DASH'S DATE
Rainbow Dash cracked an eyelid open and glanced at her bedside clock.
7:00. Only five minutes later than the last time she'd checked.
"Ughhhhh," she groaned, burying her face in a pillow and allowing her polychromatic mane to flop around her forehead. 7:00 was such an ungodly hour - only Princess Celestia was awake before then, and even then that was only because she was a frickin' sun goddess! Rainbow herself certainly didn't have enough discipline to wake up that early. But then again, being the Captain of Ponyville's Weather Team definitely came with some advantages - she could usually sleep in until whenever she pleased.
Unfortunately, this morning was not one of those joyous days when Rainbow was able to snore away happily until noon or even later. As a matter of fact, the last few days hadn't been much like that either...
Unable to get comfortable, Rainbow shifted onto her back and gazed up at the ceiling, her forehead creased in a frown. She'd checked her alarm clock at least ten times in the past half hour, and each time it had only been a few minutes later than the last. This lack of having anything to do was incredibly irritating. Rainbow was used to spending all of her time kicking away clouds or chilling with her friends - not lounging beneath her blankets and staring at nothing.
"I'm bored," she announced drowsily to the ceiling.
It didn't respond.
Rainbow clapped a hoof to her forehead. "Stupid Rainbow," she muttered to herself, her voice slurred as she struggled to throw off her sleepiness. "Who cares if it's only 7:00? You're obviously not gonna be sleeping any time soon, so get your lazy hindquarters out of bed and go find something to do!"
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Rainbow Dash forced herself to throw off her covers and soar out of bed. Hovering in the air, she slung her hooves behind her head and stretched them out as far as she could, sighing in relief as her joints cracked and her sore muscles loosened. Smacking her lips sleepily, Rainbow descended to the floor, shuddering as her legs almost collapsed beneath her. Apparently, she was a little more tired than she had thought. Maybe it was best if she just flew for now instead of trying to walk.
Flapping her ruffled wings sluggishly, Rainbow flew over to her bathroom mirror. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her mane was so messy that it looked like it had been combed with a lightning bolt. "Uhhhhhhhhhh," she groaned again. "So tired..."
She hadn't slept a wink last night. Not one wink. She hadn't slept the night before, either, or the night before. And it was all Fluttershy's fault.
Well, it wasn't really her fault. Rainbow just couldn't get her out of her head (which, Rainbow reassured herself, makes it my head's fault, not mine). That mare even showed up in her dreams. And whenever Rainbow wasn't dreaming about her, she was lying awake and staring up at the ceiling, thinking about her instead. This explained why she hadn't been sleeping - when there was someone as perfect as Fluttershy to think about, sleep was impossible. Literally impossible. Lately, though, Rainbow had resorted to checking the time on her alarm clock every few minutes, desperate to find an acceptable time for her to get out of bed - as a rule, she insisted on always being one of the last ponies in Ponyville to wake up - and end her night of sleeplessness.
The problem was that Rainbow was head-over-heels in love with Fluttershy, and she had been since Flight School. Not just because of her looks, although Rainbow would be the first pony to admit that Fluttershy was breathtakingly beautiful. Fluttershy just seemed like the perfect contrast to Rainbow Dash - and Rainbow's philosophy was that opposites attract (well, hey. It worked for Doctor Whooves and Derpy, didn't it?) She was so sweet and gentle, so caring and patient - all the traits that Rainbow didn't have but secretly admired.
Rainbow glanced at the toilet and sighed wistfully, using a hoof to rumple her prismatic mane. "How do I tell her that I like her though?" she murmured. "I gotta tell her. I just have to. It's killing me!"
The weirdness of the situation struck her, and she groaned. "Great. Now I'm talking to a toilet."
Rainbow massaged her mane with her hoof again, mussing it up even more. She knew she needed to talk to Fluttershy. But how? To tell her now or put it off until later; that was the question....
Well, the last part of that quote sounded right, anyway, but she wasn't sure about the first part - she'd never had enough patience to listen to any of Twilight's nerdy, egghead-y rants about Shakesdeere for longer than thirty seconds.
Rainbow Dash stared expectantly at her reflection, which didn't seem to be offering any helpful advice. Frustrated, Rainbow banged her head against the sink. Maybe a hard knock would give her some ideas.
Apparently, it worked... a name suddenly popped up in Rainbow's mind, and surprisingly enough, it wasn't Fluttershy.
It was Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow's eyes lit up, and she slowly lifted her head out of the sink. "Heh... why didn't I think of that before?" she murmured to herself. "I'm awesome. I can totally fix all my problems! I don't need to worry about how to tell her... I just need to get over there and tell her! All I hafta do is go with the flow. I'm not an egghead like Twilight - I don't need to plan everything out in advance." Liking where her thoughts were going, Rainbow stood up to her full, imposing height and flashed her mirror reflection a cocky grin, her magenta eyes twinkling. "I'm Rainbow Dash!" she reminded herself. "I'm not scared of anything!"
She winked and raised an eyebrow at her reflection, admiring her own fabulousness, and then gave herself her usual morning pep talk, delivering it with extra enthusiasm. "You. Are. Awesome!"
Satisfied that she was the coolest pony in town, and brimming with newfound determination, Rainbow zoomed out of her bathroom and flew over to the front door, all of her earlier exhaustion now forgotten. "I'm gonna go talk to Fluttershy!"
* * *
Five seconds later, Rainbow zoomed back right in and slumped against her living room wall, covering her eyes with trembling hooves. "I'm not gonna go talk to Fluttershy," she wailed in her trademark raspy voice. "I can't! What if she doesn't like me back?" Groaning miserably, Rainbow thunked her head against the wall. "I'm doomed to deal with sleep deprivation forever..."
So much for being the coolest pony in town.
Rainbow was super annoyed at herself. She was acting like a total wimp! But at the same time, the thought of telling Fluttershy that she liked her was terrifying. She knew she'd be ready someday, but that day was definitely not today.
On the other hoof... what if Rainbow never worked up enough courage to tell Fluttershy? Then she would have to suffer in maddening silence for eternity while the mare of her dreams went around never knowing that Rainbow was completely and entirely obsessed with her.
Love was hopeless.
All of a sudden, another thought struck Rainbow like a lightning bolt. Maybe she didn't have to talk to Fluttershy right away. Maybe she could share her secret to someone else first.
And who better to bare her soul to than Applejack? Applejack always knew what to do and say, and she was way better than Dash at addressing issues like these ( even if Rainbow would rather die than admit that Applejack was better than her at anything).
Rainbow ruffled her wing feathers as she thought out loud. "Okay. Talking to Applejack? I can live with that. Am I scared of talking to Fluttershy? ...No," she told herself (probably a blatant lie, but hey, honesty was AJ's thing). "Am I trying to stall for time so I don't have to talk to Fluttershy just yet?"
Rainbow grinned to herself. "Absolutely."
It was settled. Applejack was about to be on the receiving end of a heart-to-heart conversation that probably contained way more information than she ever wanted to know about a certain blue pegasus's love life. Rainbow flew out of her house and angled towards Sweet Apple Acres, feeling a wave of pleasure as her wings caught a surge of wind that increased her speed as she sailed into the bright morning sun.
* * *
Rainbow came to a roaring but graceful touchdown in Applejack's orchard. She glanced over her shoulder and realized she'd accidentally left a twenty-foot-long trench in the dirt when she'd skidded to a stop.
Oops.
AJ's gonna kill me.
Then Rainbow realized it was totally worth it. Fluttershy was worth it. Rainbow was one step closer to talking to Fluttershy, so she could live with Applejack being mad at her. (Unless AJ tried to buck her right into the sky. That had happened before, and it was painful.)
Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy, she mentally repeated to soothe herself, picturing the mare's calm smile and soft eyes. Smiling fondly, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, strode forward, and walked right into an apple tree.
"Ow!" she snapped, falling backwards on her blue backside in a very undignified fashion. "Stupid tree." Picking herself up and glancing around the orchards to make sure no one had witnessed that embarrassing moment, she caught a glimpse of an orange pony a short distance away, bucking an apple tree. Rainbow took a moment to admire the graceful ease and precision with which the pony's powerful hind legs were knocking all the apples off the tree, and then called out, "Hey, Applejack. Can I talk to you?"
Applejack turned around, dusted off her hooves, and shot Rainbow a friendly grin. "Hey there, RD! Course ya can - hey, are ya doin' alraght? Ya look plum tuckered out!"
Rainbow cursed under her breath. She'd forgotten that she looked like she hadn't slept in in three days. Which she hadn't. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." She wasn't feeling tired anymore anyway, even if she did look like a sleep-deprived zombie. "So can you talk?"
Applejack shrugged. "Sure. Ah always got time fer mah best friend! Jus' a minute, now." She turned towards her brother, who was working in the neighboring row of apple trees, and shouted, "Hey Big Mac! Ah'm takin' a break from apple-buckin' fer a bit, alraght?"
"Yup," the powerful red stallion called back.
Applejack adjusted her cowpony hat and set off towards the barn, Rainbow Dash trailing behind her in the air. "So what can Ah do ya for? Anythin' in particular ya wanna talk about?"
Rainbow cleared her throat and shuffled her hooves uneasily. "Um..." Maybe talking to Applejack hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"Don't tell me yore scared, now, Dash," Applejack teased, her emerald eyes twinkling mischievously.
"What? Of course I'm not scared! I never get scared! It's just..." the pegasus took a deep breath and then blurted out at top speed,
"Whatwouldyoudoifyouhadacrushonsomeponyanddidn'tknowhowtotellthem?"
A slow grin spread across Applejack's face. "Aha. Dash has got a crush at last," she smirked.
Rainbow's face went fiery red and she flicked AJ's nose with the tip of her wing, simultaneously sticking her tongue out. "Shut up."
She tossed her golden bangs out of her eyes. "Ah ain't exactly got a lot o' love experience, ya know."
"I know. But you're my best friend, and you're always so... reasonable. I knew you were the right pony to ask."
"Well, Ah mighty appreciate that, sugarcube," Applejack replied, her emerald eyes shining from the compliment beneath the brim of her hat. "Let's see what Ah can do." She sat down underneath an apple tree, propping up her chin with a hoof as she pondered the question. Finally, after a few minutes of careful thought, she said, "Ah'd just up an' tell 'em. It ain't bein' honest t' me or them if Ah don't. If they were a close friend o' mine, they wouldn't mind me tellin' 'em anyway. An' who knows - maybe they'd like me back, an' Ah'd never know it unless Ah told 'em Ah liked 'em first."
Rainbow settled next to Applejack, leaning her head against the Earth pony's shoulder. "So - you'd just tell whoever it was that you liked them? Really and truly?" Now that she thought about, it kind of made sense that Applejack would do that, being the Element of Honesty and all.
"Ah reckon Ah would, sugarcube." Applejack nuzzled her friend's mane. "Who's the lucky filly?"
"FILLY?" Rainbow shrieked, jumping ten feet in the air. "I didn't say it was a filly!"
"Ya didn't have to, darlin'. Ah already knew. An' don' worry, Ah won't judge ya. It sure as hay ain't mah business to go 'round bein' all prejudiced-like. Love is love, ain't it?"
Rainbow felt a little bit ashamed of her reaction and slowly flew down to the ground. Applejack was her best friend, and she was the most loyal and open pony in town. She certainly wouldn't judge anypony based on who they loved. "Yeah, you're right," she admitted reluctantly. "It's a filly. But sheesh - don't scare me like that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Applejack's laugh sounded like warm apple pie. "Well, spill the beans, RD! Who's the lucky gal?"
Rainbow crossed her legs and turned her head away. "You'll never guess."
"It's Fluttershy, ain't it."
"WHAT?" Her jaw dropped. "How the hay did you know?!"
Applejack slouched against the tree, crossing her hooves behind her head, and chuckled easily. "RD, you've had the goshdarn hots fer that filly ever since Ah can remember and ya ain't exactly been too discreet about it. Believe me, Ah sure as apples ain't the only one who knows."
Rainbow slammed her hooves over her eyes and groaned. "That is incredibly embarrassing."
Applejack patted her back comfortingly. "Don't worry, sugarcube. Just go an' tell her how ya feel! Ah promise you'll feel loads better, an' then ya won't have t' worry no more."
"But what do I say?" the pegasus whimpered, looking into her friend's eyes. "I - I've never done this before."
Applejack brushed a hoof against Rainbow's cheek. "Rainbow Dash, yore bein' silly. All ya gotta do is say 'Ah love you.' That's it. You've known Fluttershy for years now an' you two are as close as can be. She'll love ya just the same after ya tell her. An' Rainbow Dash never fails, remember?"
