Experiments
Chapter 2: The Experiment
The day was as perfect as could possibly be. Temperatures were at a comfortable level for middle springtime, as at this time of the year it wasn’t drastically hot or cold unlike middle summer or winter. Instead, the air was warm yet light and bouncy, aided by soft breezes that cascaded down the mountains and through Ponyville and vicinity. A couple of white puffy clouds in the formation of huge popcorn pieces dotted the sky, helping to block out the sun for a fraction of time here and there.
On the outskirts of town, a yellow pegasus couldn’t help but marvel at the near perfect weather she was given.
Springtime was easily Fluttershy’s favorite season, although she could say she loved them all. But spring was a time of new life, and the time of the year where all her animal friends would come out of their long slumbers and grace the world with their presence.
Today was one of those simpler days for the mare. She only had one goal for the day, and that was to spend time with all her animal friends, and make sure they had all of the things they need.
She knew that some of her birds needed some extra twigs for their nests, as the recent windy day had taken its toll on them. Her friendly bear that lived near Everfree Forest had also requested assistance, as its paw had taken a nasty bite from a rather anger-filled salmon. And Angel would request something out of the blue here or there, so she had to keep this in the back of her mind.
Currently she was helping one of her squirrel friends collect some extra acorns, when she heard a familiar noise of sweeping air in the form of an airborne pegasus approaching where she was.
Fluttershy wasn’t expecting any visitors on this day, so she was a bit surprised and curious for that matter when she saw one of her best friends flying high above the treetops, nearing her cottage home. She watched as Rainbow Dash came clearer and clearer into view, and then descended to a perfect landing right next to her mailbox. Thankfully it was closed, or the few letters she had put out for pickup would have been whisked away.
“Fluttershy, are you home!?” Rainbow called out loudly, hoping that her friend was around.
“Rainbow I’m right here,” She answered, a mere 4 feet or so from where Rainbow was shouting.
“Oh, sorry about that Shy.”
Fluttershy waved off Rainbow’s apology easily. “It’s okay, sometimes I blend in with the color of my cottage.”
Rainbow cocked her head in confusion, “But your hair is pink, which stands out pretty easily compared to your house.”
Fluttershy simply shrugged in a fashion which clearly said “I don’t know.” Both ponies just began to laugh and chuckle at themselves before making their way inside the cottage.
“So Rainbow, what bring you here?” She asked politely while offering Dash some tea, which she in turn politely refused. She did however oblige herself in a couple of homemade chocolate chip cookies which were also offered.
“Well, I have question to ask you, but won’t exactly make sense unless I tell you about what happened yesterday,” she began. “Do you have some time for a little story?”
“Of course Rainbow! What kind of friend would I be to say no to a friend in need?”
Dash smiled at the kindness her friend always presented her. She twirled the last cookie in her hoof before popping it into her mouth, chomping off a sizable bite of the rather large cookie. “Well to begin, it was one of the reading days Twilight and I have every week…”
She continued to give a rather lengthy summary over the events that took place at the library, being especially detailed on the emotional roller-coaster her mind. She also was very detailed in describing the personalities of Daring Do and Rosetta to Fluttershy, telling her about how she envisioned the pair as being the perfect couple, with qualities that could easily complement one another.
Fluttershy on her end listened rather intently, as she had a hunch that most of what Rainbow was telling her was rather significant to the question she would be asking later on.
Rainbow also mentioned the meeting she had with Twilight last night, and mentioned how Twilight had actually bothered to come visit at night to check on her well-being. She also explained briefly the idea of the experiment which the unicorn had come up with, and how it would involve Fluttershy and Rarity.
“So, I’m the part of some sort of experiment?” Fluttershy was curious, but also a bit afraid of what the word “experiment” entailed.
Rainbow could sense the tone of fear in her friend’s voice, and chuckled a bit in response, but in a way where Fluttershy would know she wasn't being mean. “Don’t worry Shy, the experiment doesn't involve machines, chemistry, magic, or anything unknown to you or me. But if any of the former is involved, don’t worry, I would say no myself.”
