//------------------------------//
// Sonata Form 
// Story: Dance of the Rainbow 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//

	Contrary to popular belief, Pinkie Pie did not make candies. She had tried in the past, of course, but the temptation to simply consume the entirety of the ingredients before finishing meant that her efforts were doomed from the start. Pastries, which required some rather bland components prior to their baking, could be easily managed. Because of this, the ironically named Sugarcube Corner did not sell any sweets.

No, that was the domain of the much smaller Spectral Patio, run by a cream mare with a bicolored mane.

Bonbon glanced up as the front door rang, somewhat intrigued. School age foals were in... well, school right now. And, she added to herself as she identified the customer, Rainbow Dash wasn't a romantic so there was little call for her to ask for one of the more alluring candies that Bonbon's shop could make. Still, a customer was a customer.

"Hello there, how can I help--?"

The pegasus dropped a cookbook on the confectioner's counter, opening it up to a bookmarked page. "Can you make this?"

An image of an absolutely wondrous cake, the kind that could have sat in some windows of Canterlot, greeted the eyes of the mare. Bonbon stared at it in rapture. "Can I...?" She blinked and shook her head, looking up at the weathermare. "Um, miss Dash, I would suggest maybe taking this to Sugarcube Corner--"

"NO! I mean, no. I mean, Pinkie can't know." Rainbow glanced around the room furtively. "She's not here, is she? She could be anywhere..."

Bonbon gave a helpless shrug, indicating she could predict Pinkie just as well as she could cast a spell.

"Right. So... um, can you make this or not?"

Reading over the recipe, the earth pony pursed her lips. While she specialized in candy, she was not by any stretch of the imagination a horrible cook. "....If... I had the ingredients, maybe. But they're quite expensive to--"

"Money is no object."

"...excuse me?"

Her customer glanced around furtively. "I'll buy everything. I'll pay you for this. I don't care how much it is, okay? Just--"

The door rang again, causing the pegasus to whirl about. Standing in the entryway was none other then Ponyville's premiere fashionista, the most elegant and refined unicorn in the town.

The two of them stared at each other in utter shock.

Eventually, Rarity tilted her head. "I never thought you'd be one to partake of sweets, Rainbow Dash. I'd always assumed you prefer healthy meals or," she shuddered, "fast food."

"...Sugar! Yeah, this is just a little pick-me-up for some, aheh, extreme stunts. Some, you know, colorbits."

"Colorbits? I suppose you would like them." Rarity moved to head for the counter but found herself blocked by a pair of blue wings. "Excuse me, Rainbow, I did place an order! Would you please move out of the way?"

Dash glanced behind her, eyes darting from the cookbook to Bonbon in a desperate plea. Catching her drift, Bonbon slid the tome off behind the counter. The weathermare glanced back and chuckled. "Heh heh... I waaaas just, you know, trying to make sure you didn't buy anything too fattening! Don't want you to lose that amazing figure of yours."

For a moment, there was stunned silence.

"...My dear Rainbow, are you coming on to me?"

"What?! I--No, what I meant was--"

The unicorn tutted sympathetically, putting a hoof to the pegasus's mouth. "No, darling, I know how it is. Finding a friend suddenly attractive can be a confusing thing, but remember: there is a difference between attraction and romance. I'm not going to suggest your feelings aren't real," she added quickly, "just... perhaps you should examine them closely before you make any moves. Don't worry, I can wait for you decision."

Rainbow Dash's face carefully reassembled into a mask of embarrassment. "Riiiight. Right. I'll... yes. Thank you for being so understanding." She slid to the side slowly, eyes fixated on Rarity as she tried to judge her next move.

With a gentle smile, the fashionista broke her gaze with the weathermare and turned to Bonbon. "I'm terribly sorry this all happened in your shop dear. Do you have those refreshments Sweetie Belle wanted for her sleepover?"

"Right here miss Rarity!" Bonbon gave her a sack of candies with a grin. "And might I say you manage to snag some of the best ponies in town." This was definitely something she'd tell Lyra about when she got home.

"Why thank you." The unicorn tossed her mane. "I do try to keep myself looking well. Good day, Bonbon, good day Rainbow!" She turned around, humming as she left the Spectral Patio.

The pegasus let her gaze follow her until she was absolutely sure she was out of earshot. Then she whirled back to the confectionist. "The cake?"

"I can do it."

"I need it by Thursday." She tapped the counter. "And the other bookmark, I need two hundred fifty of those."

Bonbon raised an eyebrow, glancing down and turning the pages of the cookbook. Another grandiose recipe greeted her eyes. "I... will need to purchase more ingredients--"

"Put it on my tab. And tell nopony." Rainbow looked over her shoulder. "Heck, keep the cookbook. I gotta... oh geeze, can't ask her... Fluttershy, that'll work." She walked out the door, somewhat distracted as she took to the skies.

The earth pony stared after her for a few minutes. Then she flicked her mane, pulled out a notepad, and started calculating. The loud squee she gave when she came up with the final number could be heard three blocks away.


***


Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry, but... you want me to do what?"

The pegasus sighed, kicking a hoof against the porch. "I need a dress. And I need to make sure Rarity never ever ever learns the dress exists." She let her eyes raise to meet that of the other mare's. "Please, Fluttershy. This is bad enough for me as is..."

After a moment, the caretaker stepped back and glanced around the room. "Why do you need a dress?"

"...I'm hosting Grandma's birthday." Rainbow shrugged. "Normally I'd just buy something from Cloudsdale but--"

"Oh my. Oh, oh wow, I didn't know!" Fluttershy put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Wow, this has to be hard for you. I'll do it, don't you worry. Are you going to host the party in your home?"

"It's not big enough. I... had to rent out AJ's barn."

"...so she knows that you're--"

"NO!" The cerulean pegasus stamped her hoof. "No, she doesn't know. Nopony can ever know! Please, just.... can you keep this quiet, please please please?"

Fluttershy nodded, knowing full well her secret could utterly devastate Rainbow's reputation. "Alright. I haven't told anypony before, right?"

"Right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap...." The weathermare glanced around. "...do you need to take my measurements?"

"That would be helpful, yes."

"Um... can you have it done by Thursday?"

"Oh! Well, I suppose."

Rainbow shuffled her hooves. "There's... one other thing..."

She reached into her saddlebags, and Fluttershy couldn't help but gasp at what she pulled out.