The morning light entered Rainbow Dash's eyes and eventually filtered its way into her brain. It took a few more moments for her to remember where she was and why, but she pulled herself upright when the previous night’s memories came back to her.
"I see you're awake. Good morning, Rainbow." Rarity had already styled her mane and tail, as well as applied her makeup and eyelashes. She was currently unpacking a scarf from their luggage.
Rainbow replied with a drawn-out yawn. She rolled out of bed and stretched her body forwards and backwards, then followed up by taking her wings through their full range of motion. She rolled her head around and shook out her remaining stiffness.
"Morning," she managed. Rainbow noticed an unfamiliar tingling in her nose. She wrinkled her snout and snorted a few times. "Aw geez, I think I'm coming down with something."
Rarity scowled. "So considerate of you to tell me of an impending illness after we share a bed."
Rainbow rubbed her snout. "I felt fine last night. There's just this weird tingling in my nose."
Rarity straightened up. "Ah. That must be the spell I cast."
"You used magic on me in my sleep?!" She backed up a step. "What did you do?"
"Don't be so dramatic, Rainbow." Rarity selected a thick-looking hat. "It was a nothing more than a simple anti-snoring spell." She paused. "It comes in very useful when my mother visits. And when sharing a bed with a certain pegasus, I've discovered. Now that you're awake, the effect will fade in a few minutes."
Rarity levitated the hat and a heavy dress to Rainbow, who put them on. Rarity donned her own winter outfit and the two left the hotel room with their luggage to check out.
Outside, the two stepped into the winter morning. A thick layer of snow crunched beneath their hooves. More snow drifted from the sky, settling upon their backs.
As they left hoofprints behind them, Rainbow looked around at the snow covering the tops of the trees. Canterlot always had a very skilled weather team. Rainbow couldn't help but admit they did a good job starting winter overnight. Flyers hung off of the sides of buildings and banners stretched above the road, all advertising activities and events for the new cold season.
Rainbow noticed that a thin layer of snow had gathered on top of her wings. She eyed Rarity, who walked obliviously next to her. Rainbow carefully extended her wing, to let the snow on it accumulate just a little more. Then she flicked her wing sending a white spray towards Rarity.
Rarity jumped at the impact and turned to face Rainbow, who walked backwards past her. "Relax, babe, it's just a little snow."
Rarity smirked and kicked some back. Rainbow flinched, but still ended up with bits of snow on her face. She brushed it off with a wing and flicked it away.
"What's wrong, dearie? It's just a little snow."
Rainbow put on her determined look, but Rarity interrupted, "Compose yourself, dearie. We're here."
Rainbow turned forward again to find herself at the same archway from the day before. The yard had turned white, and the tents sagged under the weight of the snow, sheltering the ponies below. Heading under the tent to join the other ponies and brushing themselves off, the pair found that breakfast had already been laid out. Rainbow grabbed three plate-sized waffles and enough maple syrup to drown a manticore. Rarity picked out a warm muffin and two slices of banana bread, with just a hint of butter.
They sat facing each other at a table near the one they'd had dinner at the previous evening.
"Shall we?" Smiling, Rarity used her knife and fork to cut out a section of waffle and raised it to Rainbow's lips.
"As long as we don't have to kiss again." Rainbow smiled and ate the piece off of Rarity's fork.
The two ate in silence. After they finished their breakfast, they sat for several minutes, watching the snow fall together.
Rainbow looked across the table. "Hey, Rarity?"
"Yes, dearie?" Rarity turned to her.
Rainbow leaned in and glanced from side to side. "Let's ditch this place," she whispered.
Rarity's smile dropped. "It would be terrible form to leave a social gathering before it ends. Even if there is little more to be gained by staying."
"I saw a flyer on the way here. They're having dog sledding over on the mountain." Rainbow tossed her head towards the peak.
A hint of uncertainty joined Rarity's expression, her eyes scanning the area.
