too."

"Just what in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll get it - trust me."

She rubbed her face with a hoof. Ugh - all this... thinking. I need to get out of here. "Alright, whatever you say. I gotta go."

Applejack curtsied with her hat and watched the multicoloured mare rocket off into the distance, towards the library. I hope she knows what she's doing.

Chapter 4

A stack of books five or six ponies high teetered somewhat precariously in the main room of the library, many more roughly sorted on the floor in multiple, small piles. From somewhere within, a soft purple glow lit a few of the fibrous columns, and another book was added to the large, central stack.

"Ugh! I've ripped the entire library apart and I'm barely any closer to figuring this out!" Twilight moaned. "I'm going to have to re-shelve the rest of these before somepony gets hurt." Glancing around and spying a pathway to the kitchen, she rubbed her temples softly and sighed, "Lunch first."

The coolest mare in all of Equestria was sweating bullets at the door to a library - and not because of a fear of being seen with the latest Daring Do novel (no, she was over that by now - if a mare as cool as Daring was in books, they can't be that bad), but because of which particular library this was, and the pony inside.

Just knock - no, knocking is for losers, and besides - it's a public library in the middle of the day. 'The door's always open!' Except when it's not, of course, but, that's why they invented doorknobs.

Rainbow slowly creaked the door open a few inches, "Twilight?"

"Ack! Rainbow, wait, there's a stack of books right behind the doo-"

"Oh! Sorry, Twi'!" she panicked, slamming the door back shut.

Phew. She almost hit the-

*WHUMP*

"Gyah!!!"

The force of the door closing was just enough to set a few of the more lofty lumps of literature leering, and eventually, come crashing down on the unsuspecting unicorn below. She tried valiantly to catch them, but with so many objects to track and so little time, she only managed to save a few and hold them aloft before being buried below books.

Rainbow winced outside the door, "Oops," before slowly cracking it open again. "Twilight? Are you okay in there?" A few books were still hovering above the mess, being held in place by magic. Rainbow reached out to grab the one closest to her and read the cover to herself. Smirking and flipping through the pages, she snickered loudly when she skimmed over the later section. "Wow - Twiliight... this is what you're studying? I never knew..." Even the pegasus couldn't keep a blush off of her face, but she pressed onward a few more pages, "This thing is really detailed." She rotated the book to try and get a better view of one of the full-page diagrams, and added under her breath, "...I never knew ponies could bend that way."

Of all the books for me to catch, and of all the books for her to then pick up and read... are you punishing me, Celestia? What did I do to deserve this? Twilight crawled out from underneath the piles and bit her tongue, willing herself not to simply scream in anguish at the top of her lungs. The energy of that scream burned inside her, and she could feel it bouncing around like a pinball as she bit her lip. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her eyelid started twitching wildly.

Rainbow knew that look - the look that screamed 'get out'. The look of a pony about to explode. Defying that look, she gingerly stepped forward, speaking slowly, "Twilight... it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay. I'm gonna help you put away all these books," Even though it really wasn't my fault this time! "...and everything will be back to normal, and I'll help you get better, and it'll be just like old times."

The lavender mare spun slowly to face Dash, and the eye-twitching increased in frequency, her bottom lip quivering underneath her teeth. Eyes wide, as if she were caught off-guard and trapped, frozen in place and immobile.

I have a bad feeling about this. "T-there, see? It's just me, your bestest pal Rainbow Dash, and I'm gonna fix everything," she smiled, her own sweat reappearing.

The pony in front of her snapped, and in an instant, she had collapsed to the floor, bawling and burying her face in her hooves. "Why?!" she choked, "C-can't... take it..."

Dash winced, then rushed over to try and comfort her, sitting beside her and gently stroking her mane, "It's okay, it's okay! I'm here, Twi'..."

"...w-what's... wrong with m-m-me? I can't even think straight." Mmn, that feels nice - why can't she stroke my mane more often? "W-wait. You... you," she whispered.

"...me? What about me?"

