Life in Technicolor

Chapters

Life in Technicolor
Life in Technicolor II
Don't Panic
Lost!
Square One
The Escapist
A Rush of Blood to the Head

Life in Technicolor

No one calling her name, no pony asking her to do this, to do that, no voice buzzing in her ears, whatever.

It was a lazy day, and nothing would ruin it for her.

She swished her tail from side to side, as she took in her surroundings. The clouds drifted by without a care in the world, the wind hadn’t picked up all day, even the ponies moved around town without energy or even priority. And Rainbow Dash loved every second of it.

Lazy days meant kicking her hooves back, laying her head down, and, well, that was about it. Ironically enough, “nothing” was the only item on her hastily-planned and not well-thought out schedule. Sure, that’s what she intended to do every day when she got up in the morning, but on days like these, she could do it without some stupid conscience in the very back of her mind, which was usually staging some sort of protest, which, though insignificant, ended up in her up on her hooves and grumbling to herself. No, on days like these, she could do it because the rest of the world was doing it.

A small smile spread across her face, as she did exactly what she intended to do. She lay on her back, resting her forelegs behind her head. The pegasus sighed softly as she lay down. It had been too long since she had done this... she hadn’t had some time to herself for... what? Two days now? Two days too long... Her thoughts faded into nothing as she drifted off, sleep coming to her unexpectedly. Lazy days have that kind of effect on ponies.

Rainbow woke before her eyes opened. She grumbled to herself, feeling a mild pain throbbing in her neck. The realization made her pause, and she cracked her eyes open.

The world was upside down. Trees hung from the sky... which was actually the ground... but in the sky? Why was it above her, and not below her?

The haze of sleep faded from around her as she thought of what probably happened. Sitting up, she rubbed at the back of her neck, grimacing when she saw that the cloud she had been sleeping on had been reduced to a mere patch, not even big enough to support her whole body.

She tilted her head upwards, seeing that the sun had just begun its descent down to the horizon. That meant that she had been sleeping... -she tapped her head as the gears in her mind turned- for not long enough! Her half-lidded eyes snapped open. She was wasting precious napping time just thinking about it!

Earlier today, there was no shortage of clouds in the sky. Now, though, Rainbow only saw endless blue wherever she looked above her. Her tiny patch was apparently Ponyville’s only cloud supply for the rest of the day.

...Now that she thought about it, sleeping on the ground seemed pretty nice. With a whoosh, her wings opened, and after a few experimental flaps, she was in the air. Her flight only lasted for a second, though, as she found a tree with branches that stretched into the sky, but still big enough to support her.

For the second time that day, she flopped onto her back, resting her head against the trunk... and now matter how hard she shut her eyes, or shifted around, sleep would not come.

Rainbow Dash was not a patient pony. With a groan, she opened her eyes. With waking up, came the need to do something. She didn’t even want to know why, but her limbs yelled at her to move, her mind telling her to get off her back. Apparently, her conscience could still come through on a lazy day.

Grumbling to herself, she rolled off her back. She didn’t realize the lack of tree branch supporting her until the ground greeted her with a rude *thump*.

This is what I get for trying to do something... The pegasus swept her head around, taking in where she really was for the first time.

A lake spread out before her, the trees nearby hiding it away quite nicely. She took a few steps forward, feeling the rustle of grass under her hooves gradually shift to the light clacking of rocks. Almost instinctually, she took one in her hoof, weighing it with a few light bounces.

The water was a deep blue, a few ripples breaking the otherwise calm surface here and there. As Dash stood there, with a stone in her hoof, an idea sprung to her mind. It had definitely been a while since she had done this, but what time better than now to relearn her most useless skill?

Her wings flapped, and she found herself at a comfortable hover, only inches off the ground. Straightening up, she bent her hoof, so that the stone rested between the nook created by her hoof and the rest of her foreleg. Now that she looked at it, the stone was a dull grey, round yet flat. As she had learned herself, the perfect kind for stone-skipping.

Her eyes narrowed, and she cocked her foreleg back, before flinging her rock forward. The stone soared through the air, almost rushing to meet the water. If she remembered correctly, if she threw it the right way, it would skip across the water-

-Right before her eyes, the stone hit the water with a *plop!* and promptly sunk into the lake’s depths.

Apparently she hadn’t remembered right. Rainbow cursed under her breath as the stone met its unlucky fate, but a smirk replaced her grimace almost immediately. A single missed throw was no matter, and she was sure that her memory would be jogged in no time at all. If this was how she was going to spend the rest of her lazy day, then she definitely wasn’t complaining.

Her throwing leg wasn’t tired. Definitely not. The way it ached and throbbed just meant that it wanted more practice.

Yet throw after throw, the crease between her eyes deepened, and her eyes narrowed further. All the fish had surely taken refuge on the other side, none of them bold enough to approach the potentially dangerous show that the pegasus was putting on for them. But Rainbow wasn’t a pony who gave up! She was sure that this time, this time for sure, the darn stone would-

*Plop*

Never mind.

Rainbow already had another stone in her hoof, but after seeing the latest result, the impatience and repeated failures finally manifested themselves in the form of her throwing her hooves in the air, and a frustrated “Gah!” following soon after. This had the unintended side effect of her momentarily, yet completely, forgetting that she held a potential weapon in her grasp, only realizing that she was missing something a moment later.

A loud, tree-trunk-splintering crack sounded behind her, and, much to her surprise, a sharp “Ack!” was right behind it. Rainbow whipped her head around, seeing the last pony she expected to see, standing right in front of her.

Twilight stood behind her, her eyes wide and her horn glowing. Unsurprisingly to Rainbow, a piece of parchment, most likely a page of notes or something nerdy like that, floated above her. Twilight’s eyes weren’t on her at the moment, though, and as Rainbow followed her gaze, she saw what was probably more important.

Right next to the unicorn, a rock-sized hole had made its mark in a tree trunk, virtually right next to Twilight’s head. That had definitely not been there when Rainbow had showed up... and she noted that the stone in her hoof had strangely disappeared...

Oh. Whoops.

Twilight turned to face her friend. “Rainbow... what are you doing?” She raised an eyebrow, taking a step back at the same time.

“Uh...” was Dash’s immediate, intelligent reply. She swept her hooves behind her back, grinning. “Nothing!” Twilight’s raised eyebrow went up further. “Uh...Super awesome stuff that you’d have no idea about? You can definitely go and leave and... do whatever somewhere else, right?” As if realizing for the first time that she had nothing to hide behind her back, her grin faded slightly, and she scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish hoof.

Much to her dismay, Twilight turned back to the hole in the tree, and a moment later, the incriminating piece of evidence floated out. She turned back to Dash, a grin of her own on her face. “Rocks?” That was all she needed to say.

Well, shoot. “I was bored?”

Much to her relief, Twilight only giggled at her response. “Why didn’t you just say so? Though,” she added after a moment, “try to pass the time by not trying to put me in the hospital.” Surprisingly to Rainbow, she floated the rock back into her open hoof without much hesitation.

“Heh, yeah...” she bounced the rock in her hoof absently, “sorry about that.” She was about to turn back to the lake that was now behind her, before a thought entered her mind. “Hey... what are you doing out here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be reading in the library or something like that?”

Twilight only rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s friendly jab. “You know, I can get out of the library if I wanted to! I’m just here to do some field research on the local wildlife. If it’s not up to date with the edition that I have in the library,” she stole a glance at her notes for a moment, “then I’ll have to order the latest edition from Canterlot.” She smiled, as if that were perfectly normal for anypony to do.

Rainbow blinked. Did she just take all of that in without spacing out? She surprised even herself sometimes.

Meanwhile, Twilight looked out at the lake, then back to Rainbow, seemingly deep in thought before speaking up: “You’re not going to try to hit me with that rock again, are you?”

Dash had been staring out at the lake, the very beginnings of zoning out, but now she turned back to Twilight as the unicorn’s words registered. “What? Oh come on, you know I’d never try to hurt you, Twi!” They both looked to the new... mark in one of the trees, then back to each other. “On purpose,” she quickly added.

“If you say so... say, do you mind if I do my research here? As long as I can trust you with those things, that is.”

Dash rolled her eyes, not seeing Twilight’s growing grin at her reaction. “Oh, haha.” She rolled her eyes to accompany her sarcastic statement. “Go ahead, I mean I guess I could use some company.” She shrugged. “You could make yourself comfortable over there...” She trailed off as she saw Twilight already scribbling away on her piece of parchment, already off in “that” place. Rainbow sighed, muttering a “you’re welcome” before turning back to the lake and drawing her leg back, primed for another throw.

She reminded herself to keep her frustration down, just a bit. It proved to be harder and harder, as her unexpected break didn’t seem to be helping her throw one bit.

For a while, neither pony spoke to each other, each occupied in one way or another. As time went on, though, and with each failed throw, Rainbow felt a certain unicorn’s eyes on her. The pegasus paid no attention, not even looking in Twilight’s direction. She didn’t need anypony judging her, not even if it was the smartest pony she knew. She could skip stones just fine, with or without anyone watching or-

“Dash?”

“What?” She whirled on Twilight for the first time, her response coming out a little harsher than she had intended. To her credit, though, Twilight didn’t shrink back. She scrunched up her mouth, and if Dash didn’t know any better, she was trying to hold back a smile.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re trying to-”

“Skip stones?” She narrowed her eyes.

Twilight nodded, unable to stop her smile from taking its full form in a one-sided smirk.

“What? What’s so funny?” Dash crossed her hooves in front of her chest. “I can skip stones just fine, thank you very much.”

And to her surprise, and her indignation, Twilight’s smile turned into a fit of giggles, as she shook with suppressed laughter. The unicorn quickly covered her mouth with a hoof, and she looked up with half-sheepish, half-not-sorry-at-all eyes at the confused pegasus.

After what seemed like too long, Twilight finally calmed down. She opened her mouth to speak, though her smile remained. “Sorry, it’s just...” she shook her head, looking down briefly, “you don’t have to be so defensive about it! I don’t really mind if you can’t skip stones very well... or at all. It’s not something that’s all that important, you know.”

Dash stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, tightening her hooves over her chest. “I’m not defensive...”

“Uh-huh...” Twilight seemed to agree. “Do you need some help with that?” She gave a nod to the pile of stones that had come into shape at one point of another, as Dash dug her hoof right into it.

“Really?” Rainbow rolled her eyes, picking another stone at random, and cocking her leg behind her head. “I told you, I can skip stones just fine, and you don’t have to say anything about it!” To emphasize her point, she flung her stone forward right as she finished her sentence. Unsurprisingly, it managed a grand total of zero bounces before meeting its untimely demise at the bottom of the lake.

An eyeroll later, and Twilight was by her side. Dash’s groan of frustration was unheard to her as the unicorn hoof-picked the stone at the very top of the pile. “Well, at least you’ve got the right kind of stone...” she mused, more to herself. She then turned to her friend, who immediately voiced an “I don’t-” but Twilight cut her off right away with a hoof on the pegasus’ muzzle. While the surprised contact made Dash’s eyes widen, it had the intended effect of keeping her quiet for a moment.

“Now,” Twilight continued, “I’m guessing you’ve been here all day trying to do this.” She removed her hoof from Dash’s mouth, a smirk of her own starting to take shape on her features.

“No! Not the whole day...” Rainbow tried to protest, but seeing Twilight’s unbelieving glance, she sighed. “Just most of it.”

Seemingly satisfied, Twilight went on. “And I’m guessing you’re going to be here for the rest of the day, if that’s what it takes to get this right.” She didn’t even look up as Dash gave her a hesitant nod. “Well, you are going to be here all day with that form. And to be honest, I don’t really like seeing you fail and get frustrated for so long, when there’s something I can do about it.”

“So,” Twilight turned to face the lake, and seated herself on the edge of the water, bouncing the stone in one of her forelegs. “even though you don’t like asking anypony for help... on anything, I’m going to help you with this. You’ll thank me later.”

Dash stood there, dumbstruck. Twilight knew her too well. She couldn’t even think of an awesome comeback, or anything that would save her dignity at this point.

She must have been standing there a little too long, because Twilight put her free hoof up to her mouth and giggled. “Well?” She had to admit, Twilight did wear that smirk well. Not as well as the Dash, of course, but not too bad...

The pegasus rolled her eyes, blowing her mane out of her face with a “Pfft. I guess so...” She picked yet another stone, and strolled over to Twilight.

“Alright... You might want to sit down, since I’m not sure how I’d teach it to you if you were in the air like you have been.” It was almost amazing how quickly Twilight switched into lecture mode, and her playful tone from just moments before was nowhere to be found.

As Rainbow did as she was told, Twilight gave her an approving nod. “Okay, instead of bringing your hoof behind your head like you were doing, you’re better off bringing it out to the side, like this.” She brought her throwing leg to the side of her body. “That’s because throwing it like you were, with a downward motion, will cause your point of release to be too angled in relation to the water, and you won’t get any bounces in that way, because at the point of impact, the stone won’t be virtually parallel to the water, which is what you want. Not only that, but your trajectory-”

She glanced over at that moment, and caught Rainbow staring at her, confusion written across her face. Twilight’s face heated up for a moment, as she realized how her... colorful explanation must have come off to Rainbow. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, after you have that down, you’re going to throw.” She flung her stone forward, and right before Dash’s eyes, the stone hit the water... and bounced up again, repeating the motion at least three more times before finally sinking. “Though you want to start out with your leg at the side, you’re going to want to angle your throw down just a little bit, especially as you’re letting go. Not too much, because of what I mentioned earlier, but if you throw it perfectly parallel to the water, it’s going to lose a lot of speed by the time it actually gets there.”

She turned back to Dash. “And that’s about all I have on skipping stones. Did you get all of that?”

“Um...” Rainbow peered at her stone, almost intently, and scratching her head with her other hoof. “I think so? So... like this?” She brought her leg back a little bit more, before bringing it forward, making sure to angle her throw downward slightly. The rock sailed towards the water, but the result was virtually the same: it sank without so much as the slightest hop.

Dash buried her face in her hooves. “Ugh... what the hay... I thought that was right, too!”

Twilight brought her hoof over her mouth to suppress her smile, and her subsequent laughter. “Don’t be so discouraged, Dash! Your form seemed about right. Just keep up with it, and I guarantee you’ll be as good as me in no time.”

“If it was right, then why did it end up like that again?” The pegasus retorted from behind her hooves.

The unicorn rolled her eyes, but with a smile on her face. “If you really want to get it right, then here.” She stood on all fours, levitating another stone over to Dash. As the pegasus reluctantly took the stone in her hoof, she found out she didn’t have to wait long to see what Twilight was planning for her this time.

As the light clack of displaced stones registered somewhere in the back of her mind, the touch of one hoof draping around her shoulder, and another hoof coming level to her throwing leg definitely registered somewhere in the forefront of her mind.

“Twilight... what are you doing?” She felt the strange need to trip over her words. She hadn’t asked Twilight to get this close to her!

“What?” Twilight’s voice came from right behind her. “I’m teaching you how to throw, of course. You’ll get it a lot faster if I can guide your motions and direct your form,” she said nonchalantly.

“Oh. Right. Of course.” Dash seemed to be perfecting her one-word responses today.

“Don’t mention it.” Twilight deadpanned. “Now, your grip seems to be good, and so does your starting position...” she murmured. “Okay, you’re going to want to throw like...” she gripped Dash’s leg with her own, bringing it back slightly, then guiding it forward, “this. Don’t angle the stone when you’re throwing it, just your leg. Follow through when you let go, and...”

And off she went into lecture-land. Dash rolled her eyes, but found she couldn’t focus. She was pretty sure she caught most of the important stuff, anyway. In the back of her mind, she was aware of the light breeze of breath across her neck, rustling her coat and mane, and generally getting in the way of her paying attention-

-“So you got all of that?” Luckily, those words decided to stick themselves out, so that Dash could snap herself out of whatever she had been in.

“Of course, Twilight. Why wouldn’t I?” Dash rolled her eyes at Twilight. Sheesh.

“Okay, okay, I was just making sure!” The unicorn backed off chuckling, and she moved off of Dash, as if she was never there. “If you do really have it down, though, go ahead and try it without me helping you.”

Rainbow nodded, and scrunched her eyes up in concentration. Snatching up another stone, she brought it back, just as Twilight taught her. Mentally going over the steps in her head, she flung it forward after a moment. A grin spread across her face as the stone broke the surface, and bounced farther across the water, skipping twice before sinking.