"They have carrot dogs."
Rainbow smiled. Rarity bit her lip and looked down.
"And cinnamon-sugar pastry puffs," Rainbow sing-songed.
Rarity glanced from side to side. "We'll need to find a reason to leave early." She paused for a moment. "I know just the thing!"
A blob of blue magic jumped from Rarity's horn to Rainbow's snout. A familiar, uncomfortable sensation returned to her nose.
Rarity stood up. "Oh my, dearie, are you all right?" she asked much louder than she needed to. She motioned with her hoof for Rainbow to follow and made her way to Golden Goose.
"My apologies, Golden Goose, but I believe my marefriend is catching a dreadful cold." She gestured towards Rainbow, who was busy trying to blow the spell out of her nose. "I absolutely must tend to my dearie's health, you understand."
Golden Goose nodded. "But of course. I hope you feel better soon, Miss Rainbow Dash."
"Yeah, me too. Let's go somewhere comfier." Rainbow sniffled a few times.
As soon as they were out of sight of the festival, they broke into a trot. "Good thinking, babe," Rainbow said.
"You don't have to call me that anymore, Rainbow." Rarity brushed some snow out of her mane.
"I just had to get one more in." Rainbow lagged behind her, then scooped up a hooffull of snow. "Hey, Rarity, you missed a spot!"
Rarity only made it half a step through her confused turn before the snowball struck her shoulder.
She finished her turn. "Rainbow Dash, that is hardly appropriate—" a second snowball interrupted her.
"You gonna take that, Rarity?" Rainbow danced from leg to leg.
Rarity's horn illuminated. "Oh, it is on." Several chunks of snow rose from the ground.
Rainbow hopped backward from the first snowball sent her way and took to the air to dodge the second. "Gotta work on your aim, Rarity!" She grabbed a hunk from a nearby roof and threw it at Rarity. Rarity jumped out of the way and sent one back. Rainbow raised her foreleg to block the shot. A few more snowballs passed between them before Rarity landed a hit on Rainbow's belly.
"Oof!" She rubbed the stinging impact site. "Oh, you're in for it now!" She scooped up a wad in her forehooves, flew up with it, then tossed it into the air. She spun in place, smacking the falling snow towards Rarity with a powerful wing. After another spin of follow-through, she looked down to see Rarity sprawled out on the snowy ground.
"Oh geez." Rainbow darted down and pulled Rarity to her feet. "You okay?"
"I'm quite all right," Rarity said. "I was just surprised, is all."
Rainbow brushed Rarity off with her wing. "Sorry about that. Applejack can take the winged snow slap a lot better than that."
"No harm done. Let’s just take a break and make our way to the dog sledding."
---
Five ponies perched their sleds at the edge of a flat section on the side of Canterlot Mountain. Each climbed into the rear of their sled and sat a small dog at the fore. The ponies lowered their goggles onto their faces before doing the same to their canine companions. Below them, the slope was littered with bare trees, rocks, stumps, and the occasional fallen log.
In the stands, Rarity swallowed her bite of pastry puff. "I think the Welsh corgi's going to take this one. It has a clear path down the mountain, with only a stump here and there to avoid."
"No way," Rainbow answered. "The rat terrier totally has this. That's the face of a champion."
"On your marks," the announcer yelled. "Get set! Go!"
"Awoooo!" Rainbow howled with the crowd. Next to her, she could hear Rarity howling along.
The sleds weaved down the mountain, their drivers yipping and barking the whole way. Rainbow and Rarity hooted and hollered, cheering their dogs on.
"Come on, Rachel!"
An unfortunate beagle caught a mostly-buried rock and found itself launched from its vehicle. It rolled to a stop in the snow and shook itself off.
"No, weave left, Danny!"
The remaining sleds zipped over the finish line. "And the winners are..." the announcer called. "Martin and Honeycomb Swan!"
The crowd cheered.
