Rainbow Dash is grounded by a storm in Ponyville. She find's sanctuary within the library but Twilight Sparkle soon finds out that the storm isn't Rainbow's only problem.
Rainbow Dash is grounded by a storm in Ponyville. She finds sanctuary within the library but Twilight Sparkle soon finds out that the storm isn't Rainbow's only problem. She's suffering from a very personal pegasus problem and Twilight has taken it upon herself to look after her friend during this delicate time.
Twilight Sparkle was soaked to the bone. Her wet mane was plastered against her neck as she bolted towards her library home. Under normal circumstances Twilight wouldn’t have been caught out by the sudden downpour, if a certain cyan pegasus had been doing her job. The forecast was for clear skies and rain through the night but the clouds had opened before noon, catching the vast majority of the Ponyville population completely off guard. Twilight wasn’t the only pony rushing for cover and she had to dodge and weave around other ponies. She glanced upwards and saw pegasus ponies desperately trying to put new clouds into place while others were trying to keep others from drifting away. The wind changed direction without warning, dumping what felt like a bucket of rainwater in her face. What is Rainbow doing up there? Twilight asked herself, spitting water. This rain wasn't due until tonight. Expecting to see Rainbow Dash, Twilight kept scanning the clouds, looking for her friend. The cyan pegasus was nowhere to be seen and it was clear that the pegasi were losing control of the situation as the wind picked up again. The weather patrol's squad leader seemed to realize that the team was out of his depth at the same instant as Twilight and called his team out of harm's way. Twilight picked up her pace, running flat-out back to the library and above her, the wind started to howl.
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Rainbow Dash looped the loop before turning sharply and going into a steep dive. She hurtled towards the ground at almost full speed, only pulling up again at the last second. The pegasus rolled, hugging the ground as she weaved around the tree trunks at the edge of the Everfree forest. Reaching the end of the row of trees, Rainbow pulled up again. Soaring away from the forest, Rainbow punched through first one then more clouds, each time causing a burst of water droplets and a miniature rainbow to form behind her. She pulled up harshly and landed on the only cloud she'd avoided popping and stretched, flexing to prevent herself seizing up after the vigorous routine.
"Oh yeah! Wonderbolt's here I come!" She cried into the empty sky. At least it had been empty when she started her routine. Looking up into the sky from her cloudy perch, Rainbow saw another pegasus moving a black cloud into place above Ponyville. Her preening was brought to an abrupt halt as the feather she was moving back into place came away from her wing. Rainbow went pale under her coat, spitting the offending feather away into the breeze. She'd completely forgotten about her yearly cycle and from the itch in her wings, she was well into the first stage. I'd better get going. Rainbow thought as she re-ordered her feathers in preparation for the flight to Fluttershy's cottage. She launched herself from her cloud, intending to soar the short distance to Fluttershy's cottage but only managed an undignified tumble through the air. Even losing only a few feathers was enough to throw off her flight dynamics. It was infuriating to Rainbow Dash that her greatest passion always hung by a knife edge of a couple of feathers. She landed heavily, leaving stars dancing before her eyes. Flying was clearly out of the question, she didn't like the prospect of relearning how her wings behaved in the air with a storm on the way so that only left walking.
"And this is what I get for ignoring the signs," Rainbow moaned, trotting off towards Fluttershy's, "my aerodynamics are completely off..."
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The wind wrenched the library door from Twilight's magical grip and slammed it shut. Twilight dashed around the library, checking the windows were shut tight and the magical lightning rod was in place. The last thing she wanted was to go back out into the wind and rain tonight. But her home was secure and she relaxed. Spike appeared next to her holding out a towel for Twilight as she brushed her soaking mane off her face. The little dragon had been tiding the library when Twilight burst in but he'd stopped sorting books and found a towel for Twilight to dry herself with.
"Thanks Spike," Twilight said, levitating the towel from his claws.
"I thought the rain was due for later?" the baby dragon asked as Twilight rubbed her mane with the towel
"Rainbow Dash probably wanted to kick things off with a bang," Twilight told him, "but from what I saw, the weather team lost control over the storm as it was getting going."
"Suppose there's nothing to do but wait until it blows itself out then." Spike sighed, "And I was looking forwards to going gem hunting with Rarity tomorrow."
"You'll just have to take a..." Twilight giggled, "rain-check." Spike snorted and started sorting away the piles of books again.
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Rainbow hammered on the front door of Fluttershy's cottage. The rain was growing heavier with each passing second and she was in no condition to fly away from the cloudburst. She was getting desperate when she realized there was a note pinned to the door.
Gone to Everfree Forest to see Zecora. Be back soon.
Rainbow couldn't suppress a scream of frustration. Just her luck that Fluttershy had chosen now to disappear, right when Rainbow Dash needed her the most. The rainbow maned pegasus frowned as she tried to think of somewhere else to get out of the rain. Sweet Apple Acres was way too far away to walk, especially in this weather and Rainbow really didn't want to be around Applejack right now or Rarity for that matter. Pinkie Pie was also out of the question, she was probably looking after the Cake twins again. That left only Twilight's place and a dash through the centre of the storm.
"Any port in a storm," Rainbow muttered, tearing off back towards Ponyville as fast as she could.
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Twilight finished drying her tale, dropping the wet towel to the library floor. She shook herself, letting her coat fluff up again as she crossed the library. In the half hour since she'd come home, she'd seen the winds pick up again and rain was now coming down in buckets. Tossing the towel into the laundry basket, Twilight spotted Spike yawning. He blinked and yawned again, wobbling on his feet.
"Come on Spike, off to bed," She smiled and her horn glowed, lifting Spike from the floor and floating him up the stairs, "It's past your bedtime anyway." Spike hand managed to sort most of the piles of books she'd left out in the morning, which was rather impressive considering most of the piles were taller than the dragon himself. Spike was asleep even before Twilight finished tucking him into his basket. The unicorn looked around as a bright light flashed from outside.
"I am so glad I managed to get home before the lightning started." As if on cue a crash of thunder rolled through the library. At first Twilight thought the thunder had become stuck in the library until she realized that it was somepony's hooves hammering on the library door.
Racing down the stairs to the library's front door, Twilight hauled it open with magic as she reached it. She blinked as she saw Rainbow Dash sitting on the doorstep. She was soaked to the skin, water running in streams from her wings, mane and coat.
"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "I'm getting wet if you haven't noticed." Twilight shook herself, "Come in Rainbow and we'll get you dried off."
"Thanks Twi." Twilight shut the door and had the good sense to retreat to the bathroom as Rainbow tried to shake herself dry. She was only partly successful, she was still soggy and was now standing in a puddle.
"Did you get caught by the rain too?" Twilight asked from the bathroom as she looked for another towel.
"Yeah." Rainbow replied, "Something like that."
"Were you up with the other pegasi on weather patrol? It seems like this storm got out of control."
"Nah, I'm off duty for a while. I'm cashing my holiday time. Guess I picked a bad time." As Twilight bustled around the bathroom looking for as many towels as she could, Rainbow took a breath, readying herself to sound calm and normal.