“Yes!” She leapt up into the air, hooves spread wide. “Told you I could do it!”

“You’re welcome.” Twilight shot back, smiling. She plucked a rock from the pile, her grin from earlier again present. “Shall we?”

They skipped in silence for a while, because really, what needed to be said? Dash was “in the zone,” after all, and talking would only mess everything up. Sure, every so often, she wouldn’t get any skips, or hops, or bounces, but they seemed to get less and less important, and, for that matter, less and less frequent as time went on. But still, a certain something tugged at the back of her mind with every throw.

It definitely wasn’t a contest. Both mares had their own pace, and Twilight didn’t even throw her stones at the same time. Yet on some occasions, Dash couldn’t even count how many times one of Twilight’s throws skipped across the surface of the lake. She could definitely count her own: none had skipped more than three times. With each successive throw, her eyes narrowed a little bit more, and her tongue poked out of her mouth a little bit farther, but she still couldn’t even come close.

Hey, at least I’m actually skipping them now... she reminded herself, glancing at the unicorn beside her, right as Twilight was in the motion of throwing another one. Only then did something strike her as odd.

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Hm?” She didn’t even seem surprised by Dash’s sudden speaking up.

“Why aren’t you using your magic or something? Wouldn’t that be, I dunno, ‘easier?’” She gestured with her hooves to finish her sentence.

Twilight shrugged, but didn’t turn her gaze from overlooking the lake. “I don’t know, actually. It’s probably because I always liked to do this after one of Princess Celestia’s particularly difficult magic lessons.” She paused, letting another one fly. Dash swore that she counted ten skips before losing sight of it. “My magic was always so used up by the end of the day, and I guess it interested me because always saw the older ponies doing it when I went with my family to the park.”

She picked up another stone, a small smile now on her face. “I always practiced in the gardens after my class was over. Since my magic was pretty much gone, I just learned like any other pony would. And I never bothered to learn it any other way.”

Wait. Was she cradling her stone? “Twilight-”

“But one time, Princess Celestia found me in the garden, throwing stones like nothing else. I was afraid she would be mad at me, since all of those stones must have scared the poor fish living there...” She began to drag a hoof absently, and Dash knew there was no saving her, until Twilight herself decided to snap out of it. “Of course, I had to do a report on the physics of skipping stones afterward. It wasn’t my finest work, but now I know everything there is to know about the subject.”

Like she was coming out of a trance, she turned to Dash. “What? Is something wrong?”

Dash shook her head slowly, but her half-smile and unsurprised eyes said otherwise.

Confused, Twilight looked back over the lake, eyes widening when she saw the sun nestled between two hills that lay across the water. “Ah! I should’ve been home hours ago! Spike’s probably so worried about me...” She swept her notes up in a magical glow, and turned to leave.“ItwasniceseeingyoutodayDashbye!” she threw over her shoulder as she half-trotted, half-ran to the edge of the shore, where she would soon disappear among the trees.

“Hey.” The word made the unicorn stop cold and turn back around. They faced each other at the same time, Dash wearing her signature smirk again. “Thanks. For today, I mean. It was... I had a good time. We should hang out like this more often.” She rubbed the back of her neck. To her, normal, boring old, “regular” conversation seemed just a bit uncool, and it showed.

To her relief, Twilight only giggled. “No problem. And I had fun too, even if it was just ‘hanging out.’ Well,” she looked around briefly, “I guess I’ll see you later, then.” She turned around, and just like that, she was gone.

Dash’s gaze lingered on the spot where Twilight had last been. She automatically shook her head, turning back to her pile. Which, to her surprise, wasn’t really a pile anymore. A single stone lay there, and Rainbow wouldn’t have even known it had been part of her collection earlier, if she hadn’t been returning to it all day.

She picked the last one up, turning it over in her hooves for a moment, before priming it to throw.

Just this last one, and she would go home. Because Twilight was right: she would be here all night if she didn’t try to stop herself. After all, there were still so many stones, just waiting to be skipped.

Life in Technicolor II

“Aw, hay...”

Her murmurs of protest trailed off into incomprehensible, yet certainly grumpy mumbling. She had, of course, aligned her bedroom window with the sunrise every morning, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. She would, however, take the sun in her eyes over a blaring alarm any day. The lesser of two evils, she supposed.

The pegasus lay sprawled out over her cloud mattress. How long she did so wasn’t really important to her as yesterday’s events washed over her, physically manifesting themselves in the form of a smile and a sigh.

She nestled her head into the pillow, uncharacteristically lost. She couldn’t exactly be considered lost “in thought,” as she didn’t let her memories overtake her stream of consciousness. Rather, she let them just sit there so she could have something to lean back on, if today wouldn’t turn out as awesome.

She probably would have been there all morning, until her body screamed at her to move or at least eat, if she hadn’t suddenly realized why she allowed the sun to get into her eyes each morning. This time, though, instead of rolling (known to most other ponies as “falling”) out of bed, she leapt off of her cloud-mattress, for once starting the day fully awake.

A spring aided her step all through her morning routine, and on her way out the door. She just had to survive work, and maybe today would be as awesome as the last.

She’d been wrong. So very, very wrong. It wasn’t even funny how wrong she had been...

Rainbow didn’t even want to think about the day she’d had. Too many impatient ponies, favors to be asked for, weather that really needed to be handled but somehow wasn’t, at least two ponies at once yelling at her to do this or that-

That was enough. Rainbow sighed, brushing her mane out of her face. She didn’t even rush, or rather, dash over to the lake today, instead flapping her wings lazily. The quiet town below didn’t fly by her field of vision as it would have on a more energetic day; rather, it drifted past slowly, the lake in her vision inching closer.

As Rainbow touched down on the rocks, she swept her gaze around, but no egghead unicorn showed herself. Not wanting to be discouraged, telling herself that Twilight would be here soon enough, she picked a stone out of the many that she stood on. She had gotten as far as getting it ready to throw before the realization finally hit, figuratively bowling her over and knocking her flat on her back.

She hadn’t even asked Twilight to hang out today!

Burying her face in her hooves wouldn’t be enough. Rainbow instead opted to flop onto her stomach, and promptly shoved her face into the (rather uncomfortable) sea of rocks below her, the subsequent groan coming out muffled as a result. At least today wasn’t completely ruined... yet. As long as Twilight actually wanted to hang out with her. And why wouldn’t she?

Nevertheless, the spring in her step from earlier that morning didn’t lead her to the library.

Rainbow found herself pausing at the door of the library, putting a hoof to her forehead and taking in a deep breath. So what if she says no? You still have everypony else to hang out with... She stopped her own train of thought with a frustrated groan. Since when was she supposed to be unsure about anything? With that in mind, she rapped on the door a few times, not letting herself fidget as she waited for a response.

After too long, she heard the knob turn, and the door swung open. Twilight stood before her, and a smile quickly appeared on her face as she recognized her friend. “Hi Rainbow, what brings you here?”

“Hey, Twilight...” Dash glanced back and forth nervously, not sure what to say. “So, I was wondering... if you wanted to hang out today?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, and the mere action caused the pegasus to smile nervously. That hadn’t sounded weird, had it? “Uh, I mean, yesterday was cool and all, and I don’t have anything to do, so...” She rubbed the back of her neck, well aware of the slight heat rising in her face. In the back of her mind, a voice screamed at her, something along of the lines of how uncool she probably sounded.

She refocused her attention as she saw Twilight’s smile, her own unconsciously widening in the slightest. “Sorry, it’s just that you’ve never asked me to just ‘hang out’ before, so coming from you, it is kind of... out of the ordinary.”

“...Oh.” Phew. Dash mentally wiped her forehead. “So... does that mean you want to?” Say yes, say yes...

Her face fell as Twilight looked away, scuffing at the wooden floorboards of the library with one of her hooves. “I can’t right now, actually...” She risked a glance at her friend, then quickly turned to gaze back into the library. “I’ve just started reading this book that Princess Celestia recently assigned to me. Really, I’d go if I could...” Grimacing, she looked back to the now-downcast pegasus, who let out a sigh.

“It’s okay, I mean, I know how important that kind of thing is to you. I’ll see you later, then...” She turned to leave, disappointment clouding her mind.

Twilight watched her turn around, her wings starting to droop slightly, and her head sinking lower than where she usually held it. A pang of guilt struck her, as it suddenly hit her that Rainbow had come to her, rather than anypony else, and she had been expecting her to come through for her. And she had just let her down.

The unicorn snatched her nearby schedule, skimming over it for the millionth time that day. She didn’t need to. As she glanced back at the retreating pegasus, resolve hardened in her eyes. Right now, her book could wait.

Dash hadn’t even managed to get ten feet away from the library before she heard an almost frantic “Wait!” from behind her, followed by the rapid beating of hooves on the ground. Before she knew it, Twilight was walking next to her. “So, are we going to the lake again?” She dared a smile, acting as if she had said yes in the first place.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, not wanting to let her hopes up just yet. “But, what about-”

Twilight was on that sentence right away, cutting Rainbow off with a simple hoof wave. “I... think my schedule can handle some adjustments.” She flashed a smile, and relief flooded through Dash, who jerked her head up instantly. An incredulous “Really?” escaped her mouth before she could even try to play it off.

“Of course! I couldn’t, as you’d say, ‘leave you hanging.’” Twilight said. She probably would have gestured with her hooves if they weren’t already occupied with walking.

Rainbow glanced at her friend. She shouldn’t have been surprised, yet here she was. “Wow, Twi...you didn’t have to do that... but if you really want to, then, uh, thanks.” She attempted a smile which turned out to be more sheepish than she had wanted as she rubbed her neck with a hoof.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while. At least, comfortable for one of the two. Too often, she caught herself looking, just looking, at the unicorn that walked beside her. And every time she did, she brushed it off, because it was just Twilight being there for her, as friends were supposed to.

Before she knew it, they stood on the shore, the lake stretching out before them as it had yesterday. Rainbow dug up a stone without hesitation, eager to get back into yesterday’s rhythm, but just as she was poised to throw, Twilight caused her to stop in her tracks.

“Hey, Rainbow...” The pegasus glanced to her side, and raised an eyebrow when she saw her friend staring out into the distance, apparently not as ready to start skipping. When Dash turned, though, Twilight did as well, and their eyes locked. She swore that Twilight was almost looking through her, and was about to respond when Twilight finished. “So... what’s wrong?” Seeing Dash’s eyes narrow immediately, she hastily added, “I mean, I don’t want to pry if you don’t want to talk about it, but I... There’s something bothering you, it seems.” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to drive Dash into uncomfortable, unresponsive silence.

After a few moments of just that, Rainbow let a sigh past her lips, and turned , away to face the lake. Twilight took a cautious step back as Dash suddenly hurled her stone, probably with too much force, as it didn’t bounce of the surface of the water as so many of hers had done yesterday. When the pegasus finally spoke, though, it was without defensiveness or hostility. “I dunno, I just... Rough day for me, you know?” She scuffed her hoof on the rocks, glancing over at Twilight for a second. “I guess... it just seemed like nothing was going right today, and with yesterday and all, it just seemed like hangin’ out with you would be the only thing good about this day...” Her gaze burned into the ground, now aware of a similar burning across her face. Could that have sounded any less cool?

Unbeknownst to Dash, Twilight found herself looking away too, surprised to find a slight heat of her own on her face. “Wow... I’m sorry to hear that, Dash. Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have turned you down that first time!” With another wave of guilt coming over her, she hastily flung her forelegs around the pegasus’ neck, eliciting a yelp of surprise from her. The pair almost tipped over, but Dash regained both her balance and her senses, and fully took in the fact that Twilight was leaning on her, her face buried into her neck and her forelegs draped around her. The fact that Twilight was babbling on about how inconsiderate she was and how she didn’t have her priorities in order only registered moments later.

The haze of her bad day disappeared, and now grinning, she eased the still-babbling Twilight off of her with a firm yet gentle hoof. “Woah there, Twilight. I did say thanks and all, and I really do appreciate this. Anyway, I think a nice ‘you’re welcome’ would be fine.” She gave the flustered unicorn a reassuring smile.

“Oh. Right... hehe...” Twilight smiled back, her cheeks glowing red as she realized what she had done.

Dash rolled her eyes, but her smile never left her face. How did everything seem so... bright now? Wasn’t it just moments ago that it was all just the opposite? Pushing any thoughts of getting that checked out from her head, she picked out a random stone. “So... are we going to get what we came here for?”

Just like before, the clatter of rocks and the light splashes of water prevailed between the two mares. Dash wouldn’t have it any other way.

Weren’t there supposed to be clouds today? She had taken part in arranging it herself, after all... So why wasn’t everything so grey? In fact, everything seemed so much brighter by comparison. No menacing clouds cast a shadow in looming over her, no nagging thoughts at the back of her mind, even the world around her seemed like it had a smile of its own, in a way she couldn’t describe. The smile on her face had fallen back to a comfortable smirk, but it never left her face as she skipped stone after stone.

It was just so simple. Anypony could walk by and see the two mares, thinking they were skipping stones out of boredom. But whenever Dash glanced to her right, to see the mare who always seemed to be lost in concentration, her smile unconsciously widened just a little bit. No, it wasn’t boredom. Though she would lose focus and space out around Twilight, only because of her unexpected tangents and lectures, Twilight’s company was never boring. Right now, it was all she needed, and she couldn’t have been happier.

Rainbow didn’t even realize where she was skipping, or how well she was skipping, until it was too late. When she actually decided to pay attention to where she was throwing, it was just in time to see herself throw what would certainly end up as a complete failure, straight into the water with a hefty splash!

“What?” She didn’t even need to look over to know that Twilight was staring at her, and a quick shift of her eyes only proved her suspicions.

“Um...” Dash sighed, giving Twilight her full attention, whose eyes narrowed further. To her credit, though, Twilight didn’t seem to wither in the slightest under the piercing glare. “You’re okay, right? I mean... you just seemed... out of it.”

“Yeah? Like how?”

Maybe Twilight thought that she was doing a good job of hiding her smile. “Well... you were staring off into the distance, and... you kind of had this-” Dash’s jaw almost fell to the ground as Twilight pulled a face that she definitely hadn’t been making. Her tongue stuck out of her mouth at an awkward angle, and she unfocused her eyes to wander freely around for a second. “Yeah, that kind of face.”

“I did not!” The words were out of her mouth as soon as Twilight finished her claim. “So uncool! I mean, why would I make a face like this-” she performed her best imitation, “especially since I know what I was doing.”

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof, but that didn’t stop her shaking with suppressed laughter. “Yes, you did! My eyes don’t often deceive me, you know, and I don’t think I’d miss something like that.” For emphasis, she attempted it again.

“Did not! I know what I looked like, I’m pretty sure. And it wasn’t like that.” She tried it again, and a short, cut-off giggle suddenly came from the unicorn. She locked eyes with Twilight, already in the middle of pulling another one, and only then did she become aware of the growing smile on her own face.

Out of nowhere, it fell on them, fully, what they were doing, what they were arguing about, and they both broke out into uncontrolled, uproarious laughter at how silly they probably looked, making faces at each other like that. Rainbow flopped onto her back, holding her sides as she laughed, everything that had been weighing down on her dissipating into thin air with every giggle, snort, and chuckle that she let by.

Finally, after what wasn’t long enough, their laughter faded into the occasional giggle, though their smiles remained equally wide. They shared a glance for a second, but Twilight was the first to sit up as she wiped her eyes with a hoof.

“You still made that face.” Any other time, with any other pony, and Dash would have wasted no time in defending herself. No sudden rush of indignation came over her this time though, and neither the playful poke nor the lack of reaction bothered her. She only responded with an eye roll, the smile never leaving her face as she sat up herself.

The two mares glanced out over the lake, and Dash almost groaned in disappointment when she saw the sun sinking below the two hills across from them. When she looked over, though, expecting the inevitable, Twilight only picked up one of the stones. “I... think that I have a little bit more time.” She shrugged, trying to play it off.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Inwardly, though, she almost jumped for joy.

Only when neither of them could see where their stones were landing, only having the splashes on the surface of the water to guide them, did Twilight finally speak up. “So... Tomorrow? Again?”

Rainbow’s ears perked up. Did she just say that? She wasn’t the one who had to ask? “Well... why not?” She looked over, though she immediately found that the unicorn’s outline was the only clear detail, ironically enough, that she could make out.

