A Rainbow at Dusk

Chapter 5; A Truth and a Lie (Part I)

A teacup, long since empty, rattled atop its saucer, shaken by the furious bouncing of Rainbow Blitz’s leg. The pegasus sat on the very edge of the couch, his lip chewed very nearly to bleeding. But he hardly registered the discomfort over the whirling thoughts in his head.

Butterscotch sighed, pointedly ignoring the slight vibrations that traveled from Blitz’s anxious leg through the floor. Making himself as busy as possible around his cottage - not that there was a shortage of work to be done - he remained silent, waiting patiently.

“Damn it,” Blitz cursed under his breath, and his friend’s ears flicked towards him. “I knew this was going to happen.”

Once he was sure there was nothing else coming, Butterscotch returned to his work, one ear still turned to his guest.

Blitz’s head suddenly snapped up from the floor, eyes narrowing. “You gonna say something!?”

Again, Butterscotch sighed. “What would you like me to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe you could start by apologizing!” Blitz snapped, his foot stomping against the floor, holding still only a moment before returning to its furious bouncing. “You’re the one that made me go over there and royally fuck things up!”

“I didn’t make you do anything,” Butterscotch corrected gently, turning to face the other stallion. “All I did was ask what you wanted to do, and encouraged you to do it.”

Blitz snorted. “Same thing. Damn it, I don’t know why I listen to you.” He groaned, jumping up from the couch and pacing furiously as his wings twitched against his back. “I knew this was going to end badly, but I let you get in my head.”

Finally, Butterscotch returned to the couch. He sat down, eyes following Blitz around the room. “You still haven’t told me what happened.”

“I just told you I fucked things up!” Blitz yelled, whirling around and pointing an accusatory finger at Butterscotch. “What more do you need to know!?”

Patting the empty cushion next to him, Butterscotch quelled Blitz’s mounting anger with a single look that seemed to let the steam out of the pegasus. “Sit,” he commanded in a tone that left no room for negotiation. “Tell me about it.”

Blitz wilted under the intense pressure, feeling his friend’s eyes on him even as he gave in and all but collapsed onto the couch. “I did what you told me to,” he said after a few moments of silence. “Well… I told him everything.”

“Hey, Dusk,” Blitz greeted, rocking back and forth uncomfortably as he felt the unicorn’s eye on him. “Can… can we talk?”

Dusk folded his arms over his chest, lifting a single eyebrow. “Talk about what?” He asked pointedly, and Blitz knew it wasn’t so much a question as it was a test.

“You know what.”

Sighing, Dusk shook his head and stepped to the side, ushering Rainbow in and closing the door behind him. Blitz winced as the latch clicked behind him, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic. The way Dusk was looking at him pinned him to the spot, and it seemed as though all the words he’d wanted to say just disappeared from his mind.

Dusk, however, had no such problems.

“Are you going to tell me what this morning was about?” He asked pointedly, his lips pursed into a tight, neutral line. “I know that’s how you get sometimes, but we were in public.”

Blitz hung his head, knowing better than to deny it. “Yeah, I fucked up, but-”

“And I made it clear to you I wasn’t out yet.”

“I wasn’t trying to-”

“Then what were you trying to do?” Dusk demanded sharply. “If I didn’t know any better I’d have sworn you were trying to get in my pants.”

“Hey! I wasn’t-”

“Oh you weren’t?” Dusk scoffed, shaking his head. He stepped up closer to Blitz, eyes narrowed. “You were practically molesting me right there on the platform. Anyone who saw that could have deduced there was something going on between us.”

Rainbow wilted, somehow feeling very small compared to the shorter stallion. He just needed to put up with it until he could get a word in and say what he needed to say. So he braced himself for the worst, chewing his lip as Dusk advanced again.

“And some of the things you said? What if someone heard you?”

“Dusk please-”

“‘Missing something of yours’? What the fuck does that even mean?”

Blitz cringed as his own words were thrown back in his face. Even though he knew he deserved it, and everything else, it still stung. He’d known Dusk was going to be mad, but at this rate he wasn’t going to be able to get a word in before he lost what little confidence he had. Just for a moment, he needed Dusk to slow down.

“And what if Barb had seen you? How were you going to explain that to her? She’s already on my case about the panties. If she saw the way you were hanging off me she’d have known something was up.”

“Dusk, please just listen, I-”

Dusk Shine had to stand on the tips of his toes to get in Blitz’s face, forcing the pegasus to step back until he bumped against the door. “I don’t want to listen to you!” He shouted angrily. “Do you have any idea how stressed I’ve been about someone finding out about this?”

Blitz’s wings flared out in an unconscious attempt to make himself look bigger as he was cornered. “If you would just-”

“If I just what? Listen to you? Why? Gonna tell me all about how I belong to you now?” Dusk asked, snorting derisively.

“What? No! Dusk please-”

“Then what? What do you think you can say to make this all okay?”

Blitz chewed his lip, struggling to keep his voice in check. “I don’t know, but let me try to explain-”

“I don’t want you to explain!” Dusk cried, throwing up his hands. “How do you not get that? I don’t want you to try and brush this off like everything else, I don’t want to hear your excuses or listen to you try and justify what you did.”

A growl he couldn’t control left Blitz’s throat, his teeth grinding together as Dusk still refused to back down. “Then what do you want!?”

“Idiot!” Dusk yelled. “I want you to apologize! I want you to apologize and I want you to promise that it won’t happen again!”

Blitz faltered at the demand, his mounting frustration dissipating in an instant. “I… I can’t do that.”

