An Unlikely Romance

Rainbow Dash glanced at the clock on the wall for what felt like the millionth time. It read 10:31. Though it had only been a few hours since she’d left the sleepover, it felt like forever. Of course Pinkie had insisted on tagging along so she could help Dash get ready for her “date”—(“Pinkie, for the thousandth time, it’s not a date!” “Oh, but you two would be sooooo adorable together!”)—and the pink mare had done nothing but talk and bounce around the entire time. Somehow she had found a way to walk on clouds without using Twilight’s cloud-walking spell. It creeped Rainbow Dash out more than she would admit, but she didn’t press the issue, knowing Pinkie Pie would probably use some weird excuse as to why she wasn’t falling straight through Rainbow Dash’s floor.

“…And then she said, ‘Nope, it was the pudding!’” Pinkie burst out with hysterical laughter as she rolled across the puffy clouds that made up Dash’s floor. “Isn’t that hilarious?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow Dash said. Her eyes flickered around her house, searching and searching for anything that resembled a mirror. Do I even own a mirror? she wondered. I guess I never needed one before now. Heck, I don’t even really need one now, I just…well, Rarity’s so focused on looks. If I don’t try at all to match her standards, I won’t have a chance.

Then she caught herself. Wait, what am I saying? I don’t need her to think I look good. It doesn’t even matter. This isn’t an actual date. If it were, hay yeah, I’d try to look as hot as possible. But it’s not. So I shouldn’t be worrying about that.

“But you can still at least brush your mane,” Pinkie complained.

“Huh?”

“Oh, sorry, were you talking to yourself?”

“I wasn’t…” She trailed off, turning red. “Oh, horseapples, was I saying all that out loud?”

“Yup!” Out of nowhere Pinkie pulled a brush and began to run it through Rainbow Dash’s mane. She pulled away. “Aw, c’mon, Dashie, please won’t you let me brush your mane just a teensy weensy little bit?”

“No.” An image of Rarity’s perfectly coiffed mane flashed in her mind, and she sighed. “Okay, fine, but just a little.”

“Yay!”

Rainbow Dash winced as the soft brush was caught momentarily on one of the many tangles in her multicolored mane. Within moments, though, it had loosened the knot and moved past it. Trying to distract herself from the fact that Pinkie Pie was practically…ugh…giving her a makeover, Dash turned her thoughts back to that morning.

She was the last to awaken, the smell of haybacon and eggs teasing her nostrils and wrenching her from her sleep. The others were already in Rarity’s kitchen, making a greasy mess while the unicorn looked on in disgust, unwilling to ask them to stop in fear that she would upset one of them. After the way they’d all been acting the night before, it was actually surprising that more of them weren’t at ends with each other.

Rainbow Dash lay in her sleeping bag for but a moment, staring groggily at the ceiling, before the smell registered in her mind and she went barreling through the hallways to the kitchen. Without even saying a word she scooped up a hoofful of haybacon and shoved it in her mouth, chewing noisily.

Once she had finished she took the time to fill an actual plate with the scrumptious breakfast food. As she made her way to the ornate table in the corner, she almost bumped into Twilight Sparkle, who was looking thoroughly miffed about something.

“Oh, hey, Twilight,” she greeted. “Are you still mad at me ‘cause I like mares?”

Instead of answering, Twilight brushed past her and went to stand next to Fluttershy.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Rainbow Dash lowered herself into the seat, ready to take a bite of the still-smoking eggs, when Pinkie appeared in front of her, her eyes wide and pleading.

“I tried to talk to her,” Pinkie explained softly, dropping some neatly chopped fruit onto the pegasus’ plate. “She said she needs some time to think.” When Rainbow’s gaze dropped forlornly to the floor, Pinkie reached a hoof forward and lifted her chin to look her in the eye. “I don’t think she hates you, Dashie. She’s just confused.”