“I thought so.” She could hear the smile in Twilight’s voice, even as she got up, the stones clattering under her hooves. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Only after the hoofsteps faded away did Dash turn around, her mouth already open to speak. “Yeah... see ya.” She sighed as her words disappeared into the air, never to be heard by anypony but herself. Shaking it off, she flared her wings, and even as she prepared to take off for home, she was already looking forward to coming back here.

Author's Note

Thanks to Desol for showing me exactly how beneficial it is to have a pre-reader, and that when it comes to fanfic writing, first draft =/= final draft.

Why did it take me 17 days to put out 3,000 words, you ask? Well... I don't outline/plan in any way my stories, and I do a stream-of-consciousness of sort as my preferred writing method. I think it could be worse, but as you can see, I don't always have the best ideas every time I sit down to write.

Anyway, I sort of have a vague idea for chapter 3, and hopefully that won't take as long, and will result in more words. ^_^

Don't Panic

She was staring out across the lake, stone in hoof. Something in her should have registered that the stone was for throwing, not for holding. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to, even if she tried, her foreleg stuck fast to her side, unable to bring itself up.

She groaned suddenly, throwing a defeated yet exasperated hoof in the air. How long had she been sitting here? She’d been skipping stones for so long, but now she didn’t even know where to start? Hadn’t she been taught by Twilight, and hadn’t she perfected.... well, not exactly perfected, but gotten it down, just like that?

Twilight... The name drifted aimlessly through her mind, somehow compelling her to look around. To her surprise, Twilight sat to her right, her tail flicking side to side. No stone rested in her hoof, and her eyes wandered this way and that. She must have heard Rainbow turn around... was that possible? Dash didn’t have time to think about it, though, as a warm smile immediately replaced Twilight’s absent expression, with a light giggle following. “Need help, Dash? Didn’t I teach you this already?” she teased.

Rainbow found herself shrinking back, her brows creasing in a frown. “Of course not! You know I can do this perfectly fine by myself!”

Twilight only tilted her head, and the two mares just sat there, each waiting for something to happen. Twilight’s smile only grew as Dash felt her face redden.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and, standing up, she took a few steps over, the smile never leaving her face. “Yes, you do. I don’t know if you’re being silly on purpose, but...” She didn’t finish her sentence as, just like the first time, she wrapped one hoof around Dash’s neck, her breath breezing across her rainbow mane. The pegasus opened her mouth to warn her friend, but it was lost to surprise as Twilight effortlessly lifted her stone-wielding foreleg, bringing it out to the starting position.

“You do remember this, right?”

“Uh...” She certainly remembered the way Twilight had held her that first time.

An exasperated sigh sounded from behind her, and she glanced behind, already preparing an indignant response, but seeing Twilight’s half-smile, any defensiveness immediately left her.

“Of course you do! Then why are you just sitting there, Dashie?”

“Well, I, um-” The sudden need to stutter vanished when the use of her nickname registered. When was the last time Twilight called her that? “What?” was all she could manage.

“Dashie?!”

“What?!”

“Dashie!”

“Gah!” She bolted upright, too much and too fast, and only as she felt herself falling to the floor did she realize that she had been sitting down, on a stool, which conveniently lacked a backrest. She inevitably crashed to the floor with a *THUMP*, her hooves flailing uselessly.

With a groan that was backed by more frustration than pain, she creaked one eye open. A familiar pink pony stood over her, her eyes curious, worried, and much too close. “There you are! Are you okay?”

Rainbow craned her neck slightly, if only to get away from her eager, yet pressing friend. “What do you mean, ‘there I am?’ Haven’t I been here this whole time?” she asked, as she started to realize that her daydream had been just that: a daydream.

“Yeah, you’ve been here, but you haven’t been here.” Rainbow’s subtle retreat flew right over her head, and she narrowed her eyes. Scooting even closer, she pointed a hoof at Rainbow’s forehead.

“Wha-” Pinkie’s flagrant disregard for personal space caused Rainbow to grimace and back up an inch further. Her head bumped up against the wall, though, and with a groan, she pushed Pinkie off of her and sat up, dusting herself off. Blowing the air out of her cheeks, she continued. “Yeah, so what?”

“So what? Well...” in a flash, she was sitting at what was previously Rainbow’s stool, seemingly determined to make a point. “You were sitting all like this” -she immediately slumped over, one hoof propped upright being the only effort to keep her head off the table, so that her cheek rested against her foreleg- “and your face was all like this” -at that, her expression immediately softened, a lazy, maybe even dreamy smile slowly making its way across her features. Rainbow almost had to cringe, heat building in her face. That would definitely help her maintain her cool, composed reputation... “-and you were sitting like that for at least ten minutes! Aaaand,” she reached for a nearby cupcake that lay on its side, some of the frosting already smeared onto the table, “you knocked your cupcake over and you didn’t even notice! And that,” she sat up again and grinned, the corners of her smile almost stretching past her face, “is when I knew I had to do something.” Dash took a step back as Pinkie zipped in front of her, puffing her chest out and throwing a hoof in the air. “Captain Pinkie! Saviour of sweets! Protector of pastries! Master of-”

Any more clever, baked-good-related alliterations were muffled by Rainbow’s hoof shoved into her mouth. Dash rolled her eyes as Pinkie continued to mumble past the sudden intrusion. After a few moments, Rainbow took a sideways glance at the pink pony. She raised an eyebrow. “You done?”

Pinkie nodded, and after a moment’s contemplation, Rainbow withdrew, muttering a reluctant and rather late “thanks, I guess” as she inspected her hoof.

Pinkie bounced in place, as if nothing had happened. “No problemo!” Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow, putting a hoof to her chin, though her bouncing kept going of its own accord. “Say... aren’t you supposed to be somewhere by now?”

Dash looked up, cocking a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? I’m not supposed to be anywhere until noon.” For reassurance, she casually glanced at the clock. “See, it’s not even...” Her glance, though, turned from uncaring to caring in an instant. Her eyes slowly widened as she realized that the minute hand was leisurely making its way past the quarter-hour mark, the hour hand already past the “12” at the top.

In another instant, a rainbow trail was the only indicator left that she had ever been there, and her voice was already halfway out the door, saying: “OhmigoshI’mlateforlunchgottago!”

Pinkie stared at the swinging door, her head tilted. “I’m supposed to go, too, you know...” She shrugged after a moment, and resuming her smile, she bounced after Rainbow.

The spoon clinked against the glass as it swirled this way and that. It was promptly surrounded in a magical glow, and lifted off the table. On the way to its destination, though, it stopped halfway.

Rarity paused as she glanced to her right at her fellow unicorn. Sighing, she looked around for a moment before turning back to Twilight. It had been at least ten minutes since they got here, and no word, not even a sound, had come from her.

And Rainbow Dash was late too, but that wasn’t really anything special. Twilight, though... She had her eyes closed, yet not screwed shut, only relaxed in a way. Her hooves supported her head, though “supported” would be stretching it, as Rarity was sure that her hooves had been slipping, inching herself forward every second, and still no reaction came from her.

And that silly, carefree smile. She wasn’t used to seeing Twilight like this, as usually, she attributed this kind of expression to Pinkie Pie.

She decided that fifteen minutes was long enough. “Twilight?” She raised an eyebrow. No response.

“Twilight?” Still, nothing.

She sighed, and contemplated her still-full glass of tea for a moment. Glancing at Twilight again, and deciding that it wouldn’t be too bad, she tilted the glass towards the unicorn and flicked it, catching the cup in her magic where it would have gone flying. The tea, though, had the intended effect of splashing Twilight in the face. Rarity’s mouth pulled into a grimace as some drops splashed near her, and at the inevitable reaction.

Sure enough, Twilight recoiled immediately, and with a “Waugh!” she shot up, her hooves scrabbling on the table. Somehow finding purchase, but her eyes still wide, she managed to splutter out, “What’sgoingon!” Her eyes darted around frantically, though Rarity wasn’t sure what she was looking for. “Who splashed me?”

Her gaze rested on Rarity, who was now concentrated on her mostly-emptied glass, absently stirring the tea left inside. “Did you see who splashed me, Rarity?”

The white unicorn looked up, but didn’t move otherwise. “Sorry about that, dear, but you have been in that same position, with that same expression, ever since we got here! It’s not everyday that I see you daydream, which I’m sure is what you were doing. And if I see you doing that, then, well...” She smiled as she trailed off, returning her gaze to her cup of tea.

“I.... what?! It was you?!” Twilight spluttered, eyes wide and disbelieving.

Rarity only nodded. She regretted nothing.

“I... but... huh?” Twilight was more shocked than angry, and still staring at her friend, she reached over with a hoof, grasping a napkin. She slowly brought it across her face and mane, though her eyes never left Rarity. Realizing she wouldn’t get any further explanation, she slumped back in her chair and sighed. The sudden tea attack had its intended effect, though: she sat up just a little straighter in her chair, and her eyes went to Rarity’s cup of tea every so often.

“Hey!” The sudden, unexpected voice broke her focus. She looked up, a smile immediately crossing her face at the sight of Rainbow and Pinkie, trotting up to their table.

“Hi, girls!” She greeted back, running a hoof through her mane. She couldn’t get all the tea out that way, but it only now struck her as important. “You’re late,” she teased, nudging Rainbow as she took a seat next to her.

The pegasus brushed the comment off with a wave of her hoof. “Ah, whatever. You didn’t seem like you’re in a rush. At least we’re not as late as AJ and ‘Shy.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t even count! They couldn’t make it, so you can’t hide the fact that you showed up last... like last time. And most other times.”

“What?!” Dash almost leapt out of her seat, choosing at the last second to plant her hooves on the table, leaning in closer to Twilight. “I’m not late to lunch all the time! The last time I was late was... at least three months ago! The...” she started tapping her hoof on the table, looking up for a moment “-last Tuesday of that month! Yeah!”

“Uh-huh.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, grinning and causing Dash to smirk herself. “I’m sure you actually keep track of these things...” Her horn glowed, and a well-worn parchment materialized, which the unicorn immediately turned to. “Let’s see, my agenda for three months ago says...” as she trailed off, eyes scanning the paper to determine the validity of her friend’s claim, Dash’s jaw fell and her eyes narrowed.

“Ugh! You’re such an egghead! I know I’m right and you should too!” She threw an accusing hoof at Twilight.

“Oh, come on, Dash. Resorting to insults already, are we?” Her eyes gleamed, her smile twisting into something slightly darker.

“‘Already?!’ Why, I oughta-”

Rarity sighed, burying her face in her hooves. After a sufficient amount of time facehoofing, she turned to the one other pony at the table that wasn’t caught up in a petty argument. “Pinkie, are we the only sane mares at this table?”

She got no response, because Pinkie was munching on a bag of popcorn, which she definitely didn’t have moments ago, and completely absorbed in Rainbow and Twilight’s... debate. As if just hearing her, Pinkie turned to face Rarity mid-chew. “Huh?” she asked with a mouthful of popcorn.

Rarity groaned, returning her face to her hooves. “Correction, then: Am I the only sane mare at this table?” At this point, though, the question was pretty much rhetorical.

Luckily for Rarity, and for the rest of the restaurant’s patrons, the argument cooled down with the appearance of some much-needed lunch. Conversations in general took a backseat to the more pressing matter of eating, although snippets of the girls’ daily lives did pop up in between mouthfuls of food.

Rainbow Dash, however, opted to give her attention to her sandwich. She gave the plate it had come on a few spins, yet her stomach didn’t give off a single grumble. After another moment, she shrugged and took a bite anyway, but frowned mid-chew when it didn’t renew her appetite. Putting down the sandwich again, she slid the plate a few inches away from her. Must have been the cupcake she had eaten before taking her unplanned nap.

From the seat next to her, Twilight had paused to watch Rainbow’s curious lack of enthusiasm towards her food. Her eyebrow rose after seeing Dash finally give up and push her sandwich away, but remained silent. With her eyes locked on her friend and her mouth half-open in response to the sandwich that still hovered in Twilight’s magical grasp, most anypony would have been able to glance over and guess that the bookworm was trying to analyze the pegasus that sat next to her. Naturally, when Rainbow’s half-lidded eyes casually turned their gaze in her direction, it was without a single trace of this awareness in them.

Finally, Twilight took a bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. Most ponies had their bad days, their lazy days, their apathetic days. Rainbow had those days more than most ponies; specifically, her lazy days in proportion to her good days were off the charts.

Despite the high chances of today being yet another one of her lazy days, Twilight had to consider the only other possibility. If there really was something weighing on Rainbow’s mind, the chances of getting her to actually admit it were close to zero… and even that was only if they were alone. Getting Rainbow to speak her mind in a group? She’d see at as an admission of weakness.

Twilight smiled to herself and shook her head. What an absurd thought.

“Yo, Twilight.”

They turned to face each other, as the only two left at the table. Rarity and Pinkie had already left a few minutes ago, each citing some work-related commitment as the reason for their quickly-emptied bowls and hastily uttered see-you-laters. Twilight had, for some reason, taken her sweet time polishing off her sandwich, although Rainbow didn’t give it any thought.

“Are you free after lunch? I was thinking we could go to the lake again today.” The hesitation in her voice was much more apparent than she would have liked. Twilight had been unusually free as of late, so it was only a matter of time before some sort of commitment came up and clashed with Dash’s plans…

“...sorry, Rainbow, I promised Spike that today I’d help him clean the library.” Twilight looked down guilty, yet Rainbow could spot faint traces of a smile trying to form on her lips. “I kind of feel bad for constantly leaving my books all over the place, and then put all the grunt work on him to put it back. I mean,” she cast her eyes to the side in pseudo-thoughtfulness, “he is my assistant and I have to make him do something, but still…”

Rainbow snickered at her friend’s unnecessary guilt, which successfully hid her own slight disappointment. “So you’ve been leaving your messes for him this whole time, but you never felt bad about it?”

Twilight grimaced, her cheeks suddenly tinged with red. “No, that’s not it! Well, I mean, I didn’t feel bad at first, but…” Rainbow’s growing grin was the essence of victory, and Twilight narrowed her eyes at the sudden indignation that rose in her. “...but I started feeling bad pretty quickly, and I think now the least I can do is ease his load a little bit, you know!” She sighed and closed her eyes, sinking down in her chair. After a moment, she opened one eye and her mouth again. “Is that alright? I’ve had this on my schedule for a while, and I’m betting that he’ll be pleasantly surprised by it.”

Rainbow quickly waved a hoof, dismissing Twilight’s words with the motion. “Nah, it’s cool. You can’t always take time out of your schedule to spend time with me, right?” She leaned closer, her bent foreleg nudging Twilight’s side. “Even though anypony would totally leap at the opportunity.” She punctuated her remark with a playful wink.

Twilight responded with an unamused stare. She had long since gotten used to Rainbow’s jabs, and this stare was a proven effective counter. Just as she predicted, Rainbow’s cocky grin disappeared, and she withered under Twilight’s piercing eyes, whipping her head in the other direction and lamenting over the uselessness of her “irresistible charm.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to grin. “Really, though, I’ll let you know as soon as possible the next time I’m free.”

Rainbow returned those words with a smile, but she was already getting off of her chair and turning to leave. “Cool. I’ll see you later, then.” Not waiting for a response, she set off for the lake, this time alone.

Twilight watched her leave, her mouth still open. The words lingered on her lips.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash.”

She turned around. “Yeah?”

“Is there something wrong?”

She was already gone.

When Twilight had guessed that Rainbow was having one of those days, she wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t exactly one of her lazy days.

The pegasus scraped at the rocks below her hooves absently. She sat down, taking in the indescribable scent of the lake and the forest before adjusting her seat and making herself comfortable.

It was as if she had suddenly forgotten Twilight’s lessons in physics and form. Her frown deepened as her stones met failure again and again. Position adjustments, throwing path adjustments, power adjustments, nothing seemed to work.

She was having an off day. Resigning herself to this fact, she blew a long sigh out of her cheeks. One botched throw later and she was up on all fours, turning her back on the lake and all of her failed attempts.

It wasn’t like she had any point in coming here anyway. Twilight had other plans, and the only other time she had recently skipped stones by herself was that first time, when she had no idea what she was doing. Recalling that day, she shook her head. What was she expecting, coming here like this, after that discouraging first time?

