Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Several hours later, the sun hung low over the horizon and basked the hotel room in warm orange light. Twilight awoke from the sound of Rainbow taking a shower. She remained settled for the time being and stretched lazily. She felt very relaxed after the nap.
Just out of curiosity, she decided to try to communicate with Rainbow again. “Sleep well?” she asked.
“Augh! “ came back Rainbow’s surprised yelp. “Twi! I’m in the shower!”
Twilight chuckled telepathically. “It’s not like I can see you, you know.”
“Still, would you please stop it? It’s really weird, okay?” Rainbow groaned.
“Okay, okay. I just wanted to see if it still worked.”
With a smile she settled back into her cushion and looked out of the huge window. The sun shone directly through it, and Twilight enjoyed the warm light that engulfed her. In the distance she saw a chain of shallow green mountains that the sun was about to settle behind. She was pretty sure that what she saw was the Sierra Lluviosa, or Rainy Mountains, a mountain range known for its thick and mostly unexplored rainforest. Scattered successors of the Donkans were said to have survived in remote mountain villages. Rosetta’s knowledge amazed her once again.
Rainbow came out of the bathroom, her mane still wet. “It’s all yours. Whatcha think about dinner afterwards?”
“Sounds great”, Twilight smiled. “Do you have something in mind?”
“How about we just stroll through the town and see what we find?” Rainbow suggested, letting herself drop on her bed.
“Sounds great!” Twilight agreed emphatically and vanished in the bathroom.
***
After Twilight completed her shower, they went out to find a nice place to have dinner and to generally explore the town. What they had seen so far of Marenagua was beautiful, and in the lush evening air and illuminated by the gazillions of lanterns the capital of Neighcaragua seemed even more inviting.
The sounds of crickets filled the air, which smelled of the drying afternoon rain they had slept through, and didn’t bear the heavy scent of seaweed anymore. It was still warm and a bit humid, but not oppressive. The ponies and alpacas that roamed the streets seemed relaxed and not in a big hurry. A lot of the inhabitants seemed happy to just sit down in one of the many small parks and enjoy the evening. Several buskers filled the air in the streets with their exotic tunes.
Twilight enjoyed the peaceful evening air, but it didn’t require telepathic powers to realize that Rainbow Dash was impatient and hungry. So she didn’t suggest they find a nice place in one of the parks to sit for a while, but instead followed her through the narrow alleys of the old city center in search of a promising restaurant. They agreed to skip a tavern near the harbor that was stuffed with muscular sailors and smelled of cheap beer and vomit, and with a shared smile skipped the fancy restaurant just off Plaza de la Libertad which had a maître d’ in a tuxedo standing outside the front door.
Eventually, they decided for a small restaurant in the ground floor of a narrow old colonial building in an alley between the plaza and the harbor district. It was frequented by a number of locals, which they took as a good sign. The waitress gave them a table for two in a cozy booth as far away from the kitchen doors as was possible in the small room, lighted the two candles on the table, and handed them two menus.
Twilight was curiously reading through the mostly rather exotic dishes when she heard a thought from Rainbow – an inarticulate, frustrated groan. She looked up and saw her friend’s desperate look as she paged through the menu.
“Little help here?” she asked. “I don’t even know what half of these things are!”
Twilight bowed over the table and began pointing at dishes and translating their descriptions, making good use of Rosetta’s extensive knowledge of the Alpacan language. Rainbow insisted on reading along with Twilight, with the effect of their heads almost bumping together a few times. Whenever she read out something the pegasus found so exotic that she started laughing, she could feel the cyan mare’s head brushing against her mane, a curious, but not unpleasant sensation.
They finally decided to share a salad with passion fruit and limes and have a selection of starters to go with the salad instead of a full menu. They picked some spits of grilled potato bits with coconut, rolled up banana leaves filled with bits of pineapple and mild chili peppers, and, following a suggestion by Twilight, orchid flowers filled with blanched seaweed. Rainbow furrowed her brow at this last one, but decided she would not chicken in front of Twilight.
“May I recommend our pomegranate mead?” the waitress, a young black alpaca mare, asked as she took their order. “My grandma makes it herself, and it is the most delicious drink you can find in all Neighcaragua.”
Twilight smiled at her enthusiasm and shot a questioning glance at Rainbow, who nodded enthusiastically, before she ordered a bottle of pomegranate mead. For a few moments, they just sat in companionable silence as they waited for their drinks, which arrived soon.
