The Hunt
Easter Confessions
Twilight Sparkle yawned widely as her eyes blinked open slowly, a golden ray of sunlight passing through her window and landing on her, rousing her from slumber. A sense of desire hung over her mind as she rolled away from the blinding light. A desire to curl deeper into her blanket and sleep the day away. It was a desire she felt every morning, though this particular day it was at its strongest, managing to convince her that five more minutes was perfectly acceptable. Of course, she knew it wasn't; five minutes would undoubtedly turn into an hour or two of extra snoozing. Not to mention she had a schedule to keep.
With another yawn and a grumble the lavender mare begrudgingly pulled herself from the warmth of her bed, rolling lazily off the side and onto the hard wood floor. A brief shiver passed through her body, the cool morning air against her coat a stark contrast to the warmth within her blanket's cozy embrace. She stretched languidly, emitting a yawn yet again and smacking her lips as she blinked the remaining sleep from her eyes, banishing the notion of five more minutes to the farthest depths of her mind.
With her mind finally starting to chug to full speed, she noticed the delectable scent hanging heavily in the air. It was a smell she recognized, but could not put her hoof on this early in the morning. Whatever it was, she knew it was the smell of breakfast from the main floor of the library, signalling to her that Spike was already awake, along with his empty bed. She sniffed the air eagerly, allowing the smell to lead her sleepy form out of her room and down to the main floor of the library, where a young purple and green scaled dragon stood at the stove, frying eggs.
“Morning,” Spike greeted, not even turning away from his work. “Coffee's on the table.”
Twilight smiled as she saw the promised mug of brown liquid, sitting patiently on the table next to a plate. In the middle of the table was a small bowl of assorted fruits and berries, and they would no doubt be joined by scrambled eggs as soon as they were done.
“Thanks,” Twilight said in appreciation as she sat in her a chair before the mug of coffee, picking it up in her magical grasp and sipping gently at the steaming drink.
“So,” Spike started, walking over and scraping some eggs onto Twilight's plate, piling the rest onto a plate of his own before setting the pan on the stove to cool and joining Twilight at the table. “Plan for today?”
Twilight didn't respond right away, instead she popped a couple blueberries into her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing and answering, “Where's the list?”
Spike rolled his eyes. “You wouldn't let me see it, remember?”
Suddenly, the unicorn's violet eyes grew wide as the plate in front of her. “Wait, today's Easter!?”
“Uh... yeah?” He answered uncertainly, eyeing the unicorn cautiously as she sat perfectly still, eyes still glued open. In a literal flash she was gone, a audible 'pop' coming from elsewhere in the library. After a couple seconds, she returned in a similar flash of white light. Held in her telekinetic grasp was a scroll.
“Oh no no no, this isn't good. What time is it?” She asked frantically, glancing around the room in search for a clock.
Spike raised a skeptical glance at the clock hanging in the only spot Twilight hadn't looked. “Uh, just past 8:30?”
And just like that, Twilight breathed a breath of relief, slouching back in her chair. “Okay, I still have an hour and a half. For a second there I thought I'd overslept.”
“Overslept for what? Twilight, what's going on? You've been working on today's schedule forever!” Spike exclaimed. He wasn't particularly surprised by the mare's actions, but he'd be a liar if he said he wasn't curious as to why today's plan was kept such a secret.
A grin split across Twilight's muzzle. “An Easter Egg hunt! Normally Pinkie runs it across all of Ponyville for the foals, but this year I talked her into letting me plan one for just the girls.”
Spike nodded, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Riiiight... why was this a secret again?”
A heavy blush suddenly spread through the unicorn's cheeks, though she quickly fought it back with a fake cough into her hoof. She'd planned for this. “Because it's for you too, and I didn't want you to know where I was hiding the eggs.”
“Uh-huh...” Spike trailed off, keeping his skeptical gaze on the mare for a few more seconds before shrugging. “Whatever; I get free chocolate out of it.”
“Thanks for breakfast Spike,” Twilight said, ignoring the dragon's remark as she quickly swallowed what eggs she could. “I have to go set everything up.”
Then the lavender mare was gone, leaving Spike to eat the food and clean up the dishes. It was something he'd long since become accustomed to, and he even expected it. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. Grumbling to himself quietly, he took his time eating his food, in no rush to star cleaning.
