Twilight Sparkle burst through the front door to her tree home with great fury. She stomped inside, stopping to kick the door shut behind her. Brushing her now messy mane out of her eyes the frustrated purple mare trampled over several books on the floor as she slowly and angrily made her way to the upstairs area. By the time she reached her bed; sweat was beading down her forehead, her eyes were blood-shot and she looked as if she were ready to snap somepony’s neck. She immediately collapsed on her bed however, and within an instant all of her pent up anger and frustration seemed to turn into tears that began to freely flow out of her eyes.
Her strange behavior had not gone unnoticed, as she soon felt a gentle and cautious claw begin to stroke her hair lightly. Twilight looked up, sniffling as she wiped away the tears from her eyes to see who she already knew was there. Looking up at the mare was a short, purple and green dragon, wearing a look of deep concern as he continued to softly stroke her mane. A small smile met Twilight’s lips, but soon faded as she broke down again, crying softly into her dirty hooves. The baby dragon didn’t seem fazed by the event as he continued his best to comfort the mare with the soft stroke of his claw.
“There, there Twilight, let it all out,” The dragon said in a kind and soothing voice, not moving from his position by the mare’s bed once as she continued to pour her eyes out. Several moments passed, and soon the crying ceased as the lavender mare regained control of herself.
“Thanks Spike,” Twilight said graciously “I’m…I’m sorry I broke down like that,”
“No problem Twilight, it’s what I’m here for,” Spike replied with a pleased smile. The smile faded though as the same look of deep concern took its place again “Want to talk about it?”
Twilight thought for a moment, sighing as she slumped against the bed, her head landing softly on the pillows “That stupid filly just doesn’t know how to take a hint!” She cried with muffled frustration between the soft cushions.
“What did Rainbow Dash do this time?” Spike asked, keeping his claw on the mare’s back.
“It’s not what she did! It’s what she didn’t do!” Twilight raised her head, replying with loud aggression “It’s what she never does!” The mare finished with an exasperated sigh.
“Oh come on Twilight, not this again,” Spike said with irritation “If you like her so much why don’t you just ask her out?”
“Spike, you don’t understand, you’re just a baby. These things are… complicated,”
“Complicated how? All you have to do is just ask her,” The dragon replied.
“I…I can’t” Twilight admitted with a sigh as she climbed off the bed, placing all four hooves on the wooden floor “I… I’m just too nervous. It’s so frustrating; I can never find the right words to use around her anymore! I try to talk to her, but I always get choked up and can’t finish a sentence! And when that fails, my subtle hints fly right over her head! It’s like that pony’s trying to ignore me!”
Spike sighed, slamming his claw against his face in frustration. It wasn’t Twilight’s fault, but then again it was hard to feel bad for somepony that comes to him with the same problem over and over again without trying to fix it. The thought registered clearly upon his face, causing Twilight to leave to the library with a sad sigh.
The mare reached the foot of the stairs with depression weighing heavily upon her shoulders. It wasn’t the first time it happened either. The chain of events had become a consistent habit for Twilight in recent weeks. It seemed as if almost every day she’d go out in the morning, and come back in the evening sad, angry, and fed up. The whole thing had only really gotten out of control recently, and seemed to be spiraling downwards with each passing day. It wasn’t like Twilight to get worked up easily, or to throw fits, cry in front of Spike, or even mess up her sentences that usually seemed to flow so smoothly out of her.
Like clockwork, Twilight’s mind tried to shut out the obvious as it already had so many other times. But of course, just like those other times she systematically failed to achieve this, and left herself in a state of self-loathing and pity, again. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t deny it; she loved Rainbow Dash, and she could never bring herself to confess it. It didn’t even make sense to Twilight why she loved that mare! Why her heart longed so much to be in close proximity with those flashing rainbow colors, that soft, blue coat, and that spunky, overly cocky personality. None of it made sense in her mind, even if she was able to send a strong enough hint across or able to confess her love, she wouldn’t even know what to say!
Frustration looming over her common sense, the unicorn angrily knocked a pile of books across the room with her hoof, the hard objects landing roughly on the floor. She growled lowly, wanting to throw more objects across the room until she tired herself out and couldn’t throw anymore, then she’d lie in a pool of sweat, tears, and frustration on the wooden floor until dawn the next day. Just as she was about to pick up another book to throw, her eyes curiously landed upon a weird looking title on the table below. She furrowed her brow in confusion, never having seen the odd book before in the library although she had read nearly every single one she owned. She called out to her assistant, who grumpily made his way down the steps to face her.