“She probably thinks I’m the one who’s confused,” Dash retorted. “I’ve heard it all. ‘Oh, Rainbow Dash, it’s just a phase.’ ‘Oh, Dash, you don’t really like mares, you just think you do.’ ‘Maybe you just haven’t met the right stallion yet.’ Trust me, I know her type. Even if she says she’s accepted me eventually, in her eyes there’ll always be that shadow of doubt. Nothing will ever be the same between us again. If I ever compliment her or hug her or even just offer her some help, she’ll assume I’m hitting on her and widen the gap between us. Nothing we can say or do will change her mind. That’s why I’m not that upset about this. I know that there’s nothing I can do. I’ve accepted it, and so should you!” Her scowl deepening, Rainbow Dash shoveled the contents of her plate into her maw, half out of hunger, and half out of reluctance to speak any longer.

Pinkie Pie moved her hoof away and tilted her head to one side. Her eyes shone with sympathy. “You seem to know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Of course I do!” Rainbow Dash snapped, her mouth still full of food. “Raindrops—” Immediately she broke off, her eyes doubling in size. “Never mind.”

“What—?”

“I said never mind.”

Pinkie tapped her hoof to her chin, thinking. Then she stood and walked over to Twilight, asking, “Twilight, are we friends?”

Twilight glanced past her at Rainbow Dash before saying without hesitation, “Of course, Pinkie Pie. Nothing could ever break apart our friendship.”

“I like mares and stallions,” Pinkie informed her, and then she trotted back to Dash. “See, Dashie? Now we can go through this together. She’ll come around. Don’t worry.” After a moment she added slyly, “And I know you won’t be happy with this, but eventually I will get you to tell me what makes you think she’ll never accept this.”

“I meant that, Dashie,” Pinkie said, pausing in her efforts to style Rainbow Dash’s mane. “Once you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll get you to tell me what happened.”

“Gah!” Rainbow yelped, flinching away. Her rosy eyes studied Pinkie cautiously. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?” After a moment realization flickered across her face. “Ohhh. Were you talking to yourself again?”

“I wasn’t talking, I was thinking.”

“But then why did you say that stuff out loud? You really gotta work on that, Dashie.”

“I don’t—argh!” She crossed her arms stubbornly. “Never mind.”

Pinkie was silent for a few moments before she gave a huge grin. “Well, I think you’re done! Your mane looks great!” With a giggle she put on her best seductive look and added, “Rarity won’t be able to keep her hooves off you.”

“Gah!” Rainbow Dash gagged and clutched feebly at her throat as if she were choking on the sheer grossness of it all. “That’s disgusting, Pinkie Pie. We’re just going to lunch. As friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Heck, we wouldn’t even be doing this if Twilight hadn’t suggested it. It’s not a date, and for the last time, I do not like Rarity!”

“Whatever you say,” Pinkie laughed. She grabbed Rainbow’s hoof and pulled the poor mare after her into the bathroom before promptly placing her in front of the mirror and pointing with her hoof. “Look!”

Huh, what do you know? Rainbow Dash thought. I do own a mirror.

“Of course you do, silly!”

“…” Instead of answering, Rainbow Dash peered closely at her reflection. After a moment of shocked silence her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged out of her head. Is that me?! she thought, the corners of her mouth melting into a smile. Her mane fell in silken waves around her, dancing in the gentle whoosh of the air conditioning. Not a single hair was out of place. Her bangs were brushed slightly to the side, and the rest of her mane was spread in the middle so half fell on one side of her neck, the other half falling opposite of it. Every inch of her mane shimmered and glistened, giving it the appearance of a…well…rainbow.

Soon, though, she coughed into her hoof and tore her eyes away. “Yeah, I look okay, I guess. But who even cares? It doesn’t matter. As soon as I fly it’ll get messed up again, anyway.” Secretly, though, she enjoyed seeing her mane look like that. It made her feel proud.

Pinkie’s face fell. “You don’t like it?”