"Twilight, can I crash here for a while?"
"Sure, you can stay here until the storm lets up," Twilight replied, coming out of the bathroom with a pile of towels. The pegasus was still trying to sound nonchalant despite being quite nervous.
"I meant a little longer than that." Twilight's leaned around the bathroom door and made a face that asked 'how much longer?'
"Couple of days, just until Fluttershy gets back from visiting Zecora. Need to see her about a few things." Twilight continued making an inquisitive face.
"I'm getting some work done on my house so I need a place to stay, clouds are high maintenance. Fluttershy said I could crash on her sofa." Rainbow was running out of convincing excuses and she willed Twilight to drop the subject, knowing it was unlikely due to the unicorn's curiosity. The pegasus only just managed to suppress a sigh of relief as Twilight disappeared back into the bathroom.
"Fluttershy shouldn't be gone that long with all her animals to look after."
Twilight trotted up to Rainbow and sat beside her, levitating a towel over her head before starting to dry the pegasus. Rainbow flinched as the flannel shifted down her back to her wings, being far rougher than she would have liked.
"Hey cut it out!" Rainbow snapped, struggling against the flurry of towel. She struggled against the towel, batting it aside with her forelegs. The towels caught around Rainbow's wing and she felt a cold chill as two of her feathers came loose. In slow motion, a horrified Rainbow watched the two cyan feathers drift to the floor. Twilight noticed the feathers and froze the towels in the air.
"Aw pony feathers..." Rainbow sighed before flopping onto the library floor. She realised the irony of what she'd just uttered and deliberately banged her forehead against the wood floor.
"Rainbow," Twilight nudged the feathers on the floor with the top of her hoof, "are you losing your feathers?" Rainbow nodded, reluctantly lifting her head off the floor.
"You're sick? Feather Flu? We need to dry you off quickly, being cold and wet will only make it worse!" Twilight animated the other towels and they swamped Rainbow, making her disappear in a flurry of flannel.
"Twilight," Rainbow tried to interrupt, almost choking on a mouthful of towel but the lavender unicorn wasn't listening.
"But it might not be a pegasus exclusive disease!" Twilight was in full panic by now. She stood, dashing to the shelves containing medical books and started hauling them off the shelves.
"Twilight." Rainbow's voice was louder this time.
"Thousand and one maladies," Twilight opened the book and she scanned the index for feathers, "Pegasus. Feathers. Losing of, page three hundred and seven." Twilight continued rambling as she searched through the book.
"Twilight!" Rainbow had to shout to break her friend's ramblings, "It's not a disease. It's a natural part of a pegasus' life." Twilight calmed down and putting the book back on the shelve. She trotted back up to where Rainbow was sitting and sat down next to her again.
"Once a year a pegasus sheds their old and damaged feathers and grow new ones to replace the old ones." The unicorn continued to look inquisitive, waiting for Rainbow to yield further information. When she didn't, Twilight spoke up.
"So you're moulting?" Rainbow nodded, "It's a very private part of a pegasus' life, not something we discuss with just anypony. And it means for the next couple of weeks I'm... gonna be.... kinda.... grounded. Normally I'd hide out at Fluttershy's place until this whole thing was over. And until it is over, I'm grounded."
Twilight reached over and drew Rainbow into a hug in an attempt to comfort her. Rainbow returned the hug, shrugging off most of the towels to do so. The two ponies separated and Twilight stood up. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was past nine.
"Seeing as you're not flying home in this weather, you can stay here. Come on, we'd better set up your bed." Rainbow shrugged off the last of the towels and followed Twilight up the stairs to her bedroom.
"So how long are you going to be..." Twilight fought for the right words, trying not to further upset her friend, "out of action for."
"About three weeks at best, but it usually takes a month for me to completely replace my feathers."
"And I'm guessing this is what you needed to see Fluttershy about." Rainbow didn't respond as Twilight's horn glowed and a second bed flashed into existence.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Came Spike's voice followed by a thump as the little dragon stood up.
"Sorry Spike," Twilight called as she levitated the now dazed dragon and his basket out from under the new bed.
She set it down next to her own bed and tucked him in again. Rainbow dragged her hooves across the floor and flopped onto her bed. Twilight had never seen her friend so dejected, she'd normally be hovering above her head and occasionally zipping around the library. Rainbow sitting still on the floor for more than thirty seconds had been unnerving. A thought occurred to Twilight and it burst from her mouth before she could stop herself.
"So Fluttershy has to deal with this too?" The cyan pegasus nodded, "she lucked out in that department. Takes her just a week to finish up and grow her new feathers." Rainbow knew her animal loving friend would never forgive her if she told Twilight how Fluttershy dealt with her own moult. The second Fluttershy felt the itch in her wings, she rushed to Sugarcube Corner and pigged out on enough pastries and cakes to let her replace her feathers in a week. The shy pegasus would probably die of embarrassment if Rainbow let that slip.
Twilight watched Rainbow curl up under the covers and seem to go to sleep. She turned down the lights with a spark of magic and quietly walked back down the stairs to the ground floor. She crossed to the 'P' shelves and started scanning the spines of the book. After two rows she found a promising book and levitated it free from shelf.
Pegasi anatomy and physiology.
The book floated behind her as she crossed to her desk, lighting the lamp on the desk with magic as she did. She placed the book on the table. Twilight flicked through the book to the index, noting the relevant page and turned to the section on moulting.
Pegasi shed their wing feathers in a yearly cycle, this process involves the shedding of old and damaged feathers before they are replaced with new ones.
So far so good. Exactly as Rainbow had said.
Although each pegasus is different and physiology may vary, the cycle of moulting follows two general stages.
The first stage is known as the shedding phase. As the name indicates, this stages is characterised by the loosening and falling of first the primary then secondary flight feathers. Down feathers are also shed but are replaced much more easily than the larger flight feathers. Individual cases may vary in the order of shedding but the general the pattern is consistent throughout.
The second stage, which often overlaps with the dropping of the final larger feathers, involves the replacement of the shed feathers. The new feathers, known as pin or blood feathers, emerge from the skin in a sheath called a quill. This membrane contains a blood vessel to supply the growing feather. During this time, the new pin feathers are sensitive to touch and can be painful for the moulting pegasus. The blood vessel within the feather soon retracts and the quill disintegrates, leaving a fully formed feather in its place.
The loss of old feathers is a source of skin irritation resulting in itchiness, this is believed to be a process that aids in the shedding of old feathers. Later, when the pin feathers are in evidence, preening and contact is not recommended as this may result in deformation or damaging of the new feathers.
Twilight continued scanning the book but it delved further into the complex biology of feather regrowth and wing anatomy. Finishing the moulting section, she closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. She searched the other sections of the library, looking for further research material until she came across another suitable one.
A Pegasus' Guide to Moulting.
The book seemed to be aimed for younger readers as it wasn't nearly as thick as the anatomy text book and the font was much larger. She opened the book and started reading.