“What?” Spike asked in a mixture of frustration and curiosity.
“Spike, have you ever seen this before?” Twilight asked, levitating the book in front of the dragon’s eyes.
“Five Steps to Win Somepony’s Heart…” Spike read the title aloud, pondering it for a moment before his eyes shot upon with excitement “Why didn’t I think of it before?!”
“Think of what? Where did you get this book from?” Twilight questioned, beside herself with confusion.
“This! This book! I found it lying around in the library one day after we moved in! I tried to use to win over Rarity, but I never got a chance to use it. I forgot about it because it would never work for me anyhow. But, this is perfect! Reference books are always your thing Twilight!” Spike ranted on, joy rising in his voice with each word. Twilight levitated the book back to her, studying the cover a tad closer. She opened to the first page, her eyes scanning over it quickly.
Chapter 1: Know the Pony
Twilight continued to eye the words, debating in her mind if it was really the right solution to her problem.
“I don’t know Spike… Can this book really help me?” Twilight questioned uneasily.
“Do you want to win over Dash or not? You don’t really have many options left,” Spike shot back, staring seriously at the mare. Twilight could already feel herself buckling under the pressure; books always contained all of her needed answers, even for the most simplest of tasks. But… a book about how to make somepony love you? The idea didn’t seem rational in her head, but Spike was right about one thing; she was running out of ways to get Dash to like her. She sighed, knowing the answer in her mind but not wanting to voice it. Instead, she trotted over to her studying table, magically clearing a space for the book. And with the flick of her hoof, she opened back up to the first page, and began to read.
***
Twilight shifted to try and find a comfortable position in the bush, having a hard time as she continued to find nothing but sharp edges and uncomfortable vines. She didn’t move though, her current mission was too important to move even the slightest muscle. Instead, the mare stayed put, concealed by the bush as she looked into a pair of binoculars pointed at her target. Every once in a while she turned away to write some observations, and then turned back. The rainbow maned pony seemed to be doing nothing special however; in fact, for the past hour all she had done was fly around a bit, crash a couple of times, and lay dormant on random clouds in the sky until another weather pony shouted at her to kick them away. Twilight quickly became bored with the task with every passing second, but she didn’t allow herself to stop. If she wanted Rainbow Dash, she had to follow the book’s instructions to the letter.
The mare yawned, tired already even though it was only noon. Her head still struggled to remember what she read in the book the night before. The concepts still didn’t make much sense to her. The whole “Admiring From Afar” bit seemed to be a very odd and risky way of getting to know Somepony you like better. Maybe it was just a faster way to learn about the pony? Regardless, Twilight still didn’t like the feel of it. Sure, she had spied on ponies like Pinkie Pie before in the past in a similar manner, but then that was only for science. This felt different, like she wasn’t supposed to do it, like she was infringing on Dash’s personal space by eyeing her from a concealed position. Still, it didn’t matter; those were the books instructions, and she wasn’t about to challenge them.
Twilight turned to look back into the binoculars after jotting down more notes, only to notice something was amiss. She frantically turned the binoculars from side to side, up and down; everywhere she could point them without being obvious. Rainbow Dash wasn’t on the cloud any more. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen! Twilight cursed herself, knowing that the Pegasus must’ve token off when she was lost in her thoughts. Quickly gathering her gear and stuffing into her saddle bags, the mare took off from the bush, her eyes catching the glimmer of rainbow before it turned a corner.
She followed the glimmer, turning the corners and running down streets behind her target, desperately trying to catch up. Just when the mare thought she had reached her target, she tripped over a stray branch on the street, plummeting face first into the hard concrete. She shook her head groggily, the iron taste of blood filling her mouth as she gasped for breath. Twilight rose to her hooves just in time to see a blue hoof escape from sight behind another corner.
“Oh no you don’t,” Twilight said silently to herself as she charged forward towards the general direction of the hoof. She rounded the corner, sweat beating down her head as she continued to gallop “Wait!” She called out, coming to a stop from exhaustion. When she opened her eyes, it immediately became apparent what she did; all the ponies in the street stopped to stare at her frantic, bloody face… including the one with the blue hooves…
An unfamiliar looking unicorn stared at her, a coat of deep blue covering her from head to hoof, matching the colors of her tail so well “Yes?”
“I-uh…Um, who are you?” Twilight blurted out, feeling the burn of embarrassment.
