A Little Nudge
Twilight sighed, her breath rustling a bright red ribbon wrapped around a slightly darker box. The box itself was fairly nondescript; mostly blank, save for a name written in gold cursive, denoting the box as coming from a upscale chocolate shop in Cloudsdale. What really gave it away though was that the package was in the delicate shape of a heart, symbolizing the hope and dreams of the pony offering it. To give somepony this box was to give them your heart.
Huffing again, Twilight barely managed to lift her head off the table to look out the window of her cozy tree library. Outside was bright and sunny; arguably the perfect spring day. The snows of winter had long been cleaned away, leaving only clear skies and green grass. She looked to the sun, already nearing its zenith in the sky as ponies passed by on the streat outside, flowers and chocolates held tight in their grasp.
“You've been staring at that box since you got up,” Spike noted from somewhere behind her, his tone betraying his waning patience. “Keep this up and Hearts and Hooves day will be over before you know it.”
“Good,” Twilight muttered, batting at the bow atop the box like a cat. “I'll wait till next year and make sure I really want this. I mean, who knows; this could just be a passing crush. We could date for a few weeks then I'll realize the whole thing was a mistake and end it but I'll hurt her and she'll hate my guts for the rest of her life and the girls will have to pick sides and the Elements of Harmony will lose their power and Discord will relapse realizing there's nothing to stop him and Equestria as we know it will be doomed. So yeah; I should wait till next year. Just to be sure.”
The box of far-too-expensive chocolates was levitated off the counter and made it halfway to a drawer before Spike snatched it out of the air. “And that's exactly what you said last year.”
A heart shaped package was slapped back down on Twilight's head rest, A.K.A the kitchen table. She glared at its menacing visage, offended it had returned to her after having been banished for another year. “But the fate of Equestria!” Twilight insisted, tempted for a moment to incinerate the parcel. Before she could act on her destructive impulses and unleash the power of an alicorn upon a poor, unsuspecting box of chocolates, a clawed hand snapped its fingers in front of her face.
“Mare up, Twilight,” Spike chastised, adjusting the bowtie around his neck that Twilight only now noticed. He’d grown up so much in recent months; ever since he’d started dating Rarity’s little sister. Standing as tall as Twilight herself after her transformation to an alicorn, he looked the part of a young adult more so than the baby dragon she’d raised. A part of her was concerned it was related to his greed growth and ‘acquisition’ of a marefriend, but there were no signs of a change in his behaviour. “I can't sit around and baby sit you all day. Either you go give her those chocolates or I do.”
“What!?” Twilight jumped upright in her chair, possessively hugging the box to her chest. “Then she'll think you want to date her!”
Spike lifted a single brow. “Right. Because I would totally ask Rainbow Dash to be my special somepony, even though I've been dating Sweetie Belle for a year now.”
Cracking a slim smile, Twilight shot back; “never know; you often call yourself a player. At least you do when you're checking yourself out in the mirror.”
“H-hey! We agreed you'd never mention that,” Spike whined, his purple scales doing a convincing impression of red.
Twilight giggled, having to look up at his face from her seated position. “I promised I wouldn't tell Sweetie about it. It's fair game when we're alone.”
Spike pouted the best he could, but the mischievous smile on the alicorn's face didn't waver. “Fine. But I'm telling Rainbow to come over here. Now, if you'll excuse me,” he continued, cutting through the protest that died on Twilight's lips, “I have a date.”
Giving a mock salute, the not-so-little dragon marched himself out of the kitchen, gave an overly-dramatic bow, and opened the front door.
“Hey Spike! I uh… definitely wasn't standing around out here. Heh. Nope; just showed up. Total coincidence. Heh... Heh…”
Spike grinned despite her terrible poker face, noting the flowers surreptitiously tucked under her wing. “Rainbow Dash! Hello. Please come in; Twilight's in the kitchen. You two have a good time!”
The pegasus accepted his suspiciously enthusiastic offer, stepping through the door and making Twilight's heart leap into her throat. Twilight pleaded with Spike to stay, to save her from what she was convinced would be the doom of Equestria. Or, at the very least, her dignity. Giving him looks that alternated between begging and threatening she eventually settled on pure murderous intent as the little traitor gave a toothy grin and a wave before slipping out the door.
“Whoa, what's with the death glare Twi?”
Twilight blinked, giving an innocent look to her friend as she heard the door click shut with an alarming finality. “Hmmmm? Whatever do you mean?” She asked, her tone dripping honey.
Rainbow give her an odd look, but ultimately let it drop. “Riiiiight. So hey; are you doing anything… special, today?”
“Uhhh…” The alicorn froze up as though Rainbow were a predator with movement-based vision. Perhaps it was some evolutionary left-over from her ancient ancestors, but Twilight's instincts told that if she just held totally still everything would turn out fine. Tapping into the time she'd encountered a cockatrace, she did her utmost to turn to stone. Rainbow couldn’t find out what her plans were; if she did, who knows what would happen!
“Twi?”
Drat. This was no ordinary predator: Clearly, this was an apex hunter she was dealing with. The top of the local food chain. The-
“Earth to Twilight! Are you- oh…” Rainbow trailed off, prompting the alicorn to slowly turn her head. Following the pegasus’s gaze, Twilight’s blood ran cold as her eyes settled on the heart-shaped box in her hooves. An icy silence filled the room as they both stared at the offending sweets. Twilight didn’t dare breathe for fear of prompting the questions her friend must have been forming. Who were they for? Why were they from Cloudsdale?
“So uh…” Rainbow cleared her throat, bringing the quiet crashing down around them in a cacophonous din of whirling thoughts and emotions in Twilight’s head. “Who got you the chocolates?” She asked, almost shyly.
It took a moment for the alicorn to process the question before she realized the assumption Rainbow Dash had made. It didn’t take her nearly as long to jump on it like a piece of driftwood at sea. “Yes! Somepony… gave them to me. I uhh… I don’t really know who; they were on my doorstep when I woke up this morning.”
“Oooo,” Rainbow grinned, once more taking on a predatory aura as she started circling her friend. “A secret admirer? Any ideas? Anypony been putting the moves on you lately?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Twilight blushed. “N-no… well, not that I’ve noticed.”
