The first thing that Rainbow Dash felt when she woke up was that of being cold. With a soft groan, she cracked open a bleary eye and looked about for the blanket on Twilight’s bed. Her belly was warm, but her back was absolutely frigid. Spotting the edge of the blanket halfway down her left hind leg, Dash lifted it up and kicked the blanket up. She caught it in her left hoof and yanked it up past her shoulders. It only took a few moments before its warmth seeped into her, bringing her a small modicum of comfort.
Lifting her head from the back of Twilight’s, Rainbow peered out the window and saw snow building up against the bottom of the window pane. The sun barely pierced through the clouds, leaving her with little evidence as to what time it was. The fact that the sun was already up was evidence enough, however. With a sigh, Rainbow laid her head against the back of Twilight’s and pulled her closer. She flicked her tail to lay around Twilight’s flank, then laid her left hind leg over Twilight’s cutie mark. Dash snuggled as close as she possibly could to her marefriend, trying to eke out as much warmth from their embrace as she could.
Rainbow closed her eyes and smiled as she buried her snout in between Twilight’s ears. She nibbled on the tip of her left one and finally settled down in between them. Though just as sleep began to tug at her mind again, tempting her to let go and slip back into the world of dreams, she felt Twilight begin to stir. Her heart sank and her ears flicked back, for she knew that when Twilight woke up, there was no stopping her from getting up.
“Morning, beautiful...” Rainbow whispered as she planted kisses on Twilight’s head.
“Morning, Dashie...” Twilight stretched, pulling herself out of Rainbow’s embrace.
Dash frowned slightly as she felt her belly become cold. “No, don’t get up... please?” she whimpered. Rainbow unfurled a wing, wrapped it just below Twilight’s forelegs, and tugged her back down. She closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction as her belly became warm once more.
Several moments passed without Twilight putting up a fight, though Rainbow felt that she remained tense. She rubbed Twilight’s side with a hoof, then gently ran a hoof over her wing. Feeling a few stray feathers, Rainbow lifted the sheets to confirm her suspicions. “When was the last time you preened yourself?”
Twilight sighed and rolled over, once more pulling herself out of Rainbow’s embrace. “I don’t know... a month or so?” She laid her head back down on the pillow and nuzzled the tip of Rainbow’s muzzle with her own. “What about you?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Uh... last week? I had some time during my break at work, so I just went ahead and did it then.” She returned Twilight’s nuzzle. “So... it sounds like you need to be preened pretty bad. I could do it for you, if you want.” Dash let her hoof come to rest on Twilight’s wing. “Since it’s Hearts and Hooves Day, I figured that taking care of you would be a great way to start off our special day...”
Twilight glanced away and bit her lip. “Sorry, but as much as I’d like that, I just don’t have time. I’ve got a big day of studying and researching planned, and...”
“What?”
“I’ve put this off for as long as I could, but I really have to get this done. Our dates have just kept me from my work, and today is the only day of the month that I am free to take care of it.”
“Oh...” Rainbow let herself go slack as she frowned. A few moments passed in a tense silence before an idea popped into Rainbow’s mind. “Hey! It’s still kinda early in the morning, so... wanna snuggle some more?” She smiled hopefully, praying that Twilight would give in to her needs.
Twilight pursed her lips. “I... I can’t. I’ve already slept in too much this week, and I’m already behind on my schedule.” She slipped from the bed and trotted to the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a quick shower, okay?”
Rainbow sat up and crossed her forelegs. “Fine...” she said, putting as much disappointment into her tone as she could. As she heard the shower turn on, she stood up and flew to the door leading down to the kitchen. Rainbow paused as she let her hoof rest on the doorknob. “Hey! What if I make Twi breakfast?” she asked herself. After fluffing her wings, she trotted from the bedroom and made her way through the hallways of Twilight’s castle until she found herself in the ground floor kitchen.
“Hm... what to make, what to make...” Rainbow rubbed her chin as she peered into the pantry. When she spotted a box of pancake mix, her eyes lit up. “Perfect!” She snatched it from the shelf and tossed it onto the counter. Rainbow went to the stove, tossed some wood in the opening, and tossed a lit match inside of it. She blew on it softly until she had a nice little fire going. Heat poured out of the opening, and for a few moments, Rainbow held up her cold forelegs to warm them.
