Things had flipped around for Rainbow Dash, and she wasn't sure how to take it. Previously, she had used Shade as her shield, to hide behind and keep the eyes of her friends from looking at her too much. Now she was scared stiff everypony would try to talk to Shade as if they were the same pony.

Rainbow looked up at the clock on the wall, then to the maitre'd of the restaurant. "She should be here any moment. Are you sure she made the booking for seven?" It was ten-past-seven in the evening, and Trixie was late to their first date.

"Madam, I have told you before. We are not so busy that we cannot hold your table." Savoir Fare might be many things, but being short to a pony in love—let alone the personal friend of a princess, and a Wonderbolt—was unconscionable. "Perhaps your friend is just—"

"Trixie!" Rainbow Dash's wings shot up, and she had to fight the urge to race up to Trixie and lick her. The latter feeling, of course, was more Shade's doing, than Rainbow's. All thoughts of how late Trixie was left Rainbow Dash's head, and she grinned wide.

Trixie wore neither cape nor hat. "The Great and Powerful Trixie would like it to be known she is not late. Princess Twilight had a list, you see, and making sure there was time to actually mark things off the list was not on the list." Rolling her eyes, Trixie smiled at Rainbow Dash. Stepping closer, she closed her eyes and leaned forward.

Even without the rush of the performance, Rainbow Dash didn't hesitate. She leaned forward and kissed Trixie Lulamoon on the lips. It didn't last long, just a touch, but her lips were warmer when she pulled back. A giddy, happy feeling settled in Rainbow's belly, and although it made her want to fly, it wasn't a "run away and fly" so much as a "I feel great flying."

Turning her attention to Savoir Fare, Trixie Lulamoon tried to ignore the giddy feeling she felt after every time she kissed Rainbow Dash. "Trixie thinks it is time we were seated, thank you."

When Rainbow Dash turned to follow Savoir, she thought she heard paper rustling behind her. Turning her head slowly, she couldn't resist making a joke. "Let me guess, Twilight made you a list of things to do?"

Trixie only barely got the scroll put away before Rainbow Dash saw it. "What? Of course Trixie wouldn't do that!" Walking forward, she made sure the list was well hidden in her saddle bags as she drew up beside Rainbow Dash. "The Thoughtful and Caring Trixie just wants to make sure this goes right."

"Being on a date is way less important than spending time with you, Trixie. But I have to admit, this place is pretty fancy." When they were finally stopped at a table, Rainbow Dash reached for her chair and slunk down on it. "I hope the food's good."

"Twilight helped Trixie choose. She had to sit through hours of compared lists, including graphs." Trixie rolled her eyes as she took her own seat. "The only thing Trixie managed to get out of it was hungry."

"Madams, I can assure you we can fix that." Savoir Fare turned his charm to eleven, and offered menus to Rainbow and Trixie. "May I make a suggestion?" He waited the few moments required for a nod from each of his customers.

Rainbow Dash quickly tuned out the waiter, just nodding to him when he was finished talking. A naughty part of her pondered letting Shade loose, just to see what would happen. So wrapped up in thinking about it, was she, that she completely missed what Trixie said, and by the look of her fillyfriend's face she was expected to answer. "S-Sorry Trixie, I got a bit distracted there."

Having been caught staring at Rainbow Dash, Trixie took the easy way out of the indiscretion. "Well, perhaps Trixie needs to do something to get all of your attention?" She raised an eyebrow, and then used her magic to lift three glasses up and position them upside down.

"Cups? Really? Trixie, I know you're bad at this. Besides, nopony can do this trick with clear glasses." Waving a hoof dismissively, Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie produced a ball from nowhere.

"Trixie has been practicing." Picking up the first glass, Trixie tilted it in such a way as to hide the little flash of magic she used to slip a ball under it.

"I can see the ball under that!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the cup.

"Well of course; that glass is clear. But you missed the ball under this cup." Reaching to the cup on the far end, Trixie lifted it, using her hoof to hide another flash that made it look like a ball was under it all along.

"Wait…" Looking back and forth between the two cups, Rainbow was suddenly confused.

"Was that too fast?" Trixie grinned, tipped both cups upright again and the balls were gone from sight the instant her hooves left them. "So while you were watching the outside cups, suddenly the middle one has a ball under it."

Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie's hoof tapped the top of the middle cup, but nothing was under it. "You're wrong!"

Trixie lifted the end cups, making a ball appear under each. "Oh, you're right, they were under these two again." She tilted the cups over and captured the balls from them. "Trixie wonders if you were, though."

Watching as hard as she could, Rainbow Dash realized there was an impossible aspect to the trick, and rather than paying complete attention to the cup, she watched Trixie's horn. A gentle flicker gave the trick away. "You're using magic. I saw you use a spell to put the last ball under the cup." Trixie's hoof was obscuring the cup, but Rainbow was sure of herself.

"Rainbow Dash." Trixie waited until Rainbow paid her full attention. "Look in your glass."

"You're getting a lot better at this." Looking to her own glass, of course Rainbow Dash saw all three balls in it. "But the point is, you used magic."

"I did. After all, you gave Trixie the idea to." Reaching over with a hoof, Trixie liberated the balls from Rainbow's glass. "There is nothing amazing about what Trixie did, anypony could do it, but the trick is to make it look so perfect that they don't know she used magic."

