//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Rainbow Dash's First Date // Story: TwiMacVerse Part 2: Love is a Many Splendid Pile of Crazy // by ThatBronyWithTheClipOns //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash woke up in a cloud like she always did, letting out a big yawn. After rubbing her eyes, she noticed a note beside her. Dear Rainbow Dash, Meet me at the center of the park at Noontime. Yours truly, Bookworm Rainbow Dash knew she had about an hour to prepare herself for her date. She wanted to make sure she looked nice. She decided to go to Rarity for some help. “So glad you decided to come to me, darling,” exclaimed Rarity. “We’ll have you looking date worthy in no time!” “Just don’t take too long, Rarity,” said Rainbow Dash. “I gotta be at the park in an hour. And don’t make me up too much, it’s just a picnic.” “Not a problem, deary,” said Rarity. “So the park you say? The one that Hayseed is the groundskeeper of?” “We only have one park,” said Rainbow Dash. “So duh. If you want to talk to Hayseed, just do it already. Just don’t bug me and Bookworm.” “I wouldn’t think of it,” said Rarity. “This is a big day for you after all. It’s your very first date! But don’t be nervous, just be yourself. That’s what he likes about you.” “Yeah yeah,” said Rainbow Dash. “Are we done yet?” “Almost,” said Rarity. “Just a few more touches…and…voila! Take a look, darling!” Rarity spun Rainbow Dash around to show her what she’d done. Rainbow went wide eyed in amazement. She’d made her hair much neater and put it into a nice ponytail. “Rarity,” began Rainbow Dash. “I’m amazed! I…I look like a real mare!” “You are a mare, silly,” said Rarity. “You’ve never been terrible looking. And there’s nothing wrong with sprucing yourself up every once in a while.” “Yeah, I guess,” said Rainbow Dash. “I better get going or I’m gonna be late.” “Oh yes,” said Rarity. “I suppose I’ll come along too. Not like there’s much going on right now.” “Whatever you say, Rare,” said Rainbow Dash. “You don’t need to make up excuses to go see Turnip Truck.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Rarity. “I just want to enjoy the scenery.” “Riiiiight,” said Rainbow Dash with a sarcastic tone. “The scenery being Hayseed.” “Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Rarity, blushing brightly. “No need to be so crude!” Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrive at the park. Rainbow Dash checked the map at the front of the park to figure out the exact point of the park center was. “Enjoy your date, dear,” said Rarity. “I’ll just walk about.” “Uh huh,” said Rainbow Dash. “Whatever, Rare.” Rainbow Dash headed to the middle of the park. The only thing she saw was a rope tied to a fixture in the ground. Arching an eyebrow, she then looked up to notice a hot air balloon. She figured Bookworm had something to do with this and decided to take a look. She flew up and sure enough, there was Bookworm in a sizeable basket with a blanket spread out and picnic foods. “Good afternoon, Rainbow Dash,” said Bookworm. “You are looking quite lovely.” “Heh, thanks,” said Rainbow Dash, blushing brightly. “You don’t look too bad yourself. Gotta say, I didn’t expect this kinda setup.” “Well, I figured I’d get creative,” he said. “Since I’m unable to actually fly or sit on the clouds, I rented the biggest balloon in town so we’d have enough room for our picnic. A lot easier than using a magic spell. Those can be tiresome.” Rainbow Dash had to admit she was impressed with Bookworm’s creativity. It never occurred to her how much effort he’d put into their first date. The spread of food looked really good too. “Wow, Books” she said. “Looks like a great meal you got here.” “Books?” he questioned. “Hmm, nopony ever gave me nickname like that.” “Huh, weird,” she said, eating a sandwich. “Seemed pretty obvious to me. If you don’t like it, it’s cool.” “Oh no,” he said. “I like it very much. I didn’t have many positive nicknames during my early days of school.” “I see,” she said. “I guess being the smart pony in class didn’t make you very popular?” “Not really,” he said. “And it wasn’t just being smart. I used to have a bad stutter too. The only way to really cope at the time was to avoid using contractions. But once my family moved to Manehattan I found a new therapist who was able to help me work