Rainbow scuffed her hooves against the dirt and laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah. I dunno. I guess." This 'love' business was way tougher than she had imagined when she was a little filly.
"There ain't no guessin' here, Rainbow! Ya gotta tell her. Fluttershy will still like ya - an' who knows, maybe she's got a thing fer you too! But ya won't know unless ya try - and there ain't nothin' t' lose by tellin' her. She'll like ya just the same. Cross mah heart an' hope t' fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye." She pantomimed the accompanying motions.
"You think so?" Rainbow asked hopefully. She trusted Applejack more than almost anypony else, and AJ's opinions were always wise, fair, and carefully considered. So if Applejack said something was true, then that was good enough for Dash.
"Ah know so," Applejack said firmly. "An'..." She bit her lip, looking nervous, and then set her jaw firmly. "An' Ah tell ya what." She swept her hat off her head and placed it over Rainbow's multicolored mane, tilting it so it covered one of her eyes, the way she often wore it herself. "Take mah hat fer the day. It's been bringin' me luck ever since Ah got the dang thing an' so maybe it'll help you too."
Rainbow was touched by the sweet gesture. "Thanks, AJ." She hugged her tightly.
"But bring it back safe, ya hear? An' don' even think about keepin' it to make ya look cooler. There ain't nopony who looks as good in that there hat as Ah do," Applejack finished with a roguish grin.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll bring it back." She got to her hooves and ruffled her wings, preparing to take off. "Thanks for the advice."
"Sure thang, sugarcube. Good luck! An' remember - Ah'll know if ya do anything to mah hat!" She nudged RD's flank sharply. "Now get goin' an' tell Fluttershy!"
Rainbow didn't need to be told twice. She wanted to get the hay out of there before Applejack discovered the skid marks she'd made in the soil. She shot her friend a fond smile and took off, no more than a rainbow-colored blur as she zoomed towards Fluttershy's house.
* * *
Less than thirty seconds later (a new record time!) Rainbow Dash landed in Fluttershy's front yard, careful to avoid flattening any of the plants. Crushing Fluttershy's cabbages certainly wouldn't help the situation. Or do anything to calm Rainbow's nerves, for that matter.
Rainbow trotted up to Fluttershy's cottage, doing her best to make herself look presentable in a way that did not involve visiting Rarity's boutique and being subjected to a series of perfumes and spa treatments. She slicked back her mane and even fluffed up her tail a couple of times. Gotta look my best for Fluttershy...
As she neared the front door, however, Rainbow was seriously beginning to wonder whether or not she should turn back. She knew she was going to be a changed pony after she spoke to Fluttershy. Either she'd leave Fluttershy's house the happiest pony in Equestria, or she'd leave with all her hopes and dreams completely and utterly crushed.
Yup. Nothing to worry about at all.
"I've faced bigger problems before," she reminded herself. "This is gonna be a piece of cake." Maybe saying it out loudly would make it true.
Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that, Rainbow. Keep telling yourself that.
It was pride more than anything else that led Rainbow to keep walking. After all, the awesomest pegasus in Equestria doesn't back down from anything. Not even if her knees are trembling and her stomach is churning and her nervousness is so intense that she wants to puke.
Rainbow took a moment to force her shaking knees to stop knocking together. She didn't want to look like a total wimp, even if she felt like one. She had more dignity than that. Before she could lose her nerve, she reached out and rapped tentatively on Fluttershy's door.
There came a faintly audible shriek from inside, followed by the crash of a plate shattering on the floor. Despite herself, Rainbow rolled her eyes. Only Fluttershy managed to freak out every time somepony knocked on her door. The consistency with which she broke kitchenware, which happened pretty much every time someone startled her, was almost admirable; soon she'd probably need to purchase a whole new set of plates.
When nopony came to open the door for more than a minute, though, Rainbow began to get worried. "Hello?" she called in her raspy voice. "Fluttershy? You okay?"
On the other side of the door, somepony let out a sigh of relief. The door swung open, creaking on its hinges, and Rainbow found herself face-to-face with the very mare she had come to talk to. "Oh, thank goodness, Rainbow Dash. It's only you." Fluttershy beamed at her, looking immensely relieved.
Rainbow blinked. "'Only me?' Uh, who did you think it was?"
Fluttershy blushed. "Um... a robber?"
Dash snorted and crossed her hooves skeptically. "A robber? Ponyville is, like, the most unlikely place you'd find a robber in all of Equestria! And is that a piece of lettuce you're holding?"
Fluttershy's blush deepened, and she tried to hide the lettuce in her mane. "... Maybe?"
The blue pegasus frowned at the green lettuce leaf peeping out from underneath Fluttershy's soft muzzle. "Okay, um, what were you going to do with that?"
She lowered her head and bashfully flicked her ears forward, her forehooves trembling a little as they always did when she was being confronted. "I - I thought I could use it as a weapon... if there really was a robber..." Her already faint voice trailed away completely.
Using vegetables to defend herself. Typical Fluttershy.
Rainbow eyed the yellow mare appreciatively, smiling to herself at the way Fluttershy tried to hide her face behind her mane when she was embarrassed. Those beautiful blue eyes... that creamy fur... that soft, pink mane...
"Um, Rainbow Dash? Are you okay? You've been... well... staring at me. For about a minute now."
Rainbow accidentally squeaked and then tried to cover it up by forcing out a laugh. It came out sounding more like a choked wheeze. "Heh. Oh. Oops. Sorry. I'm fine. I just..." What remained of her confidence crumbled, as she realized that now was the time to do what she'd come here for. Her wings drooped and she settled to the floor, feeling dejected. "I need to talk to you, Fluttershy," she mumbled. Now that she was actually here with her crush, telling her that she liked her seemed a lot more terrifying.
Fluttershy whimpered. "Is something wrong? That sounds scary!"
"Believe me, it is," Rainbow muttered. "You have no idea."
Fluttershy gulped. "Are - are you sure you can't talk to someone else?" Her eyes darted around frantically, searching for an escape route in case their conversation got too frightening.
"Yeah. I'm sure." Rainbow's eyes were downcast, and her head hung low. Even her polychromatic mane seemed limp and less flashy than usual. "Can I come in?"
"Oh! Of course!" Being a bad host and making her guests stand outside was just as scary as a raging dragon in Fluttershy's mind, as doing so would be to go against the Element of Harmony that she bore. Whispering murmured apologies, Fluttershy opened the door wider and backed away, allowing Rainbow to enter.
Sunlight slanted through the windows and caressed Rainbow's sky-blue fur as she trudged into the living room. She ignored it and flopped down on the couch, draping her hooves over a plushy cushion and hugging it close to her chest.
Fluttershy hovered in the doorway to the kitchen, probably debating whether she should be a good host and offer Rainbow some food while listening to what she had to say, or run up and hide under her bed. Finally, she opted for the former. "Um, would you like some tea?" she asked hesitantly.
"Sure," Rainbow Dash grunted distractedly, her eyes roving over the living room, looking at everything but seeing nothing.
Fluttershy's eyes widened and she gulped audibly. "Now I know something is wrong! You hate tea!" Nevertheless, she scuttled into the kitchen, leaving Rainbow alone with her depressing thoughts.
A few minutes later Fluttershy returned to the living room, her quivering hooves curled around two steaming mugs of dandelion tea. She handed one to Rainbow Dash and hopped gingerly onto the couch next to her. "So... what did you want to talk about?"
Rainbow's chest constricted, and her heartbeat quickened. This was it. She was actually going to tell Fluttershy. Her brain raced through several romantic combinations of words that would totally make Fluttershy fall in love with her, all of them something along the lines of, "I completely adore you because you're the sweetest and most adorable pony in Equestria" or, "I love you - go out with me?"
Instead of saying either of those things, Rainbow took a deep breath and blurted out, "I don't like stallions."
Fluttershy frowned. "Um... okay. That might be kind of... mean? Just a teeny bit," she added hastily.
"No, you don't understand!" Rainbow paused and then forced herself to say, "I like mares." This conversation was not going how she'd planned.
Fluttershy blinked, growing more confused by the second. "Well, I certainly hope so. After all, most of your friends are mares."
"No, no!" Rainbow dragged her mane down over her forehead and let it spring back up again - something she often did when she was nervous or excited. "I mean, I'm not into stallions! I like mares! I have crushes on mares! Not stallions! I want to date mares, not stallions! I - um, you get the picture," she finished, her voice suddenly decreasing in volume and intensity and becoming uncharacteristically soft. "Mares. Not stallions." Thoroughly embarrassed, Rainbow glanced down at her hooves and took a sip of tea. She spat it out instantly, crinkling her muzzle and wiping her mouth with her hoof. "Blegh. Never mind. I still hate that stuff." Her voice trailed away, but she cleared her throat and pressed on - now that she'd started, it was too late to stop.
"There's... there's something else..." Rainbow swallowed; her throat was suddenly dry. "I don't just like any mare. There's one mare in particular... one mare I've had a crush on for ages, ever since Flight School. But... I didn't know how to tell her. Until now. Fluttershy..." Rainbow looked up and met the yellow mare's gaze, involuntary tears forming in her eyes. "It's you," she whispered huskily, her voice breaking. "It's you."
There was silence. Complete and absolute silence - the sort of silence that hung in the air after a heavy snowfall. Rainbow spent the next few minutes embarrassedly examining her hooves and occasionally casting quick, awkward glances at Fluttershy's face, wondering when she was going to say something. Finally she could take the silence no longer. If Fluttershy hadn't already said anything, then she probably had no intention of responding - or she had fainted from the shock - so it was time for Rainbow to go home and hide under her bed , crying her eyes out for all eternity.
She rose up off the couch and crossed her hooves, feeling hollow and miserable. "Well... nice chat," she muttered flatly, her usual enthusiasm gone from her voice. "Catch you later."
"No - wait!" Fluttershy cleared her throat and repeated herself, louder this time. "Rainbow Dash, wait!"
Rainbow glanced back at Fluttershy and rubbed her nose, her eyes wet and watery. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't mean to freak you out... I just had to tell you... I've probably gone and ruined our whole friendship now," she finished sadly, her voice cracking. "I'm so, so sorry. I understand if you hate me. I - I won't make things more awkward. I'm leaving. I -"
"Rainbow Dash, be quiet!"
Fluttershy's face was flushed from the exertion of yelling. Rainbow, on the other hand, was shocked into silence. Hearing Fluttershy shout was a terrifying thing, and everypony knew they needed to listen to her on the rare occasions when it did happen.
Fluttershy whimpered and shrunk down in her seat. "I mean - please stop talking," she added softly. "I - I have something to say." She moaned and covered her eyes with trembling hooves. "Oh, this is awful!"
"Hey." Rainbow placed a comforting hoof on her back, feeling her heart rate quicken again as she touched Fluttershy's soft coat. "You can tell me anything. After all, I just bared my soul to you." She laughed mirthlessly.
Fluttershy's hooves stopped quivering, and she lowered them from her eyes. "I - I -" she squeaked, shrinking down into the couch and trying to hide behind her mane. "I - oh, Rainbow Dash, I like you too," she whispered in a tiny, barely audible voice.
The blue pegasus leaned closer. "What was that?"
Fluttershy was, yet again, evidently suppressing a desire to flee upstairs and hide under her bed. "I like you too," she tried again, her tone of voice even softer this time.
Rainbow leaned closer until their manes were brushing. "Didn't catch that, sorry."
"Rainbow..." Fluttershy forced herself to speak up even though she was now blushing so hard that her face was redder than Big Mac's coat. "I like you too!"
"What?!" Rainbow's normally raspy voice suddenly became two octaves higher as she shot into the air in surprise. "D-did you just say what I thought you said?"
Fluttershy turned her head away so that she didn't have to meet Rainbow's gaze. "Rainbow Dash..." her voice faltered. "I - I've always been a scaredypony," she began shyly. "I don't know how to stand up for myself. I know that. And so I was bullied all the time at Flight School... remember?"
Rainbow nodded wordlessly and settled back down on the couch, her ears pricked. She didn't want to miss a word of what Fluttershy had to say.