During your moult, your body undergoes many changes as it replaces your old feathers with new ones. The first sign that your body is getting ready to moult is a persistent itch in your wings. This itch can often be alleviated by gentle washing of your wings with a damp cloth. Washing also prevents the quill of the feather from cracking prematurely and damaging the developing feathers. Flying may become very difficult if not impossible during your moult so it helps to avoid situations where you may be stuck on the ground or away from home.
Twilight nodded as she read that last line, Rainbow had been caught out through no fault of her own but at least she'd be safe in the library. She skimmed the book, flicking over several pages as she did.
It is perfectly normal to feel down and be less active during your moult as your body diverts a lot of energy to growing new feathers. During your moult, it helps to find a place where you can relax and let your body get on with the process of replacing feathers. Your new feathers will initially be sensitive to touch and can be painful if handled too roughly. Growing feathers can be uncomfortable and you may end up a little short tempered during a moult, it's not easy but try and be considerate to those around you.
Twilight made a note to not take anything Rainbow said in the next few days too personally. She turned more pages, landing on the quick summary pages towards the end of the book
As we covered earlier in the book, the following steps will reduce the stress on your body and time taken for you to complete your moult.
Keeping warm when moulting is very important as your wings have large blood vessels and without feathers, you can lose a lot of head very quickly. Warm clothing is recommended to reduce heat loss from your wings.
Resting reduces the time your body will take to complete your moult, as flying and other sporting activities force energy away from growing new feathers. Light exercise is alright, but heavy exertion and extreme sports are to be avoided.
Preening is very important during your moult, to help the dropping of old feathers and ease the growth of new pin feathers. However once the pin feathers have come through the skin, they are best left alone as excessive preening can damage the developing feathers. Some preening in necessary to remove the quill from your new feathers but this should be kept to a minimum. It helps to have another pegasus, a family member or close friend, preen the areas you cannot reach, such as the base of your wing to help shed the quill.
A balanced diet is another important factor when moulting. Feathers are mostly protein so it is important to increase your intake of protein to make sure you have enough for healthy feathers. Increased appetite is also another common side effect of moulting.
Twilight flicked through the book again and once she was sure she'd memorized all she needed, floated the book back to the shelf. She climbed the stairs, keeping as quiet as she could so as not to wake Rainbow Dash, before sliding under the covers of her bed. Spike muttered something about ice-cream and Rarity as he rolled over in his basket.
Tomorrow morning she'd wake him up early and have him help with making a plan of action. Rainbow was going through a difficult period of her life but Twilight was going to do all she could to make it easier for her friend.
With a final spark of magic, Twilight turned off the lights inside the library and closed her eyes. She was asleep within five minutes.
The storm was still blowing strong the next morning when Twilight woke up. She looked at the rattling window as she slipped out of bed, making a mental note to check for storm damage once the weather improved.
"Come on Spike." She nudged the baby dragon, "we've got plans to make." Spike murmured something and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to ignore Twilight.
"Up, up Spike. I need my number one assistant on top form this morning. Lots to do, lots to do." He reluctantly let Twilight pull his covers away and rolled out of his basket.
"What time is it?" he asked, blinking sleep from the corners of his eyes.
"Seven AM." The unicorn chirruped. Could be worse. Spike thought as he yawned. At least it's not five in the morning. Following Twilight down the stairs, Spike proceeded to gather parchment, quills, ink and everything else Twilight usually needed for planning. He sat himself at Twilight's desk while she trotted around the library. She maintained that her best ideas occurred “when her brain was adequately supplied with highly oxygenated blood”. In layman's terms, she thought best on her hooves.
"OK. Top priority, modify shopping list. Double the number of eggs and add tofu to the list," Twilight instructed, passing by Spike on her first circuit of the library. Spike pulled the appropriate parchment onto the desk and added said items.
"Rainbow is going to be bored so find all the Daring Do books in the library. Find anything similar to Daring Do books in chase she finishes them." Twilight was thankful that Spike was still too sleepy to remember what he was writing down. It would save her explaining Rainbow's problem to more ponies than she had to. Twilight paused, remembering how bored Rainbow was when she was in the hospital with an injured wing.
"Change that to 'very bored' and 'anything' to 'everything'.” The scratching sound of Spike's quill stopped as he yawned again. "Urgent but pending: I need to see Fluttershy. Rainbow will probably want to move to Fluttershy's cottage once she's back." Twilight stopped and looked over Spike's shoulder at her plan. It wasn't as detailed or thorough as she would have liked it to be, but it would have to do. She rolled the scroll up with magic and floated it into her saddlebag before putting the bags onto her back. "Thanks Spike, you can go back to bed now." "Don't see why you needed me..." sighed the baby dragon before he slid off the seat and headed back towards his basket. "Take care of Rainbow Dash while I'm out," Twilight called to him as he went. Spike waved a reply as Twilight crossed to the front door. She lifted her rain hat from its peg and secured it tightly to her head before lifting a matching coat from the same peg. I must thank Rarity for these next time I see her. Twilight thought as she buttoned the coat. Confident that she was ready and able to survive the storm outside, Twilight opened the door.
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Rainbow Dash was feeling far less awesome than her normal self. She had none of the energy or enthusiasm for life that she usually displayed. Even her mane and tail seemed less vibrant. She couldn’t even bring herself to push the covers away from her face.
Curled up under the covers of Twilight's spare bed, she tried to ignore the itching and throbbing that was coming from both of her wings. None of her old feathers were ready to drop yet despite all of her efforts, gentle or vigorous, to convince them otherwise. The only thing that her preening attempts had caused was sore wings. On any regular day, Rainbow Dash would have woken up late, eaten breakfast, preened her feathers before taking off and going on weather patrol. It wasn't a pattern she followed every day. Sometimes she woke early, finished her work before lunchtime then spent the rest of the day dozing on a cloud. The pegasus wanted to be zooming around Ponyville, pulling off awesome stunts and dazzling her numerous admirers. But the way she was feeling now, Rainbow doubted she could find the energy to roll over in bed. Sighing dejectedly, Rainbow closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. "You alright Rainbow Dash? Need anything?" Spike's voice brought her back to reality and she looked up to see his silhouette though the sheets. She grunted a response, neither positive or negative, before curling into a tighter ball. She ignored the itchiness her wings and tried go back to sleep. She drifted off within a few minutes. Spike watched the lump under the covers that was Rainbow shuffle around, unsure whether she wanted anything or not. The sound of gentle breathing soon filled the library and Spike went back to tidying the library.
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Struggling against the fierce wind, Twilight struggled down the main street of Ponyville. Seeing only shops with their shutters drawn and empty stalls, she let out an exasperated sigh. In the process of making plans and lists of how to deal with Rainbow's condition, the thought that the market wouldn't be open hadn't occurred to her. She was about to turn and canter back to her warm and dry library when a sign hammered into the ground caught her eye. Market moved to town hall due to weather. Twilight turned, thankful that the wind was now behind her, and headed off at full speed towards the town hall. It was only a short dash to the hall, but Twilight was eager to get out of the wind and rain. As she approached the town hall, she saw the front doors were propped open but the inner ones were shut. Reaching the steps of the hall, the wind caught Twilight and threw her up the stairs and into the hall. She landed hard on her flank and quickly scrambled back to her hooves, pretending that hadn't happened. Nopony seemed to have noticed her unceremonious entry, so Twilight put it behind her and entered the hall. Makeshift stalls were clustered around the inside of the hall and ponies of all colours and types were milling around them. Twilight shook off the worst of the rain as she spotted Applejack's stall and crossed to her.