“Yeah, you are pretty oblivious,” Rainbow agreed with a nod. Her comment was met with a glare.
“I’ll have you know I’ve gotten much better about that,” Twilight shot back defensively. “It’s not my fault ponies can’t just come out and say what they mean and instead have to rely on sarcasm and subtext clues.” Getting only a shrug in reply, the alicorn continued; “What are you doing here today anyway? Shouldn’t you have a mountain of love letters to work through? You’re always bragging about the perks of being in the Wonderbolt Reserves.”
Either gaining a sudden interest in interior flooring or hiding a blush, Rainbow’s eyes became glued to the ground. “Well I was… ahh, y’know what? It’s not important; you having a secret admirer is much more interesting. You should go find whoever it is. I’ll see ya around, Twilight!”
Before Twilight could offer a response there was a rush of wind and she was left alone in her kitchen, still clutching her box of chocolates.
“You’re kidding me?” Sweetie Belle asked incredulously, eyes wide in rapt attention as Spike sipped on their shared milkshake.
“Nope; they’re both crushing too hard on each other to notice the other one. Last Hearts and Hooves day I spotted Rainbow Dash on a cloud just… watching the library, waiting for Twilight to come out to make her move. Of course, Twilight never did; she just kept staring at that stupid box of chocolate instead of actually maring up and doing something about her feelings. I swear it’s like I’m dealing with a little filly instead of a princess.”
Sweetie snorted, giggling in the way that made Spike’s heart flutter. “Go easy on the poor girls. It’s not that long ago you were fawning after me before you worked up the nerve to make a move.”
The dragon did his best not to blush. “Well… yeah, but at least I actually did something about it.”
Raising an eyebrow, his partner asked, “Really? You did something? I seem to remember having to ask you for a date last Hearts and Hooves day.”
“Only after I told you how I felt!” Spike argued. “That shouldn’t even count; you just happened to ask before I could. You… you stole it from me!”
“Stole it?” Sweetie asked with another giggle. “Only because you were too busy catching your breath after your long-winded ‘confession of love’.”
Deciding it best not to take the oh-so tempting bate being dangled before him, Spike huffed, deflating slightly against the table. “I dunno, Sweets. I want them to get together but at this rate they’re just going to keep going in circles. I had to practically push them together when I left; Rainbow even brought a bouquet of violets for Twilight.”
“You mean those violets?”
Spike followed his marefriends outstretched hoof, frowning as he spotted Rainbow Dash walking down the road towards their cafe, a paper-wrapped bundle of flowers clenched between her teeth as she stared at them sullenly.
“See what I mean!” Spike all but shouted, throwing his arms towards the dejected mare. “They’re stuck in a room together, on Hearts and Hooves day, with gifts for each other, and still one of them gets hurt. Probably both!”
Sweetie Belle frowned as she watched Rainbow stumble down the street, lost in her own thoughts. “We have to help them,” She said with an air of confidence. “Just… a little nudge in the right direction.”
“I think they need more than a nudge,” Spike muttered. “Besides, we have our own plans for today. Those two are totally hopeless.”
“But Spikey~~,” the unicorn whined, doing a concerningly accurate impression of her sister swooning. “Two love struck mare lost in their own emotions, each too scared to make the first move. It’s positively romantic.”
“Tragic,” he corrected. “I made reservations and everything!”
Sweetie lightly batted him on the snout. “Hush, we’ll have them together and be free in time for dinner, don’t you worry. I have a plan!”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Last time you had a plan we ended up in a ditch half way to Appleloosa. Covered in honey.”
“Love is in the air, Spikey~” She sang, already ignoring him as she danced away from their table towards Rainbow Dash, practically bouncing down the road after her.
Slapping a claw to his face, Spike begrudgingly ran to catch up to his marefriend, throwing a couple bits on the table. “Fine. But I’m done the second you break out the honey.”
“Raaaaaainboooooow~~~~”
The prismatic mare in question lifted her head, twisting around a moment before her eyes came to rest on the bouncing pink and purple curls of hair. “Sweetie Belle,” She greeted with a half-hearted smile, stuffing her un-gifted flowers under a wing. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing,” Sweetie hummed, twirling her mane around her hoof. “Just out enjoying a walk with my handsome drake,” she motioned to Spike, still grumbling under his breath as he caught up to them.
“Speaking of, do you have your eye on anypony?” She asked, innocently blinking up at the taller mare. The sudden blush on those cyan cheeks was a clear enough indication, but Sweetie waited for an answer.
Scratching the back of her head, Rainbow mumbled out; “Maybe?”
Feigning ignorance, Sweetie grinned excitedly. “Ooo, who is it? No, wait wait; lemme guess. Is it… hmmm… purple flowers. Rarity? No, not your type. Oh, oh! I know! Berry Punch? How close am I?”
Rainbow chuckled despite herself. “Not very. It’s… uh…” She sighed, and took a breath. If she couldn’t admit it to her friends… or rather, her friend’s sister, then how in Equestria could she admit it to the mare herself? Steeling her nerves, Rainbow forced her voice out in a waver; “Well. They're… actually for Twilight.”
Sweetie gasped. “No way! Princess Twilight? Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle? The Princess’s personal protege?”
Laughing nervously, she nodded. “Yeah. I guess when you put it like that it doesn't sound like I have much of a chance, huh?”
“Are you kidding? You’re Rainbow Dash; The Rainbow Danger Dash. Element of Loyalty! Soon-to-be-Wonderbolt! One of Equestria’s saviors! She’d be lucky to have you,” Sweetie replied as though in awe.
“I know,, I know,” Rainbow agreed, her smile coming a little easier, “But it’s too late anyway; Twilight already got a gift from a secret admirer today. I missed my shot.”
Spike, having caught on to Sweetie’s underhanded plot, piped up. “She doesn’t know who it’s from yet; if you give her those flowers, I’ll bet she’d chose you in a heartbeat. You’re way more awesome than somepony who can’t even pony up enough to give her their name.”
Thinking on it a moment, Rainbow’s grin returned in full force. “Yeah… yeah I think you’re right. There’s nothing saying Twilight’s going to be into whoever sent her those chocolates. I’ll burst in there and be ten… no, twenty - no no no, one hundred times more awesome than anypony else, and she’ll fall right into my hooves!
