"Romance?" Rainbow Dash couldn't hold back a small smirk as she repeated the word; the alicorn seated in front of her noticed this, matching it with a frown of her own. "Really? You?"
"Yes, me," Twilight deadpanned. Why was it so hard to imagine her finally finding her own special somepony? Celestia knows how many books she had read due to her near-constant work, so she had never had the time nor energy to get out and find a stallion (or mare) to spend quality time with. Now that she had been finishing her daily work early, she had decided it was finally the right time to do so, but for some reason everypony seemed to think she was making a joke. And in her opinion, way too many of them thought it was funny.
She shifted uncomfortably on the cloud the two were sharing, suddenly finding her hooves very interesting. "I figured, since you're probably more experienced in the area, you could help me."
"Oh?" More experienced? Sure, the pegasus had been on a few dates, but she could probably count them on her own hooves. Surely Twilight had been on at least one? "What did you want to know?"
"Well, I..." Twilight looked away, a faint blush growing on her muzzle. "Um... I was hoping for some advice on... on my first date with somepony?" She willed herself to look at Rainbow again, but the pegasus appeared distracted.
"You... a-a date?" Rainbow blinked.
Insert yet another eye roll here. "Yes, I'm going on a date! Sheesh." Was she really that introverted? Maybe she should have done this sooner.
"With who?" Twilight froze, feeling her face heat up even more. She wasn't expecting to have to give specifics, especially to Rainbow Dash of all ponies. Rarity was usually the one to gossip, and Rainbow was practically her polar opposite.
"I'd... r-rather not say, Rainbow Dash..." She almost regretted withholding the information upon seeing the hurt in her friend's eyes, but decided it was for the best.
Rainbow stared at her a moment longer, then flattened her ears and turned her head slightly. "Oh."
Twilight averted her eyes and coughed. "A-anyway," her voice wavered, "I really don't know what... I mean, like..." She gave Rainbow an awkward smile. "I have absolutely no idea what to do."
The pegasus fluttered her wings softly and gave a long, contemplative sigh. "Hmm... just, I dunno... be yourself." Twilight simply stared at her, and Rainbow realized just how vague that sounded. "And... talk," she continued. "About stuff." After another long pause, Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "Look, I really don't know how to explain what you should do on a date..."
The pair sat thinking for a few minutes, until Rainbow suddenly grinned, a lightbulb going off over her head. "What the--" Twilight stared up at the pink pony suspended from some balloons, holding the bulb above the blue pegasus.
"Pinkie Pie, go away." Pinkie retracted her hoof, pulling the object away, and floated off with a shrug. "So Rainbow, did you actually have an idea?"
"Yeah, I did. Maybe we could go on a sort of practice-date!"
"Practice... date?" Twilight sounded the words out in her head; a date just didn't seem like the kind of thing that could be practiced. "Um..."
"I can show you what to do way more easily than I can tell you right here," Rainbow reasoned. She almost seemed... eager, though Twilight couldn't understand why. "C'mon, I'll even pay like your real date will."
Seeing the pegasus so determined to help her, Twilight gave in. "Well, okay," she agreed. The alicorn smiled, soon joined by her friend.
"Sweet!" Rainbow pumped a hoof in the air. "Okay, how about we meet around six, at that new place, Halbero's?"
"Sounds good," Twilight affirmed with a nod. "Thanks for helping me out, Rainbow. It... it means a lot to me."
"What are friends for?" Rainbow smiled, though to Twilight it seemed a bit off, somehow. "I'm just glad to be there when I'm needed. I don't have these brilliant ideas every day, you know."
"Right, brilliant." Twilight made air quotes with her hooves on the word 'brilliant,' and Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I mean, I guess it can't hurt. After all, 'practice makes perfect,' right?"
Rainbow Dash smiled as she strolled down the street leading up to the restaurant. I can't believe she actually said yes! She nearly started skipping like a filly, but caught herself just in time. Rainbow Dash does not skip! Calm down, Rainbow, it's just a practice. Nothing to get all riled up about. Not real. The pegasus shook out her wings and snapped them back to her sides, trying to relax as she approached the building.
