//------------------------------// // Dinner // Story: Third Wheel Trouble // by King Ice //------------------------------// Everyone was talking and shouting at the same time as Pinkie Pie started sharing slices of cake with everyone, including the customers that came here before them. And of course, everyone was shouting her name. Whether it was to comfort her, to get her attention, or whatever, she didn’t care. She had enough. She was tired of this mess. “Twilight! You okay?” Pinkie asked with a mouthful of cake while the alicorn was shaking in righteous fury. “Come on! Say somethin’, Twilight!” Applejack added, totally missing Twilight’s current state. “ENOUGH ALREADY!” Twilight finally snapped and hollered in the Canterlot royal voice. It was louder than it had ever been. The sheer force of her proclamation created a mighty shockwave, propelling every pony, except for her trusted friends and Spike, out of the restaurant. Applejack's hat soared into the distance, while Pinkie's clown costume was torn asunder, reduced to scattered fragments. Even her fellow princesses couldn’t help but hear the scream, startling them into thinking a new threat had come to Equestria, only to recognize Twilight's voice… And prepare even stronger countermeasures than they would have for an actual enemy. Twilight panted, her throat hurting, and because her anger was such that it made it harder for her to calm down and breathe. Her eyes traveled from friend to friend, all with their jaws dropped in shock and surprise. “Twilight? Are you alright?” Spike dared to ask as Twilight’s glare befell him, silencing him instantly. “Do I look… ALRIGHT to you?!” Twilight questioned him as the little dragon looked at their other friends. “No, I’m not alright. And I haven’t been alright a single time since that day started!” She shook again, looking like she was barely containing her anger. “The whole town?! Really?! You brought the whole bucking town?! What’s next?! Should I wait for Sombra?! Wait, no! Don’t tell me! The princesses are gonna come for some bullshit nonsensical reason and try to ruin my evening, aren’t they?! Or better yet, Chrysalis comes and tries to invade us again because that bitch just has nothing better to do!” The other ponies gasped as Rarity covered Spike’s ears. Suddenly, a green light, from which Chrysalis emerged, flashed behind Twilight, making the alicorn’s friends and marefriend widen their eyes in panic. “Twilight Sparkle! I’ve had enough of these games! Fight me here and-” Chrysalis began commanding the alicorn, who turned around and didn’t even bother responding to her. Instead, her mane and tail caught on fire as she breathed a gigantic stream of fire followed by a monstrous roar. The changeling queen hadn’t been fast enough to dodge it. But the fire wasn’t even the worst part. Before being hit by, what seemed like the flames of Tartarus, she had a glimpse of what true fear was. Looking into Twilight’s eyes… She saw nothing. As if she had no soul… Or maybe Chrysalis’ retina was completely burned because of the fire, causing her to go blind. She honestly had no idea at this point. When the fire stopped, the changeling queen coughed a couple of times, spitting out soot, which she was covered in. “Y-You could have just said you were busy… You know? I’ll come back next week… Wouldn’t want to impose on you… Or anything…” She coughed a few times before teleporting back to where she came from. “I’m happy there’s somepony here that can take a hint!” Twilight spat before turning her attention back to her friends, who were still a bit shaken from what just happened. Thankfully, one of them did manage to get out of their stupor. “The party didn’t cheer you up, Twilight? What’s the problem?” Pinkie Pie asked as Twilight’s eye twitched. “What’s… What’s the problem? You still don’t get it?! I have to spell it out to you? You! You’re the problem! All of you!” She shouted in response while pointing at the other mares, excluding Rainbow. “Us?” All of them gasped while her marefriend raised her eyebrows in surprise. “B-But what did we do?” Rarity inquired sadly. “Did I mess up the cupcakes?” Pinkie Pie added, alarmed. “Did it ever occur to any of you that I wanted to be alone with Rainbow Dash? That I wanted to have a regular date with my marefriend without anypony butting in?!” Twilight yelled as she stomped the floor. “Ah-Ah’m sorry, Twilight. Ah didn’t know you wanted to have some alone time,” Applejack looked down apologetically. “Of course, you didn’t know! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about it, would we?! It should have been obvious from the start! For Celestia’s sake, I’m the one here who’s been socially awkward the longest! And it feels like I know more about relationships than you!” Twilight retorted, making Applejack avoid her gaze with her cheeks red in embarrassment. “Hey! Wait a second! I was just doing my job, Twilight!” Pinkie tried to argue. If there was one thing she was absolutely afraid of, it was disappointing and making her friends mad. “Your job is to bake food and serve it! Not tell stupid stories, during my date, and so close to my marefriend’s face it looks like you’re trying to stick your tongue in her throat!” Twilight quickly replied as Pinkie and the others gasped again. “Has it ever crossed your mind that I was, maybe, looking forward to having a nice lunch with the pony I love? And that I didn’t need you to butt in at random to say something stupid? Who