All is fair in war
There was a bright sun over Ponyville, with no cloud in the sky, you could still feel a pleasant heat on that autumn morning. Most likely, that day would be the last day of the year with that heat since it was already mid-autumn, and winter was just around the corner.
Despite the heat of that morning, a Ponyville pony was traveling through the town covered in sweaters and scarves, as if it were winter. Although more than transit through the town, the best definition would be about the town, and that pony was a recognized pegasus of the place.
"I'm roasting in this heat...! I hate going to Cloudsdale on this date!" Rainbow Dash murmured indignantly as she flew slowly, with one of many scarves clogging her mouth.
The rainbow-mane pegasus had spent a couple of days outside Ponyville, specifically in the largest Pegasus town of Equestria, Cloudsdale, the birthplace of her, Fluttershy, and the vast majority of pegasus living in Ponyville.
If that had been a normal visit to her hometown, Rainbow Dash probably would have enjoyed it much more. After all, in that city in the clouds, you could do many things that couldn’t be done in Ponyville, because it was an exclusive city for pegasus. However, every month she had to meet and make a special visit to Cloudsdale, visit her parents, and that was something that Rainbow Dash didn't enjoy too much.
Rainbow Dash's parents were quite overprotective with their daughter, they had always been there for her since she had memory, supporting her and encouraging her in all her skills and decisions. Something that was perfectly understandable, but in Rainbow Dash's opinion, sometimes her parents exaggerated a lot, maybe too much, with that to cheer her up, reaching the point of going to her disguised competitions like her and with giant banners of support, which was obviously embarrassing for her, more for someone like her, who liked to keep a bad girl image.
When Rainbow Dash decided to move to Ponyville, the only way to get her parents not to follow her was with the promise that she would visit them without fail once a month, which Rainbow Dash reluctantly accepted. But that was far from better option than having to see her parents shaming her in front of her friends. However, the bad side of that always happened on those dates.
As autumn approaches, Rainbow Dash's parents sew a lot of sweaters and scarves, all with the colors or initials of their daughter's name, for her to wear in the winter. So usually on that date, Rainbow always came back from her parents' house with a load of clothes.
"I can't stand it anymore!" Rainbow Dash shouted, unable to hold the heat any longer while sweating to liters. She landed on the outskirts of the town so that no one could see it and to take off some clothes to continue on her way home.
With a tired sigh, Rainbow Dash began to take off one by one the dozens of scarves and sweaters she wore, thinking that her parents had exaggerated this time with all those clothes and that she had been lucky that no one saw her like that.
"Wooow…! Those clothes are great!" A voice said surprisingly, making Rainbow Dash take a surprising leap.
"I-It's not what it seems!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, blushing and embarrassed because someone had seen her with those ridiculous clothes.
Then Rainbow Dash noticed who had spoken to her and was surprised to see that it was little Scootaloo.
"What did you say?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking closely at the little pegasus, who looked at her with her huge eyes as if she saw the most amazing thing in the world.
"I said that those clothes look great! The coolest thing I've ever seen!" Scootaloo replied with a big smile, pointing at Rainbow Dash's body. "Especially that sweater."
Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that after taking off several sweaters, she was still wearing one, the most embarrassing one. A light blue sweater with a badly made fabric of her face on it. Seeing the sweater, Rainbow Dash blushed heavily, but then she realized that of all the ponies, meeting Scootaloo could have been the best thing that could have happened.
"Do you like it? If you want, I can give it to you. In fact, take everything!" Rainbow Dash said, taking off that last sweater and giving the whole pile of clothes to the little filly.
"Wooow... Really!?" Scootaloo said with big excited eyes.
"Sure, after all, it's for my number one fan. And who knows, maybe they'll help you if one day you make a fan club for me, hehe." Rainbow Dash replied with a nervous smile while hiding the fact that she was glad to get rid of all those clothes since she had full closets with clothes made by her mom and dad. "Good, see you!"
Then Rainbow Dash flew out quickly so as not to give Scootaloo a chance to regret it, even though the filly kept frozen looking at those clothes as if it were pure gold.
"Huff... One less problem." Rainbow Dash said, sighing with relief as she flew, but still somewhat tense. "I need to get rid of this frustration... And I know the perfect pony for that!" Rainbow Dash added with a malevolent smile, changing her direction and flying swiftly towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Once she arrived at the famous Ponyville farm, Rainbow Dash didn’t take long to locate her target, Applejack, who was feeding the chickens.
For Rainbow Dash and Applejack, competing was traditional. Since they met, they had always competed, since both were of strong personalities, and neither of them liked to lose. For that reason, they usually got together to have a healthy competition, of whatever, always challenging each other. Although, of course, as neither of them liked to lose, many times those healthy competitions didn’t end in such a healthy way.
"Gosh! This farm is so boring when there are no apples to eat." Rainbow Dash said casually while slowly flying over her friend.
"Oh! Hi Rainbow Dash, I see you came back from your parents' house." Applejack replied, surprised to see her friend there, but then put on a mischievous smile. "How did mommy and daddy treat you?"
"Yes... they treated me well, cowgirl." Rainbow Dash responded by putting the same mischievous smile while looking at Applejack.
That was the traditional ritual they both had before competing. When one of them wanted to compete, they bothered the other to make her angry and thus accept her challenge. Applejack knew instantly what her friend wanted, after all, normally Rainbow Dash always came back wanting to have a challenge after returning to visit her parents.
"So, do you want to have a duel and to sweep the ground with you again?" Applejack scoffed.
"That last challenge doesn't count! That chicken-laying challenge was fixed!" Rainbow Dash shouted, blushing, staring grudgingly at the chicken pen and remembering how Applejack had challenged her to a chicken-raising contest, where Applejack was the undisputed winner after the chickens left Rainbow Dash pecked. "Silly chickens..."
"Hey! Don't blame 'Plocky III' for losing." Applejack said, stroking one of the chickens, who had just been the one who had given more pecks to Rainbow Dash at that time. "Well? What do you want me to defeat you this time?"
"I’ve got a lot of frustration to take out today." Rainbow Dash said, landing and placing a hoof on a barrel there, putting herself in a position to play the defeats. "So, it'll be a challenge of strength."
"With that to the defeated, huh?" Applejack said, sitting in front of Rainbow Dash, putting herself in the same position, and holding hard with her own right hoof the right hoof that Rainbow had on the barrel. "I hope you don't regret it."