“Uh… I’m Colgate, nice to meet you,” The unicorn replied, holding out a hoof. Twilight blushed vibrantly, how could she mistake this pony for Rainbow Dash!? She shook her head vigorously, fumbling with her words. If this pony wasn’t Dash, then where was she…? Twilight’s answer came when she looked to the sky, a streak of rainbow too far away to chase now gracing it. “Hello?” Colgate’s voice chimed in Twilight’s head again. Twilight facehooved in frustrated embarrassment, cursing silently under her breath as she turned around and trotted the other way, still blushing brightly as ever.
***
Chapter 2: Flirting
Twilight sighed heavily as she entered the doors of Sugar Cube Corner. Frustration from her failure stuck to her mind; how she had mistaken a much darker blue unicorn for the cyan mare was a mystery in and of itself. She even tried to track down Dash after the mishap, only… to have the same exact thing happen again, but in the town square…
The lavender mare found an empty booth; sure of the fact that she had made a large fool of herself today. She sighed, burying her head into her hooves. It was time to try Chapter 2, but first she needed to think of how to approach it. Thinking a second, Twilight remembered her previous encounters with “Flirting”. But from all of them, she only managed to fail horribly or miss the hint if she was the one being flirted with. The memories didn’t help her selfless-steam much as her mind went from remembering the embarrassing moments to imagining every way she could mess it up with the mare that really mattered to her.
“Hey Twi, why so glum?” A high-pitched voice called from beside her. Twilight raised her head, looking at its owner with a mixture of relief and stress. Pinkie Pie was the last pony she wanted to deal with right now.
“Oh, nothing,” Twilight lied “Just, thinking about Dash,” Her problems and feelings with Dash were no mystery to the pink party pony. Somehow one night, probably through a mixture of sasparilla and pressure, Pinkie had gotten her to confide about her recent crush on the cyan Pegasus. Oh, and how she regretted it.
But her dreams of solitude for a few moments were ripped to shreds with the elated pony’s smile instantly dropped to a concerned frown, reminding her much of Spike’s. Pinkie took the seat opposite of Twilight, staring worriedly into her eyes.
“I’m on break, if you want to talk about it,” Pinkie sounded more like she was begging the unicorn to accept her help instead of offering it. Twilight sighed, knowing she couldn’t refuse even if she tried. It was the one good but doubly bad thing about Pinkie; she never left her friends alone when they were sad. Twilight took a moment to gather her thoughts, and began to tell the mare her recent endeavors as of the previous evening; coming home in frustrated rage, finding the guide-book, and attempting the first step. She held back about telling her how she didn’t even know why she was going to the trouble to obtain Dash’s attention. The unicorn didn’t want to tell anypony about that until she herself had a clear answer.
“Gee, sure sounds like it was embarrassing,” Pinkie said, not even having to contain the giggles that usually came to her in moments like this. Twilight played around with her cupcake that had arrived at the table moments ago, appetite lost in her stomach.
“And now I have to try the second step, but I don’t even know where to start,” Twilight said with a tone of sadness.
“Well, what’s the second step?” Pinkie asked with curiosity. Twilight thought for a moment, trying to bring the title of the second chapter to mind. As soon as it came up within her memory, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks as his eyes bulged open. Pinkie Pie cocked her head in confusion, no idea what had caused the sudden turn of emotion in her friend. Twilight gulped, gathering her wits and wiping the sweat off her forehead before responding.
“Flirting…” Twilight said, letting the word sink in. Pinkie couldn’t hold it in anymore, though she tried her best to maintain a serious look she burst out into a fit of giggles, much to the displeasure of the lavender unicorn. Twilight tried to give her friend a look of serious frustration, but it failed against the hot blush rapidly increasing on her cheeks, which only fueled the giggling more. Several moments passed before Pinkie was gasping for air, getting rid of the last of her laughs while attempting to remain serious.
“Flirting?! That’s easy Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said while working hard to stifle her laughter. Twilight stared quizzically at the mare in return.
“It is?”
“Sure it is!” Pinkie Pie got up out of her seat, gesturing for Twilight to scoot over and make room of her. She took the seat next to the purple mare, and began to very… suggestively snuggle up to her. Twilight gasped, the red hot blush returning to her cheeks once more.
“Pinkie! What on earth are you doing?!” Twilight screamed in a hushed whisper. Pinkie Pie giggled again, holding her sides comically as she did so.