Fluttershy let out a breath in relief, content to know that the experiment didn’t involve any weird things. The last time she had volunteered in an experiment which involved Twilight, she had turned into a miniature version of herself. There wasn’t any pain, and she knew Twilight was as trustworthy a pony as any, but the notion of something going wrong wasn’t something Fluttershy would handle lightly.
“So, what is the question you keep mentioning?”
“That my friend is the experiment!” Rainbow leaped up so that she was standing on the couch. She noticed that Fluttershy looked a bit annoyed at how she was standing on her good furniture, and muttered an apology before sitting back down in a normal position.
“So, I’m pretty sure that you know enough about romance to answer a question based on it right,” Rainbow questioned.
At the mention of romance, Fluttershy squeed and clapped her front hooves together in excitement, rising off the armchair she had been seated in. “Oh Rainbow, is this about a crush you might have on somepony?” Her voice was filled to the brim with excitement for her friend, as she knew Rainbow had never embarked on a romantic relationship with anypony before.
Rainbow has nearly choked on the air she was breathing on the mention of a crush. “How could she know about it already? I never even told her,” she thought, afraid and annoyed at the possible leakage of a secret so huge. She would have told one of her friends already, but Rainbow had a nagging feeling that if she told one pony, word would spread quick, and Twilight would end up finding out. “Um… no, not exactly,” she responded, blanking out for a second.
“Oh, so then what is the question?”
“Well..,” Rainbow began,” Remember the idea I had of Daring and Rosetta becoming a couple? Well, I was curious if you think that a relationship between the two would work.”
Fluttershy pondered the question for a little while, her hoof slowly rubbing her temple as she considered all of the qualities of the two Rainbow had mentioned to her.
“I would say sure, why not?”
This got a rather animated response from Rainbow Dash, who again leaped up in the air, only her wings were making her hover in the air. She rocketed towards Fluttershy, who squeaked out an “EEP,” before picking up the yellow pegasus and twirling her around the air in celebration. On her part, Fluttershy was extremely confused onto why her friend was so happy about the answer to a question about fictional characters. Although, she did have a hunch something more was behind this.
“Um… Rainbow. Could you put me down?” Fluttershy was uncomfortable in her current position, but was thoroughly pleased for her friend.
Rainbow blushed in embarrassment only realizing on how off guard her actions were to her friend. Gently, she placed Fluttershy back on the ground, before going back to take her seat on the couch, her cheeks flushed a tad.
“Sorry,” she said, scratching the back of her neck with her hoof. “…I’m guessing you had more to add to that?” Fluttershy merely nodded in response before explaining her answer.
“Most of the relationships in my stories always seem to end up with a mare and a stallion coming together and turning out to be a perfect match. I know that in reality, this doesn’t usually happen. But from just walking around town and seeing couples and how they act, I don’t think things like hobbies, activities, or even a pony’s profession can truly dictate if the relationship will work or not.”
For one of the few times in her life, Rainbow Dash listened and paid a hundred percent attention to what the pony before her was saying.
“The reason I said yes, is because it very well is possible for Rosetta and Daring Do to have a relationship in which they love one another. It doesn’t matter if Daring is the kind of pony who always wants to go on adventures and never sit still, while Rosetta prefers to sit down and read a book under a tree. While maybe having common likes help a relationship, there is also the idea of opposites attract.”
“Oh I’ve heard of that one before,” Rainbow said, remembering how many times she dreamed a scenario in which Twilight and she came together for a similar reason. “Is it common for opposites to attract?”
“Well I know from other ponies that it has happened. Cheerilee and Big Mac have been a couple for a while now, and they are pretty opposite from one another. Big Mac is pretty shy and prefers to do work involving outdoors, while Cheerilee is a very intelligent schoolteacher who is pretty outgoing from the times I’ve seen her. Yet, their relationship is really doing well since I met Cheerilee for some coffee a few weeks ago.”
Rainbow was getting a bit confused on where Fluttershy’s explanation was going. She was also intrigued by just how much of an explanation she was giving, and couldn’t remember for the life of her the last time Fluttershy talked this much in a single sitting. “So, what exactly are you getting at?”
“My point is that as long as both ponies in the relationship love one another, like spending time together, and will care for one another, it all sounds like a recipe for success. And as long as these qualities are in place, I don’t think there is any reason a relationship couldn’t work.”
