Don't Give Up

Don't Give Up

Chapter 11

Uncertainty

“So... wait, you're both filly-foolers?” Spike asked, a bewildered expression on his face.

“SPIKE! I told you already, that is offensive to some ponies.” Twilight scolded, glaring angrily at the baby dragon in front of her.

“Sorry, I forgot. But really, you're both... what is the official term? Lesbian?” Spike asked, looking back and forth between Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

“Well, I dunno 'bout Twi, but I am.” Dash said, smiling her usual cocky smile. For some reason Twilight couldn't help but smile as she looked at it.

“Well Twilight must be as well, otherwise she wouldn't have kissed you, right Twilight?” Spike asked, looking back at the blushing purple unicorn.

“Well, I didn't exactly have time to protest. And to be honest I never really thought about it much.” Twilight said, looking back at Dash.

“Hey, you said yourself that you didn't regret it. Besides, you kissed me first, I was just returning the favour.” Dash said, Twilight was still shocked at how calm she could be. But as usual, Dash was panicking on the inside, she was just hiding it. She had a million thoughts running through her head at once. All of them ran along the lines of “What if she doesn't feel the same?” or “What have I done? I've ruined our friendship!”.

“Wait, TWILIGHT kissed you first? The Twilight? Are you sure we're talking about the same pony? 'Cause last time I checked she would kiss a book before another pony.” Spike said sarcastically, taking his opportunity to get revenge on the mare that had restricted him with rules all his life.

“Oh yeah, back when I was- mmphmmphmmm.” Dash was cut off by a hoof jammed into her muzzle.

“What was that?” Twilight asked, glaring coldly at Rainbow.

“Nothing, nope, not a thing. I kissed Twilight first, just now, that's all there is to it.” Dash spat out as soon as Twilight's hoof was taken away from her mouth. Withering under Twilight's glare.

“That's what I thought.” Twilight said coldly, before turning back to her assistant. “Now then, you said you were going to make dinner?”

“Yeah, but I thought you said we needed to talk.” Spike sad, still confused.

“Did we not just talk?” Twilight growled, glaring daggers at Spike.

“We did bu- you know what? I'll go get that going now.” Spike said, having seen Twilight's soul-sucking stare. It was almost as bad as Fluttershy's, though Twilight couldn't make random animals do what she wanted, she could certainly use it on baby dragons.

“Whoa, Twi, What was that about? It looked like you were about turn him into a cactus.” Rainbow dash said, walking up beside Twilight.

“I know, I don't even know why I brought him out here in the first place, I just thought... I don't know what I thought. Oh well, what's done is done.” Twilight sighed, leaning slightly into Rainbow Dash. Both of them just sitting there for a moment, listening to the sounds of cleaning coming from the kitchen. Until Rainbow eventually broke the silence.

“So... I dunno what you think, but I'd be willing to give this a try.” She said, her voice was shaky and nervous.

“Give what a try?” Twilight asked, looking over at the cyan pegasus she was leaning on.

“A relationship?” Dash said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which to her it was.

“I thought we already decided that, you know, since you already kissed me.” Twilight said, giggling slightly at Dash's red face.

“Hey, not my fault you look so beautiful when when you're traumatized.” Dash said jokingly. “If you don't want ponies kissing you then you shouldn't look so damn cute.”

“You really think I'm cute?” Twilight asked quietly, part of her mind was still struggling to process all that had happened. It had been one stressful day.

“You forget I also said beautiful.” Dash said, turning to look at the purple mare beside her.

“Really?” Twilight asked again, turning to look at the magenta eyes staring back at her. Rainbow slowly lifted a hoof and used it to cup Twilight's cheek.

“Yes.” Dash said, before pulling Twilight into another kiss.

“Hey guys dinner's gonna be a while, I- OH COME ON!” Spike yelled, retreated back into the kitchen he had just walked out of. Twilight and Dash just ignored him, preferring to focus on each other instead of what others may think.

“Guess we should stop before he needs therapy.” Twilight giggled, breaking the kiss.

“Yeah.” Dash sad dreamily, eyes half lidded as she gazed into the violet eyes in front of her.

“Hey, Rainbow?”

“Hmm?” Dash asked, still revelling in the scent of the purple unicorn. It was definitely chocolate mixed with the lavender. Dash's new favourite smell, she decided.

“Does this mean we're dating?” Twilight asked, obviously nervous about the answer, though Dash didn't know why.

“I guess, I mean, we haven't exactly gone on a date yet.” Dash said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.

“Let's fix that then, wanna go somewhere for dinner?” Twilight asked, perking up a bit at Dash's answer.

“Isn't Spike cooking dinner. Like, right now?” Dash asked, a little confused as to why Twilight would tell Spike to make dinner if she had no intentions of eating it.

“He'll be fine, he can eat it himself, and besides, we'll have some of it left over for tomorrow.” Twilight said, already grabbing her saddlebags and tossing a few bits in.

“Alright, but where do you want to go? I don't know any good restaurants around here.” Dash said, walking over to the door while Twilight stuck her head in the kitchen, presumably telling Spike they were leaving for a while.