“Oh Twilight, you’re such a laugh! I’m showing you how to flirt!” Pinkie Pie replied as if it was obvious. Twilight gave her an incredulous look.
“That’s how you flirt?”
“Well… it’s one of the ways you can flirt,”
***
“Pinkie, I look ridiculous!” Twilight hissed between her clenched teeth as the pink mare stood next to her in the cold night air. A quick look into the miniature mirror the mare brought with her only reinforced the opinion. Her mane and tail had been messed up and redone in a “party” style, whatever that meant; Eyeliner covered her eyes, making them more shadowy than they would ever need to be; a hoof-drawn tattoo lay over one eye, ending in curved spikes on the side. And the “Cherry on top” as Pinkie Pie had called it, was a rainbow-colored hoof bracelet that looked like something worn by teenage foals. The whole get-up made Twilight feel stupid and overbearing. One look at it and she wanted to run to the nearest sink to make herself regain a bit of normality.
“Come on Twilight, it looks cute!” Pinkie argued “Rarity did an amazing job, you look like you just came out of a club!” the mare exclaimed with a smile
“But I don’t like looking like I just came from a club Pinkie! I don’t even know what clubs are like!”
“Well, you may not like it; but if I know her as well as I do, Dashie will!”
“But…” Twilight tried to argue.
“Common Twilight, just try it! What’s the worst that can happen” Pinkie cut her off, giving the unicorn a forceful push forward. ‘The worst is I’ll look like a walking clown’ Twilight thought in silence. She sighed, a grimace taking over her face as she walked/was pushed closer to Dash’s cloud home. Once she broke free of Pinkie’s surprisingly powerful grasp, she approached the outside, looking up at the magnificent structure as a nervous lump formed in her throat. She gulped; hoping to Celestia the whole clubber look would impress Dash like Pinkie said it would. She turned her head to the right, about ready to ask if she could just leave. Instead, she was startled to find that there was no Pinkie next to her; no, the pink party pony was hidden in a near-by bush, urgently waving for her to continue. She took one last deep breath before calling up to the structure.
“Hello? Rainbow?” Twilight called out in a hushed voice. A moment passed, and then several more. She looked to her right again, Pinkie Pie making a gesture for her to call louder. “Rainbow!” Twilight practically shouted the Pegasus’s name, her eyes fixated on the front door. Soon after, the door clicked open, and an angry, tired looking Rainbow Dash peered over the edge. Twilight thanked Luna’s moon for concealing most of the stupid looking make-up on her face, because it looked as if the cyan mare had to focus hard to look down.
“What do you wa…” Dash began, before the pony’s full colors materialized “Twilight, is that you?!” The purple mare nodded shyly, and it was all Dash could do to not fall off the front steps of her house as she buckled over on the cloud, laughing hysterically. The laughter reminded her of Pinkie’s, and it took the same amount of time to subside and have the Pegasus put on a serious face again “What’s with the get-up Twi? You look like some raver trying too hard to look cool,” Dash exclaimed, working hard to stifle her laugh. Twilight almost felt like Fluttershy as she hid behind her mane, not wanting to reply to the statement at all. She knew this would happen. The unicorn looked to her right again, an exasperated Pinkie Pie working hard to mouth something. Twilight stared in confusion, before what the pink pony was trying to convey to her registered.
“Oh,” Twilight mouthed silently before turning her head back to a more contained Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus still held a smile on her face that threatened to break out into full-blown laughter again at any moment. Twilight gulped, sweat beading down her facing and ruining her make-up as she realized the grave she had dug for herself. Knowing there was no backing out now, she took a step forward.
Chapter 4: Ask Them on a Date
Twilight had remembered the third chapter as well, something about Jealousy. But she never read much of it, the whole idea of playing dirty like that just to get somepony to like you didn’t sound too ethical. She shook her head, deciding to keep the third chapter in mind just in case she did need it.
“You sure…uh… look nice tonight Dashie,” Twilight said awkwardly. The Pegasus gave her an odd look in return. Twilight began to panic, and couldn’t stop herself before the next words came out “You are very sexy in the moonlight!” The unicorn put a hoof in her mouth after uttering the sentence. Maybe… Maybe she hadn’t heard it? The words were rushed and barely understandable as she yelled them out, but from the look on Dash’s face, she knew it still didn’t matter.