Rainbow replayed the three things Fluttershy had just said. “Love, time, and care… I would do all of those for Twi.” She was still in awe over the explanation Fluttershy had just finished giving her, not expecting something so detailed out of the mare. Not that Rainbow was calling her dumb or anything, but there was a ton of substance there from somepony who usually kept her thoughts to herself. Rainbow knew that Fluttershy was very comfortable in talking about anything to her, after all, they have known one another for years now.
“So, you think that they could be a couple then?”
Fluttershy simply nodded with a smile plastered on her face.
“I knew you would agree with me!” Rainbow beamed, but then thought in the back of her mind about the whole reason onto why she was talking about this. “Oh and thanks for the help, Twilight and I really appreciate it.”
“Oh I was happy to help Rainbow,” Fluttershy replied, getting up to get another cup of tea. She gestured towards the kettle to see if Rainbow wanted a cup again, but got a polite refusal as the pegasus got up off the couch and was heading to the door. However, she stopped halfway through the front doorway before turning back around to face Fluttershy again, who was busy putting away some of her plates and utensils.
“Hey Shy… I actually have another question to ask of you?”
Fluttershy turned around and met eye to eye with her friend, and noticed the more serious, determined, yet uneasy look which Rainbow wore on her face. Fluttershy motioned for her to sit back down, which they both did. Rainbow let out a long sigh while scratching at the top of her forehead where her hairline was, unsure of how to ask what she wanted to, while not giving away her secret.
“Going back to the Daring and Rosetta question, let’s say that I was in the position of Daring Do, and I wanted to ask Rosetta out.” She watched as Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realization before a smile formed on her face. “Now I’m not saying that I do have a crush like you mentioned… but I might have a pony I’ve had my eye on for a little while. And her personality is very similar to that of Rosetta, which I mean as being egghead like. But at the same time she is really cool, and is a natural leader, while also caring for everypony she meets.”
“Rainbow, this sounds very similar like somepony we know,” Fluttershy added, all of what Rainbow said swirling around in her head as she tried to think of a pony she knew who fit this description.
“You might know her, I’m not sure,” Rainbow said half a second after Fluttershy, trying to keep the pegasus from discovering the secret. She decided to somewhat tell Fluttershy about her secret, however, she kept the identity of Twilight to herself, and rather just described the unicorn as best she could while keeping it anonymous. Fluttershy might be able to give her an interesting idea onto how to ask Twilight out, and if it sounded interesting enough, she might just go ahead and throw all her chips on the board.
“So anyway, what would be an interesting way to ask her out without it coming across as a straight date?” Dash laughed internally at the words “straight date,” as the irony of the words came alight.
“Hmmm… well do you want to do it in person?”
This was an interesting option in Rainbow’s case. Normally, with any problem she would confront it head on and in person, but on the topic of romance, maybe going with a style unlike her would come as a bit unexpected, in a good way. “Actually, I’d rather not.”
Fluttershy nodded and thought for a second. She closed her eyes and began to think of all the various romance novels in which she had read, and all the quirky ways the stallions had asked out the mares.
About a minute later, a hypothetical light bulb appeared over the pegasus’ head as her eyes snapped open.
“How about you write her a love letter, and place it in her mailbox? You know, like a secret admirer would! Oh it would be so cute!” Fluttershy was holding her hooves together in her lap and imagining said mare’s reaction when she would open the letter.
It was there it clicked, and Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realization of who the lucky mare was to warrant Rainbow’s heart.
“Wait, egghead like, natural leader, caring, a pony I might know… Twilight!?!” Fluttershy inwardly screamed in her own mind out of pure excitement over the prospect of her two best friends becoming a couple. She also imagined how they would be perhaps the cutest couple she had ever seen.
“… So like a letter where I don’t sign my name?”
“Exactly! Besides, a pony who loves egghead sorts of things would love a hoof written letter.” Fluttershy thought about asking if Twilight was the pony Rainbow was referring to, but decided to keep it to herself.
As she had watched Dash ask the question about her crush, she could see the rather high level of nervousness which presented itself. Normally she only nervous on very few occasions, and most of the time if she was, it was due to something very significant to her. Fluttershy could tell that Rainbow was nervous enough to not even give a name, and that she was worried to give too much information in case the secret was leaked.