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
With the shout from Applejack, both ponies began to use all their strength to try to lower the opponent's hoof. Both staying in balance, with similar forces and giving everything of themselves, determined not to lose, except against their eternal rival.
"You... You only got strength in your wings... This here is my thing." Applejack said with an effort, trying to distract her rival from loosening her strength. Something that both ponies always used to do when competing.
"Your strength... is in your back hooves... We’re the same in the front!" Rainbow Dash responded tensely, holding her right hoof firm and gaining some ground while taking on new strength by remembering her last challenge with Applejack. "I have a reason to win... I won't lose again against you!"
Rainbow Dash began to gain ground, tilting Applejack's hoof slightly. Meanwhile, the country mare realized that Rainbow Dash was more determined to win because of her previous defeat, so she also decided to find new sources of strength in herself. So Applejack recalled the discussion she had in the morning with her brother.
"Feed the chickens... It's your job, Big Mac!" Applejack shouted, remembering her anger with her older brother. Thus, she gained extra strength, managing to reverse the situation, and now she was the one who made Rainbow Dash bend her hoof near the table.
"No..." Rainbow Dash said perspiring as she watched how she was about to lose. But then she used her friend's same technique and brought out all her frustration to gain extra power. "Dad... Mom... I'm not a filly anymore!"
At that moment, Rainbow Dash drew her maximum strength and slowly began to revert the defeated fight and made this time Applejack bowed while her hoof almost touched the barrel on her side.
Applejack could barely sustain the strength of Rainbow Dash's hoof, so in desperation, she again sought another source of strength, something that bothered her or made her angry enough not to give up.
"Dusk and Rarity’s kiss!" Applejack shouted, renewing her forces and pushing Rainbow Dash's hoof quickly and strongly until she hit the opposite side of the barrel, winning the competition.
"Yes! I won!" Shouted Applejack elated, rising and stretching her right hoof upward in victory. "What do you-"
Applejack, who was about to make fun of her friend, stopped immediately when she saw that Rainbow Dash was still sitting, a little pale and looking lost. Applejack was a little surprised to think that it was an exaggeration for her friend to react like that just to lose, but then she realized. She had won so easy not because her scream of rage would have given her extra strength, but that with that scream her rival had lost her strength, a silly but important detail that only Applejack realized now, after all her friend was coming from Cloudsdale, and she hadn't heard the latest news.
"Rainbow Dash, you... you didn't know about Rarity and Dusk's kiss." Applejack said with a look of sorrow. "Sorry, I didn't want to distract you like that."
"When did it happen?" Rainbow Dash said with a monotonous tone, with her eyebrows furrowed but with her gaze still lost as if she was thinking about something important.
"Well... Pinkie Pie was the one who told me. It looks like it happened the day after the fashion show..." Applejack said, scratching her head.
Applejack waited for her friend to say something, but Rainbow Dash didn't move or say anything at all.
"Come on, it's not that bad, it bothers me a bit, but there's nothing we can do. It already happened, end of the matter." Said Applejack sitting again behind the barrel, in front of Rainbow Dash, lifting her hoof to put it in a position of defeat, and raising with her other hoof the hoof of Rainbow Dash, which seemed to have lost all strength. "Come on, I don't like to win like that. I want to win against you without distractions."
So Applejack stayed holding the Rainbow Dash hoof firmly, waiting for her friend to put some strength to compete again in the defeats. However, Rainbow Dash remained static, with her loose leg, and without saying anything. Faced with this situation, Applejack thought that instigating her to return to her challenge at the cost of bothering her would be the best way for her friend to get out of that pseudo trance she was in.
"What's up, birdhead? Are you afraid of winning again?" Applejack said, faking a mocking smile, but without causing any effect on Rainbow Dash. "Are you so sorry that Rarity kissed Dusk?"
With that last comment, Rainbow Dash remained unaffected; however, Applejack noticed that her friend slightly frowned her eyebrows, so she knew that if she wanted her friend to have her competitive spirit again, she would have to bother her more with the latter.
"Oh... So what about the kiss bothers you? Tell me, what bothers you the most? That Dusk was kissed by Rarity, and also by Fluttershy, and by Pinkie Pie..." Applejack said, keeping her fake mocking smile while rejoicing that that seemed to work since, with every name Applejack mentioned, Rainbow Dash was frowning more and getting even angrier. Only a little more was missing. "Even I have kissed Dusk! Are you sad because YOU are the only one who hasn’t-?"
"RAAHHH...!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a cry of fury. Finally, she placed all of her strength into her foreleg, causing Applejack's strength to collapse into nothing as she lost on the spot, a loud boom resounding as her hoof collided with the barrel's lid.
Applejack was left with a stunned look, almost losing her balance and with her right leg in pain after the fierce way Rainbow Dash had won her in the defeats. It had been so strong that Applejack had no chance.
Then the earth pony looked at her friend and saw that Rainbow Dash had already recovered the fire in her gaze, but she kept on with a fierce look.
"Gosh, it seems I exaggerated. I just wanted you to get your spirits back, I didn't want to bother you seriously." Applejack said with a slightly distressed look.
"I'm not upset! Why would I be upset!? Just for a stupid kiss!? Hmpf! Why should I care who kisses that fool!?" Rainbow Dash replied, annoyed, as always, denying what everyone knew she felt for Dusk. Then Rainbow Dash snorted through her nose as she tried her best to quickly clear her anger.
"Wow! It really affected her to find out about the kiss... And I still haven't told her the other..." Applejack thought, biting her worried lip.
"What was that!? What are you thinking!?" Rainbow Dash said, who just looked sideways at Applejack and noticed that her friend seemed to be hiding something else.
"W-What! I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Applejack said, clenching her lips and looking away.
"Don't you fool me! Tell me! What are you hiding from me!?" Rainbow Dash said, facing her friend.
"Noooo…! Why does everyone always know when I'm lying!?" Applejack thought terrified, annoyed with herself while thinking that she also had her bad side always being so honest in everything.
"Nope! Nothing to hide." Applejack finally answered, keeping her bad poker face and starting to walk towards the house to hide before Rainbow Dash continued to interrogate her.
"She’s definitely hiding something..." Rainbow Dash thought pensively until a brilliant idea came to her head, and then she put on a malevolent smile.
"You know, I just beat you in the game of the defeats, so now you’re the new loser." Rainbow Dash said faking disinterest while flying to the side of Applejack, who, upon hearing those words, stopped dead.