"But then... one day... you came and stood up for me." Her big turquoise eyes gleamed with happiness as she recalled Rainbow's heroism. "I - I was standing there with all those big mean bullies... and all of a sudden you came along and told them to go away... Dashie, you were the first pony who wanted to be my friend instead of just laughing at me. That was when I knew that... that you were the only pony I could ever like." She glanced over at the astonished pegasus with her big soulful eyes, blushing slightly. "And it really didn't take very long for me to fall in love with you. You were so brave and confident... all the things I could never be." Fluttershy sighed, her wings drooping. "I thought somepony as amazing as you would never like me back. But -"
Rainbow's heart was soaring. Fluttershy liked her too! She really, actually liked her! In a fit of excitement, she lurched forward and grasped Fluttershy's hoof, disregarding the mare's squeak of shock. "But I do!" she interrupted, finishing Fluttershy's sentence for her. "And I always will! Fluttershy, you're my favorite pony in all of Equestria and you're one of the best friends I've ever had. I'm just sorry I didn't have the guts to tell you until now. And..." It was Rainbow's turn to blush. She glanced down shyly. "I - I don't know if dating will work out for us, but - but someday... we could give it a shot, if you want." She tried to sound casual and completely failed - she was so happy that it was impossible for her to not sound ridiculously enthusiastic.
Fluttershy's eyes were shining. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, I would love to," she breathed.
They stared at each other for a while, simply drinking in each other's happiness. Rainbow scratched her head. She hadn't had any previous experience with this dating business - what was she supposed to do next? Wasn't there supposed to be some kissing involved? Or was it too soon to try that? Rainbow mentally shrugged - it was worth a try. She impulsively scooted a little bit closer to Fluttershy and puckered up her lips.
When Fluttershy didn't come any closer after a few seconds, however, Rainbow cracked an eyelid open and frowned. "Hey - what's the big idea, 'Shy? I'm waiting!"
Fluttershy hid coyly behind her mane, flushing furiously. "Oh, Rainbow... I couldn't kiss you... what if somepony's watching?"
Rainbow glanced around the house, making a pretense of scanning every nook and cranny. They were alone. "Yeah, pretty sure somepony's watching," she said sarcastically. "Come on, Fluttershy! First kiss and all that."
The pegasus shuffled her hooves uneasily. "It's not that I don't want to, Rainbow. I'm just... not ready yet. It has to be something special and I want to take the time to make it that way. I'll be ready soon. I promise."
Rainbow inwardly rolled her eyes but decided to comply. She didn't want to stress out her new marefriend by insisting on a kiss, of all things. She also didn't want to rush Fluttershy into anything she didn't want to do. Rainbow Dash was a mare of speed, but sometimes nice and easy did the trick. This was evidently one of those times. Apparently, kissing came a little bit later on in a relationship. "Okay. No kissing. Yet. But... can we cuddle at least?"
Fluttershy bit her lip shyly and Rainbow's heart almost exploded (Holy Celestia, how can anypony look so adorable while they're biting their lip?!) "I do like cuddling," she admitted hopefully.
Rainbow Dash filed that information away for later analysis in a newly created mental folder labeled 'How to Get on My Marefriend's Good Side'. She slid closer to Fluttershy and held a hesitant hoof in the air over her back, debating the best way to hug her. She'd hugged Fluttershy many times before, of course, but this time was somehow different. Finally she contented herself with draping a wing and a leg over her back and wrapping another wing and leg around her front. She shut her eyes and breathed in Fluttershy's distinctive warm scent, feeling lightheaded with glee.
Fluttershy sighed with pleasure and rested her head on Rainbow's shoulder, nuzzling her lovingly and entwining their hooves together. Rainbow held her carefully, making sure to wrap her legs around her delicate little body as gently as she could. Their manes intermingled in a vivid mix of pink and rainbow as their foreheads brushed together.
Fluttershy's eyes flicked upwards and settled on the cowpony hat perched over Rainbow's mane. "Is that Applejack's hat?"
"Sure is."
"I think it makes you look very..."
Rainbow winked. "You were going to say 'hot', weren't you."
She gulped. "Um, no. I was going to say 'dashing'."
Rainbow shrugged. "Not as good as 'hot', but it'll do. And hey - it makes a pretty awesome pun with my name, too!"
Another long silence then began, but this time it was a warm and comfortable one. Rainbow - who was usually unable to sit still without fidgeting - was, miraculously, motionless, content to simply sit there holding Fluttershy and nuzzling her ears.
Soon, though, a soft snoring sound reached Rainbow's ears. She stared around the room, searching for the source of the noise, and discovered that it was Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was fast asleep on Rainbow's shoulder, a content smile playing on her half-open lips as she snored, her hooves draped across Rainbow's chest.
Smiling to herself, Rainbow buried her chin into Fluttershy's mane. Fluttershy really was cute when she was asleep.
Oh, wait. Fluttershy was asleep.
That could be a problem, because Rainbow actually needed to leave - she should probably get to work.
Frowning, Rainbow muttered a typical pegasus curse under her breath. "Oh, horsefeathers. I gotta go." She eyed Fluttershy's sleeping form dubiously, wondering how to get her off without waking her up. As it happened, Fluttershy had fallen asleep right on top of Rainbow in such a way that Rainbow was completely trapped beneath her.
I could slide her hooves off and then fly up... No, that wouldn't work. I'd never be able to do that without waking her up. Maybe I should just wake her up now and tell her I need to go? ... No, I can't do that. She looks too adorable when she's asleep.
The more laid-back side of Rainbow's mind argued back. Nah, let her sleep. You can hang out here for a few more minutes. Chillax!
Rainbow shrugged and settled deeper into the cushions with an easy smile. Chillaxing sounded pretty great right now. Being late to work was future Rainbow Dash's problem, as Spike would say. Besides, she, of all ponies, knew the importance of beauty sleep. Rainbow herself would kill somepony if they dared to wake her up while she was napping, so why should she inflict the same torture on somepony else?
Grinning drowsily, Rainbow Dash snuggled even closer to Fluttershy and sniffed her mane again, making an exaggerated "Mmmmmm" sound. Her brain was so tired from having had no sleep last night that she had completely lost control of her actions and was now behaving like a pony who'd drunk five barrels of cider. Somewhere in the hazy depths of her mind, Rainbow sluggishly realized that falling asleep right now was a really, really bad idea.
But she was too tired to do anything about it - her sleepless nights had finally caught up to her. Fortunately, though, after the past few minutes with Fluttershy, Rainbow was pretty confident that sleep would not be long in coming today. So, lulled into a trancelike state by the gentle sunlight streaming through the window and the warm smell of Fluttershy's mane, Rainbow let her eyelids droop lower... and lower... and lower...
* * *
Rainbow cracked an eyelid open and glanced at her bedside clock.
No, wait. That wasn't her beside clock. That was the clock on the table by Fluttershy's sofa.
Fluttershy...
Rainbow's heart soared as she recalled the events of earlier that morning. Her happiness was short-lived, however, as a sneaking suspicion came to her mind. Hang on... have I just been sleeping? She did feel surprisingly well-rested. Forehead creased in a sleepy frown, Rainbow looked over at the clock.
"HOLY CELESTIA!" Rainbow shrieked, shooting up and zooming off the couch. It was almost two thirty in the afternoon! Despite her lazy habit of sleeping in past noon, she had never, ever been this late to work before. She had napped at Fluttershy's house for almost five hours!
Fluttershy squeaked as her blue pillow suddenly vanished, sending her tumbling off of the couch. Crouched on the floor, Fluttershy covered her eyes with shaking hooves. "Oh no! What is it? Are we being attacked? W - where's my lettuce?"
Rainbow frowned. "Um, what?"
Then she remembered that she'd just accidentally woken Fluttershy up in the rudest way possible - it was only natural that she'd think something terrible was happening. Feeling a little guilty, Rainbow flew back down to the floor. "Heh. Sorry, Fluttershy. We're not being attacked. I just gotta get to work."
"Oh, right." Her big eyes were full of worry. "I'm sorry I made you late."
Rainbow waved a hoof airily. "Nah, you're good. I just had the best sleep I've had in ages! I really needed that." She unfurled her wings and stretched them out as far as they could go in preparation for her upcoming flight to work. But on her way to the door, she paused and turned around. There was one last thing she needed to do.
"Listen, Fluttershy... can I tell you something?" Without waiting for a response, Rainbow grasped Fluttershy's hooves in her own and stared deep into her beautiful eyes. "I want you to know that I'm not gonna let you down. I'm gonna be the best marefriend ever, I promise - cross my heart and hope to fly. Thank you so much for giving me a chance. And... I love you." She paused, savoring the sound of the words. It was the first time she had said that to somepony other than her immediate family, and the feeling of having somepony to say that to was the warmest feeling in Equestria. "I love you so, so much."
Fluttershy's eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, I love you too," she whispered. She hugged her tightly around the neck, her long eyelashes brushing against Rainbow's coat. "Now go off to work so you can come and see me later today!"
Rainbow snapped her a sharp salute. "Yes ma'am." She winked and flew out of the front door, pausing only to shout, "Love you!" one more time.
Once outside, Rainbow Dash shot into a steep upwards spiral, wearing a cocky grin. Her heart was so full of happiness that it was probably going to explode soon, with a bang louder than Pinkie Pie's party cannon.
Soon Rainbow pulled out of her ascent and leveled off into a smooth glide, her wings skimming the fluffy tips of the clouds. Suddenly feeling delirious with joy, she whooped and punched the air, giddily spiraling in joyful loop-de-loops. "YES!" she crowed. She took off Applejack's hat and kissed it. "Thanks, AJ! Your hat is the luckiest, awesomest thing in Equestria! After me, of course," she added with a crooked grin.
A gentle beam of sunlight, filled with dancing motes of dust, slanted through the window and fell onto the sleeping pegasus's muzzle, whispering promises of light and warmth in her ear.
Subconsciously disturbed by the light, Rainbow Dash rolled over and curled up deeper under her covers to escape it. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to fall asleep again - her movement, however brief, had already interrupted her sleep.
Her eyelids flickered open, revealing piercing magenta irises. Yawning hugely, Rainbow sat up, clutching her blankets around her and scratching her muzzle sleepily. She stared through half-closed eyes at her alarm clock, which read 12:09. Rainbow sighed with satisfaction and leaned against the headboard of her bed, the tips of her wingfeathers curling around her hooves. "Now that," she announced proudly to herself, "is a good time to wake up."
All of a sudden, the events of yesterday rushed back into her mind, and Rainbow felt a surge of joy. She and Fluttershy were together!
Emitting a squeal that would have made Rarity proud, Rainbow buried her face in her pillow, smiling deliriously. Fluttershy had actually accepted her! They were dating!
The word 'dating' sent a chill up Rainbow's spine. She repeated it to herself a couple of times, awed by its simultaneous power and simplicity. Dating. Dating.
Dating.
Of course.
Rainbow shot up and stared straight ahead, her eyes widened. "Sweet Celestia, why didn't I realize that before?" she demanded, addressing her floor rug. "We're dating! That means we actually need to date!"
She considered the issue a little more. Rainbow and Fluttershy couldn't spend their whole relationship just napping together like they had yesterday. Boooo-ring! No, they were supposed to be going out to dinner, stargazing, taking vacations, pranking everypony else - things that all the other couples in Ponyville did.
Okay, maybe not that last one. That one was only done by Rainbow, and occasionally Pinkie Pie. Anyway, if a date was something that could make Fluttershy happy, then Rainbow was totally on board.
Alright, Rainbow Dash. You're gonna ask Fluttershy out on a date.
Filled with determination, she bolted out of bed and flew over to her living room window. Crossing her hooves on the windowsill, she poked her head out, blinking and recoiling as the bright morning sunlight dazzled her eyes.
A gray pegasus with a jagged black and white mane was flying by. Rainbow recognized him from work - he was the head of the Raincloud Department, but he reported to her, because she was the Captain of the Weather Team. Cupping a hoof around her mouth, Rainbow shouted in her husky early-morning voice, "Hey, you! Windstorm!"
The pegasus continued to fly past, either not hearing her or choosing to ignore her.
Rainbow glowered at his rapidly receding back. If there was one thing she hated, it was being ignored. "HEY!" she called, her voice ringing through the sky. "I'm talking to you, buster!"
Windstorm heard her that time. He spun around and flapped sluggishly over to Rainbow's house, wearing a bored expression. "Hi, boss. Did you have a good sleep?" Sarcasm lurked in every one of his words.
Tossing her mane over her forehead in a way that indicated that she had heard the sarcasm and would kick him across the sky if he used it again, Rainbow answered, "Yes, actually, I did. But I did not call you here to talk about my naps. I need you to tell everypony that I'm not coming into work today."
Windstorm didn't look surprised. "Sure thing, boss. That's only the sixth time you've skipped work in the past month."