Twilight ran out the door, one destination set firmly in her mind as she dashed through the sleepy town. A few of the early-risers were out an about, a couple ponies out for walks or just lounging about on the various benches around the town. The shops were all closed on account of the holiday, making the town seem a little lazier than usual as the ponies didn't have anywhere to go.
Within minutes she found herself approaching a large tree growing on the very edge of town. The sun was still relatively low in the sky, casting a long shadow out from the base of the tree, engulfing a large part of the field around it. Twilight approached the wooden trunk, bending her neck back to look up into the green leaves. The tree was about a quarter the size in thickness of her library, rather formidable in its own right. It stood just a little taller than most of the houses in Ponyville, and the thick leaves made it the perfect hiding place.
Lighting her horn, Twilight reached up with her magic into the branches, easily finding and grasping a rather large wooden box hidden amongst the canopy. She brought it down to herself with a gleeful smile, glad that it hadn't been discovered. Setting the plain, boring box at her hooves, she gently pried it open, revealing the contents. Inside were an assortment of colourful plastic eggs, exactly 25 of them, each containing a piece of chocolate. Beneath he layer of small eggs were 6 pieces of paper with 15 riddles spread down the length of a sheet. Each riddle would eventually lead to the location of a hidden egg.
Closing the box once Twilight had made sure everything was there, she placed it on her back and carried it back into town discretely, glad there weren't many ponies up yet as she hid the eggs all over town. They were easy enough to find that if a pony knew what to look for they would find it, but hidden enough that a random passerby wouldn't notice them at all.
-_-_-_-
“It's too early...” Rainbow groaned, glancing around Ponyville's park. “Where is she anyway? Twilight said she'd meet us here, right?”
Applejack rolled her eyes at the speedster's typical impatience. “It's only ten in the morning, RD, she said she'd be here at quarter after.”
“Ugh... I don't know why I got out of bed for this,” she grumbled back, falling onto her haunches.
“You got out of bed for CHOCOLATE!” Pinkie announced proudly, popping out from behind the tired pegasus with a flare of confetti. Rainbow had watched the pink mare walk behind a tree in front of her not five seconds ago.
“I can't help but feel it's all a bit... juvenile,” Rarity noted. “I mean, hunting for Easter eggs?”
“Maybe Twilight didn’t get to do this in Canterlot when she was a filly and wanted to make up for it?” Fluttershy offered quietly, smiling gently as Rarity nodded.
“I suppose. Still though, she could have just helped Pinkie plan one for the young foals around Ponyville.” Rarity looked toward Spike expectantly. “Do you know what this is about?”
The young dragon shrugged. “All I know is that she wouldn't let me see the plan for today. Right after breakfast she ran out the door. She came back about an hour later and told me to gather you all here.”
“Thanks for waiting!” A new voice called, making all heads present turn to see the expected lavender unicorn crossing the small patch of green grass towards them.
The group moved to meet her half way, greeting her with welcoming smiles as they met up in the middle of the field. “'Bout time you got here!” Rainbow complained. “Now are you going to tell me why I'm here instead of sleeping?”
Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend's predictable attitude. “Trust me, this is worth it.” Stepping into the middle of the group, the other girls and Spike formed a small circle around her. “As you know, today is Easter. If Spike did his job, you now the gist of what's going on. Now I know an Easter Egg hunt may seem a bit... foalish, but I've made the riddles extra challenging, and added a bit of incentive. The pony who returns here with the most eggs wins a..” Twilight hesitated, briefly looking away from her friends and clearing her throat before continuing a little quieter. “A prize.”
Rainbow Dash's eyes immediately lit up at the prospect of winning both a competition and a prize. “We can win at a Easter Egg hunt?” She asked excitedly.
Twilight nodded, taking the wooden box from her back and opening it. It was now empty of the eggs, leaving only the small stack of papers. She lifted the sheets from the container and started passing them around, moving in a small circle as she gave on to all her friends. She made a full rotation , handing her final sheet to Rainbow before closing the box back up and resting it on her back.
“On your sheet there is a list of fifteen riddles, each pointing to an egg. Whoever gathers the most eggs wins. Due to the obvious travel-time advantage, wings are not allowed,” Twilight announced, bringing a small frown to Rainbow's face. “Each riddle is harder than the last, and how many eggs you get depends on how fast you can solve all the riddles. You will each begin at your respective homes. You can start with whatever riddle you please, but you will have to solve all of them in order for you to win. I will be checking.”