“You can’t even apologize to me!?” Dusk was almost screaming now, his face red with anger. “Then what the hell are you even doing here!?”

This was bad. If Dusk wasn’t going to listen before, he certainly wasn’t going to now. Blitz knew he’d stuck his foot in his mouth, but he needed a way to take control of the situation. “Wait, please, that’s not what I meant.”

“Excuse me?” Dusk seethed, his nostrils flaring.

“I can’t promise that, Dusk. Not… not until I-”

“Not until you what? What do you mean you can’t-” Dusk was silenced as Blitz grabbed his cheeks and dragged him into a sudden, forceful kiss that ended Dusk’s tirade before it could begin.

Somewhere in the back of Rainbow’s mind, he knew that despite everything else they’d done together, this was the first time they’d really kissed. Knew it was likely Dusk’s first kiss that he’d just stolen. That thought made his heart thunder in his chest. In the moment he forgot his nerves, his fears and his worries. If he could have this feeling every time they were together, it was more than worth the risk.

And if he couldn’t, he’d be satisfied with just this one moment.

When their lips parted, it was Rainbow who pulled away, still holding Dusk’s face in his hands. “I-I’m sorry, but I can’t promise that because… because I want to do that kind of stuff. I want to be allowed to do that kinda stuff, with you, in public. Dusk I-” he paused, searching for the right words. “I want what I said to be true. I want you to be mine, and I want everyone to know it.

Dusk staggered back out of Blitz’s grasp, knocked off balance and struggling to wrap his head around what had just happened. He lifted a hand to his lips, feeling the ghostly tingle that remained there as he too realized what that kiss had been. “Rainbow, I-”

“This is, like, the most uncool thing I’ve ever done,” Blitz admitted with a humourless chuckle, he took a breath before forcing himself to meet Dusk’s eyes. “I’m not good with words, but here goes nothing. I want there to be more than just sex between us. I want… I want to be your boyfriend, Dusk. Properly. With dates and other mushy, romantic junk.” He coughed, scratching the back of his neck. “P-plus the awesome sex. I, uh, don’t want that to stop, or anything.”

Dusk was still reeling from the kiss and the words he was hearing didn’t help him catch up at all. His mind scrambled for a response, searching for some way to refute what he wasn’t able to understand. “B-but you said-”

“I know what I said!” Blitz seethed, teeth grinding together. Though it was obvious his anger was directed inwards. “Look, it’s true… I don’t usually date. But that’s not because I don’t want to, it’s because I get weird about it. You know how I was at the train station? That’s basically how I am pretty much all the time when I’m actually with someone. I can’t help it, I just get all touchy around guys I really like. The last guy… didn’t take it too well.

“But I’m, like, super into you,” he admitted with an intense blush. He couldn’t have looked away from Dusk’s wide eyes if he’d wanted to. “So screw it. I can’t promise I won’t do that again, because that’s just how I am, Dusk. I’m a clingy, needy loser, and knowing me I’m gonna screw something up, but can we, like, give it a shot?”

“Rainbow, I-” Dusk cut himself off to take a moment and gather both his breath and his thoughts, putting them into words on the fly. “I told you I don’t know anything about dating. Or relationships in general, really. I’ve never had a… a boyfriend.”

Blitz snickered. “Well, to be fair there were a lot of things you hadn’t done before me.”

Dusk’s face lit up and he stumbled over his words. “I-I didn’t ask you to peep on me!”

“But you did ask me to stay.”

“Pervert,” Dusk muttered under his breath, though the corners of his lips were turned up in a slight smirk that didn’t go unnoticed.

“Slut,” Blitz shot back with a crooked smile as the tension in the air faded, if only slightly. He cleared his throat, straightening his face. “So, about the whole dating thing-”

“I don’t know,” Dusk said quickly. He fidgeted uncomfortably, his shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry but I really just don’t know. I don’t really want things to change between us. What if something goes wrong? What if we ruin what we have right now? I don’t know what I’m doing and... and I’m worried I’ll mess something up.”

“You, mess something up? Dusk, if either of us does something stupid it’ll be me. And I know you’ll forgive me, because that’s who you are. Nothing’s going to change. If things don’t work out, we drop it and go back to being friends. Easy as that. No hard feelings, no pressure.”

Dusk found himself nodding along, caught up in the sincerity in Rainbow’s voice. He realized what he was doing and shook his head, snapping himself out of it before he could agree to something he’d regret. He needed to think, needed space. Needed to figure out what he even wanted. “C-can you give me some time? I… I need to think about it for a while.”

“O-oh…” Blitz wilted at the words. “Y-yeah, for sure. I get it - this is all kinda sudden. I, um, I’ll get out of your hair and stay away for a bit. Y-you know where to find me.”

“And?”

“And what!?” Blitz shouted, throwing his arm out in an all-encompassing gesture. “That’s what happened. I took your advice and fucked things up.”

Butterscotch lifted a single eyebrow, sipping at his tea. “I don’t see how this is a bad thing,” he said slowly.

“He said he wanted to think about it,” Blitz deadpanned.

“Yes.”

“That was three days ago, and he’s been avoiding me ever since.” Blitz sighed, burying his face in his hands. “So the answer’s no. And now things are gonna be super awkward. He’s not even gonna want to see me anymore. Damnit, we had a good thing goin’ until this. I should have just kept my big, stupid mouth shut.”

Rolling his eyes, Butterscotch set down his cup as he sat up straight. “This is Dusk Shine we’re talking about, right?”

Blitz peaked one eye out between his fingers. “Yeah?”

“And Dusk’s never been on a date before, right? Never asked someone out? Probably never been asked out before?”