“Hmm, you make a good point. I like the idea Shy,” Rainbow responded, jerking the pegasus before her out of deep thought.
“Oh I’m glad to help Rainbow. Oh by the way, you should put on the letter someplace you could meet her, maybe a nice scenic location, and then you can ask her out there.”
Rainbow nodded to herself over the idea, and began thinking about what she would write on the letter. For a unicorn like Twilight, maybe more sophisticated writing would be appreciated. The only problem with this, was that Rainbow wasn’t exactly the most sophisticated pony, and her vocabulary wasn’t even in the same league as Twilight’. She settled on doing a short, yet sweet letter.
As for the place where they could meet, Rainbow knew exactly the place where she would take a pony like Twilight.
“Awesome! Well I gotta go, time is awastin’, and the sooner I get to the letter, the better,” Rainbow exclaimed, hopping up and quickly heading out the door. “Thanks Shy!” Rainbow had shouted as she unfurled her wings and began to fly into the now clear sky.
Fluttershy had stood on her doorstep and waved, her attitude as cheerful as could be with the news she now had. She decided to keep it a secret to herself, as Rainbow Dash wouldn’t appreciate it if she used her crush as gossip talk, and it would be a violation of friendship to blatantly give out secrets. Besides, Rainbow had kept secrets she had told her years ago, and had never told anypony anything.
However, she began to wonder if Twilight felt the same way.
The normal scene at carousel boutique would consist of a friendly marshmallow colored unicorn working hard on her designs. Her work room would be pieces of fabrics of all different sizes placed around the room, followed by a wide array of colored string, and topped with a boatload of accessories.
Today was not a day of work for Rarity, as she felt that after working 16 hour days on 4 consecutive occasions a day to herself was in order. The order she had just finished was a massive project, as a bride in a town not too far from Ponyville had requested specific dresses for all 11 of her bridesmaids. Normally, if they were all the same design, Rarity wouldn’t have as much of a problem completing them. However, this bride was very insistent that each design be catered a certain way. In the end, each dress was different in their own unique way, yet together they all combined in a certain manner. Rarity was extremely proud once she completed them, as the bride was delighted with her work. But she was also extremely exhausted.
That could go behind her now, as the unicorn sat in a tub of bubbly warm water, a glass of wine in one hoof while her head stay atop a baby soft waterproof pillow. Rarity could feel the blisters on her hooves begin to disappear as she relaxed in her bubble bath, the stress of a hard weeks work melting away with every passing minute.
And at that very minute, she could hear a knocking on her front door.
“Hello, Rarity?! Are you in there?”
“Can’t a pony take a day off without disturbance?” She thought to herself, not moving in the slightest.
“It’s Twilight, are you there?!”
Rarity sighed to herself, and reluctantly got out of the tub and quickly dried herself off. As bad as she wanted to remain in the bath, she knew that her friend would come first, especially Twilight. Twilight normally didn’t disturb a pony unless it was really important, and Rarity knew that her friend always came first. She also knew that Twilight’s door was always open to herself or anypony else, no matter what the mare was up to. The least she could do was return the favor.
“Be right out dear,” she called out from her bathroom window, knowing Twilight would hear her. Once sufficiently dry, the unicorn quickly brushed her hair back into its normal flowing manner before making her way downstairs.
Rarity opened her front door to see Twilight standing on the doorstep, pen and paper in hoof, and a smile gracing her face. What the paper and pen were for she hadn’t the slightest clue.
“Twilight, how are you! What brings you here? An emergency clothing repair, or did you want to sneak an order in? Something of that sort?”
“Actually,” Twilight began shyly, “Could I come in? I just wanted to talk for a bit?”
Rarity didn’t expect this, but happily invited her guest inside to have a seat on her royal purpled colored couch. She made her way over to the kitchen while asking Twilight if she had wanted a beverage of any sort, to which she got the reply of “just a glass of water.” She brought out two identical glasses of ice cold water, a lemon wedge placed in each.
“So Twilight, what did you want to talk about?” Rarity took a sip from her water, squeezing some of the lemon juice and swirling it around in the water before doing so.
