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// Not So Sucky Anymore 
// Story: The Beach Kinda Sucks without You 
// by elPossenreisser 
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Not So Sucky Anymore

 
“Lookie here who’s in a good mood,” Applejack greeted Rainbow as she landed at the beach, returning from putting away all the supplies she had organized for the date. The girls and Spike had already taken up their spot and were preparing for another leisurely day at the sea. “I half expected y’all to still be sleepin’ over there. Two of you looked a mite cute when I saw y’all on my morning run!”
 
Rainbow started. “You… you saw us?”
 
At that, Rarity perked up her ears. “Us?” She turned to Rainbow Dash and poked a hoof against her chest. “Will you finally tell me what is going on?”
 
“You mean that Rainbow and Twilight had a date last night and slept on the beach?” Pinkie asked, her head poking out from her strip mine.
 
“You knew!?” Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack gasped in unison.
 
“Well, duh!” Pinkie Pie stared at them. “First Rainbow got all mopey when Twilight had to stay in the other hotel to meet the sea pony ambassador. Then Twilight writes a letter, and Rainbow is all excited and jumpy, like me, when I tried a triple caramel muffin in that funny club in Canterlot. Then Rainbow disappears for the night and returns super smiley, and there’s a mark of two ponies on a picnic blanket right over there. You really don’t have to be a Twilight McSmartypants to make sense of that.” While everypony was still busy staring at Pinkie Pie, mouth agape, she pulled Rainbow into a crushing hug. “I’m so happy for you guys!”
 
Rarity’s eye twitched. “And Applejack, darling, you knew about this, too?” she asked with suspicious calm in her voice.
 
“Eyup,” Applejack simply nodded. “It’s your story to tell, sugarcube,” she encouraged Rainbow Dash.
 
The pegasus sighed. “Not much to tell. Twi and I went out on our first date on Saturday. I kinda needed somepony to talk to afterwards, so I went to AJ.” She shot the farmer a nasty glare. “Never. Again.”
 
“Aw shucks, sugarcube, it was all in good fun,” Applejack smiled. Rainbow Dash snorted.
 
“Fluttershy, dear? Did… did you know of this, too?”
 
Fluttershy shied back and hid her face behind her mane. “No, I didn’t. I mean, I could guess they went on a date last night, and that Rainbow Dash was… oh, but I didn’t know that Rainbow and Twilight spent the night on the beach. Eep!”
 
Rarity’s eye twitched once more. With very self-possessed motions, she got up and put on her hat. “Spike, I am in desperate need of well-mannered company right now. Would you care to join me for a bucket of ice cream?” Spike jumped up and followed Rarity towards the ice cream parlor. The others laughed.
 
“Ice cream!” Rainbow suddenly shouted. “I forgot the ice cream!” Before the other girls could react, she had already darted away.
 

***

 
“… and we will meet again in half an hour,” Princess Celestia said. Her smile looked as radiant as ever, even after almost two days of tedious negotiations with the ambassador of the sea ponies. Twilight fought back a yawn. She had slept perfectly fine last night, but the proceedings were really tiresome.
 
Suddenly the window of the corridor burst open and Rainbow Dash darted in. “Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed, surprised.

        “Hey Twi!” Rainbow pulled Twilight into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Yeah, she was just awesome as that, kissing her… kissing Twilight like nopony’s business. She shoved an ice cream cone into Twilight’s hoof. “You never got to taste this amazing ice cream!”

Belatedly she bowed before Princess Celestia who was watching with an amused smile. “Sorry for bursting in here like this, Princess,” she said, scratching her temple and grinning.
 
“Princess,” Twilight said, blushing under Princess Celestia’s curious smile, “allow me to introduce to you my girlfriend, Rainbow Dash.”

        Girlfriend! Rainbow totally liked the sound of that!