Figuring that the fire was as big as it was going to get, Rainbow closed the opening and tossed a pan on top. She made as much batter as she could, then poured all of it into the pan, figuring that she could make one massive pancake that they could share. As the batter started to sizzle, Rainbow eyed all of the dirty dishes in the sink and figured that she could help Twilight out by taking care of the mess.
Rainbow grinned as she imagined Twilight appreciating her hard work. She scrubbed at the numerous plates, pots, and pans as she tried to get it all done before Twilight finished up with her shower.
“Rainbow, can you come up here please?” she heard Twilight’s voice echo from a box in the side of the wall. She had installed a few magical talk boxes around the castle as a means to refrain from yelling a while ago.
Rainbow Dash trotted over to the talk box near the entrance to the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll be up there in a few seconds!” With that being said, she pushed open the window to the right of the stove, sat perched on the ledge for just a brief moment, and pushed herself out into space as she spread her wings wide. Rainbow flew to the balcony outside of Twilight’s bedroom and let herself in. “What is it, Twi?”
“Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to reiterate that I have a lot of work today. As it is now, I’m really behind schedule like I said, and I cannot waste a single iota of time today.” Twilight stood in front of the mirror, running a brush through her mane with her magic. “Anyways, I’m going to need a near-absolute silence today if I am to get all of my work done.”
“Here, let me...” Rainbow Dash said softly as she felt her heart droop. Hearing Twilight say that she was behind schedule again meant that they wouldn’t be able to spend anytime together that day. Dash sat behind her and snuggled up close, laying her hind legs around Twilight’s. Her belly brushed up against Twilight’s back as she took the brush from the air. Holding it in a hoof, she started brushing her marefriend’s hair, working out all of the kinks and knots that she saw.
Rainbow smiled as Twilight relaxed. She’s always getting so worked up about her work... she thought. If this was going to be the only time today to show her affection, she was going to stretch it out as much as she could. A minute passed in near-silence, the only sound in the room being the brush running through Twilight’s mane. Noticing that Twilight’s mane looked perfect, Rainbow wistfully glanced to the side as her words about being behind schedule rang in her mind.
With a hint of regret, Rainbow set the brush down and laid her head down on top of Twilight’s, looking into her eyes through the mirror. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you look?” she murmured, a soft smile trying to tug her lips up, though the knowledge that Twilight was going to be busy all day kept a smile from forming. Her ears flicked back as she felt Twilight nuzzle into her neck.
“Just about every single day, Dashie...” Twilight stepped out from under Rainbow and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I really do have to get to work now, but first, I have to make some breakfast.”
Dash’s ears flicked up at that. “Don’t worry, I’ve already got that taken care of!” She stood up and opened the door for Twilight. Her nose crinkled and her eyebrows furrowed as she smelled something burning. The pancakes! Her eyes went wide and her ears flicked back as she prayed that what she was smelling was just a figment of her imagination.
“What’s that smell?” Twilight asked as she cocked her head to the side. She looked at Rainbow and saw her guilty expression. “Please don’t tell me that’s...”
“Breakfast,” Rainbow forced herself to say. She bit her lip as she glanced at Twilight, who stared right back at her with an exasperated look. “Uh... be right back!” With that being said, she opened her wings, ran back out to Twilight’s balcony, then flew outside. She flew in a tight spiral as black smoke poured out of the open kitchen window. Rainbow hovered just outside the window, her eyes squinted. A few moments passed before she decided to just barge right in, for better or for worse.
Rainbow flew back a few meters then flew straight at the open window with enough speed to stay in the air after she folded her wings to pass through the small opening. The tip of her back right hoof caught on the edge of the window, yanking her to a sudden halt. She felt an immense source of heat just off to her side as she began to fall, but with a couple flaps of her wings, Rainbow was able to settle down between the counter and the island, panting heavily.
She heard the sound of Twilight’s signature magical pop signalling her arrival on the other side of the kitchen door. Rainbow had no time to assess the situation before it slammed open, revealing a seething Twilight. Tearing her eyes away from her marefriend, Rainbow grabbed the handle of the pan, and taking care to not get burnt by the fire, she tossed the whole thing into the sink, then turned on the water to put out the fire. As she heard Twilight stomp her way into the kitchen, Rainbow threw the other window open and used her wings to push the rest of the smoke out of the kitchen.