“You begin when the clock tower strikes 10:30. You may start on the riddles as soon as you leave your property,” she finished, stepping out of the ring her friends had formed around her and over to a tree sitting along the edge of the grassy field. “I will be here when you've finished all the riddles and gathered all the eggs you can. Good luck!” With that, everypony shot off towards their respective houses, all of them eager to get the prize. Even Rarity, who previously thought the activity childish, got excited at the mention of a reward. Nopony noticed that the list of riddles on one of the sheets was different from the others.
Twilight smiled proudly, glad to see her friends were going to have fun with the game she'd set up. With a content sigh she took the box off her back and placed it in the grass before sitting down under the shade of the tree, resting her back against it. It was a beautiful spring morning in Ponyville, the weather team had made sure the skies would be clear the previous day, affording them a day off for the holiday. Of course, they were still on call for emergencies, but such a disaster was rare at the current time of year in Ponyville.
The prize, however, weighted heavily on her mind. The game had had been rigged; one pony among them was guaranteed to win and get the reward. She just hoped it would go over as well as she had planned.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow paced anxiously below her cloud house, her saddlebags strapped onto her back. She kept a careful gaze on the clock tower she could just barely see poking over a hill in the distance. She had just over three minutes until the hunt began, and she was determined to win that prize, whatever it may be. It had struck her, half way back to her house, that Twilight hadn't even hinted at what they were all going for, but that didn't matter much to her; a competition was a competition, and Rainbow Dash won competitions. The prize was just the icing.
-_-_-_-
Applejack stood poised at the very edge of Sweet Apple Acre’s property, her list of riddles hidden in the orange saddlebags strapped around her barrel. She had no doubt Rainbow Dash was doing the exact same thing she was; allowing her competitive side to take over. She had no idea what the prize could possibly be, but all that mattered was that she got it, not the cyan pegasus with a competitive spirit as strong as her own. A smile formed on her muzzle as the clock tower announced two minutes and thirty seconds before the competition began.
-_-_-_-
“No... no... no... Hmm..” Rarity hummed thoughtfully, flinging hat after hat behind her as she scavenged her rather impressive collection. As juvenile as the idea was, she couldn't deny the fact that the prospect of a prize intrigued her, and she was willing to admit that she wanted it just as much as the other girls. Of course, no proper lady would be out and about on such a warm day without proper protection from the burning sun, which led her to searching for the perfect hat for the day of egg hunting. Although she was looking forward to the chocolate as much as the prize. No pony in their right mind could deny the absolute decadence of the sugary treat, not even Rarity. She glanced out her window, noting that she had only two minutes left.
“Oh... I'll never find the right one in time...”
-_-_-_-
Fluttershy buzzed around her house, making sure all her little critter friends were well fed and ready to spend the day without her while she was hunting for the eggs Twilight had hidden around the town. Though not a competitive pony, she did enjoy spending time with her friends, and the promise of a possible prize was always nice. She knew she probably wouldn't win, with both Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the game, and no doubt competing with each other, but it sounded like a fun way to spend the day. Leaving a couple lettuce leaves out for Angel bunny - who had become a noticeably less picky eater after her... incident with assertiveness - she glanced up and saw the clock tower over the roofs of some houses. She had just a minute and thirty seconds left to prepare.
-_-_-_-
Pinkie bounced ecstatically around Sugar Cub corner, her light blue saddlebags jiggling under the force. The paper with her riddles on it bounced just as erratically as her body, though somehow it held fast in her poofy mane. She giggled, opening the front door and staring out at the clock tower. One minute left.
-_-_-_-
Spike sighed, a bag held in one claw and the rolled up sheet of riddles in the other. He wasn't sure what to expect, especially since Twilight had kept not only the riddles, but also the entire day's plan, out of his view. He was suspicious from the beginning, but he couldn't deny the desire to get the promised prize. Twilight had been unusually sneaky about he whole ordeal; he hadn't noticed her buy the eggs or chocolate, never mind something worthy of the title 'prize'. Still, chocolate was chocolate, and as long as he got at least one on the eggs he could say the day was a success. Thirty seconds until the tower hit 10:30.
-_-_-_-
Twilight smiled as she watched the clock tick town. She'd spent a month planning this hunt, making the riddles difficult, but fair, and spreading out the eggs as equally as she could. If all went to plan, she'd get as much of a prize as the pony who won would.
3...
2...
1...
