Chapter 6 - Revealed in the Rain
They had reached the crisis point. Rainbow Dash had finished every Daring Do book in the Library. Twilight had tried to find a suitable substitute but those had all failed to appeal to the pegasus. The end result of this was that Rainbow became bored. And a bored Rainbow Dash was the worst possible pony to have as a guest because when she was bored she looked to others for entertainment.
-------------
Rainbow left the bathroom in a cloud of steam with a towel over her head, passing by Twilight in the doorway. The towel managed to hide her massive smirk and she tried not to giggle at the thought of what was to come. She stopped to rub her mane dry and remain within earshot of the bathroom. Through the thrashing towel, a pair of purple claws came into view.
"Morning Rainbow," Spike yawned, "what are you so happy about?"
"Just wait," she smirked, almost loosing composure.
A cry of revulsion and surprise echoed from the bathroom followed by the sound of spitting and gagging. Rainbow collapsed, falling onto her back and rolling around with laughter.
"Who put mayonnaise in my toothpaste?!" Twilight screamed, rapidly searching for the mouthwash.
Spike glanced around the bathroom door and saw Twilight trying to both scrape the mayo-toothpaste off her tongue and rinse her mouth with the entire bottle of mouthwash. He also collapsed with laughter beside Rainbow as Twilight dealt with Rainbow's prank. Rainbow had slightly recovered by this point and was already starting the planning for her next prank. And the can of mane-mousse hidden in her towel would be the primary ingredient.
-------------
It had been torture to wait almost an entire day for evening to fall but when it came Rainbow moved into action. She'd 'turned in early' to give herself enough time to set up her latest prank. Now she was lying on her bed with the covers pulled up over her head making it seem like she was asleep. Under the covers, she had her hooves pressed to her mouth and was fighting the urge to laugh. The sound of claws and hooves on the stairs meant Spike and Twilight were going to bed.
"Night, Spike." Twilight's voice.
"Night, Twilight," Spike replied.
A yawn from Spike then claws on the wicker basket. Rainbow peeked out from under the covers as Spike pulled his own up to his neck. He shifted just enough and with a spurt and whoosh Spike's pillow erupted in white foam. His basket was soon a quivering mass of foam with a dazed dragon centre. Spike screamed, thrashing around and sending foam everywhere
"Killer marshmallow!" he choked before fallout out of his basket.
Twilight had bolted awake at Spike's cry and scrambled to his aid only to slip on the foam and end up spattered with mousse too. Landing next to Spike's basket, Twilight plunged her forelegs into the mass and pulled Spike free. Spike wiped foam of his face, coughing on the foam that he'd almost swallowed. Both dragon and pony glared as Rainbow tumbled off her bed in a tangle of legs and laughter.
It had taken most of the night to clean up the mess and all involved got up late the next morning. Throughout the day, an exhausted Twilight kept sending death glares at Rainbow whenever she started giggling.
-------------
After that first day of pranks, Twilight and Spike both felt like they were living in a minefield rather than a library. The final hay that broke the donkey's back came two days later when the kitchen became a snowstorm. Somehow Rainbow had managed to squeeze a snow cloud, ready to burst with snow, inside the freezer. Treating everything in the kitchen as if it were a bomb, Twilight was too busy looking for other traps to think about the freezer until she placed her hoof on the door. As the door was nearly flung off its hinges, Twilight managed to duck the initial blast by diving behind the counter. The kitchen was soon ankle deep in snow and Twilight had icicles hanging off her tail. Marching out of the kitchen, Twilight had snared Rainbow with her magic and forced her to sweep the snow out of the library and then mop the kitchen floor. The lecture that followed felt like the worst part of the punishment, in Rainbow's opinion, as Twilight went on and on about the dangers of bringing storms indoors.
Rainbow's punishment succeeded in preventing any further pranks and she was back to being bored. That was when fate intervened and Dash's moult moved onto its next stage. So far it had only been the smaller feathers that she'd been losing but now her primary and secondary flight feathers were starting to drop.