“Hey, thanks guys; I really needed that pep talk. I gotta run.” In a flash of rainbows she was gone, leaving Sweetie and Spike with their devious smirks.
After a moment Sweetie tilted her head quizzically towards her partner in crime. “Twilight has a secret admirer?”
“Huh? Oh, I doubt it. My bits are on her using that to explain the chocolate she was going to give Rainbow when she chickened out. Honestly, they’re so predictable at this point.”
Grinning, the unicorn leaned close and whispered in his ear; “Too predictable to follow and watch how it goes?”
“Absolutely not,” Spike grinned at Sweetie. “Race ya!” He announced, starting the race with the dastardly trick of distracting his marefriend with a peck on the cheek before he took off running down the street, a trail of laughter following him as Sweetie’s glowing red face gave chase.
Through the town they ran, giggling like they were half their age and interrupting the formerly-quiet dates of many couples new and old. Focusing her magic, Sweetie wrapped Spike in her greenish aura, freezing him in place just long enough to pass him. “Hey! That’s dirty!”
“Look who’s talking!” Sweetie called back, blowing a raspberry.
Spike growled, forcing his relatively new longer legs just a little bit faster as he struggled to keep up with the mare. Coming up just behind her he launched forward, diving and tackling Sweetie’s rump, sending them both tumbling to the ground in ball of fluffy, scaley laughter. They ended up in the ditch, covered in dust and dirt and smiles as wide as their heads.
“You know,” Sweetie said as she stood, magically dusting herself off. “You should probably wait till we’re in private to grab my butt.”
The dragon blushed, sitting upright and poking at her side with a single claw. “Being in public’s never stopped you before.”
“Hmmm… true. C’mon; I don’t wanna miss anything,” Sweetie urged, helping Spike to his hooves. “And we might have to give them a couple more nudges, if they really are as oblivious as you claim.”
“Blind as bats,” Spike affirmed, falling into step beside the unicorn. “I’ve got bits on Rainbow chickening out again.”
Sweetie stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Nah; playing to her ego always works. She’s worse than Scootaloo. Come to think of it, that’s probably where Scootaloo gets it…. Anyway, this time it’s Twilight’s turn to miss the signals. Then we’ll have a little chat with her about the bonds of friendship or some such and boom; they’re making out and we can make our dinner reservations.”
“Ugh,” Spike stuck his tongue out. “She’s like my sister, Sweets. I do not want to imagine that.”
“Just think about it; two mare lost in the throes of passion, laying on a blanket under the stars, their bodies entwined as one, Twilight with her-”
“Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop!” Spike plugged his ears, humming loudly to himself and struggling to shut out the mental images his so-called marefriend was subjecting him to. He only uncovered his ears when he saw Sweetie hit the dirt, rolling around laughing herself silly.
He rolled his eyes, already walking away. “Yeah yeah; laugh it up. I’ll get you back.”
“Sp-Spike…” Sweetie gasped through her peals of giggles, forcing herself to stand even as her mirth shook her body. “Y-you’re face! You… hahaha.”
“Just wait till I tell you what Rarity keeps in her locked drawer.”
Sweetie’s humour fell away in an instant. “You wouldn’t! Ew…. ew ew ew…. Just… ew! My sister does not have anything like that!”
Spike smirked and kept walking, Golden Oaks becoming visible at the end of the road.
“Spike? Spike!? She doesn’t… right?”
“Oh look, the library,” he announced happily, as though nothing had happened. “Follow me; they’re probably in the reading room. There’s a window around back.”
Sweetie stopped biting her lip as she watched Spike run around the corner. “My sister totally doesn’t have anything like that,” she reaffirmed to herself. Nodding her head firmly before following around. As she came around the corner she saw Spike looking up at a window.
“Hop up,” He said, crouching down and motioning to his back. Sweetie obliged, giggling as she ‘accidentally’ ran her tail under his nose. Sitting on the dragon’s shoulders she held tight to his head as he straightened his back, balancing himself against the wall as he lifted onto the very tips of his toes.
“See anything?”
Sweetie groaned, craning her neck to see. “Almost there… just a little higher and- WHY ARE THEY KISSING!?”
Rainbow Dash danced from hoof to hoof, glancing around nervously. Ahead of her was the barrier that had stopped her so many times before; a door. Not just any door, however; no, this door was nigh impassable. It had proven this over multiple encounters over the past year. As though there were some unbreakable barrier cast around it by the latest thousand-year-old enemy come back to claim their revenge on the nation that had scorned them.
The truth, at least in Rainbow’s eyes, was far scarier than any villain. The truth was that on the other side of that door lay the nerdy, cute, dorky, beautiful alicorn that somehow, somehow, managed to capture the flighty nature of a pegasus’s heart. Without even trying.
No. No! She was Rainbow Danger Dash. The hooves-down most awesome mare in all of Ponyville - nay - all of Equestria. Some… wooden passageway could stop her no more than ponies could stop time. Actually… didn’t Twilight mention something about a spell that could stop time? Well then maybe the door was stronger than time. Maybe it truly was an impassable monolith to blame for her many issues succeeding in the past. But if there was one thing The Rainbow Dash didn’t do, it was fail. If it was with her final breath, that barrier was coming down!
With another deep breath to psyche herself up, Rainbow Dash did the impossible, passed the impassable, defeated the undefeatable; she opened the front door of Golden Oaks Library. Also known as The Den of the Beast. Or, to those lucky enough to know her; the home of Twilight Sparkle.
“Twilight Sparkle!” She announced loudly, puffing her chest out as she stepped inside. “I come bearing gifts!”
Aaaaaaand she immediately regretted every decision she’d ever made in her entire life. Bearing gifts? Who the hay spoke like that? She’d just made a massive foal of herself in front of the mare of her dreams. That was it; she’d have to change her name and move somewhere nopony knew her. Which, admittedly, would be pretty hard.
Wait… where was the laughing? Where was the berating and the thrown vase and the plate of leftover spaghetti?
Maybe she’d read too many rom-coms.