Horseapples! I said that out loud - is it really her that's making me upset? Of course it'd be something that stupid and obvious - these cursed hormones are making me loopy over a pony... I can't have. She still thinks I'm sick, though! I can't let her know how I feel... but I can't just claim I'm better when I'm acting like this. She's not dumb, and she'll see right through it, or one of our friends will. She coughed, "Uh - c-can you get me some water, please? I-I'm still not feeling good and I think I'm j-just stressed." ...did I just lie? No - not technically... I'm not feeling good about any of this. Now I have to pretend I'm still sick!

Rainbow nodded and, thanks to a few powerful wingbeats, hovered overtop of the chaos and destruction and made her way to the kitchen.

Is she really going to take care of me while I'm sick? I wonder how long I can pretend before she catches on... She shook her head and slapped herself gently with a hoof. Bad Twilight! That may not be technically lying, but it is dishonest. How am I ever going to get better if the very mare that's making me 'sick' is waiting on me hoof and other-hoof? Spending all day with me? Taking care of me, fetching me things, pampering me, and tucking me in at night? A smile crept upon her lips, and half-lidded, she rolled over on top of some of the other tomes. Okay. I can live with this.

Returning with a glass of water in her hoof, Rainbow properly surveyed the damage as she passed it to Twilight. "Wow. This... might take a while to fix." A bit of warmth in her cheeks, she glanced sidelong at the unicorn, "I mean, if you don't mind, and you really want my help and all."

"It's okay, Dash - we can take as long as we need."

As the penultimate paperback was precisely pigeonholed in its perfectly positioned place by pegasus power, Twilight grabbed the last book with her magic and grinned. Of course it's this one. Before she could tuck it far, far away, or hide it, or burn it, Rainbow snatched it out of her hold and clutched it protectively.

"Twilight, can I borrow this?"

"...you're joking, right? I don't even think we should have that book, let alone be lending it out to anypony."

"Well, if you can't lend it out, can we read it here?"

"Ugh, sure - I guess so. Wait, 'we'?"

"You said yes!" She grinned victoriously, "Come on, Twi' - it'll be fun! We can point and laugh at the pictures and stuff."

"Rainbow, I don't even want to look at some of those drawings, let alone visualise them mentally." Like right now. Gah! A small blush on her cheeks again.

"Well, what else are we gonna do while you're still sick?"

Crap - right! "Oh, uh..."

"'Sides, it's almost dinner time - Spike should be back soon," a coy grin appeared on her face, "You know - he always cooks for you, right?"

"Almost always. I mean, I can fend for myself if he's out." Come on, Twilight - sandwiches and instant pastas aren't exactly 'meals'.

"...right. I was thinking... maybe I could make you something? Like soup, you know, to help you get better? I had Fluttershy show me how she makes stew - I figured if I asked Pinkie, I might end up with a pot of icing or something."

Twilight giggled at the thought, "Or, you know, rice pudding. Which actually would also be delicious, but stew sounds nice." There goes that heartbeat again - at least now I know I'm not about to have a heart attack. Hopefully.

Is she blushing? Oh no, am I blushing? Keep it together, Dash - you just got to show her you're not inep-... uh... useless, and that you care about her, and she's sure to go out with you. She couldn't suppress a small return grin at her internal monologue, "Yeah. Delicious."

As if on cue, Spike burst through the front door, carrying all manner of objects and bags, genuinely struggling, "L-l-little help here, g-guys?"

Rainbow had started to move towards him, but Twilight had already grabbed the entire load from Spike's arms telekinetically, and started sorting things in mid-air, sending some items to the kitchen and pantry, and others to various shelves and drawers in the library.

Spike scratched the back of his head with a claw, "Wow, Twilight - you look way better, now!"

Ack! Got to ham it up, now. Twilight coughed loudly and covered her muzzle with a forehoof to mask it, "A-almost, Spike. Still not feeling too good, sorry." She sniffled a bit for emphasis and smiled. The nervous sweat worked in her favour, however, and added to the illusion.

"Spike, did you get any carrots while you were out?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes ma'am, uh - Twilight put them in the kitchen."

"Onions?"

"Yep."

"Celery?"

"Uh-huh."

She raised an eyebrow cautiously, as if daring him to say no to her next item, "...tomatoes?"

Fidgeting a bit, he touched a claw to his chin and stuck his tongue out in thought, "...do tomatillos count?"