“I mean I guess he was pretty well a shut-in before he moved here.”

Butterscotch nodded gently. “And this is the same stallion that schedules every hour of every day a week ahead of time.”

Blitz’s hands lowered fully, his brow creased. “Oh.”

“Maybe, because this is Dusk we’re talking about, he really is still thinking about it. And, more than likely, overthinking it.”

There was an audible slap as Blitz’s hand smacked into his forehead. “I’m being an idiot, aren’t I?”

Butterscotch chuckled quietly. “I think it’s sweet. If you’re getting this worked up over it, it’s probably because you really do want things to work out with him.”

“Translation: I’m being an idiot. Thanks, ‘Scotch.” Blitz sighed as he deflated into the couch, his head falling back as he stared out at the ceiling and let out an exhausted chuckle. “I fucked up so bad.”

“I thought we agreed this wasn’t such a bad thing?”

“Not that.” Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “I mean, back when this all started. I… well, let’s just say I did something I probably shouldn’t have, and ended up kinda… forcing Dusk into this.” He glanced over and saw the look on Butterscotch’s face. “Nothing like that. It was a spur of the moment thing, and I had been drinking. But after that… Dusk asked where we were supposed to go from there.”

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “And I more or less shot him down on the spot. Gave him the whole talk on how I don’t date. I shoulda asked him out right then and there, before he got used to the idea of a casual thing. I’m pretty sure he’d have agreed to anything I said.”

Butterscotch shook his head. “Wouldn’t that have been taking advantage of him a little bit?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Blitz admitted with a shrug. “But it’s Dusk; it’s not like I could actually force him into anything he didn’t want. I just mean, he probably would have agreed to at least one date on the spot, instead of this whole ‘let me think about it’ thing. The waiting is killing me.”

“It’s probably a good thing he’s taking this long,” Butterscotch offered with a comforting smile. “I think you both needed the space after that.”

“Probably.”

“Just take it as proof that Dusk wants things to turn out well between you two, and that he’s taking it as seriously as you are.”

Blitz huffed. “I know, I know. Overthinking and stressing are his areas, not mine. Maybe I should go jump in the lake again to cool off.”

Chuckling as he stood and cleared their teacups, Butterscotch shook his head. “I won’t stop you, but it didn’t seem to help last time.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of being right?” Blitz grumbled, stretching out across Scotch’s vacated seat.

“Oh, I’m not that smart. I’ve known you for a long time, is all.”

Blitz snorted out a half-hearted bark of a laugh. “That’s a ‘no’.”

Butterscotch smiled at him over his shoulder. “I just like helping my friends.” He turned back to the sink, eyes drifting up to the window above. “Oh dear. Speaking of which, I should probably go tend to my animal friends. I won’t be long.”

“Huh? ‘Scotch?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend hurry out the back without another word. Just as the backdoor clicked shut, there was a knocking at the front door, and Blitz rolled his eyes. “Hey, ‘Scotch! Someone’s at the door!”

He didn’t get a response, save for another set of knocks.

“I swear, he has the worst timing sometimes…” Blitz muttered to himself as he stood up with an exaggerated grunt of effort, plodding over to the door and throwing it open. His mouth opened to stay something, but it was quickly frozen in place.

“H-hey, Butterscotch. Have you seen Rainbow?” Dusk Shine asked, eyes firmly fixed on his own two feet.

“D-Dusk?”

“Elusive said he flew this way. I needed to… talk… to…” Dusk’s head lifted slowly, and Blitz could see the blood draining from the unicorn’s face as the realization dawned on him.

Awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, Blitz offered a clumsy smile. “Hey, Dusk.”

“H-hi…”

“You, uh, wanted to talk?” Blitz glanced back over his shoulder, searching for an excuse not to meet Dusk’s eyes. “I, uh… don’t think ‘Scotch is going to be back for a while. I think he saw you comin’.”

Dusk’s pensive frown suddenly deepened. “D-did you tell him!?”

“What? No!” Rainbow defended quickly, wincing slightly as he did. “W-well, yes. But no… kind of?”

“Rainbow…”

Blitz groaned. “Okay, yes, I… I told him that I asked you out - b-but he figured out we were fooling around on his own! A-and I wouldn’t have told him anything if he hadn’t already known, promise!”

“He… already knew?” Dusk asked skeptically, his face unreadable.

“Remember that group lunch we had after the… er, maid thing?” Rainbow asked, unable to stop the blush that rose to his cheeks.

Evidently, Dusk couldn’t stop it either as he threw his gaze to the side. “Yeah?”

“He noticed the hickey.”

Dusk’s hands flew up to cover his face. “You’re kidding? How’d he figure out it was you?”

“That, well…” Blitz chuckled awkwardly. “Apparently he picked up that it’s something I like to do. And with how weird we were both acting, I guess he put two and two together.”

Sighing, Dusk shook his head, and his hands fell to his sides. “Well, I guess he was going to find out eventually anyway. And it’s not like he’s going to tell anyone else.” He lifted his head, and properly met Blitz’s eyes for the first time. “You should have done that somewhere less obvious, you know.”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked for it, and you said you could hide it with magic,” Blitz argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not my fault you have a thing for ex- exi… getting caught.”

“I am not an exhibitionist!”

“That’s the word! And you totally are. Two stars, I think?” Blitz smirked at the way Dusk’s face lit up like a match. “What, you forget you showed me that list of yours?”