Still, she thought as she pushed through the doors, this is probably the closest to it I'll ever get. Smoothing down her neatly-combed mane, the mare was greeted by a grey earth pony who promptly showed her to her seat, where her guest was already waiting. "Hey Twi, you been here long?"
"Um... 7 minutes, 28 seconds." When Rainbow gave her a strange look, Twilight blushed. "You said six o'clock, so I was here at six o'clock."
"Oh. Okay." Rainbow shrugged and slid sideways into her half of the booth. "I guess being on-time is good for a date. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Don't worry about it," Twilight laughed nervously. Rainbow studied the alicorn and noticed she was sweating, and occasionally her eyes would flicker between Rainbow and the table.
"Don't be so nervous, Twilight. It's... just a practice," Rainbow lightly gripped Twilight's hoof in her own, causing them both to retract theirs from the table as their faces reddened. "Erm, sorry."
"That's okay," Twilight chirped, forcing a smile. "So, do we talk about stuff right now?"
"Um, actually, we should probably figure out what we're going to order first; but after that, yeah." Both of them opened their menus and scanned through them, eventually settling on their choice. Before long, their waiter showed up to take their orders. Being uncharacteristically polite, Rainbow motioned for Twilight to go first.
"Okay, I'll have the lasagna al forno with a salad and some water." After the waiter finished scribbling down the details, he turned to Rainbow.
"I'll have a small pizza, with pepperoni and onions. Oh, and an apple cider." The pony continued writing for another moment, then smiled at the pair and told them their drinks and salad would be out in a moment. As he walked away, Twilight pulled out a small stack of cards from under the table and neatly shuffled them around.
"What are you doing?" Twilight stopped fiddling with the cards and met Rainbow's confused gaze.
"Just preparing my notes."
Rainbow facehooved as the alicorn resumed organizing and re-organizing. "Twi, you--no. No, you... you don't use notecards on a date."
Twilight held her notecards close to her chest. "B-but, how will I know what to say?"
"You just talk!" Rainbow nearly yelled, exasperated.
"About what?"
"Ugh, it's... whatever you want!" Rainbow dropped her forehead onto the table with a thump. "I mean, come on, Twilight, it's not that hard!"
"Okay, okay." Twilight frowned, thinking of anything she would want to talk about. Before long, she had come to her favorite topic: science. "Well, just yesterday I finally disproved my earlier theory on the possibility of reinforcing wings with brass. Originally I had thought it would be a good choice, but it turns out that it's just a little bit too inflexible. I'm thinking nitinol might work out better, but I'm not so sure if that's--"
"Um. Twi." Rainbow waved a hoof to cut off the alicorn's rambling. "I'm not so sure your date will wanna talk about sciencey stuff."
"But you said--"
"I know, I know, just..." Rainbow suddenly felt very self-conscious and looked away. "They might not understand everything you say, alright?"
"Oh." Twilight noticed the pegasus' awkward demeanor and mentally slapped herself. Of course Rainbow wouldn't want to talk about that kind of thing... not that I think she's stupid, but... well... She shook her head to clear her thoughts and search for a new topic of conversation.
Luckily, Rainbow was apparently full of ideas and beat her to the punch. "Well, have you worked on your flying recently?"
Twilight smiled. "Oh, yes. Actually, I tried out my anemometer myself just a few days ago. I made it up to 3.8 wingpower!" She clapped her hooves giddily and stared at Rainbow with bright, proud eyes.
Rainbow's forced smile turned into a genuine one at Twilight's excited face, despite her score being... well, just downright pitiful. "Great job, Twi. Soon enough, maybe we can have a race!"
Twilight laughed. "Well, I doubt it. Sounds like fun, though. What about you? Have you been reading much?"