"Hey, don't take that tone of voice with me, mister!" Rainbow snapped, looking affronted. "I have important business! Like sleeping! Sleeping isn't a laughing matter! Besides, you guys can get on just fine without me. You know the forecast for today anyway: sunny all day, with romantic clear skies at night..." She sighed dreamily and then yelped. "Um, I mean, clear skies! Just clear! Not romantic at all! Heh..." her voice trailed away. She could have kicked herself. Why did I just use that word?! I don't want anypony suspecting anything!
Fortunately, Windstorm didn't seem to have picked up on her dismay. He just frowned sleepily and said, "Um, boss? That's not the forecast at all. It's supposed to start raining at 2:30 and be cloudy for the rest of the day."
"I know that's what the forecast is supposed to be," Rainbow Dash growled. "Change it." There was no way she was going to let some stupid clouds spoil her first date with Fluttershy.
Windstorm shrugged. "Your call. But, um, what about the minor storm scheduled for 4:59 today? We -"
"You can send it up to Celestia's castle for all I care! Just keep it out of Ponyville. Now move your lazy flank!" Without waiting for an answer, Rainbow slammed the window shut and grinned to herself. Being the boss definitely came with some perks.
Her eyes flicked over to the clock on her kitchen wall, which read 12:17. Time to get going! Heart racing with excitement and nerves, Rainbow winged her way over to her bedroom. AJ's cowpony hat was perched on her nightstand... drat, she had forgotten to return it yesterday.
Rainbow shrugged. "Well, I might as well wear you today then," she told the hat, cocking her head and scrutinizing its worn, faded surface. "You do make me look pretty awesome!" In a single swift movement, she swung it over her rainbow-colored bangs, adjusting it until it was tipped at a perfect angle. She couldn't resist posing in front of her bathroom mirror for a few moments, wiggling her eyebrows appreciatively at herself as she admired how cool she looked.
Finally, Rainbow blasted out of her cloud house and zoomed down towards Ponyville, angling herself in the direction of Fluttershy's house and leaving a vibrant rainbow trail behind her as she flew. Only a few seconds later, she came to a screeching touchdown in Fluttershy's yard, her wings stretched out to their full length behind her. "Awww yeah!" she cheered, raising a hoof and pretending to wave to a crowd of imaginary ponies. "I am so awesome!" A cloud of dust roared up around her from her wild landing. When it settled, Rainbow found herself face-to-face with Fluttershy, who had apparently seen the whole thing.
"Oh. Uh, hi." Rainbow blushed. "That... did not happen." She shuffled her hooves shyly and looked away. Why am I acting like this? I'm never shy! It must have had something to do with being in the presence of her new marefriend.
Fluttershy smiled gently, her whole face shining with love. "Okay. I didn't see anything."
Rainbow knew that she was still blushing, but she forced herself to look up and meet Fluttershy's gaze. "So, um, anyway... are you available later tonight? Like from 5:00 to 10:00?"
A tiny, adorable frown creased the other mare's forehead. "I think so," she replied hesitantly, lowering her eyelids as she pondered the question. "Um... why?"
Rainbow chuckled and fluttered her wings. "Heh. Let's just say a little surprise."
Her eyes widened. "I don't like surprises," she said cautiously.
The blue pegasus hastened to reassure her. "No, no! This is a good surprise. You'll love it. I promise."
Fluttershy drew in a deep breath. "Okay. I trust you."
Rainbow Dash was both taken aback and flattered by Fluttershy's implicit faith in her. She made a silent promise to herself then and there that she would never, ever let Fluttershy down. Not after realizing just how much she trusted her. "Thanks, Flutters," she murmured, wrapping her in a warm, affectionate hug. She brushed her hooves along her pink mane, taking in its fresh, flowery scent, and pressed their foreheads together. "I promise you're gonna have a blast tonight."
Fluttershy melted into the hug with ease and smiled into Rainbow's multicolored mane. "I know I will if you're there," she responded in her characteristically soft voice.
Rainbow laughed and pulled away. "Yeah, 'course you will, cause I'm so awesome! But this is gonna a different kind of fun. Although," she added hastily, "I'm still, like, fifty percent cooler than anything that's gonna happen tonight." She didn't want anypony to start questioning her awesomeness - she had a reputation to uphold.
Fluttershy laughed musically. "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. Everypony already knows that."
Rainbow affectionately caressed Fluttershy's cheek with the tip of her wing and then pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. "That's sweet, 'Shy. Alright, I gotta go. See you tonight at five! Love you!" Rainbow beamed widely at Fluttershy and then took off, soaring away in the direction of Ponyville's Main Street. If she was really going to take Fluttershy on a date tonight, then she needed some tips on where to go and what to do, since she was completely new to this whole 'dating' business. And she knew just the pony to ask for information.
* * *
A few minutes later, Rainbow stood in front the Ponyville Library, staring up at the rugged bark of the tree that housed it. She shrank down and wrapped her wings over her head to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, not wanting to be seen going to a library. Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pony in Equestria, did not. Go. To. Libraries. Even though she wasn't going to get a book - she just wanted some advice from her friend - visiting libraries was still totally uncool.
Suck it up, she told herself firmly. This is for Fluttershy. She trotted over to the front door and hid herself behind a bush as a couple of ponies strolled by. When they had left, Rainbow tentatively reached out a hoof and rapped on the front door.
The door opened a crack, and a baby dragon cautiously stuck his head out. "... Hello?"
"Down here," Rainbow hissed, drawing his attention.
Spike saw her crouching down behind the shrub and frowned. "Okay, why are you hiding behind that bush?"
Rainbow Dash snorted. "Because I don't want anypony to see me. Duh. Can you let me in?"
Spike sighed and made a face. "Sorry, no can do. Twilight's busy disorganizing the entire library so that she can reorganize it again." He rolled his eyes. "She told me not to let anyone in."
Rainbow growled and stamped her hoof. "Seriously? On the one day I actually want to come to the library?" She frowned thoughtfully, her mind racing. How could she get Twilight to let her in?
As Rainbow caught sight of a book that Spike was clutching underneath his elbow, an idea suddenly presented itself to her. Her lips curled in a sly smile. Now that, Rainbow Dash, is clever, she congratulated herself. Very clever. Leaning closer to Spike and glancing around furtively to make sure that nopony was listening (because she knew that if anypony overheard this conversation she would be teased forever, even if what she was about to say was a total lie), she whispered, "Tell her I'm here for a book."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "A book, huh? I'm not buying it."
Exasperated, Rainbow threw her hooves in the air. "Well, you don't have to buy it!" She realized that she was yelling and hastily lowered her voice. "I'm selling the story to Twilight, not you!"
"Alright, alright!" The baby dragon held up his claws placatingly. "I'll go tell her. But if she gets really mad at me for interrupting her while she's organizing, you owe me fifty bits' worth of gems." He shuffled backwards and unceremoniously closed the door in Rainbow's face.
Dash patted herself proudly on the back with her wing. This really was a genius idea. Twilight would be so shocked to hear that Rainbow actually wanted a book that she'd let her in right away. Plus, she'd be so happy that she'd forget to get mad at Rainbow for disturbing her.
Although... she'd probably be majorly annoyed when Rainbow told her that she'd just been lying in order to trick Twilight into letting her in. Rainbow shuddered. Yeah, she'd need to be prepared to make a quick escape - when Twilight was mad, she was maaaaaad.
Just then, Spike returned, wearing a resigned expression. "Twilight says you -"
"Thanks, Spike!" Rainbow shouted, squeezing past and almost knocking him over without waiting to hear the rest of his sentence. "You're the best!"
He stuck his tongue out at her behind her back and blew a raspberry. "If you'd give me fifty bits' worth of gems, I'd believe you really meant that," he mumbled rudely.
Dash sped into the main room of the library and stopped short, her eyes widening. "Yeesh," she said, awestruck. "That is a lot of books." The library really was a mess - it looked as though a tornado had come through it and deposited all of the books on the floor in scattered heaps. And Rainbow should know, since she had made a gajillion tornadoes during her time as Ponyville's Weather Captain (okay, okay. Maybe most of them had been unauthorized. But hey - you can do whatever you want when you're the boss).
"A book? You're here for a BOOK?" a familiar voice shrieked in her ear, sounding almost insane with joy.
Rainbow yelped and whirled around. "Gaaaaaah! What the - Twilight?"
Twilight Sparkle was standing literally two inches away from Rainbow's face, wearing a huge, crazed smile. Her eyes were practically popping with excitement. "A book! I never thought I'd see the day!" she squealed, hugging herself and emitting a 'squee' sound.
Rainbow ducked out from underneath the purple pony and edged away hesitantly. "Yeah... okay. Twilight, you're kinda scaring me..."
"I don't believe it! An actual, real book!"
Now was probably a good time to tell Twilight what she was really here for. "Twilight, I don't actually want -"
"This is incredible! Rainbow Dash, here for a book!"
"Hey - Sparkle -"
"What kind of book do you want? A book about famous pegasi? The Wonderbolts? Flight mechanics? Wingpower? Cider?"
Rainbow facehoofed. There was no longer any point in telling Twilight she had come to get advice from her friend, not from some dumb book. Twilight was already on a roll and there was no stopping her. "Dating advice," she answered grumpily, annoyed that her clever plan had completely backfired on her. "I want a book on dating advice." Just don't tell anypony I asked you for a book, she pleaded silently.
Twilight blinked. "Oh. Okay. I did not see that coming."
"Yeah, me neither. Until about twenty minutes ago, anyway." Rainbow plopped down on a couch and casually crossed her legs, inspecting the tips of her hooves.
Twilight trotted over and placed a friendly hoof on her shoulder. "I'm so happy for you and Applejack! When did you tell her?"
"Well, I - wait, WHAT? Did you say Applejack?!"
The unicorn blinked, seeming confused. "Um... yes? I was under the impression that you two had been in love with each other for a while. I mean, you're even wearing her hat."
Rainbow stared at her friend dumbly and then burst out laughing. "Bwahahahahaha!" She fell off the couch and rolled around the floor, holding her sides and shaking with laughter. "Haha... you thought I liked Applejack... that's hilarious!"
"Wait, so you don't like Applejack?!" For such a smart pony, Twilight was seriously clueless when it came to romantic matters.
Still giggling, Rainbow heaved herself back on the couch. "Twilight, AJ and I are best buddies, but that's it. I like Fluttershy! I've always liked Fluttershy. Even Applejack knew that."
Twilight Sparkle took a few seconds to process that information. Her face slowly turned a deep shade of crimson. "Oh Celestia. I am so sorry." She clapped her hooves over her eyes, blushing fiercely. "Please don't look at me," she whispered, mortified by her mistake.
Rainbow chuckled. "Nah, it's cool, Twi. Just... don't tell anypony I came here for a book, and I won't tell anypony you thought I was going out with Applejack." She suppressed another giggle.
Twilight took a deep breath and uncovered her eyes, still flushing. "The past few minutes never happened," she declared. "Okay. Right. Let's see, you wanted a book on dating advice? Let me check for that." She turned towards the nearest bookshelf, her cheeks still red.
A few minutes passed as Twilight trotted around the room looking for books and Rainbow Dash seriously contemplated just sneaking away so she didn't have to deal with this boredom. All of a sudden, she was reminded of all the reasons why she hated libraries. Rather than leave, however, she decided to stay and content herself by making faces at Twilight when she wasn't looking.
"Hmm," the alicorn said, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the bookshelves. "I have some information on that somewhere, I know I do... Aha! Gerricolt's Guide to a Great Date, found you... How to Impress Your Marefriend... Dating Do - haha, you'll like that one, Rainbow, it's a parody of Daring Do - How to Make Your Date Happy... and Hooves and Hugs: The Guide to Your Date's Heart. That's all!" she sang out cheerfully, levitating the aforementioned books with her horn and spinning around. She gasped and accidentally lost control of her magic, sending all the books to the floor. "Um, Rainbow? What are you doing?"
The pegasus had been in the middle of a very strange face that involved sticking her hoof in her nose and wiggling her tongue. "Uh, nothing!" Rainbow replied quickly, losing the face and throwing her hooves behind her back in order to adopt a calm, innocent pose. "Just practicing for... um... Crazy Faces Day... We have that day every year in Cloudsdale... heh..." Her voice trailed away and she inwardly cringed at her feeble lie. It was almost as bad as one of Applejack's attempted lies. Almost. Rainbow's lies were usually better, because unlike Applejack, she didn't look like she was chewing on a rotten lemon every time she fibbed.