Dusk wilted as his denial was blown out of the way. “N-no, I just didn't think you’d remember…”

“Hah! Too bad for you, I was actually paying attention when I read that....” Rainbow’s mirth died as he trailed off, suddenly wondering if they’d get to explore any more of that list together. The thought caused reality to come crashing back down around him, and he took a breath before opening his mouth again. “So-”

“Well,” Dusk fidgeted uncomfortably, and Blitz realized he’d probably just had the same series of thoughts. “Maybe you should put it somewhere a little less conspicuous… n-next time…”

Blitz’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Next time…?

Forcing himself to meet Rainbow’s eyes, Dusk took a slow, steadying breath. “A-at least until we tell our friends that - that we’re… d-dating.”

Rainbow’s jaw would have dropped if he wasn’t already so tense in anticipation. He couldn’t have stopped the grin that spread onto his face if he tried. “Dusk-”

“Look, I don’t know anything about dating. Less than nothing, really.” Dusk sighed, one arm crossing over his chest to grip at the other. “I don’t know if I feel the same way you do, or if I even can. But…”

“But?”

Sighing, Dusk shook his head, mostly at himself. “Just because I don’t know something doesn’t mean I can’t learn it,” he said, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. “And, well, you were right; even if this doesn’t work out, we’ll always be friends.”

Struggling to keep his excitement under wraps, Blitz cleared his throat roughly as an excuse to hide a growing smile. “So what you’re trying to say is ‘yes, Blitz, I would love to be treated to dinner by the hottest guy in Ponyville’.”

Dusk snorted a chuckle. “Just Ponyville? I find it hard to believe your ego’s that small.”

“Have you seen some of the guys in the Wonderbolts? Man, those flight suits are so tight, you can see everything. And don’t even get me started on Spitfire’s ass, dude’s got cheeks like a damn marble statue. If the bulge is anything to go by he’s packing some serious heat in front too.”

“You know, I don’t know how I feel about my boyfriend complimenting another guy’s butt in front of me,” Dusk snarked, smirking at the flash of crimson that shot through Blitz’s face at the word.

Rainbow scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. “Please, they’ve got me beat in the ass department, but I haven’t seen anyone who can top you. They’ve got the muscle, but yours is way softer. Not to mention you in those skirts and panties? No contest.”

Dusk’s face fell almost imperceptibly, but he quickly covered it with a roll of his eyes. “Smooth.”

“Damn right I am.” Blitz waggled his eyebrows. “But I can be rough too. So, about this whole dating thing-”

“On one condition!” Dusk shouted suddenly.

“Condition?” Blitz echoed wearily, his victory lap suddenly cut short as he swallowed thickly. He braced for the worst, and nodded. “Anything.”

Dusk gave him a timid smile. “Well, two, really. I want to be able to tell our friends on my own terms, so try not to be too obvious about it while they’re around until then.”

“Done. And the second?”

“Would you please, please tell Barb you’re the one who left the panties in my room?”

Rainbow blinked, recoiling slightly.

“She hasn’t said anything since she got back and it’s driving me nuts. I know she knows, why isn’t she asking? Why is she leaving it alone? It’s driving me nuts. I-I can barely even look at her without getting flustered. Just, please, for the love of Solaris, tell her they were a prank or something.”

For a moment, Blitz didn’t respond. When he did, he opened his mouth, and doubled over laughing. “Y-you’re still worried about that!?”

“Yes!”

Reaching out, Rainbow braced himself against Dusk’s shoulders, still folded in half at the waist as he struggled to catch his breath. “Y-yeah, sure thing - I’ll take care of Barb, just like I said I would.”

A wave of relief visibly washed over Dusk’s face, and he smiled. “Thank you, Rainbow.”

Blitz lifted his head so they were eye to eye, suddenly realizing how close they were. His cheeks burned, but he didn’t move away. “Don’t mention it.”

With a small smirk, Dusk darted forward and laid a small kiss on Blitz’s cheeks before stepping back. “So, about this date?”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, right! Um… “ he fumbled for words, cursing under his breath. “Damnit, I had something for this. But uh… oh, screw it. Why don’t we just get dinner?”

Dusk chuckled quietly. “Sure, why not.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll, uh… come pick you up tonight? I’ll clear things up with Barb, and we can go eat and, uh, other… date… stuff…”

Pointedly ignoring the rosy hue in his cheeks, Dusk nodded. “I think I’d like that.”

Taking a moment to steady his breathing, Rainbow Blitz took a moment to straighten out his shirt and make sure his collar was neatly tucked. He wasn’t used to dressing up, and really a simple button-up shirt and black pants wasn’t really dressing up anyway, but… well…

This was a special occasion.

“Is my hair okay?” he wondered aloud, glancing around the street behind him. This late in the day it was mostly empty. That much at least he could be thankful for. Quickly ducking over to one of the library’s many windows, Blitz checked himself over in the reflection, running his fingers through his hair as a makeshift comb. Even if it would just get messed up again the next time he flew.

After making absolutely sure he looked as good as he was going to look, Blitz nodded at himself, his gaze changing focus from his reflection to the room beyond the window, landing on the purple face staring back at him.

“Barb!?” he shouted, jumping back. His wings sprung open on reflex, and before he knew it he’d jumped clean across the road. A few strands of his hair fell down into his vision, and he didn’t have to check to know his touch-up had been pointless.

Before he could care, though, the front door of Golden oaks opened up, and a mirthful dragoness stepped out. “You okay?” she asked through her giggles.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Blitz muttered, stepping up to the door.

Barb sniggered. “Not my fault you were too in love with yourself to notice me,” she said. “You’d make a convincing Narcissus.”

“Nar-what?” Blitz asked, before shaking his head and clearing the thought - and trying to do the same with his embarrassment. “Never mind. Dusk’s up in his room?”