"Just Daring Do. I swear, those books never get old." Rainbow leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I must have read each of them five times already. You'd think I'd get sick of them by now, but nope."
"Well, maybe I can interest you in something new sometime?" Twilight watched her friend hopefully. "Maybe some astrophysics, or microbiology, or--ooh! How about aerodynamics? Or perhaps you'd like--"
"Twilight," Rainbow called softly, and the alicorn halted her chattering and stared at her. After a moment she blushed and giggled, making Rainbow's heart flutter and her smile widen.
"Sorry."
"No problem. And, maybe some other time," she added as a response to Twilight's suggestion.
"Wait, really?" The alicorn stared at her with wide eyes, and Rainbow snorted.
"Pfft, no." Rainbow chuckled as the smile fell off Twilight's face and was replaced by an annoyed scowl. Eventually, though, she joined in and the two soon found themselves wiping tears from their eyes.
As the night wore on, the couple--no, just friends, they reminded themselves--began to loosen up dramatically in comparison to the awkward prelude, now forgotten, and the real mentoring could begin.
"Okay, you've got mindless chit-chat in the bag. Lesson two is... table manners." Rainbow grabbed a slice of her pizza and began folding it up. "First off, don't play with your food." She held up the pizza in her hoof, now in the shape of a pyramid. "Second, take small, clean bites." Shoving the whole slice into her mouth, she wiped a smudge of grease from her cheek. "An' fird, don't talk wif ur mouf full." After chewing for a few seconds, she swallowed, with some difficulty. "Kind of annoying, right?"
"Yeah, kind of," Twilight muttered, wiping a half-chewed bit of cheese from her face.
"Well, other than that, it looks like your eating style is okay." Rainbow grabbed another slice of pizza and began eating it, this time more slowly.
Twilight took a few more bites of food, and became worried when no further conversation took place. "Am I supposed to be saying something?"
"No, no. You don't have to talk as much while you're actually eating. Otherwise, you risk talking with your mouth full, which, again, doesn't look too good."
"Oh, okay." Twilight sighed in relief. So far, she appeared to be doing fairly well, at least for her first time. Unfortunately, she didn't notice what was going on under the table until something soft brushed against the inside of her thigh, and she gave an odd squeak of surprise.
*pomf*
"Lesson three: learn to control your wings." Rainbow grabbed another slice of pizza and pointed it at a red-faced Twilight, who was busily trying to push down her stiff wings with her hooves. "They will screw you over, and everypony knows what it means when..." She trailed off, looking at Twilight's unruly appendages. "Well... when that happens."
"Got it," Twilight's voice cracked.
Once the alicorn had managed to contain herself, Rainbow smirked. "Impressive wingspan, by the way."
"S-shut up."
"Next, posture." Rainbow sat up with as much poise as she could muster; Twilight had to admit, she had never seen the laid-back pegasus looking so fine. "Back straight as an arrow, hind legs parallel, chin up--not too high, mind you, don't want to appear snobby--and chest out. Look proud, but not cocky; elegant, but not..." She waved her hoof in a circle, looking for the right word. "Well, not Canterlot. Let's see it."
Twilight did her best to imitate the stature of her friend, and Rainbow peered at her quietly. "Eh, not bad," she muttered after a moment. "Your back's straight, but try not to lean forward so much at the hip. And your chin can be just a little higher." Twilight made these adjustments, and Rainbow smirked. "There, lookin' good now." Twilight's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink before Rainbow continued. "Okay, so we've covered small talk, manners, wings--" She smirked at Twilight at this point, who frowned and sunk down slightly in her chair, "--and posture." She tapped a hoof to her chin, trying to think of anything she could be forgetting, but came up with nothing.
"Okay, well, it looks like you're done--" Twilight glanced down at her now-empty plate, "--and I'm pretty stuffed." Twilight noticed Rainbow had finished nearly three-quarters of her pizza, and was rubbing her swollen belly gently. She really is pretty, stuffed... Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and cursed her paracingulate cortex. Stop that. Stupid brain.