“Let the games begin.”
-_-_-_-
Rainbow tore off, speeding down the path away from her house and down the hill towards the town. As soon as she reached the first buildings she slowed down, digging out the list of riddles from her saddlebags and reading the first riddle. If she could do them all fast enough, she'd get enough eggs to win the prize before the others caught up to her.
She read the puzzle aloud, “I stand high above you heads, but I do not have legs. I have a face without a head or a nose. I have hands, but lack arms. What am I?”
“The hay?” Rainbow stared blankly at the scroll for a few moments, glancing up the the sky as though it would give her answers. “What could-” she stopped as her eyes landed on the thing that had started the hunt. A face without a nose stared back from high above the town, though it didn't have legs to tower over her.
“Really Twi?” Rainbow asked rhetorically, setting off towards the clock tower at a sprint.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of town, Applejack took off running, having figured out the first riddle as well. With her eyes set on the windmill sitting just outside of town, she smiled, confident she was already in the lead.
Rainbow Dash reached the clock tower in a matter of minutes, her athleticism paying off as she arrived at the base without breaking a sweat. She approached and opened the door, examining the barren room. There was a hardwood floor and the walls were the same stone brick that lined the outside. Cobwebs covered the corners, and a lone staircase lead up to the top. It didn't take her long to find the bright yellow egg sitting at the base of the stairs. With an eager smile she walked over and picked it up, popping the small capsule open to get at the chocolate stored inside. Except, rather than a dark piece of sugary delight, she found a single slip of paper.
Confused, she took the paper out with her wing and flipped it over. On it was a single word; 'Would'. Slightly confused, but excited to be in the lead nonetheless, she popped the paper back into the egg, closed it, and tossed it into her saddlebags. Exiting the tower, she made sure to close the door tightly before looking around to make sure she was alone. Then she started walking away, bringing out her scroll of riddles for the clue to the next egg.
Applejack grinned proudly as she shoved her own egg into her bags, smirking as she saw Rarity trotting at a dainty pace down the path towards her. As soon as Rarity saw the farmer, she scowled.
“Better luck next time, Rares!” Applejack called, taking off at a gallop down the path.
Rarity huffed as she came to a stop in front of the windmill. “I knew I should have started at the bottom of the list...”
-_-_-_-
Rainbow Dash was officially very confused. Shed gathered a fair amount of eggs at this point, but she hadn't run into any of her friends, even though they'd beat her to some of the locations. They'd probably started with those ones, she reasoned. However, what confused her wasn't any of that, what confused her was the distinct lack of chocolate within the eggs she found. Instead of the sugary treat she'd been expecting, inside each and every egg she gathered was a small slip of paper, each with a different word. Currently, if put in the order she'd found them, they read 'Would you like to go'”
Though she was confused, she knew it was leading up to something, and she was determined to win the prize. She was surprised the message was, as far as she could tell, intact, even with the missing eggs that her friends found before her. She shook it off though; she had a prize to win.
Fluttershy had managed to get two eggs herself, walking slowly through the town. She'd started from the middle of the list and was working her way down, assuming that most of her more competitive and determined friends would have started from the beginning and gone as fast as they could. The first riddle she'd solved had already been raided, but the next two she was lucky enough to get to before other ponies. The chocolate held within the eggs was a nice surprise; a boost of energy in the heat of the spring sun.
She'd run into most of her friends at least once during the hunt. All except Rainbow Dash, oddly enough. Though she didn't find it suspicious, instead chalking it up to the pegasus randomly choosing riddles to solve and finding the eggs.
Twilight's eyes were half closed as she relaxed in the cool shade of the tree she'd picked out. The game had begun nearly half an hour ago now, and with each passing minute she was growing more and more anxious. She knew that the winner of the competition would be nearly completed by now, while the others would be barely half way done with the riddles. Having intentionally made the winner's puzzles easier, she'd ensured that they would get to her long before the rest of the girls did. She was equal parts anticipating and dreading the moment when the winner came back victorious, though the reaction was still a mystery to the lavender mare.
Heaving a heavy sigh, she resigned herself to not knowing until the contest was over. With nothing better to do, Twilight allowed her eyes to drift fully shut as she fell into a peaceful nap in the warm spring air.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as she found the final egg on her list, hidden in the umbrella of an outdoor cafe's table. It put her at a respectable ten eggs, the other five having already been snatched up. Though, she wasn't sure if they were there to begin with. The pegasus had been suspicious when she hadn't run into any of her other friends at any of the locations she was checking, and she was even more confused when the message had been in perfect order for her. But the icing on the cake was the completed message. After finding the last piece, she'd cracked open all the eggs and laid them out in order. On the table in front of her was the message.