Barb raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Is this about the last time you were here? I heard you two shouting, did you have a fight?”

“Ah… kind of?” Blitz offered uncertainly. “It’s complicated. I’m…” his eyes widened slightly and he realized how he could kill two birds with one stone. “Actually, I’m here to make it up to him. Dinner’s my treat tonight, apparently, both for the argument and the panty thing.”

“Panty thing?”

“Yeah. I snuck some panties into his room as a prank, thinking you’d find them and bug him about who they belonged to. He tells me it worked a little too well,” Blitz explained, quickly. “So I owe him. And, I guess I should also tell you to lay off the poor guy.”

“Oh.” Barb nodded slowly, she looked Blitz up and down, and the pegasus was suddenly painfully aware that dragons were, technically, predators, as he very much felt like he was being appraised like prey. Eventually, Barb tossed a glance over her shoulder, before pushing Blitz back out of the doorway. She followed him outside, and the door was shut behind her.

“B-barb?”

“So it’s you, huh?” She asked.

“Me?”

Barb rolled her eyes. “Alright, here’s the deal - I know those panties belong to Dusk Shine. I know he’s into that kind of stuff. I also know that there’s no way he’d be careless enough to leave them out for me to find unless he was seriously distracted. It’s not hard to figure out what happened.”

“You know?” Blitz asked, incredulous. He knew how careful Dusk was about everything, so how-

“Of course I know. I live with him. And he’s really not as clever as he thinks he is. You know what the pseudonym he uses to order that stuff is? Twilight Sparkle. Literally just synonyms for his name. First time we got a delivery with that name I thought it had been the wrong address, but Dusk ferreted it away, promising to return it to the post office. I never saw him take it out. Next time we got something, I took a peek inside before I told him.” Her face blanched slightly.

“Honestly, I wish I hadn’t. I don’t really need to know what he’s into.” She shook her head, dismissing the story. “Point is, I know they were Dusk’s, and I know he’s been with someone. And since you’re trying to cover for him, and are now taking him out to dinner…”

Blitz nodded. “Not as smooth as I thought I was, huh?”

“No you are not,” Barb agreed, reaching out and placing a hand on the pegasus’s shoulder. “But I feel better now that I know it’s you. I know Dusk wouldn’t do anything stupid, but I still worry about him.”

“So, we cool?” Blitz asked, feeling Barb’s claws starting to dig into his shoulder, holding him in place.

“Maybe,” she said as she pulled him closer. “As long as you listen. Dusk Shine may be an idiot sometimes, but he’s also my brother, and you better treat him right. I don’t ever want to hear about you hurting him. You make him happy, or I get to find out what char-grilled pegasus tastes like.”

Barb emphasized her point by blowing a wave of smoke into Blitz’s face. He coughed, trying to wave it away. “Alright. I got it, I got it. Trust me, Barb, the last thing I want to do is fuck this up.”

“Then I’m sure we won’t have a problem,” Barb said with a smile, her honeyed voice at odds with her threat. Her claws released and patted him once on the shoulder. “You two have fun tonight. Oh, and don’t tell Dusk I know about his, er, hobby. He doesn’t need the embarrassment, I just like teasing him a bit.”

Blitz blinked, caught in the whiplash of the sudden shift in atmosphere. “Uh, sure thing.”

“Great.” Barb turned away and opened the door, cupping her hands around her mouth as she stepped inside. “Dusk!” She yelled, her voice echoing through the tree, “Your boyfriend’s here!”

There was a loud crash from upstairs, and Blitz winced sympathetically. “You’re gonna get me in trouble,” he muttered, shooting a glare at the dragoness. She just shrugged as Dusk came bounding down the stairs, his face bright red as he locked eyes with Blitz.

“B-barb! It’s just Rainbow,” he said hoarsely, straightening himself out and struggling to regain some form of composure. “W-we aren’t… I’m not-”

Barb silenced him with a dismissive wave. “Chill, I’m just bugging you,” she said, rolling her eyes as she turned away. “You two have fun tonight with this, ah, apology dinner, was it?” A barely-stifled giggle accompanied the thinly veiled ruse, but she didn’t say anything else as she left the two stallions alone.

“Apology dinner?” Dusk asked, quirking a brow at Blitz.

“Yeah, I told her I was taking you out to dinner tonight as an apology for the panty prank.”

Dusk’s eyes lit up. “You told her that? Two birds with one stone, that was a good idea. Now she won’t think anything of tonight, either.”

Chuckling awkwardly, Blitz reached a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Heh, yeah, it was pretty smooth.” Even if it didn’t exactly go to plan.

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Dusk said slowly, glancing around to make sure they were still alone. “I really appreciate it.”

“Sooooo… what you’re saying is you owe me one?” Blitz asked as a devious smile began to spread his lips. “Because I can think of a few ways to cash in a favour from you.”

“Rainbow-”

“But that’s for later!” he announced loudly, throwing an arm around Dusk's shoulders and pulling the unicorn up to his side. “For now, dinner. I’m starving. Shall we?”

Dusk stumbled over his feat as he was guided to the door and all but forced out into the street, still held tightly under Rainbow’s arm. “H-hey, wait a second!” He forced himself out of the pegasus’s grasp, straightening his shirt with a huff. “What happened to keeping things private for now?”

“Yeah, yeah I know. That’s why we’re going somewhere nice and casual, just two friends hanging out. Nothing weird about that.” Blitz explained, frowning slightly and forcing his hands into his pockets. “If I get too touchy just konk me over the head with somethin’. That’ll sort me out.”