"Mornin' Twilight." Applejack called to her, "Wind’s blowin' something fierce out there."
"You can say that again." Twilight levitated her list from her saddlebags under her raincoat, shedding even more water onto the floor.
"Yer usual?" Applejack asked.
"And again please." Applejack raised an inquiring eyebrow as she pushed a dozen apples towards Twilight. "Want to fill me in Sugarcube?"
"Rainbow Dash is crashing at my place for a while. She's... um... not feeling well." It was a lame excuse, but it was all Twilight was able to improvise. Applejack nodded, "Guess that explains why this rain came out of nowhere." Twilight managed to hide a sigh of relief as Applejack tidied away the money she had dropped on the counter. Twilight swept the apples into her saddlebag
"Anyway, you're busy so I'll see you later." Twilight waved her hoof at the other pony who had just approached the stall. "See ya later then, Twi," Applejack said as she turned to the new pony. Crossing apples off her list, Twilight started drifting from stall to stall and picking up the other items on her list. She bumped into a few ponies she knew in passing, all of whom were dressed in their own raingear. Twilight realized that they were all Rarity's. Must be doing a roaring trade in this weather. Twilight thought as a familiar squeak met her ears. She looked around and, as she'd expected, Fluttershy had just appeared next to her. Fluttershy placed a basket on the floor by her hooves.
"Hello Fluttershy," Twilight returned the greeting.
"This rain took us by surprise," Fluttershy said, "I had to bring my animals into the house. Did Rainbow Dash forget the weather schedule?"
"Rainbow Dash wasn't on duty last night." Twilight said absently, looking over her list again, "she was looking for you though." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, puzzled for a moment before going white.
"Oh no... it's her time, isn't it? And I was away last night too. Do you know where she went? She can't be have gotten home last night, not in this storm and with her wings like that.” Twilight raised her hoof, stopping Fluttershy mid panic.
"Relax Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash is occupying my spare bed."
"But I... She... feathers... pegasus..." Twilight couldn't make out anything more Fluttershy said as her voice devolved into squeaks and mutters.
"Calm down Fluttershy. I know about Dash's problem, that's why I left her in the library. Speaking of which, have your chickens laid any spare eggs?" Fluttershy was caught off guard by Twilight's sudden question.
"Eggs? Why?"
"Protein. Feathers are almost all protein so Rainbow will need extra to replace them."
"I have a few spare that I was going to sell," Fluttershy tapped a basket at her hooves, "but you can have a box if you need it.
"Thanks." Twilight lifted one of the egg boxes from Fluttershy's basket with magic before tucking it into her saddlebag. Fluttershy waited for Twilight to finish before resuming their conversation.
"Did Rainbow tell you that I normally look after Rainbow Dash while she's... not well?" Twilight nodded, "If you want to look after her, we can swing by the library and you can pick her up."
"Well...em..." Twilight waited patiently for Fluttershy to untangle her tongue, "Rainbow Dash will probably have made... a nest. She's not going to want to go outside or even leave her bed until she's finished."
"I was expecting that." Twilight replied. Fluttershy blinked in surprise.
"The book I found in the library said that it's best for moulting pegasi to find somewhere they can relax and just let their body get on with the process, so I assumed Rainbow wouldn't want to go anywhere."
"You mean you don't mind looking after Rainbow?"
"Let me worry about Dash, you've got enough to deal with having all those animals to look after."
"Thank you Twilight. I really don't mind looking after her during her moult but I do have a lot of animals who will have colds after being caught in the rain. I can make time to help you look after Rainbow if you..."
"Don't worry about it Fluttershy," Twilight interrupted, "I can look after Rainbow. You just worry about your animals." Fluttershy seemed to take Twilight's statement literally as her expression became a concerned one.
"I told Angel I'd only be an hour, but it took me that long to get here. Sorry Twilight, I've got to get back to them. Tell Dash I'll come by and see her later. If...that's alright with you..."
"I'll see you later then, Fluttershy," Twilight called as Fluttershy grabbed her basket and dashed off towards the Hall's main doors.
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The rain was easing by the time Twilight returned to the library but it was still heavy enough to warrant her raincoat. She hung it up to drip dry next to the door, sending her saddlebags floating across the library into the kitchen.
"I'm back Spike," Twilight called, following her bag into the kitchen. Spike appeared in the kitchen doorway, following Twilight inside.
"Did Rainbow Dash needed anything while I was out?"
"Nope, she's been asleep most of the time." Twilight nodded, unloading her bags onto the counter. Spike watched her unload the carton of eggs she'd bought from Fluttershy, along with apples, seeds and bread across the counter. Twilight shook her saddlebag and with a wet slap, two Tofu slabs dropped onto the counter. Spike looked at the tofu with a mixed expression, clearly unsure about it, and prodded one with a claw.
"What in Equestria made you buy these things?"
"Good source of protein," Twilight muttered, her nose in a cookbook, "here we go, scrambled eggs." The eggs sprang out of their carton and started to orbit around Twilight's head as she summoned a bowl and milk from the other side of the kitchen. The eggs cracked themselves against the edge of the bowl before their shells were deposited on the counter again. The milk bottle upended itself, dumping most of its contents into the bowl with the eggs. Spike had to duck to avoid a whisk that jumped out it's drawer and zoomed across the room. With eggshells and cooking utensils flying around the kitchen, Spike decided to get out of the firing line. He grabbed Twilight's saddlebag before ducking out through the doorway.
"I'll put this away," he called to Twilight
"Thanks Spike," Twilight replied, magically animating the whisk. Twilight continued reading the cookbook as she beat the eggs and milk together before pouring the mixture into a pan. She put the pan on the stove, lit the burner and fetched a wooden spatula all while her nose was still buried in her book. She put the book down as Spike came back into the kitchen and she turned to look at him.
"Keep an eye on this for me Spike." Twilight told him, levitating the spatula into his claw, "It shouldn't need a more than five minutes but make sure it doesn't burn. I'll go wake up Rainbow."
"Got it." Spike replied. Trotting out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Twilight was greeted by the sight of a bundle of covers curled up on the guest bed. Twilight heard the sound of gentle breathing, and the occasional snore, coming from under the covers as walked along the edge of the bed. Twilight gently shook the pile of covers.
"Rainbow, breakfast is nearly ready," the Unicorn called, using the same voice she used to wake Spike. Rainbow gave a groan from under the sheets, making it clear she didn't want to get out of bed.