"Aha, I win!"

"No you don't, Rainbow," Twilight interrupted, "Tomatillos are another plant in the nightshade family, related to tomatoes. They're supposed to taste like green tomatoes, but sweeter. You could use them instead."

"...but they're not tomatoes. They're related, but you and your brother are related, and you're not him. You're also a mare." Rainbow grinned, then facefaulted slightly. Oh, Celestia - she's turning me into an egghead already!

Twilight's eye twitched again briefly, but she paid it no mind, "...right, Dash. I'm a mare. Not a tomato."

Spike snickered, "You kind of look like a tomato, though."

What? Oh no - am I really still blushing that bad? She grew even redder.

On a roll, Spike added, "And if you're letting her cook," he gestured to Rainbow, "You might end up green like a tomatillo later, too!"

"Hey! That's not cool!" the pegasus protested, her voice cracking, "I'm nowhere near as bad as Applejack and her baked bads. You'd think she'd have learned from Granny Smith or something by now."

"'Baked bads' or not, those were good! I still don't understand why you ponies had such a problem with them."

Memories surfacing, both ponies wretched slightly at the thought. Rainbow was the first to recover, "Whatever - I'm going in there, and I'm gonna make us stew, and it's going to be delicious, and no one is going to be sick. Got it?" She bolted off for the kitchen, and started rummaging through cookware and ingredients.

Spike turned to Twilight, "Bet you a ruby she hurts herself and ends up seeing the nurse before we get dinner."

Twilight gasped, "Spike! That's horrible!"

A loud *clang* came from the kitchen. "Ow! I'm okay; I got this!" Another crash, followed by semi-incoherent mumbling, "Stupid saucepan..."

"You're on."

Chapter 5

Half an hour in, Rainbow had so far successfully avoided to cause herself enough physical harm to really count - a brief spattering of oil singed part of her mane when she overzealously slid a diced onion into a hot frying pan, but she played off the minor sting like it was nothing. Quite the aroma was starting to form and waft its way out from the kitchen, causing a hungry dragon's tummy to rumble loudly.

"Sorry, Spike! As much as I want to crank up the heat and get this done in ten seconds flat, I'm trying not to burn Twi's house down, here," Chef Dash called from the kitchen. At least, that's how she thought of herself at the moment; 'Ms. Dash' wasn't quite good enough for what she was trying to accomplish.

For his part, the dragon simply sighed and sat himself at the table, rapping his claws rhythmically on the edge. "I know, though Twilight's fire-proofed the place already," he mumbled, not quite loud enough for the pegasus to hear, "We learned to do that the hard way."

Twilight shuddered visibly, "Maybe so, Spike, but even if she can't burn the library down," she started - she found it hard to think of this place as just her 'house' when it was so much more, "She can burn our food." Spike shrugged, half-lidded. "Okay, you don't care about that, but I do - besides, it's nice for somepony to be cooking for us, right, so you get to relax?"

"Relaxing, yes, but also waiting." His stomach rumbled again, but he added, "Waiting patiently, of course," he smiled, that betrayingly false smile that Twilight knew all to well to signify his sarcasm, but she did her best to dismiss it.

The loud sizzle of cooking vegetables abruptly died down in the kitchen, and was slowly replaced by an almost soothing bubbling, followed by the gentle clang of a lid atop the heavy pot Rainbow Dash had selected to perform the final part of her work with. She padded out slowly from the kitchen and stretched just inside the library proper. "Fifteen minutes," she stated, a hint of her own impatience on her voice, "It'll fix you right up, Twi' - I promise." She grinned, and walked over to take her seat at the table to wait.

Sitting so close isn't going to fix anything... Twilight smiled back at Rainbow, a faint hint of a blush on her cheeks, but she played it off with a quiet, forced cough into a hoof. "You know you really didn't have to do this-" she started, but she was interrupted.

"I know I don't, but... I want to, okay? We're friends and we take care of each other. I'm sure you'd do the same if one of us got sick. Or at least, maybe ask Spike to help you, by, uh, doing most of the work," she ribbed.

"Hey! I'm perfectly capable of cooking for myself, and for others too!" Twilight replied indignantly.