Rainbow looked around the room, only now noticing her eyes had been closed since she’d come inside. The entryway was empty save for a coat rack next to her. Where was that nerdy princess of adorable cuteness?
“Dash?”
Ah, the reading nook; of course. No doubt reading a large tome of history or some other dorky book. What Rainbow wouldn’t give just to spend a day sitting by the fire and reading a book with that mare. Well… that was what she was here for, wasn’t it? Taking the bouquet of Twilight’s favourite flowers out from under her wing, Rainbow presented them proudly from between her clenched teeth and strutted confidently through the library. Focusing on every mushy and romantic thing she’d never admit to wanting helped ease the nerves and kept the worst-case scenarios out of her head. Then she turned the corner.
There, sitting at a small wooden desk and lit by the light filtering through a nearby window was perfect beauty incarnate. Those nerdy bangs cut perfectly straight, that lustrous coat that smelled of musty paper and her pomegranate soap, those wide, vivid purple eyes, staring into her own with a look of nervous anticipation, as though waiting for something. Oh, yeah; the gift she’d announced in possibly the worst way.
“Here,” Rainbow mumbled around her mouthful of flowers. “For you.”
Twilight seemed taken aback at the prospect, hesitating a moment before accepting the bouquet into her magical grasp. “For… me?”
Forcing her hooves to remain rooted on the spot even has her pegasus flight instinct kicked in, Rainbow nodded. “I know you already got a secret admirer but I… will you… can we… oh, ponyfeathers!” Actions spoke louder than words, and Rainbow Dash was a mare of action. She let her heart and body take over, coiling like a spring before launching forward at a speechless alicorn who was too stunned to remember her overwhelming magical prowess. They fell in a mess of fur and feathers as Rainbow found herself atop the pinned mare, and she didn’t even take a moment to think things through as she did what she’d done in her dreams so many times.
Lunging forward, their lips met in an instant that dragged on to eternity for both of them. Time and space lost all meaning. The world fell away, stepping aside for what was, to them, a perfect moment. Thoughts quieted, fears silenced, there was nothing left but each other, joined together by their kiss. One that Twilight eagerly returned, throwing caution to the wind.
“WHY ARE THEY KISSING!?”
The moment shattered, time resumed, and their lips parted as both mares snapped their heads back, staring at each other, neither knowing what had broken their connection, too lost in the moment to care.
“R-rainbow…” Twilight breathlessly whispered, wide eyes staring up at the pegasus atop her. “Y-you-”
Rainbow cut through the alicorn’s panting, fiery determination in her magenta eyes. “I’m sorry, Twilight; I can’t take it anymore. I… I think I’m in love with you. Would you be my special somepony?”
“I…” Her words were failing her again, but the look in Rainbow’s eyes gave Twilight every incentive she needed. Words had failed her so many times in the past, and so she took a page from Rainbow’s book and spoke with her actions. Reaching up and wrapping her hooves around the pegasus’s neck, dragging her down until once again they were kissing. This time, Twilight didn’t let the moment escape, she held onto it with every fiber of her being. Memorizing everything; the feeling of Rainbow Dash’s soft lips against her own, the sound of them both breathing deeply through their noses, the sweet smell of a rainy morning that constantly clung to Rainbow’s fur. Even the look in her partner’s eyes moments before they lidded, then fully closed as the kiss was returned in full force and passion.
Eventually the kiss had to break, but the ponies didn’t; the stayed like that, leaving together on the floor of the library, practically cuddling as Twilight held Rainbow to her chest, burying her muzzle in prismatic mane. “Yes,” she whispered, her giddy smile audible. “I’d love to be your marefriend.”
“Awesome,” was all Rainbow could say in reply - all she needed to say - feeling the mare she’d pined after for so long nuzzling into her neck. It sapped her will to do anything except enjoy the simple feeling of being together.
Twilight, however, had other plans, which she made clear as, in a magical glow, she summoned and checklist and a quill. “Confess feelings to Rainbow Dash: Check,” she announced proudly, scowling as she heard the pegasus in question snicker. “What?”
“How long have you had that checklist, exactly?” Rainbow questioned, finally finding the strength to list herself back to her hooves, Twilight’s legs reluctantly loosening their grip.
“Umm… since… last Hearts and Hooves day?” Twilight’s voice shrunk as she shied away, her face somehow becoming redder than it already was.
Rainbow couldn’t help it; she let out a loud guffaw, holding her stomach as she fell backwards in laughter. The lavender alicorn did not find the situation as humorous. “Hey! A lot of planning went into this!”
“It’s… it’s not that!” She assured quickly, forcing her laughter to a minimum. “It’s just… I tried asking you out last year too. I waited outside all day to fly down and sweep you off your hooves. But you never left: I guess this is why. I never managed to work up the nerve to just knock on your door.”
“You didn’t this time either!” Twilight shot back with a grin. “You just came in and tackled me!”
Rainbow huffed. “After I gave you flowers,” she corrected indignantly.
“Oh!” Twilight’s eyes lit up suddenly, her horn doing the same. A moment later a heart shaped box floated in front of them, tied with a need red ribbon. “Here; I got these for you. There was no secret admirer, I was just too embarrassed to give them to you.”
Unable to contain another chuckle, Rainbow eagerly accepted the box, taking note of the golden cursive embossed on the front. She gasped, looking between the box and Twilight. “These… these are from Cloudy Bar’s Confectionary!”
“Your favourites,” Twilight confirmed as the pegasus wasted no time in ripping the box open like a filly on Hearth’s Warming. She smiled, watching her friend dig in… no; marefriend. The word felt so foreign to her, exotic in the most exciting way.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a small chocolate was thrust at her. “Here,” Rainbow mumbled around a mouth full of chocolate, “They’re amazing.”
“They’re for you,” Twilight replied with a smile.
“And I want to give one to my marefriend,” she insisted, brandishing the sweet like a weapon.
There was that word again. It broke down Twilight defenses and made her week in the knees. Rainbow Dash was her marefriend. She took the chocolate and popped it in her mouth, the sweet practically melting on her tongue.
Rainbow Dash was her marefriend.
The Rainbow Dash was her marefriend.