'Would you like to go on a date with me?'.
She only briefly wondered who the message could have been from before realizing how silly such a question was. Sure, it could have been slipped into the eggs by somepony else, but it was much more plausible, and believable, that Twilight had set it up. The unicorn had rigged the entire game so that Rainbow Dash would find these eggs and put the message together. If she had to guess, she'd say she had a completely different list of riddles form the other girls.
However, this left her with an obvious problem. Twilight was asking her out, and she didn't know how to respond. She was equal parts flattered, shocked, and – though she would deny it – scared. She was flattered that such an intelligent mare would have taken a romantic interest in her, surprised that Twilight of all ponies was interested in her, and scared about the possible implications this had on their already strong friendship. Thoughts and theories plagued her mind of how the mare would react to her answer, and all the paths it could go down. Rainbow could flat out reject the mare, breaking her heart and possibly putting an awkward strain on their friendship. She could try it, have it fall apart and end in a messy breakup, severing any ties they had.
Or, it could work out in the end.
And that possibility scared her more than the others.
It working out meant one of the biggest and unpredictable changes of her life. It meant telling the rest of her friends about her sexuality – something she'd been dragging her hooves on for a while now. It meant being responsible; mature. I meant commitment to something she had relatively little experience with.
Those ideas terrified the pegasus, who had grown used to the freedom of unattachment.
But at the same time, it could possibly mean a warm and welcoming house to come home to. A loving partner waiting for her every day. It meant having somepony who she could lean on, and in turn would lean on her. It meant being loved by another and loving another.
With her mind still locked within itself her body went on autopilot back towards the clearing she’d started the day in. She needed to talk to Twilight, but she also wanted to make her decision first. She moved slowly and sluggishly through the streets of Ponyville, earning some concerned looks from the residents, who were used to her usual boastful and energetic attitude. She paid them no mind, however; her thoughts much farther from her than she imagined possible.
Within her mind time was extended ten fold, her nerves playing tricks on her. But even with the seemingly distorted time, she saw the park approaching much too fast for her liking, long before she'd come anywhere near making a decision. She knew that she'd be expected to deliver an answer as soon as Twilight caught sight of her coming back, but her body kept walking without her consent, leading her into the park. With a nervous gulp she stepped off the cobbled street and onto the lush green grass, easily finding her way back to the tree where the day had began. What she found surprised her.
Sure enough, the lavender unicorn was there waiting for her, but instead of simply sitting down and reading a book to pass the time like she'd expected, Twilight was slouched back against the tree, her jaw hung open and her eyes closed. She'd fallen asleep, and from the looks of it she'd been out for a while.
Chuckling under her breath Rainbow approached near silently, stopping when she was a couple paces away from the unicorn under the tree. With a gentle smile, she pushed herself to close the remaining gap and sat herself down next to Twilight, idly watching the mare sleep. As far as she was concerned, she had yet to come to a decision, but she couldn't help it when her mind labelled the sight in front of her adorable.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she hung her head, kicking a hoof along the grass. “You've put me in an odd position here, Twi,” she said to herself quietly. “I didn't even know you were into mares, and then all of the sudden you're asking me on a date. I don't think you were even sure I liked mares.”
“But that didn't stop you, did it?” Rainbow asked, gazing up at the branches of the tree, casting a long shadow over them. “You're a brave pony, Twi. Risking our friendship to chase after what you want... braver than I am.” Rainbow laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “I wouldn't have done what you did. I’d have suppressed the feelings, hidden them away and suffocated them until they died. I'd have regretted that for the rest of my life. But you... you took the leap.”
“You're pretty cool, Twi...” Rainbow trailed off as she finally looked back down at the sleeping unicorn. However, what she saw instead as a very much awake Twilight Sparkle.
“I'm glad you think so, Dash,” Twilight said quietly.
The pegasus jumped in surprise, emitting a startled squeak as she scooted herself back a few inches. “T-Twilight! You're awake... wait, how much did you hear?” She asked nervously, glancing around the grassy field suspiciously as though somepony else would be listening in. There wasn't another pony anywhere around.