Spike, however, couldn't resist to friendlily gang up on the unicorn, "You have to turn the stove or the oven on to 'cook', Twilight... sandwiches don't count."

Twilight glared daggers in response. You're on her side?! "I can make pasta! That involves cooking - boiling water, a bit of salt, and perfect timing!" she beamed.

"Yeah, but you use canned sauce on it."

"So? There's nothing wrong with canned sauce - it's not like I have the time to make the pasta from scratch either."

"Okay, okay - what else can you cook? What do you eat when I'm gone on those errands you keep sending me on?"

A bead of nervous sweat ran down her head, and a mild panic set in as Twilight searched her memory for those times when she remembered she had to eat. What was it she was shovelling in her face absentmindedly, keeping sure to hold it well away from whatever she was reading? Sandwiches. When was the last time she did actually make pasta?

"You know I threw out two cans of expired pasta sauce yesterday, right?" Spike added, knowing he had her cornered.

Rainbow was grinning the entire time, almost looking as if she enjoyed watching Twilight squirm. She's so cute when she's panicking. Okay, not when she's really panicking, at least. "Spike's got you, Twi'," she smirked, leaning forward a bit over the table.

Gah! Not so close... The unicorn's eye twitched, and she started to get genuinely flustered, "Okay! I live on sandwiches when I'm alone, happy?" She exhaled raggedly and buried her head in her hooves on the table.

The pair of instigators looked at each other knowingly - they were going too far. Rainbow reached forward to put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "It's okay, Twi' - we know you're busy and stuff."

"Yeah! I really don't mind cooking, you know - you do so much for everyone in other ways, and at least I have a place to stay, right?"

The unicorn lifted her head slightly, eyes reddened with the start of tears, but nodded slowly, "I'm sorry... I've read a bunch of books about cooking, and ingredients, but I've never had the time to practice any of it."

"That's okay. We really shouldn't be dishing out stuff when you're sick." Rainbow did her best to comfort her, scooting over and wrapping her arm around her shoulder. Even when she's upset, she's cute. Guh - I can't let myself enjoy making her sad!

Spike coughed, as the sound of a pot overflowing emanated from the kitchen, "Speaking of dishing out..."

"Gah! The stew!" In a prismatic flash, Rainbow dashed into the kitchen, quickly lifting the pot off the stove and onto a cork placemat on the counter, splashing her hoof with a bit of the boiling hot liquid in the process. "Ow! Bu-..rnedmyselfit'sokay!" she yelped, trying not to curse in front of Spike as she ran her hoof under cold water in the sink.

Spike clasped his claws behind his head and leaned back in his chair, grinning smugly at Twilight.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, "Alright, you win," she said, reaching out with her telekinesis to grab a small, shiny ruby from a hiding place behind one of the books on the shelf, and float it over to Spike. "But you have to save it for dessert, okay?" She said, hovering it just out of the dragon's reach.

"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!" Spike whined, but he gave in, "Fine - it's for dessert."

Rainbow walked in with the pot handle held firmly in her teeth, slowly making her way toward the table and struggling a bit with the weight of it. Twilight dropped the ruby into Spike's waiting claws and quickly grabbed the pot from Rainbow with her magic, setting it down for her on the table, "Rainbow, careful! You could have asked for my help you know."

"Thanks - I know, but you're sick, right? And what's this deal you're talking about, and I didn't make dessert..." Rainbow glanced back and forth between the other two, "I thought sweet stuff was bad for sick ponies, anyway."

The colour-coordinated pair glanced at each other nervously and grinned innocently, "Oh no, just something unimportant," Twilight offered.

"Yeah, just a deal where I, uh... get to go help Rarity with something later!" Spike grinned. That fake grin again.

The pegasus seemed to buy it and nodded slowly, "Ooo-kay then, well, dinner is served!" She popped the lid off the pot with a hoof, and deftly grabbed a ladle from under her mane to set into the liquid. A small cloud of steam rose from the pot, and Twilight inhaled deeply.

"Rainbow, this looks amazing! I didn't know you knew how to cook like this. I'd never expect you to know how to cook like this," she corrected, and added hastily, "N-not that there's anything wrong with not knowing how to cook like this."