“Phew! Crisis averted!” Rainbow wiped her brow with a hoof and turned around to find herself muzzle to muzzle with Twilight. Ignoring the look of disappointment on Twilight’s face, Rainbow cracked a cocky smile and flicked her mane out of her face. “Came to kiss the hero, eh?” Instead of feeling the soft caress of Twilight’s lips upon her own, she felt Twilight slap the side of her face instead. “Ow! Hey, what gives? I put out the fire and saved the day, didn’t I?” she asked, rubbing her smarting cheek with a hoof.
“Yes, you did put out the fire, but you also started it!” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “Just look at my kitchen! How could you be so irresponsible?” she demanded, stomping a hoof on the ground for emphasis.
Rainbow wilted from the verbal onslaught, forcing her to take a step back. She held Twilight’s gaze for a few moments, then looked at the devastation she had caused. Bits of black, burnt pancake mix lay smoking on the stove. Rainbow looked up and realized that everything in a ten-foot radius of the stove had a fine layer of soot on it. “I, er... I was just trying to make you breakfast, Twilight...” she said meekly, rubbing her foreleg with her right hoof. Her ears flicked back as she lowered her head. “And can’t you just, ya know... clean all of this up with a simple spell?”
Twilight stomped up to her and huffed.
“So... is that a yes or a no?”
“So... you want me to clean up the mess?” Rainbow asked as Twilight glared at her.
“Oh yeah, you’re totally cleaning up this mess!”
“B-but what about your magic? Don’t you know like, a hundred different cleaning spells? Come on, just make it all go away!” Rainbow said with a small giggle.
“Do you have any idea how hard that would be for me?” Twilight groaned and looked around her kitchen. “If I wanted to clean this all up, I would have to focus in on every single piece of soot and pancake mix separately, and then I’d have to pull everything together into one big ball to place in the trash. We’re talking about tens of thousands of individual particles, and you expect me to clean up your mess in that manner like it’s nothing?”
Twilight stomped over to the soot-covered fridge and yanked it open. She used her magic to snag a couple of yogurts, then she ripped off the lids of each one. Without pausing, she opened her mouth wide and squeezed the contents of the container into it, then swallowed it all in one big gulp. She tossed the empty carton aside as she did the same to the second yogurt. As she walked out of the kitchen, she took one last look around and sighed, then she left Rainbow alone.
“Dang... she ate those yogurts faster than a Wonderbolt pit stop!” Rainbow giggled as she reached under the sink for the rags that Twilight stored there. She grabbed half of them and placed them on the kitchen table, then grabbed the first one and ran it under some water from the faucet. She squeezed out the excess water, then started rubbing everything down, taking care to not miss a single spot. It took her a good couple of hours to get it all done. Being the hard worker she was, Rainbow only took one small break, and that was just to eat breakfast.
“Phew, all done!” Rainbow wiped her brow and tossed all of the damp rags into the sink. The kitchen was now free of all the soot that she could find, leaving the kitchen in about the same state that she had found it in that morning. I wonder how Twilight is doing... Hoping that she could help alleviate her marefriend’s stress, she brewed a few cups of coffee. With her tail flicking back and forth from her excitement in making Twilight happy, Rainbow found Twilight’s favorite thermos and poured it all the way to the tippy-top, then screwed on the lid.
After she had poured the rest into a purple-colored mug for herself, Rainbow snagged a small tray and placed both the thermos and her cup onto it, and balanced it on her back. With a pep in her step, Rainbow trotted out of the kitchen and walked down the hall, figuring that Twilight would be in her own personal library.
Coming to a halt in front of the closed door, Rainbow knocked on it with a hoof and let herself in. She spotted Twilight on the other side of the room deeply engrossed in her studies. Twilight’s personal library was a mess. Books lay all over the place, covering the floor, the couch, and even the desk, leaving anypony little room to move about.
Rainbow stepped up to Twilight and set the tray on some closed books to her right. Twilight gasped lightly as she finally realized that Rainbow was there. “Hey, Twi... I hope I’m not interrupting, but... I made us some coffee.” She sat down beside Twilight and pressed their flanks together, then flicked her tail to lay around Twilight’s butt. “Here.” Rainbow slid the thermos in front of Twilight and smiled apologetically. With her ears laying flat on her head, she fluffed her wings and smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry about making that big mess back there...” She took a sip from her mug and smiled as it warmed her up from the inside.