Twilight wasn't buying it for a second, but she let it go, realizing that there were more important issues at hand than Rainbow's rudeness. "Okay, whatever. What do you think of the books I found?"
"They all sound incredibly sappy," Rainbow growled.
Twilight rolled her eyes in disgust. "Well, I guess I could summarize them for you instead. I've memorized them all anyway."
Rainbow sighed huffily as Twilight cleared her throat in a businesslike manner and began. "First, you must look nice. This will show your special somepony that you really put time and effort into your date. Secondly, when choosing what to do on your date, keep your special somepony's interests in mind rather than your own. You must choose something you know he or she will enjoy. Thirdly, bring your special stallion or mare a gift. This will show you really care about them and their well-being. Fourthly-"
Twilight paused for a moment to take a breath, and Rainbow decided that was the perfect moment to interrupt. "Wait, wait. I gotta look nice?" Rainbow groaned and pulled her eyelids down. "Ughhhhh."
The unicorn frowned at her, her muzzle twitching with annoyance at the interruption. "Well, yes, it's a date. So obviously you need to look nice."
Rainbow shuddered. She knew exactly where she needed to go next, and she was not looking forward to it. She also needed to leave right now, because based on her previous experiences, this was going to take forever. "Okay. Thanks for the info, Twi. I gotta go."
"But-"
"See ya later!" Flicking her wings open, Rainbow zoomed out through the open window, blowing all of the books off their shelves.
Twilight stamped her hoof as a fat tome fell right on her head. "Ughhhhhhhhh!"
* * *
Soon (sooner than she would have liked) Rainbow found herself standing across the street from Carousel Boutique. Every fibre of her being was currently trying to pull her away from this place - Rainbow didn't go to libraries, but she definitely, never, ever went to clothing stores. Especially not clothing stores owned by a fashionista pony named Rarity.
Rarity's your friend, the reasonable side of her mind reminded her. Be nice.
Yeah, but why does she have to spend fifty million hours finding ponies the perfect dress? the impatient, slightly more childish side of her mind whined back.
Rainbow shook herself. This was ridiculous. If Twilight said she needed to look nice, then she needed to look nice, and Rarity was unquestionably the best and most talented pony to help. Fluttershy was absolutely worth all of this torture anyway.
Squinting, Rainbow Dash glanced up at the sky, feeling a tiny (a very tiny) twinge of guilt as she remembered that she should have been doing her Weather Captain duties up there right now. Based on the position of the sun, it was about 1:00 in the afternoon, so she needed to get a move on. Knowing Rarity, Rainbow was going to be trying on dresses for, like, the next three hours.
Before she could lose her nerve completely, she zipped across the street, power-kicked the door to the boutique to open it, and shot inside (She'd never been one to miss out on the opportunity to make a dramatic entrance whenever possible).
When nopony gasped in awe or threw themselves at her hooves begging for an autograph, Rainbow frowned and looked around the room. Where the hay was Rarity?
Just then, the white unicorn trotted out of the back room, humming daintily to herself and using magic to make elegant cuts in a piece of purple fabric.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and huffed. "What's the point of doing something totally awesome if nopony's around to see it?" she asked grumpily.
That caught Rarity's attention. Her head snapped up and her horn stopped glowing as she released the fabric from the grasp of her magic and set it down on a nearby table. "Rainbow Dash? Darling, what are you doing here? I never thought I'd see you within fifty feet of my shop, let alone inside it!"
Rainbow almost turned around and ran out of the shop right then and there. Only sheer willpower (and a mental pep talk - You're awesome and you don't back down from anything!) prevented her from doing so. Bracing herself for the squeal that was sure to follow her statement, Rainbow grit her teeth, worked her jaw, and reluctantly spat out the words she had vowed to never say (at least she hadn't made a Pinkie Promise. Then Pinkie probably would've murdered her for breaking it). "I need you to make me look good," she grunted.
Sure enough, Rarity's squeal was so high that soon only bats would be able to hear it. "Oooooooh! Those words are music to my ears!" She practically dragged Rainbow inside the back room and sat her down on a chair facing a mirror, clapping her hooves together with excitement. "Who's the lucky pony? What's her name? Do I know her? Are you going on a date? Where are you going? And is that Applejack's hat you're wearing? Frankly, Dashie, cowpony hats do not suit you. You should return that hat to Applejack immediately. She looks much better in it than you do."
The pegasus chose to ignore that last comment, knowing it was meant to be genuine, friendly advice rather than hurtful teasing, and instead marveled at Rarity's uncanny perceptiveness when it came to dating. That pony could sniff out romance like a basset hound. "It's Fluttershy," she said as soon as she could get a word in otherwise, "and we're -"
"FLUTTERSHY!" Rainbow cringed and covered her ears. "Oh, darling, I'm so happy for you! You two are just delightfully perfect for each other! Have you kissed yet?"
"Okay, butt out of my love life, Rare!" Rainbow shouted. "Just make me look presentable!"
Suitably chastened, Rarity eyed Rainbow critically. "Hmm... yes... tie that up there... some brushing... why, that would look lovely... yes, Rainbow Dash, you are in good hooves." She smiled. "Let us begin."
The next three hours were pure torture, as expected. First, Rainbow was forced to undergo a full spa treatment, with hair-washing and hoof-polishing and even tummy-scrubbing. She'd never felt so clean in her life, and she wasn't entirely sure that she was enjoying it. Then it was time to have her mane styled.
"I don't want anything fancy," Rainbow insisted. "Just make my mane look awesome. No frills or curls or bows. Got it?"
Rarity waved a hoof airily and scoffed. "Pssssh! Darling, your mane is simply begging to be styled!"
"Well, I'm begging for it not to be styled. My mane, my rules."
"Oh, we'll see about that," Rarity said slyly, using her magic to levitate a series of combs and hair ties and arrange them on the table next to her. "We shall see."
Before Rainbow Dash could protest, the unicorn gathered up her polychromatic mane in her hooves and deftly began to twist it up in a blur of magic.
The pegasus took one look at herself in the mirror and shrieked. "AAH! TAKE IT OFF! MY MANE LOOKS LIKE A GIANT LOLLIPOP!"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "You're overreacting, dear! It looks lovely. And believe me, this style is all the rage in Canterlot at the moment. But I suppose if you dislike it, we can try something else." She used magic to undo the hairstyle and began to drag a comb through her mane, talking all the while. "Dashie, your mane is horribly tangled," she scolded the pegasus disapprovingly. "This won't do at all." Eyes narrowed in concentration, she finished combing out the last of the tangles and then used a hair tie to fix her mane into a large bun. "There. What do you think now?"
Rainbow eyed her reflection flatly. "No."
Pursing her lips, Rarity redid the style, this time twisting her mane into something that vaguely resembled a bird's nest. "What about now?"
"Not happening."
In a flash, Rarity tugged Rainbow's mane into a sort of spiky braid. "Now?"
"Nope."
This went on for the next half-an-hour as Rainbow Dash grew more and more amused and Rarity grew more and more annoyed.
Eventually, at a complete loss for what else to do, Rarity used magic to make her mane extra shiny and simply left it at that.
Rainbow stared at her reflection and slowly turned her head from side to side, admiring how her mane sparkled and glimmered. "I like it."
Rarity threw her hooves in despair. "Oh, of course you do! You don't like the most fashionable manestyles in Equestria, but you like a little bit of extra shine! I simply don't know what to do with you."
"Chillax, Rarity!" Rainbow told her soothingly. "I don't have much time. We have to move on."
The unicorn took a moment to compose herself and then nodded sharply. "You're right. We have to choose you a dress at once!"
Rainbow's smile faded. "Oh, crud."
Several clothing racks stuffed with dresses raced into the room, shimmering faintly around the edges with Rarity's trademark purple glow of magic. "Rainbow Dash, you are looking at my newest clothing line, Noble Equestria! Each and every one of these dresses represents an aspect of the Canterlot nobility. For instance, this dress is entitled 'Passion'-" she indicated a floating scarlet dress with a vibrant blue scarf and a low neckline - "and this one is 'Intellect'." She pointed her hoof towards a midnight blue dress twinkling with starry gems. "And they're going to be bestsellers, I just know it!" she squealed, giggling like a child, tears of happiness swimming in her eyes. "So which one would you like to try first? 'Grace'? 'Courage'? Perhaps 'Kindness'?"
"Heh," Rainbow snorted. "You mean 'Rudeness', 'Snootiness', and 'Total Boringness'."
Rarity was unamused. "Don't be mean, darling. And since you won't choose, I shall choose for you." Rarity selected a light pink dress and pulled it off the rack. Her horn began to glow as she used her magic to wrangle RD into the dress.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Rainbow wailed, struggling frantically. When the dress was finally on, she realized that it was so tight she actually couldn't breathe anymore. "GET IT OFF ME!" she wheezed, gasping for breath.
Rarity completely misunderstood her panic. "Yes, I think you're right, dear. Pink does clash rather horribly with your mane. We'll have to try again... how about this one?"
Needless to say, Rainbow refused every single dress that Rarity offered, which led to some very loud and very long arguments. In fact, Rainbow probably did more arguing than actually trying on clothes.
An hour and a half later, Rarity was at the end of her tether. Her mane and tail were totally frazzled from the physical strain of having to force Rainbow into so many dresses. Her eye twitching - a sure sign that she was very close to screaming at somepony - Rarity opened one of the drawers of her dressing table and brought out a wooden box. "This, Rainbow," she said in a dangerously calm voice, "is the last thing that I can think of, and if you don't like it, so help me I will murder somepony! Preferably you!" Rarity opened the box and took out a black velvet bowtie, still looking fresh and crisp even after being shut up in a box. She brushed Rainbow's mane out of the way with her chin and gently fastened the bowtie around her neck. "There. What do you think?"
Rainbow Dash grasped the bowtie and gave it a gentle tug. "I like it," she admitted, trying to sound less excited than she was. "It's simple, it's classy, it's cool - it's totally me!" The bowtie really was pretty awesome, even though part of the reason she had chosen it was so she didn't have to look at the crazed gleam in Rarity's eyes any more.
Rarity beamed, suddenly seeming happy again. "Well, I suppose that's that, then!"
The pegasus grinned down at her new bowtie and then glanced up at Rarity, feeling her excitement fade a little. "How many bits is this? I left my moneybag at home, but I'll pay you back."
Rarity scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Dashie! You don't have to pay a thing. You are my good friend, after all. And the pleasure of seeing you come into my store more than covers the cost, I assure you."
"Heh. Thanks, Rare." She wasn't going to protest. Apparently, there was such a thing as a free lunch... if you bought it from the right ponies.
"Don't mention it. So tell me, what are your plans for your date with Fluttershy?"
Rainbow hesitated. Some ideas had been swimming around in her head for a while, but she was reluctant to share them - she didn't want anypony else knowing about her date yet, and Rarity was a notorious gossiper.
But then she realized that Rarity would keep this a secret if Rainbow wanted her to - her love of gossiping wouldn't prevent her from carrying out a friend's wishes. Reassured, Rainbow leaned over and whispered something in Rarity's ear.
By the end of Rainbow's explanation, the white unicorn's eyes were brimming with tears. Sniffling, she wiped her eyes with her hooves and gave a watery smile. "Rainbow Dash, you would make a lovely marefriend. Your plan for tonight sounds wonderful."
Rainbow blushed. "Uh, thanks. And... thank you for the bowtie."
"Don't thank me. Just go and make me proud!" Rarity nudged her. "Go on! Give Fluttershy my love, and have fun! I expect to hear all the details when you're back!"
"Will do!" The pegasus tweaked her bowtie and ruffled her wings, preparing for takeoff.
"And try to get in a kiss!" Rarity called after her in a singsong voice as she flew out of the front door.
* * *
Rainbow's mind was buzzing with ideas as she flew. It was already 4:00, so she only had an hour left to prepare.
She ran through a mental checklist. Plan for tonight that Fluttershy was absolutely going to love? Check. Awesome new bowtie? Check. Now she just needed a gift and some food.
And what could be a better gift than a cake from Pinkie Pie?
Smiling as the gentle wind nuzzled her mane, Rainbow dove down towards Ponyville's Main Street and came to a halt just in front of Sugarcube Corner. Folding her wings against her back, she opened the door to the bakery and trotted inside. "Pinkie Pie!" she called. "I need a cake, ASAP!" She scanned the room. There was no sign of the vivid pink pony. "Uh... Pinkie?"
"A cake, huh?" a familiar bouncy voice chirped. "Well, you've come to the right place!"