She turned, first to the darkening sky above her, then to the correspondingly darkening line of trees a short distance away from the lake, foregoing the opportunity to see the first stars making themselves known. Seeing nothing, she promptly flared her wings and took off for home.

It was silly for her to want Twilight to show up, anyway.

“...yeah, I’ll have the salad.”

She looked over at Fluttershy, who gave her order without hesitation. She had probably done some recital beforehand in order to prevent her usual pauses and stammering. Her gaze next wandered over to Applejack, who acknowledged her stare briefly before continuing her surprisingly civil conversation with Rarity.

Ignoring Pinkie Pie’s attempts to get her napkin to stand up on its own, her attention fell on Twilight. Just like Applejack, she noticed Rainbow looking at her, and she responded with a smile. Hopefully, that meant that she was free today, and that they could go to the lake together. Rainbow returned the smile, thinking to herself that she’d get her groove back today for sure.

The food came. So did the daily updates on the girls’ daily lives. So did Rainbow’s fall into inattention and disinterest.

“Not hungry today, huh?”

It was an honest question, but the very innocence with which it was asked made Dash pause mid-throw. Slowly, deliberately, she turned her attention away from the lake and towards the curious unicorn.

“Not really… I woke up late and had a late breakfast, since today was my day off. Might as well take advantage of it, you know?” She chose her words carefully, making sure to not confuse today’s day off and yesterday’s off day. A simple inversion, yet the implications and effects were drastically different.

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not good, Dash. As a self-proclaimed athlete, don’t you need to monitor your eating habits more carefully than that?” A smile gave away her mock admonition.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” Rainbow countered. “Tell me, Twilight, is there any sort of exercise in that oh-so organized schedule of yours? Do you work out once a month? Or, maybe that’s too much for you.” Her mouth twisted into a smirk as she felt her confidence rising. “It’s once every two months, isn’t it?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she brought her hooves up to shield her from the pegasus’ attack, but the smile never left her face. “Well, I’m sorry that we can’t all be athletic freaks like you, Miss Future Wonderbolt Captain!”

At this, Rainbow puffed out her chest, proudly putting a hoof over it. “Glad you see it too, thank you very much.” An exaggerated bow completed her grand gesture, causing Twilight’s smile to break wide open into a fit of laughter.

Dash’s mouth tightened into a frown as she watched Twilight fall over, unable to control herself. “What?” She sat herself down, crossing her forelegs together in a pout. “What’s so funny? I’m totally serious.”

Twilight tried to contain herself. “Oh, gosh…” she managed in between giggles, “I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that at the expense of another pony.” She sat up, her body sporadically spasming with the last traces of laughter. “You really must be rubbing off on me, Dash…”

The mare in question tilted her head. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She opened her mouth to ask, but the question died on her lips as Twilight’s eyes widened, in seriousness this time.

“Shoot! How long have we been here?” The unicorn was up on all four hooves in a flash. She whipped her head around to face Rainbow.

“Uh…” She put a hoof up to her chin in thought, ignoring the sudden sense of urgency that had been forced onto them. “Dunno, probably like… a few hours?”

If Twilight’s eyes could get any wider, they just did. “Oh, no! I left some books out to dry this morning, and, and…”

Wait, what? Just… just, why?

“...and the pages might shrivel up and brown if they’re left out in the sun too long!” She had taken to pacing frantically, her circle small but her steps quick.

Dash opened her mouth again, but after deciding against asking and most likely receiving a long-winded, slightly unrelated, and ultimately unsatisfactory explanation, she opted for a different question. “So… that means I should get going too, then?”

Twilight stopped for a moment, her eyes softening. “Yes, if I was the only thing keeping you here…” She sighed with guilt. “Sorry, Rainbow, I should’ve told you this earlier, so you’d see it coming instead of being surprised by it.” She dragged a hoof across the ground, making her guilt even more apparent.

For the second time in two days, Rainbow waved her friend’s worries away with her hoof. “Hey, it’s cool. Sounds pretty urgent, so of course you gotta take care of it. But, like,” she brought her raised hoof to the back her neck, scratching her mane with it, “drying books? Seriously?” She grinned, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Her friend sighed, lowering her head again. “Long story. I’ll tell you some other time.” Dash watched as she took the first step towards the treeline, and away from her. “See you tomorrow, okay?” Without waiting for a response, she sped up to a brisk trot, and Dash lost her among the trees.

“Well, there go my plans for the rest of the day…”

The pages had been preserved, the crisis averted. Twilight should have been satisfied at a job well done, but in her rush to get home, something equally important had slipped her mind.

She found herself looking up towards the sky periodically, which broke her concentration on her studies every time. And every time, she would look back down with a sigh, a vain attempt to regain her focus.

Yesterday’s question towards Rainbow still lingered on her lips, unspoken.

Author's Note

If you're reading this after all this time, you deserve some applause. And a reward. If you're just finding this story, then, well, I guess that's pretty cool too.

The second half of this chapter only took me a day to write, probably because I have a clearer idea of where I want this story to head (and I better, after not writing it for a year and a half). The original title for this chapter was "Strawberry Swing," but after throwing in some uncertainty and vaguely negative emotions, I figured that title was no longer appropriate.

Anyway, I'm officially back now, so maybe, just maybe, I'll put out chapters more frequently.

Lost!

Rainbow Dash kept quiet, her mouth remaining closed in a long crease as Pinkie Pie prattled on about how her oven had exploded that very morning. Her fork poked the outer leaves of her salad erratically, punctuated by the occasional sigh that she blew out of her nose. The constant, rhythmic flicking of her ears, however, were both a contrast to the erratic poking of her salad and the only indication that she was paying any attention to what her friends were saying.

It was the same thing every time. They’d sit down, they’d talk, and they’d go their separate ways. The first and last things on that short list happened without a second thought. And so did the third event, the one in the middle of the other two.

That was exactly why it rested on her mind now. Today’s lunch would go in exactly the same direction as it always had: nowhere. No thrilling tales of action, no heartbreaking and heartwarming happenstances, no terrifying brushes with death (Pinkie’s oven exploding didn’t quite qualify), nothing.

She knew it was partially her own fault. With a slight twinge of guilt, she tried to recall exactly how many hours, of the past week or so, she had spent napping, putting off her work, and just being lazy in general. The answer she found caused her mouth to pull briefly into a grimace, and she snatched up her fork, shoving a particularly thick clump of salad into her mouth to drive away the sudden surge of regret.

Unfortunately, she had left her order to soak in its vinaigrette dressing for too long, a direct consequence of her internal dissatisfaction. The result overpowered her taste buds, and her eyes widened as the unexpected rush of flavor sent her into a fit of coughing. Conversation at the table stopped as all heads turned to the unintentional interruption, mild concern on their faces. Dash caught her breath quickly, though, and returned her friends’ gazes curiously.

“What? I’m not choking on my salad, if that’s what you guys are thinking.” A hint of self-consciousness crept into her voice.

They didn’t seem convinced. “Just makin’ sure you’re okay, that’s all.” It was Applejack who spoke first, as if she had already anticipated Rainbow’s somewhat defensive response.

The pegasus shrugged, hoping that alone would dismiss their concern, and more importantly, their attention. It seemed to work, and gradually, the air of mundane conversation returned. Likewise, Rainbow returned to poking her salad.

Their time spent together at the lake was not without its fair share of comfortable silences, and it was something that both mares had gotten quite used to.

A silence hung between them now, and it was anything but comfortable.

Twilight found herself not knowing where to look. Ponyville’s everyday life drifted by them as they walked, but she couldn’t find anything to focus on. It didn’t help that when she looked to her right, her friend’s brow was furrowed, her mouth a frown. They had been that way ever since their lunchtime, and Twilight feared that staring at those unfamiliar features on her face would break her out of whatever thoughts that permeated her mind.

Yet at the same time, that’s exactly what Twilight wanted to do. More accurately, it’s what she had wanted to do for the past few days. Rainbow was coming off as uncharacteristically thoughtful; Twilight would almost diagnose her furrowed brow, tight frown, and indifference to conversation as symptoms of deep thought. She knew all too well her own mannerisms during one of her focused study sessions.

That decided it. She’d ask today. Maybe Rainbow would open up to her after all.

Rainbow took the last step past the line of trees, seeing a calm wind ripple softy across the surface of the lake. Looking around, she noticed that, for the first time since she had came here, the lake had a third visitor.

Fluttershy leaned over the edge of the water, her back turned to the two newcomers. Two small fish poked their heads out of the water, their mouths moving soundlessly. The animal caretaker, however, seemed to understand them, and responded in her usual quiet, soothing tone. Other fish leapt out of the water here and there, brief flashes of orange, black, and yellow, before splashing back into the water.

“Fluttershy?” It was Rainbow Dash who broke the silence between the three of them. The pegasus in question turned around, surprised at the mention of her name.

“Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash.” Her surprise melted into a warm smile upon recognizing her friends. “What brings you two here?”

Rainbow shrugged, craning her neck to get a better look at the fish floating in the pond. “Ah, nothing really. We’re just here to hang out. Actually,” she returned her attention to Fluttershy, settling on the most obvious question, “we could ask you the same thing.”

The yellow pegasus seemed to ignore the question. Something else had her attention. “Wait,” she whipped her head to the waiting fish in the lake, then back to Rainbow and Twilight. “have you two been here before in the last two weeks?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Wh-” Unfortunately, Twilight chose this time to speak up, because upon hearing her affirmation, Fluttershy was nose to nose with her in a second, her eyes wide.

“Oh! Have you two seen anyone throwing rocks into the lake?” Her voice was the epitome of worry, and her friends were taken aback at the sudden change in her demeanor.

“Um, actually, we- Ow!” Twilight’s incriminating confession was cut off by a sudden hoof in her side. She turned to its source to be met by a glaring Rainbow Dash, who vigorously shook her head.

Fortunately, Fluttershy did not notice their suspicious behavior. “I was checking on the fish here, and they told me that two ponies have been throwing rocks into the lake for a while now, and I just wanted to tell them to please stop because the fish don’t like it, and one of them almost got hurt and I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened!” The panicked pegasus had taken to pacing, her wings flitting in distress, but she now breached Twilight’s bubble again, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her gently.

“Don’t worry, ‘Shy!” Rainbow Dash grinned, laying a hoof across her friend’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. “We haven’t seen anyone yet, but when we do, we’ll be sure to teach ‘em a lesson!” She removed her foreleg from Fluttershy to pound her hooves together, driving her point home.

Twilight stared, her eyes slightly worried. She got a sly wink in return.

“I’m glad I can count on you, Rainbow Dash.” Her words had calmed Fluttershy down significantly, her smile a sign of her full confidence in her friends’ capabilities. “Oh, but, please don’t be too hard on them…” she cast her eyes down. “I’m sure they have their reasons.”

“We’ll see about that.” Rainbow shrugged. “Either way, we’ll keep an eye out.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you.” She looked up, then to the line of trees that Rainbow and Twilight had entered from. “Now that you two are here, I need to go home before Angel gets too hungry again.” She shook her head with a smile, then stepped away from Twilight, ready to head home.

As soon as she was among the trees, Rainbow’s grin vanished, and she let out a groan. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the emotional one-eighty, letting out an “Um…” when Rainbow flopped onto her back. Fortunately, the grass they had been standing on was not close enough to the lake to give way to the shoreline, so Rainbow’s landing was accentuated with a dull thump rather than a rocky clatter.

As the pegasus closed her eyes and folded her hooves behind her head, Twilight took a few steps to peer over her. An eye cracked open when the path of sunlight was suddenly obstructed, and their gazes locked, purple meeting magenta.

“You know, Rainbow, it worries me to see you lie that easily.”

Rainbow was suddenly aware that her personal space was being disregarded again. Unlike with Pinkie Pie, though, she chose not to push Twilight away. It would take too much effort to bring her hoof out from behind her head, after all. Choosing instead to close her eyes again, she responded. “What, do you think it would’ve been better to tell Fluttershy that we’re the culprits she’s looking for?”

The sunlight hit her eyelids again, forcing her to open them. Again. Annoyed at the constant open-and-close that Twilight was causing, she decided that her attempts at eye-resting wouldn’t go anywhere. She snapped them open with a sigh, to the sight of Twilight putting a hoof to her chin.

“Well, maybe…” she finally responded. Their eyes met again. “From the sound of it, she probably would have just told us to stop.”

“Yeah, and I bet it would’ve taken her a twenty-minute lecture to do that. Did you see how worried she was?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Twilight watched her friend’s mouth curl into a half-smile, her eyelids falling slightly.

“Do you really think that’s worth the time?” Dash didn’t get a response. She continued, “Besides, we learned our lesson.”

The unicorn sighed, shaking her head slightly at her friends’ thought process. She had to agree with it, however dishonest it was. “I guess you’re right…” She turned away from Rainbow, looking out over the lake. Her eyes made contact with the fish that Fluttershy had been talking to. Their expressions were blank as usual, but if Twilight didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that she saw a hint of wariness in their vacant gazes. She felt a twinge of guilt, and it manifested in an apologetic smile and a nervous giggle. The fish stared for a moment, then sunk slowly beneath the lake’s surface.

“It sucks, though.”

The blunt, sudden voice shook Twilight out of her thoughts, which had been wandering away from Rainbow Dash. The unicorn turned, curious at her friend’s vague comment. “What does?”

“Ya know, the bigger problem here.” Rainbow waved her hoof absently, gesturing at nothing. Sparing Twilight from any possible confusion, she continued. “We probably can’t skip stones now. Fluttershy would never forgive us, especially if she realizes we lied.”

If Twilight hadn’t been convinced that she and Rainbow should stop skipping stones already, she was fully convinced now. “So, what are we going to do instead?” She looked to her friend, whose eyes were fully closed, oblivious to the warning Twilight had just received. She hoped that Rainbow could find a new outlet to their developing pastime.

But Rainbow only shrugged. “Give up. What else?”

That certainly wasn’t what Twilight was expecting. “Huh?”

A smirk. “I told you, it’s not worth it. Unless,” she cracked open an eye, fixating on Twilight intensely. “there’s some darker side to you that I don’t know about.” An image flashed in her mind: Twilight chucking rocks into the lake with dangerous force, her mouth twisted into the nastiest smile imaginable. She shuddered. “I guess that would be worth it just to see.”

Twilight only sighed. “I don’t know how that idea managed to get into your head.” She regarded Rainbow for a second. Her eyes had since closed once again. “Even if I was, you probably would have figured that out a long time ago.”

After a moment, Rainbow heard the grass beside her rustle. When it continued for longer than she expected, her eyes opened in time to see Twilight mimicking her position on the ground, as she was just starting to fold her hooves behind her head.

“Wait, you’re not leaving?” It came as a surprise to her. Their main method of passing the time had just been taken away from them, and Rainbow herself had shown no interest in finding an alternative.

Twilight shrugged, letting her eyelids fall before responding. “I spend plenty of time at the library as things are. Besides, Spike doesn’t expect me back for a couple hours.” She winked playfully. “I can’t disappoint him like that.”

“Hehe…” Dash grinned back. “That’s a pretty good excuse for wanting to spend more time with me, Twi.”

Another eye roll. It was almost becoming a reflex. “Oh, so you’d prefer it if I left you here? I have some bookshelf sorting that I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while-”

Dash shook her head vigorously, but the grin didn’t leave her face. “Nah, it’s just cool when my friends confirm my awesomeness every once in a while, ya know?” She shifted her position, looking back up at the clouds. “You don’t have to make up excuses, just tell me straight up next time.”

She got no response, so it was safe to assume that Twilight had either shaken her head, rolled her eyes, or a combination of both, and left it at that.

Lying on their backs as they were, the only direction left to look was up. Twilight struggled to keep track of the time. Watching the clouds drift by wasn’t the best method of doing so, after all.

A quick glance told Twilight that Rainbow was either sleeping or trying to sleep, and a double take told her that it was most likely the latter. She could overlook Rainbow’s frown, but most ponies didn’t sleep with their eyebrows furrowed.

Her transition into deep-thought-mode wasn’t exactly subtle. This was the perfect opportunity for her to finally express her worry for her friend. Of course, she had let so many other “perfect” opportunities come and go without uttering a single word of concern, but she definitely wouldn’t let this one slip by!

“...Hey, Rainbow, what does that cloud look like to you?”

Perfect.

“A cloud.”

“...” Now what?

“...how about that one?”