through that as well. It became easier to make new friends. Still, most didn’t really ever give me a nickname. I’m sure you were popular in your school days.” “Hardly,” said Rainbow Dash. “Most of the kids made fun of me because I was a bit too enthusiastic with flying. I crashed all the time. So I got the oh so clever nickname of Rainbow Crash.” “Oh my,” he said. “I never would’ve guessed.” “Yeah,” she said. “On the plus side, I met my best friend Fluttershy. She’s a soft spoken pony, but is really sweet. She’s never been a strong flyer. But she eventually learned she could communicate with animals on a certain level.” “Fascinating,” he said. “If I recall correctly, Twilight told me that you had a hand at all of your friends getting their cutie marks.” “I guess in a way,” she said. “I pulled of a sonic rainboom, and it spread all over Equestria. My friends saw it and as a result found out their special talents and earned their cutie marks. So we learned that even before meeting each other, we were bonded together.” “A rainbow all over Equestria,” he said. “Interesting…I recall seeing one when I was just a little colt. It caused several books in a library to fall and I managed to figure out where they all went almost instantly. That’s when I got my cutie mark. Could that have been your rainbow?” “Um, gee, I guess so,” she said. “I mean, it did go all over Equestria. It could have impacted more ponies than I thought.” “Either way,” he started. “If Twilight hadn’t passed her exams, she never would’ve become the student of Princess Celestia. I would’ve never met her. Then I eventually met you.” “Gotta lot of confidence,” she said. “I can’t have been the first filly you’ve fallen for.” “Well no,” he said, beginning to frown. “I did have a mare friend for a few years. It all felt very right…but I soon found out she was only with me because of my success in writing.” “Oh man,” she said. “That’s awful. I can’t believe somepony could be such a bitch!” Rainbow Dash felt a bit embarrassed by what she said. “Sorry for my language,” she said. “Quite alright,” he said. “It’s nice to see a pony with such spirit! Even Daring Do is known to let out a curse.” “Heh, true,” she said. “So how did you manage to become the new Chester Buckingham?” “Now that is a story,” he said. “I had just graduated and was looking for work as a writer. But most people weren’t interested in what I was writing. Then one day I received a letter from Pegasus Publishing. I figured they were interested in publishing one of my stories. Turns out though one of the editors thought I would be more suited for something much different. That editor was, at the time, the current Chester Buckingham. He said he wasn’t able to concentrate on Daring Do like he wanted because of his extra duties. He felt my style was perfect for Daring Do. I admit I wasn’t totally excited at first, even though I did love the series. But at the time I needed the income. As time went on I got more passionate about each story and was glad to work on them. And I was eventually able to publish some of my own works.” “Guess you’ve made some good money with your work,” she said. “Yes, I am able to live comfortably,” he said. “But I never got into writing for the money. I wanted to be able to create my own stories and ideas. And while I’ve mainly done Daring Do, at least the stories and settings were my own. And I did manage to introduce some new characters.” “Oh totally,” said Rainbow Dash. “Like the Pirates of the North Marelantic! Who were first introduced in Daring Do and the Cabana Getaway!” “You read that one?” he said. “I’ve read them all,” she said. “It’s a hilarious story! Sure it’s not your typical Daring Do story, but it ended with an action filled adventure!” “Glad to hear somepony enjoyed it,” he said. “Most critics panned it.” “Critics are blowhards,” she said. “As long as you like it and the readers like it, that’s what really matters.” “Good point,” he said. “Fans did often give positive feedback.” “See,” she said. “So don’t worry about what a bunch of blowhards said. They’re probably just jealous that they weren’t able to make it as an actual writer.” “Could be,” he said. “But at least most of my work has had positive feedback. So what are your dreams Rainbow Dash?” “It’s no real secret,” she said. “One day I’m gonna be a member of the