Watching his partner’s face fall, Dusk chewed his lip, glancing around the street. It was early evening, and there were still a few people wandering around. Looking back to Blitz, he sighed, shaking his head. “Fine.”

“Huh?” Blitz barely had time to react and Dusk grabbed his arm and pulled it back over his shoulders, his face burning brightly as he pressed up against the pegasus’s side. “Dusk-”

“Happy now? Let’s go before too many people start staring.”

Watching Dusk fight back his embarrassed blush to start pulling them down the street, Blitz felt a smile on his face before he realized it, and after a moment he picked up his stride, forcing the shorter stallion to keep pace. “Thanks, Dusky,” he whispered, and for a moment he craned his neck down to kiss his cheek, but thought better of it. Walking like this was one thing, but something so obviously romantic would probably be pushing things too far for now.

“Consider my debt repaid,” Dusk mumbled, unable to stop his eyes from constantly scanning the road ahead of them. “And don’t get too comfortable, I might still decide to take your advice and hit you.”

“Mmmm, I think I’ll take the risk,” he said, pulling the unicorn up tight against his side. “Besides, if you knock me out, who's gonna pay for dinner?”

Dusk scoffed. “I’m not broke, Rainbow. I’m perfectly capable of buying my own food.”

“And yet here you are! Relying on me for a simple meal. So either you’re flat broke and desperate, oooorrrrr…” Blitz trailed off, shooting a sly grin over at his friend. “There’s some other reason you’re letting me buy you dinner.”

“I’m flat broke and am using you for a free meal,” Duskshine deadpanned, smirking up at the pegasus. “No need to read into it any deeper than that.”

Holding his free hand over his heart, Blitz gasped in feigned pain. “You wound me! Am I nothing more than a meal ticket after all these years we’ve known each other?”

“No, no, not just a meal ticket,” Dusk assured gently. He waved his hand up toward the sky in a broad gesture. “You’re also a very convenient weather control device.”

Blitz looked up at the sky, nodding in thought. “I am the best, aren’t I?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d go quite that far but-”

“The. Best.” Blitz repeated, emphasizing each word with a sharp jab into Dusk's shoulder. “And you wouldn’t dream of having anyone else clear the sky for the summer sun celebration, would you?”

Dusk chuckled, waving away Rainbow’s prodding finger. “Alright, alright. You’re ‘the best’-” he made sure his air quotes were noticed, “-and I wouldn’t have anyone else for the job…”

The trailing tone in Dusk’s voice perked Blitz’s ears, and his smile faded slightly. “Dusk?”

“Nothing, just… well,” he sighed, shaking his head slightly. “It’s a silly thought, but I was just wondering what would have happened if you weren’t on weather duty that day.”

“That day?”

“The Summer Sun Celebration. When I first came to Ponyville. The Elements of Harmony?”

Rainbow snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah, that night. It’s all starting to blend together these days. The whole ‘saving the world’ shtick is kinda our standard tuesday recently.” He seemed to think for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as they rounded a corner in silence. Eventually, he shrugged half heartedly. “Well, I was on duty, so who knows?”

A chuckle slipped past Dusk’s lips before he could stop himself. Blitz raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing, really, I just should have expected an answer like that from you, is all.”

“Well it’s true!” Blitz argued. “I was on duty, we did meet, and I did catch you. I don’t think there’s anything else to it.”

Dusk waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not talking seriously or anything. This is just a hypothetical. Like, did it really have to be you to represent the Element of Loyalty? What if, say, one of the other weather team members came with me that day. Could they have filled the role if they showed the same kind of loyalty as you?”

“You trying to replace me?” Blitz asked pointedly, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll have you know the rest of the weather squad is nowhere near as awesome as I am. Not to mention I would never have trusted any of them to clear the skies for such an important event.”

“Oh really? I seem to remember you leaving the clouds until the very last moment when I had to provoke you to get it done.”

Rainbow snorted. “They got cleared, didn’t they?”

“Eventually,” Dusk added snarkily, giggling as he earned himself another jab from the pegasus. “Alright, alright, I get it. You did a wonderful job, Rainbow. Really.” There was a pause before he added, quietly, “I’m glad it was you I met that day.”

Blitz felt his heart rate suddenly pick up, both at the words and the tone underlying Dusk’s voice. Unable to let such an attack on his coolness go unchallenged, he leaned down closer to the unicorn’s ear. “Well, I’m glad I was the one on your balcony that other night.”

He smirked as he watched Dusk’s face all but burst into flames, adding a few extra points to his mental scoreboard. Not that he was entirely sure what, exactly, he was scoring, but he was now confident he was winning.

“R-Rainbow!” Dusk hissed hoarsely, coughing as though choking on his own breath.

“What? It’s true. You can’t tell me you haven’t been enjoying it. Can you?” Blitz’s confident tone lilted for a split second as he looked down to gauge Dusk’s response.

Thankfully, under the adorable blushing and cute-but-also-sexy lip chewing, there was the barest hint of a smile on his face. “I-I, well, I haven’t not been enjoying it…”

“Dusk…”

“Okay fine, I have been enjoying it. A lot. A lot, a lot.” He buried his face in his hands in a barely-successful attempt to conceal his embarrassment at such an admission. “It’s… it’s been amazing, Rainbow. Really. I… I’ve never been able to share this side of myself with anyone before - for obvious reasons. Now that I can…” Dusk trailed off, but Blitz could see the crooked smile hidden behind the unicorn’s hands.

“Atta boy,” Blitz encouraged smugly.

“I-oof!” Dusk was cut off as the arm around his shoulders suddenly grabbed him and forcefully held him still.