"What?" Rainbow blinked, trying to work her way through the logic. "So what you're saying is, after making everypony think that you are using magic, they will think that you wouldn't for such a silly trick, and not suspect you actually are?"

Trixie preened (which was hard to contemplate, given she was a unicorn). "Perfect, isn't it?"

Despite her skepticism, Rainbow Dash smiled at the other overconfident egomaniac in the room. "Okay, but show me the magic at work. I didn't see a flash or anything." When Trixie reached for a cup, Rainbow shook her head. "No, without hiding it."

"And Trixie assumes you will want to know the secret behind all her tricks?" Managing an indignant expression long enough to get a reaction from Rainbow Dash was tough for Trixie, but she was nothing if not a Great and Powerful actor.

"Trixie! I'm your assistant!" Rainbow Dash was winding up for a tirade, when she saw how hard Trixie was working not to laugh. Blowing out an exasperated sigh, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin at how well she had been baited. "Just show me."

Trixie's horn barely lit, a very soft magenta hue surrounded just the very tip. She performed the trick, fighting the urge to reach up and hide the magic. "There."

"You made smoke around it, like with the suit." Rainbow hadn't seen any light before the ball had appeared from the smoke. "That is something. Every time I have ever seen a unicorn do magic, it had a flash of their magic."

Her ego stroked finely, Trixie smiled like the sun. "Trixie will have her horn hidden, of course, under her hat. Nopony will know that real magic was used for such a simple trick."

The dinner progressed, and once food started coming out both ponies—who were used to living on the road, with simple meals—devoured the wonderful food. Each had finished their desserts, and the bill had been paid, when Trixie stood up.

The sound of a thud to her side had Trixie looking to see what had fallen. When she spied the scroll Princess Twilight had written for her, she tried to quickly put it back away. The problem was, when Trixie grabbed for the scroll with a hoof, she bumped it, unrolling it along the floor.

"Thought so. Let's see!" Rainbow Dash jumped on the scroll, reading the title. " 'Princess Twilight's Guide to the Perfect Date.' Trixie! You said you weren't running from a list!"

"Well Trixie was trying to, but then you went off script, and her silly list didn't cover what to do when the Great and Powerful Rainbow Dash wanted to see the latest special trick." Trixie tried to roll the scroll back up, but Rainbow was still standing on the end of it.

"Trixie. The reason I asked is because I knew anything Twilight could come up with would be just about the most terrible plan ever." Scooping up the scroll herself, Rainbow Dash lifted it and started to read. "Look. You were supposed to ask me about my Wonderbolt training, which you know I haven't been to in three months."

Walking up beside Rainbow, Trixie read the next item. "And I was supposed to offer you a wing massage if you looked tired?" She giggled.

Rainbow Dash lifted an eyebrow. "I could really go a wing ma—"

"You aren't getting one." Trixie looked to the next entry. "She even specified how long the candles on the table had to be."

Unable to resist, Rainbow Dash leaned in and set her wing gently over Trixie's back. "What about Shade?"

"If you think Shade would sit still long enough for a wing massage, Trixie might give her one. Shade likes Trixie's magic tricks." Trixie certainly wasn't averse to the soft, silky feathers wrapped around her like her cape. "Perhaps Rainbow Dash and Trixie should do this one together?"

Rainbow followed Trixie's hoof where it gestured at the scroll. "After date kiss? Second date, bub." She gestured towards the exit with her free wing. "Come on. If I wanted to do all this stuff, I would be dating Twilight, not the Great and Powerful Trixie."

Hearing her name spoken such, Trixie followed along with Rainbow. "You're right. Next time, you plan the date." Holding the scroll to the side, she carefully unrolled it to the end and took out a quill. "One thing I think I managed."

Looking at the last entry, Rainbow Dash nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Make sure you both have a good time.

Waiting until they were outside the restaurant, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings in the evening air. "Although, I am not really used to all this fancy food. Permission to go a little down-market with the next date?"

"You may." Limbering up her legs, Trixie arched an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. "Race you to the wagon?" The light she saw in Rainbow's eyes made everything worthwhile. Of course, she had to break into a gallop to catch up. "No fair!"

Laughing, Rainbow Dash didn't slow down, she knew how much work Trixie did pulling her wagon. "C'mon slowpoke!" Shade seemed to wake inside her, and for a moment they were both running together, but once the wagon was in sight Shade pushed. Rainbow didn't fight her other self, and let the power of a Shadowbolt pour through her.

Trixie stared in surprise as smoke began pouring off Rainbow Dash, and when her friend turned, she knew Shade was at the helm. "Shade!" Delight spread through Trixie, and she met with her pet and began rubbing Shade's ears. A little shock hit her, however, when she realized Rainbow Dash/Shade was not wearing the enchanted suit.

Princess Luna didn't often feel the urge to prank a pony, but she considered Rainbow Dash and Trixie Lulamoon a special situation. After all, it wasn't everypony who claimed to be one of Luna's own, special guards. The enchantment she had laid on Rainbow Dash had triggered, and Luna couldn't help but giggle. She expected a letter from Twilight Sparkle shortly.

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