“Rainbow Dash is my marefriend!” She couldn’t help it; she had to say it out loud for it to be real. Her grin couldn’t be held back if she wanted to as she looked to aforementioned marefriend. “I think I love you too.”
It’s was Rainbow’s turn to grin as she swallowed the chocolate in her mouth and leaned forward to peck a certain lavender cheek that quickly turned red. “What do you say we make it official and go on a date?”
“Well,” Twilight feigned thought, rubbing her chin. “It is the next step according to the checklist… but there’s no way we’ll be able to go anywhere; Hearts and Hooves day is booked up months in advance.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What, so you planned to go out and bought me chocolates, but didn’t get a reservation?”
“What, so you bought me flowers and planned to confess your love, but you didn’t make a reservation?” Twilight mocked, shooting the pegasus a glare.
“Touche,” she concede with a nod, before putting down her half-eaten box of chocolates and shrugging. “Well, it doesn’t really matter to me. We could just spend the day together here, or something.”
“No. No, absolutely not,” a familiar voice said, emanating from outside a window. “Don’t give me that look; I know exactly what you’re thinking, and the answer’s no.”
“Spike?” Twilight called, quirking her eyebrow.
“But Spiiiiike,” Sweetie Belle’s voice came next, “They’re soooooo cute! We can go to dinner anytime, but this will be their first date!”
“Sweetie Belle?” Rainbow shared Twilight’s quizzical look.
“I’m not giving up our reservation just because they’re both hopeless!”
Twilight, growing fed up with the obviously eavesdropping pair, lit her horn. A flash and a pop later, both red-handed parties were sitting in the middle of the library glaring at each other. It took them a moment to realize what had happened, each of them adopting matching sheepish looks.
“H-hey Twilight,” Spike chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Funny seeing you here?... No...? It was Sweetie’s idea!”
Sweetie Belle gasped. “I can’t believe you’d throw me under the bus!”
“I’ll throw you under anything I please,” Spike hissed out of the corner of his mouth, “You’re the one who wanted to get involved.”
His marefriend harrumphed, crossing her forelegs. “Well, I think that you should give them your reservation to make up for peeping on them.”
“I was not peeping!”
“Uh.. excuse me,” Rainbow cut in, waving a hoof between them as they stuck their tongues out at each other. “You have an audience that would like to hear some explaining.”
Spike sighed, rubbing at his temples. “Sweetie felt bad that you two have been dancing around each other all year, so she wanted to ‘nudge’ you together. I got dragged along for the ride, and am not giving them our dinner reservation! It’s the only place that keeps gems on hand!”
Sweetie scoffed. “Puh-lease. They only keep gems because they’re scared you’ll burn down the place if they don’t.”
“And maybe I will,” Spike growled, matching any glare Sweetie threw at him. The stalemate went on for a while, with their spectators sharing confused looks, before Spike threw up his arms. “Fine, I’ll-”
“Let them use our reservation for their first date?” Sweetie’s eyes were practically sparkling.
Spike shot her a look. “I’ll make it up to them, but that reservation is ours. You two hopeless romantics,” he whirled on the other mares in the room, “Give me a couple hours.”
With that Spike and Sweetie Belle walked out the front door, a stunned audience left in their wake.
“What… the hay was that?” Rainbow asked to nopony in particular, the sound of the door closing jarring her out of her stupor.
“I… think we were being spied on after getting set up by… Sweetie Belle?” Twilight shook her head, trying to clear the confusion muddling her thoughts.
Rainbow tilted her head thoughtfully. “Huh… they did convince me to come see you again…”
“What do we do now?” Twilight looked at her rainbow maned marefriend, who merely shrugged her shoulders.
“Spike said he’d be back in a few hours. What do you say we see what he’s got? I don’t really care where or what we do… as long as I’m with you,” she added in a barely-audible mumble.
“What was that last part?” Twilight asked, though the cheeky grin on her muzzle belied her innocent expression. “You don’t care what?”
Rainbow blushed, unable to meet the alicorn’s eyes. “You heard me, Twi.”
She batted her eyelashes. “I haven’t the foggiest what you mean.”
“I said…” Rainbow sighed, looking her mare in the eye and summoning the spirit of every trashy romance novel she’d snuck from Fluttershy’s bookshelves. “I don’t care what we’re doing, as long as I’m with you.”
“Dashie~” Twilight sang, draping herself off the pegasus. “You’re soooo romantic!”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Don’t tell anypony I said that.”
Twilight gave an overly theatrical pout. “But I want to brag about just how awesome my marefriend is!”
“Awesome, yes. Tell the world of my awesomeness - as though they need to be told - but mushy? That stays between us.”
The alicorn huffed, but begrudgingly untangled herself. “Well, if we’re going to trust Spike on this, we have some time to kill. Anything you wanted to do?”
She hummed thoughtfully, pondering her options. There wasn’t a heck of a lot to do around the library, but… well, she was embracing those romance stories lately. Blushing, Rainbow rubbed her forhooves together nervously, “I uh… I’ve kinda always had this… idea. For something we could… do… together...”
The alicorn looked at her curiously. That nervous, excited expression. Those twitchy, fidgety wings. That blush! “O-oh… I uh,” Twilight’s face lit up an even brighter red. “I uh… wouldn’t mind something like that…”
Rainbow’s wings practically popped open, flaring wide. “C-cool. So uh… your room or-?”
Thinking a moment, Twilight’s eyes lidded as she smile mischievously. “Why not right here?”
A little more than three hours after their disastrous attempt at ‘helping’, Spike once again found himself following Sweetie Back the the library. “I told you they were terrible at the whole romance thing,” he grumbled, glancing to the large clocktower in the heart of Ponyville. “You’re just lucky I’m so good at it; we still have time before our reservation.”
“You? Good at romance?” Sweetie asked incredulously. “You told them it was my fault!”
“Without a second thought,” Spike agreed, “and you deserved it. Playing matchmaker, honestly; who do you think you are? Pinkie Pie? And, let’s not forget the ‘peeping’ comment.”
Sweetie made a jab at his ribs. “I can’t help it if I’m a romantic. I see the possibility for love and I can’t help but want to see it bloom,” she said dreamily, half-lost in her imaginary ideas for Twilight and Rainbow’s date.