“I woke up just as you got here, but you started talking to yourself so... I figured I'd let you sort yourself out first,” Twilight admitted with a mild blush, giggling quietly a the furious red Rainbow's cheeks turned at the news.
“Next time, let me know when you're awake,” she grumbled, before scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. “So... uh... I guess you want an answer huh?”
Twilight nodded slowly. “I would, but if you need more time to think it's okay,” she assured gently.
Rainbow shook her head firmly. “Nah, I can't put things like this off. I...” she trailed off. She knew she needed to give her answer now, or she'd put off the decision indefinitely and end up crushing Twilight's heart worse than her outright declining. She looked at the hopeful, yet controlled smile the unicorn was giving her.
“You're one of my closest friends, Twi. What I said before was true; I'd have never risked what we have to ask you out,” she said, watching as Twilight's ears fell flat against her head.
“Oh...” she said, her hopeful smile forming into a frown of acceptance. “That's alright, I-”
“I wouldn't have asked,” Rainbow stressed, cutting off the mare. “But I will accept.”
Twilight's jaw hung open loosely as she stared wide-eyed at the pegasus, having already accepted her rejection. Now though, her brain had to rush to keep up with the new and contradicting information. Rainbow Dash said yes. Rainbow Dash said yes! “Rainbow Dash said yes!” Twilight shouted to the heavens excitedly, momentarily forgetting the fact that said pegasus was right next to her.
Rainbow chuckled quietly at the display of happiness. “How could I not after all the work you put into this? I wouldn't feel right letting you put it all to waste. And who knows; this could work out.”
Twilight couldn't help herself as she launched a tackle-hug at the cyan pegasus next to her, toppling the mare over and landing on top. “I could kiss you!” Twilight shouted excitedly as she buried her face into the prismatic mane before her. She blushed heavily at the statement, but it didn't stop her bone-crushing hug.
What did make her break her hug was Rainbow Dash saying, “Why don't you?”
Twilight jerked back in surprise, blushing deeply as she looked curiously at Rainbow, who wore an equally bright blush. “W-what?” She stammered out, snuffing out the part of her mind that was encouraging her to just follow Rainbow's advice.
The pegasus beneath her shrugged. “We've been friends a long time, so why not jump into it a bit fast? Unless you wanted to go slower?”
Twilight's response came not in words but in actions as she leaned down and captured Rainbow's lips with her own. In a moment of heated passion Rainbow's hooves lifted up and wrapped around the unicorn atop her, holding her close as their eyes closed in sync. The kiss lasted mere seconds, and when they drew apart there was the unmistakable desire to do it again for both of them.
“I could get used to that,” Rainbow breathed slowly, drawing a light giggle from the lavender mare.
“So, I guess to make it official I should ask. Would you like to be my special somepony?” Twilight asked, her previous timidness all but evaporated with that first kiss.
Rainbow Dash grinned, leaning up and placing a light peck on the unicorn's cheek. “I think I'd like that,” she said, staring deeply into her friend's – her marefriend's – eyes.
The sound of somepony clearing their throat deliberately loudly brought the couple out of each others gaze as they turned their heads toward an orange mare with a sly smile on her face. “If that's the prize, I'm glad I didn't win,” Applejack said smugly, laughing as scarlet blushes formed on both of the mare's faces.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow Dash sighed contentedly, reading from a book propped open in front of her. The room she found herself was bathed in a soft light from a couple candles spread about the room. Out the window the night sky could be seen clearly over the rooftops of the houses populating Ponyville. She laid on a rug, resting on a hard wood floor rather than the cloud she was used to in her own house. Though she felt more at home now than she ever did in her own cloud mansion. The warmth and coziness of the library she found herself in was beaten only by the warmth radiating from the mare next to her.
Twilight was veritably purring as she leaned against the pegasus, her head resting against Rainbow's neck, just below her chin. A book sat forgotten in front of her as she lay with her eyes closed, revelling in the feeling of being so close to her marefriend. She was on the cusp of sleep, just barely keeping herself awake to enjoy the feeling. With a tired sigh she shifted herself deeper into the mare beside her, feeling their coats brush together and letting out a happy groan as a result.
Rainbow chuckled quietly as she heard the noise. “Tired there Twi?” She asked, extending a wing and wrapping it around the unicorn.
“Mm-hmm,” Twilight hummed, rubbing her cheek into the soft hairs on Rainbow's neck. The motion stopped just as suddenly s it started, leaving her in what was, in her opinion, the most comfortable spot in the world.
