Recommendations
Rainbow Dash sped through the air, hurrying towards the Canterlot Library. The wind pulled at her face as she sped up and banked hard into a turn.
“C’mon, please still be open,” she muttered as she threw her wings open and braked her flight, landing on the steps of the library and rushing through the door and down the aisles, keeping an eye on the shelves.
Twilight told her about an early Daring Do book that was out of print now, telling the story of how she had gotten started in her adventures. The only copy she knew about was in the Downtown branch of the Canterlot Library. Dash had, of course, set off immediately.
She spied the book on a higher shelf and flew up to grab it, only to have it grabbed in a purple aura and pulled down. the Pegasus stared at the shelf for a moment before looking down to see the Unicorn trotting away, garbed in a sweater and her mane pulled into a top knot. She took off after her.
“Hey, you,” she called, coming to a stop in front of the mare. “Is there any way I could possibly persuade you to let me check that out first? It’s the only one I haven’t read yet.”
The Unicorn adjusted her glasses, thick framed affairs with what looked like a tape repair job on the bridge. “Um, not really, no,” she said not unkindly. “I offered to write a comparative study on this against the latest release, Daring Do and the Chest of Chicomoztoc, for definitive signs of growth A.K. Yearling made from this early book, her first best seller, and her second set of releases.”
“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow said. “How long will that take?”
“About three weeks or so,” the mare smiled apologetically.
“Three weeks!” Rainbow cried. “What am I going to do for three weeks?”
“Um,” the Unicorn attempted to cut into the Pegasus’ rant.
“The next book won’t be out for another two moons and it’ll be nearly a moon before I can get a crack at this one,” Rainbow growled angrily. “Why didn’t Twilight reserve the book when she found out about it?”
“Excuse me,” the mare said, raising her voice. “Do you mean Twilight Sparkle?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah!” she said, puffing up with pride. “I’m Rainbow Dash, personal friend of the Princess.”
“How nice to meet another of Twilight’s friends,” her rival responded. “I’m Moondancer.”
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow said. “I remember her freaking out about a ruined friendship a while back.”
Moondancer blushed a little. “Was she really freaked out?”
“It wasn't as bad as "Just found a dog-eared page in my book' level freakout,” the rainbow-hued Pegasus replied. “But it was pretty typical of Twilight.”
Moondancer mused for a moment, tapping her chin. “I can’t really let you have this book,” she said. “I’m on something of a deadline. But, if you’d like, I could recommend some other series that you’d probably like to tide you over.”
“I don’t know,” Rainbow said. “It’d be hard to top Daring Do.”
“Oh, I don’t deny it,” Moondancer said. “But it is just to tide you over. What if I told you about something somewhere between Sapphire Statue in suspense and Griffon’s Goblet in action?”
“Pfft,” Rainbow said. “Prove it.”
The yellow-gray Unicorn turned and trotted over to a shelf and pulled a book from it. “This is a book by an author called Brand Sandstone about a young Earth Pony thief that helps overthrow a dominating empire ruled by a despotic god and his all-powerful priests.”
The Pegasus took the book and read the back cover. “I guess this will do,” Rainbow said. “But as soon as you're done, I have dibs on that book, got it?”
Moondancer smiled. “Of course,” she said. She hesitated. “Would you mind meeting next week? I’d like to know what a new reader thinks of it for the next book club blurb.”
Rainbow frowned, then shrugged. “Yeah, sure,” she said. “Why not?”
As she went to check out the new book and reserve the Daring Do, Rainbow thought she caught a glimpse of a shy smile on the Unicorn’s face.
Moondancer nervously sipped at her tea as she sat down. She hadn’t expected to feel such an attraction out of nowhere. Or for an obvious athlete, for that matter. She never paid much attention to them before.
She looked over at her piled notes on the comparative report she was preparing, but she couldn’t focus. Tomorrow was the day she had asked Rainbow Dash to come by to talk about the book. Would she be able to come up with a way to get another meeting in, at least until she could work her nerve up to ask for a non-book related date
“Moonie!”
She jerked, looking up. “What, what?”
Twinkleshine giggled while Minuette leaned in, smiling. “You were daydreaming, Moonie. I asked if you wanted to get together for lunch tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Moondancer murmured. “Actually, I can’t. I’m supposed to meet somepony tomorrow.”
“Ooooh!” Minuette said. “Hot date?”
“Nonono!” the gray unicorn cried, waving her hooves frantically. “Just somepony that I recommended a book to coming to give me her thoughts on it.”
Twinkleshine leaned over. “You know, Lyra tells me that a certain Pegasus has been talking about a book she got from a rather awesome Unicorn last week,” she grinned. “There wouldn’t be a connection, would there?”