"What time is it?" Dash's voice asked. Twilight glanced at the clock. "Half past eight." Another groan and the bundle closed into a tighter ball. "Another three hours. Please." Twilight realized that sterner measures would be needed; she grabbed the exposed corner of the duvet in her mouth and hauled with all her might. Rainbow Dash felt her world spin as her cocoon was wrenched away from her and she was dumped on the floor. Landing on her back with her hooves in the air, Dash tried to find the duvet and cover herself again but it was far out of her reach. Standing over her, Twilight fixed Rainbow with an authoritative stare.
"Come on Dash, back on the bed and let me check your wings." Rainbow sputtered as she tried to get back to her hooves, "They... they're fine. I don't know what you're talking about." Twilight tapped the bed with her hoof, "Let me see them." Realizing that Twilight wasn't going to take no for an answer, Rainbow reluctantly got back onto the bed again, lay down and spread her wings. If Rainbow Dash had been her normal self, she would have fought back or bolted, but she had little of her usual energy today. Stupid moulting. She thought, why does it always feel like I've just done three Rainbooms in a row? I need all my strength to be awesome.
"Let me know if I'm being too rough," Twilight told her friend. Rainbow grunted, looking far from happy. Twilight lifted Rainbow's left wing and Rainbow flinched at the contact but didn't make a sound as she let her wing relax again. After checking Rainbow's wing all over, Twilight shifted position and repeated the process on Rainbow's other wing, checking for loose feathers but finding none.
"All done," Twilight chirruped. "Let's see how Spike is doing with breakfast." As Twilight headed back down the stairs Rainbow grabbed the duvet again, wrapping it around herself like a cloak before following Twilight. The two ponies returned to the kitchen in time to see Spike putting three plates of scrambled eggs onto the table. Dash sat opposite Twilight, still keeping the duvet wrapped around herself, and gave the plateful a cautious poke with the tip of her hoof.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Scrambled eggs." The cyan pegasus pulled a face but Twilight couldn't tell if it was in disgust or confusion.
"It's high in protein," Twilight explained, "It's the perfect food for you right now." There was a loud crunch that made both ponies look up. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but stare as she saw Spike's plateful had egg shells mixed in with his portion.
"I like crunchy food." was all Spike said as he took another mouthful. Rainbow looked back at her own food and pulled the same face again, still prodding her breakfast with her hoof.
"You can eat it hot or you can eat it cold, but either way you are going to eat it," Twilight said, slightly concerned that she was starting to sound like her own mother.
"Can I at least have ketchup?" Rainbow whined. Twilight rolled her eyes but the bottle of ketchup winked onto the table. Rainbow Dash applied a liberal coating of ketchup and Twilight rolled her eyes again. Today is going to be a long day, the unicorn thought as she started eating her own breakfast.
Over the next few days a pattern was established: Rainbow Dash woke up, had breakfast with Twilight and Spike, then retreated to her bed. She spent her days curled up under the covers, emerging briefly only for food or to use the bathroom. Twilight had a pile of Daring Do books on standby, but so far Rainbow hadn't done much beyond eat and sleep. Rainbow herself was in a daze. She was aware of days passing, but took no interest in them though she had enough brain power left over to tell Twilight that this was normal for her and stop her worrying.
About a week after she had first arrived on Twilight's doorstep, Rainbow woke early and stretched each part of her body in turn. She was starting to feel like her old self until she noticed the itch in her wings again, but this time when she fluffed up her feathers, it flared up stronger. She pulled her left wing around and began preening only to have feathers soon fill her mouth. Groaning as she spat feathers, she tried again but another feather detached.
"Rainbow! Breakfast is ready!" Twilight called up the stairs.
Giving up on preening, Rainbow grabbed the duvet and wrapped it around herself as she usually did before heading towards food.
-------------
Breakfast occurred with little conversation, all parties focused on eating. Spike was the only one to break the silence with the occasional crunch of eggshells. Once everyone had finished, Twilight levitated all the dishes into the sink.
"Thanks for breakfast, Twilight," Rainbow said, feeling a little more energetic than yesterday.
"You're welcome."
Rainbow left the kitchen and made her way back to the bedroom, intent on more sleep. She trotted back up the stairs, duvet and all, and slid back onto the bed. She tucked herself into bed and was about to close her eyes when she heard Twilight's hooves on the stairs.
Twilight paused as she saw the feathers scattered on the floor. Quickly checking her mental list, Twilight checked off the first stage of moulting as she moved towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow knew what was coming, but didn't react fast enough to prevent Twilight whisking the duvet away from her.
"Let me see," Twilight ordered, leaving Rainbow in no doubt that she wasn't about to leave her alone until she'd performed her self-appointed duties.
At first it had bothered her when Twilight had checked her wings, but she had passed that off as a concerned friend who didn't quite understand pegasus taboos. A pegasus' wings were both important limbs and tools for their weather work. A pegasus putting the care of their wings into another pony's hooves was something only especially close friends or partners did. True, Twilight was her friend, but she hadn't known her nearly as long as she had Fluttershy, and even when dealing with the timid pegasus Rainbow was reluctant to let Fluttershy preen her. Rainbow knew Twilight meant well, and, though unwilling to admit it aloud, she kind of liked having somepony to fuss over her while she wasn't one hundred and ten percent awesome.
"Feeling any better?" Twilight asked.
Realizing her friend had finished, Rainbow fluffed up her feathers again and stretched.
"A little," Rainbow replied with some of her usual attitude, "Though I'm probably going to go mad if my wings don't stop itching."
Twilight grinned as she knew this had been coming and with a flash of magic, produced a pile of books that landed beside Rainbow's bed.
"I've got these for you to read, Rainbow." Twilight tapped her hoof against the pile of books she'd deposited beside the bed. "Every Daring Do book in the library and more of the same kind of books. This should keep you occupied."
Rainbow gawped at the pile of books that was almost as tall as Big Macintosh before grabbing the one from the top.
"Thanks, Twilight." Rainbow called as her friend went back down the stairs.
Opening the first book, Dash launched herself into the world of Daring Do.
-------------
Hooves thundering against the ground, Daring Do raced around the last turn in the cave and burst out into the jungle. She was dazzled for a second in the bright sunlight, but couldn't afford to slow. Spreading her wings, she launched herself into the air just in time to avoid the giant boulder that had been rolling down the tunnel after her. Daring soared up into the canopy, banking around the trees without effort despite the treasure-laden satchel on her back. Heading up into the canopy of the trees, Daring was about to break through into the open sky when a vine lashed out and tried to snare her. Managing to avoid the plant by the skin of her teeth, Daring was confronted by a waving mass of plant mouths.
Dash twitched, ignoring the itch in her left wing.
The giant Venus flytrap was the only thing blocking her route out of the canopy. But despite being fixed to the branch of a sturdy tree, it wasn't about to let her escape the jungle without a fight. More vines whipped out to snatch the pegasus out of the air. Diving and looping, Daring flew around the around the plant. The creature tried to catch the nimble pegasus, but Daring avoided every vine and stem as she flew rings around it.
Rainbow rubbed her back against the bed covers in an attempt to ease the itch spreading across her wings.
