That’s not quite it, darling...

“Twilight, you can’t simply plan to be impulsive,” Rarity said as she watched her marefriend grin as she wrote down notes. “It defeats the point, actually.”

“But I have important things to do!” The lavender Alicorn exclaimed before her double checked something on a ledger next to her and made another notation on the scroll in front of her.
“I can’t shirk in my duties, that would be irresponsible! I just want to make sure I have some time in my schedule to be spontaneous.”

Rarity put a hoof on her forehead, massaging the spot just below her horn.

“Darling,” she said, taking the scroll in her magic, ignoring the tiny whine of protest. “If you are going to schedule your impulsivity around your royal duties, then it becomes another duty.”

Twilight pushed her ledger shut and looked at Rarity. “Then what do you suggest, then?”

She unrolled the scroll and looked at the first item.

“Hmm, at least you have your priorities straight,” she hummed, pulling a quill over. “Invite Rarity: Check! But you could use something else for the second thing.”

The Alicorn frowned. “Like what?”

Rarity held the piece of parchment in her aura as she looked at the purple eyes of her marefriend.

“Step two,” she said. “Get lunch.”

“That’s not what I wrote down, is it?” Twilight furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth again to speak when Rarity reached out and put her hoof over her lips.

“Trust me on this one,” she whispered in a warm tone, the checklist tearing in the air behind her. “I have an idea.”

Twilight watched as the bits of her checklist fluttered to the ground, shocked. She was about to complain when her stomach let loose a rumble, causing the intellectual to blush slightly.

“Oh, Spike, darling!” The alabaster mare called out. “Could you be a dear and cancel Twilight’s appointments this afternoon? She’s decided to be a bit impulsive, it seems, and is going to step out to lunch early.”

After a brief - if disbelieving - assent from the young dragon, Rarity turned and lifted her princess’ gaze from the floor.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she whispered. “A wager, if you will. You manage to go the entire meal and walk without thinking about work once, and you get whatever you want.”

“But I have responsibilities! Important things to...”

Rarity leaned forward and kissed the mare, silencing her protests. When they separated, Twilight had a fierce blush on her face.

“Now come with me, “ the fashionista said. “I feel like something simple but filling.”

“This is spontaneity?”

The pair stood on the balcony of the Golden Oaks, staring at the landscape.

Rarity nuzzled her love, giggling. “Not at all, darling,” she said. “We’re here to pick a direction. Any direction you wish.”

Twilight frowned. “Any direction?”

A nod had her turning back to the railing.

She pointed. “West,” she simply.

Rarity tilted her head in appreciation. “Nice. Heading into the sunset is a romantic image.”

Twilight blushed again. “O-ok,” she whispered.

The left the balcony, heading downstairs. As they passed the door, Twilight looked over.

“So you ok with the burger shack?” the perplexed Alicorn asked. “It’s on the way by the quill store, and I’ve been meaning to see the new line he has.”

“That sounds fine.” Rarity said as they walked. After a few moments, Rarity glanced over, a few images flitting through her mind.

“You’re still working, aren’t you?” the designer inquired with a small smile.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Do you know why I love you?” she asked without preamble. “That big heart of yours. You give of yourself so regularly without pause.” She saw her sister trot by with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom close by.

“Like my sister and her friends,” Rarity said, stopping to wave at the fillies as they passed. “You tutored them all for a time and showed so much patience. More than I’m sure I could have. And continued even after that unfortunate incident where they tried to gain popularity because of it.”

“They just made a mistake. It’s not something to get upset about.” The Alicorn

“And researching the possible reasons of late wing growth for Scootaloo?” Rarirty pressed. “I’m sure that wasn’t just light reading.”

Twilight ruffled her wings. “She was uncomfortable around me for a while after the Ascension,” the princess admitted. “She felt jealous about me getting my wings but also felt guilty about being jealous. I did that as an apology.”