Wonderbolts!” “Fantastic,” he said. “They’re the greatest flyers in all of Equestria! I’m certain you could become a member.” “Thanks,” she said. “Although I didn’t exactly give a great example yesterday when I flew into you.” “True,” he said with a laugh. “But accidents happen. And even the Wonderbolts have to practice to get their maneuvers right.” “Yeah,” she said. “Good point.” “So,” he said trying to think of things to talk about. “What’s your family like?” “They're ok, I guess," she started. "Dad's an athlete like me; guess I get it from him. I definitely get his rainbow mane. So it's not as rare as you might think. He's done a lot of competitions and stuff, won various ribbons and trophies. He slowed down on it though once he and mom got together." "Did your father coach you as a filly," he asked. "Oh you bet he did," she exclaimed. "Best coach anypony could ever have! It certainly made flight camp a bit more of a breeze because I already knew some of the basics. Flight camp is how I met Fluttershy." "The timid one," he asked. "Bingo," she said. "She's always been that way. But she's a great friend to have and of my friends I've known her the longest." "So that would make her your best friend," he pointed out. “Yeah, I guess it does” she said. “So, what about your family?” “I have good parents for the most part,” he said. “I’m their only child. Both are the bookish types like me. Both are teachers; mother teaches literature and father teaches music. They always wanted to make sure I had a good education and exposed me to as much as they could. Mother was always warmer to me, which I suppose is normal for a mother. Father did his best to connect with me, we sometimes didn‘t always get along. But that‘s greatly improved as I‘ve gotten older.” “That’s good,” she said. “Are they happy with what you do for a living?” “Sure,” he said. “They never guessed it would be the profession I’d go into. But they’re glad to see that it makes me happy and that I make a decent living from it.” “Great,” she said. “I gotta say, this is going a lot better than I expected. I’ve never been on a date before.” “Really?” he asked. “I find that hard to believe. A pretty filly like you.” “Well it’s true,” she said blushing. “I guess it’s because of being an athlete. Stallions must think I’m some tough mare who’s unapproachable or something. It bugged me early on I admit, but I got used to it as time went on.” “Surprising,” he said. “I was amazed you even said yes.” “Well, after all the flattering things you said to me,” she said. “It’d be kinda rude to say no. And I am having a good time.” “Glad to hear,” he said. Rainbow Dash really was surprised by how well this was all going. She never thought she’d be charmed by an egghead. And the effort put into the date was impressive. And she had to admit that he wasn’t a bad looking colt. Once they were done eating, Rainbow Dash decided to give Bookworm a pegasus eye view of Ponyville. He stayed in the balloon while she wrapped the rope around herself. Their date lasted till sunset. Bookworm used the balloon to escort Rainbow Dash back to her house in the sky. “That was an awesome day,” she said. “Thanks for taking me out, Books.” “Not a problem,” he said. “I hope we can do this again soon, Dash.” “Totally,” she said. Both smiled at each other. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help herself and decided to lean in and give Bookworm a kiss. While surprised, Bookworm wasn’t going to make her stop. Once done Rainbow dash gave him another smile. “So when are you free again?” she asked. “I’d say anytime this week really,” he said. “How about we just meet up sometime tomorrow,” she said. “See where it goes?” “Sounds wonderful,” he said. “Goodnight Rainbow Dash.” “Goodnight, Bookworm,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before going into her house. Bookworm let out a big sigh of happiness, before remembering he needed to get the balloon back to the rental store. It had been the best day he’d had in a very long time. Inside her room, Rainbow Dash was so excited that she had trouble getting to sleep right away. She hadn’t felt this much warmth and happiness since making her friends. But she didn’t want to act too crazy with all this; she had a reputation after all as a super cool pony. She’d be sure to be cool and casual about all this as possible.