-------------
Celestia must have chosen the angle to raise the sun specifically to annoy Dash as light was streaming through the window and straight into her face. She tried to pull the sheets over her head and go back to sleep, but the sunlight seemed to punch straight through the sheets and into her face again.
The scent of breakfast was what finally convinced Rainbow to emerge. Rolling out of bed and onto her hooves, Rainbow cast her wings a quick glance before deciding if she was going to take the covers with her. Seeing a crooked primary feather, Rainbow's instincts forced her to stop and put it back into place but it came free without much of a fight. Rainbow groaned, primary and secondary feathers were by far the largest of her plumage and thus needed much more energy investment to replace. That meant Rainbow was going to be constantly starving and her wings were going to be even more sensitive than they already were. She was likely to be snapping at her friends or anypony nearby and shovelling food into her mouth almost constantly. Making a note to tell Twilight not to take anything she said in the next week personally, Rainbow stood up again and grabbed the duvet from bed, wrapping it around herself before she trotted down the stairs.
Entering the kitchen, Rainbow took her seat at the table as Twilight set a plate of pancakes in front of her. The pegasus practically inhaled her food, finishing almost before Twilight started her own food. Twilight didn't pay that much attention as she was more focused on the book she was reading. She had no idea where Spike was but Rainbow decided to take advantage of Twilight's distraction. She retreated to fireplace and took up a place on the rug in front of it. Retreating underneath the duvet, Rainbow had another go at her wings. Twilight appeared from the kitchen, having finished her own breakfast and crossed to her desk, muzzle still deep in her book.
Pushing feathers out from under her cocoon, down and coverts with the odd primary started to accumulate around Dash. From her position underneath the covers, Rainbow couldn't see Twilight's face start to twitch as the feathers built up on every surface. Even though there was no wind in the library, Rainbow's discarded feathers were light enough to float by themselves and soon started spreading.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight screamed, finally losing her temper, "Will you stop leaving feathers everywhere!"
Rainbow's only reaction was to stick her face out from under the duvet and spit more feathers onto the floor before retreating again. Slamming her book shut, Twilight grabbed Rainbow's covers and hauled them off. The pegasus tried to grab the duvet and keep herself covered but she missed. Twilight sent the duvet back upstairs with a flash of magic. Twilight started clearing up the piles of feathers with more magic but paused when she noticed the larger flight feathers.
"When did you start shedding your primaries?" Twilight demanded, previous annoyance completely forgotten.
"This morning," Rainbow grunted.
"Then it's a good thing I finished this last night," Twilight beamed as she held up a schedule.
Rainbow glanced at the paper Twilight held in her magical grip. It laid out an entire week with each day broken up into hour long blocks. Each block was colour coded and there was a legend down one side of the schedule. A frown creased Rainbow's face as she saw that Twilight had set out her sleeping, exercise and reading times and even her meals over the course of the week.
"What is this?" She demanded.
"This is a program I designed for maximum efficiency when re-growing feathers. If this works for you I'll submit it as a paper to the Equestria college of medicine for further-"
"Nope, not going to happen."
Twilight's face went slack, "What?"
"I am sick of this stupid moulting and eating weird food!" Rainbow shouted as stomped to the coat hooks next to the library's front door, "I'm hate feeling tired all the time and that I can't even fly properly. I'm taking drastic measures."
Twilight's brain was working over overtime trying to process what Rainbow had just told her. She had expected Rainbow to object to the new diet she'd devised and Twilight had laid out a series of eloquent arguments aimed to convince her to go along with the diet. But Rainbow wasn't one to discuss things, she was taking action. Rainbow pulled her coat from its peg and slipped it on in a fluid movement. Then shoving the door open with her shoulder, Rainbow took off towards Sugarcube Corner.
"Where are you going?" Twilight called, galloping after her.
"I'm going to take a leaf out of someone else's book," Rainbow called, mentally facehoofing that she'd just used that expression as she bolted down the street.