Rainbow didn't notice her friend's internal struggles, and motioned to the waiter, who came by with the bill; she paid, as promised, with little objection from Twilight--thanks to another of Rainbow's quick lessons, which was to protest, but soon accept the offer with a polite 'thank you.' Leaving a generous tip, Rainbow led the alicorn out into the late evening, where they walked to the edge of Ponyville and gazed between the mountains at the moon hanging low in the sky.
This just feels... right, Rainbow thought with a contented smile. Hay, this almost feels like a real date!
At that thought, Rainbow's expression changed to one of dread. Uh oh. She quietly flicked her gaze across the moonlit landscape, and to the alicorn sitting comfortably next to her.
Yep, this is way too much like a real date.
Fearing Twilight would come to a similar realization any minute, Rainbow decided to add one final lesson to her tutoring session.
Clearing her throat, she turned towards the alicorn at her side. "Now, at the end of the date, if you and this other pony have really hit it off, you might go in for a kiss."
Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. (Get it? Because they were... eating... sorry) "Really? So soon?" To some, such an action might seem way over-the-top for a first date, and Twilight Sparkle was no exception.
Rainbow Dash, however, brushed the question off. "Yeah, I mean, if you two really like each other, you should totally go for it. If not, it's not like you've ruined anything that could go somewhere." Twilight considered Rainbow's reasoning, nodding as it sunk in. "'Sides, kisses never hurt anypony."
"I... guess so..." Twilight was still unsure. "But how do I...? I mean..." Her face was practically burning up now. "Like, what... erm..."
"Look, you just... like this." Rainbow closed her eyes and leaned forward ever-so-slightly, loosely puckering her lips. "And then--whoa." Rainbow opened her eyes to come literally face-to-face with Twilight, who was leaning quite close, eyes shut tight with her own kisser at the ready. Rainbow had to resist with every fiber of her being, her insides screaming out for her to just close the gap and do it already, but she barely managed to will herself not to do so. Instead, she resumed her upright position, eyes darting around while her face lit up a bright red. "Um... Twi," she whispered.
Twilight opened her eyes, suddenly realizing she was leaning just a little too eagerly towards her friend. She met Rainbow Dash's nervous gaze with her own, and the pegasus gulped. "Just a practice... remember?" Twilight blinked at the shaky voice and leaned back, bringing a hoof to her face to hide the blush that put all others from this 'practice-date' to shame.
"R-right," she stammered, plunking down on her rear. "Sorry." Feeling tremendously embarrassed, she was seriously considering a teleportation spell, maybe along with a memory-wipe. Or perhaps it would be easier to just blow herself to pieces right then and there... Yes, that would most definitely be easier.
"Don't sweat it." Rainbow's eyes glimmered with amusement, and a hint of disappointment, gone unnoticed by the alicorn in front of her. "But your actual date will kiss you back, you know. Probably."
"Right," Twilight muttered again. "Sorry, I just... you know, kinda got caught up in it all." She waved a hoof around to indicate the setting they were in.
"Heh, no worries. I gotcha." Rainbow smiled and fixed her gaze on the moon, then suddenly turned to Twilight, feeling curious. "So, Twi... who is the lucky pony, anyways? Do I know them?"
Twilight's muzzle scrunched up uneasily. "Um... I... sort of. Yes." Rainbow watched her for a few seconds, then slowly turned her head forwards.
"C'mon, Twi, you can tell me."
I'm not so sure I can... Twillight's ears drooped as she scuffed the dirt with her hooves. "Look, Rainbow, I don't even know if it'll go anywhere. Hay, it probably won't even happen at all."
"What makes you say that?" Rainbow stared at her in shock. This is Twilight we're talking about. How could even one date possibly not happen?
"Well... first of all, I... I kind of haven't even asked her out yet," Twilight admitted sheepishly.