“A bigger cloud.”

“Wrongg. I pointed to the same cloud.”

Rainbow cracked one eye open. Twilight tried to return the stare, but found it difficult not to wither under the intense judgment of that unwavering eye. After a few agonizing seconds, Rainbow finally gave her a response.

“C’mon, Twi, can’t you see I’m trying to sleep here?”

Twilight saw her opportunity, and leapt on it. “It seems to me like you’re trying to think, actually.”

Rainbow scoffed, but only after a moment of hesitation that did not go unnoticed by either mare. “Think? About what?”

“You tell me.” The counter had been held at the ready, and its delivery was swift.

Dash tried to shake it off, but the impact of Twilight’s response forced her to close her eyes again, turning her face up to the sky and away from Twilight. She tried to skirt around it further, but no words came to her aid. Twilight had her cornered.

Now all she had to do was deliver the finishing blow. “Rainbow… Is there something on your mind?”

Rainbow sighed, stalling, not wanting to admit defeat just yet. Then, she threw her hooves up in the air abruptly, almost catching Twilight’s face in the process and causing the unicorn to flinch. “You got me.”

Twilight hesitated. The pegasus was usually so stubborn, so unwilling to admit weakness, that Twilight hadn’t even considered what she would do if she actually got through to her. Now that she had opened up so easily, Twilight found herself at a loss.

Fortunately, Rainbow was now more than willing to lend her help. “It’s not anything, like, really bad. Something that would really make you worry about me, I mean. Actually…” she opened her eyes. They had lost the all-consuming concentration that Twilight had grown familiar with. “It’s kinda stupid.”

Twilight wasn’t as quick to wave it off. “It can’t be that stupid if it’s been weighing on your mind for as long as it has.”

“Huh?” The extent of the unicorn’s perception caught Rainbow off-guard. “How long have you noticed that something was up?”

“Well…” Twilight put a hoof to her chin, looking up but not at anything in particular. “How long have you been like that?”

“Really?” Rainbow cast a sideways glance, which Twilight noticed but didn’t return. “You caught on right away?” The unicorn nodded, and Rainbow let loose a light whistle. “You’re good.”

Twilight looked away, but that wasn’t enough to hide the faint redness that appeared on her cheeks. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Rainbow.”

Dash cocked an eyebrow. “Credit? For what?” The confusion in her voice was genuine. The earnest question put Twilight at a loss for where to look, and she ended up rubbing her forehooves together, shifting her eyes every which way.

“Well… I thought it was kind of obvious. In other words…” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “...you’re not very good at hiding it.”

She shut her eyes, bracing herself for the flurry of defensiveness that was sure to follow her accusation. Instead, she only heard a quiet, yet prolonged sigh. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see a guilty grin on the pegasus’ face.

“You’re probably right, as always.”

The slight redness on Twilight’s cheeks spread, and she met Rainbow’s curious stare with slightly widened eyes. The pegasus smirked upon seeing Twilight’s suddenly flustered state. “What? It’s true. You’re always right.”

Twilight rubbed her cheek, shamelessly trying to determine the degree of her blush. “You’re just the last pony I thought I’d hear that from.” Rainbow’s eyebrow went up, but she didn’t respond, which Twilight took as an indication to continue. “I can’t remember the last time you complimented me on something.”

“Hey.” The pegasus’ eyebrows narrowed. “I call you an egghead like, at least a few times a day.”

Twilight failed to stifle the sudden burst of laughter. “You consider that a compliment?”

Dash stuck out her lip in a mock pout. “Wow, I’m hurt that you don’t think I’m complimenting you whenever I say that.” She huffed, breaking the gaze that they held and turning up her chin. “Guess that’s the last time I’m ever gonna call you smart.”

The unicorn smiled, giving her seemingly satisfied friend a long look before returning her gaze to the vast, broken expanse of blue above them. A light breeze blew across the grass, tickling her coat and causing her to shift slightly. She lifted a hoof absently, narrowing her eyes as it blocked her view from a cloud that drifted lazily by.

Silence reigned for a few more moments, and then Twilight realized that her plan of attack had been completely derailed. She grimaced. Hopefully, her window of opportunity hadn’t closed yet.

“You still haven’t answered my question yet, Rainbow.” Twilight shot her an expectant look, which was wasted since its target still had her eyes closed.

A few more seconds of silence, and then: “...Oh yeah, that’s what we were talking about.” She opened her eyes to Twilight’s stare. “Do you really want to know? I told you, it’s really nothing that important.” An immediate nod, and Rainbow sighed. “Alright, alright, here’s my big secret.” She kept her eyes on Twilight for a moment longer, and then looked away.

“I dunno, it’s just like…” She faltered, like she was looking for the right words. “...don’t you ever feel like you want more?”

Twilight bit her lip when Rainbow didn’t continue. She mulled over a possible response. “More of what?”

The pegasus huffed, giving away her frustration at her own unimpressive vocabulary. “Like… it seems like we do the same thing every day. The six of us, I mean.” She gestured with both hooves, and Twilight figured that it was probably supposed to clarify who she was talking about. “We do our own thing, we eat lunch together, maybe we hang out, and that’s it.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Twilight’s question wasn’t accusatory, just curious.

“That’s the thing.” Rainbow sighed again, rubbing her hooves together. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I like the time I spend with you girls, ya know?”

The clouds above flitted across the sky. One waited while the other gathered her thoughts.

“It’s more like it could be better than it is now. Like there’s something missing.”

Twilight pursed her lips, taking in her friend’s words. “What’s missing, then?” It was the best question out of the many possible ones, she decided.

Rainbow only shrugged. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be telling you about it.” Her own lips pursed, unconsciously mimicking Twilight’s action moments before. “Something different.”

“What?” The blunt delivery of the statement prompted Twilight’s instinctive reaction.

“That’s what I’m missing.” Dash turned, and just like they had so many times before, their eyes met. “Something different.”

It was a simple action, but it was accompanied with the vague, meaningful undertones of those equally simple words. Somehow, to Twilight, they seemed a lot less simple when they were combined.

Twilight looked away. “Do you mean something adventurous? Something action-packed? Fast-paced?”

She didn’t get a response for a few moments. She looked at Rainbow in time to see her shrug again. “I dunno. Just different, I guess.”

Twilight could only nod slowly as it sunk in. Something different… What did Rainbow mean, exactly? How could she want more than what they had? Twilight had never used the word “dissatisfaction” to describe her own life; if anything, she couldn’t imagine herself being any happier with how things were. She had the best friends in Equestria, the best teacher in Equestria, the best family - the list went on and on.

Yet that word was precisely the one that Twilight would use to describe the pegasus that lay next to her on the grass. It was something that Twilight herself had no experience in, so how could she relate? Was she even qualified to help her friend?

Then again, did it even matter if she was? Most importantly, what could she do to try to help?

“Does that make any sense at all?” Rainbow spoke up, jolting Twilight out of her thoughts.

“Uh…” They watched a lone cloud drift by. “I think so?”

The pegasus snickered, but it lacked her usual cockiness. “Yeah, I knew it was stupid. I didn’t expect you to get it, really…”

“No!” Now Twilight was the one to leap to her own defense. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, but the unicorn didn’t hesitate upon seeing her curious stare. “That’s not it! I mean, I’m sure everypony feels like that at some point, right?”

“Have you, Twi’?” Rainbow’s stare switched from curious to deadpan in a moment.

Twilight cringed inwardly. “Not the point. Point is, all we need to do is find that something, right? Whatever it is that will make you happy again.”

Dash scratched her head. “Well, it’s not like I’m unhappy right now…”

“Right, but it’ll make you more happy.” Twilight nodded, pleased with herself that she was able to simplify and assess the problem.

The head-scratching continued. “You make it sound super easy. It can’t be that easy, can it?”

“Only one way to find out!” Twilight sat up, patting Rainbow on the head. The pegasus stared at the offending object, apparently at a loss over how to react to it. “Don’t worry, Dash! I think I already have a good idea of where to start!”

Dash bit her lip, but she couldn’t suppress her smile completely. Twilight wondered why she didn’t come to her for help earlier. “Really, it’s no big deal. Don’t put too much thought into it.”

Twilight blinked as she felt a slight shudder run through her friend. She shrugged it off. It was probably the wind. “When do I ever?”

She only got a slight snicker as a response, and before she had time to question it, Dash was up on her hooves. Twilight felt herself being pulled into a hug.

“Thanks, Twi’. For listening, I mean.”

Then it was over, and Twilight was left wondering what happened. Rainbow wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of hugs, as far as she knew. “Y-yeah. No problem.”

Dash alighted on the cloud porch to her cloud home. What could Twilight possibly have in mind for her? She didn’t even have a lot of time to think about the problem she was presented, and Rainbow wasn’t even sure if Twilight even understood -

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice that anything on her porch was out of place until she almost tripped over something that lay on her doormat.

“What the -?” Her eyes locked onto the guilty party. It lay there, wrapped in paper and finished off with a ribbon, trying to give her its best innocent look. Rainbow wasn’t having any of it.

She snatched it up, shaking it in her hooves. It was light, rectangular, and smelled like old paper. Come to think of it, it looked a lot like a -

“Seriously, Twilight?!”

Author's Note

I hate homework and college applications.

Square One

“Alright!”

The glow from Twilight’s horn fizzled as the book found its rightful place amongst the shelves. She swept her eagle-eye around the library, and it rewarded her by radiating, sparkling; everything was in its right place, from the “CLOSED” sign hanging outside to the books that she had just organized. She turned, about to take the first step up the stairs to a well-deserved sleep -

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Twilight’s eye twitched. Of course there would be some rogue, some deviant, beyond the door, who purposefully visited the library after closing time, hell-bent on taking a book from the library’s collection and throwing the orderliness into disorganized chaos.

Still, the unicorn mused as she took her time approaching the door, it would be worth it if it meant teaching the magic of reading to another pony…

The door opened, revealing a rather confused looking pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash? What brings you here?” Twilight noted the saddlebag that rested at her friend’s side. “You usually don’t drop by after closing time.”

Rainbow responded with silence, opening her mouth but closing it after no words came out. Her confused look persisted. Twilight started to inquire again, but Rainbow had her nose in the saddlebag in a moment. She emerged, holding in her mouth the saddlebag’s lone item. Twilight peered at it, but she didn’t need to, since she already recognized what it was.

On the cover of the book that Rainbow held her mouth, the outline of a multi-story house stood among a dark haze of mist and clouds. A single window was illuminated on the topmost floor, the only source of light in the picture. It was all very mysterious and vague…

...except for the words THE MYSTERY OF CLOUDSDALE MANOR (BASED ON A TRUE STORY) blaring, in ragged, scariest-effect-possible print, across a good half of the front cover.

“Twilight, what is this?” The unicorn in question returned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who had asked the question around the book in her mouth. “Is this your answer to what we talked about today or something?” She continued.

Twilight was confused by Rainbow’s apparent confusion. “Of course.” Her horn glowed as she magically removed the reason for all the confusion from her friend’s mouth. “You said you wanted something different in your life, right?” She waited for Rainbow to nod. “I’m sure you realize that that statement can encompass a wide variety of, as you put it, ‘things.’” She flipped the book over so that the back cover was visible to both ponies. It lauded itself over how it was “based on a true story” at least twice. “So, I decided to start with this.” The book floated in front of Rainbow’s face. It stayed there for a moment, before Twilight decided that it could find a spot balanced on her friend’s head. Unfortunately, her assessment was wrong, and Rainbow ducked when Twilight released her magical grasp on the book. It fell to the ground with a quiet thud.

“Maybe you need some adventure in your life!” Twilight figured that any possible damage to the book would be negligible, so she simply picked it up again, placing it in Rainbow’s saddlebag. She hoped her reassuring grin would be, well, reassuring enough.

It didn’t seem to be. Twilight’s smile fell as Dash remained silent, choosing to stare at the book in her saddlebag. “I just thought that since it’s based on a true story, it might be more exciting than the ridiculous premises that fantasy stories come up with sometimes.” The unicorn added.

Dash raised an eyebrow. “You trying to accuse Daring Do of something?” she accused.

Twilight shook her head rapidly, taking a step back. “Of course not! It’s just that this might be more… relatable? It is about your hometown, you know.” She stepped closer again. “Who knows,” she nudged the skeptical pegasus with a hoof, “you might like it so much you could investigate it yourself! That sounds exciting, right?” She nodded, answering her own question.

“I dunno, Twi…” Dash scuffed at the ground. “It just seems kinda corny. Like, those stupid horror movies that come out every year.” She scratched her head, trying to think of specific examples. “They’re totally ridiculous and gory and stupid, but they try to get you by saying that they’re ‘based on a true story.’”

Twilight frowned. “But that one really is based on a true story!”

“How do you know that? Because it says so?” Rainbow deadpanned.

“…Maybe.”

Dash chuckled, the first time Twilight had seen change her expression since she got there. “Trust me, Twi.” She puffed out her chest, putting a hoof to it. “I’ve seen enough horror movies to know about all the tricks they throw at ya. But,” she quickly added after seeing the unicorn deflate slightly, “I’ll still give this a shot. ‘Cause it’s from you.”

Twilight perked up immediately.“Tell me if it changes anything, okay? I’m always glad to help!” She took another step forward, her confident smile wide.

“Uh… sure…” Rainbow took a step back. Twilight wasn’t sure why. “I’d start reading here, but since it’s already late…”

“Yeah, I was actually about to turn in for the night.” As if on cue, she was hit with an overpowering yawn. She shook it off, continuing. “Just tell me if you make any progress on it, okay?”

Rainbow had already flared her wings, ready to make the instantaneous trip to her home, but looked back at Twilight to give a nod. “Got it.”

And just like that, she was gone again. Twilight, however, remained where she stood, looking up at the sky that her friend had just disappeared into. That is, until the wind bit at her coat and she slammed the door shut. A frown creased her face, at both the conversation she just had and what she was about to do.

Her horn lit up again, seemingly random books being pulled from their rightful places. Before long, she had a neat little pile in front of her. She started to comb through the books, trying to settle on the best choices. Organization could wait. Sleep could wait, too.

Rainbow peeked into her bedroom, fearful of waking her house’s only other occupant. Through the dim light that snuck its way in from her hallway, she could just make out the dim, stationary outline of her pet tortoise. Of course, he was stationary most of the time anyway, so she still couldn’t tell if he was awake or not. She decided to take the risk, and she flopped onto her bed in one powerful jump, relishing the soft, cool feeling it rewarded her with.

She peered at her alarm clock, but after a couple seconds of intense squinting, she gave up and switched on the bedside lamp. It only took her a few seconds to decide that she could afford to stay up in the name of progress, and she wormed out of her saddlebag, grabbing the object of much debate between her and Twilight.

It didn’t look any more appealing to her than it had about an hour ago. After taking a deep breath, she opened the front cover and flipped to the first page.

“Alright, here we go…”

“Wait, wait, are we really going to do this?” Scare Dee fidgeted nervously.

“Of course, you scaredy cat!” Stu Pid nudged his friend, wearing a cocky smirk the whole time. “Exploring the mansion seems fun. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Oh, I don’t know, a lot of things?”

Scare Dee was the last to walk across the threshold. He gave the outside world one last glance. “I have a really bad feeling about this…”

“Of course you do.”

“I think I heard something! Over there, down that impossibly dark hallway!” Bone Head pointed, intent on investigating.

“I don’t think you should…” Scare Dee’s words were lost to the hallway, as Bone Head disappeared down it.

“Well, you’re not gonna see him ever again.”

It was hopeless.

Scare Dee couldn’t move. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t will his body into action. It gave the phrase “paralyzed by fear” a whole new meaning. He heard the screams of his friends in the distance; it was only a matter of time before she joined them. He would have laughed at the irony of the situation, if he wasn’t paralyzed.

They had ventured into the manor on a dare, hoping for a night of “frightful fun.” They had hoped for screams of excitement and daring, not screams of bloody murder.

All of this ran through Scare Dee’s mind as he heard hoofsteps approaching. Closer… Closer… Closer…

“...”

Rainbow Dash shut the book, scanning the back cover.

BASED ON A TRUE STO-

She tossed it off the edge of the bed with a sigh. After checking to see it wasn’t hurt in any way, she flopped back onto the bed, glancing at the clock. It taunted her by reading thirty minutes past 3, but a double take made her realize it was telling the truth.