Rainbow Dash wanted to kick herself. Instead, she placed her hooves on Pinkie’s shoulders and gave her a warm smile. “Pinks, that’s not what I meant. It looks great! I’m just wondering how I’m supposed to keep it looking great until my d—until my lunch with Rarity. But really, it looks amazing. I look hot!”

“You always look hot,” Pinkie Pie assured her, flashing a smile.

Did she just…? Shaking it off, Rainbow Dash trotted out to her living room and once again checked the clock. Now it read 11:08. “Ugh,” she groaned, making a face. “You know what? I’m just going to go. Maybe I can walk around Ponyville for a bit, ‘cause I don’t want my mane to get messed up.” Realizing what she’d just said, she chuckled, “I sounded exactly like Rarity right there.”

Pinkie bounced over. “Can I come too? Just until you go pick her up, I mean.”

“Sure. Wait, don’t you have stuff to do at Sugarcube Corner? Like taking care of the twins, watching the shop while Mr. and Mrs. Cake are delivering that cake they had to make…”

“Oh yeah.”

“Don’t worry, Pinks, I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Pinkie lunged forward and pulled her into a hug. This time she seemed to linger, her eyes squeezed shut and her face buried in Dash’s mane—thankfully she didn’t mess it up. Finally she let go and galloped out to Rainbow Dash’s porch, where her strange machine was waiting to bring her back to the ground.

“Um, bye?” Rainbow mumbled, raising an eyebrow. The pink pony was already halfway down by now.

With a halfhearted shrug, Rainbow, too, trotted to her porch and leapt gracefully into the air. The wind whistled over her wings, and the crisp atmosphere caressed her lungs, filling her with that special contentment she only felt when flying. When she closed her eyes she could almost imagine she was all alone, with nothing but the sky spread around her for miles and miles. She rather enjoyed flying with her eyes closed. Contrary to what non-pegasi might believe, it wasn’t any more difficult than flying with them open, and it was much, much more fun. She could imagine anything she wanted. She could be the captain of the Wonderbolts, soaring with her teammates after a long day of training. She could glide alongside Daring Do, listening to the heroine’s tales of glory. She could be a superhero, gifted with super speed and the ability to fly forever. Today, gliding past the fluffy clouds that shattered the flat blue sky, she imagined she was flying with her friends. They’d all been given wings for reasons that didn’t matter, and now they flapped alongside Rainbow Dash, laughing and chatting as if it was normal, as if they did this every day.

Too soon, Rainbow Dash felt her hooves brush against soft grass as she touched down. She was right beside Town Hall, so she turned her gaze to the huge clock in the center. It read 11:25.

“I’ve still got time,” she mused. “I may as well start heading toward Carousel Boutique, but I don’t have to rush. That’s a good thing.”

It hadn’t been twenty seconds before a familiar gray pegasus crash-landed not a foot in front of her. Her blonde mane was ragged and disheveled, and her gold eyes were crossed as usual.

“Rainbow Dash,” Derpy Hooves panted, “I’ve been looking all over for you! You didn’t show up to work today and Raindrops had to take over and she wasn’t as good as you so we had to work extra hard to clear all the clouds and they’re still not all gone! Where were you?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I took a day off, Derpy. Remember? I called in this morning.” The moment Derpy had said the word “Raindrops,” though, her stomach lurched and pain shot through her. She ignored the grief and extended her hoof to help Derpy to her hooves.

“Oh.” She shuffled her hooves. “Well, uh, where are you headed now?”

“I’m having lunch with Rarity at that new Prench restaurant.”

“You mean L'amour Est Dans L'air?”

“Yup, that’s the one!”

Derpy raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Rainbow Dash, that means ‘love is in the air.’”

“…Oh. Horseapples.”

“It’s not an actual date, is it?” She smiled and patted her on the back. “Good job! Rarity’s quite the catch. Although I didn’t think she was really your type.”

Rainbow Dash blushed and drew away. “She’s not! It’s not! We’re—argh! We’re just going as friends.”

“You’re going to a restaurant called Love is in the Air as friends?”