-------------
In the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner, poised as if ready to pounce, Pinkie was staring at the oven with her tongue caught in the corner of her mouth. The timer pinged and Pinkie moved in a pink streak, opening the oven and whisking out the tray of cupcakes before the ringing had even stopped. Scooping up the waiting batch of muffins, Pinkie slid them into the oven and closed the door with a flick of her wrist. It was as she turned back to the cupcakes that her ear started to flop, then her knee twitched but only one eyelid fluttered.
"So a rainbow but not in the sky?" She asked no-pony in particular.
She poked her head through to the shop floor but it was empty. Pinkie's combo came again but stronger this time.
"Three, two, one..." Pinkie counted down.
Arriving in a blur of blue, Rainbow charged into the shop. She'd managed to lose Twilight in the gallop from the library but that wouldn't last long.
"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow called as she skidded to a stop in front of the counter, "I need the Fluttershy special."
Rainbow pulled a pouch of Bits from her jacket and dropped them on the counter.
"Okey-dokey-lokey!" the pink earth pony replied.
She produced a dozen cupcakes from behind the counter, lined them in a row before expertly sending them skidding towards Rainbow. The pegasus grabbed the first cupcake and shoved it in her mouth. Frosting smearing her lips, Rainbow demolished the rest of the cakes in her usual supersonic manner. A sponge cake followed the cupcakes, zooming down the counter towards Rainbow's waiting gullet.
"Rainbow Danger Dash!" came an angry voice from the doorway.
Being caught with her with her hoof in the cake tin Rainbow froze. She turned her head towards the door and saw Twilight standing there.
"So this is what you meant when you said 'drastic measures'," Twilight ground out between clenched teeth.
As Twilight took the first step towards Rainbow, the pegasus managed to unfreeze and shoved as much of the cake into her mouth as she could before ducking away from Twilight. Twilight made a grab for Rainbow but she leaped over the unicorn. Skidding on the wooden floor of the bakery, Twilight went spinning across the room giving Rainbow enough time to stuff the rest of the sponge cake into her mouth. Getting back to her unsteady hooves, Twilight tried to fix her gaze on Rainbow again but the room seemed still seemed to be spinning. She wobbled back into the centre of the room and found Rainbow filling her mouth with frosted cinnamon buns.
"Rainbow Dash! You put those frosted cinnamon buns back, right now! This is not proper diet OR healthy for you!"
"Nebber! Dish'll wurk, I know'bit!" Rainbow mumbled from behind her mouthful of pastry.
Twilight charged again, determined to capture Dash but the pegasus leading her in a wild dance. Somehow Dash managed to swallow her entire mouthful of buns without choking before looking to Pinkie again.
"Pinkie, cake me!"
"Coming right at you, Dashie!"
Pinkie herself was still behind the counter, putting the final swirls of icing on a tray of doughnuts. Seeing that Rainbow wasn't likely to be sitting still any time soon, Pinkie did what was logical to her and sweeping up the doughnuts in her foreleg, she started throwing them towards Rainbow.
Rainbow ducked and weaved around Twilight, managing to snatch most of the doughnuts out of the air.
"Pinkie Pie! Stop that at once!"
"I'm open!" Rainbow called.
Finishing up the last layer of chocolate icing on a bundt cake, Pinkie loaded her arm and pitched the cake at Rainbow. Aiming to catch the cake, Rainbow didn't realize the opening she'd given Twilight and Twilight took it. The unicorn charged and knocked Rainbow aside but the end result was the bundt cake landing square on her horn. Something inside the unicorn snapped and the surge of anger triggered a burst of magic. The bundt cake was split into twelve even slices before being flung in every direction. Pinkie ducked the cake projectiles, diving behind the shop's counter. However Rainbow wasn't quick enough. At least two of the cake slices ploughed into Rainbow's face and bowled her over.
"You know what, Rainbow, do whatever the hay you like! Just don't come complaining to me when your feathers grow in crooked and you're grounded for a year!" Twilight screamed.
With that proclamation, Twilight turned on her heels and left, slamming the door behind her with enough force to rattle the whole wall. Rainbow picked herself up and wiped her eyes clear of icing. Despite her body telling her she still needed food she didn't feel like eating anything. The anger in Twilight's voice and knowing her thoughtlessness was the cause of it twisted up inside her like a knot.