“It’s... fine.” Twilight took a sip from her thermos and sighed in content. “Ahh... I love straight coffee. Thanks for making this, Dash.”
“No problem.” Dash laid her head on Twilight’s shoulder and sighed. “Mind if I hang out with you? I don’t have anything to do for the rest of the day. Maybe I can help around here? Ya know, maybe I can get books for you instead of you using your magic?”
“I suppose...” Twilight said with a hint of unsureness in her tone. “I can’t talk much, though, and I need absolute silence for me to get anything done. I simply have way too much work to do.” She smiled as she took another sip of coffee. “But it’s nice to have you here. I’m sorry I snapped at you back in the kitchen.” Twilight nuzzled the back of Rainbow’s head with her chin.
“It’s cool. I probably would have done the same thing if someone did that to my kitchen, too.” Rainbow lifted her head from Twilight’s shoulder and sat up. “So... you need me to grab you a book?”
“Actually, yes. I need you to grab the one at the very tip top of the shelf for me.” Twilight pointed her horn at it then lit it up with a spell. “Do be careful, though, the books on top of it are incredibly rare.”
Rainbow set her mug down on the desk and flew up to where Twilight had pointed out the book for her. Its size paled in comparison to the ten or so books that sat on top of it. Rainbow rolled her eyes then rubbed her chin. Trying to wiggle that book from under all of those big books is gonna take a ton of work... Hm... Ahah! As a smile grew on her face, Rainbow lifted the top book off of the stack and set it aside. She took the next one, and the next one, and the next one, then kept moving the books until at last, her prize was revealed. “Got it, Twi!”
“Great. Now bring it down,” Twilight murmured.
“Okay.” Rainbow turned and with a great flap of her wings, she darted back to Twilight’s side. “Here you go!” She held out the book a couple of moments before she heard a low creaking noise come from behind her. Uh oh... Rainbow turned around just in time to see the books she had just moved aside all come crashing to the ground, one right after the other. She knew that she’d only get hurt trying to keep them from falling, so she made no attempt to stop them. Many moments passed as she watched each tome slam to the ground, expelling large amounts of old book dust.
Twilight simply glared at her. “Remember what I said about absolute silence, Dash?”
Rainbow sighed as she stood up. With her head hung low, she slunk from the room with her tail tucked between her hind legs and flew away. For a day that was supposed to go so perfectly, it sure didn’t end up like that... Rainbow flew around aimlessly for a few solid hours, never once stopping to take a break. She pushed herself to the limit, and then, as her muscles screamed for her to take a break, Rainbow found a nearby cloud and collapsed upon it. As she panted heavily, she rolled over onto her back and spread her wings wide to help cool off.
Gee, I sure messed up... Now, how can I make this up to her? Rainbow rolled over to let the heat of the sun warm her back, then let out a content sigh. After a few moments of thinking, she sat upright. “Hey, now there’s an idea!”
With that thought in mind, Rainbow jumped off of the cloud and flew off in the direction of her home.
As the sun began to near the horizon, Dash closed her front door and flew as fast as she could in the general direction of Twilight’s castle. Figuring that she’d given Twilight enough quiet time to finish most, if not all of her work, Rainbow made a beeline for the castle and screeched to a halt right outside the front doors. She opened them as quietly as she could, then trotted inside. She let her saddlebag slide off of her back, then retrieved the box of chocolates that she’d bought a little earlier.
Holding it under her left wing, Rainbow trotted through the castle until she found Twilight, who just so happened to be in the exact same spot from earlier. She walked up to her and sat down just like she had done earlier, pressing her flank up against hers. As the sunlight began to dim against the wall in front of them, Rainbow dropped the box of chocolates on top of the open book in front of Twilight. Staying silent, she laid a wing over Twilight’s back and tugged her close.
Rainbow sighed softly as she nuzzled into Twilight’s neck. “I don’t like to be neglected, Twi...”
Twilight shrunk as her marefriend’s words pierced her heart. She opened her right wing and laid it across Rainbow’s back and held on tightly. “I’m sorry for being harsh on you... I just, well... you know how much my work means to me.” She bit her bottom lip and sighed a few moments later. “But that’s no excuse to treat you so badly. Can you forgive me?”