“I didn’t know that was what it meant!” Furious, Rainbow Dash whirled around and galloped away. Why did everypony just assume that she was going on a date with Rarity? Sure, she liked mares. Sure, she thought Rarity was hot. Sure, the restaurant had a romantic name. Sure, her mane was styled for once. But that didn’t mean anything! It frustrated her to no end, so much so that she didn’t even notice that she had already arrived at Carousel Boutique until she reached to ring the doorbell.

She caught herself just in time, her breath coming in short, hoarse gasps. Her vision blurred as a red haze spread over it, and anger shot through her, so powerful in fact that her teeth began to unconsciously grind together. Her hoof, still raised to press the button, trembled like a leaf in the wind. For a moment she could feel a strangled howl rising in her throat, much like that of a madman.

Just as soon as the anger came, it vanished, leaving her weak, shaky, and terrified.

What just happened? she thought, the sentence barely a whisper among the many chaotic thoughts clouding her mind. One second I was fine, the next I was acting like a…a…well, something that’s really angry. And dangerous. And insane… What’s wrong with me?

So perturbed was she that even the sound of the door crashing open was hardly enough to pull her from her daze.

Rarity stood in the doorway looking even prettier than normal. Her lips were dabbed with a touch of red lipstick, her eyes were outlined in dark black, and she was wearing a very fancy outfit that made Rainbow Dash feel plain and boring in contrast. When she caught sight of the pegasus she gave a shocked gasp. For a moment Rainbow Dash thought her mane had become messy once again; a quick check showed otherwise.

“Rainbow Dash, dear,” Rarity finally said, “was that you I heard screaming just now?”

“Nope.” Rainbow Dash glanced away, hoping with all her mind Rarity wouldn’t press the issue further. “Uh, you look great.”

Rarity beamed and struck a pose. “Why thank you, dear. Pardon me, for this is going to sound very cliché and cheesy, but you look dashing!”

For reasons unknown, Rainbow Dash felt herself blushing. “What, you mean my mane? Naw, it’s just something Pinks and I threw together last minute.” Then, not wanting to sound like she hadn’t taken their lunch seriously, she added quickly, “I’m not saying we didn’t try, though. We, uh, worked very hard to get it to look like this.”

“All that work certainly paid off.” Rarity gave her a friendly smile. After the coldness of Twilight, the annoyed attitude of Applejack, and the pain that Pinkie Pie kept showing, the smile was rather refreshing, like stumbling upon an icy cold mountain spring after hiking for miles. “Shall we get going? I must say I am rather excited to go to L'amour Est Dans L'air. You do know that means—?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Derpy already told me. Just for the record, though, I had no clue until I already made the reservations.”

“So you’re not interested in me like that?” The previous humor in Rarity’s voice was replaced with a sharp seriousness.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course not. No offense. I mean, sure, you’re hot and nice and funny and generous and talented and all of that, but you’re not really my type.”

They began to walk in the general direction of the Prench restaurant. “If you do not mind my asking, what is your type?”

She shrugged. “Dunno. I never really thought about it. I guess I usually just go with the flow. Whoever I have a crush on, I have a crush on. I don’t really stop to think about the why of it, y’know? In my opinion, life’s way too short to be asking pointless questions.”

Rarity was silent. At last she said, “I’m sorry if you were offended when I asked if you liked me. While I am not scornful of fillyfooling like Twilight, I am definitely a stallion sort of mare myself. Don’t take it personally.”

“Why would I?” she asked feebly. For some reason the unicorn’s response felt to her like rubbing salt in a wound. “I’m not into you.”

She hesitated, then nudged her teasingly. “Are you sure? When I asked you to lunch, you seemed pretty excited.”

“Well—I was just—I mean…”

“I’m only joking, Dashing.” Her ears perked up. “Oh! I rather like that nickname. It suits you. Do you mind if I call you that from now on, since we are going to be seeing each other more often?”