Daring flashed the plant a smirk as it tried to untangle it's vines and mouths from the tangle that it had gotten itself into by trying to follow the pegasus. Without a backward glance, Daring shot upwards through a gap in the sea of leaves, up into the sky and...
Rainbow dropped the book and screamed as she attacked her own feathers.
-------------
Twilight looked up from her spell scrolls as Rainbow's cry filled the library. She scrambled to her hooves and shot up the stairs, wondering why Dash was making such a racket. The answer was evident as she reached the top of the staircase. Bed clothes in disarray, feathers scattered across the floor and Rainbow was half hanging off the bed. Lying on her side with her left wing in her mouth, she was clearly trying to get to a patch of feathers that were just outside her reach. Most of the feathers on her wing were dishevelled, having been pushed out of the way in Dash's efforts to get at the one that was irritating her.
"Rainbow, are you alright?"
Rainbow only muttered something unintelligible as was she focused on attacking her feathers. The cyan pegasus was contorting in ways Twilight didn't know ponies could in an attempt to get at her itchy skin. Fearing Rainbow would damage her pin feathers, Twilight felt forced to intervene. She pounced on Dash, pinning her against the bed.
"You're going to wreck your new feathers if you go on like that!"
"But they're so itchy," Rainbow whined. "I'm going mad if I don't scratch them."
Twilight shook her head, realizing there was only one option open to her.
"Rainbow, I'm going to have to preen your wings."
Rainbow went rigid, immediately stopping her haphazard preening.
"There's no need to go that far," she tried to object, "I can handle this-"
Twilight's stern glare quashed Rainbow's argument. "If your feathers grow in wrong, your aerodynamics will be off. What if that causes you to crash and break a wing?"
Silence descended as Rainbow looked away from Twilight's glare. She really didn't want to let Twilight at her wings, but the unicorn was giving her little choice. Rainbow rolled onto her front and spread her left wing for Twilight to start on. Twilight wasn't doing this blindly—she'd read the passage in A Pegasus' Guide to Moulting about preening so as to prepare—but she was still nervous. Twilight knew Rainbow was placing a lot of trust in her, so she had decided to stick to the tried and trusted method. The book said that hooves were more often than not too clumsy for preening, and that the mouth provided the best results. The book didn't include any mention of unicorn magic, so Twilight wasn't about to risk something she didn't know .
"Let me know if I'm being too rough, OK."
Rainbow grunted, not looking back at Twilight so she took that as consent. With slow and gentle movements, Twilight started checking each of Rainbow's feathers, talking each in her mouth and checking to see if it was going to come loose. There were a few feathers that did come away from Rainbow's skin while others remained stubbornly in place, these she lined up with the others. In between the older feathers, Twilight found new pin feathers breaking through Dash's skin, and made sure to be especially gentle with them. Rainbow was used to Fluttershy preening her, but where Fluttershy was as delicate as a butterfly, Twilight was careful and controlled. She doubted Twilight had ever preened another pegasus, but the unicorn seemed to know what she was doing.
And did she have to breathe so hard on her wings?
Twilight switched wings and repeated her actions on the rest of Dash's feathers.
"There's a patch at the base of each of my wings, just between my shoulders." Rainbow muttered, voice muffled by the sheets, "they're glands that make a kind of oil. They're what makes my feathers waterproof."
Twilight found the area Rainbow meant and proceeded to make sure all Rainbow's feathers were covered. Sitting back on the bed, Twilight decided she'd have to brush her teeth to shift the oil left on her lips. She looked down at Rainbow and saw she was asleep. Sliding off the bed carefully so as not to wake her friend, Twilight headed back down stairs to the bathroom.
But Rainbow wasn't asleep, she had her eyes shut pretending to be asleep. Twilight had just done something that had taken Fluttershy years to let Rainbow get close enough to do. And she was alright with that. There was something about Twilight that Rainbow liked, beyond her being a friend. She'd found Twilight easy to talk to, and they shared an interest in the Daring Do books. When Dash had appeared on the library doorstep, Twilight had been eager to help a friend. She had been forced to admit, if only to herself, that she liked Twilight looking after her, but it was more than that. Fluttershy had taken care of her for years before she'd met Twilight and she'd never felt like she did now.
Deciding she'd have to talk to Fluttershy later to figure this out, Rainbow rolled onto her back again and picked up her book from where it had dropped. The adventures of Daring Do soon pushed thoughts of Twilight to the back of her mind.
Downstairs, Twilight left the bathroom and found Spike in the kitchen. He was trying to balance a pile of gems between two slices of bread and failing to keep it steady.
"I'm going out to see Rarity," Twilight told him, "I need to thank her for the raincoat. Will you be alright looking after Dash while I'm gone?"
Spike was obviously disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see his crush, but he didn't complain.
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Thanks Spike. See you later!" Twilight called as she left the dragon to finish fixing his snack
-------------
Rarity looked up from her sewing machine as she heard somepony knocking on the door of her boutique. She was sure she'd put up the 'closed' sign in the door window, but nonetheless, somepony was outside. Leaving her work on the table, she crossed to the door, navigating through the sea of discarded material. She made a futile attempt to tidy as she did, but it made little difference. Opening the door she called out, "We're closed for restocking."
Rarity was delighted to see Twilight standing on the doorstep.
"Twilight, I wasn't expecting you today. Come in dear."
Twilight stepped inside the boutique, avoiding the piles of stray material.
"Excuse the mess." Rarity lead Twilight around the piles of cut-offs and stray thread.
"I was out shopping and I wanted to thank you for the raincoat. I was lucky you gave me one before that storm arrived."
"Think nothing of it," Rarity replied, clearing space on the table before a table cloth. "With you advertising my raincoats, I've received a flood of orders for them. Tea?"
Twilight nodded, "Thank you."
Rarity summoned a teapot and cups, pouring a cup for Twilight before she sent it, complete with saucer, spoon and napkin, towards Twilight.
"But I must speak with Rainbow Dash about that storm," Rarity continued, "We're supposed to get the week's weather in advance, and then we get all that wind and rain thrown at us. It's just not good enough."
"Rainbow wasn't on weather duty that night, she's taking a little time for herself at the moment."
Rarity raised an eyebrow as she analysed Twilight's words.
"She's shedding her feathers, isn't she?"
Twilight choked on her tea. "How did you figure out that?"
"I haven't seen her or heard anything about her for almost a week now. It also helps that Fluttershy was around yesterday and happened to let it slip."
"I've given her all the Daring Do books in the library, but I suspect she'll run out of them too soon for my liking."
"It must be awful for somepony as active as Rainbow dash to be unable to do anything physical for a while.
"I think she'll be back on her hooves soon. I've been helping her preen, so she'll soon be back in the air."
Rarity looked at Twilight in silence for a moment, sipping her tea thoughtfully.
"Twilight darling, you know that preening is a very intimate thing for a pegasus." Rarity's cheeks took on a pink hue. "I think a unicorn equivalent would be cleaning your horn."