"The Shiba Inu?!" Rarity screeched.
"I thought that entry was a joke!" Rainbow shouted.
Rarity sighed. "That's dog sledding, I suppose."
"Think we got time for the next race?" Rainbow finished the carrot dog she'd been holding.
Rarity looked up towards the sun. "I'm afraid we don't. We'll have to make our way to the station if we want to catch the train back to Ponyville."
"Aw, bummer. Let's get going then." Rainbow turned to leave, then looked back. "Wanna feed me the rest of that puff?"
Rarity gazed into Rainbow's eyes and took a bite.
---
The train car swayed as it made its way down the track. Below, the rhythmic click-clack of the wheels reminded its occupants of its progress. Inside, a pegasus and a unicorn sat side by side on an upholstered seat.
"Can't say I enjoyed yesterday very much," Rainbow Dash said, "but we had some fun today, right?"
Rarity hummed her agreement. "It was good to get away from the shop for a little while, even if I didn't meet with the kind of ponies I was hoping for."
"Thanks a ton for coming with me, Rarity. I don't know what I would have done without you. Even if it got kind of weird sometimes." Rainbow went quiet, her lips remembering the feeling of Rarity's tongue between them.
"Well, that's behind us now. We're not marefriends any more, after all." Rarity looked out the window.
Rainbow gave her best dramatic gasp. "You're breaking up with me?"
"Rainbow, we weren't actually together."
"So what we had was all a big lie?"
Rarity smirked. "It just wasn't working between us."
Rainbow got off the seat, dropped to the ground, and clutched at Rarity's hooves. "I can change, babe! You know I can!"
"It's not you, dearie, it's me." Rarity placed her hoof on Rainbow's forehead and pushed her away.
Rainbow climbed back onto the seat next to Rarity, suppressing a laugh. "Come on, Rarity, give me one more chance."
"I think we should just be friends." She covered her mouth. Her body rocked slightly.
Rainbow burst into laughter. "Then I never"—she paused to get some air—"want to see your face ever again!"
"I'll be glad to see you leave!" Rarity joined her friend’s mirth.
"You're an awful kisser!" Rainbow draped herself across Rarity, unable to control herself. The pair laughed all the way back to Ponyville.
---
Two days later, snow clouds filled the sky over Ponyville, slowly letting their contents drift towards the ground. Above them, Rainbow Dash relaxed atop her house, laying on her back and catching what afternoon sun there was to be had while the temperature was still tolerable.
Her mind drifted to the snowball fight. That was fun, she thought. She remembered how they hooted and howled at the dog sled races. Awoo. Ha ha.
She remembered all that silliness with the feeding and the eye gazing.
And the kiss.
Rainbow paused. Well, it wasn't that bad, now that I think about it. A smile found its way onto Rainbow's lips. I shouldn't have been that mad about it. It'll make a great story if I ever need to embarrass her. What am I thinking? I can't do that to her. She's too nice for that. I don't want to see that pretty face look upset.
She froze. What was that? She shifted around. Rarity puts a lot of effort into her appearance. It's only natural that she look attractive. Rainbow nodded, satisfied at her explanation, then turned her attention back to sunning herself.
After a moment, another thought crossed her mind. I should find another reason to hang out with Rarity. Followed by, Spending more time with her would be so awesome.
Rainbow bopped herself in the head with her hoof a few times. Come on, Rainbow, what's gotten into you? The way you're talking, you'd think you had a crush on her or something.
She sat bolt upright.
"Oh crud," Rainbow said out loud. "Oh crud oh crud oh crud."
Rainbow rolled onto her feet and paced back and forth on her roof. "Okay, calm down. So you have a crush. That's... that's normal, right?" She took a breath and let it out. "There's an easy way to take care of this. All I have to do is... oh geez, what do I do?
"I got it. I'll go to Rarity and I'll say...
"I'll tell her that...
"I'll say that I have an amazing idea! The two of us should...