“Too bad you’re a terrible gardener,” Spike shot back with a cheeky grin, “now hurry up; I’ve spent far too much of my day helping those two lovebirds, and not enough time with my love bird.”
“I’m not a bird,” Sweetie deadpanned, tapping her horn with a hoof.
Rolling his eyes, Spike corrected himself with an overly-dramatic posh accent. “Forgive me, madame. I did intend to say; my own love narwhal.”
“Much better,” she said, holding her head high and marching down the street. “Birds are flighty and run away; a narwhal will stab you if you provoke it.” Sweetie emphasized her point by brandishing horn towards her drake.
Spike chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”
His snide response was met with a jab to the ribs, and another to his chest. “Try me.”
“Ow, ow! Okay okay, sheesh. I apologize, oh great and mighty land narwhal. Truly your horn is a most fearsome weapon.”
Sweetie smiled victoriously, nodding her head and skipping ahead. “Good boy.”
“It’s technically a tusk!” Spike called after her, rubbing the spot where she’d stabbed him. He shook his head when she seemed to ignore it. “I swear, why do I even bother with mares?”
His question was left unanswered as he arrived at the library, the door left open for him by the mare ahead. He stepped inside, glancing around. “Sweets?” He called, finding the entryway empty. A not-so-quiet shushing was the only response he got, coming from the reading room. Wondering just what he was getting himself into, he begrudgingly obliged, tip-toeing around the corner to find is marefriend practically melting trying to contain her excitement. It took only a single look to see why.
At the far end of the room, sat in front of a fire that was totally unnecessary for the warm day outside, were two mares. They sat snuggled together, a cyan wing draped around lavender shoulders, their tails intertwined as they stared down at a book that lay open between them. Spike leaned over and whispered in Sweetie’s ear; “so, are we just going down a checklist of cliches at this point or…?”
“Hush!” She whisper-shouted, “they’re cute!”
“It is way too warm outside for that fire,” Spike noted, “I’m pretty sure this scene is lifted straight out of a trashy romance novel.”
Sweetie nodded. “Several, yes. But that’s not the point! Cliches become cliche for a reason, you know.”
“Because they’re cheap and easy way to set up a plot point or character trait?”
“Because they’re fun!”
“We’re not a museum exhibit,” Twilight growled, not even bothering to turn around.
Spike found himself rolling his eyes again. “No, but you’re dated enough to fit right in.”
The alicorn sighed, taking Rainbow removing her wing as a cue that reading time was over. Twilight flipped the book shut and stood, taking her time to stretch out her legs. “Call it making up for lost time,” she said, levitating the book onto a nearby table and extinguishing the fire. “Do you know how long ago we could’ve been… well, together?”
“If either of us had been mare enough to make a move?” Rainbow added, standing up as well and stretching out her wing.
“One year, four months, seventeen days,” Twilight answered her own question, her accusatory tone directed more at herself than anyone in the room. “That’s how long ago I realized what my feelings towards Rainbow were. That’s how long we could’ve had what we’ve both wanted for so long.”
“So we decided.” Rainbow wrapped her wing around Twilight’s barrel again, hugging the alicorn tight to her side. “No more hesitating. No more waiting around wishing for things to be the way we want them to be. No more being scared.”
Twilight smiled at her marefriend. “It’s long past time to do what we want. Be what we want or who we want to be.”
Her final statement - accompanied by a stamp of her hoof - was left lingering in silent air for a moment, before Spike raised his hand slowly. “So, like… did you practice that or…?”
“Spike!” Sweetie snapped, shooting a glare that could whither a cactus. “Don’t use sarcasm to mask your discomfort with your sister’s love life.”
“She’s not actually my sister,” her muttered, unable to meet Sweetie’s look for fear of actually shriveling up. “Whatever. Apparently I owed you guys for finally getting you two together, or… something.”
“Peeping.”
“So I set up a date for you,” Spike brushed past Sweetie’s comment, instead looking at the other two mares in the room.
Sweetie eventually let her glare drop, smiling at Twilight. “I tried to convince him to make it a double date, but-”
“I do not want to go on a date with my sister anywhere near me.”
“I thought she wasn’t ‘technically’ your sister,” she grinned up at him, giggling when he very pointedly ignored her.
Twilight cleared her throat, drawing the bickering couple back to reality. “Thank you, Spike,” she said with a genuine smile, “sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He blushed, bashfully scratching the back of his neck. “Number One Assistant isn’t just a flashy title, y’know.”
Glancing to the clock, Sweetie gently shoulder checked the drake. “We’ve got a while before our own reservation, but we should leave the two love birds to it. I think we’ve done enough interfering for one day, hmm?” She said, already leading him out of the small reading room.
Spike gave a mock gasp of surprise. “You? Done interfering? Who are you and what have you done with Sweetie Belle?”
His comment earned him another horn-jab to the ribs. The pain was worth it.
“Hold on a sec,” Rainbow spoke up, “just when and where is this date you’ve set up for us?”
“Oh! Yeah, right. It’s good to go whenever you two are, just go the the lake. Can’t miss it,” Spike said, somewhat cryptically, as his mare led him out.
The door slammed shut before there could be any more questions, leaving two somewhat confused ponies behind who sat in the silence as they tried to parse the meaning of his words.
“He’s gone and done something big and flashy, hasn’t he?” Rainbow asked, nudging her partner with a wing.
Twilight nodded, giggling a little as she turned to face the pegasus. “I think big and flashy suits you though. You certainly weren’t subtle when you came in here and swept me off my hooves.”
Unable to stop the prideful puffing of her chest - or the scarlet glowing of her cheeks - Rainbow chuckled as well. “What can I say? I just can’t control myself when I’m around you,”
“Awwww! You’re being mushy again!”
Rainbow coughed into her hoof, taking an extra large step away from her marefriend. “Tell anypony and I’ll make them and you disappear,” she paused, peeking at her marefriend out of the corner of her eye. “But just for you? I’ll be mushy whenever you want.” Without giving her statement time to hang in the air Rainbow marched forward. “Now c’mon; I’m hungry and curious to see just what Spike’s got planned.”