Twilight went scarlet. Every unicorn's horn was a no-go area to others except between the most romantically involved ponies.
"How do you know that?" she squeaked.
"One reads romance novels, dear." Rarity levitated her glasses from her nose to the table in front of her. "It's often a mark of trust that a pegasus lets another pony, especially an earth pony or unicorn, preen them. Rainbow and Fluttershy know each other well enough to be let each other be that close, but..."
Rarity trailed off, her silence implying more than anything she might have added. Twilight eventually broke the silence by banging her head against the table. The cups jumped, spilling tea across the table as Twilight hit the wood.
"Twilight! Are you alright?"
Twilight didn't reply. How could she have been so stupid? She'd wanted to help Dash get back to normal quickly, but hadn't realized she'd crossed a line.
"I've just...”
"What are you talking about, darling?"
"I didn't even ask Rainbow if she'd let me preen her feathers. I just did it without thinking. She'll probably never forgive me.”
Rarity shook her head. "Rainbow isn't the kind of Pegasus to hold a grudge. Just explain to her that you didn't know and apologize to her."
"I hope you're right."
-------------
Twilight was dragging her hooves, reluctant to return to the library. More accurately, she didn't want to face Rainbow Dash again. She was petrified that Rainbow wouldn't want anything to do with her after the preening that she'd given her. Twilight was so deep in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the comet screaming towards her at mach nine. The next thing Twilight was aware of was that the sky and ground had switched positions. For a second, she thought Rainbow Dash had collided with her, but the comet was only one colour.
Pink.
"Hello, Pinkie." Twilight sighed as she picked herself up.
Pinkie seemed unperturbed by her collision with Twilight as she was bouncing in place.
"Hiya Twilight, I just finished at Sugarcube Corner, so I decided to go and see Fluttershy because one of her cats just had kittens, and I thought I'd get a head start on planning their first birthday party-"
Twilight pressed her hoof against Pinkie's lips as she took a breath in an attempt to get a word in edgeways.
"That sounds like fun." Twilight's voice held no enthusiasm. "let me know how it goes."
She made to go, but Pinkie stopped her with a hoof on her shoulder.
"What's got you so gloomy, Twilight? You look like somepony forgot your birthday." Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing, "I didn't forget your birthday, did I?"
Twilight stopped Pinkie with the same method as before.
"No Pinkie, you didn't forget my birthday. I'm just worried about something I did."
Twilight started to walk again and Pinkie followed, walking like a normal pony rather than her normal bouncing.
"You didn't forget her birthday, did you?
"This has nothing to do with birthdays, Pinkie!" Twilight snapped, immediately regretting it. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about losing Rainbow as a friend."
"What would make you think that?"
Twilight hesitated but the story seemed to come spilling out of its own accord. She told Pinkie about Rainbow arriving at her door, that she was getting ready to shed her feathers and Twilight had let Dash stay in the library. She told Pinkie that she'd pounced on Rainbow and practically forced her to let Twilight preen her feathers. She finished with Rarity telling her that preening was an intimate thing between pegasi.
"So what's the big deal?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to one side. "I help Fluttershy preen all the time."
Twilight missed a step and almost fell over again.
"What?"
"Whenever she goes to visit some of her animals in the forest, she always comes back with twigs and leaves stuck in her mane, tail and wings. She says that I make preening so much easier."
"And she doesn't mind?"
"No silly, she wouldn't let me preen her if she wasn't comfortable or didn't trust me."
"But-"
"No buts, no coconuts," Pinkie interrupted, "if she wasn't comfortable with you preening her wings, she would have run away. But even then, if she doesn't want you to preen her, you say you're super-duper-sorry and you won't do anything without her permission again, then she has to forgive you."
It was odd for Twilight to be receiving advice and to be talking normally with Pinkie. Normally conversation's with Pinkie twisted and turned to the point where trans-magical algebra was easier to follow. The two ponies had reached the library while they had been talking, crossing Ponyville without noticing. Twilight turned to face Pinkie as she stood on the Library's front step.
"Thanks Pinkie."
The pink party pony hugged Twilight tightly.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Twilight returned the hug, grateful for somepony to offer advice, even if it was from the most unlikely source. She watched Pinkie bounce away before turning back to the library door and pushing it open.
There was a tension in the library so thick it could be tasted. Both ponies had remained distant from each other over the last few days; Twilight and Dash had only exchanged a few words since the preening. Rainbow was lost in her own confusion which Twilight mistook for her being angry while Twilight tried to build the courage to ask her pegasus friend to forgive her.
It all came to a head later that evening. The sun had set a while ago and the moon was hovering at the edge of the horizon. There was a hint of rain in the air but the weather had been more than a little unpredictable lately. Rainbow laid on the spare bed preening as Twilight tidied away her latest pile of finished books. The pegasus was grunting every now and then as she tried to reach the more awkward of her feathers.
Twilight stopped sorting books back onto their shelves and steeled herself; it was now or never. Turning to face her friend, the unicorn took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm sorry I preened your wings without permission I didn't realize pegasus wings were a very personal place I'll never do it again I swear please say we're still friends!" Rainbow stopped attending to her wings and just stared at Twilight, one eyebrow raised.
"Want to run that by me again?" The young mare steadied herself, trying and failing to keep herself together.
"I'm sorry I preened your wings. I didn't realize they were such a personal area." Rainbow blinked, "And that's why you've not been talking to me since last Friday?" Twilight nodded with her gaze solidly at the floor. The pegasus shook her head before sliding off the bed and walking over to her friend. Twilight flinched as she reached out to her and hugged her.
"You think too much sometimes," Rainbow told her, "There's not many other ponies I'd let get that personal; I've known Fluttershy forever so she's one of them. I suspected you would have read up the subject so you knew what you were doing. I let you get that close to me because I trust you. " Twilight wasted no time in returning the embrace relieved beyond words that she was still friends with Dash.
When they parted, Twilight was ready to go back to sorting books but Rainbow stopped her.
"While we're on the subject Twi, would you mind?" she asked, unfurling a wing.
"So you don't mind me helping you?" she asked, not wanting to repeat her earlier mistake. Shaking her head, Rainbow replied, "not at all." Rainbow returned to her place on the bed and lay down. She spread a wing for Twilight again and the unicorn hopped up next to her friend. Starting work on the feather's closest to Rainbow's shoulder, Twilight continued to speak to Rainbow when her mouth was unoccupied.
"It's nice to have somepony to help you preen, there are parts that are really hard to get to on your own." Rainbow told Twilight.
"I suppose that's reason you go see Fluttershy when you're going to moult."
"But she's always afraid of hurting me. She'd too timid to do anything more than put things back in order. It's always down to me to deal with the broken ones."
"Speaking of broken ones, this is going to sting," Twilight warned Rainbow as she found a broken feather hiding under her friend's shoulder. The pegasus flinched as Twilight removed the offending feather, taking some relief that that was probably the last one she'd have to deal with for a while. Most of her old broken feathers were gone now but there were enough left to keep her looking presentable to a casual glance.