“What did you say Twilight…?” Dash asked in disbelief as she shook her head, the vibrant blush on her cheeks still visible in the darkness. Her facial expression was a mixture of surprise, shock, and awkward humor. Fear set into Twilight’s heart as she began to panic, no idea where to lead the conversation next. She looked to the bush again, shock and anger taking over fear as she discovered the lack of the pink pony concealed there moments ago. ‘She abandoned me?!’ Twilight gritted her teeth together in silent anger. Just as she was plotting revenge on her friend, a gentle tap of a hoof broke her out of her daze. She knew she had been silent too long when she saw the cyan mare beside her, confusion still plastered upon her face.
“Uh…erm…uh…” Twilight could feel what little social skills she had left failing her as the fact dawned upon her. She had nothing else to say, nowhere else to lead the conversation. What was she going to do?! Dash began to smile, and her smile turned into a kind, patronizing laugh. Twilight felt the red hot blush on her cheeks before she knew it was there.
“Are you trying to hit on me?” Dash asked in-between laughs. Twilight sighed sadly. ‘Trying’ what she was doing wasn’t even good enough to be considered proper flirting, but rather a foolish attempt at it. She turned around, her ears hanging low as she began to walk away in defeat. Before she had the chance to make any distance away from the embarrassing scene, she felt a hoof tap her softly on the shoulder once more. She didn’t turn around, but instead stopped walking to listen “Hey, wait, I’m sorry for laughing. But you got to admit; you, flirting?! It’s the funniest thing ever!”
Twilight sighed again “I know Rainbow… Just, forget I even came here.” she began to walk away again.
“No, no wait,” Dash said while still giggling as she flew in front of the unicorn “Fine, I’ll go on a date with you,”
“You don’t have to rub it… wait, what?” Twilight asked in shock, eliciting more laughter from the cyan mare.
“I said I’ll go on a date with you,” Dash repeated calmly. Twilight shook her head, still not believing what she was hearing.
“How did you…”
“You look like a raver, you’re awkwardly flirting, you keep on turning to the bush to receive advice from Pinkie Pie, and you should really be quieter when you’re below somepony’s home,” Rainbow Dash answered with a sly grin. Twilight mouth hung open, was she that loud before calling to Dash? And was it that easy to tell what her intentions were? She gulped, not wanting to let the opportunity she had just been given slip so easily.
“So, we’re going on a date?”
“Yes,”
“Right now?”
“Why not? You woke me up anyhow,” Dash said, giving a fake yawn for effect.
“But, where to?” Twilight asked in confusion. Dash gave her an incredulous look, staring at the unicorn from head to toe as if to indicate something.
“Where do you think?”
***
It took her awhile to realize it with all of the flashing lights, loud noise, and dark atmosphere; but as soon as her mind adjusted to it all Twilight realized where she had been lead to, a club. The unicorn wasn’t even aware that Ponyville had late night clubs, but then again Dash had told her they were hard to find and on the far side of town, so it made sense. It was only seconds ago that the bouncer let them in, but Twilight’s head was already throbbing from all the noise. Did ponies like Dash and Pinkie actually enjoy this kind of thing? It seemed that after a while you would either get drunk or leave the club due to annoyance. The music was too loud, the lights didn’t cease to stop flashing, and drunken ponies were either passed out on the floor, shouting at each other over the beats, or awkwardly dancing about. All of this combined with the hot, stuffy, and sweaty feeling from having so many bodies packed into one building made Twilight want to puke up her lunch.
But it was too late now as she was being pulled forward further into the engulfing hell-hole. She sighed, deciding to suck it up for now; if this is what it took to win over Dash then she could do it. The cyan Pegasus guided her through the sea of clubbers to the side of the dance floor, where they found a seat at the nearby bar. Twilight felt uneasy about consuming alcohol, seeing as she had never touched a drop of the stuff in her life. After much coaxing and reassuring from Dash, the unicorn found herself with a small glass of some odd liquid. Squeamishly, she took a sip from the glass, then another, and more, until soon she finished the entire thing. She gently set the empty beverage down, and turned to see the satisfied smirk on Dash’s face.
“Told you it would be good,” The Pegasus said with a small laugh. Twilight blushed, nodding lightly as she felt the effects of the drink cloud her brain. All of the sudden a craving overcame her, and she wanted more of the stuff. Dash didn’t object, so she ordered a few more glasses, which she greedily chugged. After what appeared to be her fifth or sixth glass, Twilight began to feel woozy and energetic at the same time, like she wanted to get up and dance until morning but was afraid that if she did she’d fall over and pass out like many other ponies had. Dash still hadn’t had more than a few glasses of the drink, which confused the unicorn to no end. Who wouldn’t want to drink more of this?! It tasted amazing!