Rarity pointed at her. “That’s what I mean.” She stepped over and put a foreleg around the lavender shoulders before continuing. “You will do what you can to help other ponies at the drop of a hat. But when was the last time you did something for you?”

“I asked you out,” Twilight countered.

“After practicing it for weeks and the date circled on the calendar,” Rarity returned. “That heart of yours is warm, but it’s held in place by that strictly analytical brain that for so many years was committed to routine and order. I know not plotting things out is uncomfortable for you, but you said you wanted to do it. Why?”

Twilight stood and started walking again, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure, exactly,” she whispered after a moment. “But sometimes, it seems like my life is all about conferences, mediations, and appearances without actually knowing what I’m supposed to do as princess. And when we’re not called to help Equestria, I’m bored! I used to love just sitting and reading Haycarte’s theorems or Star Swirls notes on magic…”

“You mean you wouldn’t enjoy it now?” Rarity teased.

“Well, no,” the princess admitted. “I still do. But I didn’t know that I would ever want something more! Something more meaningful until I met all of you. And seeing how creative you are and how easily inspiration comes to you, I just wondered what would happen if I tried being less…structured.”

Rarity shook her head. “I’m touched, Twilight.” She paused for a moment. “You have been so gracious with your friends,” she went on. “And I can’t possibly adequately voice the feelings I hold for you or the joy I had when you asked me on that one date. But, even living in a library, you have so much to learn.”

“I know that, Rarity,” Twilight said. “But honestly, it’s hard to find anything to research that has adequate guidelines on proper modern day courtship rituals.”

“I thought I loaned you a few books on that,” Rarity said with a frown as they approached the eatery.

“Yeeeees,” Twilight said, her face flushing again. “And they were…informative. But I’m not comfortable using tactics detailed in fictional literature.”

Rarity pulled to a stop and turned to face her marefriend, a smile blossoming on her face.

“Well, don’t look at it as fiction,” she said. “Treat it as, well, a series of case studies.”

“Case studies?” Twilight frowned. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“They are exaggerated fantasies,” the designer replied as she opened the door to the restaurant. “And I’m not asking for any of those verbatim, Twilight. But maybe you can use them as guidelines for when you try.”

Her eyes twinkled as she leaned in and pecked her marefriend on the cheek. “But there’s no rush.”

Rarity was working on a new design a week later, a few pieces of crumpled paper laying on the ground from missed tosses at the trash can. She just couldn’t get a line quite right, no matter how hard she tried, the fall of the skirts just didn’t seem right. She was close to getting the sketch perfect when a knock sounded on the door, breaking her concentration.

Growling and tossing the paper off to the side, she put her glasses down and went to the door, opening it to find Twilight standing there, a picnic basket in her magic. Seeing the tired look on Rarity’s face, her smile faltered a bit.

“Is this a bad time?” the princess asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

“Oh, never, darling,” the designer said. “Just an idea that just isn’t coming forth like it should. What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion,” Twilight smiled. “It’s just a nice day, and I thought maybe we could enjoy lunch out in the fields behind the Oaks.”

“That sounds lovely, Twilight!” She turned and trotted upstairs. “I’ll be back in a moment, just going to freshen up.”

A quick sweep of a brush and a tap of a brush across her nose and she pranced downstairs to catch a glimpse of Twilight tucking something away.

“Was that a list, Twilight?” Rarity teased.

Blushing, the Alicorn pulled the slip of paper out again and held it forth.

Rarity raised an eyebrow and took the list in her magic, rolling out what turned out to be a very short list.

“Pack basket,” the alabaster Unicorn read. “Brush mane, get Rarity.” She gave her love a look. “That’s a rather short list, Twilight.”

“Well, I wanted to try doing something without planning, but I couldn’t quite get going,” Twilight admitted. “Spike made this so…”

Rarity kissed her on the cheek. “It’s all right, Twilight,” she said, levitating her pencil over. “Baby steps.”

Setting the pencil to the paper, she wrote