The sun was barely risen early into winter as streets across Equestria shone with a light frost. Despite the ice it wasn't the coldest of days as the sun shone without clouds in the way, causing hats and scarves to be stowed in closets and drawers, a few ponies going out for the first time since the chill began without their breath misting infront of them.
A crisp, pleasant day to be outside.
"Are you even listening?" Twilight asked for the second time that day, strolling down the paved streets of Canterlot with a set of saddle-bags bouncing lightly on her flank. Her face was slightly annoyed, but unsurprised as she glared.
Rainbow spared her a look as she floats lazily above her academic friend, eyes half lidded and wings barely flapping.
"You say something Twi?" She drawled as with a half-roll the pegasus went upside-down, swooping to glide inches from the ground at the unicorn's side, just in time to flinch at a sudden bark from Twilight who half-flared her wings in agitation.
"Yes!" Twilight stopped herself launching into a rant with visible effort, and scrunched her nose, breathing slowly and relaxing herself into a semi-calm state "I was Trying to tell you the rules for the Exclusive and Very Expensive Canterlot Gym I got you permanent membership in, for free. The last two words were almost an accusation. One that put Rainbow Dash on the defensive.
The pegasus pitched up to land with a clomp and snapped back "Well I'm taking time out from wonderbolts training to teach you how to get your Pudgy Princess Rump in shape!" Wings flared, the athlete spat "For Free. with more than a little venom, and finished with a mutter, though she kept walking beside Twilight, eyes off to the other side "Bet you didn't even have to pay for this."
Twilight flinched at her friend's tone, and walked more than a little despondently for a while. Both did, staying in silence until the turned the next corner.
"Rainbow.."
There was a grunt, which could be taken as 'yes?' or a very contracted 'Shove it'
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it so harshly."
A slightly less vindictive mumble emerged.
"..Forgive me?"
Rainbow snorted through her nose in a sigh, and looked into Twilight's concerned, apologetic eyes, then she smiled a little, bapping the alicorn's side with a wing "Nothing to apologise for..." She gazed off to the horizon "I shouldn't have reacted like that. Just nervous about goin' somewhere so fancy, I guess"
Twilight found herself sagging in relief "Thanks. Just do as I do, follow the etiquette and do as I do. you'll be fine."
Moments more passed as the sun grew steadily higher over the horizon, approaching 10 'o' clock. Rainbow found herself watching the buildings they passed, a bounce in her step again; the weather pony in hersmiling at the tight-knit, very well done frost patterns on the windows. Twilight occupied herself with a book slipped out of her saddlebags, a slim paperback entitled 'Your body and you, 50 steps to a Perfectly Preened Pony'. Occasionaly her horn would glow, summoning a pen and pad to scribe a not or scribble down a diagram.
Twilight turned to a page on anatomy, and found herself glancing to the side, watching her friend walk out of the corner of her eye.
Focusing on the interaction between those perfectly toned, oh-so-visible muscles and the smooth, tough joints, thick, trained tendons and the hardened bones.
Then Rainbow caught her looking, and snickered. Twilight studiously went back to her book, giggling along sheepishly with a tiny bit of pink on her cheeks.
...Moments passed in slow breaths and quick thought...
"I'm not That pudgy, am I?"
"Eh.. not really."
"Oh, good"
"It's a cute kinda chubby, anyhow"
Twilight turned, blushing and indignant, to speak, but Rainbow took off in a cloud of dust, snerking as she banked towards a very refined, pillared building. Signed as 'Worthington's Elite Gymnasium, Members Only'.
It was quite a sight, perched on the edge of the city's hanging gardens.
The tallest structure for a few blocks around it, the gym boasted the finest facilities the wealth of nobles can provide, aa few outlying buildings housing bathing, massage and sauna areas for each gender, the peak of the fluted top hosting all-round one way mirrors so the Denizens of It's Gold-member club could look out on the nearby waterfall without the world looking back.
Rainbow landed with feather-gentleness and more than a little bravado a few metres from the front gate their gilded fence, chuckling and leaning on an imaginary pole as, far back down the road as her book-worm friend sprinted herself redfaced before remembering she had wings and flying the rest of the way.
Though her landing knocked a few chips out of the marble flagstones, and quite startled the suited, shade-wearing unicorn guards as they approached the pair.
Metal shoes glinted on the muscular ponies hooves as they helped Twilight to stand from her hard landing, backing off to give crisp bows before the larger, darker furred of the two spoke
"Welcome to Worthington's Gymnasium Princess, Ms Dash. If you would both follow my associate, he'll escort you to your room."
The words came out smoothly, the glinting pearly whites and slight unchanging smile putting an air of professional, ironclad politeness to them.
Twilight missed her footing in a small stumble as she blushed and thanked the stallion, squeaking "Just 'Twilight', please"
She was too distracted to spot the smaller of the guards giving a tiny snort when he took in Rainbow Dash, the smallest of hardly noticeable wrinkles creasing his nose in distaste at the sheen on her hooves and the slightly worn look of her own duffel bag.
Rainbow saw perfectly, but she mostly ignored it with a roll of her eyes while they followed the pale white unicorn through the gates. Their hoofsteps sounding all the more loud on the ice-smooth path of hardened gravel. Around them patrons paused their open-air exercise on the frost-free grass to watch the new arrivals, more than a couple bowing to the Princess.