"Oh geez. Alright. I can do this. All I have to do is—whoa!" Rainbow stumbled into the hole she'd worn into the top of her house. Her wings sent her aloft.
After patching up her roof, she flew a few slow laps around her house in an attempt to clear her head.
"I can't do this. I need help. Yeah, that's it. I'll ask for help." She took another deep breath. "Who can help?” She stopped and hovered in mid-air as she weighed her options. “Okay, I got it."
She turned and dove below the clouds.
---
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Rainbow reached up and knocked on the wooden door. "One moment please," Fluttershy’s voice called from the other side.
A moment later, the door opened. "Oh, hello Rainbow," Fluttershy said. "I wasn't expecting any company. Was there something you needed?"
Rainbow glanced around. "Fluttershy, I got a problem, and I need your help."
"Oh dear. I'll try to do whatever I can." Fluttershy backed up to let Rainbow inside, then shut the door behind them. She moved towards the kitchen. "Should I put the tea on?"
She always made tea when Rainbow had to talk things through with her. Not that Rainbow minded the soothing heat, especially in the winter.
"I'm not sure. Let me explain. You see, I have this friend..." Rainbow paused. "You know what, forget it. It's me. There's this pony I have a crush on, and I don't know what to do."
"Oh, I see." Fluttershy stopped, turned back to her, and raised her hoof to her chin. "While my animals sometimes come to me for that kind of advice, I've never been asked by a pony before. Pony romance is so... complicated." She stared down at her hooves. "I don't think I can help you there. I'm sorry, Rainbow."
Rainbow stood up. "It's cool, Fluttershy. I'll ask somepony else."
"I think you should ask Rarity," Fluttershy chimed, trotting to the door and opening it. "She knows a lot about romance."
Rainbow let out a sigh. "Yeah. Thanks." She opened her wings and flew off into the gentle snowfall.
---
Rainbow coasted above the town, mentally tallying her remaining friends. A farmhouse caught her eye. Might as well.
She swooped down, landed at the door, and gave it a knock. Soon after, Applejack opened it.
"Howdy, Rainbow. Come on in." Applejack let her inside. "What brings you around in this weather?"
Brushing her snow off, Rainbow replied, "I need help. There's a pony I have a crush on and I don't know what to do about it."
"Ah. Well, I'm not sure what you expect me to say, Rainbow." Applejack looked into her fireplace. "Granny Smith always said that two logs in a hearth burn brighter than one. Maybe you should stoke the flames a bit."
Rainbow had no idea what that was supposed to mean. "Uh, yeah, I'll think about doing that. Thanks."
"No problem." Applejack opened her front door again. "And if you have any other questions, I hear Rarity's good at that lovey-dovey stuff. I bet she can be a heap of help."
Rainbow grunted. "Sure thing, Applejack." She took off a little harder than she had to.
---
"So Fluttershy doesn't know, and Applejack doesn't know. And if I ask Twilight she'll just drop an encyclopedia on me. So please tell me you know something about crushes."
Pinkie Pie dug around in the supplies in the back room of Sugarcube Corner. It was bad enough that Fluttershy and Applejack knew she had a crush; she didn't need every pony who wanted a warm loaf of bread knowing too. Rainbow wasn't sure she was even paying attention, but her options had grown limited.
Pinkie Pie turned her head back at Rainbow and scratched her chin. Then she scratched her ear. Then she scratched her chin again. "I think you should ask Rarity. She knows everything about everything about romance!"
"Why does everypony keep telling me to talk to Rarity?!" Rainbow tossed up her hooves.
"Because she's good at—oooooh." Pinkie returned a knowing smile.
Rainbow grimaced. "Uh, yeah. I uh, have a crush on Rarity."
"I know just what to do." Pinkie closed her eyes and nodded. "I think you should ask Rarity."
Rainbow's eye twitched. "What did I just say?"