Frowning, Rainbow looked up and shrieked. Pinkie Pie was standing right above her on the ceiling! "AAAH! What the hay?!"
Pinkie giggled like a maniac, and, to Rainbow's horror, fell right off the ceiling. Rainbow winced and closed her eyes, not wanting to see her friend smash into a pink pancake on the floor. But all of a sudden there was a loud 'sproing' sound. Rainbow glanced up and gaped. There wasn't really a way to explain what had just happened... Pinkie's curly mane was so bouncy that when she fell on it, it had actually bounced her in the air, and she'd been able to do a flip and come down on all four hooves.
Rainbow's jaw hung open dumbly. "H-huh... how did you..." She shook her head firmly to stop herself from asking questions. There was no explaining a pony like Pinkie Pie. "Uh, whatever. I need a cake!"
"Okie dokie lokie! What flavor do you want?" She began to rattle off a list of flavors at top speed without pausing for breath. "Chocolate banana? Chocolate strawberry? Chocolate raspberry? Chocolate mousse? Chocolate peanut butter? Oooooh, or maybe you want vanilla! Vanilla banana?"
Rainbow incredulously mouthed the words 'vanilla banana' to herself. Eewwww.
Pinkie was still going on. "Vanilla strawberry? Vanilla raspberry? Vanilla mousse? Vanilla -"
"VANILLA BUTTERCREAM!" Rainbow knew from experience that the only way to shut her up was to interrupt her.
"Vanilla buttercream it is!" Pinkie zoomed away and returned five seconds later bearing a large white cake. "Will this do?"
Rainbow's jaw dropped for the second time in thirty seconds. The cake had Fluttershy's cutie mark on it, and the side was frosted with the words, 'To Fluttershy from Rainbow Dash.' "How..." Rainbow cleared her throat and tried again. "How... you knew about me and Fluttershy? You knew I liked her?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Of course, you silly willy filly! I've known you liked her for AGES! And I knew that someday you'd tell her about it! And so I baked this cake for you to give her when you finally did tell her! AND IT'S BEEN SITTING IN MY FREEZER FOR YEARS JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO TELL HER!! DO YOU KNOW HOW ANGRY THIS CAKE GOT JUST SITTING IN THERE NOT BEING EATEN? Why didn't you tell Fluttershy you liked her sooner???!"
Rainbow shrank away from the cake, a suspicious gleam in her eye. "Hold on. Years? Is this thing even still edible?"
The pink pony shrugged. "I'm 99% sure it is. I can sample it for you to make sure!" She reached out a hoof, preparing to scoop out a large chunk.
Rainbow slapped her hoof away. Pinkie was the best baker in town - if she was 99 % sure, that was good enough. "Uh, no thanks. I'll pass. This cake will do. It's just missing one tiny thing. I need to make it look personal, you know? I need to add something to it so 'Shy can tell that I didn't just buy it and give it to her. So she can tell I put a little effort into getting this just right."
Pinkie was staring at her new black bowtie.
Rainbow sighed. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you."
"Nope!" she agreed cheerfully. "I was just looking at your nice cowpony hat and your pretty new bowtie! I have a bowtie too! See?"
What happened next was pretty crazy, even for Pinkie Pie. She grabbed a chunk of her mane and wrapped it around her neck, and then her hooves burst into a flurry of action. When she was finally finished, there was a perfect, pink, bouncy bowtie around her neck.
And it was covered with polka dots. Pinkie was wearing a bowtie made out of her hair, and somehow, inexplicably, it polka dots on it.
Rainbow backed away slowly. "I... don't even want to know how you did that."
Pinkie giggled. "Well, me neither, because even I don't know how I did it! I just know that nopony else I know can do this and they don't know how I do it and I don't know how I do it and so it's just me and it's super-duper special! I can do other super-duper special stuff with my mane, too! Like one time I painted a whole picture with just my mane!" She (finally) stopped to take a huge breath and then continued before Rainbow could say anything. "It was a painting of a bunch of birds! Hey, birds are kinda like pegasi, aren't they? They have wings and feathers and stuff. And so do dragons! Well, most dragons don't have feathers, but they're still awesome! Like Spike! Dragons are just so cool! You know what I mean?"
"... No," Rainbow said slowly, still not sure what any of that had even meant. She'd been completely thrown off by Pinkie's random changes of topic.
Pinkie shrugged and let her makeshift bowtie spring back into place with the rest of her mane. "Oh well! I guess nopony ever knows what I mean! Not even me! Do YOU know?" she asked suddenly, sternly addressing the cake in her arms.
It didn't respond. Pinkie looked mildly disappointed. "Drat. I really thought you were gonna talk this time!"
"What do you mean... this time?" Rainbow questioned, almost dreading the answer but knowing that Pinkie would answer regardless of whether she asked or not.
"Well, I've tried talking to him before," she explained. "He was sitting in that freezer for so long I figured he could use somepony to talk to! He never responded, but I'm pretty sure he still heard me! Didn't you, little cakey-wakey! Huh? Huh?" She stroked the cake and looked it expectantly as if waiting for an answer.
Rainbow cleared her throat nervously. "Um... okay. Pinkie, this cake is great, but I want to add something to it. Do I think I could maybe... put on some frosting or something?" She shuffled her hooves impatiently.
"Of course you can add some frosting, Dashie! But first you have to apologize to him!"
Rainbow snorted. "Who, the cake?"
"YES!" she shrieked, her voice suddenly loud and shrill. "YOU MADE HIM WAIT IN MY FREEZER FOR A MILLION ZILLION YEARS!"
Sighing - Rainbow knew really Pinkie wouldn't let her frost the cake until she had apologized to it- she reached out and gingerly patted the cake with her hoof. "There. I'm sorry I made you wait for a million zillion years," she said grouchily.
Suddenly Pinkie Pie was all smiles again. "Okay! I think he forgives you!" She produced two tubes of yellow and pink frosting from somewhere inside her mane. "Here you go! I have a bunch of other colors too, but I picked these 'cause they look like Fluttershy!"
Rainbow's curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't resist asking if Pinkie kept all the other colors of frosting in her mane too.
"Sure do!" the pink pony replied cheerfully. "You never know when you might need to cover a whole town in frosting! Or make an ice-skating rink with frosting! Or eat frosting!"
Rainbow chuckled fondly. Only Pinkie Pie would even consider making an ice-skating rink with frosting. She accepted the tubes of frosting and held them above the cake, her hooves wavering. She'd never frosted a cake before, and she didn't want to mess things up.
Pinkie Pie seemed to perceive this. "Do you want me to give you some tips?"
Rainbow took a deep breath and shook her head. "No thanks, Pinkie. I want this to be something special I did for her all on my own." Carefully lowering the tube of yellow frosting to the cake's creamy surface, she clumsily frosted the words 'I love you'. Then she added a series of misshapen and incredibly wobbly pink hearts in pink frosting.
"Awwwww," Pinkie cooed, holding her hooves together. "So cute! Although I'm pretty sure hearts aren't supposed to be that wiggly..."
"Thanks, Pinkie," Rainbow sighed.
"You're welcome!" she responded, completely missing the sarcasm. She snatched the cake away and shot behind the counter. When she returned, the cake had been wrapped up in a large white box with a satiny bow tied around it. "Here you go! Do you need some help carrying it?"
"Nope. I got this. Um, how much does this cost? I'll pay you back next time I see you."
"ARE YOU CUH-RAZY?!" Pinkie shrieked, her eyes bugging out. "You don't have to pay, Dashie! It's totally completely absolutely free!"
Rainbow was touched by her friends' kindness: first Rarity, and now Pinkie Pie. "Thanks, Pinkie," she told her, her raspy voice cracking with emotion. "This really means a lot to me."
"No problem! Pinkamena Diane Pie NEVER makes her friends pay for cake! That would be the most meany-meanypants thing in Equestria!"
Checking her bowtie one last time to make sure it was still in pristine condition, Rainbow wrapped her hooves around the cake box. "I gotta go. See you later?
"Absolutely!" she cried, beaming. "Have fun on your date with Fluttershy! I'm going to throw you a HUUUUUUGE 'two of my best friends are dating now' party when you're back!"
"Thanks!" Rainbow slowly rose into the air, clutching the cake box as carefully as possible.
Wait a minute... she'd never told Pinkie that she was going on a date with Fluttershy tonight. How had she known?
She turned around to ask her, but the pink filly was already gone. Rainbow shrugged. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie, and that was that.
Pressing her chin down on the cake box to stop it from falling while she was flying, Rainbow flew out of Sugarcube Corner and shot down Ponyville's Mane Street. It was time to get some food.
* * *
Rainbow Dash landed in front of Sweet Apple Acres with a lot less gracefulness then usual - the big cake she was holding in her arms was throwing off her flight patterns. She stumbled a little bit when her back hooves touched the ground, but managed to regain her balance before she fell flat on her face. Relieved - partially because the cake hadn't been damaged and partially because nopony had seen her embarrassingly awkward landing - Rainbow took a deep breath and called out, "AJ! Where are you?"
When nopony responded, she decided to try again. "AJ! YOUR AWESOME FRIEND RAINBOW DASH NEEDS YOU, LIKE, RIGHT NOW!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing around the farm.
"Ah'm a-comin', Ah'm a-comin'!" Applejack burst out of the main barn, her hat askew and her eyes wide. "What is it, RD? Is one of them Ursa Minors attackin' Ponyville again? Did Rarity finally go crazy an' decide t' make us all try on clothes 'til we drop dead?"
"What? No!" Rainbow drew in a deep breath and blurted out,
"I'mgoingonadatewithFluttershyandIneedsomesnacks!"
She held up her hooves placatingly. "Whoa there, Nelly! Would it kill ya t' speak a little slower, sugarcube?"
"Date! Fluttershy! Snacks! Now!" If that didn't get the message across, then Rainbow didn't know what would.
Applejack's eyes widened. She took a moment to process that information and then nodded her head firmly. "On it, RD!" She spun around and began galloping towards the house, her powerful hind legs kicking up a dust storm that swirled in the air around her pale gold tail.
Rainbow waited in a frenzy of impatience, dancing back and forth on her hind legs. Every second that she had to wait was making her more and more nervous that she wouldn't make it to Fluttershy's cottage in time for their date.
Fortunately, AJ was a pony who knew how to be speedy and efficient at the same time. Within a few minutes, she was back outside, running towards Rainbow as fast as she could, a pair of saddlebags clutched in her teeth. She skidded to a graceful halt right in front of Rainbow, tossing her mane. "Ah take it mah hat was lucky, then?" she asked with a big smile, setting the saddlebags, which had the image of a large red apple on them, down on the dirt next to her.
"It sure was," Rainbow Dash answered happily. "Thanks for lending it to me. And thanks for your good advice yesterday. Turns out you were right all along! Fluttershy liked me back."
"Well, o' course she did. Ah'm always raght."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Applejack guffawed. "Yah know, Dash, yah do look maghty fine in that hat. Pity it's mine," she teased, using her teeth to snatch the hat off the pegasus's head and fix it over her own blonde bangs. "Whew! Feels good t' have that back on." She seemed about to say something else, but then paused and squinted at Rainbow's neck. "Is that a bowtie? Gettin' all fancy-like now, are we? It looks real nice, though."
"Oh, shut up," Rainbow replied affectionately, playfully swatting her with her multicolored tail. But then it was her turn to take a closer look at Applejack's face. "AJ, is that hay in your mane?"
Sure enough, the left side of her mane was a bit flat, and it was sprinkled with hay, as though she'd fallen asleep on a hay bale in the barn.
Exactly as though she'd fallen asleep on a hay bale in the barn.
Rainbow's mind raced as she pieced the puzzle together. "Applejack, were you sleeping on the job?" she asked with some amusement, tilting her head.
The orange earth pony yelped and hastily tried to brush the hay out of her mane, her face reddening rapidly. "Uh, nope! I weren't sleepin' on the job, no sirree! I was just... just... uh... sleepin',"she muttered reluctantly. Apparently, being the Element of Honesty did not allow her to lie for any longer than two sentences.
"Hah," Rainbow smirked. "Applejack, the Hardworking and Industrious Worker, sleeping on the job. I thought you never got tired working on the farm! At least, not tired enough to take a nap in the middle of the day!"
"That ain't true, Dash, an' you know it." Applejack heaved a deep sigh, her ears drooping. "Ah usually manage jus' dandy, but sometimes Ah gotta rest or Ah won't be able t' run the farm at all. Ah learned my lesson that one time when Ah tried t' take care o' you guys an' the farm at the same time. Ah can't manage it unless Ah get some extra sleep every now an' again. So yes, I was sleepin'. But you -" she pointed an accusing hoof at the pegasus - "didn't see nothin'. Got it?"