“But Twilight-” Spike whined, Twilight cutting him off.

“Just eat it yourself and throw the rest in the fridge, we'll eat it tomorrow. Bye.” Twilight said, closing the door before Spike could utter another word in protest.

“He doesn't sound too happy.” Dash said as Twilight walked up beside her at the door, opening it with her magic.

“He'll get over it.” Twilight said nonchalantly as she walked out the door, Rainbow right behind her.

“Okay, but where do you want to go? There aren't exactly a lot of fancy restaurants around here.” Dash said, wrapping a wing around Twilight's shoulders as they started to walk down the street.

“I don't know, lets just walk around until we find somewhere that looks good.” Twilight said, causing Dash's jaw to drop.

“Wait, are you telling me Twilight Sparkle, miss has-a-schedule-for-everything, asked me on a date, and doesn't even know where to go?” Dash said, surprise evident in her voice.

“Is that a bad thing? I thought you hated my schedules?” Twilight said, worried that she had done something wrong.

“Only when they interfere with my schedule.”

“You have a schedule?” Twilight asked, doubt clear in her voice.

“Of course I do! It consists of eat, sleep, nap, snack, and work.” Dash said, grinning her usual cocky grin. Something about that smile made Twilight's heart beat harder.

“Why am I not surprised?” Twilight said, chuckling as the two rounded a corner to Ponyville's main street. There were a fair amount of ponies in the streets, shops on either side of them bustling with activity. All except one, about half way down the street. It was totally abandoned, minus a few ponies in police uniforms walking around the outside.

Twilight shuddered a bit as she looked at the building, immediately recognizing it from earlier that morning. Sensing the slight shake, Rainbow Dash looked first at Twilight, then followed her gaze to the building they were approaching.

“You okay?” Dash asked, hugging Twilight closer to her side, the unicorn welcoming the embrace.

“I don't know, I thought I was over it, but seeing that building... I can still see her face, Rainbow. Every time I close my eyes, I see her face.” Twilight said, looking away from the building as her eyes started to fill with tears, though none of them escaped.

“You want to go home?” Dash offered, concerned that the unicorn might have a break down if she had to look at the building any longer then she already had.

“No, I said I'd take you for dinner, and that's what I intend to do. Besides, Spike is already mad at me, so no point going back without at least finding something to eat.” Twilight said, trying her best to put on a strong face, though in reality it was hard enough for her to not cry.

“I don't care if we go to dinner or not, all I care about is your safety, physical and emotional.” Dash said, seeing right through Twilight's ruse.

“Rainbow, I said I'm fine. There's a place right there, let's go.” Twilight said, picking up the pace a bit, eager to get away from the dental office. She appreciated that Rainbow cared, but she was fine. At least that's what she told herself, and how often was she wrong?

Rainbow just sighed as she picked up her pace to match Twilight, her wing still firmly wrapped around the purple mare. The restaurant itself was small but quaint. It wasn't very busy, being one of the less popular restaurants just because of it's size. It had a cozy air about it, a gramophone playing in one corner, a tune Rainbow couldn't quite figure out, but it was nice anyway.

There was no line, and only half the tables had ponies sitting in them, so they were seated immediately after coming in, the waiter was a unicorn with a picture of a floating platter and a few plates on top for a cutie mark. They were seated in one of the booths, next to a window facing out to one of Ponyville's many parks. A few filly’s and and colt's running around.

“May I take your order?” The waiter asked, standing straight and proper beside the table.

“Yes, can I have your pomegranate salad please?” Twilight said, looking up from the menu she had her nose buried in.

“I'll just have a regular Caesar salad.” Rainbow Dash said, not even opening the menu; it was still a book.

“Coming right up.” The waiter said before walking off to the kitchen to relay their orders to the cooks.

“So...” Twilight said, looking awkwardly at the the table, avoiding Dash's eyes.

“Yeah?” Rainbow said, sensing Twilight's nervousness, not that it was hard.

“We're on a date.” Twilight said, rubbing her hooves together nervously.

“Well duh. You did ask me out, remember?” Dash said, not understanding why Twilight was nervous all of the sudden, she hadn’t been nervous back at the library.

“I know, but I don't know why.” Twilight admitted, hanging her head a little lower.

“Because you like me?” Dash asked, a little worried that Twilight had miss read her own feelings.

“But I don't know if I do! I don't know if it was just because of what happened this morning, or the stress or if I just missed you that much while you were in the coma. I have no idea what I'm doing; I haven't exactly dated anypony before.” Twilight said, still struggling to process her day. It was all like a dream to her now. She knew what happened, but it was like she wasn't in control, like she was a machine. Then she thought back to when Rainbow had kissed her, and she knew that wasn't a dream. It was the one break she had had all day. The one thing that she had truly enjoyed in a long time.

“Twilight, just relax. We agreed we'd try this, and you were determined to go out for dinner, so just enjoy it. If it doesn't work it doesn't work.” Dash said calmly. She was worried that it might not work, she didn't know what she would do then, but she would deal with that later.

“Alright... thanks, Rainbow.” Twilight said, lifting her head and smiling.