Dash grinned wider, but didn't bring up the subject again, proceeding to ladle out portions of stew into bowls at the table, "See? Totally awesome stew, for a totally awesome pony-" Oh buck, did I just say that out loud? "Er, from a totally awesome pony. Not that you're not totally awesome, too, but, uh, yeahI'mstarvedlet'seat!" She quickly took her chair and shovelled a piping hot spoonful of stew in her mouth. That... wasn't the smartest idea, either. ...hot! Another flash, and she was back in the kitchen guzzling cold water straight from the faucet.

Spike eagerly chowed down, the heat not bothering him in the least, of course, and just shrugged at Twilight as she looked on incredulously.

What in the wide wide world of Equestria was that about? D-does she really think I'm 'totally awesome'? Twilight blushed heavier, trying to control her giddy smile as she lifted a spoonful of stew to her muzzle - stopping short of putting it into her mouth just yet, so she could smell and enjoy the aroma. "This smells amazing. Hot, but amazing."

Rainbow meekly walked back in and re-took her place at the table, "I'm surprised you can smell anything at all, with how sick you were before - maybe you're starting to feel better already? How's it taste?" Despite the self-confidence she portrays, Rainbow still thrives on others' compliments, and tonight was no different. Well, maybe a little bit different.

No! Can't let her think I'm healthy just yet... Twilight quickly dropped the spoon back into her bowl, making sure not to lose any in the process, and coughed loudly and almost violently into her hoof, turning her head away from the table, "Huh? Oh, I don't know..." she started, looking for a good excuse, "The, uh, steam! The steam must have cleared my nose a bit."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, a now somewhat skeptical mare turned her head a touch and nodded, "Alright. It was pretty hot," she admitted, gingerly blowing on her sore and slightly reddened hoof before moving to take another spoonful - slower this time, and she blew gently on the spoon before putting it back into her thankfully un-blistered mouth.

Twilight did the same, lifting the spoon with her magic, and casting a small spell to gently cool the liquid inside it before consuming it - to just the perfect temperature, no blowing required. If it were anypony else, she'd be accused of showing off, but for Twilight, it was just her. She sampled a well cooked piece of carrot first and closed her eyes, savouring it. I still can't believe she went to all this trouble just for me... She opened her eyes and warmly looked over at the cyan mare that just made her dinner, quickly averting her gaze before anyone caught her. What is she really up to?

Spike greedily slurped the last of the stew out of his empty bowl and belched, tossing the ruby he won into the air and his waiting maw, his razor sharp teeth shattering it with a satisfying crunch.

"Spiike! Manners, please."

"Oh, sorry Twi'! Excuse me," he said sincerely, and leaned back to pat his belly, "I think I'm gonna take a nap... or, do you need me to clean up?"

The pair of ponies glanced at each other, before Rainbow spoke up, "Uh - well, we're still eating, but no, don't worry about it; I got it, lil' dude." She watched him slowly make his way upstairs to his basket to pass out, before turning her attention back to the pony almost beside her, "So?"

"Rainbow Dash, this is amazing. I haven't had anypony cook like this for me since I lived back in Canterlot." Remembering how Princess Celestia would send couriers over from the royal castle to hoof-deliver fresh food from her own court brought a smile to her face. Even then, the Princess knew she was too busy studying to really take care of herself in that regard - especially when Spike was very young and hadn't learned to or started cooking for the two of them himself. She picked at the stew with her spoon, grabbing another piece of carrot and eating it.

The pegasus swelled up with a bit of pride from the unicorn's comments, "See? I told you I'd help, and this is sure to help you feel better in no time." I wonder if this is as good as the food in Canterlot. Oh, duh - of course it is - we grow the veggies here, and I made it. "What about the rest of it? You know - not just the carrots?"

She loves letting this go to her head, doesn't she? But she means well, and this really is good. "Hrm? Oh, I'll get to them, too." She fished around the bowl with her spoon, identifying the last piece of carrot and eating it, a mental checklist marked off as she moved on to the celery.

"You'll... get to them?" Rainbow tilted her head, and watched closely at what Twilight was doing before it clicked, "Oh. Right. Whatever you say, Twi', that's cool." She's got it bad... but I guess we all knew that. She tried to keep a conversation going, "So, uh, what've you been studying the past few days?"