"It was a draw!" Applejack claimed, looking upset at Rainbow Dash.
"Bingo! The hook has already stung." Rainbow Dash thought with a smile, knowing that she could get what she wanted if she appealed to her friend's competitive spirit.
"The first time you distracted me, you said it yourself, so that doesn't count. Now, for a whole week, you'll be a loser until our next competition." Rainbow Dash said casually. "But if we compete here and now, you could take that weight off and win, if you can. But if I win again, I won't only keep the winning title, but you'll also tell me what you are hiding from me. Deal?" Rainbow Dash added, stretching her hoof towards Applejack.
Applejack looked at her friend's hoof, knowing that it was obviously a trap for her to tell Rainbow Dash what she didn't want to tell, but her spirit of competition was stronger, and she finally couldn't contain herself.
"Deal." Applejack said, shaking Rainbow Dash's hoof, but then pulling her and bringing her friend closer to face to her face. "But I'll choose the competition."
"It doesn't matter, I'll win anyway." Rainbow Dash responded, for a moment forgetting her true goal and focusing only on beating her eternal rival.
Once the competition was agreed, Applejack guided Rainbow Dash to the side of the barn, where they would have enough space and the necessary tools for their competition.
"This will be an 'Iron-pony competition', the final competition! With this, we'll finally decide who of the two is the most athletic pony of all." Applejack said with energy, for a moment leaving aside what was really at stake and only savoring the excitement of competing against her friend. "There’ll be seven challenges, whoever wins the most challenges will be the champion."
"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to beat you!" Rainbow Dash said with a smile of defiance. "Let’s begin!"
"I want to win fairly, but I can't forget what is at stake. I don't want to be the one who gives Rainbow Dash THAT bad news. With a long competition of seven challenges, I might manage to make Rainbow Dash forget to interrogate me." Applejack pursing her lips while thinking. "In addition, I gotta ensure my victory. The launch of horseshoes and barrel race could win either, I gotta think of something that can give me some advantage..."
"First competition! Hit the bell!"
Applejack led Rainbow Dash inside the barn, where there was a large board with a white hammer and a bell at the top, like the ones occupied by fairs to compete in strength.
"This was brought by Big Mac a couple of years ago, and we always do competitions to measure our strength with it." Applejack said, looking at the fair hammer.
"Hehehe, easy." Rainbow Dash said, approaching the target of the hammer, and hitting with her hind legs with all her might.
The weight of the hammer rose sharply and reached the end of the table, knocking the bell gently.
"Don't think that just because I’m a pegasus, I have no strength in my hind legs." Rainbow Dash said, smiling proudly and staring defiantly at her friend.
Applejack didn't respond, just passed by Rainbow Dash, approached the hammer, got into position and hit the target hard, causing the weight of the hammer to propel at incredible speed and hit the bell hard, making the sound of the bell rumbled loudly throughout the barn as it trembled, almost about to disarm.
"You’re strong, but not so much." Applejack said with a proud smile. "Last time I broke the bell, so this time I hit it a little slower." She added with pride, enjoying her first triumph.
1-0
"Second competition! Hay throw!"
Both mares left the barn and went to the open field, where each one stood in front of a bale of hay.
"This time I'll win, I'm sure!" Rainbow Dash shouted, biting the rope that tied the bundle in the middle, giving herself momentum and throwing the bundle with all the force of her mouth.
The bale flew high and fell quite far, a mark that improved even what Rainbow Dash believed herself would achieve.
"Woah! Did you see that!?" Rainbow Dash said excitedly, flying quickly to where her bundle had fallen. "I told you that-"
POW! Rainbow Dash failed to finish her sentence because a bundle hit her on the head, leaving her stunned for a second. Then the pegasus shook her head and realized what happened: the bundle that had hit her had been Applejack, which hit right against her head, and what was worse, had fallen a little farther than the bale of hay she had thrown.
"Careful there! You can't get in the middle of the field just in a competition, and even more so when I'll overcome your brand!" Applejack said with an arrogant smile, who had come up to where her friend was and couldn't bear to show off for winning another test, leaving Rainbow Dash clenching her teeth while having a bitter look.
2-0
"Third competition! Kick the ball!"
Both ponies positioned themselves at the same mark where they had thrown the bales of hay, only this time there was a ball instead of bales.
"We'll kick the ball, and whosever goes further will be-" Applejack began explaining before being interrupted.
"Wait a second! This won't be the same as with the bell!" Rainbow Dash claimed, admitting deep down that she couldn't compete against her friend if she kicked as hard as before. "If we're going to kick, this time it's with just one leg."
"Hmm… Whatever you want." Applejack said with a shrug.
"You hit very hard because you hit with both hind legs, just like when you harvest trees, but if it is with only one leg, then I do have a chance!" Rainbow Dash thought as he picked up her right leg and hit the ball hard, making it would fly much farther than the hay bale had previously thrown. "My kicks never fail!" Rainbow Dash thought snorting with pride.
Applejack slowly approached her ball, while Rainbow Dash smiled confidently. Then the ground mare quickly hit the ball, causing it to fly at high speed towards the sky, so much so that it was lost sight of, leaving Rainbow Dash speechless.
"You kick pretty well, but you only practice with clouds. But I’ve spent a lifetime using my hind legs, and both are equally strong." Applejack said, smiling, making Rainbow Dash even more annoying while her competitive spirit took hold of her.
3-0
"Fourth competition! Long jump!"
For the fourth competition, both mares moved to another sector of the farm, next to the chicken coop, where there was sand, in order to make the fall of the softer long jump.
"You let me choose the competitions, that was your big mistake." Applejack said with full confidence, enjoying being defeating her eternal rival in those competitions.
Both ponies approached the jump line, one with a confident smile and the other with a serious, slightly angry, and thoughtful look.
"Another test where we should use the strength of our legs, my victory!" Applejack thought, with such confidence that she would win, that she decided that it was not even worth waiting for Rainbow Dash, so she went ahead and made a great leap, falling strongly on the sand, a great distance from the jump line.
Applejack smiled at the sight of her mark and turned with a smile to see her friend in her attempt to jump, watching as Rainbow Dash took the momentum and also took a long and high jump. However, after Rainbow Dash fell, Applejack's smile faded when she noticed that her friend had slightly surpassed her in the jump.