“Wow!” exclaimed Rainbow after she had taken the first sip of the mead. “This stuff is amazing! It’s almost better than Applejack’s cider!” Excited, she took off from her chair and did a quick loop.
Twilight set down her glass and wholeheartedly agreed. “Yes, we made a good choice here, I think.” She took another sip. “So, how do you like our adventure so far?” she asked idly.
Rainbow giggled. “Well, not much of an adventure going on so far. But it’s nice being out and about for a change. It’s like vacation.”
“It really is, right?” Twilight agreed. “It’s almost a shame we don’t have more time here. There are quite a few sights to see in Marenagua, and I’d really like to show them to you. There’s the old Captaincy Office that dates back to the fifth century and now houses a museum of the colonial history of Marenagua, and an excavation site just out of town where they are digging out an ancient Donkan temple, and – what?” Rainbow was shaking with barely suppressed laughter.
“Erm, Twi, you do realize I’m still not an egghead, right?” Rainbow asked, smirking. When Twilight pouted, she quickly added, “Aw, don’t give me that look. It’s actually pretty cool that you get so excited about this kind of stuff. Kinda makes me want to let you show me all these things.” She leaned in over the table and added in a whisper, “Don’t tell anypony I said that.” Twilight could feel Rainbow’s breath on her muzzle, and in the soft candle light her eyes appeared very big and dark.
She laughed involuntarily. “Well, thanks, I guess. But that’s easy enough to say for you, since we don’t have the time to go sightseeing anyway.”
“You say I’m not being serious? Tell you what, Twi – when we’re done in Malatierra, we come back here and spend a day sightseeing. You’ll be my guide, and I swear, I’ll listen to all the facts you have about this place”, Rainbow offered emphatically. “But you better make it awesome. I don’t wanna get bored to death!”
Twilight giggled at the earnestness of her friend. “It’s a deal”, she agreed. Suddenly she frowned. “Hmm, Rainbow, you are aware that we are still inside a Daring Do novel, right? Once we’re done with the story, this here – “, she made an all-encompassing motion with her hoof, “ – this here will end, and we’ll be back in Ponyville.”
“Oh, ponyfeathers”, Rainbow said dejectedly, her ears drooping.
Before they had time to indulge in any negative feelings the prospect of this trip having a very definitive end might bring, the waitress returned to their table and put down a couple of plates. Twilight noticed that her glass was already empty; apparently she had drunk the whole glass while they were talking; and apparently so had Rainbow. She grabbed the bottle in her magic and refilled both their glasses, while the waitress also added a basket of bread and some napkins.
“If you need anything else, just let me know”, she said with a friendly smile before she vanished again.
Without hesitation, Rainbow dug into the food. The starter plates were arranged beautifully, with tropical flowers and star fruits for decoration, but the pegasus didn’t even seem to notice as she wolfed down a rolled banana leaf. She grinned at Twilight with a full mouth. “Mhmm, thapvv greap!” she mumbled happily.
Twilight giggled at her friend’s complete lack of eating manners and started with a filled orchid flower. It was delicious; unlike everything the Equestrian cuisine had to offer, and unlike anything she had ever tried before. She quietly asked for Applejack’s pardon because she enjoyed the food so much, and tried the passion fruit salad. Unsurprisingly, it was delightful as well.
For several minutes, they ate in happy digestive silence, only interrupted by the occasional pleased moan when they tried a new dish. Only when there was just one grilled potato spit left, they suddenly engaged in a staring match over the delicacy. Eventually, Twilight gave in with a chuckle and pushed the plate to Rainbow Dash. “You take it. I have to watch my figure”, she added jokingly.
“You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow retorted, flabbergasted. “For an egghead you’re in great shape. I mean, your shape is… erm, and since you don’t exercise that much…erm… you know…” She trailed off, blushing violently. Twilight suddenly found the table’s surface exceedingly interesting and turned her gaze down, her cheeks flushing as well.
After some moments of awkward silence, they both regained their composure. Twilight took the bottle of pomegranate mead and found that it was full to the brim; apparently the waitress had silently replaced the empty bottle. She shrugged and refilled their glasses, not noting that her aim was a little bit shaky already. Then she leaned back and watched the cyan pegasus eating the last potato spit.
The candles were halfway burnt down, and the restaurant had emptied noticeably. After finishing the meal, Rainbow became aware of Twilight watching her, and looked back at her with a quizzical gaze. Again, Twilight realized how velvety and deep Rainbow’s eyes were in the soft glow of the candle. She felt like she could get lost in these magenta eyes…
Rainbow frantically wiped her muzzle with her hoof. “Did I get it?”