Twilight focused on eating bits of celery and broth, her attention honed in on the bowl of stew in front of her. "Astronomy - I've been trying to track the motion of Barnard 33 to decipher a discrepancy between two of the star charts the library has on file. Not with much luck, I'm afraid, because my notes keep getting ruined." A stray piece of carrot she missed earlier floated past her view, and her eye twitched visibly a few times before she snatched it out of the broth unceremoniously with her magic and popped it into her mouth, biting down on it a bit more forcefully than needed.

Doing her best to avoid snickering at the display (but failing miserably), Rainbow Dash feigned interest and nodded - not that Twilight was looking at her to begin with. "So... you have to watch the star move and see which one is right? How fast can it move, anyway?"

"Oh! These stars are moving hundreds of thousands of kilometres a second relative to us, so they're going really fast, but they're also really far away, so it's hard for us to see that motion, especially when all the other stars around it are moving different directions, too, and our planet is spinning off-axis relative to its orbit, of course." Excited, her attention turned to Rainbow proper, "Isn't it great?"

"That stray piece of carrot reeeeally bugged you, didn't it?"

Her eye twitched again, "Y-you saw? Shut up. Yes." She pouted and turned back to picking all the celery out of her stew. Is it really that obvious?

Taking a break from her food, Rainbow shuffled her chair over to Twilight's side and hugged her gently, "It's okay. We all know you're, uh.. ODC or whatever. And probably some other things." Like smokin' hot!

Twilight pulled away at first, "OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and no, I'm not. I don't have it. I just... the carrots were good and I wanted to eat them first, and now I'm trying the celery, and next I'll try the onions. I want to taste all the things you put in, and if I just... smoosh them all together it's not the same!"

"...I should have just run it through a blender and called it soup," she joked.

"N-not funny!" The unicorn glared, but gave in and sighed, "Okay, maybe I have a little bit of OCD."

Rainbow coughed.

"More than a little bit."

She coughed again, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up."

"You're cute when you're angry," Rainbow blurted out before realising that was supposed to stay inside her head, but faulted trying to think of a follow up. She blushed heavily and turned away, before scooting back to her stew and busying herself with eating, hoping she didn't quite catch on.

What... no. What? Twilight blinked incredulously, "D-did you just call me cute?"

Rainbow ate faster, "See, it tastes better when you get all the veggies at once!" Her blush deepened, "Uh, here, let me take the pot away from the table and clean it up - you keep going." She moved quickly into the kitchen with the pot in her teeth, and set about scrubbing it clean, leaving Twilight alone before she could answer or object.

Stunned, the lavender mare tried to process what just happened. She was blushing. She called me cute and started blushing... this whole thing is a ruse. I'm faking being sick, and she's faking just 'wanting to take care of me', isn't she? She smirked mischievously. It's about time I got her back for all those pranks she played on me. Not really prank her, though... I need to plan this out. She worked her way through the rest of the stew, ingredient by ingredient, and carried her bowl out to the now strangely quiet kitchen. "Dash? You need some help in there?" She called as she entered.

A hyperventilating Rainbow Dash jumped, almost hitting her head on the ceiling, "Twilight, you scared - er - surprised me! I'mfineI'mtotallyfine." She sprinted forward to grab Twilight's bowl from her, and scooted her back outside, "I've got it, you just go lay down for me. I mean, for you. For resting. Yourself. By yourself for now; I'll join you lat- whatever."

Grinning, Twilight agreed, adding a subtle hint of salaciousness to her voice, "Okay, Dashie, I'll go lay down, and wait for you to... join me." I knew studying those trite romance novels would come in handy! This is going to be the best prank; she'll get a taste of her own medicine! Ooh... that's kind of trite, too. Chastising her own internal monologue, she grabbed a pair of soft cushions and lay them side by side, touching, on the floor, choosing one and relaxing atop it herself.

Inside the kitchen, a faint *pomf* let Twilight know her plan was working.

Author's Note

I'm not happy with the previous chapters (of course), so I'm probably going to go back and rewrite chunks of them, at some point. I'm sorry for the slowness - I keep struggling with ideas and getting distracted with RL. :(