The first words to register in Rainbow's mind were 'haven't asked out yet.' She blinked. "What?" Then the pegasus finally recognized the word 'her,' and blinked again. "Wait, what?" She shook her head vigorously. "I mean... what?"
The alicorn lowered her head. "Yeah, I just... y'know... you can never be too prepared, right?"
Rainbow Dash was no genius, but even she could detect the sorrow in that voice. Shaky as the action was, she scooted closer to the alicorn, resting a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight, what's going on?"
"I just... I can't..." Twilight was struggling for words and could no longer find the strength to continue. "Oh, Rainbow, I'm such an idiot sometimes!" She turned and buried her face into the pegasus' shoulder, tears leaking from her eyes and soaking the blue fur pressed against them. Rainbow quietly patted her on the back, growing antsier by the second as she fought to think of someway to just make everything all better for the purple pony.
"W-well," she began, "everypony is, Twilight. That's what makes life hard: you just can't control it at the right times. I don't care how hard you try, you can't be absolutely flawless twenty-four seven." When her consolations appeared ineffective, she frowned up at the sky. "Twi, what's wrong? Is it something I said?" She really hoped this wasn't the case; to imagine that whatever had the alicorn so depressed could be because of her was unthinkable.
Rainbow strained her ears as she felt Twilight twist her head and let out a few incoherent sobs. Over the sniffling and whimpering, she just barely made out a short, fearful cry: "She'll hate me."
"Hate you?" Rainbow scoffed. "For what? Nopony can hate you, Twi!"
"But it'll be weird!" Twilight wailed. "I never asked if she's single, or if--if she even likes me that way..." Twilight brought both forehooves up to cover her face. "I don't even know if you like mares, and I'm already planning a date? I'm not even attractive! How could I have just assumed all this would just work out in the end when it never does?!"
"Oh, Twilight..." Rainbow sighed, "I'm sure it'll--" Rainbow suddenly cut herself off, her mouth frozen halfway-open while she repeated Twilight's statement over and over again in her head. I don't even know if you like mares!
...if you like mares...
"Wait," she choked. "Back up. If... if I like mares?"
Twilight's eyes snapped open as she jerked away and did a double-take at the wide-eyed pegasus. "What?" Did I just say that? I said 'you,' didn't I?! No. I couldn't have. Nope. No way. This is not happening. This is NOT HAPPENING!
"You..." Rainbow stood stock-still, her eyes glued to her friend who was desperately trying to wrench her own gaze away. "You said..."
"She!" Twilight yelped. "I-I said 'she'!" Her face now approaching a deep burgundy hue, she stared straight through the mountains and locked her eyes on the moon, where she swore she could see the image of Luna practically laughing her flank off.
"...Twilight?" Said alicorn flinched as the voice met her ears, and she braced herself for the inevitable question. "Is this 'she' you're talking about... me?"
Even though she had been expecting them, those words still made her shrink in on herself. Her throat clenched up, and she could only give a tiny whimper in response. "Maybe..."
Rainbow, who was now just out of view of the trembling mare, smiled breathlessly. "T-Twilight...?"
Twilight sighed shakily, hunching over. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, I can't do this anymore... It is you... it's always been you. You're so funny, and fast, and cute, and loyal, and you're always there when I need you the most. And I really like hanging out with you, especially on reading days, and... a-and now I'm just a total mess..." She held her head in her hooves, trembling as her body was racked with sobs. Wiping the tears from her face, she turned her head just enough to glimpse the blurry blue pony in the corner of her eye. "There, I told you, okay? Happy now?"
Rainbow was silent, her smile stretching wider as this revelation sunk in. There were no words to express how she felt at that moment; if there were, however, she wouldn't have gotten any further than a YES before squealing gleefully. As it was, she pounced on the alicorn from the side, tackling her to the ground. Twilight's surprised squeak was muffled as Rainbow Dash pressed her lips down firmly against Twilight's own, feeling as if fireworks were going off throughout her entire body.