"Uh…? You… Did you beat me in the long jump…?" Applejack asked stunned, seeing that her friend had defeated her in a test in which she must have been the clear favorite to win.
"Maybe your legs aren’t as strong as you think." Rainbow Dash replied with a mocking smile.
Then the pegasus turned and withdrew from the sand, leaving Applejack still stunned. It was then that the country mare noticed something strange.
"Why are the marks in the sand from Rainbow Dash's hooves so soft?" Applejack thought suspiciously, comparing the soft mark left by her friend with her own mark left after falling heavily into the sand.
While Applejack was left with that little doubt, Rainbow Dash just smiled, glad to have her wings and that her little trick to jump and plan a little in the air just before falling, had not been discovered.
3-1
"Fifth competition! Pushups!"
Both ponies faced each other, crouched down to chest, and then began their duel of push-ups.
"... Ninety-five... Ninety-six... Ninety-seven..." They said both mares in unison after arriving both at almost one hundred push-ups. However, it seemed that neither would reach until one hundred, since both were sweating to the fullest, with their sore legs and chest so much effort.
"Ninety-eight... ninety-n-nine...!" Applejack shouted with her maximum effort, already rising only by her willpower and stubbornness not to lose against Rainbow Dash; however, this seemed to be her limit.
As soon as Applejack reached ninety-nine push-ups, she went down to try to make the number one hundred; however, her tired muscles no longer responded, she was totally exhausted. Applejack closed her eyes tightly to try to get strength from somewhere, but there were none, the only thing she managed to catch while her eyes were closed, was what seemed to be the sound of a flutter.
"... And one hundred!" Rainbow Dash shouted victorious, finally reaching the hundred and knowing that her friend could no longer.
Hearing Rainbow Dash's shout, Applejack fell on the floor, breathing agitatedly due to fatigue. However, despite losing and her muscles screaming from exhaustion, there was only one thing in Applejack's mind. She was not sure due to fatigue since she had her eyes closed, but the suspicions she had had since the previous competition was now stronger than ever.
3-2
"Sixth competition! Pull the rope!"
After resting for a while, a few minutes in which neither of them spoke, both mares went to another area of the farm, next to the well, where a small quagmire had formed. Then Applejack took out a rope, and both ponies were put on opposite ends, with the quagmire in between and each with one end of the rope.
"Whoever falls into the mud loses." Applejack said with a serious look as he bit an end of the rope.
"You mean that you'll fall!" Rainbow Dash replied, biting the other end of the rope.
Without warning, both ponies began to pull the rope with all their might, trying to make the other fall in the mud.
Slowly Applejack began to have the advantage, taking a few small but firm steps backward, causing Rainbow Dash to slowly approach the mud. Thus, finally, the pegasus was about to fall to the mud, only one last pull was needed by the earth pony to make her friend fall, and of course, Applejack didn’t lose the opportunity and gave the last pull with full force from her teeth. However, Rainbow Dash never fell into the mud. Instead, she opened her wings at the last second, and now, without releasing the rope from her snout, she rose and flapped to keep flying right over the mud.
With that surprising movement, Applejack destabilized and almost fell into the mud, but since she continued to hold on to the rope, she also kept floating above the mud, just below Rainbow Dash, who was the one who kept her in the air.
"Hngh! Anoit! Uvben usan ur uins! (I knew it! You’ve been using your wings!)" Applejack said, trying to make herself understood since she was still biting the rope and couldn’t modulate well.
"Hngh! U deverei aikud usmi uins! (You never said I couldn't use my wings!)" Rainbow Dash replied, also speaking with difficulty due to the rope that she kept in her mouth.
"U ar a heaer! (You're a cheater!)" Applejack said, annoyed.
"Wha diuh ei? (What did you say?)" Rainbow Dash asked, pretending not to understand.
"I said you're a cheater!" Applejack shouted, annoyed, spitting the rope from her mouth. Only then did she realize that her friend had tricked her into releasing the rope. "Oops…" Applejack managed to say before falling to the mud and getting completely muddy.
3-3
"Puh! You're going to pay for this..." Applejack said, spitting the mud that was still in her mouth.
"I already told you, you never said I couldn't use my wings, it was your fault." Rainbow Dash replied with a defiant smile, happy to have finally tied the score. "Now, there is only the tiebreaker."
"Last competition! Move the chicks!"
After Applejack cleaned most of the mud on her body, both ponies approached the chicken yard.
"The last challenge will be to move all the chicken coops from the fence to the barn. Whoever manages to take them all without escaping, will win." Applejack said with a determined look, knowing that she would have the advantage in that last challenge, after all, moving the chicks was part of her normal job. "Now, help me to take the chicks to the starting line." Applejack added, peeping into the chicken coop and taking several small, cute chicks with her.
"As you wish..." Rainbow Dash said, peering into the chicken coop just like her friend. "It'll be easy to win if- Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Rainbow Dash quickly left the chicken coop, very scared, chasing after a group of chickens, who began to peck her without stopping.
"Stop!" Rainbow Dash said, rising with her wings to stay out of reach of those chickens while they were looking at her from below with murderous looks. "Those silly chickens have something against me, it's the same thing that happened when we competed by lacing the chickens that time... That way, I can't participate if they don't even let me get close to their chicks. Dumb chickens!"
Applejack smiled when she saw the unjustified hatred that Rainbow Dash's chickens seemed to have, but then she looked more serious again.
"Hmm... I guess you're right... So, what will we do to define the tiebreaker?" Applejack said, thinking out loud.
"Let someone else choose the competition!" Rainbow Dash said quickly, taking advantage of that opportunity for her friend to stop choosing challenges that favored her. "I want it to be a fair competition."
"Says the mare that cheated with her wings..." Applejack murmured in response, then pointing towards her house. "Maybe we could ask them."
Then Rainbow Dash looked at where her friend was pointing, specifically at the main window of the house, where Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom were seen, who, noticing that they were pointing at them, crouched down immediately to hide.
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had long realized that Applejack's family was watching them. After all, with all the fuss made, it was normal for them to wonder what was going on between both mares and their crazy competition. However, none of the two mares bothered to be observed, so neither of them noted the fact until that moment.
"An 'Iron-pony competition'!? That's great." Apple Bloom said excitedly after Rainbow Dash and Applejack approached there and entered the house. "It was fun to see them in secret, but it’ll be more fun to see them up close!"