“You've been thanking me a lot today, maybe you should listen to my advice more often.” Dash joked, giggling a bit at Twilight's glare. Though Twilight soon found herself joining Dash in a fit of giggles.

“Your food.” The waiter said stoically, levitating a tray with two plates in his magic. Levitating one down in front of either pony before walking back to the door, having seen another customer.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight ate in a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the food and each others company.

“Well, how is it?” Dash said, having grown tired of the silence.

“It's good, not the best, but I suppose it would be a lot to ask for it to match what I used to eat in the palace.” Twilight said, smiling brightly as she ate her salad.

“Feeling any better now?” Dash asked, shoving another fork full of salad into her mouth.

“A little. I think I've calmed down now.” Twilight said, visibly more relaxed then she had been when they had arrived at the restaurant.

“That's good.” Dash said quietly, silently gathering the courage to ask what she really wanted to know.

“Something wrong?” Twilight asked, cocking her head slightly when she picked up on Dash's rather subdued tone. It didn't sound right unless she was bragging about something.

“You said you didn't know if you actually liked me in this way earlier. I was wondering if... if you knew for sure.” Dash said, looking away from the source of the answer she feared.

“I... I don't know, Rainbow. I just don't know.” Twilight said, reaching a hoof across the table and turning Dash's head to look in Dash's magenta eyes. “But I would like to find out.” She said, before quickly leaning forward and kissing Dash. Dash was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered and started kissing back, relishing in the the feeling Of Twilight's lips against her own.

“Twilight?” They both jumped at the unexpected visitor. Both of them quickly jumping back into their seats, forcefully breaking the kiss.

“Yes?” Twilight said, turning to the unknown stallion, her face a bright read, Dash's face a perfect match.

“Twilight Sparkle, it is you! How have you been?” The pony said, his voice was deep, yet smooth as well. Clearly well practised in giving speeches and talking in general. He had a sapphire blue coat and a mane to match with white tips on the various spikes sticking out of it, the tip of his muzzle also a dull white. He wore a white vest and a watch on his front left hoof. His eyes sparkled brightly through thin grey glasses, his irises matching his coat.

“Fine... but do I know you?” Twilight asked, not recognizing the pony claiming to know her.

“It's me, Frost Nexus! From the school for gifted unicorns?” He said, smile wavering as he tried to convince her that she knew him. Thankfully, Twilight's eyes lit up in recognition.

“Frost Nexus! It is you! Sorry I didn't recognize you sooner, how have you been?” She asked, perking up at meeting an old friend. Well, old colleague, since Twilight didn't have friends back then.

“Good, I have 3 books published now on my ice magic, and one of them is on the best sellers list.” He said cheerfully, pleased to be able to share his accomplishments.

“Hey, I have two of them in my library, great work, I would love to talk to you more in depth about them. Why are you in Ponyville? I thought you were based in Manehatten.”

“Meeting a friend here for a few days, though I didn't expect to run into two! Oh well, I have to go, my friend is expecting me, I just came here for a quick dinner.” Frost said, before quickly trotting to the door, waving to Twilight once more as he disappeared out the door.

“Who was that?” Dash asked, still rather embarrassed about being interrupted like they had been.

“Just somepony I knew back when I was in Canterlot. Now, where were we?” Twilight asked, turning back to Face Dash who quickly leaned leaned over the table, Twilight doing the same. Their muzzles were about to meet when they heard a very annoyed grunt come from another table in the restaurant.

Turning to see the source of the noise, they noticed that most of the patrons in the restaurant were glaring fairly coldly at them. They both knew why.

“Somepony got a problem?” Dash said coldly, slowly casting her glare across everypony that was staring at them.

“Rainbow, let's just go.” Twilight said quietly, not wanting to cause any problems.

“No way, Twi, I am not going to back down, not about this.” Dash didn't take her eyes off the crowed of glaring ponies.

“It's not worth it, Rainbow.” Twilight pleaded, a little more force behind her voice.

“You don't know what I've been through about this, Twi.” Dash said, glaring daggers at one pony who was mouthing the words “filly-foolers” at them.

“No, I don't, but that is still no reason to make a scene. Please, let's just go home.” Twilight said, almost begging.

“Fine.” Dash spat, getting up from the table and walking to the door. Twilight levitating a few bits out of the bag an placing them on the table, being sure not to leave any extra for a tip.

“Rainbow?” Twilight called, running to catch up to the fuming mare, currently kicking any pebbles she could find.

“I've had to live with that my whole life, even before I knew I was gay. It didn't matter what I said, if somepony started a rumour like that in flight camp, then that may as well be the truth.” Rainbow grumbled as Twilight walked up beside her.

“I'm sorry, but fighting about it wouldn't have changed anything, let's just go.” Twilight said, starting the walk back to the library, towards the sun that was currently setting behind the mountains. The sky was illuminated with brilliant yellows and oranges, some almost as vibrant as the colour’s in Rainbow Dash's mane.

“I know. It just makes me mad, especially after what they did to Fluttershy. She still isn't over it.”

“Come on, let's go home.”