"She's really mad," Pinkie said without much of her normal enthusiasm.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious."
The patter of rain outside made Rainbow's ears prick and her head whipped around to look out through the window.
"Typical. The one time Ditzy gets the weather right and I'm going to get caught in the rain."
Hoofsteps on the stairs announced another pony's arrival and Cup Cake poked her head through from the kitchen.
"What's all this racket going- What in Equestria happened in here?!"
-------------
Twilight's pace slowed. She was still moving faster than a walk but was no longer galloping down the street. She'd reigned in her temper but she was still fuming gently. What did Rainbow Dash care if Twilight had committed A Pegasus' Guide to Moulting to memory? Or that she'd spent most of the previous day working out a diet that would supply Rainbow enough protein to rebuild her flying feathers AND have enough variety that she wouldn't get bored. No, Rainbow would rather stuff her face with cake. And why was she getting so worked up about this? Twilight was jerked back to reality by a raindrop landing right on the end of her nose. She looked up to see black clouds filling the sky. More raindrops followed the first, threatening an imminent downpour.
She broke into a run again, bolting back towards the library hopefully before she got wet. But her luck didn't hold and she was soaked to the skin by the time she reached home. Twilight kicked the door open and dove through it. She was ready to shake the worst of the water off herself but a cough made her stop.
"I just swept this floor," Spike warned, "I hope you're not going to make me mop it too."
Before Twilight could say anything in reply, Spike had thrown a towel at her.
"And I've got the fire going too so you can dry out in front of that."
"Thanks, Spike."
Rubbing her mane with the towel, Twilight looked around as a wet thud came from the other side of the door. Twilight turned and pulled the door open again to find a dripping grey pegasus on the doorstep. Smiling brightly, Ditzy reached into her mailbag and pulled out a parcel wrapped in brown paper and string.
"I brought you a letter," Ditzy chirruped.
"I think it's technically a parcel," Twilight replied, scooping up said package in a magical grip. "Thanks, Ditzy."
Twilight frowned as she looked at the dripping mail-mare.
"You're on post duty and weather duty?"
"Yup. Just doing what I can to help."
Before Twilight could ask Ditzy to come out of the rain, the pegasus smiled again before taking off into the rain. Twilight shook her head and closed the door. Undoing the string on her parcel and pulling off the wrapping paper, Twilight's mood improved as she saw the latest Daring Do book. She'd read it first and make Rainbow wait. Trotting through the library, Twilight summoned a pile of pillows and a blanket, setting them on the carpet in front of the fire. Flopping onto the pillows, Twilight pulled the blanket over herself and with obvious relish opened the book.
-------------
Feeling like dirt, Rainbow trudged back towards the library in the pouring rain. She wasn't bothered about the rain, weather duty often meant getting wet especially when dealing with difficult rainclouds. After a few minutes of bashing her head off the counter in Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow had helped Pinkie tidy up the mess she'd made. After finishing that, Rainbow had left the bakery and wandered aimlessly through Ponyville. Rainbow knew she wasn't the brightest of ponies but what she'd done to Twilight was thoughtless. Celestia only knew how long it had taken her to make that diet plan for her. A diet aimed to help her regrow feathers as quickly as possible. She'd not even looked at it properly before shooting it down and going on a cake binge. When Twilight had yelled at her in Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow had picked up on the hurt in Twilight's voice. Living with Twilight over the past weeks, Rainbow had learned to recognise the subtle ways Twilight showed emotion. The unicorn was almost as subtle as Fluttershy in her moods. And her burgeoning crush on Twilight wasn't helping either.
Rainbow had accepted her feeling towards Twilight and was attempting to deal with them. Unfortunately her guilt over upsetting Twilight was being amplified by her crush on the lilac unicorn. Accepting that Twilight didn't think of her in the same way she did for the unicorn was crushing. Rainbow had dealt with rejection before but it didn't get any easier with practice.