"So, you want a tiebreaker competition? Hmm…" Granny Smith said after hearing the summary of what happened. "Yes... I think I have the perfect competition for you."
"Really!?" Rainbow Dash said, as always, excited to have a duel, and more now that she knew she would have a duel in which Applejack would have no advantages.
"Yes, although more than a competition, it's a test, the first one to pass that test will win." Granny Smith said, smiling. "But they must complete several things before you can win, are you ready?"
"Ready!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said at the same time, excited by the mysterious test Granny Smith would give them.
"Well, first... You gotta cook!" Granny Smith said excitedly.
"… What?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said confused as their previous emotion vanished instantly.
"Cook. You must cook something fast and delicious. You can take up anything in the kitchen." Granny Smith said, smiling.
"Granny, I don't think that test-" Applejack began to say with a look of disappointment, however, she stopped when she saw that Rainbow Dash had run at full speed to a cabinet and began to pour several ingredients into a saucepan.
"It’s definitely a rare test, but it doesn't matter! Whatever the competition, I'll defeat Applejack!" Rainbow Dash thought as she put her hooves to cook.
Noticing the determination of Rainbow Dash, Applejack decided that she couldn't waste time either and also launched to get ingredients to cook something too.
The minutes passed, and finally, at the same time, both mares finished their dishes. Rainbow Dash cooked a very basic hay soup with a few carrots floating in it, while Applejack made a small salad of apples and seeds.
The judge chosen by Granny Smith for the occasion was Big Mac, who savored the delicious salad made by her sister, making it clear that Applejack was a very good cook even with little time to make a dish; while the stallion almost vomited after tasting the tasteless soup Rainbow Dash had prepared, making it clear that Rainbow Dash had no future in the kitchen.
"I won!" Applejack shouted excitedly as Big Mac ran into the bathroom to spit out Rainbow Dash soup.
"That wasn’t the test, I just said it was the first thing we had to do." Granny Smith said, leaving Applejack confused. "The second thing is... Makeup! You can use all my old makeups to be beautiful."
"Makeup!? Granny, what are you talking about?" Applejack said without understanding what her grandma said, ready to refute again what they were asking. However, the country mare stopped again when she saw that Rainbow Dash without even thinking about it, had taken a lot of different makeups that were in Granny's bag, and had quickly started to put on makeup.
Applejack bit her lip, determined that whatever she wouldn't lose against Rainbow Dash, and then she did exactly the same as her friend did.
Once Big Mac returned from the bathroom, Granny told him to judge the participants again, without explaining what the new challenge was. Then Big Mac looked to the side and saw that there, looking at him expectantly, was Rainbow Dash, with her face made up excessively, almost at the level of a clown.
"What's it look like?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.
"Nope." It was the immediate response of Big Mac, who could barely contain his expression of disgust at such bad makeup.
In that instant, Big Mac opened his eyes wide when he realized something vital. If Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in a contest, and now Rainbow Dash looked like this...
"Wait! That means-" Big Mac said scared, turning and checking with horror that what he had thought was correct.
There in front of him was Applejack, makeup equal to or worse than Rainbow Dash, smiling shyly waiting for her brother's verdict. However, Big Mac didn't make any judgment, such as the impact of seeing his little sister made up as if she were a vulgar mare on the street, that her mind only made a short circuit while maintaining a face of horror.
"Does that mean I lost?" Applejack asked, turning to see Apple Bloom, understanding that her brother's horror face could only mean that.
"Yeah! I win!" Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping with a big smile.
"Pfft! I-I think you both lost." Apple Bloom whispered in response to her sister's question, barely enduring laughter when she saw both mares with a make-up that would make Rarity faint from horror.
"Nopony wins. That was not the test, it was the second thing to do." Granny Smith suddenly said, leaving Rainbow Dash confused this time. "What follows is... A contest of silence!"
"What?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack said, totally confused.
"Wrong! You talked! You both lost!" Granny Smith said, laughing out loud, leaving Rainbow Dash and Applejack looking at each other with worried faces.
"Hey... I don't want to be insensitive, but... maybe your grandma has already reached that age that... well... won't she be senile?" Rainbow Dash whispered in her friend's ear, noticing that no one but her grandma seemed to understand what was happening.
"Granny, what is this all about?" Applejack asked, looking seriously at her grandma, without responding to Rainbow Dash but deep down admitting that her grandma's crazy evidence was worrying her too.
"Well, they told me they wanted a test to tiebreak, so that's what I'm doing." Granny Smith replied, looking at both mares calmly. "All these tests are to see who has the best qualities to be a good wife."
"…What?" Both mares asked for the umpteenth time, without understanding anything.
"For the way they competed, I thought they were competing for the love of some colt or something." Granny Smith said with a mischievous smile. "That's why I thought about proving her skills as a good wife: Knowing how to cook a delicious dinner for her husband, make up her hair to always look beautiful, be quiet, elegant, polite and obedient. My mother always said that those are the requirements for a good wife..." Granny Smith finished closing her eyes and smiling confidently.
At the words of Granny Smith, everyone in the room, both Rainbow Dash and her three grandchildren, stayed with their mouths open, looking at her with a look of surprise and fright.
There were so many things to say... First that Granny Smith believed that both mares were competing for the wrong reason, then discover that she had a notion of such an old-fashioned wife, and finally that she believed that her granddaughter and her granddaughter's friend would want to continue such outdated and obsolete ways of being a 'perfect wife.'
"I never thought that Granny Smith was so old-fashioned, that is, she is an old mare, but I never thought she would think that a good wife has to be someone who cooks and does her makeup well..." Applejack thought confused until a crazy idea fulfilled her. "Wait a minute! Granny has told me stories about her and grandpa. She was never like that! She was never a docile mare; she was very daring for her time... But then... Why would she say that...? Unless what-!" Applejack finished thinking, just when she was interrupted.
"That's a lie! That's not being a good wife!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, with a serious look.
"Oh… And then what is being a good wife?" Granny Smith asked, opening one eye and staring at Rainbow Dash, still smiling.
"A... A good wife is a mare that will always be there for him, but not to wait for him with dinner or to be his doll. A wife promises to always help him, and he'll also do it with her. When one falls, the other will lift them up, embrace them and comfort them." Rainbow Dash began to answer, looking down at the floor while blushing and imagining what a perfect relationship with her beloved colt would be in her mind. "Being a good wife doesn’t mean being quiet and obedient, it means counseling and getting the word out if you need to reprimand him. Being a good wife doesn't mean being the maid or a colt's trophy, it means being the same. Besides, being husband and wife isn’t just to share a home, it’s to share a life, your feelings, your fears, your joys, to be... to be the other half of a single being... of a single feeling... of... of a single love..."