“I have no idea what Twilight was thinking, suggesting that.” Rainbow addressed the question to her ceiling, but Tank turned his head at his owner’s utterance. Dash returned the stare, but the tortoise only responded by blinking. The pegasus watched as his eyes inched closed, then inched open again. She sighed.

“Like, that would never happen! It’s so unrealistic!” She waited for Tank’s reply: another blink.

She continued. “Really, though. Nopony would be that stupid, right? Go into an abandoned mansion with a super creepy legend surrounding it, just because somepony dared you to? And then, it just so happened to be true, and of course some ghost is after your blood?”

Dash turned back to the ceiling, closing her eyes. “You’re right, Tank. That’s why it’d never happen.”

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“mmph…” Twilight was brought back to reality by the pounding of hooves on her door. She tossed around for a moment, throwing her pillow over her head.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“MMph…” The knocking sounded a lot closer than it usually did this time. Come to think of it, it didn’t sound like the offending party was knocking on a door at all…

Twilight peeked one eye out from under her protective pillow, and yelped at the sight of Rainbow Dash, who had a hoof raised and ready to inflict more pain on her bedroom window.

“Dash!” Twilight’s horn flared and flung the window open, breathing a mental sigh of relief when Rainbow’s next swing met only air. “My window isn’t that stable, you know!”

The pegasus shrugged, nonchalant. “It seemed to be holding up just fine.” She didn’t elaborate, and Twilight just shook her head in response, the window closing behind Rainbow.

Twilight regarded her friend curiously for a second, while Dash took to flitting about her room, waiting to be questioned. “What brings you here this early? Are you finally ready to try my famous pancake recipe?” Twilight smiled brightly at the thought. She didn’t know why none of her other friends wanted to try it whenever she brought it up, even though she had labored tirelessly in her quest for perfection. The countless bottles of empty pancake batter and burn marks on various parts of the kitchen were proof of that-

“Sorry Twi’, I think I’ll pass on that.” Dash cut into her thoughts before reaching into the saddlebag that she carried. “Besides,” she brandished Twilight’s recommendation in front of her, “why else would I be here?”

“Oh, did you have something else to ask about it? Or did you have more criticisms of the idea?” Twilight climbed off the bed. Her pillow and bedsheets were enveloped in a glow as they were arranged into proper “pre-sleep” position. “Really, Dash, you should give the book a try before you bash it.”

The pegasus huffed. “I did give it a try, thank you very much.” She ignored Twilight’s surprised “Wait, really?”

“In fact, I gave the whole darn thing a try!” To prove her point, she opened the book and flipped through the pages rapidly. “Everypony dies and that’s the end.” She breezed through the last pages, shutting the book with emphasis.

“So… I take it you didn’t like it?” Twilight tilted her head.

Rainbow’s nose scrunched up. “You could say that again.” She offered the book to Twilight, who took it in her hooves. “It was too predictable. I saw all of the twists coming.”

“All of them?” Twilight raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Even when-”

Dash waved her hooves, cutting the unicorn off. “Yes, even when you found out that Fry Tenned was a descendant of the demon pony. All of these stories have at least one character who’s got that ‘crazy occult connection,’ then the rest of the characters can get killed and it’ll be wrapped up all nice and convenient.” She shook her head as she spoke, her sarcasm obvious to Twilight.

“But what about-”

“Yes, Twilight, even when you find out that the dead body in the lobby is alive and it’s the thing that’s been killing all the ponies. It’s like, there’s this one ghost and it’s splitting the group up by making them hear different things, but that still doesn’t explain what eventually happens to them? Well duh,” she smacked herself in the forehead with a hoof. Twilight cringed, but Rainbow didn’t even wince. “it’s obviously because the sounds that the ghost makes leads them back to the lobby. They reach the lobby, they’re all confused about what’s been making the noise, and when they get close to the body, BAM!” She smacked her hooves together, and Twilight jumped slightly. “Never knew what hit ‘em.” She sighed. “It’s kinda disappointing to see really generic stuff like that, but hey, it’s what sells.”

“It didn’t help you then, did it?” Twilight frowned, absently turning the book over. When the pegasus shook her head, the book disappeared in a magical poof, to its rightful place on the fifth shelf from the left, in the third row. A checklist and quill appeared in its place, and Twilight turned her attention to it. “Hm… okay, so that didn’t work…” The quill scratched against parchment as Twilight marked her first checkbox. “I probably shouldn’t recommend this one, then, since it’s too unrealistic…” She spoke more to herself than to her unexpected visitor.

“Is that the only thing you thought of?” Dash crossed her hooves over her chest, fixing Twilight with expectant eyes.

“Quite the contrary, my dear Dashie.” Twilight winked, catching Dash off guard with the sudden use of her nickname. She smirked, seeing her friend failing to hide her growing blush. “I actually have-”

“Twilight!” The voice came from downstairs, most likely the kitchen. It cut the mare in question off, and she turned. “Same as usual for breakfast, right?”

Twilight didn’t respond right away. Instead, she looked back at the waiting pegasus, regarding her for a moment. “Actually, Spike, I think I’ll make breakfast today!” She called back down.

There was a moment of silence, and then, “Are you sure? You remember the last time you tried-” Spike’s voice stopped abruptly. “-don’t tell me you want to cook pancakes again...?” The uncertainty in his voice rose gradually as the thought progressed, until it bordered on fear.

Twilight frowned, but her gaze didn’t leave Dash, who was starting to fidget. “Hey, I’ve practiced at least once a week for the past month! I just need to make a few… minor adjustments from the last incident, and we’ll have edible pancakes today!” She glanced towards the door. Then when nothing came from beyond it, back to Rainbow. Then back to the door, before it finally gave a reply.

“...I’ll leave the fire extinguisher on the counter, okay?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but her smile returned. “I told you, Spike, I’ll get it right this time!” She didn’t get a response, so she had to chuckle. “It was the pan’s fault, I swear… oh, right!” She turned again to Rainbow, who had been clearing her throat expectantly. “It’s okay that you didn’t like that book. It was just a starting point, of sorts.”

“So that means…?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Yep! There’s more where that came from!” She could barely contain her excitement.

“Great…” was the drawn-out reply from her friend. Twilight was about to accuse Dash of being unenthusiastic, but then the pegasus gave a dry chuckle to accompany her comment.

So Twilight opted for a more open-ended, less blatant accusation. “What?” She narrowed her eyes; the icing on the cake.

To her credit, Rainbow didn’t even flinch. “It’s just funny, is all.” She held her hooves up, a gesture of peace. Twilight didn’t respond, allowing her to continue.

“Your answer to my problem is books, Twilight. I could probably ask you for advice on anything from dating to depression, and you’d probably give me a book. Like,” the pegasus smirked, “since I didn’t like that book, I’m about to be loaded down with more books, right?”

Blood rushed to Twilight’s face. “Wh-what’s wrong with that?” Her defensive tone was compensation for the embarrassment that threatened to make her back down, admit her wrongdoing, or at least try a method of assistance other than books.

Dash rolled her eyes. A quick flap of her wings, and she hovered above the unicorn, patting her on the head. It didn’t help in diminishing the strength of Twilight’s blush.

“Never said it was bad. It’s just, so… you.” She flashed a devilish grin at Twilight, whose poor face couldn’t handle the amount of redness she was currently subjecting it to. Indeed, so violent was her blush that steam started to emanate from the top of her head. Dash’s hoof retracted quickly.

“Uh…” She waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face. “Equestria to Twilight?” More steam. She poked Twilight’s nose. Still more steam. She gave Twilight, in all her embarrassment, a once-over, and she started to laugh.

“Y’know, pancakes actually sound pretty good right now…” Rainbow inched towards the door, but Twilight didn’t budge. “So, you’re cooking breakfast for me too, right?” She was almost at the door. “Great!” And out she went, leaving the door swinging in her wake.

Twilight finally came to, feeling her cheek with a hoof. After a moment, “feeling” became “rubbing” which became “viciously scrubbing” when she realized the full force of her persistent blush.

“I hope I don’t burn the pancakes this time.”

Author's Note

Yay, almost the second-year anniversary of this story's publication!

it really shouldn't have taken me this long...

The Escapist

“You should be honored, Rainbow.”

“Why?” She didn’t know why she asked; the question was answered as a plate of steaming “pancakes” floated in front of her.

“You’re the first one who gets to experience my home cooking!” Twilight must have seen a flash of fear in Rainbow’s eyes, because she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I’ve practiced a lot in preparation for this day. I think all of that practice paid off, since I didn’t have to use the fire extinguisher.”

Rainbow looked to the mass of lumpy, steaming grey matter on her plate, then back to Twilight’s confident grin. “And that’s something you’re proud of?”

Her friend’s grin vanished, and a pout took its place. “Of course!” A fork made its way to its rightful place beside the plate. “I’ve gone through every cookbook in this library.” She turned away from Rainbow as she heard her pan still sizzling from the residual oil, and heaped more of her creation onto a second plate.

“I didn’t know you had a hundred copies of Basic Cooking For Dummies…” Rainbow muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” Twilight still had her back to her as she set down the pan.

“Uh…” A hoof went behind the pegasus’ head as she scratched her neck. “I was just thinking of how good this’ll be! Especially if you put that much practice into it! Right!” She tried her best to ignore the unused fire extinguisher on the counter: almost literally a red flag to her stomach and the pain she was about to put it through. If it even got that far down, of course…

Twilight beamed, and Rainbow thought for a moment that her obvious lie was worth it. The idea vanished as quickly as it came. “Really, I don’t know why Spike was so hesitant to let me cook.” She set down her own plate, taking her seat across from Rainbow. “He deserves a break from something every once in a while.” She giggled at her own comment, and Rainbow smiled uneasily.

“Thanks for the food…” Rainbow muttered, eyeing her meal from all angles. It still looked lumpy and grey. She didn’t know if she time had ever moved more slowly in her life as the fork cut into the “food” with a squelch. It took all she had not to cringe. She inched it towards her mouth, past the point of no return…

“Oh.” It wasn’t after she took her first bite that she realized that a pair of violet eyes were staring into her. “It’s…” Something was off. Two pairs of eyes blinked. Rainbow shook her head and stuck her tongue out before she figured out what it was. “It’s not bad!”

Twilight frowned. “I feel like I should be happy about your reaction, but I’m not.” Her own pancakes sloshed around on their plate.

“Ah, don’t be so picky, Twi. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” She waved away her friend’s concerns, but Twilight only narrowed her eyes.

“Surprised at what? I told you, I’m a good cook!” She stabbed her fork into her pancakes for emphasis, but only succeeded in sending grey flecks of food everywhere.

Dash was caught in the blast radius, but she didn’t even flinch. Instead, she stared at her friend’s slowly reddening face, her face unnervingly expressionless. “Twilight?”

“Y-Yes?” The unicorn shrunk behind her plate, but it was no use. It was too small to use as a shield from Rainbow’s judgment.

“Grey, lumpy pancakes should taste nasty, you know.”

“Okay, okay.” Twilight sighed. “I know I still have some work-”

“A lot of work.”

“A lot of work to do.” Twilight cast her eyes down. And to think she’d improved so much already…

“Hey, now.” Rainbow’s signature grin was back. “It’s a start. At least we know that you can cook stuff I can actually keep down.” Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but the pegasus shut down any opportunity for that by scarfing down the remaining portion of pancakes in about three bites. “Either that, or I was just hungry. Anyway, thanks for the breakfast Twi!” She flared her wings, knocking over her chair and a couple of glasses on the table. “I’m already late for work.” With a whoosh, she was gone.

Twilight was left to stare at the spot that Rainbow had occupied just moments before. A good minute passed before she realized two things:

“Why am I staring?”

“Rainbow forgot her books…”

Dash came home to another neatly wrapped set of books on her doorstep. After unceremoniously dumping them on her table in favor of a much-needed drink, her attention was drawn to one book which had fallen to the ground in her carelessness. She set it down next to her glass of water, taking in the relatively simplistic cover: an array of stars against the black backdrop of space, some of them taking shape and spelling out the word “Forever?”

“Sci-fi, huh…” She frowned. “I don’t think I can handle this stuff. Twilight should know that…” She shrugged and flipped to the back cover, reading it aloud.

“What is the price of curiosity? Of discovery? Of the thirst for knowledge? Three brave expuh… expeditioners? venture out into the unknown and find their own answers.”

“...Huh.” She had walked from her kitchen to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed, all the while staring at the back cover. “Sounds pretty deep.”

Time passed, and Twilight didn’t hear any news from Rainbow concerning book completion. She met with her at lunch and ran into her around town, but they had neither the time nor the personal space to even bring up Rainbow’s personal assignment, much less go into an in-depth discussion about it.

Twilight found herself waiting for her pegasus friend to pull her aside with either a satisfied smile or a disappointed shake of the head, and every time she didn’t, she sighed to herself.

Then, a week after the breakfast incident, as Twilight made her way back from the town market, her floormat made a strange crinkling sound instead of its usual rustling. She looked down and saw an envelope addressed, simply, “Twi.” Her spoils from the market momentarily forgotten, they all fell to the ground as she tore open the envelope with bated breath.

Just finished it. I want to talk. Meet me at the lake.

- Dash

“In a good mood today, huh, Twilight?” Spike snickered as she closed the door behind her.

“What? I guess so…” It wasn’t until then that she realized the smile on her face was a dead giveaway. She didn’t have time to correct herself, though.

“Hey, didn’t you just go to the market? Where’s all the stuff I need to make dinner?” The baby dragon scratched his head, and Twilight’s eyes widened.

“Oh, ponyfeathers! The bags!”

Spike opened his mouth to question her further, then decided against it.

She had never been at the lake this late before. The moon was bright in the night sky, and when she looked down, she saw its shimmering reflection in the lake. The lights from the town didn’t reach the lake, so Twilight was offered a generous view of the vast array of lights, mere pinpoints in contrast to the moon, yet they still twinkled and shone.

Twilight stood, transfixed, even though she’d seen this sight more times than she could count. It never ceased to amaze her-

“Boo.”

Twilight “Eep!”-ed shrilly at the sudden voice, partly because she had been completely distracted and partly because it was so close to her ear. She whipped around to find a grinning pegasus.

“R-Rainbow Dash!” How dare she take advantage of her poor, helpless, best friend? “How did - when were - b-but I didn’t-” she stammered, unable to accept that she had been caught completely, utterly, and undeniably off-guard, red-hooved, and guilty as charged.

“Hey,” Dash snickered, “I can be quiet when I have to.”

Twilight gingerly patted her frazzled mane. “That aside, you didn’t call me out here to scare me, did -” she was denied the opportunity to finish her sentence, because Rainbow had swept a foreleg under hers, guiding it up to point at the sky.

“Check it out.” Twilight tried to focus on where the pegasus was pointing, but the sudden contact was taking up all of her attention. Their faces were a breath apart, their breaths faced each other and mingled together.

She tried to speak, but only found herself at a loss. Of breath, and for words. Probably because I still don’t know where she’s trying to get me to look. Maybe some clarification would solve her problem.

“Dash… what are we looking at, exactly?” Her voice carried a hint of unsteadiness, and she cursed it.

“That pattern thingy-”

“Constellation.” Twilight jumped in with a correction, something she was comfortable with.

“Right, that thing. You see that one, over there?” Rainbow shut one eye and inched closer to Twilight, adjusting the position of their forelegs. It didn’t work.

“I see stars, that’s for sure…” Twilight deadpanned.

“No, no, not that one.” She moved their hooves slightly to the left. “You know, it’s supposed to be a bear or something?”

“...Rainbow, you’re pointing at the wrong one.” Twilight’s horn glowed, and a thin beam of light shot from it. Rainbow followed it up into the sky, and Twilight outlined her intended shape with her magical flashlight, moving her head slightly to trace the constellation. “That’s Ursa Minor. If we’re talking about your assignment, you can find the Big Dipper here.”

“That’s where they went…” Rainbow murmured. Twilight stole a glance at her. The magenta in her eyes twinkled, a reflection of the night sky which held her attention now.

“I take it you liked the book?” Twilight smiled. She’d found her voice again, just like that.

Rainbow didn’t take her eyes off of the sky. “Oh, yeah, that’s why I wanted to talk to you. Well,” she unlocked her foreleg from Twilight’s and gave it a good stretch, falling rather than taking a seat on the ground. “I’d rather do it from down here.”