“Knowing him, it’ll be interesting, at the very least.” Twilight led the way out of the library and into the bright, pleasant spring day. It was late afternoon now, the sun slowly descending towards the horizon. The streets were still frequented by ponies, many couples happy to just spend the day with their special somepony.
“To the lake,” Rainbow announced cheerfully, trotting down the street ahead of Twilight. The alicorn smiled, shaking her head slightly as she locked up the library, watching Rainbow’s multicoloured tail bobbing as she walked. She looked up in time to see the pegasus look back and smile at her, grinning like a carefree filly.
Twilight’s world ground to a halt as she smiled back. Something in her finally registered what was happening, what had happened. She was on a date. With Rainbow Dash. An actual, real-life date. Not a dream or a fantasy or a practice checklist. Just her and Rainbow on a date. Her and her marefriend Rainbow Dash. She had a marefriend. Rainbow Dash was her-
“Hey, Twi, I know I got a nice flank, but we’ve got somewhere to be.”
That cocky, sarcastic voice broke her from her thoughts, and Twilight blushed as she realized she’d been staring. “I-it’s not what it looks like!” She protested, forcefully averting her gaze. “I was just… thinking.”
Rainbow grinned like a wolf overlooking and unguarded pasture. “Thinking, huh? About me?”
“Come on,” Twilight brushed past her, playfully hip-checking the flank she’d been staring at. “We have a date. Can’t be late, you know.”
“Awww, don’t leave me in suspense! What’s so interesting about me that you totally spaced out?”
“How in Equestria you managed to make me fall for you. I mean… did you get ahold of that love potion or something?”
Rainbow gasped, grasping at her heart with both her hooves as her wings took over the job of carrying her. “Me? Do something so dirty? I’d never! If anything, I think you slipped me something in those chocolates!”
“You ate those chocolates after you kissed me! It must have been the roses,” Twilight reasoned, winking at her partner as the pegasus lowered herself back to the ground. The action caught her off guard, and the carefree smile faded from her face. “Rainbow… are you okay?”
“Hmm? Never better, why?”
“It’s just…” Twilight trailed off, glancing at Rainbow’s hooves; firmly on the ground, her wings not even fidgeting. “You’re not flying. You’re always flying.”
Rainbow glanced back at her wings, shrugging as she ruffled her feathers. “Not always. I can enjoy taking it slow for a while, y’know?”
Twilight gesticulated wildly with a hoof. “This is anything but slow! For crying out loud, Rainbow, I’ve known you liked me for less than a day and I’m already calling you my marefriend! I just… I get the feeling we’re going too fast.” She sighed, hanging her head a little and watching the cobbled street pass by. “When… when you told me that you… loved me-” she almost choked on the word “-that was… the happiest I can ever remember being. But since then it’s just felt… sudden, I guess. Like we’re on a train without any breaks, and we’re going to run out of track eventually.”
“Eh, I don’t really think it’s a big deal,” Rainbow said nonchalantly. “I mean… how does this feel?” she asked, wrapping a wing around Twilight’s barrel and dragging the alicorn closer until their sides were pressed together.
“Good. Amazing, even, but-”
“No buts! That’s what this is about, Twi; how you feel,” she tapped a hoof against Twilight’s head for emphasis. “A little less thinking, a little more feeling. Get it? What does it matter what you think when you feel good?” Rainbow smiled as the alicorn’s brow knotted, visibly mulling over the words. “Just like we said back at the library; no more hesitating. I know what I feel, and what I feel is that I want to be with you. For as long as I can be, no matter what it takes. I feel like I want to be your marefriend. The only question is what you feel.”
Twilight laughed distractedly, still lost in her own thoughts as she glanced toward the suddenly eloquent rainbow maned pegasus. “You’re being sappy again.”
“And you’re overthinking everything. Like you always do. But what do you feel? Just like when I taught you how to fly; you can know what to do all you want. You can study and read and make flash cards your whole life, but it doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t get up there and feel what it’s really like to fly.”
Taking a breath and letting it go, Twilight was able to hold her head up. “I feel like… like this is what I’ve always wanted, even before I knew I wanted it. Like this is how it’s meant to be, and I just have to let go and embrace it. I feel like… it doesn’t matter what I think, because… because I want to call you my marefriend without freaking out and panicking about how quickly we’re moving.”
Rainbow smiled and nodded. “Exactly. So forget about your big ol’ brain for a bit and focus on what comes naturally. Just like flying.”
“Just like flying,” Twilight repeated, glancing back at her wings. Her concerned expression melted slowly, and before long she was beaming at her marefriend. And this time, the word came to mind naturally. “Race ya!”
Rainbow was left with her wing draped over a lavender coloured cloud of smoke for a moment before it too disappeared. “Oh, it’s on now Sparkle.”
Wings beating furiously against the buffeting wind, Twilight set her eyes forward in a determined glare. She’d had a head start, but that wouldn’t be enough to assure victory, especially over somepony as fast as-
“‘Sup Twi.”
“Rainbow,” Twilight muttered, not even bothering to look over to where the pegasus’s voice had come from. She could already picture that cocky grin.
“So… about that whole race thing. I don’t wanna burst your bubble but I kinda have you beat. Like… with a hoof or three tied behind my back.” To illustrate her point Rainbow flipped around so she was flying upside down, reclining back as though settling down for a nap.
Twilight allowed herself a small smirk. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” She lit her horn, flashed her own cheeky grin, and vanished in a burst of light, reappearing far ahead.
Rainbow glared at the spot Twilight had previously been in. “That’s cheating.” Beating her wings harder, Rainbow sped until she was once again alongside the alicorn, who merely turned and blew as raspberry before teleporting again. “Oh come on!”
Their chase continued all through Ponyville, with Twilight just popping ahead every time Rainbow Dash caught up to her. The pegasus did her name proud, but and alicorn’s magic proved too much, and before long a victor was decided as Rainbow sped across a field, Twilight sitting at the end with a victorious grin.
“That’s… dirty...” Rainbow panted, having touched down next to her foe.
“Nopony said no magic,” Twilight sang, a self-satisfied smirk permanently affixed to her muzzle. “Now hurry up and catch your breath; we’re here.”
The pegasus looked around the field, the lake sitting at the base of a hill just ahead of them. Sure enough, Spike hadn’t been lying; she knew it as soon as she saw it.
