//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Courtship Catastrophe // by Dianwei32 //------------------------------// The Courtship Catastrophe Chapter Three         “Whoa there, Spike.” Applejack backed up as the dragon bore down on her. Dash stepped up to confront Spike, but the look in his eyes wilted her resolve and she retreated with her marefriend. “Why don’t ya calm down a bit, and we can talk all civilized like.”         “Like how you two wanted to ‘talk’ to Twilight yesterday?.” Spike finished stomping over to the ponies and jabbed a finger into Applejack’s chest. “I don’t wanna hear it, and more importantly, Twilight doesn’t need to hear it.”         Dash moved to step around him. “Come on, Spike, we just wanna—”         “I don’t care what you wanna do!” Spike turned his glare on the pegasus, and she froze in place. “Do you have any idea what you already did?” He angrily waved a hand at the door to Twilight’s bedroom. “I actually managed to calm her down once you two left, but she was up most of the night because every time she fell asleep, she woke up crying from nightmares.” His anger faltered, and for a few moments, he was simply a little brother worried about his sister. “She tried to pretend they weren’t happening, and she wouldn’t tell me what they were about, but I know.” He looked back up at Rainbow and Applejack, and his anger came back with a vengeance.         “And it’s all your faults!” He snarled at them, jabbing an accusatory finger at the mares. “Now, both of you need to leave.” He started walking forward, putting a hand on each mare’s chest and pushing them back toward the door. “And just… stay away for now. I’ll let you know when you can come back.”         “No.” Applejack stomped a hoof and stood her ground, causing Spike to run into her. “Listen, Spike, Ah know that yer just tryin’ to protect Twilight, and Ah respect that. She’s lucky to have a little brother like you.” Spike glared at her and opened his mouth to respond, but she put a hoof on his shoulder and kept going before he could. “Ya done a lotta talkin’, sugarcube, but it’s our turn now. We messed up somethin’ fierce yesterday, and we gotta make it right, or at least give it our best shot. We’re goin’ up there, we’re gonna apologize to Twi, and if she wants us to leave her alone after that, we will.” Spike scowled at her and stood in their path, crossing his arms. “Sorry, sugarcube, but ya ain’t stoppin’ us.”         Rainbow and Applejack trotted around Spike and toward the staircase. He grabbed onto their tails to try and stop them, but the earth pony whipped her tail around and tossed the dragon across the room, landing him upside down on a bean bag. Dash leapt into the air and flew up to the bedroom door, throwing it open to see Twilight laying in bed and staring out the window.         “Is everything okay, Spike? I thought I heard—” Twilight looked over her shoulder at the door, freezing when she saw the pegasus. She sat up and gathered the covers around herself, her eyes widening in panic. After staring at each other for an instant, the alicorn’s horn lit up.         “Oh no you don’t.” Dash zipped across the room, grabbing onto her friend and pulling her back onto the bed. “Twi, wait! We’re sorry!” She clung to Twilight, squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation of getting dragged along on a teleport. However, the sound of Twilight’s horn sputtered and died, and Rainbow cracked an eye open to see the alicorn looking down at her in confusion.         “You’re… sorry? But I—” Twilight tried to disentangle herself from the pegasus’ grasp, but Dash held fast. “Rainbow, can you let go, please? I promise I won’t run away.” Finally freed, she sat up, still trying to figure out what was going on. “You’re sorry? But… why? I’m the one who…” She trailed off, her ears folding flat against her head. “And I… deserved everything you girls said to me.”         “No, ya didn’t.” Applejack finally appeared in the doorway, trotting around the bed and sitting on the floor next to Twilight. Spike arrived a second later, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. “Now, don’t get me wrong, sugarcube, you were way outta line markin’ Dash yesterday… but we were outta line, too.” She took off her hat, holding it and twisting the brim in her hooves. “We went overboard yesterday, and we owe ya an apology. So… we’re sorry.”         “Thanks, girls.” Twilight managed a weak smile. “I was worried that you two were going to hate me forever, and that Spike and I were going to have to move back to Canterlot.”         “Come on, Twi.” Dash scooted up the bed, sitting next to the alicorn and throwing a foreleg around the other mare’s shoulders. “We’ve faced down Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changelings, and that mess in the Crystal Empire. Not to mention that time you switched all of our cutie marks and turned me into Fluttershy.” She gave Twilight a squeeze. “Besides, we can’t blame you too much.”         Both Twilight and Applejack looked at her in confusion. The earth pony was the first to ask the obvious question. “And why’s that, sugar?”         “Well, just look at me.” Dash gathered her hind legs under her and leapt out of the bed, doing a flip in midair, landing, and striking a pose. “I’m the coolest, awesomest, and hottest piece of tail in Ponyville. I’m surprised there aren’t lovestruck stallions and mares tripping over each other to follow me around.”         Applejack and Twilight shared a bemused glance before the former rolled her eyes and they both broke down in giggles. When they finally faded, Twilight looked down at her sheets, tapping her hooves together for a moment before she spoke. “So… can we just go back to being friends now?”         “We never stopped being friends, dummy.” Dash walked back over to the bed and threw a foreleg around Twilight, pulling her into a quick hug. “Things just got a little… weird. And I… I said some things I didn’t mean. So, I—”         “We.” Applejack interrupted her. “We came to apologize.”         “Yeah, so, uh… Sorry.” Rainbow gave the alicorn one last quick squeeze and trotted over to her marefriend, her mind whirling. Despite their talk on the way to the library and Applejack’s insistence that it was up to her, Dash had no idea how the three of them should proceed. Before she could begin to formulate a response, however, someone else spoke up.         “The two of y’all need to go out.” Applejack kept her eyes on the floor. When she looked up, both Twilight and Dash were staring at her, mouths agape. Even Spike was looking at her like she was crazy.         “What the buc—”         “Oh, Applejack, I would never—”         “—about this being up to me—”         “—between you two. I couldn’t—”         Applejack put a hoof in her mouth a whistled as loudly as she could, silencing both mares. “Now, Ah know it’s… bein’ honest, it’s a crazy idea, but it’s the only way to do this.” She looked back and forth between her marefriend and the alicorn on the bed. “Ah ain’t gonna have the two of y’all lookin’ back tomorrow, next week, or years from now and wonderin’ what coulda been between you two.” She turned to Twilight. “Twi, ya like Dash enough to mark her, and sug’—” She shifted her gaze to Rainbow. “—you were sayin’ earlier that you were thinkin’ about asking Twi out ‘fore Ah got to ya first.”         “R-really?” Twilight looked over at Dash. Her wings rustled along her back, straining to unfurl. “Oh, well, um… I wish… Uh, that’s… Ahem.” She stared down at her blanket, her face darkening in a blush. “Interesting.”         “Well, yeah, but…” Dash blew out a sharp breath and turned to her marefriend. “AJ, I’m not going to risk losing you just to see what could be with Twi… no offense.” She offered a belated apologetic smile to Twilight, but she waved it off. Rainbow stared at the blushing alicorn for a few seconds, making up her mind. “Sorry, Twi, I just can’t do it. At least, not by myself.” She scooted closer to her marefriend and threw a wing across the earth pony’s withers. “It’s both of us, or nothing.”         “Whaddya think yer doin’, sugar?” Applejack tried to step away from the pegasus, but Rainbow held her tightly in place with her wing.         “Hey, you said this was up to me, and this is what I want to do.” Dash locked eyes with Applejack, trying to find the right words. “You’re an important part of my life now, AJ, and there’s no way I’m doing something like this without you.”         Applejack sighed, simultaneously touched and annoyed by her marefriend’s sentiment. “Ah appreciate it, sug’, Ah really do. But there’s no way—”         “Okay.”         They both turned to Twilight, who swallowed nervously under their combined stares. “Beg pardon, sugarcube?”         “I-I said… Okay.” Twilight sat up straighter, trying to call on her admittedly limited princessly ability to seem calm, cool, and collected. “I would be delighted to go out with… both of you.” Her demeanor faltered, and she shrunk back, doing her best imitation of Fluttershy. “As long as you’re okay with it, Applejack.”         Applejack stared at the nervous alicorn for a few moments, flabbergasted that she had actually agreed to Rainbow’s cockamamie plan. She slowly turned to her marefriend, who wore her normal confident grin. Applejack tried to speak, but couldn’t force any words out. After a few failed tries, she sighed again. “Ah guess Ah ain’t got much choice, do Ah?”         “Sweet!” Dash smiled and kissed her marefriend on the cheek. “So, what’re we gonna do?” She tapped a hoof to her chin, but pressed on before either of the others could offer a suggestion. “Oh, I’ve got it! We can go flying!”         “Uh, sugar? Ain’t ta forgettin’ somethin’?” Applejack stepped out from under the pegasus’ wing, arching her back. “Ah ain’t exactly equipped her flyin’.”         “So?” Dash shrugged, unperturbed. “Twilight’s got a spell to give you wings, remember? You can be like Rarity.”         “No way, no how.” Applejack shook her head violently, nearly dislodging her hat. “There ain’t no way on Celestia’s green earth that Ah’m goin’ out there with a pair of frou-frou butterfly wings stickin’ outta mah butt.” She sat down, knocking a hoof on the floor. “Ah’ll be keepin’ mah hooves on the ground, thank ya kindly.”         “Lame.” Rainbow droned. “Come on, it’s fun. Watch.” She leapt into the air and dashed over to Applejack, snaking her forelegs around the earth pony’s barrel and pumping her wings to lift them both into the air.         “Whoa, nelly!” Applejack’s legs flailed at the empty air as they rose toward the ceiling. “You put me down right now, ya cotton pickin’ varmint!” She yelped and wrapped her forelegs around her marefriend’s own when Dash loosened her grip and she dropped a few inches. “That ain’t funny!”         Twilight giggled into a hoof while she watched Dash and Applejack, smiling warmly when the former finally landed and the latter swatted her on the back of the head with her hat. She thought for a few seconds before coming up with an idea. “We could just do something simple, like dinner at Sugarcube Corner.”         “Really?” Dash raised an eyebrow. “That seems kinda… lame after everything we’ve been through. Oof.” She rubbed the back of her head as her comment earned her a smack from her marefriend.         “I suppose it is kind of anticlimactic.” Twilight hummed to herself and thought for a moment, perking up when a solution struck her. “Oh, I’ve got it.” She hopped down out of bed and trotted over to her desk, rummaging through one of the drawers. “There was this one place in Manehattan that—what is that doing in here—Celestia, Luna, and I went to after a meeting with some zebras from the—oh, I thought I’d lost that—the Zebrican Embassy. Aha!” She pulled her head out of the drawer, raising her hoof in triumph and holding a small card.         “Here. This is the place we went.” She laid the card on the bed. A picture of an upscale restaurant covered the front, with four small insert pictures of various dining rooms in the corners. Finally, the name of the restaurant, L’attraction Principale, was written across the bottom in florid golden script. “It was delicious, and the maitre d’ told us that we could come by any time, even without a reservation.”         Rainbow and Applejack looked at the card, then at each other. The earth pony spoke first. “It looks real nice, sugarcube, but it seems a little too… fancy. Ah was hopin’ fer somethin’ a little simpler, and maybe a little closer to home.”         “Come on, AJ, it looks awesome!” Dash nudged her marefriend with an elbow. “Besides, if we’re only gonna do this once, we might as well go all out.”         “Well, Ah guess so.” Applejack took one last look at the card and swallowed. Having Rainbow and Twilight go on a date to settle things between them had seemed like such a good idea a few minutes ago, but then the featherbrain had gone and dragged her into it. Either way, she’d made her bed, and now she was gonna lie in it. “So, when do y’all wanna go?”         Twilight and Dash looked at one another for a few seconds before the former shrugged. “How about tonight? No time like the present… ish.” She smiled, but it faltered when she saw Rainbow and Applejack share a brief, concerned glance. “That is, unless you two already have plans for tonight, or you changed your minds and don’t want to do it anymore.” The alicorn smiled again, but it was clear that she was forcing it. “I understand.”         “No. Nothin’ like that, sugarcube.” Applejack trotted over and laid a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s just…” She paused, searching for the right words. “This was all just some crazy, impossible, one-in-a-million idea not five minutes ago, and now it’s real. It’s happenin’ tonight. And it’s a little… scary.”         “Hey.” Dash walked up and wrapped a wing around her marefriend. “If you don’t wanna do it, just say the word and it’s off.” She belatedly realized that their potential third was in fact less than three feet away. “Uh, no offense, Twi. Sorry.”         “No no, I get it.” Twilight waved away her friend’s apology, glancing down nervously. “It’s scary for me too, Applejack. I mean, you two are opening up your relationship for me, and I’m thrilled, honored even. But, I can’t help but think about what could go wrong, and I would never want to do that to either of you.” She paused, her eyes darting around while she thought to herself. After a moment, she sighed and closed her eyes. “You know, maybe we shouldn’t do this. It’s… not a good idea. There’s just too much that can go wrong, and I don’t want you two to risk what you have for me.” She looked up and smiled again, but it kept trying to twitch down into a frown. “Thank you for the offer, girls. I appreciate it, truly I do. But… I just don’t think we should do it.”         Part of Applejack wanted to take what she could get and run, but she knew that if they didn’t deal with the whole issue once and for all, it would only come back to bite them later. “Little late fer that, sugarcube. Ah meant what Ah said earlier. Ah don’t want y’all lookin’ back and wondering ‘bout all sorts of ‘what if’s, especially not when ya got an opportunity to find out starin’ ya right in the face.” She nodded resolutely, trying to portray a great deal more confidence than she actually felt. “No backin’ out now. We’re doin’ it.”         “Whoa, AJ.” Dash snickered into a hoof. “On the first date? That’s a little fast, don’t ya think?”         Applejack took a second to catch onto Rainbow’s meaning, but when she did, she pulled her hat off and whapped her marefriend on the back of the head. “Get yer head outta the gutter, ya no good varmint.” She shook her head and turned back to Twilight. “Sorry ‘bout little miss featherbrain. So, whaddya say? Meet ya at the train station ‘round four?”         “O… Okay.” Twilight smiled, her first genuine one since Applejack had broached the idea of her and Rainbow going on a date. Her rising spirits stalled as a potential hitch in their plans rose in her mind. “Oh, the restaurant does have a bit of a… dress code.” She chuckled as the two mares glanced at one another nervously. “I’m sure that Rarity would be more than happy to supply us with some dresses for the night.” “Well, Ah guess.” Applejack looked to her marefriend, who shrugged, resigned to their fate. The earth pony glanced at the clock, then started for the door. “Well, if’n we’re gonna be ready in time, Dash and Ah need to head back and get the chores done. Especially if’n we’re gonna haveta deal with Rarity.” She shuddered, visions of mane curlers, perfume, and restrictive dresses already flying through her mind. “Well, come on, sug’.” She headed out of the room and down the stairs, Rainbow breaking into a light canter to catch up.         Spike stood just inside the doorway, his gaze moving between Twilight and the two mares heading down the staircase. He scratched his chin with a claw until he heard the main door open and close. “So… does this mean my ‘I told you so’ doesn’t count anymore?”         Twilight was unable to hold back a small squeal of glee, and she gave her wings one hard flap, lifting her a few inches off of the bed. When she landed again, she scrambled out and across the room, sweeping Spike up in her magical grasp as she passed by. “Oh, Spike! We have to go see Rarity, right now!” She leapt from the top of the stairs and glided all the way out the front door, depositing her number one assistant safely on her back. As soon as she landed, she broke into a gallop toward Carousel Boutique.         Spike grabbed onto Twilight’s mane to keep from being thrown free. “So, my ‘I told you so’ doesn’t count anymore?”         “Please, Applejack.” Rarity pleaded as the door to Carousel Boutique opened. “It will only take a few minutes, I promise.”         “Fer the last time, Rares. No.” Applejack moved through the doorway as quickly as she dared, desperate to escape the girly confines of the shop. She took a deep breath of the outside air, shaking out her mane to try and get rid of the perfumes that undoubtedly still clung to it. “Come on, Dash. We’re late as it is, and if’n we don’t hurry, Twi’s gonna think that we stood her up.”         “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Dash trotted through the doorway, her wings flapping in agitation.         “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity’s voice boomed from within the building, and the unicorn herself stood in the doorway a moment later. “Don’t you even think about flying in that dress! It’s made of incredibly delicate Neighjing silk, and I won’t have you ruining it.” She glared at the pegasus until her wings folded meekly at her sides. As if a switch had flipped, Rarity smiled broadly and waved to the couple as they walked away. “Do try not to embarrass Twilight too much, dears. She looked rather… nervous when I left the library.”         Applejack and Rainbow shared a quick glance, then headed for the train station. Once they rounded a corner and the Boutique disappeared from view, Dash loosened her wings up again and gave them a few perfunctory flaps. “Alright, AJ. I’m gonna go on ahead so that Twi doesn’t think we stood her up. Meet you there.”         “Oh no ya don’t.” Applejack put a hoof down on her marefriend’s tail, taking extreme care not to step on the hem of her dress. “Ya heard Rarity. Yer dress is made outta that fancy silk, and she’ll tear both of us a new one if’n ya ruin it.” She shifted her hindquarters, the dark blue linen laying across her flanks a constant presence that she wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to.         “Come on, it can’t be that fragile.” Dash ran a hoof along the pristine white silk wrapped around her barrel. The luxurious softness sent a shiver down her back, but she quickly cleared her throat to cover it up. While she’d never admit that she liked something as totally uncool as wearing a dress, she had to admit that this particular one wasn’t quite as terrible as she’d expected. She ran a hoof through her mane—even that was soft after Rarity had gotten a comb into it—and started trotting toward the train station again. “Fine. Let’s just go. We’re gonna be late.”         Applejack fell in behind her marefriend, trying to keep her eyes on the ground. She failed miserably, and soon found herself openly staring at Rainbow’s backside. They’d both scoffed at Rarity’s assertion that the right clothes could somehow be more sensual than walking around naked, but right now Applejack was willing to believe it. Even though she saw Dash naked every day, the thin layer of silk hugging her curves made the pegasus’ every move… sexier, somehow. So much so that when they passed an alley, she had to fight the urge to pull Rainbow into it by her tail and rip the dress off with her teeth.         Dash looked over her shoulder and caught her marefriend staring at her rump. “Enjoying the show?” She winked when the earth pony finally met her gaze, then looked away while a blush darkened her cheeks. Applejack picked up her pace a little to draw even with the other mare, grumbling to herself. It gave Dash an opportunity to really look at her marefriend’s dress, now that she wasn’t trying to dodge a salon’s worth of flying beauty products. She let her eyes rove, following the plunging neckline that disappeared down almost to Applejack’s stomach. Her eyes trailed back along the contours of her date’s body, admiring how Rarity’s work made her curves look not quite soft, but less like hard-packed muscle from years of strenuous work. “Come on, AJ. You look great.” She reached back with a wing and flicked the hem of the earth pony’s dress up.         “Quit it, sugar.” Applejack stopped for a second, tugging the skirt of her dress lower. “This thing’s already ridin’ up every time Ah take a step.” She gave it one more firm tug before she started walking again. “Now, come on.” She jerked her head in the direction they had been heading, causing her braided mane to swing over and smack her in the face. They started for the train station yet again, breaking into a light canter.         Soon enough, they arrived at the train station, though a clock on the wall informed them that they were twenty minutes late. Thankfully, the train hadn’t arrived yet, even if it wasn’t scheduled to do so for another five minutes. Applejack looked around the platform for their third, but a cursory glance through the smattering of ponies waiting for the train came up empty-hoofed. “Ah don’t see her, sugar.”         Dash looked at the clock, then back in the direction of the library. “You don’t… think that she stood us up, do you?” She did her own quick sweep of the platform, but the alicorn was still nowhere to be found.         “Oh my goodness, you girls look fantastic!”         “Well, thank ya kin—” Applejack turned in the direction that she’d just heard Twilight’s voice come from, but no one was there. She stared for a few more seconds before looking around again. “Uh, you heard that too, right?”         “Yeah…” Dash took a small step closer to her marefriend.         “Oh, right. Sorry.” Twilight’s voice emanated from the empty space again. A moment later, a purple sphere shimmered into existence, then immediately faded away, revealing the alicorn standing a few feet away. “Sorry. Basic invisibility spell. I forgot I had it up. Well, it’s not really invisibility, but…” She stopped and cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter. Again, you girls look amazing.”         Applejack and Rainbow looked at one another, then back to Twilight, who was decked out in her full princess regalia. After a few more awkward seconds of silence, they slowly bowed.         “No no no!” Twilight rushed forward, placing a golden horseshoe against each of their chests. Her sudden outburst and flurry of action earned her a few questioning looks and whispers from others on the platform, but no one tried to follow Applejack and Rainbow’s lead. “How many times do I have to tell you girls? I never want you to feel like you need to bow to me.”         The pair stood back up, mumbling apologies. Dash took a few seconds to look over the alicorn, noting her wings rustling nervously on her back. “Still, you look… beyond awesome, Twi.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “You should totally wear this stuff more often.”         “Ugh. No.” Twilight shuddered, the movement causing light to glint off of the amethyst star in her necklace. “I feel so… self-conscious wearing it. Everyone is always bowing and referring to me as ‘princess’ or ‘your highness.’ But, Rarity wouldn’t let me out of the Boutique without all of it on. She actually locked all of the doors when I tried to leave.” The three of them shared a laugh before she continued. “I caved and agreed to wear it, then I managed to slip out while she went off to get things to work on my mane.” She giggled into a hoof. “She asked Spike to keep me there, but I managed to… convince him to let me go with a few well placed gems.”         “That sounds about right.” Applejack nudged her marefriend with an elbow. “She was practically chasin’ Dash ‘round the shop tryin’ to get a hold of her mane.” A whistle cut across Dash’s attempted reply, and the trio turned to see the train approaching the station. “Well, looks like our ride’s here.” Applejack trotted over to the edge of the platform, ending up beside the door when the train finally came to a halt and ponies spilled out. Once the arrivals dispersed, the earth pony waved a hoof at the open door. “After you, ‘yer highness.’”         Twilight giggled into a hoof and started for the door. “Why, thank you, Miss Applejack.” She stepped onto the train and turned to Rainbow, who was still standing on the platform. “Are you coming, Miss Dash?”         “Uh, yeah.” Dash slowly walked over to the train, but was stopped by a hoof on her chest.         “Ya alright, sugar?” Applejack had lost all of the levity she’d had moments ago. “You ain’t lookin’ so hot.”         “Yeah, it’s just…” Dash swallowed and glanced through the window to where Twilight had already sat down. “She looks good… like, really good. I’m… starting to think this might not have been such a great idea.”         “‘Course it wasn’t, it was yer idea, after all.” Applejack teased her marefriend, then leaned in for a quick kiss. “Now come on. It’s bad manners to keep a princess waitin’.”         “Here we are.” Twilight stepped through the doorway of L’attraction Principale, magically holding open the door for her dates behind her. She still couldn’t believe it; she was here, on a date, with Rainbow Dash. Granted, Applejack had not been present in any of her dreams or fantasies about the night, but now that they were here, she found she was glad that Rainbow had coerced the earth pony into coming along. If Applejack had stayed behind, she was sure that Rainbow would have been thinking about her during the night, but with all three of them present, they could all focus on enjoying each other’s company. She walked up to the maitre d’, clearing her throat when his attention stayed fixed on his podium. “Excuse me. We’d like a table, please.”         The maitre d’ grabbed a book from below the podium and flipped it open to a bookmarked page. “And what is the name on the reservation?” He asked, running a hoof down the page.         Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Actually, we don’t have one.”         “I’m sorry, mademoiselle, but we cannot—” He froze as he looked up, finally taking a few seconds to process Twilight’s appearance before he realized who she was. “Y-your highness!” He dipped into a hasty bow, accidentally smacking his snout on the podium. He straightened back up, his gaze flicking back to Applejack and Rainbow. “O-of course, a table. For three, correct?”         “Yes, thank you.” Twilight tried to keep a straight face while she watched the stallion try to recover from her appearance. She allowed herself a little smile when he started to walk off before rushing back to the podium to grab a set of menus from a basket behind it.         “Y-yes. Um, this way, if it please your highness.” He took a step out toward the main floor before stopping yet again and turning back to her. “Uh, would you like to dine in the Celestial Dining Room tonight?”         Twilight glanced over her shoulder, to where Applejack and Rainbow were still taking in the extravagance of the restaurant. “That would be lovely, thank you.”         “Of course. Right this way, your majesty.” The stallion turned and headed in a different direction than the one he’d been about to take them in. Twilight looked back to her friends and motioned for them to follow her. Just like at the station, she was worried that everypony’s attention would be focused on her. However, it seemed that a lot of ponies agreed with her assessment of her friends. Every eye in the restaurant was glued on them, and while Dash basked in the attention, Applejack was clearly uncomfortable with so many ponies seeing her all dressed up. Every few steps, her foreleg reached back to try and keep her skirt from riding up too high.         Eventually, they reached a set of double doors at the back of the main room. The maitre d’ pulled one open and held it while the three mares entered. Inside, they found a single small table with four chairs in the middle of the room. The stallion trotted in after them and set a menu in front of three of the spots, pulling the extra chair over to the corner. He trotted out the door, poking his head back in for a moment. “Your waiter will be with you momentarily, mademoiselles.” With that, he shut the door, blocking out the dull buzz of conversation that the picked up after the three of them had walked through the main room.         “Thank ya kindly fer gettin’ us a table back here, Twi.” Applejack sat down next to Rainbow and across from Twilight. “Ah’m not sure Ah coulda taken a whole meal of ponies just starin’ at me like that.”         “I thought it was awesome!” Dash grinned triumphantly, her chest puffed out. “Besides, AJ, they were only staring because you look so… gorgeous.” She cleared her throat, trying to cover up her use of such a sappy word, regardless of how true it was.         “Thanks, sugar.” Applejack smiled, a light blush coloring her cheeks. She looked down at the table and played with the end of her braided mane that draped over the front of her shoulder. Her blush deepened when Rainbow leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and she gently pushed the pegasus back into her seat. “Sug’, not in front of Twilight.” She whispered, her eyes flicking over to the alicorn.         Dash looked at Twilight for a moment before nodding in understanding. “Sorry, I guess I just wasn’t thinking.” She whispered back before sitting up and raising her voice. “Sorry, Twi.”         “Don’t be.” Twilight waved away the apology, smiling warmly. “I don’t want you two having to watch what you do or act differently just because I’m here.” She smiled a little bigger, but secretly wished that Rainbow hadn’t kissed Applejack. Seeing it had only driven home what this really was: her tagging along as a third wheel on their date. She silently thanked Celestia when the door opened and their waiter came in, levitating a tray with three waters behind him.         “Good evening, mademoiselles. I am Immaculate Plate, and I shall be your waiter for the evening.” He introduced himself, setting a water in front of each of the mares. “Now, would you like something other than water to drink? Or perhaps an appetizer?”         “Oh.” Twilight suddenly realized that none of them had even opened a menu. “Water is fine for now, but we would like three house salads.” She pulled her menu closer and flipped it open to the first page. “We’re, um, going to need a few more minutes, though.”         “But of course.” The stallion finished scribbling on a small notepad and tucked it inside his jacket. He gave a quick nod, then hastily retreated from the room.         “Salads, Twi? Really?” Dash looked up from her menu with a raised eyebrow. “No offense, but it looks like they’ve got some great snacks.”         “Trust me, I know.” Twilight shook her head, chuckling quietly. “I thought the same thing when I came here with Celestia and Luna the first time and they ordered the salads. I’ve tried virtually every appetizer they offer, and they were all horrible.” She paused for a second. “Oh, not because the restaurant isn’t good! they were just… unusual. They were meant for visiting foreign dignitaries. Gryphons, zebras, camels… Every time we came here and I ordered a different one, but the princesses never said anything. It wasn’t until I almost ordered the escargot that Luna suggested I get a salad as well.” She shuddered at the memory. “I think that Celestia was actually a little upset with her. She wanted to see if I’d actually eat them.”         “Excar-whatnow?” Dash scanned down the menu until she found it. She read the description a couple times, but there were Prench words scattered throughout it that she couldn’t figure out. “What in the hay is that?”         “Snails.” Applejack supplied. “Slimy little snails, shells and all. They had ‘em a couple times at the get togethers mah aunt and uncle Orange’d take me to. They tried their darndest to get me to eat one, but Ah never did.” She chuckled at the disgusted face her marefriend was making. “Fancy ponies eat some weird things, sugar.”         “No kidding.” Dash stuck her tongue out and flipped forward a couple pages. “So, what have they got to drink? Any cider?”         “I don’t think so.” Twilight flipped through the drink section as well, scanning the rather extensive wine list. “Ooh, this Zinfandel is really good. We had it the last time we were here.” She skipped ahead to the main dishes. “So, do you girls have any idea what you want to eat?”         Before either of them could answer, the door opened again and the waiter trotted in with their salads. He carefully set one down in front of each of them. “Here we are, mademoiselles. And are we ready to order?”         “Actually, we’re going to need a few more minutes.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Oh, but we would like a bottle of the White Zinfandel, please.”         “But of course.” The stallion gave a quick bow and headed back toward the door. “I shall be back with that momentarily.” He closed the door and the three of them went back to studying their menus.         Dash stabbed a bit of her salad with a fork and popped it in her mouth while she looked for something that sounded good. “Wait a second.” She focused on a particular dish, a few bits of salad falling out of her mouth while she spoke. “Are these… rat tails?”         “What?” Twilight leaned over to look at the dish the pegasus was pointing at. “Rainbow, I doubt that—” She stopped and chuckled. “That’s ratatouille, Rainbow. It’s a vegetable stew.”         “Oh.” Dash took another bite of salad, remembering to chew and swallow before talking this time. “Well, why don’t they just put that instead of something that looks like rat tails?” She kept working her way down the menu, stopping every few seconds to try and pronounce a dish or two. “What’s this true— truf— truffleade thing?”         “Truffade.” Twilight corrected her. “It’s potatoes sauteed with garlic and… a Prench cheese.” She tapped her chin, wincing as she forgot that she was wearing her horseshoes and she hit herself a little too hard. “I don’t remember which one, though.” “Potatoes and cheese?” Dash closed her menu and scooped up a big bite of her salad. “Sounds like my kinda meal.” She shoved the salad into her mouth and chewed a couple times before moving to a different topic. “Do they seriously eat snails?”         “Dash!” Applejack hissed, hitting her marefriend on the foreleg. “Quit yappin’ with yer mouth full.” She groaned when the pegasus stuck her tongue out, still covered in half-chewed lettuce. “Yeah, them snails’re considered a delicacy fer some reason. Never could figure out why, though. But them rich ponies eat 'em up like hotcakes, ‘cept fer the shells, of course.”         Their waiter reappeared again, carrying a bottle of pink wine and three glasses. “Here we are, mademoiselles.” He carefully poured a glass for each of them and set the bottle in a bucket of ice. “Now, have we decided what we would like?” He waited for a murmuring of assent from all three of them before turning to Applejack. “And what would you like, madam?”         “Uh, Ah’ll have… that one that Dash was lookin’ at first.” Applejack ran a hoof down her menu trying to find the dish she was talking about. “What was it, Twi? The rat patootie?”         “Ratatouille.” Twilight tried not to giggle at her friend’s mispronunciation, something that Rainbow didn’t bother to do. She grabbed both of the other mares’ menus in her magic and floated them over to the waiter. “She’ll have the truffade—” She motioned toward Dash, who was still snickering into a hoof. “—and I would like the soupe au pistou.”         “Splendid choices, princess. I will be back shortly with your orders.” As always, he quickly retreated from the room, restoring their privacy. Applejack and Twilight took small sips of their wine, while Dash eyed her own glass cautiously.         “I’ve never actually had wine before.” Rainbow picked up her glass and sniffed at its contents, wrinkling her nose. “It’s always been cider or harder stuff. Wine’s just more of a girly drink. Uh, no offense.” She grinned apologetically at the alicorn, who merely smiled and rolled her eyes a little. Dash swirled her glass for a bit, then took a tiny sip, smacking her lips as the flavors rolled across her tongue. Her eyes widened and she downed the rest of her glass in one giant gulp. “Hey! This stuff’s great! Can ya pour me another one, Twi?” She waggled her empty glass toward the bottle of wine.         Twilight shot a quick glance at Applejack, who chuckled to herself, nodding. “Okay, Rainbow, but take it easy.” She lifted the bottle and refilled the pegasus’ glass. “This wine is really sweet, but it has a higher alcohol content than you would think.”         “Huh?” Dash looked at the other mare quizzically as she brought the glass back to her mouth. Unfortunately, the glass didn’t quite make it as her marefriend reached over and held her foreleg down.         “She means that if’n yer not careful, this stuff’ll give ya a good kick in the flank.” Applejack waited until Rainbow put her glass back on the table to let go of her foreleg, then she poked her marefriend in the ribs before sitting upright again. “It’ll be like that time ya found that lost barrel of cider in the corner of the cellar.” They shared a laugh before realizing that Twilight was staring at them in confusion. “Sorry, sugarcube… long story.”         “You mean great story.” Dash chuckled to herself again. “But yeah, it’s kind of a long one, too.” She looked around the room, taking in some of the more extravagant paintings and design elements on the walls. “Say, Twilight, how’d you get us back here, anyway? It looks really… expensive. Ow!” She let out a yelp and glared at her marefriend. “Watch it, AJ. That was my hoof.” The earth pony simply pressed a hoof to her forehead and let out a groan.         “Well, I don’t know about that.” Twilight giggled into a hoof watching her friends. “But this room is actually reserved in perpetuity for the personal use of the princesses. And well…” She pointed to her crown and shrugged.         “Wait, so this is the princesses’ room?” Dash leaned over the table, her dress coming perilously close to the last dregs of her salad. “Like, Celestia and Luna’s personal dining room?”         “And Cadence’s.” Twilight added, not wanting to forget her old foalsitter, even if she was all the way in the Crystal Empire. “And mine now, I suppose.” She lifted her wine glass and took a sip.         Any further conversation was interrupted as Immaculate Plate returned with their entrees, whisking away their salad plates to set the main dishes before them. “Here we are, mademoiselles. Now, if you need anything else, please do not hesitate to summon me—” He motioned to a golden tasseled rope next to the door that disappeared into the wall. “—but other than that, I shall leave to you your privacy. Bon appetit!” He gave a quick bow and retreated once again, closing the door with a whisper-quiet click.         “Are you alright, Applejack?” Twilight scooped up a spoonful of her steaming soup, giving it a moment to cool. “You’ve been kind of quiet, and you barely touched your salad.” She glanced over at Rainbow, who was busy pouring herself another glass of wine.         “Ah’m fine, sugarcube, just… wasn’t much in the mood fer salad.” Applejack poked at her food with a fork idly for a few seconds. “Ah just been… thinkin’.” She put her fork down and sighed. “What is… this?” She swept a hoof around the table lingering between her marefriend and the alicorn next to her. “Ah mean, what happens to us when all of this is done?”         “We… go back to the way things were.” Twilight put on her best princessly smile, even though the words were like an icicle stabbing through her chest. “I really appreciate you girls doing this for me, but I think it’ll be best if we just enjoy tonight, and go back to the way things were tomorrow. It’s obvious that you two have something wonderful, and I would never want to risk causing something to happen between you two.” She paused and took a breath. “Again, I’m really sorry about feathermarking Rainbow, Applejack. It was… stupid of me.”         “Water under the bridge, sugarcube.” Applejack waved away her friend’s apology and picked her wine glass and took a drink. “‘Sides, we all did some things we regret yesterday. The important thing is that we all realized how silly we were bein’ and patched things up.” She picked her fork back up, spearing a few slices of vegetables. She popped the bite in her mouth, her eyebrows raising as she chewed. “Now that’s some good eatin’. Here, sug’, try some of this.” She scooped up another bite and held it out toward Dash, who leaned over and chomped down on it.         “Mmm.” Dash chewed and swallowed, going a little too far when she sat back up and having to grab onto her chair for a second. “That is goo— what’s so funny?” She asked as Applejack and Twilight both broke out in giggles.         “Ya missed a little bit, sug’.” Applejack brought a hoof up and pointed to the side of her mouth. Rainbow spent a few seconds trying to look down and see her own mouth to find the food, but eventually gave up. Instead, she locked eyes with Applejack and slowly ran her tongue along the edge of her mouth, scooping up the bit of leftover food. The earth pony felt blood rush to her cheeks and once again had to fight the urge to tackle pull her marefriend into a secluded area.         Twilight watched Rainbow’s display, mesmerized. She wasn’t able to tear her gaze away until several seconds after she really, really should have stopped watching, and she quickly snatched up her wine glass, taking a long drink to cover the blush spreading across her cheeks. Stupid Twilight. Why did you agree to this? This isn’t the three of you together, it’s you being a third wheel to their date. They can’t even enjoy themselves because you’re here. She belatedly realized that her glass was empty and put it down. I can at least give them that. She scooted her chair back and hopped down. “Excuse me, girls. I need to use the little fillies’ room. I’ll be right back.”         Applejack watched the alicorn leave, unable to shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. When the glow of Twilight’s magic faded from the door, she turned back to her marefriend. “Sug’, Ah—” The rest of her words went unsaid as Rainbow practically lunged at her, locking their lips together in a fierce kiss. Applejack had half a mind to push the pegasus away, but a hoof snaked over and trailed along her ribs, causing her to moan into the kiss. She returned it for a few moments before finally pushing her marefriend away, both of them panting slightly.         “Sorry.” Dash grinned predatorily. “I’ve been dying to do that since we got on the train, but… you know.” She motioned toward Twilight’s empty chair then grabbed her wine glass, letting out a small whine when she found it empty.         “Sug’, sometimes Ah just don’t know what Ah’m gonna do with ya.” She blushed as Rainbow looked over and waggled her eyebrows. “Oh hush, you.” She smacked the pegasus on the shoulder, raising an eyebrow when her marefriend grabbed the wine bottle. “How many glasses have you had, anyway?”         “Only like two.” Dash replied, tipping the bottle over her glass. A small dribble of wine came out that petered out after a couple seconds. “Or three.” Not to be discouraged, she picked up her glass and tossed back and small amount that she’d gotten from the bottle. Once she’d swallowed it, she scooped up a big bite of her entree and crammed it in her mouth.         “Sug’, how’re ya feelin’ bout… this?” Applejack waved a hoof at Twilight’s empty spot, her eyes flicking back to the door to make sure the alicorn wasn’t about to walk in. However, Dash simply cocked her head in confusion, her cheeks still stuffed with food. Applejack let out a small, frustrated sigh. “Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout Twilight, ya big lug. This whole thing is supposed to be so y’all can see what coulda been.” She checked the door again. “I mean, how do ya feel about Twi? Has anythin’ changed?”         “Not really.” Dash shrugged. “I mean, Twi’s still cool, and fun… and she’s smoking hot in her princess get up. But I knew all of that already… except the princess thing.” She poked at her food for a second, trying to find the right words. “I mean, I thought I liked her liked her back then, and maybe I still do, but I love you, AJ.” She reached over and held her marefriend’s hoof. “Even if things could have been or could still be or whatever between me and Twi, I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”         Applejack smiled and squeezed Rainbow’s hoof, chuckling to herself. “Now Ah know you’ve had a good deal to drink. That was downright romantic.” She speared a bite of her food, simply holding hooves with her marefriend while they ate. After a few minutes, she glanced at the door again, growing concerned at Twilight’s continued absence. “Ah wonder what’s takin’ Twi so long.”         “Maybe she fell through the toilet.” Dash giggled to herself for a few seconds before realizing that the earth pony was just staring at her in confusion. “Sorry, pegasus joke. Anyway, I gotta hit the little fillies’ room too, so I’ll go find her.” She pushed her chair away from the table and hopped down to the ground, swaying and taking a few sidesteps to keep her balance. She trotted over to the door and pulled it open, calling over her shoulder. “Be right back.”         Rainbow stepped out of the dining room and closed the door behind her, trotting across the main room and toward a hallway in one of the side walls where she figured the bathrooms were. She noticed that as she passed among tables, conversations stopped. Stallions and mares alike tried to sneak surreptitious looks at her, often earning swats from their own significant others, if present. Her hips swayed a little more than necessary while she walked, basking in the attention. When she finally reached the hallway, she found the door to the bathroom and trotted through, only to stop in shock at the sight that greeted her. “Twilight? What’re you doing?”