Twilight frowned. The astounded, almost foal-like Rainbow from moments ago had just vanished. Then again, her first reaction towards the book did seem promising. She lay on her back beside Rainbow, and the two mares took in the sight of the sky just like they did a few weeks ago.

“I gotta say,” Rainbow broke the silence first. “When I saw that you gave me a sci-fi book, I thought I wouldn’t like it.”

Twilight couldn’t see her friend’s expression, just the outline of her head. Her polychromatic mane still managed to shine in the moonlight. “Too complicated, right?” Twilight guessed.

Dash chuckled. “Yeah, something like that. Either you know me too well, or I’m just that easy to figure out.” She didn’t wait for a response. “Point is, I thought it would suck. And actually,” she shifted slightly, “it kinda did.”

Twilight’s growing smile vanished. “What?”

“Yeah, I just…” Dash shrugged. “I don’t know what it is exactly. Maybe it was that I hated all of the astronauts.” She brushed her mane out of her eyes, Twilight watching the whole time. “You know me. The last thing I’d do in an impossible situation is give up. Usually,” she added when the incident with Fluttershy at that very lake came to mind. “But all these guys did is complain! Like, sure, I get that you’re way out in space, millions of miles from home,” she spread her hooves out, gesturing to the expanse of space they lay under, “but complaining isn’t going to get you anywhere!” She sighed, shaking her head. “I spent most of the book pissed at how much whining was going on.”

Twilight sighed her own sigh. “Any parts you actually liked?” She was already crossing that title off of her mental list, so she was surprised when Rainbow replied right away.

“Yeah, I was getting to that. Don’t count me out yet, Twi.” She shot the flustered unicorn a wink.

Twilight tried, and failed, to focus on Rainbow’s continued ramblings instead of her newfound mind-reading abilities. “...every time I saw you out stargazing late at night, I never really got it. I’ve always been more of a “daytime sky” kind of mare, heck, my freaking coat has the same color! There’s so much more you can do during the day. Like, come on,” she smirked, “the morning breeze blowing through your coat when you just woke up? How could you beat that? And yes,” she didn’t even look at Twilight’s skeptical gaze to acknowledge it, “I do wake up that early, when it’s still chilly out. And that’s just one good part of it. Don’t even get me started on sunsets and thermals.

“Instead of all that good stuff, at night you just get a bunch of tiny little dots that you can’t even see sometimes.” She continued. “Boring, right?” Twilight gave her an unsure nod. “Well, that’s what I always thought.”

Twilight watched as a faraway look began to take hold in her friend’s eyes. She looked up at the sky too, but quickly realized that Rainbow wasn’t looking for anything in particular. “But that book had some stuff in there about the night sky and space that was… Well, how do I put it…” The sound of Rainbow scratching her head, and then another moment of silence. “Beautiful.”

The word sounded foreign coming from such a cocky pegasus. Twilight tried to voice her surprise in the least offensive way possible. “Really?”

Fortunately, Rainbow didn’t seem to take offense. “Yeah, like when they were leaving the galaxy for the first time through that wormy thingy-”

“Wormhole.”

“Yeah, that.” She shook her head with a smile. “When they came out on the other side, the author described it as ‘a boundless array of vibrant, almost blinding color. The stars beckoned to them, inviting points of light that hinted at endless possibilities and sights even more beautiful than what lay before them. Looking further, the stars began to culminate in masses of pure brightness, and the entire crew’s eyes were drawn to the center of the galaxy. They found themselves speaking all at once.

‘That’s where we’re headed.’”

Finished with reciting the passage, Rainbow turned to Twilight, surprised to find her mouth slightly agape. “Um, Twi? Were you listening?”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, yes! I just…” She narrowed her eyes. “You memorized that whole thing?”

The pegasus smirked. “You bet I did, big words and all!” She put a hoof to her chest proudly. “Want to know how many times I read that part?”

Twilight found herself smiling along with her friend. “I’ll take the bait. How many times?”

Rainbow was silent for a moment. “A lot of times.” She laughed, surprising Twilight with the gentleness it carried. Both ponies fell silent, gazing up at a night sky that was slightly different than the one Rainbow had just described.

“My point is, I didn’t like that book.” The pegasus spoke up. “But there were parts in there that made it worth it.”

Twilight frowned. “You didn’t find what you wanted, did you?” She already knew there answer, but she asked the question regardless.

“Nope. But,” she turned and their eyes met, “that’s not really a bad thing.”

All Twilight could manage was a “Huh?”

“You heard me! It was worth it.” Rainbow broke their gaze and turned back up to the sky. “All that stuff about space and the night sky in there got me thinking, that maybe…” She stretched her front hooves out, and it looked to Twilight that she was trying to grab all of the stars in the night sky and cradle them all to herself. “Maybe there’s more to it than I’ve been giving it credit for. And,” Twilight could only stare as a completely uncharacteristic smile, one of contentment and curiosity all at once, overtook her friend’s features, “I want you to help me figure that out!”

Heat rushed to Twilight’s face, and she could only hope that it was too dark for Rainbow to see. “M-me? Why me?”

“Why not you?” Rainbow countered. “You’re Ponyville’s own astrology-”

“Astronomy.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. You’re the expert, you probably know all the coolest places in town to stargaze, and you even know the Princess of the Night personally! Come on, who else do you know that could help me?”

Twilight could only smile. Rainbow had her there, and it wasn’t something she wanted to refuse anyway. “All right. When do you want to start?”

“How about right now?”

Any expression of surprise Twilight had in response was never said, because Rainbow was already up on all fours. “Come on, Twi’! There’s gotta be somewhere better than this place around here, right?” She swept her head every which way, but the trees that surrounded them more or less ensured that her effort was pointless.

Twilight sighed, but it gave way to a smile. “Rainbow, I have to go back to the library to get my equipment if we’re going out tonight.”

“Equipment? You mean that stuff that takes you forever to set up?” Twilight nodded. “Aw, why do we have to use that stuff?” Rainbow pouted, but her expression went unseen to her unicorn friend, who had already started the trip back to her home.

“You wanted me to help you out, right?” Twilight called over her shoulder. “Since you did, I’m going to give you the best possible experience. And that means doing this my way.” She was already among the trees by the time she finished her sentence, leaving Rainbow no choice but to accept Twilight’s conditions and go after her.

Despite her reservations, she couldn’t doubt her personal stargazing trainer. A smile crossed her face as she walked.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Formerly Committed for unintentionally motivating me to finish this chapter. No, this story is not dead, so you can take it out of "The Graveyard" now. Thank you very much.

A Rush of Blood to the Head

“How much farther, Twi’?” Rainbow grumbled around the folder of papers that Twilight had “requested” her assistance in carrying. “Requested” was a less accurate term than “shoved in her face,” though.

“I told you already, just across this creek and up the hill, and we’ll be there,” Twilight responded from somewhere amongst the magical glow of various stargazing gear that was, according to the unicorn, required equipment. For the moment, it was the only way that Rainbow was able to keep track of her friend, since the two had long left the sleepy lights of Ponyville behind.

Something Twilight had said was bothering Rainbow, though. “Wait, a creek? What cree-”

Her question needed no words for a response, because her leading hoof met air for a brief moment before it sent her tumbling into the shallow water. It caught the unsuspecting pegasus completely off-guard, and more importantly, it was -

“C-cold!” She flinched violently at the unwelcome sensation and bolted to the other side, only to be met with a stern unicorn.

“Weren’t you paying attention?” Twilight sighed. “And where are my papers?” She looked right past her now-dampened friend, to the object that deserved her attention more. “Don’t tell me you left them in the water.”

Rainbow turned to follow her gaze, and both mares’ eyes came to rest on the result of countless months, even years, of effort, of meticulous and painstakingly detailed records of the positions of the night sky’s inhabitants, now soaked and undeniably soiled as it began to sink under the added weight of the water.

Dash didn’t know what she expected when she turned to face Twilight again, because she almost immediately looked away again upon seeing her glare. “Uh… I didn’t see it?” She risked a glance, but obviously her feeble excuse wouldn’t be cutting it when it came to Twilight’s work.

“Rainbow…” Twilight glowered in silence for a moment, almost as if she was letting her anger sink into the currently clumsy pegasus. “I just asked you to do one thing!” She tilted her head towards the hill above them, which had the unintended side effect of jerking her equipment around. “How are we supposed to stargaze now?!”

Rainbow looked back and forth between a frustrated Twilight and all of the equipment floating in her magical grasp. She opened her mouth, closed it again, then decided to take the risk. “Well, you still have all that stuff you kept saying you had to bring along, right?”

Unfortunately, Twilight’s incredulous expression didn’t light up with the realization that Rainbow hoped it would. In fact, it didn’t change at all. “No, no, don’t you get it?” She started to pace back and forth, and Rainbow knew she didn’t have much time before Twilight entered Meltdown Mode. “I had a list of the most visible constellations and nebulae tonight for the best possible viewing experience! How will we have fun without it?”

Rainbow watched her eye start to twitch. This wasn’t good.

“Oh, I knew I should have waterproofed the folder! It was so obvious that you could have done something like this…”

Rainbow frowned. “Hey, now…”

“...maybe I can write one up from memory, right now! Don’t worry, Rainbow, I’ll-” Twilight’s increasingly incoherent mumblings were halted by the hoof placed gently over her mouth.

“Twi’, have you ever thought you can have fun without all that stuff?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she spoke.

Twilight shook her head, eliciting a grin in response from the pegasus.

“Looks like tonight will be new for you too, then.” She took a step back, but her eyes stayed locked on Twilight’s. “Come on, you said there’s an awesome spot waiting for us up there, and we don’t need any of your fancy lists or papers to use it!” Her wings flared out from each side of her body. “Last one there has to carry all your stuff!”

By the time the last of her words had left her mouth, her rainbow trail was already beginning to fade in her wake. Twilight was left to stand there, not yet accepting of the fact that nothing had gone according to her plan, and they hadn’t even reached the stargazing site yet.

She blinked several times and put a hoof to her head. The nearby bushes and trees were still trembling from Rainbow’s sudden takeoff. A sigh escaped her.

“She’s been doing that a lot lately.”

Even though Rainbow had successfully assuaged her worries for that moment, Twilight still approached the top of the hill with a frown. She would probably have to make a new Constellation Schedule when she got home, which meant she had to put her other work off for later…

Twilight slapped herself mentally. Even if her plans had been left at the bottom of a creek, she couldn’t dampen Rainbow’s enthusiasm. “Who knows how much longer I’ll have her attention for…” she chuckled to herself, instinctively reaching for her telescope.

Her own words suddenly gave her pause. It was supposed to be an afterthought, not a serious question, but she found herself lacking an answer all the same.

The thought had never crossed her mind, but it never had to; The pegasus was, normally, a fickle and restless soul, doing things as she pleased, giving up on things as she pleased, and moving on to other things as she pleased.

That was fine and all, but who was to say the same wouldn’t happen in this situation? Twilight had held Rainbow’s attention up until now, but the fact that it was only up until now caused the first dredges of doubt to creep into her mind.

If Twilight couldn’t solve her friend’s “problem” soon, it would only be natural for Rainbow to move on to someone, or something, else. That would be Rainbow’s choice, but…

If that happens, wouldn’t that mean I’ve failed as a friend?

Twilight took a step back from her telescope, releasing a sigh that she didn’t know had built up in her chest. She mentally shook herself, but it would have been a mental slap if she hadn’t already given herself one earlier.

No point in thinking about it right now. I already told her I’d help her figure it out, so there’s no problem, right?

Actually, she had been left alone with her thoughts for a while now…

“Rainbow?” She looked around, frowning when she didn’t see a sign of her friend on the first scan. Luckily, the pegasus’ polychromatic tail still shimmered in the moonlight, which Twilight set her eyes on after a moment. She lay a few yards away, and seemed rather comfortable in the grass, seeing as Twilight hadn’t heard a peep out of her yet.

“There you are, Rainbow…” Twilight sighed, trotting up to her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She waited for a second without getting an answer, and it was only when she stood over the pegasus that she realized why.

Somehow, in the two minutes that it had taken Twilight to catch up, set up her telescope, and look around for her, Rainbow had fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed peacefully, her chest rising and falling at its own pace. Her breath, just as rhythmic, tickled Twilight’s face as it passed by.

In a moment, Twilight forgot that their night together had been planned. Rainbow’s breath brushed over her nose again, and her hooves instinctively took a step back. Her eyes, however, failed to do the same.
She knew she was supposed to wake Rainbow up, so they could continue on with their plans for the night. But she didn’t. Instead, she let herself stand there for another moment, not ignoring the smile that had appeared on her face without her knowing. Now that it was there, she felt that she couldn’t get rid of it. Not that she wanted to.

She lay down next to her blissfully unaware friend, and whether she had intended to or not, they were both asleep.

Rainbow shifted, the dreamless haze of her sleep disappearing when she felt an itch tickling her fur. “Bleh…” she mumbled, squirming slightly as she felt a dampness in her back…

...and then the previous night’s events finally registered, and she realized she was sleeping on grass, freshly sprinkled with morning dew. Which was, rather unpleasantly, seeping into her back the longer she lay on the grass.

“Aw, crap…” she muttered, sitting up, reaching unsuccessfully for her back to wipe the offending dew off of her back, and generally causing a great amount of disturbance in her immediate area.

“No… just five more minutes…” Apparently, a voice next to her wanted to catch up on its sleep.

Wait, what?

Rainbow turned and was met with the voice’s source, a just as damp but slightly more groggy Twilight.

She opened her mouth, but found any words she had wanted to say stuck in her throat as her mind caught up to her; worry, confusion, and an odd, lingering sense of content fought in her mind, trying to control what she was about to say.

Also…

Twilight usually took the utmost care in taking care of her physical appearance. Even though she spent most of her days holed up in the library, her mane, coat, and tail were brushed and combed so that not a single strand was out of place. In fact, even the slightest stray hair was always a sign of trouble. Yet right now, those features possessed an unruliness that rivaled Rainbow’s own. Hairs stuck out at all angles from her mane and tail, a messy, yet not unpleasant, array of purple and pink.

Usually, Twilight’s unkempt state would set off all sorts of red flags in Rainbow’s mind, but instead, they pushed the worry and confusion out of her. She grinned, rolling her eyes, and the words she wanted to speak finally pushed past the lump in her throat.

“Geeze, Twi’, you don’t need to be perfect all the time.”

“Uhh.... Rainbow?” Twilight finally opened her eyes, and Rainbow’s grin only widened as Twilight went through the same motions that she had only moments before; she grimaced as she felt the damp sensation in her back and shot up.

“I fell asleep…” She gasped. “Oh, no!” She disappeared suddenly from her sleeping spot, and Rainbow had to whip her head around to track her. “I left my telescope out! I hope it isn’t damaged.”

Both mares approached the telescope, which appeared untouched aside from the glistening morning dew that now adorned it. Still, one waited patiently while the other peered, examined, and almost dissected the precious object with a scrutinous eye.

After a few more agonizing moments, Twilight sighed in relief, causing Rainbow to let out her own breath that she didn’t know she was holding. “So, uh… The telescope’s fine, but there’s another thing.” The pegasus spoke up, successfully diverting Twilight’s attention from her stargazing tool.

“Oh.” The unicorn’s relieved smile vanished. “We didn’t stargaze last night like we were supposed to, did we?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Talk about a failure of a night… How did you manage to fall asleep in such a short amount of time, anyway?”

Dash shrugged. “I was bored, and you were taking too long.” Her voice carried the slightest hint of defensiveness.

Twilight’s mouth opened to counter the obvious lie, but Rainbow wasn’t done. “And what was that about a ‘failure’ of a night?” The edge in her voice increased, almost unnoticeably.

Twilight grimaced inwardly. She felt like she’d used the wrong choice of words. “Well, since we didn’t get to do anything we wanted to do…”

Now Rainbow was the one to shake her head. “I swear, Twi’, you can be the biggest egghead sometimes.” The distance between them was closed in a moment as the pegasus leaned in, any annoyance or exasperation she possibly felt replaced by her usual smirk. “Just one little thing goes wrong and you’re already freaking out. You gotta remember who you’ve been spending all this time with!” She took the opportunity to step back and put a hoof to her puffed-out chest. “Admit it, don’t you feel at least a little bit cooler after hanging out with me?”