When Rainbow Dash finished speaking, she realized that she was smiling while imagining a perfect love scene. Then she shook her head, realizing she had been carried away and then raised her head to look at the rest. There she could see that Applejack looked at her with a look of amazement, Granny Smith with a big smile, and Apple Bloom and Big Mac with dreamy looks, as if they were about to cry for emotion.
"I-I... I may be exaggerated a little..." Rainbow Dash quickly added, blushing and looking away.
"Hehe, very well, that was the right answer. You won." Granny Smith said, smiling and looking excited at Rainbow Dash, finally clearing up any doubt and clarifying what the true test she had done to both mares had been: Discover the true meaning of being someone's partner.
Noting that Rainbow Dash didn't even celebrate her victory, she just stood still, embarrassed that the others would hear her talk about love that way. Granny Smith pushed then Big Mac and Apple Bloom out of the kitchen, so that the pegasus would calm down. Only Rainbow Dash and Applejack were left in the kitchen.
"W-Well... it seems you won." Applejack finally said, also blushing a little and scratching her head.
"T-That test doesn't count. I… I just got upset because your grandma cheated on us! What an old-fashioned way to see a good wife!" Rainbow Dash said almost in a shout, still red with shame.
Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash and thought she would really like to accept that challenge as void. After all, she didn't like to lose; however, she must be fair and accept that she lost. In addition, after hearing Rainbow Dash talk about love in such a way, Applejack decided that it was not fair to keep hiding from her friend what she didn't want to tell her, even more knowing that this secret was directly related to those feelings.
"Huff... very well, I'll tell you what I didn't want to tell you." Applejack said, sighing, catching Rainbow Dash's attention. "It wasn't that I didn't want you to find out, it's just that I don't want you to be mad at me. I thought it would be better to tell you when we were all together..."
Then Applejack told Rainbow Dash what happened in her absence, what Pinkie Pie had discovered from Dusk, about her nightmares related to her fears, and how one of those fears seemed to be related to them, and how they had finally come to an agreement not to come closer to Dusk in a romantic way, at least until Dusk stopped having nightmares, and it was Dusk himself who was the next to show interest in any of them without any more pressing him again.
While Applejack was finished telling the story, Rainbow Dash slowly went from astonishment to annoyance and then to anger.
"When Pinkie Pie told Fluttershy and me, we both agreed." Applejack said, finishing her story, with a worried look at seeing her friend so upset. "I know it's hard, but it's the best for Dusk, otherwise-"
"Do you want me to avoid Dusk!? You don't decide that!" Rainbow Dash shouted furiously. "You didn't even take me into account! And I... And I...! GAHH!"
Rainbow Dash didn't even finish what she intended to say, she was so frustrated and upset that she just ran to the kitchen door and flew quickly away from the farm.
It was the weekly friends' breakfast day, where the six friends and the little baby dragon met to happily share a delicious breakfast at the Café.
As usual, someone was always late, and this time it seemed to be the turn of Dusk Shine and Spike, who usually arrived on time, but for some reason, neither of them was still there. That, however, could have been the best thing that could happen, since unlike so many other times, where there should be laughter and gossip, now there was only a tense air around and an awkward silence surrounding those present.
"So!? Is there nothing that my 'friends' have to say to my face!?" Rainbow Dash said angrily, making a sarcastic emphasis on the word 'friends,' while the other four mares gathered there just looked down, with sad looks.
When Applejack arrived at the Café, she managed to warn her friends that Rainbow Dash was furious about the decision they had made without consulting him, so when the rainbow-mane finally arrived, none of the mares dared to speak or look at her face.
"Oh darling, please don't get mad. We couldn't tell you because you were traveling." Rarity finally answered, being the first to dare to raise her head and speak.
"You should have waited for me!" Rainbow Dash claimed keeping her gaze serious.
"You didn't see Dusk that day. The poor colt even bewitched himself out of all that stress." Pinkie Pie added, looking shyly at Rainbow Dash.
"I know that! But... But it doesn't seem fair to me what you did!" Rainbow Dash claimed, slightly blushed.
"Fair? What are you talking about?" Rarity asked, confused.
"A-All of you have already kissed Dusk. You have all approached him and got more intimate, but I... I… I don't want to become more intimate with Dusk! But it just doesn't seem fair!" Rainbow Dash said nervously, blushed and still upset. "Now that everyone has done their thing... You don't want me to approach him!?"
"It's not that we're not going to approach Dusk, it's... it's just that we'll do it carefully." Fluttershy said, deciding that he shouldn't be left out of the discussion and that he should mediate the conflict before Dusk arrived. "But it's true, we should have asked for your opinion first."
"And we should have told you as soon as you arrived, I'm sorry," Applejack added with a look of guilt, understanding like Fluttershy that they should calm the discussion, which seemed to work since Rainbow Dash stopped frowning slowly.
"Yes, as soon as I saw you arrived, I should have told you, I'm sorry." Pinkie Pie also said with a sad look.
"Wait! You saw me when I got back from Cloudsdale?" Rainbow Dash said quickly, turning to see Pinkie Pie seriously.
"Yeah! You looked so funny with all those scarves and that sweaters that-" Pinkie Pie said with a smile as she remembered that moment until she realized that she had screwed up without realizing it.
"You saw me on that day! Why didn't you tell me right there!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, again becoming furious, even more, to think that all that idea of the agreement not to approach Dusk romantically, was Pinkie Pie's idea.
Realizing her mistake, Pinkie Pie cringed and looked down at the floor, not being able to look up, but feeling Rainbow Dash's stabbing gaze on her, staring at her waiting for an answer. Pinkie had an answer, but she knew that answer would only add more fuel to the fire and that it would most likely hurt her friend, but Pinkie Pie also felt that after all that, the least she owed Rainbow Dash was the truth. So she finally sighed slowly and decided to tell the truth.
"I… I didn't tell you, because… I don't think the agreement we made applied to you." Pinkie Pie said slowly, knowing that every word was like walking in a minefield.
"What doesn’t apply to me? What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused, staring even more at her pink friend.
"It’s just... when Dusk passed out, among the names he mentioned, he named us all... except you." Pinkie Pie said slowly and with concern.