Rainbow winked at her and helpfully brushed another piece of hay out of Applejack's mane. "Got it. I won't tell on you. I mean, I'm totally awesome! And I would be a lot less awesome if I tattled."
"Good." Flicking her tail, Applejack picked up the saddlebags in her mouth and glanced over at Rainbow. "So do ya wanna know what's in these or not?"
"Of course! I'm listening."
"Alraght. So ya got apples -"
"Well, duh."
Applejack gave her the evil eye and continued. "Apple fritters, apple pie, apple sandwiches, an' apple torte."
"Apple what?"
"Torte."
"What in the hay is that? Sounds fancy."
Applejack rolled her eyes, blowing her ruffled bangs off of her forehead. "Land's sakes, Rainbow, just cuz Ah'm a farm pony don't mean Ah don't know some fancy words! 'Specially if they're about apples!"
Rainbow held up her hooves soothingly. "Alright, I believe you. So what is a torte?"
"It's, uh... a creamy cake, sorta. Ah guess you'll find out when ya have it with Fluttershy. Now hold still." Applejack draped the saddlebags over RD's back and tied them underneath her stomach, Rainbow doing her best to remain still. "There ya go. Comfy?"
"Yep. Thanks for doing this at such short notice! How much money do I owe you?"
"Money?" Applejack snorted, her muzzle crinkling. "Ah don't want no money. Ah just want to see you an' Fluttershy happy together, and Ah reckon Ah'll be seein' that soon enough!"
"But-"
"But nothin'. If ya don' accept those treats for free, I'll tie ya to a tree an' keep you there forever after yore date's over! Or -" her eyes narrowed mischievously - "Ah wont let ya have any more o' mah cider."
"WHAT?! You can't do that!!!" Her pulse sped up just at the thought of being banned from having cider.
"Then ya better not complain an' take 'em fer free, ya hear?"
"Fine," she grumbled. "Ugh! Why is nopony letting me pay for anything?!"
"Prob'ly cause we're yore friends, ya dadburned filly!" Applejack said affectionately. Then she sniffled a little and buried her muzzle in RD's mane. "Ah'm so proud o' ya, sugarcube," she sniffed, her eyes watery. "Go have fun an' tell me all about it when yore back!" She adjusted Rainbow's bowtie for her, looking deep into her eyes.
The pegasus hugged her tightly, breathing in the faint scent of apples that surrounded her. "Will do. See ya later!"
Grinning, Applejack turned around, preparing to trot back to the barn, but then stopped in her tracks. "Oh, wait. One last thing. Uh, ya don't have nothin to do with those ginormous skid marks in mah orchard, do ya?"
Rainbow lied through her teeth, suddenly feeling relieved that Applejack was the Element of Honesty and not her. "Nope."
AJ looked suspicious, but decided to let it go. "Huh. Alraght then. Well, uh, go get 'er, Dash!"
Whooping with glee, Rainbow took off, only slightly weighed down by the saddlebags full of food and the cake box. A final thought struck her, and she spun around mid-flight. "Hey, Applejack? Can you watch Fluttershy's animals tonight from 5:00 to 10:00? You're the only pony other than herself that she trusts to look after them. Thanks! Love ya! Bye!" Without waiting for a response, she flew onwards, leaving behind a very annoyed earth pony.
* * *
Her spirits high, Rainbow began to sing a little tune that she'd heard somewhere as she flew (okay, maybe she'd just made it up herself a few seconds ago). "Oh yeah, I'm so awesome... Everypony loves me cause I'm awesome... uh... what rhymes with awesome?"
She shrugged and gave up. There was literally nothing that rhymed with awesome. Unless you wanted to count opossum, which she was definitely not going to do.
Rainbow wriggled her back, trying to loosen the straps of the saddlebags, which were squeezing her stomach with more strength than a king cobra. They had been comfortable at first, but now that she'd started flying, Rainbow realized that Applejack had tied the straps so tightly that she could hardly breathe. It didn't help that a pegasi's body structure was weaker than an earth pony's (even if Rainbow would rather die than admit it).
Fortunately, there was only one more stop Rainbow needed to make before her date could begin.
Unfortunately, this stop was not going to be as fun as the last ones had been.
She needed to talk to Angel Bunny.
* * *
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow wailed. "Are you kidding me?"
A few minutes ago, she had landed in Fluttershy's front garden as sneakily as possible. Angel had been there trying to pull up carrots from her vegetable patch (probably without permission, the little stinker). Rainbow had approached him and dragged him around the side of the house so that she could talk to him without Fluttershy seeing. She knew she couldn't talk to animals like Fluttershy could, but Angel was one smart little bunny, and she knew that he was fully capable of understanding everything that ponies said. So she had explained her whole plan for the evening to him, and asked him for his help.
And now Angel was refusing.
Rainbow leaned closer to him, her eyes narrowed. "Now listen here, squirt. I'm trying to do something nice for Fluttershy. I really, really want to make her happy tonight, and I need you to cooperate. Got it?"
Angel thought it over and then crooked his paws as if to say, "Pay up."
She sighed, not really in a position to bargain. "Fine. What do you want?"
He mimed a circle.
"BITS? What do you want with bits? You're not a pony - you can't spend them!" Go figure - all afternoon she'd been trying to pay her friends, and they'd refused. But now the one creature she didn't want to pay was asking for money!
Angel glared at her.
She mumbled some uncomplimentary things under her breath. "Fine. I'll give you five bits."
He tapped his foot and shrugged.
"Ughhhhh!" Her mouth set in a thin line, Rainbow ran through a mental calculation of how much money she had at home. "I'll give you twenty bits," she said finally. "Happy?"
Angel turned around and pretended to walk away.
Rainbow could have wrung his little neck. "What?? What else do you want? You've already bankrupted me!"
He pointed at the saddlebags full of Applejack's treats that were slung around her stomach.
Rainbow lurched away, clutching the bags protectively. "Oh, no no no. You're not getting your paws on these. These are for me and Fluttershy."
He shrugged and mimed walking away again.
"Aaargh!" Driven by desperation, she pulled out a juicy apple fritter and threw it as his feet. "There! Now go do your job!" Without waiting for a response, she zoomed off, repeating a calming mantra to herself so she didn't fly back and give him a good slap. Fluttershy is worth it. Fluttershy is worth it.
"Right," she told herself under her breath. "I gave that evil little bunny a job to do. Now it's my turn." She rocketed up into the sky and gazed around, searching frantically.
Within moments, Rainbow had found exactly what she needed. Her lips curled in a satisfied smile. "Got you."
* * *
This was it.
This was really it.
Rainbow Dash was officially about to take Fluttershy out on their first date.
And she was terrified.
Her knees were shaking so hard she could hardly walk, and she had already almost dropped the eggshell-blue flower she'd found to give to Fluttershy more than five times in her nervousness. Soon she probably wouldn't even be able to move. Rainbow dragged herself over to Fluttershy's front door, raised a hoof to knock... and hesitated.
I'm about to go on a date with Fluttershy.
Countless possible futures raced through her mind. Engagement. Marriage. Foals. Or maybe nothing. Maybe they just stayed good friends.
But whatever the outcome, whatever was going to happen to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, everything could depend on this first date tonight. So Rainbow knew she needed to make it count.
She took a deep, shaky breath, making herself a silent promise. I am not going to waste one second of this evening. Not one second, I swear. I am going to remember this night forever.
Forcing her legs to stop trembling, Rainbow reached out and knocked on Fluttershy's front door, hastily flattening her extra-shiny mane (thanks, Rarity!) in an effort to look nice.
It opened instantly, as though Fluttershy had just been waiting on the other side for Rainbow to arrive. "Hello, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy beamed, her soft, calm voice betraying a hint of how excited she really was. "It's good to see you."
"Uh..." Rainbow knew that her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn't do anything about it. All of a sudden, she seemed to no longer have any control over her facial muscles.
Fluttershy looked so beautiful that it made Rainbow's chest constrict. She wasn't wearing a dress, but she didn't have to. She looked incredible without one. Her pink mane had been swept off her forehead and tucked in a swirly sort of bun, with a light fringe that fell over her forehead and brought out her big, kind eyes. Somepony could look at Fluttershy, right now, and they'd know right away that she was the Element of Kindness, just from the way she smiled at you.
That was what made Rainbow so awestruck - Fluttershy's obvious gentleness, even more than her beauty. The butter-yellow pegasus looked so sweet, so innocent, that Rainbow couldn't help loving her so much in that moment that she thought she might explode.
With an enormous effort, Rainbow finally snapped her jaw shut.
"Whoa," she managed to squeak out in a very small voice. "Wow, Fluttershy. You look... gorgeous."
That was the biggest understatement in the history of understatements, but Rainbow literally couldn't say anything else. There were simply no other words she could think of to even partially describe how amazing Fluttershy looked right now.
Fluttershy pawed the ground and looked down shyly, her cheeks a violent shade of crimson. "Thank you, Dashie. So do you." Love shone in Fluttershy's eyes as she admired her marefriend while trying to look like she wasn't admiring her. "I love your bowtie," she added softly.
Rainbow laughed awkwardly and scratched her mane. "Heh. Thanks. Bowties are cool."
Suddenly she remembered the pale blue flower that she'd found. She shyly held it up for Fluttershy to look at. "I... got you a present," she murmured. "I know how you like flowers. I saw it a few minutes ago while I was flying. It was the prettiest thing I could find... except for you." Rainbow stepped closer and used her teeth to gently tuck the flower behind her marefriend's ear, her heartbeat quickening as her mouth brushed against Fluttershy's soft fur.
Fluttershy's warm blue eyes softened even more. "Oh, it's beautiful," she sighed lovingly. "Thank you!" She suddenly realized that she was being a bad host and gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Would you like to come inside?"
"Well, I actually thought we could go somewhere, if you don't mind," Rainbow said. "Since... you know, it's our first date and all."
Fluttershy was clearly wavering. "But... what about my animals?" she asked hesitantly. "I know I said I could be with you between 5:00 and 10:00, but I can't leave my poor animals. They would be so lonely without me... I'm sorry." She looked miserable, worried that she had ruined Rainbow Dash's plans.
"Hey." Rainbow gently grasped her hooves and looked deep into her eyes. "It's already taken care of, I promise. AJ's coming over." Probably.
A spark of relief flared in Fluttershy's eyes. "Really? Oh, good. That's okay, then." She closed her front door and gave Rainbow a huge hug. "So where are we going?"
It was time to reveal the surprise. "Manehatten," Rainbow answered slyly.
Fluttershy recoiled, trembling. "Eep! That sounds scary!"
"Hear me out, 'Shy! I'm not done yet. A while ago I heard from this pegasus who was visiting Cloudsdale about an event going on in Manehatten tonight. He said it was completely free to attend. Anypony could go. It's supposed to be big, fast, and exciting..."
Cowering, Fluttershy covered her hooves with her eyes at the mere mentioning of something fast and exciting.
"Ya wanna know what the event is?"
"N-no..." Now she was shaking violently.
Rainbow paused for dramatic effect. "... An animal circus."
The trembling stopped. The cowering ceased. All of a sudden, Fluttershy's face was about an inch away from Rainbow's, her eyes huge. "Did you say an animal circus?"
"I sure did. I know, I'm awesome, aren't -"
The rest of Dash's sentence was cut off as Fluttershy squealed and flung her hooves around her neck. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! You're the best marefriend ever!"
At that point, Rainbow almost cried, seeing how happy she had made Fluttershy. However, she managed to restrain herself - crying was sappy. Instead, she contented herself with saying, "Yeah, I know I am."
Eager to get to Manehatten, Rainbow draped her hoof around Fluttershy's back and began to guide her to the back of the cottage. Please have done your job properly, Angel. Please please please.
There was no doubt about it. The little bunny had come through.
Fluttershy's jaw dropped and her eyes grew larger than Twilight's did whenever she bought a new book. For there, levitating gently above the grass, was a beautiful, perfectly symmetrical white cloud. And in front of it, hitched to it by a golden harness, was a pair of snow-white, majestic swans.
All of a sudden Angel Bunny, who had been waiting proudly below the cloud, leaped into Fluttershy's arms and started chattering rapidly. Fluttershy's eyes began to fill with tears, and Rainbow found herself growing nervous. "Um, what's he saying?" she asked uncertainly.