“You should watch where you’re going. We’re here.”

Lowering his hands from his face, Dusk looked up at the shop they’d stopped in front of. True to Rainbow’s word, it was a casual pizzeria on a quieter street towards the edge of town. Of the handful of tables and booths visible through the large front windows, only a small fraction were occupied.

“Pizza?”

“Pizza.” Blitz confirmed with a slight nod. “Why, you gonna complain about pizza? I’ll have you know that’s punishable by death where I’m from.”

Dusk covered a chuckle with his hand. “No, no, I wouldn’t want to offend you. It’s… well, honestly Rainbow, it’s perfect. Exactly what I was hoping for.

“Thank you.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t go thanking me yet. You don’t even know if the place is any good yet!” Rainbow cried, urging Dusk towards the door before begrudgingly removing his arm from the smaller stallion’s shoulders.

Dusk felt the pegasus’s arm leave him, and for a moment he wished for it to stay. Suddenly the outside air was a lot colder without Rainbow pressed up against his side.

Is… is this how Rainbow feels all the time?

Suddenly it didn’t seem so unrealistic that Blitz had a hard time controlling himself.

“Dusk? You coming?”

“Huh?” Dusk shook himself from his thoughts, realizing Rainbow was standing awkwardly in front of him, door held open in a chivalrous gesture. “Oh, yeah, sorry. Just, uh, thinking.”

Rainbow narrowed his eyes slightly. “You do that too much. Don’t go overthinking everything on me.”

“Please, Rainbow, I’m not that bad.”

“It took you three days to give me an answer,” Blitz rebutted flatly as Dusk walked past him. “Three days! Do you know what that kind of waiting does to a guy? If it was anyone but you I’d have assumed you were trying to make me take a hint.”

Dusk recoiled slightly at that. He’d been so busy working through the question as sorting out his own thoughts, he hadn’t even considered how it would look from Rainbow’s perspective. “I-I didn’t mean to-”

Holding up a hand, Rainbow effectively ended Dusk’s apology before it began. “It’s fine, I’m just bugging you a bit. Although I was kinda freaking out, Butterscotch talked some sense into me.”

“I still don’t know how I feel about him knowing about… err…-”

“Table for two?”

Dusk nearly jumped out of his skin as he slapped a hand over his own mouth. He heard Blitz sniggering next to him.

“Yep. You got a free booth?” Rainbow asked, smoothly covering for his companion’s reaction.

“Just over here,” the waitress answered as she led them through the small seating area to an empty booth along the far wall. Dusk was keenly aware that they’d been brought to an area of the restaurant where the nearest occupied table was several seats away from them.

The mare left them with a pair of menus and a promise to return with some water.

“Sooooo… you were saying?” Blitz asked from his side of the table, a sly little smirk on his face. “What didn’t you want Butters knowing about?”

“You know what,” Dusk muttered, pointedly holding his menu up to avoid the pegasus’s piercing gaze. “I can’t believe you told him.”

Rainbow snorted. “I can’t believe you let him see that mark.”

“I can’t believe he knows that’s a thing you like to do!” Dusk retorted sharply, slapping his menu down on the table. “Speaking of, why does he know that anyway? Don’t tell me you have a, er, history with him?”

“What? No! Nothing like that,” Blitz answered quickly, waving a hand dismissively. “Even if he was into guys, he’s so not my type. Not to mention we’ve been friends for, like, ever. He’s always been the one I go to when I need someone to slap some sense into me.

“Like when certain unicorns are stressing me out and making me wait for an answer-”

“Okay! I get it! I’m sorry!”

Rainbow chuckled quietly, slouching back into his seat. “Well, I mean, I suppose I could forgive you in exchange for a favor.”

Dusk’s eyes narrowed. “Another favor? That’s playing dirty.”

“Hey, what can I say, anything to get you into that skirt again,” Blitz said, leaning forward and hushing his voice. He threw in a husky undertone for good measure.

“A skirt, huh?” Dusk was powerless to stop the disappointed slope in his voice, but he didn’t dwell on it.

He knew, after all.

“You don’t need to use a favour on something like that, Rainbow.”

The way Dusk’s eyes dropped to his lap caused Blitz to raise an eyebrow, but before he could press the issue the waitress returned with two cups of water and an expectant smile.

“Ready to order?”

Perking up at the welcome distraction, Dusk cleared his throat. “I think so, Blitz?”

Rainbow hesitated a moment, before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I guess.”

They put in their orders, and as the waitress walked away Dusk seemed to have moved past whatever had brought him down, but Blitz wasn’t about to just write it off. Not on a day as important as today - their first official, actual date. It had to go perfectly. Or, at least, as perfectly as possible for someone with almost-zero romantic experience.

“Hey, you okay?”

Dusk jolted slightly at the question - despite the effort Blitz put into softening his tone. “I.. yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Dunno, you tell me,” Rainbow shrugged, leaning back into his booth as casually as he could. Cool, calm, and confident. Gotta make sure this goes well. “You seem like you’re upset about something.”

“I…” Dusk trailed off as he chewed his lip anxiously, unable to meet Blitz’s eyes. “It’s nothing. Just… nerves, I guess.”