"No no no no. I think you should ask Rarity." Pinkie walked up to Rainbow and prodded her chest.
"You mean... just ask her to be my marefriend? Or I know! I'll find another social gathering and tell Rarity she needs to pretend to be my marefriend again. Then I can—" Rainbow found a pink hoof in her mouth.
"No! Ask her!" Pinkie withdrew her hoof.
"I... I can't." Rainbow looked away.
"Sure you can!" Pinkie sprang up and bounced to the far corner of the small room. "All you have to do is walk up to her"—she trotted towards Rainbow—"and say 'Hey, Rarity! I think you're super cool and awesome and stuff. Do you wanna go out with me?'" Pinkie tilted her head, smiled, and batted her eyelashes.
Rainbow leaned back slightly. "Just like that? Would that work?"
Pinkie leaned in. "Yepperoni!"
"Yeah." Rainbow stood up. She staggered towards the back door, mind swimming. "I think I'll ask Rarity."
---
Rainbow Dash stood outside the door. The snow was coming down harder, but she didn't notice. She took a breath and let it out, watching the white puffs briefly appear around her mouth. She took another, then raised her hoof and rapped on the door.
"Just a minute!" a familiar voice called from the other side.
Rainbow steeled herself before the door opened to reveal Rarity. "Rainbow! Come in, come in. What brings you here? And through the door, no less?"
Rainbow took a few steps inside.
"Uh uh!" Rarity interjected. She pointed at the floor. Rainbow looked down to see her hooves covered in snow. A few stray chunks of dirt fell onto the clean carpet. She hurried back a few steps and wiped herself off on the doormat, accompanied by some mental cursing.
As Rainbow's cleaned hooves stepped their way farther inside, Rarity asked, "Now, how can I help you?" She turned to face her.
Rainbow's heart pounded in her chest.
"Is something the matter, Rainbow?"
"Rarity." Rainbow managed to get out one word.
"Yes?" Concern grew on her face.
"Do you remember when we were in Canterlot. And we pretended to be... to be marefriends?" Rainbow did her best to steady herself.
Rarity brightened up. "Oh, yes. That was a fun little vacation. Why do you ask?"
"I want to do that again." Rainbow forced herself to maintain eye contact.
Rainbow could see the confusion in Rarity's eyes. "You... want to return to Canterlot?"
"I want to be your marefriend!" Rainbow forced out, quite a bit faster than she wanted to. "For real this time!"
Silence briefly filled the room. "I'm... sorry, what was that?"
Rainbow took a deep breath. "I said, I want to be your marefriend. Your real marefriend."
"Ah. I see."
Silence again.
"So, you're asking me out on a date."
"Yeah, that's it! I want to go out with you." Rainbow felt ever so slightly better.
Rarity looked Rainbow over. "I see you didn't bring me any flowers." Rainbow winced. "Or any kind of gift. Or wear a nice outfit. Or brush your mane or tail. Or put on any makeup. Or do anything at all to make yourself more appealing."
All Rainbow could think to say was, "Yes?"
"I, ah... admire... your honesty with yourself, I suppose." Rarity looked down, pursing her lips.
Rainbow’s heart threatened to jump out of her chest in the following silence.
Finally, Rarity made eye contact and spoke again. "What place and time did you have in mind?"
Rainbow grinned nervously. "I... haven't thought about that yet."
"I see." Rarity paused. "There's a fine restaurant that opened last week that I've been wanting to go to, called the Silver Horseshoe. It's on the south edge of town. I shall make a reservation for us there. How does tomorrow night at seven o'clock sound?"
"Yeah! That sounds awesome!" Rainbow hopped into the air. "Thanks a ton."
"I'll see you then, Rainbow."
Rainbow Dash turned, flew to the door, and let herself out into the cold air.
When she got home, she threw herself onto the bed and let out a massive sigh.
There we go. I have a date with Rarity. I should be jumping for joy. But why do I just feel relieved?