“Maybe,” Moondancer said shyly.
“Moonie,” Minuette purred. “You wouldn’t happen to have a crush on Rainbow Dash, would you?”
She took a sip of her tea to keep from answering, but she felt the heat build up on her cheeks again.
Twinkleshine smiled knowingly. “Come on, Min,” she said, standing. “If we stick around, we’re going to embarrass her to death. Besides, we’ve got that fitting over at Canterlot Carousel in an hour.”
“Don’t tell her,” Moondancer said quietly.
Twinkleshine looked back and winked. “Tell who what?” she asked before waving as she and her friend left.
Rainbow Dash started circling the cafe as she came in for a landing. She had already spotted Moondancer sitting at a table stirring something into her drink. She landed in the street and trotted up. “Yo,” she said.
Moondancer looked up with a smile. “Hi,” she said.
Rainbow sat down, momentarily comparing Moondancer to Twilight. They both had the same egghead look, though Moondancer carried it a little further than Twilight ever had. However, the mare in front of her had a slightly more endearing feel to it, somehow.
“So, what did you think of it?” Moondancer asked.
“It was awesome!” Dash said. “Vin was an awesome heroine and I couldn’t put it down. Read the whole trilogy!”
“You read the entire thing in a week?” Moondancer said with some surprise.
“I couldn’t help it,” the Pegasus cried. “I had to know what happened next, and the way they ended the series, wow. So many things made sense that didn’t when they were introduced.” She smiled at the Unicorn. “Thanks for recommending them to me.”
“Your welcome,” the shy mare replied. “I’m glad you enjoyed them.”
“Got any more?” the athlete asked.
Moondancer smiled. “Oh, quite a few,” she said with a soft smile.
Moondancer ran a brush through her mane before tying it up into a loose bun. She was rather excited, getting ready for another meet up with Rainbow Dash to have lunch and discuss books. She stopped for a second when she realized that this would likely be the last time to do so, as she was going to be handing in her study tomorrow and returning the book. The last three weeks had been fun, though, the flyer actually meeting twice a week for recommendations.
The Unicorn smiled. So far, after the Sandstone series, she had recommended Hayrrison, Manedee, and Richchardon. The mare seemed to read them almost at the speed she could suggest them! And they talked about things besides that. Moondancer wondered briefly where Rainbow had found the time to do all this reading between her job as a weather pony and Wonderbolt.
Her friends hadn’t given her a hard time over it after the initial instance over tea three weeks ago. Twilight had even swung by and didn’t seem surprised.
“I recognize the tastes in fiction,” she had remarked with a smile and a hug. “She may have actually given up cloud naps to get those last few pages read sometimes.”
So, since this was likely to be the last time she’d see Rainbow if she couldn’t work up the nerve to ask her on a social date, Moondancer was putting more than her usual care into her appearance, having brushed her mane and tail till they shone and put on her best sweater after currying her coat to a nice soft texture. She glanced at the clock before giving her bangs another quick pass with her brush and set out the door, heading for the cafe that had become their usual spot for meeting up.
She had barely been there long enough to order tea and a slice of quiche before Rainbow dropped from the sky and trotted over.
“Yo, Moonie,” she said, sliding into her seat, opposite the Unicorn.
“Rainbow,” Moondancer returned, smiling behind the rim of her teacup.
“You look nice,” the athlete said, ordering a coffee and some crisps. “What’s the special occasion?”
Moondancer was about to tell her the truth, but her nerve failed. “I just wanted to dress up a bit today,” she murmured, blushing slightly and cursing herself mentally.
“I like your mane like that,” the Pegasus said as she stirred some sugar into her coffee. “It looks good.”
The Unicorn blushed again, the coloration seemingly unnoticed by the Pegasus. “So,” she said. “What did you think of the Greywalker book?”
Rainbow popped the last of the thinly sliced crisps into her mouth, glancing at the bookish mare in front of her. She steeled her thoughts and sighed.
“Listen, Moondancer,” she started. “This has been fun and all, but we both know that you’re practically done with your paper.”
The Pegasus pawed at her empty plate for a second, missing the sad look that flashed across the Unicorns eyes.
“But, I was thinking,” she said. “Maybe we could, ya know, still meet up and talk? I’ve kinda enjoyed this.”
She met the eyes of the mare across from her and smiled. “Next week is White Day,” she said. “Are you familiar with that?”
Moondancer thought for a second. “It’s a Pegasi holiday similar to Hearts and Hooves Day,” she said. “Usually geared for Pegasi to share with their earth-bound friends or special somepony. It’s been appropriated by the Earth Ponies and called Cloud Day.” Her mouth froze in mid-sentence. “What are you asking?”