cares about that Iron Mare movie?!” The alicorn fumed while Pinkie’s mane deflated. “I like those movies…” Spike muttered under his breath, quietly enough for everyone else to ignore him. “And you!” Twilight pointed at Rarity with her hoof as the mare winced in surprise, then looked around to make sure she was the one being addressed. “I don’t need you telling me how cute we look every second you spend with us! And I sure don’t need you interrupting our conversations with private questions! I have journalists and crazy stalkers for that!” She stomped the floor again, making the white unicorn look away. Then, Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “As for you…” Flutterhsy’s lower lip quivered fearfully as the alicorn stared her down, ready to rant about her, too. However, she just sighed instead and put a hoof on her face. That was almost as bad as getting yelled at. “You could say something, at least,” The yellow pegasus mumbled. “Oh, you want me to say something? Bringing a cockatrice near Ponyville is bucking stupid, Fluttershy,” Twilight spat as Fluttershy looked away in shame. “I’m not your mother, I shouldn’t have to tell you something so obvious,” “Forget I said anything,” Fluttershy whispered. “T-Twilight… Let’s calm down, okay?” Rainbow tried to reason with her marefriend. “Calm down? Did you already forget the day I had? First, I’m kicked out of the theatre without even getting to watch the play, which was in Ponyvile thanks to me, by the way! Then I get no lunch besides stupid cupcakes because breakfast was charred and the cake exploded in my face! I can’t even relax at the spa! My marefriend kicked me in the face! Twice! Then a cockatrice comes out of nowhere and tries to kill me! And now this… This surprise party!” Twilight stomped the floor in anger. “I wanted to have at least a day with you without anypony interfering before having to go to Canterlot tomorrow. I won’t even come back for a week!” “Huh? You’re going to Canterlot?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as Twilight glared at her. “I told you that yesterday!” She shouted, making Rainbow wince. “I-I’m sorry! It must have slipped my mind or…” The pegasus started only for Twilight to abruptly cut her off. “Of course, it did! Or maybe you didn’t listen at all?” Twilight glared at her marefriend, who stammered, unable to form a sentence. “Do you know what the worst part about today was?” She asked, her horn glowing while purple electricity cackled around it. Her friends stepped back as Spike dove to the ground and put his hands on his head to take cover. “Twilight, wait!” Rainbow Dash shouted, worried that they just opened the gates of Tartarus on Equestria. However, to their greatest shock, Twilight did not lash out or release a wave of destruction. She didn’t cast any dangerous spells or magic that would mess up their world to fix this day. Instead… She cried. Hot tears streamed down her face while she tried to hold them back, only managing to cry in anguish instead. This nearly broke Rainbow’s heart, and her friends’. “You didn’t even seem to care. Actually, it even looked like you were having more fun with them than with your marefriend!” Twilight accused her, making Rainbow flinch. “No! You know that’s not true, Twi! I loved going to that play with you! And that’s not something I usually do, but I decided to do it this time because it would be with you!” The pegasus explained herself as Twilight didn’t look any less hurt. “Except it wasn’t just me. There was Applejack, too, who came thanks to you by the way. And every time a problem occurred, you just went along with it! Do you know how it made me feel… Thinking that I was the only one who was bothered because I couldn’t be with my marefriend? Is being alone with me that bad?” Twilight inquired as Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. “What? No! I-I know I was a bit neglectful, that’s my fault, but believe me…” Rainbow argued as Twilight tried to wipe her tears with one of her wings. “Actions speak louder than words, Rainbow. And you spoke a lot today,” Twilight interrupted her while wiping her tears, which just didn’t seem to be willing to stop flowing. “I thought that it was just me. That I was in the wrong and being a drama queen or something… And maybe it’s the case. I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s normal, but I do know that it hurt me. And I’m done. I’m leaving,” She said as she took off her stained dress and threw it on Spike, then turned around to leave. “Twilight! Wait!” Rainbow ran up to her only for Twilight to turn around, still mad. “The message isn’t clear yet? I want to be alone, okay? I need time… To think,” She uttered before spreading her wings and flying away far, far until she disappeared behind clouds. No pony or baby dragon spoke as the rainbow-maned pegasus continued to stare where Twilight disappeared. “You blew it, girl,” Pinkie Pie suddenly said as everyone around turned to look at her with a glare to shut her up, which she totally ignored. “The way she was crying… She looked heartbroken! You must feel like a monster…” Pinkie shook her head in sadness. “Pinkie!” The other reprimanded her, startling her. “What? Oh, right… I guess we screwed up, too… Didn’t we?” Pinkie scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “In my defense, telling her the first cake was burnt was Discord’s idea,”  “Pinkie… Just stop…” Applejack shook her head with a hoof in her face. “No. She’s