“Why are we going to be—oh, right. Twilight’s idea.” She looked away. “Uh, sure, you can call me that. But—not in front of the others! I don’t want them to get the wrong idea, y’know? Besides, I’m not all frou-frou and girly like you are. Dashing is a cool nickname, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of…um…Rarity-ish. You know what I’m saying, don’t you?”

Rarity started to nod, then shook her head apologetically. “Not a clue.”

“Never mind. Yeah, Dashing’s fine.”

They walked on in silence after that, both ponies doing their best not to look at each other. Every once in a while they’d glance over at the other, and twice or thrice their eyes met; they immediately averted their gazes and pretended to be enthralled with whatever patch of grass or clump of dirt caught their eye.

Finally they reached L'amour Est Dans L'air. A line of well-dressed ponies stretched through the street, curving around buildings every so often. Each customer was trying their best to convince the ponies by the door that they had made reservations, and each customer was failing.

Rainbow Dash took one look at them and, grinning smugly, trotted to the front of the line. “The reservation should be made under ‘Dash’,” she told the muscular earth pony standing by the entrance.

He glanced down at the list before nodding to them and letting them in. Seeing this, the entire line of ponies began shouting that they, too, had made a reservation under the name ‘Dash,’ and therefore should be allowed in.

The interior of the restaurant was decorated with more fancy things than Rainbow Dash had seen in one place, ever—and she’d been to the Grand Galloping Gala. There were ornately patterned statues of all of Equestria’s legends—the Wonderbolts, the Princesses; they even had a statue of each Element of Harmony—and windows yawned from floor to ceiling. A red-and-gold plush carpet crept its way across the floor, wreathing the bases of the tables. Giant chandeliers dangled from the painted ceiling, the light they gave off bouncing off their many diamonds. Not a single pony—besides Rainbow Dash or Rarity, of course—dared enter without draping themselves in the fanciest item of clothing they owned. Within moments Dash was able to pick out which outfits had been fashioned by Rarity. Not surprisingly (as she was the only non-expensive seamstress in all of Ponyville), all but two or three of them wore garments made by the Element of Generosity.

As the two—not dating—mares made their way to their reserved booth, Rainbow Dash felt her eyes drawn to Rarity. What was it about her appearance that made Rainbow Dash feel so peculiar? Finally she decided she must be jealous that her friend was such a looker and added it to the ever-growing list of insecurities she had.

Their booth looked, from the outside, on the small side. Inside, though, it looked enormous. Brilliantly embroidered cushions sat gently on top of red velvet seats. The table was a deep, rich mahogany, and crisscrossing patterns danced across its surface. The window allowed them to see out onto the exterior of the restaurant, which included a fountain that spewed crystalline water and a garden filled with lush flowers of all shapes and sizes.

“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash breathed, sliding into the seat. It felt like she was sitting on pure bliss. “This makes my butt feel amazing!”

A teenager, sitting in a booth adjacent to theirs, leaned over and giggled, “That’s what she said.”

Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at him, turning back to Rarity. “Teenagers,” she scoffed, ignoring the fact that had it been her, she would have said the same thing. “So what now? Do we wait for someone to come over, or…?”

Before she had even finished her sentence, a peppy young unicorn came trotting gracefully over. She was a light cream color, with a long, silky brown mane. Her eyes were a brilliant blue. She was wearing a very fancy golden outfit that glistened and glimmered with more glittery substances than Rainbow Dash knew the names of. Everything about her seemed to radiate life and joy.

“My name is Maxie,” she said cheerfully. Grinning wider than was previously thought possible, she placed a menu in front of each mare. “I’ll be your waitress this evening. To start, would you like something to drink? Some hard cider, perhaps? Or maybe you’d like to go for something a little easier to take. Water, for example. Or maybe,” she added with a wink, “you’d enjoy our Lover’s Special?”

Rainbow Dash was too busy gawking at the mare to speak. So Rarity rolled her eyes and said with a huff, “We are not lovers, nor do we wish to be. In other words, no, we would not like your Lover’s Special.”

Maxie nodded. “My apologies, mademoiselle.”