“Already have, my adorable bookworm.” Dash held Twilight’s hoof with her own and laid a small kiss on the side of her neck, just under her chin. She opened her other wing and flipped the lid off of the box of chocolates. “Here, I got you these. I figured we could both indulge ourselves tonight.” She lifted her favorite piece, the one filled with caramel, and held it up for Twilight. Twilight’s ears flicked back and she blushed a bit as she opened her mouth for Rainbow. With a flick of a feather, Rainbow popped the delicious treat into Twilight’s mouth.
“Mmm... that’s goooooood.” Twilight smiled and used her magic to lift up a piece of chocolate for Rainbow.
Rainbow lunged forward and snatched it out of the air with her teeth, then swallowed the entire thing whole with a chuckle.
“Does everything have to be a competition with you, Dashie?” Twilight asked with a light giggle. “Anyways, what time is it?” she asked as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof.
Rainbow nuzzled her and said, “It’s dinner time.”
The two of them flew from the castle out into the night sky. The sun had just vanished below the horizon, the last vestiges of light fading away slowly. Instead of flying as fast as possible, Rainbow held herself back for Twilight, knowing that nopony likes to show up to dinner all sweaty and exhausted.
“Trust me, you’re gonna love this.” Dash landed on the cloud outside of her front door and placed a hoof on the doorknob. Then, without wasting another moment, Dash opened the front door and nodded for Twilight to go in.
Twilight shot Rainbow a curious smile as she stepped inside. Rose petals lined the floor leading further into the house, and what looked to be hundreds of little red paper hearts hung from the ceiling. “Dash, this... it’s beautiful,” she whispered in awe. It must have taken her hours to set this all up!
“Well, beautiful ponies deserve beautiful things,” Rainbow said. Twilight glanced at her and snickered. “Okay fine, that was super cheesy, but hey, I had to try!”
“Oh, it was totally cheesy, but luckily for you, I like that sort of cheesy.” Twilight followed Rainbow down the path of rose petals until they stopped in front of a small glass table set near the large bay window of the living room. Two candles lay already lit, their flickering glow providing a light soft enough to light the dark room. Two thick cushions sat on either side of the table, so she picked the one on the left and sat down.
Bread lay in a basket to her right with a small tray of olive oil right next to it. To her left lay a large bowl of salad, and right in the middle sat a small bowl holding eight chocolate-covered strawberries. “Rainbow, this... wow,” she said breathlessly. Her ears flicked back as Rainbow smiled at her, and she felt her cheeks warm up as she blushed. “After how I treated you, this is...”
“Shh... it’s alright.” Rainbow lifted a strawberry from the small platter, leaned over the table, and pressed it up against Twilight’s lips.
Twilight opened her mouth and let Rainbow place the strawberry on her tongue. A multitude of sweet flavors caressed her tongue before she swallowed it. “Dang, I never knew you could make all of this,” she said as she eyed another strawberry.
Dinner was spent mostly in silence as the two of them dug into it all. They snuck many looks at each other, always looking away when the other caught them. Before long, dinner was done and all the food was gone.
“Here, since you spent so much time putting all of this together, I’ll take care of these dishes.” Twilight stood up and lit her horn, then lifted up all of the dishes from the table. As she began to trot away, she heard Rainbow scramble back to her hooves a moment later.
“Hey, er... wanna just go upstairs and snuggle instead? We can totally do the dishes later!” Rainbow said rather quickly. She flew in front of Twilight and made her stop right outside the kitchen door.
Twilight stepped past Rainbow and pushed open the kitchen door as she looked at her marefriend. “Oh, don’t be silly, Dash! We can clean these real quick, and then... oh.” Twilight found Rainbow’s kitchen an absolute wreck. Dirty dishes covered nearly all of the space on the counters. “Hehe, so you wanted to trash another kitchen, hm? I hope that this isn’t going to be a thing with you...” she said with a giggle as she placed the plates into the sink.
“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that!” Rainbow stepped up to her and guided her back around outside of the kitchen. “So... ya wanna go snuggle and read a book together upstairs?”
Twilight kissed Dash on the lips and bumped her flank with her own. “You knew just what was on my mind, Dashie!”