Twilight shuffled her hooves. “But we only-”

“Yeah, I know we just fell asleep without doing anything.” Rainbow finished her sentence, much to Twilight’s surprise. “I dunno about you, but I still had a good time.”

Twilight peered closer at Rainbow, making sure that this was the same Rainbow Dash she had unwittingly spent the night with, and not some alternate-timeline Rainbow Dash who did some other activity the night before and, therefore, had actually enjoyed herself. “How so?” she finally settled on asking.

Rainbow didn’t answer right away. Instead, she reached forward and gave Twilight’s head a few friendly taps. “You have a big brain, so you can figure that out. If not, you’re treating me to lunch, ‘kay?” She punctuated her one-sided bet with a playful wink.

“H-how is that fair?” Twilight protested. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Rainbow somehow managed to enjoy herself last night when she was unconscious by the time the main event was supposed to roll around.

“It’s fair if you figure it out!”

Twilight groaned.

“...Oh.”

“Hm?” Rainbow turned around, not wanting to be left hanging. They were on their way back to town after their night of failed stargazing.

Twilight smiled back. “Oh, nothing.”

Rainbow looked at her for another moment, then shrugged and looked away.

Twilight’s smile didn’t leave. She had figured it out. Even if she was wrong, it had still given her an idea.

Spike stifled a yawn as he made his way down the stairs. “Wonder why Twilight didn’t wake me up early today…” he muttered, though there wasn’t a hint of regret in his voice.

He rounded the corner to one of the library’s side rooms, and found his answer. Twilight, as usual, had her nose buried in a pile of books… except this time, she was rifling through them, tossing them off to the side, picking up multiple copies at once, the thoughtful yet determined expression never leaving her face.

Spike would have dismissed the whole scenario, but the sight of her unkempt mane made him wince with worry. “You alright, Twilight?” he spoke up. “You didn’t need me to make breakfast?”

The unicorn looked up after a moment’s delay, recognition taking over her face after another moment. “Oh, Spike.” Her eyes didn’t linger over her longtime friend, as she went right back to combing through the pile in front of her. “I just had breakfast with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, so I’m fine.”

Spike weighed Twilight’s words against her appearance, then decided that like usual, he was better off not knowing some things. As he made his way back to the bedroom, he overhead Twilight muttering to herself.

“I know I left it around here somewhere…”

Rainbow Dash didn’t have a good feeling in her stomach. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bet Applejack that she could eat her salad after drowning it in hot sauce, but the look of defeat on her face after she successfully finished made it all worth it. Well, it had either been defeat… disgust... amusement... or barely contained laughter. She didn’t want to think about it too much, or that bet might not have been worth it after all.

Ignoring her churning stomach, she asked Twilight, “So, did you figure out what I said this morning?”

“You could say that,” Twilight responded. Her smile was confident and bright, and Rainbow couldn’t help but share her friend’s enthusiasm as she grinned back.

“So, what is it? Don’t leave me hanging.” It wasn’t like Twilight to do that anyway; her long-winded explanations were something that Rainbow was all too familiar with.

Well, she was familiar with the idea of those rants, not so much the content. It had gotten to the point where she was already tuning the unicorn out after asking an innocent question, so tuning back in now and seeing Twilight looking at her with raised eyebrows surprised her.

“What? I just asked you a question…” Unless she had missed something important while she was gone, it was the last thing that had happened.

“Yes, and after I said that you’ll find out soon enough, you had a really uninterested look on your face. That’s supposed to pique your interest, not avert it!”

Rainbow cringed. She’d been caught spacing out. The only option now was to divert the attention away from her. “Peak…?” She scrunched up her face to make the best “I’m confused” look that she could muster.

It worked. “...Uh, it was supposed to make you more interested.” Twilight frowned, trying her hardest not to roll her eyes.

“Oh, why didn’t you just say so?” Rainbow smirked as she followed Twilight into the library, unknown to the latter.

They entered the bookworm’s dimly lit home, much to the pegasus’ surprise. Taking the sight in, she was about to ask about it when she almost collided with a now stationary Twilight. As if on cue, the unicorn whirled around, and suddenly their roles were switched; Twilight now wore the grin that Rainbow had moments earlier.

“You see, Rainbow, what you said earlier gave me an idea.” Twilight beat Rainbow to the opportunity to speak first, as said idea was held up for Rainbow to see.

Rainbow glanced over the book’s cover. It wasn’t too much to look at, just an array of flowers scattered in various places over a grey background. Then, her eyes were drawn to the title.

Her eyes narrowed; she was fairly certain that she was reading it right. She leaned in; it still didn’t change.

Her face tinged red. “...Dear __, This Has Always Been About Standing Up For What You Believe In: A Love Story (and Some Other Things, Too)?” She looked over the book to her friend, silently asking for some help, but Twilight seemed intent on maintaining her confident expression.

“Ookay, Twilight... two things.”

“Hmm?” The mare in question had genuine confusion in her voice, as if she was expecting Rainbow to shout “That’s it!” and shower her with appreciation.

“For one, what the heck is with that title?” She pointed at the guilty party accusingly.

“What about it?” Twilight frowned. “I think it’s a suitable title. It’s unique.”

Rainbow paused. “Well, yeah, but like…” she looked for the right words. “It’s weird!”

“Unique.” Twilight repeated, for emphasis.

The pegasus groaned. “Ugh, whatever. Second thing, I really hope this isn’t what I think it is.”

“And what would that be?”

Rainbow took a deep breath, readying herself to say the words she feared hearing the most. “A ro….” She shook her head, and tried again. “A romance novel.”

“Well, yes.” Twilight confirmed, raising an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

Rainbow had taken her eyes off of the undesirable object. “Uh, how do I put this…” She started to pace the room. “I don’t read that stuff!” She chose a random spot to sit down and crossed her forelegs over her chest.

To Rainbow’s slight uneasiness, Twilight’s smile returned. “Maybe that’s the problem.”

The statement almost knocked her on her back, figuratively and literally. “Huh?”

“In your words, I think this will help you find ‘something different.’”

“...” It took a lot of self-control, which Rainbow usually lacked, to keep herself from calling Twilight crazy, or a Lunatic, or off her rocker. “Where did you even get this idea?” She must be desperate, or running out of ideas… or she talked to Rarity and Fluttershy about it!

Rainbow reminded herself to give those two a stern and thorough talking-to after this was all over.

“Don’t you remember?” Twilight tilted her head at Rainbow’s completely sensible bewilderment. “What you said this morning, about why you enjoyed last night even though it didn’t go as planned?”

Rainbow’s mind flashed back to that time, remembering her bet with the unicorn. “Oh, that? What does that have to do with this?” She spoke before mulling it over completely, which was normal for her, but this time, it was a mistake.

“Wait, when you said that, I thought…” Twilight trailed off, only exacerbating the confusion between them.

The two mares stared at each other for several moments, as it took that long for realization to set in for both of them. They spoke at once, cutting the other off accidentally.

“So you didn’t mean-”

“You thought I meant-”

They reacted to their shared revelation in drastically different ways. Rainbow leapt back a sizable distance, a hoof over her mouth in disbelief. Twilight didn’t move an inch, but her embarrassment was made clear by the deep red that overtook her face.

“Oh, jeez,” Rainbow waved her hooves in front of her face, all too aware that the shade of her face probably matched Twilight’s. “I just meant that no matter what I do with you, I think it’s cool. Not like… like that way,” she stammered, “just that I like hanging out with you!” Her eyes darted everywhere around the library except to the flustered mare in front of her. How could Twilight mess that up so bad? Rainbow had her share of misunderstandings like any other pony, but from how quickly her face had heated up and refused to return to a normal temperature, this had to be up there on the list of “Worst Ever.”

Also, it didn’t help that Twilight just kept staring at her and hadn’t even tried to get a word in edgewise as Rainbow scrambled for words.

Finally, the unicorn recovered from the shock, at least enough to lower her eyes and the book, which had both been fixated on Rainbow Dash. “...Sorry. I got way ahead of myself and assumed a few things, and… yeah.” She fidgeted, her face stubborn in keeping its redness.

Rainbow sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, hoping it would help her face return to its normal color. “It’s fine, I guess.”

Twilight seemed to brighten a little, as her gaze moved away from the floorboards and back to the pegasus. “Well, if that’s the case…”

“Hm?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Twilight’s recovery was awfully speedy.

The book was brandished with renewed confidence. “You should still consider reading this.”

“...Why?” Dash visibly deflated. If she had gotten that misguided idea out of Twilight’s head, what other reason could the egghead still have?

Twilight simply shrugged. “I don’t know. Now that I know what you actually meant this morning, it might not work.” She frowned, her confidence wilting slightly.

“But still,” she continued, “don’t you think it might make sense?”

“Like how?” Rainbow crossed her arms again, though this time it was out of skepticism and not stubbornness.

Twilight turned the book over in her hooves. “I could be wrong, but I assume that you’ve haven’t given too much thought to these matters.”

“Yeah, and…?”

“So it would make sense if you want ‘something different,’ but you’re being vague about it because you don’t know what it is. And knowing your lack of experience in romantic matters, that may very well be it!” Twilight held out the book for Rainbow to take upon reaching her conclusion.

Rainbow considered her friend’s argument for a moment... but only for a moment. “You’re the only one who can convince me to read a romance novel like that,” she muttered, and swiped the book out of Twilight’s grasp.

“Even if I’m wrong, I don’t think you’ll hate the book.” Twilight mused. “I picked it out especially for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed.

Twilight had gotten up and turned away, but now she looked back to shoot the pegasus a wink. “You have a big brain, so I think you can figure it out!”

The retort was familiar, but their roles this time were reversed. “Good one.”

“Now, if you may, I think you have a job to do.” Twilight was at the door, which she swept open with a magical flourish.

“You want me to start now?” Rainbow tried to hide her disappointment.

Twilight looked slightly hurt. “Of course. I picked it out especially for you, remember?” Whether she intended to or not, she punctuated her statement with a head tilt and a few slightly pitiful eyelash flutters.

Where the heck did she learn that? An image of Rainbow’s oldest friend making that same face flashed in her mind, and she reminded herself to add that to her list of things to discuss with Fluttershy. “...well, why can’t I just start it here, then?”

“Sorry,” a few dusters and spray cans materialized out of thin air, “today’s cleaning day.”

Again? The question popped up immediately in Rainbow’s mind, but she knew better than to call out Twilight’s habits. “Fine, fine. I won’t tell you what I think about the book until I’m done, though,” she called back as she hovered at the doorway.

“Why?”

Rainbow looked up. White, puffy clouds dotted the expanse of blue above her. “If you’re actually right, I want to see it for myself.”

Twilight watched her leave. “So she’s not completely against the idea, after all.”

She hung the CLOSED sign on her door, and got to work.

“That darn Twilight!”

Rainbow crash-landed belly-first onto her bed, sinking in a couple inches from the force of the impact. She lay silent for a moment, and then a heavy sigh escaped her.

“Making me read a romance novel, of all things…” She glanced to the side and, as always, her tortoise’s blank eyes gazed back at her.

“Yeah, I know I said that stupid stuff about how she might be right,” she addressed her pet. “It’s like, I’ve never cared about that crap before, so wouldn’t she know better than me?” She rolled over. “Even if she’s only read books about it, that still counts.” Her head hung over the edge of the bed. She stared at the poster on the opposite wall, which, from her point of view, now blared “STLOBJEDNOM” back at her.

“But if it sucks, that’s the end of it…” Rainbow continued. “And if that happens, I’ll never read one of these things again.” She reached for the book on her bed, having discarded it carelessly, but from her current position she could only grope blindly for it. “And if that happens, then what?” She gave up looking for the book, allowing her hooves to hang over the edge of the bed as well.

“...Then I’ll just be back where I started.

“Argh!” She shot up, shaking her head to combat the dizziness that resulted from the blood rushing to her head. “Why does it even matter?”

She looked around the room - for an answer, maybe - and her eyes inevitably wandered to the book. She picked it up, turning it this way and that. Unsurprisingly, the cover didn’t change - it was simple enough, and she didn’t hate it. At the very least, it wasn’t as sappy as she thought romance novel covers should be, though she wasn’t the biggest fan of flowers out there.

The pegasus stared at the book’s spine. Its title was there again, in bright silver print. “Does it matter because I made it matter to her?”

Her bad habit of trying to answer her own rhetorical questions was starting to bite. Once the idea was in her head, it refused to leave. But it had a point: would she still be dwelling on it if she hadn’t told Twilight about it? It was almost silly to imagine herself giving this much thought to her situation on her own.

Nothing that some flying can’t solve, she’d say. And napping.

And just like that, any doubts that she would have had would, at worst, retreat to the corner of her mind, only to come out when she was feeling her lowest - but when did Rainbow Dash ever feel low?

She didn’t. Therefore, problem solved.

That’s what would have happened, now that she thought about it. Instead, she was wandering into dangerous territory, which was how she saw the mystery of a novel that she held now. On one hoof, she had no personal reason to read it; she was sure she could find other methods to cure her inexplicable desires. Specifically, more appealing methods which didn’t involve her sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

On the other hand, she knew the answer to her own question. Twilight was as eager to help her as she was to help herself. No, scratch that - she was more so. Moreover, only one of them was actually coming up with ideas. Yeah, they might not have been good ideas, but they were ideas. At this point, she was doing this for Twilight as much as she was doing it for herself.

Rainbow propped herself up against the edge of her bed. She shook her head, letting out a chuckle.

“It’s all your fault, Twilight.”

She opened the book and began to read.

“So, what did you think of the book?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow and Fluttershy looked up from her plates, but it was the shy pegasus who replied. “Oh, it was very informative. I found everything I needed to know in it, thank you.”

“I’m glad I could help!” Twilight smiled until she felt another pair of eyes still on her. “Rainbow Dash, I asked Fluttershy about her book, not yours.” She frowned.

“Yeah, about that…” Rainbow leaned across the table, drawing the attention of Twilight along with everypony else at the table. “Are you free after lunch?”

Maybe she was imagining it, but Twilight felt the conversation at the table quiet down to no more than a murmur. She definitely wasn’t imagining the five pairs of eyes on her, though. Her eyes averted themselves. “Yes… why?”

Four pairs of eyes moved to Rainbow Dash. “Want to go to the lake?”

Not a word out of the four onlookers, but Twilight felt her face heating up. “B-but I thought we-”

A wave of a hoof silenced her. “No, not that lake.”

Twilight’s embarrassment was replaced with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Rainbow smirked. “You’ll find out if you go today.”

Embarrassment got back up and knocked confusion to the back of her mind, because Twilight once again felt five pairs of eyes boring into her, analyzing her, judging her. She tried her best to ignore their piercing stares, because curiosity was fighting for control too.

In the end, curiosity won. “Sure, I’ll go.” It was somewhat difficult to avoid her friends’ gazes, or the lack thereof, since they all proceeded to look at each other.

Rainbow grinned, crossing her hooves in victory. “Awesome. So, do you want to-”

“My goodness, Applejack.” The pegasus was cut off by Rarity, who had her attention focused on her plate. “This is simply the loveliest date here, don’t you agree?”

Twilight stared. To think that Rarity, of all ponies, would voice what all of them were thinking out loud! She had to try and salvage what was left of this hopeless situation, somehow. “Rarity, it’s not a-”

“Why, it certainly is, mah friend.” Applejack butted in, leaning over to get a better look at Rarity’s plate. “There are plenty of dates out there, but none are like the one we got.” The two shared a meaningful glance, then returned to staring at the plate.

The heat in Twilight’s face was beginning to feel familiar to her, but no less uncomfortable. She slammed her hooves on the table, forcing her distracted friends’ attention back to her.

“Stop jumping to conclusions! Why would you assume we’re going on a date?!”

The moment of silence that followed allowed immediate regret to follow her outburst.

Rarity cocked her head innocently. “Twilight, I know I can be a little enthusiastic about my diet at times, but I really do appreciate the quality of the dates in this salad.”

She motioned to her lunch, which, in fact, contained assorted fruits and berries - dates among them.

Twilight slumped back onto the table, defeated. However, doing her so allowed Applejack and Rarity to share another devious grin, unnoticed by the unicorn.

“Um, I don’t think you eat by sticking your face into your food,” Pinkie Pie advised her.

Twilight groaned again. It’s not a date, is it?

Author's Note

If you can figure out what the book title is referencing, you'll get something cool. Like appreciation.

No cheating.