“Huh?” Twilight replied with utmost eloquence.
“I had something in my face, wasn’t that why you were staring at me? Is it gone?”
“Erm, yeah, it’s all gone”, Twilight replied with a slight blush.
Before the situation could take a swing towards awkward, the waitress reappeared at their table and began collecting the empty plates. “Was everything satisfactory?” she asked. Both ponies nodded in enthusiastic affirmation. “Would you like some dessert, or a coffee?”
Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a look and silently agreed. “No, thank you”, Twilight answered the waitress. “It was delicious, but I don’t think we can fit anything more. Could you bring us the bill, please?”
The waitress nodded and vanished again to get the bill. When she returned, Rainbow took the bill without hesitation. Twilight wanted to protest, but Rainbow didn’t let her get a word in. “It’s fine, Twi. The department of archeology is paying for the trip expenses anyway, so don’t worry.” She grinned. “Look at me, I’m a professor now. I’m an egghead just like you!” She placed a pile of bits on the table, and they both got up.
“Professor Rainbow Dash”, Twilight giggled as they walked out of the restaurant. “How very becoming to you!” The alley was dark now, with intermittent isles of light surrounding the street lights, and it was almost empty compared to earlier. They stopped for a moment outside the restaurant to take in the fresh air, and Twilight involuntarily swayed against Rainbow Dash.
“Whoa, Twi, you alright?” the pegasus asked and put a wing around Twilight’s withers to support her. Twilight shook her head as if to clear it. Rainbow suddenly giggled. “Twi, are you drunk?” she asked with a broad grin.
“I’m not – “, Twilight started to protest, but she stopped herself. “Maybe I am a little tipsy.” She giggled.
Rainbow laughed. “No worries, Twi”, she reassured the lavender unicorn. “It happens. Now let’s get you to bed, and tomorrow you’ll be fine again. Can you walk?”
“I’m just a little tipsy, not out of control hammered!” Twilight replied with a smirk. “You just stay there by my side, just to be safe.” She leaned in against her friend and enjoyed the warmth of the other pony in the rather cool night air. Rainbow chortled, which made Twilight’s whole body shake, and pulled her a little tighter into her wing as they set off to their hotel.
They walked through the now quiet and dark streets of Marenagua. Some bars lining the plaza were still open, and cheerful music sounded across the square. Several groups of ponies and alpacas made their ways home or to the next bar. The hotel’s bell boy greeted them politely, and they made their way upstairs to their room.
Just in front of their door, Twilight suddenly stopped, causing Rainbow to stop as well. She looked at her friend questioningly. “You know”, Twilight said in a low, slightly raspy voice, “this was a way better date than just some old milkshakes”, and gave the surprised pegasus a quick peck on the muzzle, before she quickly opened the door with her magic and stepped inside. Rainbow Dash stood outside the room for another couple of seconds, flabbergasted, and tried to grasp what just had happened. Eventually, she followed Twilight inside with flushed cheeks and a broad giddy smile on her face; a smile which quickly turned into a fit of silent giggles when she saw the unicorn sprawled on her bed, snoring softly.
“Oh Twi”, she whispered to herself and lay down too.
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
1,098 users online
1,975,191 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I wonder what happens when they remember that this is Dash's ROMANCE novel made where DARING and ROSETTA get together...
2853742
Yeah... I was thinking about that
So romantic
I wonder exactly how closely this is following Rainbow's writing though... since they keep using their normal names, and the talking about being in a novel. Did Rainbow write that kiss, or is Twi falling for her on her own?
Also, I want one of those machines. It's like getting to script your own dreams AND experience them together with someone else
Lolage! cant wait 2 see wht happenzzz next :D
I wonder how accurate Dash kept Do and Rosetta in her fic. Then again I like this Do more than the one who was all cry cry and clingy to that Manehattan dude. <_<
Twilight...just...k-k-kissed...
2853742
Holy crap I just realized that...
I just realized something. Rosetta is fluent in the Alpaca language and she's helping Dash understand it. Would that make her Rosetta Stone?
Sorry, I had to.
4002363 lol that just made my day much better
Well that's awkward
2853742 That was what I was thinking when Twi mentioned the milkshake date.
I see these comments here and I've been wondering myself how much free will they have here and how much of this is what Dash scripted.