Twilight, on the other hoof, was instantly overcome by a rush of confusion and pleasure; the pleasure quickly won out, though, and her eyes slowly slid shut as she lost herself in this moment. Buck confusion. This was what they had both been waiting for all night, and she wasn't about to spoil it.
Neither of them noticed or remembered that Rainbow Dash had just eaten an onion-smothered pizza.
Eventually, to both ponies' dismay, they had to come up for air; they separated, albeit reluctantly, and as their eyes cracked open again, they remained in that position. It crossed both their minds just how beautiful the other's eyes appeared in the moonlight, but only as a fleeting thought, as both their heads were still fuzzy with lingering excitement.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Rainbow giggled, elated. She rolled off of the purple alicorn and onto the ground next to her, where they both lay facing each other. "Does that answer your question?"
Twilight couldn't believe it; the mare of her dreams felt the same way about her? This kind of thing only happened in pony tales! Well, if this really is a dream, I'd better not be waking up anytime soon...
"Twilight? Are you okay?" Rainbow's concerned voice cut through the haze in her mind.
"No, I'm terrific," Twilight replied. "I just can't believe this is all really happening."
"Neither can I..." Rainbow chuckled nervously. "It all seems just too good to be true... but this is more real than any dream I've ever had." She immediately took on a heavy blush and squirmed on the ground. "N-not that I've had dreams about you, or anything! At least... not those kinds of dreams," she added quietly.
Twilight giggled at the flustered pegasus, her face soon softening into a more solemn expression. "Dash... why did you never say anything?" She asked sadly.
"Well..." Rainbow Dash's smile flattened out and the spark in her eyes died down. "To be honest, I was really scared."
"Rainbow Dash? Scared?" Twilight smirked, blinking slowly. "I don't believe it for a second."
"Yeah, I mean, I didn't even know you swung that way 'till just now, and... well, what kind of friend would I be to ask you out when you're planning to ask out somepony else? That'd be like declaring my love for Spike as he's walking out the door to go ask Rarity on a date." Rainbow shook her head gently. "Not cool. Besides, you can't tell me you weren't scared."
"Oh, of course I was," Twilight admitted. "You probably gathered that from my little slip-up a minute ago." She and Rainbow shared a laugh at that remark. "I just meant that... I wish we could have had the courage to do this sooner."
Rainbow nodded quietly. "Well, better late than never."
"Except that I hate being late."
"I know, Twilight, I know. Everypony knows."
The pair lay there under the starry night sky in silence, simply basking in the glow of the moon and relishing each other's company. After a while, Twilight took a deep breath and broke the silence.
"Rainbow Dash," she murmured, her eyes soft, "will you be my special somepony?"
"As sappy as that phrase is, Twi..." Rainbow grinned, but this time, it wasn't her usual one of confidence, cockiness, and charm; no, this was an expression she couldn't hold back, a loving smile so large it simply couldn't be contained between her two lips. "I'd love to."
Twilight squeed. "I have a special somepony!" She let out a few bubbly giggles that could have melted Rainbow Dash into a puddle, and the pegasus gently pulled her closer, nuzzling her jaw with her eyes squinted shut.
"Yup," she confirmed, "and I can't wait for our second date."
Twilight gasped, her eyes sparkling. "Y-you mean...?"
"Uh-huh. I'd officially consider this our first one," Rainbow declared proudly. She fixed Twilight with an expectant look. "So tell me... How was Twilight Sparkle's first date?"
The alicorn reached her thoughts back to the moment she had seen the pegasus step inside the restaurant, the split second they had held hooves, their friendly chatting, the 'incident' with her wings, the peaceful moonlit stroll they had been on up to this point, and the fact that Rainbow Dash had encouraged her the whole way: paying her compliments, never doubting that she could do whatever she put her mind to...
...and as she gazed into those vibrant rose-colored eyes, her own smiling, thoughtful face reflected in them, Twilight could only describe the experience with one simple word.
"Perfect."