“You know something?” Rainbow asked suddenly, glancing down at what little she could see of Twilight's head.
“Hmm?” Twilight responded. She didn't seem to have the energy or wakefulness to do any more.
“You never did tell me what my prize for winning that egg hunt last week was.”
Twilight's eyes blinked open slowly, pulling away and looking up at the pegasus. “No?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nope. I know what your prize was,” she said, gesturing to herself boastfully. “But I never got one.”
“To be fair,” Twilight said, her mind coming back to her as she forced the tiredness from her system. “The game was rigged.”
“Maybe,” Rainbow said with a shrug, “but the rules were whoever found the most eggs won, and I found ten eggs.”
“Hmm... alright then. Your prize is whatever you want, within reason, of course” Twilight added quickly, upon seeing the grin Rainbow was giving her.
“Anything?” Rainbow asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
“Within reason,” Twilight repeated. “That means I have to be able to get it for you without copious amounts of work.”
Rainbow smiled slyly. “Well, what if you gave me...” she paused, bringing a hoof to her chin as she pondered what her prize would be. Her smile told Twilight she already knew exactly what she wanted.
“Well?” Twilight asked impatiently, rolling her eyes as she heard Rainbow hum in fake thought.
In a blur of motion Rainbow's wings flared and she launched herself at the unicorn, sending them both tumbling across the floor in a mess of fur and feathers. When they finally stopped they were half way across the room, with Twilight having landed on top, smirking victoriously.
“Well that backfired,” she mocked. Rainbow just chuckled, pushed her wings against the floor, and used her fore hooves to pull Twilight down beside her. Going with the momentum she rolled herself on top, and it was her turn to smile down at the trapped mare.
“You were saying?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine, I take it you know what you want?”
“Yep,” Rainbow said quietly, leaning her head down next to Twilight's, continuing until her mouth was right next to Twilight's ear. “You.”
Twilight couldn't help herself; she burst out laughing. “That.. that is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard you say!”
Rainbow let out a few chuckles herself as she pulled away. “Whatever, you know you like it when I'm cheesy.”
The statement only made Twilight laugh harder. “That's a close second!”
With a sarcastic sigh Rainbow leaned down and silenced the mare's laughter with a kiss. Twilight eagerly returned it for a few more seconds before pulling back.
“So, glad you won?” Twilight asked.
“Yep,” Rainbow said, before leaning down once again and rejoining their lips.
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"Pinkie bounced ecstatically around Sugar Cub corner,"
I think you meant Sugar Cube Corner
The fluffiness of this makes Flufflepuff look hairless. Good work!
Minor issues and missing letters. (I instead of It as an example.)
But all in all, a bit of a brilliant, bouncy tale. Well done!
Well that was just adorable
)
No relay that is all i have to say it was rather entertaining and fun to read, tho you have to wonder, what if Fluttershy won? somehow. (Twishy fan you see
Good job on this 9/10
~Tobben
Fluffier than a peep in the microwave.
You may want to look the whole thing over again once or twice. There were a few missing letters.
Still a very enjoyable read. It was a nice touch combining Easter and the timing of the contest. I have a feeling there won't be another entry that tries that.
... Hmm.
I'm starting to like
"The prize is just the icing."
I like eating the icing before eating the cuppycake!
And not an.
An not a.
She'd not shed.
As not s.
That is all.
Cute!
Yes, yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!
Love it, cute and fluff.
This didn't work for me at all. The first scene is completely unnecessary, for one. What bothers me the most is that Twilight manipulated her friends with a rigged contest in the hope that a pony whose sexuality she didn't even know might be willing to risk their friendship on a date. It comes off as wholly disingenuous. There are definitely ways you could have made this scenario work a lot better and still have the "fluffy" lovey-dovey ending.
I'll admit that Twilight's plan seemed very un-Twilike - she may be bright enough to pull it off, but I don't think she has it in her to be this callously manipulative - and the lack of an editor disrupted my enjoyment of the story, but you set out to write an adorable fluffy tale and in that you succeeded. Not bad, Kodeake!
4324652
Callous? Manipulative? I... really don't see it. I mean all she did was make a fun game for her friends to enjoy, with a bit of an ulterior motive. It's not like she did anything directly against the others, she just did something a little special for Dash, because she couldn't find the courage to do so herself, face to face. Sure, it was a bit unfair, telling the others there was a prize, but they never even had to know it was rigged; just that Dash found more eggs than them.
