//------------------------------//
// The Execution 
// Story: Show me, Don't Tell me 
// by Kavorke 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash stood there blushing like a filly. Twilight looked damn good in her dress. Dash hadn't seen it before; it must have been recently made to accommodate her new wings and growing height, though of course she was only an inch or two taller than Rainbow at the moment. She snapped back to reality after noticing Twilight's hoof waving in front of her face.

"Uh, hey Twi! Ready to go?" Dash flinched at the volume of her voice, but Twilight didn't comment.

"Yes...let's get this over with."

"Hey now!" Rainbow put a hoof in front of the alicorn, stopping her from walking out the door. "None of that. We're going to have fun, okay?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You mean you're going to have fun collecting on your victory. Hanging over my head is the fact that I'm probably, willingly and knowingly, walking into an embarrassing prank."

Rainbow said nothing, instead turning and gesturing Twilight to follow with a wing. The librarian, who was no longer oblivious to wing gestures, noted and trotted next to her. Dash breathed heavily of the cool night air. The wind from earlier in the day had died down, removing any notion of a chill that spring night. The sky was completely clear, revealing the entirety of Luna's masterpiece to the world. Under the light of the half moon, the duo arrived at a respected establishment.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That's a pretty fancy restaurant you're taking me to. Isn't this a little much for you to spend on a joke?"

"Twilight, forget about the duel! I promise you, look at me," Dash spun her around and stared into her eyes, "I promise you, you will enjoy tonight just as much as me." The alicorn nodded slowly, blushing slightly at how genuine Dash was being. "Great. Now come on, we have a table reserved."

"We?"





The two sat at their table, staring at each other. One occasionally tried to start a conversation with some small subject, but it never stuck. Rainbow Dash shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This night was not going as well as she had hoped. "So...what have you been working on?"

"Well, like I tried to say earlier, I was studying Magimagnetic Field Theory. It's fascinating how certain kinds of crystals holding a magical charge can exhibit a magnetic field like a common lodestone. For the past couple hours before you came by, I was reading about those."

Rainbow knew she didn't understand some of the words said and it would only get worse, but she decided to dive into it anyway hoping Twilight would enjoy giving a lecture. "Yeah? What have you learned so far?"

Twilight stared at Dash for a few moments before narrowing her eyes and charging her horn for a spell. Rainbow flinched as she felt magic take hold of her body, but was released a few seconds later as the alicorn let her spell fall. "Sorry. I had to check if you were a changeling. Because, you know, the Rainbow Dash I know would never be interested in anything she deemed 'eggheaded.' She would also claim that to be a word."

"Um..." Dash looked down at the table, frantically trying to come up with something to say to that, but was saved by the waiter coming by to deliver their food. Both ponies were excited to dig in. The dishes were extravagant affairs, rather than going for 'dainty' like many fancy restaurants try to do. That's why it was so successful in a town like Ponyville, Twilight knew; the money was there, but the customers demanded food in high quality and high quantities, unlike the nobles and upper class. One couldn't go wrong with lots of delicious food.

A minute passed in silence as the two began eating. "So, crystals? What makes them so special?"

Twilight looked up at her. "Well basically, they retain a certain portion of magic that is put into them. They feel heavier than normal crystals because they absorb part of the levitation spell, so they're sometimes called 'heavy crystals'. Once the crystal has a charge, it can be stored to fuel a spell at a later time. Many powerful rituals require the use of them in order to power the spells. Well, for unicorns, at least." Twilight smirked and flared her wings out a little, bringing to light her ascension.

Rainbow blushed a little at the normally provocative gesture. A pegasus', or in this case alicorn's, wings are special and sensitive. One usually only shows them off like that to somepony one wants to get with. Twilight may or may not have known what it meant, but the fact is she did it. "Nice. Anything else they can be used for?"

"Yes. Each crystal, or cell, can be linked up in combination to act as one power source more powerful than each cell alone would be, creating a battery. The battery can then be hooked up to a machine, providing energy to the machine that is fairly easily replaced. One only needs to...wait, why do you care?"

Crap. Rainbow thought. She had gone back to questioning Dash's motives, and she didn't want to explain herself. Not yet, at least. "Well, uh...you were interested. In the crystals, I mean. And I was kinda mean earlier about it, so, I thought maybe you'd like to talk about them?"

Twilight seemed to accept that answer. Dash sighed in relief internally. The waiter came by offering the desserts menu, but both declined. The duo took turns going to the bathroom. While Twilight was away, the pegasus slipped payment for the dinner to the waiter. The two left the restaurant, with Rainbow thankful that the alicorn had loosened up enough to forget about the duel. She led Twilight through town toward a certain location that probably wouldn't be recognized until they arrived. Not that she was complaining; the usually reserved mare was walking a little closer than was probably normal, much to Rainbow Dash's enjoyment.

The alicorn was the first to speak once they were outside. "I like your dress, by the way. I don't think I've seen you wear it before."

"Yeah, I had it made recently. It was a pretty specific request, but I think Rarity did a good job on it."

Twilight looked away, blushing a little. "Yes, it's very...somber. You requested it like that?"

"Yeah."

The lavender mare chuckled. "Rainbow Dash not only commissions a dress of her own free will, but wants the design to be something reserved rather than bright and show-offy?"

Rainbow chuckled, nudging her. "That's not a word."

"How would you know? Have you ever looked at a dictionary?"

The two laughed together before lapsing back into silence. The two had reached the edge of town, and Rainbow was thankful that the alicorn wasn't asking where they were going.

Dash decided to keep her focused. "So, what kind of machines?"

Twilight startled out of her silent thinking. "Huh?"

"You said the crystal things could power machines. What are we talking, like trains? Maybe even flying machines?"