Rainbow didn’t exactly buy it, but pushing too hard would probably sour the mood worse than leaving it. But he didn’t want Dusk to hide things from him, either. What do I do? I just…

“I just want you to have a good time,” Blitz mumbled out, only vaguely aware he’d said it out loud at all. He looked up, and was able to capture the unicorn’s eyes before he could look away. “So if you’re not, you need to tell me so I can fix it. Or…” He clenched his jaw and breathed out. “Or... stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop!” Dusk shouted suddenly, wincing at the volume of his own voice. He forced himself to take a breath before continuing in a quieter tone. “It’s nothing, Rainbow, really. Just… I’ve never exactly been on a date before. I’m… not sure what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Blitz was able to breathe a sigh of relief that Dusk didn’t immediately call the date off. “You’re supposed to be relaxing. Having a good time. Hanging out. At least, I think. I’m… not that much more experienced than you are.”

Dusk raised an eyebrow.

“At dating,” Blitz stressed. “When it comes to… other things, I’ve got you beat by a mile.”

A moment of silence followed that statement, and for a moment Blitz worried he’d made it weird. Until Dusk was forced to cover a snort of laughter. “Maybe you’re the one who should wear the ‘slut’ choker.”

Mid-way through taking a drink of water, Blitz suddenly found himself coughing and trying not to choke. Dusk’s snickering did little to help. “Hey, hey,” he gasped, struggling to catch his breath. “Just because I’m a bit more experienced than you doesn’t make me-”

“It totally does!” Dusk laughed, no longer trying to cover his mirth. “Admit it! You’re a slut!”

Blitz growled lowly, leaning forward over the table “We’ll find out who the slut is tonight if you keep going.”

The way the pegasus dropped his voice to the low, cool, domineering tone Dusk was so familiar with sent a tingle of something down his spine, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like it.

And Blitz knew it.

“I’ll make you a proper slut, just like you’ve always wanted, right?” Blitz asked, his confident gaze all but trapping Dusk where he was. “When I’m done with you-”

“And here’s your food, gentlemen!”

Blitz jerked back into his seat so fast he realized what it was like to get whiplash, a blush growing on his cheeks just as quick as one appeared on Dusk’s.

Their food was placed between them, and just as quickly as she’d appeared the waitress sauntered away - though not before shooting a wink over her shoulder at Blitz. He smiled at her weakly, glancing nervously over to Dusk. Thankfully, the unicorn seemed unaware of the exchange, instead focused on the pizza in front of him.

They wasted no time in digging in. Despite the relatively small and simple appearance of the restaurant, the food was surprisingly good - a fact that Blitz made sure to mention he specifically chose the place for. Credit where credit was due, after all. Plus, he really wanted to show Dusk that he really did put thought into this, despite what his reputation may have implied about his romantic abilities.

For the rest of the meal the mood stayed light, and the pair found themselves drifting into idle chatter between slices of pizza. They didn’t notice the time passing until they were out of food and glanced outside to see the moon rising into the sky.

“It’s getting late,” Dusk said, nodding towards the window. He turned his attention to the rest of the restaurant, noting the lack of any other customers. “We should probably go.”

Resting his chin in his hand, Blitz sighed as he looked out the window. “Yeah…” he shot a glance over at the unicorn across from him. “Where are we going?”

“U-um…” Dusk fidgeted awkwardly, but a blush slowly rose in his cheeks. “I-I… I had a good time tonight.”

“The night doesn’t have to be over yet,” Blitz said, a suggestive undertone in his voice that told exactly what he was thinking. “Unless you want it to be,” he added cautiously, not wanting to push the unicorn too hard after their very first date.

Dusk chewed his lip, eyes flicking between his lap and the pegasus waiting for his answer. He didn’t have to think too hard. “W-we could always go back to your place, I guess…”

“Atta boy.”

Flagging down their waitress and paying their bill, Blitz wasted no time in scooting out of his booth. He stretched as he stood, feeling his joints pop and crack, telling how long he’d been sitting down. He looked expectantly over at Dusk, the unicorn still busy fighting down his blush. “So?”

“Huh?” Dusk looked up, forcefully drawn out of his thoughts.

“Shall we?”

Blitz’s question left an unmistakable air of anticipation in its wake, and Dusk found himself drawn out of his seat towards the pegasus. However, he flinched as Rainbow’s hand came to rest on his shoulder. “W-wait…”

Recoiling as though he’d been shocked, Blitz forcefully shoved his hands in his pockets. “Sorry, I-”

“Not that!” Dusk corrected urgently. “I just.-” he glanced around, noticed some of the restaurant staff looking at them, and turned away, motioning for Blitz to follow as he moved quickly for the door, glancing over his shoulder every other step to make sure he was followed.

Once outside - and away from the windows - Dusk let out a breath he’d forgotten he’d held. “S-sorry… Um, I-I do want to… go back with you, but-”

“Then let’s go.” Blitz flared his wings. “I’ll carry you up,” he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the cloud house that always lingered on the edge of Ponyville.

“Wait, wait, I, uhm, don’t have my… stuff… with me-”

Rainbow was already airborne, the sound of his flapping wings drowning out Dusk’s small, nervous voice. “What’s that?”

“My stuff, Blitz, I need to- oof.” Dusk grunted as he was suddenly grabbed under his arms and around his chest by the pegasus’s toned and muscled arms.

“Don’t worry about that for tonight,” he said, and with an extra strong flap he lifted the unicorn into the air - surprised by how light he was. Dusk was smaller than him, sure, but it was as though he barely weighed anything at all.

Or maybe it was just the mounting excitement getting the better of him.

It’d been a long time since he’d brought a boyfriend home, after all.

“Blitz!”

“Hang on.”

“Raaaainbooooooow!”

Author's Note

And you thought this story was dead, just because it's been 3 years.

You may notice this chapter is part 1. You may also notice part 2 is already published. This behemoth would have been 14K words (Almost 15!) so I decided to split it up. But it is intended to be one chapter so... go read the next part. I'll see you there.