She'd made up her mind to apologize to Twilight as soon as she got back and try her special diet. As she entered the square that had the library at its centre, Rainbow's jaw tightened on the plastic handles in her mouth. She had stopped at the general store for a few things before starting back towards the library, mostly to give herself time to think. Pushing the door open, Rainbow felt the blast of heat coming from inside.
"You're letting the heat out!" Twilight called from beside the fire.
Rainbow flinched. She could still hear the undertone of anger in her voice. She did as she was told and closed the door before handing up her jacket. Spike shot her a dirty look as she started dripping on the floor. He pulled a mop from the cupboard and threw another towel at her.Rainbow crossed to the fire and set down her bag before drying herself off.
"More cakes?" Twilight asked with a single eyebrow raised.
Shaking her head, Rainbow lifted out a bottle out and held it out for Twilight to examine. Twilight took the offered bottle and examined it.
"Protein shakes?"
"Bulk Biceps was shouting about them during his latest workout. Figured I'd give them a shot."
Twilight returned the bottle without further comment. Rainbow took a breath and dropped the towel to the floor.
"Twilight, I'm really sorry," she blurted out. "Shedding primary feathers is painful and I just wanted this whole thing to be over."
"Oh, so that makes it all OK to be rude and thoughtless, does it?"
"No, it doesn't make it all OK," Rainbow flared, getting angry. "I'm telling you I let my hormones and irritation get the best of me and it was a thoughtless thing to do. And I'm apologizing for being so thoughtless."
Giving Rainbow a sceptical look, Twilight examined her closely. She couldn't see anything except honest remorse from her friend. Twilight couldn't find the heart to stay angry at Rainbow and she blamed her secret crush as she relented.
"Alright, I accept your apology."
"And we can try out your new diet plan starting tomorrow?"
Twilight nodded, smiling at the pegasus. Rainbow was so relieved she didn't notice Twilight's evil smirk until she started speaking.
"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to this new Daring Do book."
"New Daring Do book?!"
The unicorn nodded, "and I'm savouring it. So you'll get to read it in about a week."
"Twilight," Rainbow whined, sounding a lot like Rarity, "I'll never survive a week."
"Should have thought of that before you did something thoughtless."
Rainbow's ears and wings drooped as one and she honestly looked like she was about to cry.
"I said I was sorry," Rainbow said in her best Rarity impression.
She attempted another pout but Twilight was already lost in her book again. Dash was left no option but to slink off to bed, defeated.
-------------
History seemed to be repeating itself as a week later Twilight found herself in front of another roaring fire, lying on a pile of pillows and wrapped in a blanket. Just like it had been before, it was raining heavily outside. True to her word, Twilight spent the whole week reading the novel. To Rainbow, the week dragged on forever as Twilight savoured the book. She managed to reign in her frustrations and behaved herself and soon she and Twilight were back on friendly terms but the unicorn still didn't relent on the Daring Do book.
Finally Twilight reached the end and she closed the book with a snap. Rainbow looked up from a light preening session as she heard the book snapping shut.
"Finished," Twilight sighed.
Rainbow materialized beside Twilight, eyes going wide with excitement and wings flared.
"So you're going to let me read it now?" the pegasus begged.
"Sorry Rainbow, you weren't on a waiting list to check the book out of the library. You'll have to wait until everyone else has had their turn."
"Twilight!"
It was only then that Twilight giggled.
"Call that payback for the toothpaste," she grinned. "Now come here and we'll read together."
The pegasus immediately perked up and scooted over to Twilight's pile of pillows. She nosed under the blanket.
"Why are you reading this again? You just finished it."
Twilight tried not to blush at the closeness of her crush and flicked back to the first pages.
"I like to re-read books once I've finished. Just in case I've missed something."
"You are such an egghead," Dash grinned.
For a while, the two ponies read in silence. Twilight wasn't surprised that Rainbow was keeping up with her own reading speed. Though Rainbow was absorbed into the latest heroic exploits of Daring Do, a little part of her brain kept dragging her back to reality. During her punishment, Rainbow had finally decided to follow Fluttershy's advice and tell Twilight how she felt about her. She'd prepared for rejection but she still didn't want to face it. Rainbow gulped, she wasn't going to get a better chance than this. Almost glowing scarlet, she took a breath.