“Well, I actually have a question I’d like your thoughts on. But before I ask, it would probably make more sense to properly explain some of the backstory the question has.” Twilight started to bring back into her mind all of the memories from yesterday.
“Alright, sounds reasonable. I’m listening whenever you’re ready,” Rarity replied, crossing a leg and getting herself into a more comfortable position. She assumed the story would be on the long side, as she didn’t know Twilight to be a pony to leave out details.
Twilight began to tell the same story Rainbow Dash did to Fluttershy, starting with how Rainbow experienced some sort of emotional breakdown over the romance in the new Daring Do novel. Unlike Rainbow’s version, Twilight better explained the feelings Rainbow seemed to be experiencing, and also recalled more of the little details in which Rainbow has forgotten.
Rarity listened fixedly just as Fluttershy did, taking in all of what Twilight was telling her. By all, she had meant only the main ideas and related details, as Twilight decided to go overboard in complexity.
Twilight next made mention of how she just thought something was off about Dash, and it had bothered her to no end after Dash had went home. So later in the evening she had cast the cloudwalking spell on herself and made her way up to Rainbow’s cloud home to check up on her.
“Wait…” Rarity interrupted, “How did you see where you were going at night? Hot air balloons have no headlight.”
Twilight gestured to her horn which started to emit a red glow which was actually quite bright.
“So you were like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?” Rarity was giggling with her hoof covering her mouth at the comment she had made. Twilight merely groaned and rolled her eyes. “I was just joking dear, please continue.”
And so Twilight continued her story, and began to talk about the events that unfolded that night, and the simple research experiment that she had conjured up. Rarity seemed surprised that Rainbow Dash would agree to research work of any kind, as it seemed really unlike her normal self.
Twilight then explained the personalities of two characters in the Daring Do series Rainbow had mentioned in belonging together, which were Rosetta and the main character of the series, Daring Do herself. She described them both in great detail, to which Rarity seemed to be taking mental notes on, as Twilight mentioned this as being critical to the question she would ask.
“And that’s basically all of it. Sorry it was such a long story, I didn’t think it would take that long to explain it all,” Twilight apologized, a sheepish look on her face as she smiled lightly.
“Not a problem darling. Now what was the question you were getting at?”
“Well, I made an assumption that you’re a better pony to answer a romance related question than Rainbow or myself, considering neither of us have ever been in a relationship.” Rarity knew that Twilight was referring to the stallion she had a relationship with for a few months. He was a nice stallion by the name of Baritone, however he turned out to be a real sleazeball, and she wouldn’t stand for a pony like that.
“So, basically the question is that do you think Daring Do and Rosetta could have a working loving relationship despite their seemingly opposite personalities and interests?”
Rarity took seemingly no more than a few seconds to think about it. “Yes, I think so.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open for a second as she tried to figure out how Rarity could possibly think about the question and form an opinion in a matter of seconds. “What the hay? How did you answer so quickly?”
“Well, to be fair it wasn’t the hardest question to answer,” she explained, chuckling to herself at the expression of annoyance and confusion which Twilight currently wore. “Hang on, I’m going to get a snack, would you like anything?” Twilight merely refused, still trying to make logical sense on how Rarity was able to think that quickly.
The alabaster unicorn returned with a plate of various cheeses and some crackers, and set them down on the table before them. She grabbed a small slice of cheddar and paired it with a triangle shaped cracker, popping the duo into her mouth and following it with a swig of water.
“So I’m guessing you’d like more of an explanation onto how I made that quick an answer?” Twilight merely nodded in response.
“From what you’ve mentioned, the only reasons that the relationship between the two wouldn’t work is due to their lack of similar interests. And let me say this, if you love somepony enough, what their profession or interests may be is merely a trivial matter.” Rarity’s voice was beginning to increase in volume as she began to take a talking style similar to that of a preacher.
“So you’re saying that even if two ponies are polar opposites in their likes and dislikes, as well as their personalities, they can still be a successful couple?” Twilight was now thoroughly confused, as the few books she had read on relationships and romance said similar interests usually led to better overall relationships.