Twilight uneasily rose from her seat at the bar, rhythmically banging her head to the electronic music blaring from the over-sized speakers as she drunkenly made her way to the lit dance floor. She felt a gentle hoof lay on her shoulder coupled with some words her muffled hearing couldn’t make out. She turned around to see a concerned looking Dash staring back at her, still muttering words. Twilight shook her head, something about ‘I think you’ve had enough’? Words continued to pour from the blurry mare’s mouth, but Twilight quickly grew uninterested as she turned around and began half-walking, half-stumbling again. She felt the touch of hooves again, instead more forcefully as if to pull her away. The unicorn angrily whipped her head around, expecting to see Dash trying to make her leave again. Instead she saw the face of some gruff, tough looking stallion pulling her close to him. With what little wits she had left, Twilight pushed herself away from the intruder rather unsuccessfully at first. She kept pushing however, and when she felt the pull of the stranger’s hooves around her fade instantly, she assumed she had done it.
Dash grimaced, looking at her now bloody hoof and back to a still out of control Twilight. Why did she let that filly order so many drinks?! Spike was going to kill her. It was all she could do to catch up to the drunken unicorn in the crowded night club. In hindsight she couldn’t even decide why she chose a night club in the first place, or why she chose the same night she was asked. After making a mental note to be more thoughtful, the Pegasus tried to pull Twilight away from the dance floor again. In response the lavender mare slapped her hooves away once again, turning around to face her with an angry expression.
“Lay off Dash, I study day and night, I deserve to have some fun,” Twilight argued shakily. Dash shook her head in frustration, looking for the right words to say.
“Come on Twi’, enough is enough, let’s get you home,”
“No! I’m not going until I’m done! Besides, I only asked you on a date in the first place because of how much I bucking like you,” Twilight spat, levitating a drink up to her mouth again. Dash blushed lightly, looking at the mare in confusion. Of course she knew that Twilight felt something towards her due to earlier events, but did she really like her that much? Dash didn’t know how to respond to the drunken, but still somehow true comment. She had only agreed to go out in the first place because she wanted to have fun while comforting Twilight’s odd feelings. But now she was faced with the very real, but very alcohol-induced and public confession of the mare’s feelings, and she didn’t know what to say. Dash shook her head, those thoughts could wait until later, now she needed to stop Twilight before she did something bad like embarrass herself. Or worse, embarrass her. But as she expected, the mare’s loud comment had caused several pairs of eyes to cast a questioning gaze at them. Dash felt sweat bead on her forehead, and tried to pick her next words carefully.
“Look Twi’, I’m not going to pretend I didn’t see you stalking me or trying to flirt with me, but can we please talk about this somewhere else?” Dash pleaded, more out of worry for her reputation than for the situation. Twilight spat at the floor next to her hooves, and growled lowly at her.
“You’re just worried I’ll make you look foolish!”
“For one, you already are. And secondly, I think you’ve have a little too much to drink,”
“Shut up! This is my first time at a night club, I want to try everything!” Twilight shouted, drawing more attention to their argument. Rainbow could feel herself buckling under the sight of so many curious and judgmental eyes, some even belonging to ponies she knew.
Twilight’s mind was a daze, but she still could hold onto one emotion. Anger. She knew she had a reason to be mad at Dash, and she wasn’t going to let it go. Just as she was about to open her mouth to shout again, another idea popped into her head. A smile spread upon her face as she remembered the third chapter of the book.
Chapter 3: Make them jealous
“Ok, Calm down Twilight, we can try everything another time, when you’re less… drunk. But as much as it pains me to say it, we really should leave,” Dash restated, almost too begging point with the unicorn.
“You know what! I always try to show how much I like you, and you never respond to it! But, I know something you will respond to!” Twilight barked, smiling mischievously at the cyan Pegasus.
“Twilight, what are you talking abou-” Dash began, but it was already too late as Twilight set her grand plan in motion. Drunkenly stumbling down the dance floor, she grabbed the closest stranger she could find. The music had stop, as had the whole club, every pair of eyes fixated on the spectacle caused by pent up aggression and too much booze. Twilight grabbed the stranger tightly around the neck, and without warning, began to kiss them as roughly as possible. A round of collective gasps was released from the crowd, along with a barrage of cheering and laughter. Dash stood on the opposite end of the floor, mouth dropped open and eyes wide, staring at the scene in shock. Her wings popped and she blushed, not knowing what to think. Multiple emotions coursed through her mind right now, and not a single one made sense to her. But one though climbed through over the rest. She had to end this little drunken tangent, now.