“I would like some iced tea, please.”

At this Maxie frowned and looked away. “Pardon me, but we don’t carry that.”

“…You don’t carry iced tea?”

“I’m afraid not, mademoiselle.”

“…Water shall have to do…”

Maxie turned her gaze to Rainbow Dash, smiling sweetly. “And for you?”

It took Rainbow Dash several seconds to realize the pretty mare had asked her a question. Stammering and blushing, she said quickly, “W-water’s good for me, too.”

With a polite nod the unicorn hurried away.

Rarity laughed softly. “My, my, I suppose they spent all their money on the décor. If they don’t even carry iced tea, I wonder how the food will be? Hay fries and grassburgers, I expect, all deep fried and smothered with salt.” When Rainbow Dash didn’t answer, Rarity gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time. “Rainbow Dash, dear, are you honestly so smitten with our waitress you won’t pay the slightest bit of attention to the mare you’re having lunch with?”

That caught her attention. She finally tore her eyes away from where the waitress had disappeared and fixed her gaze on the fancy placemat before her. “Sorry. Just—you know. She was…wow.”

“Mm. I rather prefer that stallion over there.” She beckoned with a hoof to where a pure black stallion with a white crescent moon cutie mark was bringing a platter full of steaming food to a nearby table. “He’s quite attractive, if I do say so myself. But enough of that. What will you be ordering?”

Rainbow Dash looked down at her menu. It may as well have been written in Zebra, for all she got from it. “Uh…to be honest, I don’t know what half this stuff means.”

“I’m getting the cheese ravioli. You at least know what that is, don’t you, dear?”

“Yeah, but…where do you even see that? It doesn’t say that anywhere on here!”

“It’s the raviolis au fromage, Dashing. They just translate the names of the dishes to Prench to make them sound fancier.” Turning up her nose and looking around, she added, “I must say, though I am quite impressed with the way the place is decorated, so far the actual dining has not been extraordinary.”

At that moment Maxie returned, just in time to catch the end of Rarity’s critique. She gave yet another apologetic smile—by now she had done it so often that it seemed to be her signature expression—and said in that sickeningly sweet voice of hers, “Well, I hope that the yummy-ness of the food will be enough to change your mind.” She hovered the mares’ waters over. “Are you two ready to order quite yet?”

Rainbow Dash’s ear twitched and her nostrils flared ever so slightly. “Yeah, we’ll both be having the raviolis au fromage.”

“Wonderful! I’ll be right back with your meals.” With that she was gone again, her tail swishing behind her.

Once she had vanished Rainbow crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. “Ugh. Did she just say ‘yummy-ness’? Well, I’m over her.”

Rarity giggled quietly. For a few moments they sat in silence until she remembered her conversation with Twilight at the sleepover. A scowl flashed across her lips briefly. Staring into the water’s depths, she swirled around her cup and asked, “Just out of curiosity, darling, what’s your favorite color?”

“Is rainbow a color?” she said automatically. Then she blushed and looked away. “Er, sorry. I know it’s not, I just… Whatever.”

“My dear, if you say rainbow’s a color, then by all means I agree.”

“Oh. Okay. So, um, what’s yours?”

She burst out laughing. “Ha, ha! Asking me to pick my favorite color is like asking Pinkie Pie her favorite sweet! It really depends on the mood I’m in, the time of day, the color scheme of the place I’m in…right now I’d have to say red. One, because of the way this place is decorated and two, because it can represent love.”

“…Okay, now I have a ton of other questions.”

“Everypony seems to think we’re on a date. That’s all I meant by it, Dashing. You can pin your wings back now.”

Rainbow Dash hadn’t even realized they’d shot out. Turning gradually redder, she folded them and sank down in her seat. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s perfectly fine. Also just out of curiosity, what are your parents named?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Firefly and Spectrum Dash. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“Yeah, but you never show this much interest in my life.” It took her a moment to realize what she’d said. Then her eyes widened and she sat up straighter, shaking her head quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant that…well…maybe I did mean it like that, but I’m not trying to be rude, I just—well, we don’t really get along that well!”

