Rainbow Dash's mind suddenly snapped to attention, remembering where she was. The memory still flashed in her head, as though fresh before her eyes. That sense of failure had haunted her for quite some time. She steeled herself. She had seven days alone with Twilight- then, she decided, she would have seven days to make Twilight fall in love with her. So ambitious, she thought. Being herself, however, she was confident she could do it. The thought of a week in Canterlot seemed to grab most of the other ponies attention immediately, so it didn't seem too suspicious when Dash said she'd happily accompany her friend. Honestly, she just couldn't pass up the offer. Though she had planned on going to see the Wonderbolts in Cloudsdale, they had sold out before she bought her ticket. Besides, she kept reminding herself. This is going to be way better.
Three hours later, the train glided to a stop at Canterlot Station. "Come on, Dash." The pegasus turned around at the sound of Twilight chiding her on. "We should go unpack our bags before we do some sightseeing."
Rainbow ran to her to pick up her own saddle bag. In all her daydreams, she'd forgotten to grab them out of the train. "Right," she said, pulling next to Twilight. "Where are we staying?" As the words left her mouth, she nearly brought her hoof to her forehead for even asking the question. The ever-obvious answer slipped her mind.
"The castle, silly!" Twilight replied.
Rainbow held her head down in shame when she noticed something on Twilight's neck flash- it was the locket she'd gotten for her so long ago. "Where'd you get the locket? I don't think I've seen you wearing it before" This was her chance to find out who Twilight really thought did it.
"How... uncharacteristically observant." She shouldn't really be that cute when she's using big words. "Besides, I don't even know who it's from. I found it in a card on my doorstep last Hearts and Hooves Day." So she really had no idea.
"Sounds to me like you got yourself your own special somepony!" It took all her resolve for the cyan mare to not tell the alicorn next to her how she really felt. Still, she held it in. "Care to share who it is? Why haven't you told us about him?"
"Why do you care?" Twilight had interrupted the next question. She could sound harsh if she needed to, but this wasn't that. The words still rolled off her tongue as though intended to be kind, almost suggestive. "Like I said, I don't know who he is. I've asked every stallion in Ponyville, but couldn't find out whoever it was."
A frown had crept onto Rainbow's face. "I didn't mean to pry." What would she do if Twilight hated her now?
The walked the rest of the way in silence, only occasionally stopping for Twilight to do her sudden transformation into "Princess Twilight Sparkle" for some of Canterlot's more noble ponies. It continued until the two had entered Twilight's room- er, bedchambers, as the guards had thus addressed them.
"Look at the size!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she flew through the room. "This room alone is bigger than my house!" It may have been an overstatement, but it captured her feelings perfectly. She found it hard to believe that Twilight chose to live in the library in Ponyville.
"Except," Twilight started. "There's only one bed." She was right. It was an abnormally large bed, as far as she was concerned. However, there was only the one.
"Don't worry about it. I'll sleep on the floor. You have, like, 18 pillows, I'm sure you can spare some for me." Such a selfless offer, at least by Rainbow Dash standards.
"Rainbow Dash," there was obvious disappointment in her voice, but she never raised it, not once. "You've stayed at the library enough times, I'd have thought you would have learned something about having guests. True, there's only one bed, but I will not let you sleep on the floor." She sighed, though it's purpose was unclear. "You can sleep with me."
"And here I was thinking only Rarity was that generous," Dash replied with a smile. "What's the best restaurant in town? I'm taking you there. To repay you for bringing me here."
"You wouldn't like it. It's a pretty romantic seen. Though, I have to say the food there is amazing. I can't see you lasting more than 15 seconds there." Twilight flashed her a smile. Even she can't accept that challenge.
Well, Twilight, for once, was wrong. Flashing a smile back, Dash said to her, "I'll be patient with it, if you love it so much." No matter how much she tried to stop herself from thinking she just got a date with Twilight, she couldn't help but let the smile get wider. "I insist- it'll be my treat."
"Are you alright?" Twilight asked her, a hint of worry in her voice. "You just don't seem, well, like yourself lately."
"I'm fine, really. Let's go, I'm starving.
Twilight had been right, as always. Dash made a mental note to never question anything Twilight ever said ever again.
It was a romantic scene, and no matter how casual they tried to appear, it ended up being a date. At least, the waiter thought so. It was sunset when they arrived there, and Rainbow secretly paid extra to get a perfect view- looking out over the cliffs the city was perched on out into the Highland Basin and its rivers. The waning sun glazed and reflected of the water in the most beautiful way. When the waiter took their order, he referred to the two as "lovebirds", prompting correction from Twilight. In his defense, the sun was down when the food came out, and a small candle had been lit at each table. To Twilight's credit, the food was amazing.
During their meal together, the conversation mostly involved planning for the trip. They had talked briefly about Daring Do and how they liked to gaze at the night's beauty, but "Checklist", as Dash had started calling her, ultimately won over. Over the week, Twilight wished to take Dash to several exhibits and museums, while Dash would treat her to some flying lessons, something the two could agree that Twilight needed. That led into something else Dash had wanted. The Equestrian Youth Flyer's League had a derby coming up in the city. They weren't Wonderbolts, but they'd do for educational purposes.
They decided to walk back to the castle. During their walk, Twilight tried to teach Dash some real astronomy, to which her only remark was, "it's beautiful."
The most relaxing sleep of her life followed Rainbow Dash that night, without so much as a single snore escaping her mouth.