In the center of the lake, which itself was surrounded by picniking ponies, was a disc of clouds, atop witch sat a blanket and a basket. “I uh… think I found our date.”
“You think?” Twilight deadpanned, noticing the heart-shaped balloons attached to the clouds; half were purple, the other half blue. “I… really don’t want to be the center of attention,” she said, noticing how busy the lake was.
Rainbow blushed. “Well, you did say big and flashy suited me? But uh… yeah not really my style.”
“You two are oblivious, you know that?”
They both jumped, whirling around to face the dragon that had snuck up behind them. His look matched his bemused tone. “It’s a cloud.”
“It’s in the middle of a lake,” Twilight corrected, shuddering at the thought of trying to have a date in such a scenario.
Rainbow nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, looks more like a stage to me.”
“Oh for-” he slapped a claw to his face. “It’s a cloud! They, y’know, float? As in in the sky? As in you both have wings and can bring it anywhere you want,” the dragon practically hissed, showing his reptilian heritage. “I just needed somewhere obvious to anchor it so you two could find it. The cool air off the lake keeps it dense so it doesn’t just float off.”
Both mares blushed. “Oh,” they said in unison, glancing at each other then to the cloud.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Honestly, Twilight, what would you do without me? Now go on; I just came here to make sure you two were good to go. I do have a date I’m supposed to be getting ready for.”
Rainbow took the hint, turning to Twilight and bowing low, offering a hoof. “Shall we?”
The alicorn giggled, but accepted, placing her hoof in Rainbow’s as she was lead down the hill and to the lake where they both crossed over to the cloud. Rainbow made sure Twilight was seated, then flew around to the sighed and started pulling the cloud up to the air, painfully aware of the crowd’s eyes on her until hers was just another white blotch in the sky from down below.
“Any requests?” She asked, leaning over the edge and watching as Twilight set out the picnic supplies Spike had packed.
Twilight shrugged. “What was it you said? ‘I don’t care what we’re doing, as long as I’m with you’?”
Rainbow grumbled to herself, but ultimately ignored the remark as she started flying aimlessly out towards the edge of Ponyville. Towards the mountains of Canterlot, giving the cloud enough momentum to keep drifting before hopping onto it herself. By time she did there was a nice little set up atop the ball of fluff. Plates of sandwiches were spread out in front of a blanket upon which Twilight lay, temptingly patting the spot next to her. Who was she to refuse such an offer?
Sitting down, the pegasus moved to spread her wing out and lay it across Twilight's back, as she’d grown quite fond of over the course of the day. She was stopped in surprise, however, as she found her wing pinned under Twilight’s own, much larger purple one. She looked back at it, draped over her back and covering her from withers to flank.
“S-sorry,” Twilight muttered, reflexively starting to pull her wing away when she noticed Rainbow looking at it. “Did you-”
“It’s… fine,” Rainbow interrupted after a moment, settling closer into Twilight’s side as the downy blanket was wrapped firmly around her. She had to admit; nice as it was to hold Twilight close, it felt just as good to be held.
The thought alone set her face on fire, and she decided then that she’d never speak that thought aloud.
“So,” Twilight cleared her throat, drawing Rainbow’s attention outward again. “Shall we… err… ‘date’?”
Rainbow grinned. “Get that checklist of yours ready, Twi; we’re about to date so hard.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh if she wanted too when, with a flash and a poof, the checklist was summoned. Twilight blushed. “What? It’s good to be thorough.”
“Never change, Twi. Never change.”
The pair shared a laugh, raising the provided wine glasses and tapping them together, officially announcing the start of their date. Fortunately, their first impressions of Spike’s set up were proven wholly wrong; not only was the view from the cloud as beautiful as it was isolated from prying eyes, but the spread itself was top notch. He’d had to have called in a number of favours to set something like this up on such short notice, on Hearts and Hooves Day, no less!
Twilight made a mental note to do something special for him. But for the meantime, it was time to do something special for herself; she’d waited more than long enough for this chance, after all. Together they dug into the food. It was simple, but the company made the night. Most of it was spent in an affectionate silence, the two mares simply enjoying their time together. Conversation occasionally broke the calm stretches of quiet, but they were kept light and brief.
When the meal was gone they made the exciting discovery of dessert consisting of a lightly frosted cake. It too was devoured, and before long they were left with full bellies and eyes only for each other as their little cloud drifted slowly through the sky.
“Y’know, if you’d told me this morning this is how my day was going to end, I’d have laughed you out of town,” Rainbow said, sighing contentedly as she leaned fully against the larger alicorn next to her. She gazed up at the sky as the sun sank slowly past the horizon, the brightest of the stars just beginning to appear.
Twilight giggled, gently nuzzling into Rainbow’s neck. “I’d probably have had a nervous breakdown.”
“Ha! I bet.” She let her words hang for a moment, focusing on nothing in particular as she mulled over her thoughts. “Still though; no regrets. I don’t think I could have hoped for a better Hearts and Hooves Day.”
Twilight didn’t respond verbally, instead opting to crane her neck and kiss the pegasus on the cheek, which rapidly flushed. They shared a look for a moment, almost hesitant, before both of them smiled and leaned forward, their lips meeting.
It wasn’t their first kiss, and if they had their way it wasn’t going to be their last, but it seemed to hold a more significant weight to it. Like an unasked question and a silent answer all in one, a promise made and an oath taken. Even when they separated, gazing into each other’s eyes and saying nothing, they new.
“I love you.”
Words that had not been spoken since the beginning, which had been fueled more by adrenaline and nerves than true emotion back then, needed to be said again.
“I love you too.”
Their vows complete, they once again lapsed into silence, for a moment there was the quiet rustling of parchment, before that too grew hushed. It was destined to be shattered, however, and Rainbow Dash was the one to do it.
“Was that seriously on the checklist?”
Author's Note
So. It has certainly been a while. 3 years since I released anything. Yikes. Forgive me if I'm a bit rusty, but I hope you enjoyed some fluffy, light-hearted Twidash nonetheless. Not every story needs to have a grand story or a philosophical question. Sometimes a nice light read is all we need.
Comments make me happy. You know where to put them.