"And what does that mean?" Rainbow Dash said slowly, narrowing her eyes as a slight fear made a shiver run down her neck.
Pinkie Pie didn't answer. She wasn't able to tell Rainbow Dash what she thought it meant. The other mares also ducked their eyes, knowing what Pinkie Pie was thinking. Finally, Rainbow Dash, who was slower to understand hints, slowly opened her eyes and frowned again, but this time with her slightly crystalline eyes, as if a tear was about to fall.
"Heh... I'm a bit slow, so tell me what you think it means exactly, Dusk doesn't find me attractive? Or what, unlike you, Dusk will never feel anything for me?" Rainbow Dash asked slowly, with an internal conflict, not knowing if she was more angry or sad.
A long silence remained in the air.
"Hey, girls! Sorry for the delay." Dusk suddenly said, walking to where her friends were.
All the girls turned to see Dusk, while Rainbow Dash quickly wiped her eyes and returned to her serious gaze. There the five mares could see with confusion how Dusk Shine and Spike approached walking slowly, both moving their shoulders exaggeratedly as if they were walking posing for a photo, both wearing dark glasses, and both with golden and shiny chains hanging from their necks.
Upon arriving at the mares, Dusk's horn shone, and a bright sign appeared above their heads with the words 'Here comes the money!' and then both the colt and the dragon began to dance strangely, taking a few steps back and jumping. The five mares stared with perplexed faces until the luminous sign above the heads of Dusk and Spike disappeared, as did their bright chains, which only then did the mares understand that it had also been part of Dusk's magical production.
"Well? How was our entry?" Spike asked proudly, slightly lowering his sunglasses to see his friends better.
"What the hay was that!?" Applejack asked with a mixture of confusion and anger due to the bizarre entrance that perplexed everyone after being in such a tense moment.
"Pfft! Hahaha! It was great, haha." Rainbow Dash genuinely laughed out loud, forgetting for a second how serious he had been. Being the only one of the mares that laughed after the entrance of Dusk and Spike, leaving the other four mares even more confused.
"Hehe, I knew they would like it," Dusk said, smiling, taking off his sunglasses. "It's my way of telling them that I'll pay for breakfast today."
"We have extra money!" Spike added, lifting a small sack that seemed to be overflowing with golden coins.
"Where did you get all that money?" Fluttershy asked, surprised.
"I don't even know!" Dusk replied with a big smile. "When we came here, we met Lyra, who just handed me this bag of coins for no apparent reason. I thought it was confusion, but as much as I told her she was wrong, she insisted on giving it to me."
"Why would Lyra be giving money?" Pinkie Pie asked, confused.
"I don't know. She just mentioned something that her comics have been selling very well and that it was fair that I had some royalties." Dusk replied with a shrug. "Maybe she wants to compensate me for using the library to gather her reading group, who knows."
Obviously, Dusk didn't understand what he was saying, but most of the others present did.
"Anyway, I'll pay for breakfast in advance. Ask for whatever you want, I implore you!" Dusk said with a smile as he walked away and entered the interior of the Café.
Once Dusk was out of sight, the other mares took the opportunity to speak with Spike.
"He hasn't read Lyra's comics yet!?" Rarity asked, worried, and blushing.
"Nope. I've mentioned it many times, but he insists he doesn't like comics, and well… I'm ashamed to tell him that they're doing erotic comics of him." Spike said nervously, scratching his head.
"I wouldn't say they are erotic, rather they are... suggestive, very suggestive." Pinkie Pie added blushing, remembering that Lyra's comic showed spicy situations, but without showing any explicit sex, to the joy and grief of several. Although it was necessary to accept that every time the situations appeared in the comic were more suggestive.
"I'd say it's more a romantic comic." Fluttershy added, blushing, remembering that in the first issue, a character identical to her had appeared.
"I still haven’t gotten around to the last volume." Applejack said blushing, also admitting of being a follower of Lyra's comics.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, who realized she was the only one who didn't understand what they were talking about.
Hearing her friend's question, the other four mares froze. It had never crossed their mind that Rainbow Dash had been oblivious to all this phenomenon of Lyra's erotic comics, but thinking carefully, Rainbow Dash hated to read, it was logical that she had not read that! The mares immediately began to burn their brains, trying to think of some excuse, given that if Rainbow Dash found out what the comics showed, the discussion they had previously had could explode to astronomical levels.
"Here, I brought the last volume that came out, I hid it from Dusk," Spike said with a smile as he passed the comic to Rainbow Dash, leaving the other four mares with looks of horror.
Rainbow Dash took the comic that Spike passed to him and read the cover: 'Forbidden Love 3 - Kinky Pie's Basement' and under the title were the drawings of two ponies: a colt very similar to Dusk Shine lying on a table, and a mare very similar to Pinkie Pie, who was holding a whip with her mouth.
Rainbow Dash immediately blushed at the sight of the drawing. Then she opened the comic and began to read it, or rather to look at the drawings, to quickly see what that comic was about. It was then that while Rainbow Dah read more, she became redder, and her eyes widened more and more at the drawings she saw. Everything inside her yelled at her to stop reading those obscenities, but she needed to know what this was all about, so she forced herself to finish leafing through all the comic drawings.
Once Rainbow Dash finished reading the comic, she closed it abruptly and closed her eyes for a few seconds while sighing and calming down to stop being so blushed. While doing so, she mentally reviewed what she managed to understand from the comic by seeing only the drawings…
The comic was that one 'Dusk Sempai' entered a secret basement of a sadistic and lustful mare called Kinky Pie, and in between many things and situations happened for adults, although, of course, leaving much to the imagination, but also making it clear That were dirty things. Finally, the Dusk of the comic ended up enjoying those sessions with that crazy mare and then returned to meet his other two loves, one such 'Flutter-chan' and another such 'Clarity', while another mare called 'Juicy Apple' watched 'Dusk Sempai' in the shadows, waiting for her opportunity... The references were more than obvious, and not only from Dusk Shine's friends but from several other mares in the village, from many others, with one great exception... there was no character that looked like Rainbow Dash.
"This... Is it the third volume of this comic?" Rainbow Dash asked with a grim look, returning the comic to Spike.
"Yeah, although it is not the first time that Kinky Pie appears." Spike replied innocently. "I think from the first chapter, everyone expected her to make her play. Fans say that in the next issue the protagonist could be the town's mailmare, it's a secondary character, but-"
At that moment, Rarity and Fluttershy covered Spike's mouth so he could stop talking and screw up.