Rarity placed her hoof gently on Rainbow’s lips to keep her from speaking any longer. “Don’t worry, Dashing, I understand. The truth is, I haven’t shown much interest in your life. That was wrong of me. Though we are as different as night and day, we are still friends, and to ignore you like that…I may as well have betrayed you. But no longer! I, Rarity Belle, hereby vow to get to know my dear Dashing as much as possible! Never again shall I neglect her so!”

Rainbow Dash brushed her hoof away and cocked one eyebrow. “Uh, Rarity? Isn’t that a bit…dramatic?”

“Dramatic is my middle name. No, honestly. I’m Rarity Dramatic Belle.” She perked up significantly. “Ooh! There’s a good place to start. What’s your middle name?”

“…Uh…”

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“…It’s Glittery…”

Rarity’s face went blank. Then, slowly, a snicker began to rise in her throat. Finally she gave in to the laughter. When it died down she giggled, “How unfitting of a name could your parents possibly give you? Rainbow Glittery Dash. Oh, my. I much prefer my nickname for you, Dashing.”

Dash pinned her ears back. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Funny thing is, my sister—she was also named Rainbow Dash, which made my childhood pretty complicated—her middle name was Daring. What’s funny about it is that she was the girliest pony I’ve ever met. Yeah, including you. So we had Rainbow Daring Dash the fashion diva and Rainbow Glittery Dash the daredevil athlete. We had some good times, her and I. Yeah, we had our differences, but deep down she was really a good pony.” A wistful look painted her face. “I miss her.”

“What happened to her?”

“We don’t know. Nopony knows. One day she was just…gone. We sent search parties out looking for her, but with nothing to give us any clue as to where she went, it was pretty much a guarantee we wouldn’t find her. Eventually we just accepted the fact that she had probably… That she was most likely…” She tore her gaze away, swallowing the growing lump in her throat. “Whatever. There’s no use crying over something you can’t change, right?” Even as she spoke her voice began to quiver like a leaf in the wind.

Rarity said nothing, instead reaching a comforting hoof out and placing it on Dash’s.

They sat like that, Rainbow Dash quietly keeping herself from crying, until the waitress decided to use that moment to interrupt them.

Maxie came trotting over, two full plates hovering in her magic glow. “Hello again, you two,” she greeted cheerfully. The plates lowered down to the table. As she caught sight of their hooves—Rarity’s resting soothingly on top of Rainbow Dash’s—she smirked and teased, “Yes, you’re obviously not lovers.”

Rainbow Dash snorted angrily. She pulled her hoof away as if an invisible force was pulling it. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just a dumb waitress, so shut your trap and leave us alone.”

Maxie’s eyes filled with hurt. Without saying another word she turned and trotted away.

Once she was gone Rainbow said, “I know you’re going to say that was rude of me, Rares, but I don’t want to hear it.”

“Actually,” Rarity corrected with a small smile, “I was going to tell you that I would have said that, too, were I less concerned with my reputation. She had no right to come barging into our conversation and tease us like that. However, I would have worded it in a less…rude manner.”

“Okay then, how would you have worded it?”

“I would have said something along the lines of, ‘I believe you are forgetting it is us who control your pay, so I suggest you turn that pretty tail of yours around and march back to the kitchen before we do something we shall regret.’”

Rainbow Dash grinned despite herself. “Y’know, Rares, you aren’t as bad as I thought.”

“Oh? And how bad did you think I was?”

“There’s no way I can answer that safely.” She bent to take a bite of her meal and frowned. There were only two small squares on her plate, dripping with sauce. How is this supposed to be enough? I’m an athlete! I eat like a pig! This—this couldn’t even feed a piglet. Her frown deepened as she looked up to see Rarity happily eating her own portion. She seems fine with it. But of course she does. She’s a unicorn, not a pegasus like me. Ugh, whatever. I’ll just have to get some more food to eat once I get home.