The alicorn chuckled. "Of course you'd go right back to thinking about flying." Rainbow huffed. "Oh, calm down. I think it's kind of great you're so dedicated. But no, I don't think it's likely they could power something so intensive. A vehicle would have to run on the same battery for a while without stopping. That's not so useful when it comes to heavy crystals because they bleed their energy out pretty rapidly."

Dash blushed and smiled at the compliment, but didn't say anything. "How fast?"

"I could give you numbers but you wouldn't understand the measurements. Basically, higher volume means it holds more charge, and higher surface area means faster decay. You at least know what those mean, right?"

"Yeah. You have to know those in weather work. We measure clouds in volume because they can expand in any direction, and if they have too much surface area rubbing against the others, they make lightning."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Anyway, this is where you get magically-induced magnetization. The energy doesn't just spread out away from the crystal like you might expect. It actually..." Dash tuned out at the explanation. It's not that it wasn't fascinating; it's just that it wasn't fascinating to her. What she was more interested in was how excited Twilight was over it. It was great to see how passionate the alicorn was about anything involving magic, kind of like how she was with flying. Being reminded of her own passion and commitment to aerobatics was heartwarming, especially when she could share that level of dedication with one like the mare walking next to her.

"...and then the field can act on...Sunset Hill?"

"Wait, what?" Dash was taken aback at the sudden nonsense.

"No no no, I mean, you took me to Sunset Hill? Why?"

Rainbow Dash laughed. "What, did you forget about the telescope you've been carrying this whole time?"

The alicorn's ears flapped down in embarrassment. "Maybe...wait, you're taking me stargazing? Are you sure you're Rainbow Dash?" She cast another detection spell to be sure. "Yup, that's a pegasus. Fluttershy in disguise again, maybe?"

Dash realized that would have been an amazing prank to pull, especially given the circumstances. But, she needed the whole setup to get Twilight out like this, and it would only work once. She decided to confirm that she wasn't the timid pegasus by performing her roar at Twilight. Another benefit of a gryphon friend.

The alicorn squealed and fell backwards, while Dash burst out into laughter again. "Okay, okay, you're Rainbow Dash." She sat up and began putting together the telescope in front of her. "I just don't understand what you're doing."

Rainbow sat down next to her, maybe pressing a little too close but hoping Twilight wouldn't mind. "What, I can't just spend time with my best friends?"

"You've never wanted to do what anyone else wants to do, unless it's the same as you, like Applejack and physical competition or Pinkie Pie and pranking. And certainly nothing so..."

Dash waited, but never received a finish to that sentence. She decided to let it hang, instead basking in the silence of the night. It was still completely peaceful, but Rainbow had already made sure of that earlier in the day. It was just the two ponies and the open sky.

The next hour or so was spent with Twilight chattering about stars and constellations like an excited filly, even including the "Oh! Oh! Look at this one!" Dash knew she was wearing a big, dumb grin on her face the whole time but she didn't care. She was so happy to just be sharing this moment with the mare next to her like this. The events of the last couple days fell away from her like she had been hoping happened to Twilight. They were two spirits enjoying each other's company over something beautiful.

And then Twilight had to ruin it with a realization. She was ranting about the legends of Orion and his belt when she suddenly stopped and turned to Dash. The pegasus was worried; the smile on her friend's face was gone. She could make out a small blush on her cheeks, probably at the proximity the two had, bringing some warmth to her cheeks as well.

"Rainbow...was this your plan all along?"

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"Was this...did you trick me into going on a date with you?"

As much as she wanted to make an excuse to avoid making her friend feel awkward, she decided it was time to be forward. "...Yeah. That was the idea."

"Did you get me to accept your challenge, to a duel of all things, so you could get me out for a night?"

Rainbow's ears were flopped down in shame. "Yes," she squeaked out.

"I...I just...that is surprisingly manipulative of you. And, why couldn't you just ask me out? I would have at least given you a chance."

"And if you had known you were going on a date, you would have stressed over it the entire day. You'd probably drag Spike into it too, and exhaust him while you fret about it. Then there's all the reading you would do trying to learn what you're supposed to do, because you're so silly sometimes you forget that books can't teach you everything. By the time I came by to pick you up, you'd be a nervous wreck and you'd spend the whole evening being really weird trying to make sure it fits your definition of 'perfect.' Am I wrong?"

Twilight's ears and wings were drooped, and she looked like she was about to cry. Dash wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. "Twi, do you remember what I said about the duel?"

"Um...you said to forget about it."

"And what did I promise you?"

"You promised I would have fun tonight, too."

"Close enough. Have you had fun tonight?"

The alicorn slowly perked up before replying. "Yes. Yes! I had a good dinner and interesting conversation. I had a lovely walk through town on a beautiful night and now I get to stargaze with somepony else for once." She leaned into the crook of Dash's neck. "Though I wouldn't have expected the somepony to be you, I'm not complaining."

The two lay together in silence for another half hour or so before packing up and going home. Rainbow offered to carry the telescope on the way home, since Twilight had carried it all night so far and also set it up, which was graciously accepted. The two talked about crystals and magnets all the way back to the Golden Oaks Library, arriving before they realized it. Twilight opened the door, revealing the dim interior which clued them in that Spike was already in bed. They knew they had relative privacy on Twilight's doorstep.

"Thank you for doing this, Dash."

"Of course, Twi. It's not like I didn't enjoy this too."

"Yeah...I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Since you got me hooked on Daring Do, I've learned a lot about reading and writing. You know what my favorite thing I've learned is?" Dash leaned in closer near the end of her sentence.

Twilight blushed heavily, but didn't back away. "W-what's that, Rainbow?"

The pegasus managed to get out, "Show me, don't tell me," before she met her lips.