"He says that you didn't want to take the Friendship Express tonight because we take that all the time. He also says that he went to persuade my swans to pull the cloud, and it took a lot of hard work, but he finally managed it." She nuzzled Angel appreciatively.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. That bunny was a little suck-up. There was no way it would have taken that long to persuade Fluttershy's swans to pull the cloud - in fact, they'd probably agreed right away. All of Fluttershy's animals were willing to do just about anything for her. Angel was just enjoying basking in her attention.
But Fluttershy wasn't done yet. "And he says... it was all your idea."
Rainbow's eyes widened. She was both surprised and touched that Angel had told her that - she'd expected him to claim all the credit for himself. She mouthed him a silent 'thanks'. In response, he stuck his tongue out as if to say I still don't like you.
Rainbow was about to make a face at him, but then she noticed something much more important. Fluttershy was sobbing silently, tears running down her face. "Hey, 'Shy, what's wrong?" Rainbow brushed Fluttershy's muzzle with her hoof, feeling a little worried. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, Dashie..." she leaned into Rainbow's side, crying softly. "I - I'm just so lucky... I don't know anypony who would do this for me except you, and now you actually want to be with me, forever and ever. It makes me so happy."
Rainbow Dash blinked, feeling Fluttershy's tears run down her own neck. "Wait. So you're crying 'cause you're happy."
"Yes," Fluttershy sniffled. "I'm sorry."
The pegasus ran a wing over her back. "Don't apologize. Just... uh, stop crying now, okay? Or I might start crying too, and that would be totally uncool." She could already feel moisture in her eyes.
Fluttershy gave a watery smile along with a final sniff. "Okay," she whispered. "I just want you to know how happy I am."
"I know how happy you are," Rainbow murmured back. "Because I'm even happier." She sighed contentedly, nuzzling Fluttershy's neck.
A sharp tapping sound suddenly jolted them out of their reverie. Frowning, Rainbow glanced down. Angel was standing by her hooves, impatiently thumping his paws against the ground. "Oh, horsefeathers!" Fluttershy blushed a little bit at Rainbow's use of language, but the blue pegasus didn't notice. "We're going to be late. The animal circus starts in half an hour! We gotta get going!"
"Oh no, I'm sorry. You're right." Fluttershy tenderly kissed the top of Angel's head and set him down. "Bye, Angel. Be a good bunny."
He nodded in a way that meant he was going to do exactly the opposite.
Fluttershy walked over go the cloud, taking a moment to pat both of her swans on the head and thank them in her soft, timid voice. Rainbow gallantly held up her hoof to help Fluttershy up onto the cloud, and then hopped onto the cloud herself. "Oh, this is so nice," Fluttershy sighed, settling herself down on a flat part of the fluffy surface.
"Glad you like it." Rainbow sat down next to Fluttershy, crossing her hooves behind her head. Thinking of all the money she now owed Angel, she added gloomily, "It didn't come cheap."
The swans flexed their powerful wings and leaped into the sky, tossing their heads proudly. A horde of Fluttershy's other animals - rabbits, mice, chickens, birds, even a bear - suddenly popped up out of nowhere, cheering loudly and jumping up and down as the cloud sped away. Fluttershy leaned over the edge of the cloud and waved to them. "I'll see you soon!" she called down to them.
Within half a minute, Fluttershy's cottage was out of sight. The swans' wingbeats, strong and sturdy, were pulling the cloud away from Ponyville at a speed beyond even Rainbow Dash's capabilities.
Her turquoise eyes wide with excitement, Fluttershy began to speak almost immediately. "I wonder what animals they'll have at the circus! Oh, I do hope they have a bear. Bears can be taught to do some lovely tricks, and they're so fuzzy and cuddly, too! Oooh, maybe they'll have seals. I heard a wonderful story once about a seal who went to live with a circus and was so clever that his tricks were famous throughout Equestria! Do you think they'll have bunnies? I would just love to see a bunch of cute little baby bunnies. Or maybe a lion? Lions are a little bit scary at first, but they're so sweet when you get to know them!"
Rainbow laughed, marveling at how much Fluttershy sounded like Pinkie Pie (Author's Note... we know there is a reason for this... :D) when she was excited. "I can't answer any of those questions, 'Shy, but I can tell you the circus is on tour from Los Pegasus. So since it's from Los Pegasus, it's probably going to be pretty crazy."
Fluttershy was about to reply when she was interrupted by a small grumbling sound.
"What was that?" Confused, Rainbow looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.
Fluttershy blushed fiercely. "Oh... um... I think it was my stomach," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper. "I'm just a tiny bit hungry."
"Oh! Why didn't you say so before?" Rainbow stuck her hoof into a small dip in the cloud where she had stored the food, and pulled out the saddlebags. "I got some food from Applejack." She pulled out an apple sandwich (how the hay did you make a sandwich with apples, anyway?) and tossed it over to Fluttershy. "There you go."
Fluttershy caught it delicately and took a small bite. "So, you told Applejack about... you know... us?" she asked, looking down shyly as she said the word 'us'.
"Everypony knows," Rainbow answered through a mouthful of apple sandwich. "Actually, it turns out Applejack knew I liked you for ages. She's the one who convinced me to talk to you yesterday, so I guess I have her to thank for all this. Pinkie Pie knew too, and Rarity was so happy when she heard that I thought she was going to faint." She suddenly realized that she'd been spraying crumbs onto Fluttershy's hooves the whole time, and Fluttershy had patiently neglected to say anything. "Oh. Sorry." Rainbow Dash swallowed her bite of sandwich and continued. "Twilight, on the other hand, thought I liked Applejack! Can you believe it?"
The yellow pegasus let out a small giggle. "Really?"
"Yeah, really! She's such an egghead."
After that began a comfortable silence as the two of them worked on finishing Applejack's delicious food. Celestia began to lower the sun, and streaks of red and purple filled the sky as it got closer and closer to the horizon. Little specks of twinkling light - stars - began to rise as Luna joined her sister, the two of them working in harmony to bring peaceful darkness to Equestria.
Watching this process from above, Rainbow felt oddly calm and content. There was something very soothing about watching sunset and moonrise from this high above the ground.
The swans continued to fly, pulling the cloud smoothly through the sky. Soon Luna had raised the moon to the middle of the sky, its soft light casting gentle shadows on the ground below. Rainbow decided that now was a good time to give Fluttershy her present. Smiling at her marefriend, who was peering down at the ground, Rainbow took out the cake box. "Fluttershy... I have something for you."
The mare turned around. "Oh, Dashie, you didn't have to!"
"Of course I did. Think of it as a, uh... one-day anniversary gift, 'kay?" She flipped open the lid of the box and held it out. "I love you, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy stared down at those same words, written clumsily on the cake in yellow frosting. Her eyes took in the three butterflies of her cutie mark, frosted onto the side of the cake.
"Vanilla buttercream," Rainbow said hopefully. "Your favorite flavor. Do you like -"
Fluttershy darted forward and gave Rainbow a quick kiss on the cheek, her eyes shining. "Oh, I don't deserve a marefriend like you. I love it," she breathed. "But I love you even more. Thank you, Rainbow Dash."
Dumbstruck, the pegasus touched her cheek with a hoof, feeling her face turn a fiery shade of red. "Uh..." She blinked stupidly. Frankly, she had never expected Fluttershy to do something like that - she was normally so timid. Although, of course, she wasn't about to complain.
Fluttershy, completely oblivious to Rainbow's shock, was still smiling down at her cake. "It looks so pretty. I almost feel bad eating it."
"Then I guess I'll have to eat it on my own," Rainbow teased, shaking herself out of her shock. "How much do you want?"
Her forehead creased as she thought about it. "Oh, let's just finish it all now," she finally said.
Rainbow's eyebrows rose. Wow. Fluttershy really is in a strange mood tonight. Normally she'd never be able to eat a whole cake all at once.
Fluttershy used her hoof to split the cake in half. At first, Rainbow tried to protest, not wanting to eat any of Fluttershy's present, but the butter-yellow pegasus was having none of it. They ended up finishing off the cake together, leaving behind nothing but a few crumbs. Rainbow's mouth watered as she stared sadly at the empty cake box. Pinkie really was an incredible baker.
"Thank you, Dashie. That was really delicious." Fluttershy shivered a little bit and wrapped her wings around her slender body to warm herself up.
Instantly Rainbow Dash felt incredibly guilty. She'd completely forgotten to bring blankets. She'd also forgotten that she was used to the cold weather this high above the ground, since she was Ponyville's Weather Captain, while Fluttershy was not. "I'm sorry," Flutters," Rainbow apologized miserably. "I'm an idiot. I forgot how cold it is up here."
"Oh, i-it's okay, R-Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy assured her, although the tip of her muzzle was now pink from the cold. "I'm f-fine."
"No you're not."Rainbow swished her tail so that it covered Fluttershy's back and wings. "Um, is that better?" she asked anxiously.
"M-much better, t-thank you."
The blue pegasus narrowed her eyes. Feeling reckless, she wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy and pulled her onto her side so that they were lying face to face, about an inch away from each other.
Fluttershy gulped and her face suddenly went a violent shade of red. "Oh... um... okay."
Rainbow Dash chuckled softly. "Is this warm enough?
"Fluttershy melted into her hug and even worked up enough courage to entwine their hooves together. "Actually, um... yes. It is. This is perfect."
Looking deep into her marefriend's eyes, Rainbow laughed and shook her head. "You're adorable, 'Shy, you know that?"
They lay there for a while without speaking, the air now so cold that they could see their breath hanging in front of their faces. But lying on her cloud with Fluttershy right next to her, Rainbow Dash was warmer than she'd ever been in her life.
One of the swans suddenly let out a warning cry, and the huge birds simultaneously went into a graceful dive. "We must be getting close," Rainbow said, glancing over the side of the cloud. "Hey, look! There's Manehatten!"
The lights of the big city twinkled like a field of stars. Even from this height, Rainbow could already hear the sounds that were present in every city like Manehatten: cars, sirens, ponies talking and laughing as they enjoyed their evening.
Fluttershy squealed. "Look, Rainbow! There's Central Park. I bet that's the animal circus right there!"
Rainbow stared at the cluster of lights that Fluttershy was pointing to and had to smile at her enthusiasm. "I bet it is," she agreed.
The swans came to a graceful landing in the middle of Central Park and slowed to a stop.
Rainbow shot off the cloud and did a couple of casual flips in the air to loosen her muscles, which were sore from sitting still for so long. Then she flapped over to the cloud and alighted next to Fluttershy. "Are you ready to begin our first official night out in Manehatten together?"
Fluttershy beamed and locked eyes with Rainbow Dash. "I'm ready."
* * *
The circus was incredible.
To be honest, Rainbow Dash had pretty much spent the whole time watching Fluttershy react to the circus, rather than watching the actual circus. But she'd seen enough to know that the pegasus who'd told her about the circus hadn't lied when he'd called it 'big, fast, and exciting'. And, much to Fluttershy's delight, there had even been some baby bunnies.
The circus was over now, and the performers were coming out one by one and bowing while the audience cheered frantically. In the midst of all the applause, Fluttershy tapped Rainbow's shoulder and cleared her throat. "Dashie, I just wanted to say thank you. You went to so much trouble to make this evening perfect, and tonight was the most fun I've had in a very long time." She swallowed nervously. "And so... I thought about this all night, and I think... I think I'm ready now." She drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and puckered her lips.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Um... Flutters? What are you doing?"
She cracked an eyelid open. "Oh, well, I'm ready to kiss you now. Properly, like you wanted yesterday."
Rainbow's eyes widened and she blushed. "Oh. Um - now?" She hasn't expected that. All evening, this Fluttershy had been more playful, bold, and assertive than the old Fluttershy, and frankly, Rainbow found it incredibly cute.
"Are you scared?" Fluttershy teased gently.
"N-no! I'm just... nervous. I don't want to mess up your first kiss. And I guess it is a little embarrassing in front of all these ponies. I don't really want anypony else watching."
"Then how about a compromise," Fluttershy purred. She wrapped a hoof around Rainbow's neck, held up her wing so that nopony could see their faces, and leaned in...
Author's Note
I really hope you all enjoy this. I wrote it for my friend's birthday, and it was actually incredibly difficult to write, as I don't ship Flutterdash in the slightest (based on my username it should be pretty obvious what I ship!) Anyway, I hope it was convincingly adorable. Please leave a review and tell me how I can write Flutterdash better in the future. (Also, I'll give you a virtual cookie if you found the Doctor Who reference in there:D)