They ate in silence, each content with her own thoughts. It took Dash no time flat to finish her meal; within two mouthfuls it was gone.

Rarity, however, was another story. She insisted on taking tiny nibbles, infrequent so to let her swallow, and boy, did she take a long time to chew. Rainbow Dash felt herself watching, partially in awe and partially in frustration. It must’ve taken years of practice to eat that slowly, she thought to herself.

Finally, though, Rarity finished her lunch and patted her mouth daintily with a napkin. “Well,” she said, “I can honestly say that that was worth it. That was one of the best cheese raviolis I’ve ever had.”

“Really?” Dash scratched her ear and yawned. “I didn’t notice.”

“That’s because you gulped yours down without savoring it.” Rarity reached forward and rested her hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “One of the many lessons I’ve learned in life is that when something is special, you must savor it, or else its beauty and splendor will be lost in history.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Rares. It’s just cheese ravioli.”

“That’s what they all say.” A grim seriousness danced across her face as her frown deepened. Her eyes narrowed to dark slits and her lips slowly curled into a fierce snarl. However, she hardly kept that pose for a second before laughter exploded from her mouth.

A slight giggle escaped Dash’s lips, too. “You really had me going there, Rares. I thought you were serious!”

“Oh, Dashing, I may be dramatic, but I’m not that dramatic!”

“Of course you’re not.” Rainbow Dash smirked.

Just as Rarity opened her mouth to retort, a new waiter trotted over, ironically the black stallion that Rarity had noticed earlier. He was carrying a receipt in his magical glow, which he laid on the table before trotting away.

Rainbow Dash turned pale. “…Uh, Rarity?”

“Yes?”

“I…uh…I didn’t bring any…” She gestured to the receipt.

Rarity caught on fast. Nodding understandingly, she pulled out her wallet—covered in a ridiculous amount of gems—and counted the cash, placing it in a neat pile atop the receipt. “I’ll pay this time,” she assured her friend. “Next time, however, you may not be so lucky.”

Rainbow Dash slid out of the booth, her hooves sinking into the soft rug. “Next time?”

The unicorn joined her and they began to slowly make their way toward the front of the restaurant. “Of course. Twilight wanted us to get to know each other, and that entails us getting together on more than one occasion.”

Maxie, the waitress, was waiting by the door. When she saw them she whimpered, tucked her tail beneath her legs, and held the door open for them. Her eyes were fixed pointedly on the floor.

When they trotted past her, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and told her, “We are not a couple.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Maxie whispered.

Finally they were outside. Rainbow Dash gave a sigh of relief and leapt into the sky. The wind in her mane, the fresh air filling her lungs, the distinct lack of fancy ponies—it was heaven for her. Unable to contain her excitement, she did a quick series of spins and landed on the ground before her friend.

“Ugh,” she scoffed. Her hooves shifted impatiently on the soft grass. “That was cool and all, but I really don’t want to go back there. Our waitress was a nosy jerk, the food took forever to get to us, and when it did, there was barely anything there! Besides, it smelled like soap and candles in there.” She wrinkled her nose. “Blech.”

“Dashing, you do realize you were the one to suggest L'amour Est Dans L'air?”

“Whatever.”

Rarity smiled and glanced at the huge clock on Town Hall. Immediately her eyes grew wide. “Oh, my. I’m sorry, I wish I could stay and chat some more, but I’m terribly late for my weekly spa appointment with Fluttershy! We shall have to continue this some other time. How does Thursday sound to you?”

Thursday. That’s five days away. “Uh, sure. That’s cool.”

“Splendid! Goodbye, Dashing.” Without waiting for a response Rarity whirled around and broke into a graceful gallop.

“Wait—Rarity!” Rainbow Dash called, her wings flapping frantically. “I don’t even know where we’re supposed to…” But it was too late. Rarity was already too far gone, racing toward the spa as if her life depended on it. “…go.”

She pinned her ears back and scowled. “Horseapples.”