“Darling have you ever heard the phrase opposites attract? Twilight made an “oh” face in realizing that she had forgotten that one of the romance books made mention of this. “Sometimes ponies have qualities which may be completely on opposite ends of the spectrum, like introversion and extraversion for example. But when you put opposites together, there are times where they simply are a perfect fit like puzzle pieces.”
Twilight had begun taking notes from when Rarity had begun to answer her question, and had now started on her 2nd page, as the first with chock full of notes and bullet points. She could only hope Rainbow Dash would have as much information as she did.
“So what exactly makes a relationship work?” Twilight knew the question was rather broad, but she was curious onto what Rarity’s response would be. Meanwhile, Rarity sat there and contemplated the simple yet complex question presented to her.
“If I were looking for the perfect relationship, there are a couple of things I’d need for it to work. First obviously is that both ponies need to love one another unconditionally. Second, each pony should accept the other for who they are. It’s quite alright to try and change a habit, for example a pony who drinks too often, but there shouldn’t be a desire to change who a pony is. There needs to be acceptance.” She had stopped to take another drink of water from her glass, which at this point was nearly empty.
“The one thing I’d desire in any relationship is to have a stallion who would care and be there for me no matter the circumstance. And of course, I would return the favor and do the same. Everything else for me has varying importance, but nothing which comes close to these three aspects.”
Twilight was impressed at how dedicated Rarity seemed to be about this. “Wow… you seem to really to know what you want in a relationship,” she responded, as Rarity ate another cheese and cracker combo.
“Indeed I do, but it’s simply a shame I haven’t found somepony who fills all these requirements yet,” Rarity replied, her mood becoming a bit downcast at the thought.
Twilight started to look over all the notes and such she had complied. “There is a lot here, but I think I’m missing something,” She thought, skimming at the 2nd page of notes. Rarity had done a good job giving her a ton of information about if a relationship between the pair worked.
But at the same time, Rarity was one pony’s opinion out of thousands. Twilight knew there was no plausible way to ask hundreds of ponies the same question, that would take months and for such a question, wasn’t really worth it.
“Unless… I go for the firsthoof experience at this.”
“If you were to ask out a pony in a romantic way, how would you do it?”
The question had surprised Rarity, and she had to think about it for a little while. “Romantic… well I remember talking to Fluttershy a week or so ago about something like this, as we were both reading the same book. In it, a stallion had asked out a mare by writing an anonymous letter to meet him somewhere at a certain time. They had met on a beach and watched the sunset, it was a fabulous idea!”
“So, writing a letter huh? That sure fits with something I’m good at,” Twilight chuckled to herself.
“Speaking of which, why did you ask? Do you have your eye on somepony?!” Rarity started to smile at the lavender unicorn, who started to blush a bit.
“Actually, since I wanted to get more research on the question, why not go on a date with somepony who fits the description of Daring Do. After all, Rosetta seems awfully a lot like myself, just without the whole magic ordeal.”
Rarity’s expression changed to one of doubt, as she didn’t seem too keen on Twilight’s idea. “Darling you can’t just go on a date solely for research purposes. It just doesn’t work like that.”
Twilight seemed too engrossed with her idea to consider the consequences that Rarity was hinting at. “I could write a letter to Rainbow Dash! She seems to have all the similar qualities which Daring Do has.”
With that, Twilight gathered up her notes and clipped her pen back to the paper in the same fashion as she entered. The unicorn made her way quickly out the door, determined to stick to her idea and hopeful that her friend would be up for it, considering that it was the question she wanted to answer herself.
“Thanks for all the help Rarity!” And with that, Twilight was out the door and quickly making her way back to the library. Rarity had attempted to stop her, but to no avail, and stood at the doorstep as the lavender dot shrank in size until she was no longer visible.
Rarity closed the door and made her way back up to where her bubble bath was calling her name. She couldn’t help but think about the idea Twilight had just set out on trying out, but was conflicted on whether or not she should stop the unicorn.
Then again, perhaps there was more to this Twilight wasn’t telling her?
Rarity made a mental note to head and see Fluttershy as soon as she finished her bath. Perhaps she would know if there is something deeper to what Twilight had said.
All she knew was right now everything could wait as she sank back down into the bubbly tub.