right! I blew it! I always thought I would kick anypony’s butt if they ever made Twilight cry like that, and I’m the one who made her cry!” Rainbow Dash slapped her head, before widening her eyes and looking at her friends. “Actually, she’s partly right! Seriously, none of that would have happened if you didn’t bother us all day!” She flailed her hooves around while flying up. “To be fair, I didn’t come with the intention of interrupting your date… I was simply following the cockatrice,” Fluttershy argued but stayed quiet enough for them not to hear anything. “We realize our mistake now, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity replied weakly, her head low. “Now’s too late! I-I can’t believe I finally found my special somepony and I’m gonna lose them in just a day! I really… I really love her, okay? If she breaks up with me because of one of my stupid mistakes, I’m never going to forgive myself,” Rainbow Dash hung her head down as she landed back on the ground in defeat. “What about you?” Applejack asked as Rainbow raised her head quizzically. “What about me?” “What did you think of us getting between the two of ya?” “I… Good thing she isn’t here because she would be even more mad at me. Truth is… I kinda liked it,” Rainbow revealed, making them step back in surprise. “I’m not good with that mushy stuff! Doing something cheesy with friends was one thing, but I never dated somepony before! Every time I’m alone with her, I’m scared I’ll say something stupid! Or that I wouldn’t know what to say at all! But if one of you is there, maybe you’ll prevent me from doing one of those things. That there wouldn’t be any awkward silence either…” Rainbow explained, then sighed. “She must have felt pretty bad when she saw me having more fun with you, didn’t she?” “I think we can all agree on one thing: we all screwed up,” Applejack said as she looked at the others, who all nodded in agreement except for Spike. “Speak about yourself. I didn’t mess up anything,” He scratched the back of his head before nervously laughing as they all stared at him. “But let’s just say I did… Yeah, I think I screwed up too… A lil’ bit,” “I’m sorry, Dashie,” Pinkie put a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. She certainly wasn’t in a joking mood, and her apology felt sincere. However, Rainbow had a hard time not resenting them a bit for this. “We promise we’ll help you. We’ll all make it up to her!” “But how? The damage’s already done!” She complained with her head still low. “Believe me, it’s not. You know how Twilight is. If we speak with the heart AND show her with her actions, then she will truly feel how sorry we are,” Rarity assured her. “What do we do?” Fluttershy inquired as Rarity smiled confidently. “We will all have different roles, but Rainbow likely knows Twilight better than any of us now. Which means you are the only one who can tell us what to do. Think. What would make Twilight happier than she ever was?” Rarity asked as the pegasus widened her eyes, then put a hoof to her chin. She smiled. “I might have an idea. But we’ll need to be quick,” “Count on us!” They all declared. Twilight Sparkle sighed as she gazed at the stars. She never thought sitting on a cloud at night could be so calm before getting her wings. That may have been one of the reasons Rainbow napped so much on clouds or why any pegasus decided to live on clouds really. This wasn’t the first time she had trouble with other ponies. It wasn’t the first time she had friendship-related problems either. However, it was certainly the first time she had romantic problems. She… Honestly had no idea how to deal with it. It was something else she needed to learn, like friendship when she came to Ponyville, but she wasn’t sure if it was worth the hurt… No. Of course, it was worth it! Still, she wished she had someone to give her advice. She was tempted to send a letter to Princess Celestia or Cadance but decided against it. She didn’t want to bother them at this hour. Maybe Princess Luna? She supposed she could try and talk to her through a dream. She was certain she wouldn’t be bothered by anyone else, at least. She didn’t really want to go back to the castle too soon since she didn’t want to deal with Spike or anyone else. But it was starting to get chilly up there. She would have loved having someone to cuddle with right now. She observed the sky for maybe an hour or more, then decided it was time to go home. A good night of sleep will do her good. And maybe being in Canterlot for a week will get her mind off of what happened today. She wasn’t surprised to see that the lights were turned off when she got to the castle since she was expecting Spike to be back home and asleep. She realized she was wrong when she saw Spike standing near the stairs leading to her room. “Spike? What are you still doing up? If you’re expecting me to talk about today, forget it. I said what I had to say,” Twilight warned as Spike shook his head while smiling. “Nope! It’s fine if you don’t talk about it. Instead, put on this! And maybe don’t forget to check your balcony,” The little dragon replied as he handed her a dress, making her raise an eyebrow. It was a gorgeous dress, but one she had never seen before. “What is this?” “A dress!” “I know that, but why? It’s like 11 pm,” Twilight argued. “Just trust me, and put it on, Twilight!” Spike insisted as the alicorn sighed and took the dress. “If this is a prank…” Twilight started, not willing to finish her threat as she put on her dress. Spike didn’t say much after this, and simply let her go up the stairs to her room. Twilight nearly took off her dress when she reached the top but changed her mind at the last second. She said she would trust him, so she would. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was a trick or if someone was going to play a joke on her. They wouldn’t, right? Not after that horrible day! “Huh?” She uttered as she reached her room and looked at the balcony. A dim light was coming from it. She hesitantly walked up to it and opened the windowed doors before going out. “Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” The pegasus was wearing a dress and sitting around at a table with two chairs, two candles, and plates. She didn’t remember having a table for romantic dinners on her balcony… “Isn’t it obvious? I’m on a date with my marefriend!” She declared with a wide smile. “What are you waiting for? Take a seat,” She motioned to the chair facing her as Twilight hesitantly sat down, still unsure of what was happening. “Okay, Rainbow… I see what you’re doing, but…” Twilight trailed off as she noticed something unusual in the sky. “Weren’t there supposed to be clouds above my castle tonight?” “Don’t worry. I know a nice pegasus who volunteered to clear the skies for us tonight. That way, we can both stargaze as long as we want to!” Rainbow replied as Twilight sat speechless. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react to this. But she was mad, wasn’t she? She couldn’t just pretend she wasn’t! “Rainbow…” She started before the pegasus suddenly put a hoof over her mouth. “Look, food’s coming!” Rainbow motioned at the door as Pinkie Pie joined, tape on her mouth, holding a tray with food on her hoof. “It’s apple based; I hope it’s okay,” Pinkie Pie spoke a few muffled words, impossible to understand because of the tape on her mouth, and gave them their food. Two apple burgers with hay fries. A real meal, which was enough to make Twilight salivate. The earth pony also put two glasses and a bottle of wine, then left without a word. “We thought taping her mouth would be best,” Rainbow explained sheepishly as Twilight opened her mouth to talk. “Wait. First, I’m sorry. And the others are sorry, too. They shouldn’t have bothered us when we wanted to be alone. And… I should have said something. The truth is… It didn’t actually bother me, but I should have seen that it upset you,” Rainbow apologized as the alicorn’s face softened. “I didn’t want to make you feel like I wasn’t having fun with you. Lately, I can’t even read a Daring Do book without you around. Every time I feel like taking a nap, I just get bored and my first thought is to look for and hang out with you. If I didn’t know I was going with you, I wouldn’t have even thought of going to the spa or to the theatre. The reason I didn’t tell anypony to back off today is… Because I was afraid,” Rainbow looked down as Twilight widened her eyes. “Afraid? Of what? It wasn’t of me, I hope?” Twilight asked worriedly as Rainbow quickly shook her head. “Of messing up. Hanging out with you like we usually do is easy. All I gotta do is act like a friend, cuddle and kiss you a few times. But on a real date? I don’t know the first thing about romance or all that cheesy stuff. I thought I wouldn’t be good enough and that I would ruin the date for you. In the end, I did,” She revealed while looking ashamed. “Rainbow Dash… You couldn’t have ruined anything for me just because you’re inexperienced. Do you really think I have any experience? I didn’t even know how kissing worked before dating you!” Twilight replied. Well, she didn’t know how it worked if you excluded the scientific part of it, but that probably wouldn’t help you become a good kisser, would it? “I wish I had known that sooner… Can you give me another chance? Please don’t break up with me…” Rainbow pleaded as Twilight nearly got teary-eyed. “Break up with you? I never even thought about breaking up with you. I love you. If that single argument was enough to make me doubt that, then my love couldn’t be that strong,” Twilight lifted Rainbow’s face with one of her wings. “Were you the one to organize that improvised date?” She asked as the pegasus slowly nodded. “I’m proud of you, and… Thank you. You even thought about stargazing!” “Of course! You said you wanted to stargaze tonight,” “Oh, so you do listen sometimes,” Twilight chuckled before kissing her. “I-I love you, Twi,” Rainbow said while the alicorn smirked. “I know,” She retorted, then looked at their food. “So… Is this the official start of our date?” “Yup!” “No one is going to interrupt us?” “Nope! And if they, I’m kicking them all the way to Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash said confidently. “Even if it was Princess Celestia?” Twilight raised her eyebrow teasingly as her marefriend began stammering. “Well… I’ll try talking to her first,” She smiled nervously. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her. Friendship beam right into her face until she’s trapped in the moon!” Twilight retorted as both ponies laughed until Twilight paused and took a bite out of her apple burger. An eerie stillness suddenly settled in. “Y-You were joking, right?” Rainbow inquired while her marefriend just snickered and took another bite of her burger. “You’re joking, right, Twilight? Twilight?” Perhaps, in retrospect, that day wasn't as terrible as Twilight had initially believed.