"Twilight, there's something I want to tell you. Something important."
Twilight placed a bookmark to mark the page and closed the book before looking at Rainbow.
"I'm not like most mares-"
The unicorn snorted, clearly showing what she thought of that statement.
"-In more ways than one," Rainbow conceded. "But one thing that sets me apart from most are my... preferences. I...don't like...stallions... in that way..."
Remembering that Rarity had told her as much, Twilight managed to seem calm but her heart was thundering.
"So you like mares then?" Twilight asked in what she hoped was a matter-of-fact tone.
Rainbow nodded, looking into the fire. The heat from the fire paled when compared to the heat blazing inside her chest and face at that moment.
"That's not that uncommon in Equestria," Twilight continued. "I saw a few same-sex couples growing up in Canterlot. Both mares and stallions."
"Cloudsdale isn't so open about these things. It's not torches and pitchforks but it can get like that at times. Fluttershy was the only one I told while we were growing up. I've had crushes on a few mares while I was living with my parents but not really anything special. Until you started looking after me."
Rainbow swallowed again, steeling herself not to chicken out. Now or never. Managing to meet Twilight's eyes, Rainbow's confession fell apart and she hurriedly looked away again.
"Twilight, I really like you. More than just as a friend."
A silence that felt like a leaden weight filled the library as Rainbow waited for Twilight to reject her feelings. She was about to speak again and tell Twilight that she'd gather her stuff and go stay with Fluttershy in the morning but Twilight managed to find her voice.
"Well, while we're sharing secrets, I've got two I want to share with you."
Tearing her eyes away from the fire, Rainbow looked back to Twilight.
"I've never had a... partner before. Stallion or mare. When I was in Canterlot, I was too busy with studies to pay attention to other ponies."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Rainbow managed a weak grin. "And the other secret?"
It was Twilight's turn to fight for courage and she was drawing on every reserve she had.
"Since we've been spending time together during your moult, I've found myself growing fond of you, too. "
Rainbow's breath caught in her throat and she choked. Twilight liked her. Her heart was thundering in her chest.
"So could we go on a date? Tomorrow maybe?"
Twilight quickly skimmed through her mental schedule for the next day.
"I've got nothing I can't postpone."
"So dinner and a movie then?" Rainbow asked.
"Sounds good to me," Twilight smiled.
Rainbow shifted on the cushions and both ponies blushed as they felt their bodies touch under the blanket. Twilight glanced at Rainbow at exactly the same instant that she looked at her. Rainbow was trying to hide her grin but she was doing a poor job.
"Do you want to continue with Daring Do?"
"Actually I think I’m going to go to bed," Rainbow mumbled and disappeared.
Twilight was left alone, puzzled as to why the pegasus had just turned down Daring Do. She stood and doused the fire with magic before turning to follow Rainbow up the stairs.
It was only as she took her first step that she noticed her legs felt wobbly and there were butterflies in her chest. There was a brief moment where Twilight wondered why she was nervous then realization hit her. She was going on a Date with Rainbow. She’d never been on a date before. Ever. Confronted by her lack of knowledge, Twilight reacted as she always did when she needed information. She started scanning the shelves for a book that would hold the answers she needed.
-------------
With a lunge over the last of the stairs, Rainbow dove under the covers of her bed. She barely managed to suppress a 'so awesome' moment, usually reserved for anything Wonderbolt related, at the thought of going on a date with Twilight.
Without warning, a chill went up Rainbow's spine. She was going on a date with Twilight. What kind of things did Twilight like? Books, studying and Daring Do. None of those facts helped Rainbow decide where they would have dinner or what they would see at the movies. Would Sugarcube Corner or The Hay Burger be too informal for their first date? After several minutes of panicking, Rainbow realized she'd have to swallow her pride and seek help from somepony else. And the only pony she could would trust with something so important was Fluttershy.
-------------