"All of you... You’re all perverts!" Rainbow Dash said, looking furiously at her friends.
"I skip the dirty parts! I promise!" Spike said, immediately blushing, thinking they were talking about him.
"It's just a comic! None of us have done anything like that with Dusk!" Rarity replied, blushing.
"And how do I know that!? It wouldn't be the first time you’ve lie to me or hid something from me!" Rainbow Dash said annoyed, knowing deep down that her friends would never do the things that appeared in the comic, but still annoyed with them, and mainly annoyed because she herself didn’t appear in those comics. "You all have achieved something, but I..."
At that moment, Rainbow Dash fell silent, not daring to say out loud what she thought. Just then, Dusk appeared with a big smile, followed by the waiter, who was carrying a plate of food for each of his friends.
"Taking advantage of what I was paying for, I took the liberty of ordering for you. As a good friend I am, I think I already know what each one likes, hehe." Dusk smiled proudly.
"Yes, surely, you know them all very well..." Rainbow Dash muttered, annoyed, looking away.
"Uh… yes, I think I've learned to know them." Dusk answered, confused, not understanding his friend's bitter comment. "Anyway, I still have a lot of money left, so I think I'll also invite you to breakfast next week.
"Yippy..." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, taking a heavy bite of her hay burger.
Hearing that second bitter comment, Dusk looked confused at Rainbow Dash, thinking that he should ask if he had done anything that offended her. However, he looked at his other friends, and they all shook their head negatively so he wouldn't. It seemed that her friends knew the reason why Rainbow Dash was angry and also knew that it wasn't the best time to solve it. Understanding that there were times when it was better to wait before immediately resolving a tense situation, Dusk listened to her friends and just stayed like them, eating her breakfast in total silence.
"Are you still having nightmares?" Rainbow Dash asked suddenly, looking seriously at Dusk.
Dusk Shine was surprised by the broken silence and that peculiar question since he hadn't mentioned the nightmare to his friend Pegasus.
"Uh, well, yes, I had some nightmares a couple of days ago. But don't worry. Apparently, I'm already sleeping better, there's no reason to be scared." Dusk replied with a smile, glad that Rainbow Dash decided to talk to him.
Before Dusk's comment, all the mares were surprised. They expected Dusk to stop having his nightmares soon, but that was faster than everyone had thought, which made everyone feel relieved to discover that their beloved colt was apparently not as stressed as a couple of days ago.
"It's funny that you ask." Dusk continued talking. "In fact, yesterday I had a very pleasant dream. I don't remember it well, but it seems that I was floating over the night sky, next to the moon, until a sweet voice told me-"
"So, you have nothing to worry about?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, keeping her gaze serious.
Again, Dusk was surprised by that question and then opened his eyes wide when he thought he understood what was happening. Most likely, Pinkie Pie had told her other friends about the nightmare he had, and the concerns Pinkie Pie had discovered that he had.
"Oh… well, I wouldn't say that I no longer have concerns, I definitely have to solve some problems with my brother, and also learn to cope with the changes I am experiencing in my life since I arrived in Ponyville. But definitely, the talk I had with Pinkie Pie helped me realize many things, and I think I'm feeling a little better now." Dusk replied with a slight smile, thanking his friends to care for him.
Dusk stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment, waiting for her to continue the conversation, but her friend simply lowered her head again and continued eating her hamburger, leaving Dusk confused. Meanwhile, the other mares just stared sideways at Rainbow Dash, not understanding why she asked those questions.
"You know, you don't need to invite us to another breakfast with the extra money you have. You should do something else." Rainbow Dash said surprisingly, just when Dusk thought the conversation was over and he was about to eat again.
"It's not a problem, I like being able to invite you to eat!" Dusk said, smiling.
"I not saying you don't invite us, I'm just saying that, instead of inviting us all, you could just have dinner with... just one of us." Rainbow Dash said, looking down to hide that she was blushing.
As soon as Rainbow Dash said that, the other four got stuck with their food, coughing all in unison, while Dusk just looked surprised at Rainbow Dash.
"It's too soon! We said we would wait for Dusk to make the next move! Don't force him!" Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy thought nervously. Frightened to see that Rainbow Dash was doing exactly what they had said they wouldn't do.
"You... you mean something… like a date?" Dusk asked, slightly blushed.
Rainbow Dash remained static for a few seconds, with her gaze fixed on the floor so they wouldn't see her expression, but the tips of her ears, which were now red, betrayed that she was very blushed.
"I didn’t say it's a date." Rainbow Dash finally replied, breathing to calm down and then looking up to see Dusk in the eyes. "We often go out in pairs. Rarity goes with Fluttershy to the Spa, I get along with Applejack to compete, and sometimes I just get together with Pinkie Pie to make some jokes. I-I’m just saying that we don't always have to do everything all together, and... and maybe it would be nice if you ever went out alone with one of us to get to know each other better." Rainbow Dash finished speaking, trying her best not to be embarrassed in front of Dusk.
After Rainbow Dash's speech, Dusk looked surprised at his friend and then put on a thoughtful face as he analyzed what she had just said. Meanwhile, the other four mares got very nervous about what Rainbow Dash had just said, no matter how she disguised it, What Rainbow Dash asked was that Dusk had a date with one of them! And everyone knew that because of the feelings they all felt, date alone with Dusk could only be a romantic date. That was totally against what they had said they would do, however, for some reason, none of the four mares said anything, they just stared at Dusk with tense glances, waiting to see what Dusk responded.
"Hmm… yes, I think it could be fun!" Dusk finally replied with a big smile.
Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, finally breathed after holding the air. Everyone in the background was relieved that Dusk accepted that proposal by itself, since going out on a date with one of them meant that Dusk was better psychologically, and also, in a second thought, they weren't breaking what they had promised, then Dusk was the one who would make the next move and invite them on a date, just as they had wished it would happen.
"But who should I invite?" Dusk asked, looking at all his friends, knowing that with the extra money he had, he would only reach for an appointment with one of his friends, since going to dinner somewhere would be more expensive than just having breakfast.
At Dusk's question, an awkward silence settled again.
"I know how you can decide who to invite." Rainbow Dash finally said, raising her head haughtily and looking at Dusk with a look full of determination. "The annual Running of the Leaves!"
# End of chapter 37