Rainbow Dash briskly walked forward to Twilight and the shocked pony she was still awkwardly kissing. With a shove of her hoof, she pushed the stranger back, and took twilight with both hooves.
“We’re leaving, now,” Her voice was calm and firm, but her grip on the unicorn was tight and forceful. Twilight tried to struggle, but couldn’t break free. All of her energy had been zapped from her immediately after the spontaneous kiss had been broken. Looking back at it, Twilight didn’t even know why she did it, but she didn’t care, it had worked for something. But now, as she was being forcefully pushed out of the night club under the watchful eyes on many ponies, she could barely even stand. Her mind was foggy, her stomach was turning, and the whole world spun around her uncontrollably.
After much pushing and shoving, Dash had managed to bring the lavender mare to the opposite end of the dance floor, where they had first purchased their drinks. But she too was quickly growing tired, and couldn’t push any further. She walked in front of Twilight, wearing a look of pure anger.
“Twilight, come on, now!” The flyer shouted. Twilight shook her head, the ringing in her ears making it impossible to hear anything. She was losing it, she began to sweat, and knew what was going to happen right before it did.
Without warning Twilight puked all over Rainbow Dash, and fell to the floor in a mess.
***
Aching, throbbing pain. That was the first thing that hit Twilight as she rose from her bed. Her head was killing her, her mane was in a complete mess, and she was still wearing makeup for… whatever reason she was wearing it in the first place. Why was she anyways? And why was did she reek of vomit and alcohol? The unicorn shook her head, forcing her brain to look back into the night before. But no matter how hard she tried, all that came up were blurry and fuzzy images. Twilight groaned in pain as she got off of the bed, slowly but surely dragging her hooves down the stairs and towards the bathroom. She shut the door, turned the shower on, and allowed herself to sink into the hot, relaxing water.
As she slowly washed the makeup from her face, minor thoughts and images came back into focus. Twilight took a deep breath, attempting to retrace her steps.
Okay, she embarrassed herself thoroughly multiple times yesterday, that was for sure. She knew that it started with her attempting to stalk Dash, to no avail. Then trying to learn how to flirt, to no avail. After that, she went to the cyan mare’s home, and somehow managed to go on a date with her. But… anything after that was still a mystery. She sighed, deciding to figure it out later as she stepped out from the shower and dried off.
As she was leaving the bathroom, her throbbing headache came back in full force again. Groaning, Twilight ran to the kitchen for pain medication, only to find there was none left. She sighed, walking back out to the main floor, where the distain of the first creature she saw since the previous night was immediately apparent. Sitting there, straining a calm look while sorting through supplies was Spike. He glanced at the unicorn, but didn’t even say hello, instead the dragon just shook his head and went back to work.
Confusion and hurt ran through Twilight. What did she even do? Had she done something bad to Spike, or worse, Dash? Dash! Twilight shook her head, what if something went wrong on the date. Did she blow it? Panic began to take over the aching pain in her head as she worked hard to try to remember more of the previous night. The panic only lasted for so long however before the pain drew her back to reality. Just as she was about to ask Spike for details, a light knock filled her ringing ears. Groaning, the unicorn levitated a brush over and made herself look as presentable as possible before slowly trotting up to the door. Upon seeing who stood on the other side, Twilight inwardly gasped. As if luck hadn’t already done her in enough, standing at the door was a tired yet alert Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare looked as if she was both angry and happy to see her.
“Oh, hi Twilight,” Dash greeted her in a detached voice “I see you’re awake…”
Twilight shook her head again, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Was she really awake? She yawned, thinking of something to say next through the sleepy state of mind. But the only thing that came to mind was the same thing that had been bothering her all morning.
“What… Did I do last night?” Twilight asked in spite for herself. Dash frowned slightly, bending forward slightly to smell the upper part of her body again. She pulled back, wincing from the scent.
“Three showers… and it’s still there,” Dash complained. She looked up, seeing Twilight’s expression of anguish and confusion. She sighed “Look, can I come in, we need to talk,”
Twilight wordlessly stepped aside, letting the Pegasus enter. She shut the door behind her, and joined her friend in the library. Instead of talking however, the two just sat in quietly for a while, the silence of the library enveloping them in an aura of awkwardness.