“I wanted to know if you want to, you know,” Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Dinner or something? If you’re not busy, you know, as sort of a thanks for the recommendations? I know this great place in Cloudsdale, and I can get a cloudwalking charm from Twilight. ”
“Oh, I already know the Cloudwalk spell, Dash,” Moondancer replied.
“Well, great!” the Wonderbolt rookie floated above her chair for a second. “So, are you free?”
“I’m sure I can shake some time free,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed these meetings too, you know.” The Unicorn got up and put some bits on the table. “I’ve got to run, but just let me know when you want to meet up again, ok?”
Rainbow nodded, hugging the Unicorn with a wing. She was shocked, however, when Moondancer placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“See you next week,” the scholar whispered before trotting off.
Dash put a hoof on her cheek, not realizing her wings had spread slightly in excitement.
Twilight put a hoof on Moondancer’s shoulder. “Stop, you’ll be fine,” she said, digging her back hooves into the floorboards of her friend's house.
“I can’t do this,” the yellow-gray mare said, pushing against the larger pony. “I can’t, I don’t know anything about this sort of thing.”
“You didn’t know much about it before we mended our friendship,” Twilight pointed out. “And trust me, Rainbow Dash may not be the most refined, as Rarity would say, but she won’t hurt you. She is asking you to share in a holiday that is special to Pegasi so that at least means she has some level of caring too.”
Moondancer calmed down, pulling her glasses back up her muzzle. “I know, it’s just…”
“Nerves?” Minuette said from the side. “We get that. How do you think Lyra was when she and Bon Bon started hanging out?”
“Didn't they hate each other at first?” Moondancer asked.
“Well, yes,” Minuette admitted. “But we all got the wedding invitations last week.”
Moondancer looked at the Pegasus-shaped crack in her drywall. “You could say that,” she said. “Muffins may get it delivered, but she leaves something to be desired in accuracy.”
“Regardless,” Twilight said, bringing a brush over to Moondancer. “We’re your friends, and Dash is your friend. No matter what happens, we’re here for you.” She winked. “And if Dash upsets you, I could always threaten to banish her to the moon.”
They all laughed for a moment, the tension broken finally.
Dinner had been surprisingly delightful, the food great and the water drawn fresh from the clouds. The two had chatted over the books they had been sharing. Dash set her glass down after a sip and looked over at Moondancer.
“Listen, Moonie,” she said. “I got to be honest with you.”
“Didn't actually like the books?” Moondancer said, mind still on the literary subject.
“No, that’s not it,” Rainbow said. “Tonight wasn’t just to thank you for letting me know about those awesome books.”
“Oh?” Moondancer said, her heart starting to race.
“Yeah,” the Pegasus rubbed her foreleg with a hoof. “Y’see, I kinda got to where I looked forward to our little meet-ups, even if I wasn’t quite done with a book yet.”
“I wondered why you asked to meet three times that second week,” Moondancer said. “I thought it wasn’t entirely all about the fact that you had checked out all ten Greywalker books out at once.”
A tinge of red crept into Rainbow’s face. “Yeah,” she chuckled. She glanced down at the table. “Well, truth is, I kinda like spending time with you.” She fidgeted. “Traditionally, White Day is a day where Pegasi return the favor of those that gave them attention on Hearts and Hooves day.
“It may not have been directly that day, but you did let me into a couple of new worlds, and let me get to know you,” Rainbow said. “So, this seemed like the right thing to do in return. I don’t care if we talk about books, or our days, or whatever, but I’d love to keep spending time together if you want to.”
Moondancer smiled, a tear leaking free. “I’ve been trying to get the nerve to ask you that for weeks, actually,” she said. “I love the idea, you know.”
Rainbow grinned. “Great!” she crowed. “Any ideas on what to do after dinner?”
Moondancer’s smile shifted into a sly grin.
“Oh, I’ve got a few,” she whispered as she leaned over and kissed Dash.
Author's Note
Ok, so the series Moondancer recommended to Rainbow are the following if you are interested as well:
Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
Hollows series by Kim Harrison.
Noble Dead series by Barb and J.C.Hendee
Greywalker series by Kat Richarson.
And yes, I know there is no possible way for Dash to have read ALL the books of ALL those series in three weeks in between her duties and whatever friendship missions that may have cropped up. But she likely read enough to get interested and speak knowledgeably on the content.
By the way, the book reviewer in me HIGHLY recommends all of those series to you guys. They all rated a 7/10 or higher on my review list back when I did book reviews and are great little tastes to urban fantasy, though Mistborn and the Noble Dead series kind of stretch that definition.