I don't see how that's uncaring; she made it fair for her friends, and enjoyable.
4324726
As I said, you did succeed in what you set out to do, so congratulations on that.
She didn't make it fair for her friends, though. She used them as pawns to disguise her true intent of asking Rainbow Dash to be her special somepony because she didn't have the guts to do it outright. She didn't give them a chance to win the promised prize - the very prize that happened to be the only reason a few of them were playing. Saying 'they never had to know' only makes it worse; lying to her friends and asking Rainbow to do the same is something I would hope the living embodiment of the magic of friendship would be unwilling to do. On top of that, she kept Pinkie from organizing her yearly egg hunt for the fillies and colts. I know somepony else would be able to do it in her stead, but it still sounds selfish.
But I suppose I'm overthinking it. It was meant to be a little piece of fluff and I'm going over it as if it was the next great epic.
4324867
By fair for her friends, I meant the other four, not including Rainbow. And it was; they all had a fair shot at collecting their eggs, and they still got chocolate out of it.
But at the end of it all I stand by my most basic of arguments. because there are no romantic situations in the show (disregarding HipsterxRarity and SpikexRarity because those are frankly not real romance) we truly cannot know how a character would act in a romantic setting/situation. We have a guess, based on their characters, but love can make people act very out of the ordinary, having seen it first hand. People who would sooner jump off a bridge than hurt a fly can, under certain circumstances, devise and act upon a plot to purposefully hurt people. It's an interesting reaction, one that drives people to do the opposite of who they are normally. Is it so hard to believe that Twilight could, under similar circumstances, tell a little lie when it became clear to her that she couldn't gather the courage to do it face to face? Nopony was hurt, and I showed the scenes of them all getting ready to show that the others were going to enjoy it specifically for such an argument. Because in the end, if no one was hurt, and everyone enjoyed themselves, does it matter that it was a little rigged?
But I suppose now I'm just making excuses to preserve at least some integrity and believably. Like you said; it was just a fluff piece, whose point was to be pointless. As long as you at the very least somewhat enjoyed it, I'm happy.
4324969
And enjoy it I did.
I'm... a little touchy when it comes to manipulative relationships. I know that Twi and Rainbow could be a great couple, but seeing it start off on that hoof makes me nervous. After all, if this Twilight is willing to play that kind of game with her friends this early on, who's to say how far she'll take it a few years down the road? A few decades?
But I know that's just my mind taking a half-formed idea and running with it. I'm sure that other readers that are less touchy about it than I am will be able to believe or at least ignore it. I'm sorry that I let that affect my reaction to your story.
Honestly, when I came up with the contest prompt, this was the kind of story I was expecting from a lot people. Glad to see you delivered.
I hate naming stories myself. I remember reading somewhere that the single hardest part of a story is the name. Right now, I have a twidash in the works, and the name for it only partially fits.
I really love how crafty Twilight was in this one, and it makes sense that she would find this way to ask Dash out. Rather bold of the lavender unicorn.
4325195
I honestly don't see where this relationship was all that manipulative. First, Twilight has always struck me as being the type that would find it very hard to ask someone out, and this was a way that she could do so while giving her friends a chance to have some fun. I found it to be really crafty, actually. And, if you think about it, all relationships have a fair amount of manipulation in them to start with. You're talking about two ponies (or people) with different wants and needs going into a relationship.
The vast majority of these types of fics always has twilight asking at the last moment, or missing the point entirely. This one doesn't, and I for one thought that it was cute.
5436839
*shrugs* She set up a false game and fooled her friends into taking part with the promise of a special prize that was only ever intended for one of the players. It would've been different if she'd asked the other four first, or if she'd apologized and explained, but as things stand... Crafty? Sure. Horrible? I think so.
As I kept saying, it's not a bad story; I just think Twi was mischaracterized.
After reading several Hearth's Warming stories, this one was suggested. We need more start-of-a-romance holiday stories that aren't Hearth's Warming or Hearts and Hooves.
Someone write me a Labor Day ShipFic, stat! Parker, I need pictures! Pictures of Ponies!
Tons of spelling errors. It seems you might need an editor who has an eye for this kind of stuff...
...ME! That is, if it's okay with you...
* Re-reading with a soft smile*.