“Dash, tell me what happened. What did I do?” Twilight asked again, a bit more urgently this time. Dash began to feel nervous, but took a deep breath and explained to Twilight the events of the night before.
“…and then that’s when I carried you home on my back and Spike took you in,” Rainbow Dash finished, not taking her eyes off of the floor once. Twilight stood, mouth open in shock.
“I really did all of that?” The unicorn asked in an appalled voice. Dash merely nodded in response.
“More too, I only gave you the major details,” Dash said. Twilight rubbed her face with her hooves. The major details? What else did she do? The mare sighed, that could wait for later.
“Rainbow, I am so sor-”
“Just forget it,”
“But I messed up, and I need to”
“I said just forget it!” Dash shouted angrily, her nostrils flaring. Twilight flinched, but kept herself calm “I don’t even know how much you like me and I could care less at this point. Goodbye Twilight.” Dash turned around, heading for the door. Twilight panicked, looking from left to right, wanting to say something to stop the Pegasus but not being able to bring herself to say anything. Right as the cyan mare had her hoof on the handle, the words of the last chapter rang into Twilight’s mind.
Chapter 5: Tell them the truth
“If all else fails, being honest with somepony is the best way to reach their heart,”
“Wait!” Twilight shouted at the last moment. Dash turned around, still wearing a look of anger and pain. Before the cyan mare could say anything else, Twilight moved forward.
“I’ve been trying, so hard, to get you to notice that I… That I like you,”
“Yeah, I realized that,” Dash spat bitterly.
“And, all this time… I should have just been honest…” Twilight continued, earning a curious stare from Dash. “I don’t know how you feel Rainbow… But… I love you, and… I just wish I didn’t get drunk on our date, because I could have shown you then…” Rainbow lost her angry expression, having it be replaced by a more sincere, blank look “I’m weird alright! I’m socially awkward, inept, and… and I can’t even tell somepony I have feelings for them! See this?” Twilight found the book and levitated it over to Dash, shoving it in her face “Thisis what I used as a reference guide to try and get you to like me! Chapter 1: Know the Pony, Chapter 2: Flirting, Chapter 3,” Twilight continued to fire off the chapter titles in frustration, not knowing what was compelling her to continue but not wanting to stop either , she stopped at each one, explaining how she managed to butcher it up. She sighed heavily when she was finished “I had to use a book to even try Dash, I’m pathetic…” Twilight finished, looking down at the floor as she felt tears begin to stream down her face. She expected the Pegasus to just leave then, either still too angry or too annoyed to respond. But much to her surprise, the next thing that she felt were a warm pair of hooves wrapping her into a hug. She looked up, seeing the very same rainbow maned pony hugging her tightly, as if not to let go again. The lavender mare opened her mouth to apologize again, only to have a hoof be placed gently over it. Looking into the eyes of her friend told her all she needed to know, she was forgiven.
“It’s okay Twilight, I understand,”
“You do?” Twilight asked in relief. Dash nodded.
“And… one more thing,”
“What?”
Rainbow Dash leaned forward, closer to Twilight’s muzzle than any friend should be. The unicorn braced herself for some sort of secret or comment to wipe away her hopes. Something like she wasn’t loved back, or she had done something worse. Instead, she received something else. Sweet, gentle pressure applied against her lips. She didn’t even have the time to react before her impulses took over, and she returned the gesture. It was amazing, the feeling of another pony’s lips pressed against her own, the pressure, the heat, the passion of it all. As her heart raced inside her chest, Twilight couldn’t help but loose herself as she pushed forward into the kiss. She never wanted it to end, but eventually Dash retracted, and she was forced to as well. The Pegasus brought her voice down to a whisper as she uttered the next words.
“I like you too,”
***
The window was cold against her face as Pinkie peered into the library, but she didn’t care. She pulled back, a smile instantly finding a way upon her face as multiple plans for parties and celebrations ran through her mind. She leaned back into the tree, feeling quite pleased with her work. After all, if she didn’t convince Rainbow Dash to go over and make amends, the whole plan would have been a bust! Sighing, the pink mare jumped off of the tree, landing effortlessly on the ground below. She began to bounce away, before turning back to the tree house, the morning sun casting a beautiful shadow over it.
She smiled, turning back around.
“Nailed it!”
END