Twilight gave Rainbow a nudge to tell her she'd finished that wing. The pegasus took the hint and shifted position on the bed.
"So has it always been Fluttershy that you've turned to for preening?" Rainbow shook her head, fluffing her feathers as she did.
"My mother used to preen my wings all the time. Every night before bed she'd come into my room and she'd insist on tidying my feathers before tucking me in." I've only ever told Fluttershy that. What's gotten into me? Rainbow thought as she went scarlet.
"I'm not being too rough am I?"
"Nah, you're doing fine. Actually, the way you preen my feathers is just like she used to." Twilight was too focused on her duties to notice the sleepy tone of Rainbow's voice. By the time Twilight finished Rainbow's other wing, Dash was asleep. The unicorn was about the leave her friend to sleep when she realized she was stuck. When Rainbow had turned to give Twilight access to her other wing, without realizing it she'd laid down on Twilight's tail. She had a quick mental debate about how to get out of the situation, considering everything from levitating her friend off her tail to just teleporting away, but she didn't want to risk waking her. The debate soon collapsed into warring ideas and Twilight realized she was too tied to try anything of real effort so she lay down next to her friend. Summoning a blanked and pillow from the other side of the room, Twilight covered herself and Rainbow then closed her eyes.
-------------
It was long past midnight when Rainbow was awoken by the call of an owl from outside the library. She couldn't be sure but Rainbow was almost certain that it was Owlowiscious making the racket. Midway through planning to park a raincloud over the bird's nest, Rainbow suddenly realized something warm and soft was lying next to her in bed. With moonlight streaming through the curtains, Rainbow could easily recognise the shape of Twilight sharing her bed. She wasn't sure how Twilight came to be sharing her bed but she wasn't about to wake her friend to ask. Rainbow was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that she was developing feelings for Twilight beyond friendship. She'd known Twilight only a fraction as long as she had Fluttershy but Rainbow felt the same closeness developing between herself and Twilight. It wasn't the same as the one that she felt with her pegasus friend though. Her experiences with Twilight over the past two weeks may have aggravated these feelings or maybe she was just feeling vulnerable because of her moult. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, determined to get her feelings sorted out before talking to Twilight about them.
Rainbow was about to pull the blanket higher up when Twilight rolled over in her sleep and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow. The pegasus went rigid, unsure where to put her own forelegs as Twilight's head came to rest against her own chest. Regaining her ability to move, Rainbow returned the hug.
"Night Twi," Rainbow said as she drifted off to sleep again.
-------------
Celestia's sun was creeping over the horizon when Twilight woke. She was about to roll out of bed and set to writing her schedule for the day when she felt something tighten around her. Her mind raced, thinking some evil creature had infiltrated the library until she heard the creature snore. The memories of the previous night resurfaced though she had no idea how she'd become so entangled within Rainbow's legs. She tried to separate herself from her friend but Rainbow was reluctant to let go. Twilight nudged Rainbow in the ribs in an attempt to wake her.
"Rainbow, it's morning." Dash snorted and buried her head further into the pillow.
"Tell Celestia to put the sun away." Twilight nudged Rainbow again but harder this time.
"Rainbow, I've got duties to attend to."
"Then attend to them just let me go back to sleep."
"You'll have to roll over and let me get up," Twilight replied. Rainbow obliged but being half asleep she rolled towards Twilight. Somehow she managed to wrap both herself and Twilight up in a bundle of covers before the bundle tumbled out of bed. Cries of surprise and pain filled the blanket tangle before Twilight managed to find an edge of the blanket. Her horn flared and Twilight whisked the covers away, making the pair of ponies tumble across the floor. Dizzy from the second tumble, it took Twilight a few seconds to realize Rainbow had landed on top of her. Nose to nose with each other the pair were frozen in place still trying to figure out what happened. Rainbow's cheeks took on a scarlet tinge and here wings were on the verge of going stiff but she managed to keep them under control.
"Morning Twi," Rainbow said more than a little awkwardly.
"Morning Rainbow," the unicorn replied, "would you mind letting me up?" Rainbow stepped back, letting Twilight get back to her hooves. She tried to calm herself down before Twilight noticed but her cheeks refused to return to their normal colour. Before she could make up an excuse, the world went dark again as Twilight dropped the blanket on her head.
"You can go back to bed now," Twilight smiled as she trotted down the stairs to start her daily routine.
Rainbow clambered back onto her bed but after the struggle in the blankets she was wide awake now, making going back to sleep out of the question. Resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to get a lie-in this morning, she picked up a book from the table next to her bed and started reading.
-------------
Four days later there was a crisis.
Rainbow was sick of scrambled eggs and for that matter so was Twilight. The fact that they had run out of eggs was welcome but that wasn't the source of their disagreement. Twilight had read through her books again and had made a list of alternatives but they hadn't had much success.
The first alternative had been seeds and nuts. Upon being presented with a bowl of mixed nuts and seeds as a snack, Rainbow had given her a look that said 'just because I can fly doesn't mean I'm a bird' clearer than words did.
Abandoning the direct approach with seeds and nuts, Twilight attempted to use cunning to get Rainbow Dash to increase her protein intake. But the peanut butter and daisy sandwich had also been a dismal failure. Trying to get the remaining butter from the corners of her mouth had driven Rainbow as crazy as her itchy wings.
Twilight moved on to the next item on the list without much further ado, eager to forget that escapade. She had been to see Applejack and borrowed one of Granny Smith's recipe books. Flicking through the pages, Twilight had settled on trying to make a vegetarian chilli. Everything was going fine until a certain grey pegasus on temporary weather duty misplaced a small hurricane. In the ensuing chaos of a storm getting loose in the library, nopony noticed the Tabasco sauce upending its entire contents into the bowl. However it was noticed later when it came to tasting the recipe. The screams were heard as far away as Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight had finally resorted to tofu; not an idea she relished but it was a last resort. She had fried it with broccoli and cashew nuts as a stir fry and offered it to Rainbow as lunch one day. The rainbow pegasus had prodded the plateful with the tip of her hoof, in a similar manner to when she'd first encountered scrambled eggs, before refusing to eat it. Point-blank. Even ketchup wasn't going to budge her.
"Absolutely not."
"Unless you want to try the peanut butter again, we're out of options," Twilight countered. Rainbow pulled a face as she folded her forelegs across her chest. She'd been crabby for the past few days and Twilight was beginning to lose patients with her. An argument was narrowly avoided by somepony knocking on the library door. Twilight left the table and trotted to the library door, composing herself before she had to meet whoever was at the door. Twilight had tried to keep Rainbow occupied but her friend's confinement was wearing her nerves thin. She was an athlete and her forced inactivity was akin to torture. Even the Daring Do books could only keep Dash's attention away from the outside world for so long.
Twilight reached the Library's door and pulled it open to find Rarity waiting.
"Good morning Twilight,
"Hello Rarity," Twilight replied, "what brings you here this early?"
"Actually I wanted to see Rainbow, I've got a something that should make perk her up a bit." Both unicorns turned as a bolt of cyan with a rainbow tail shot up the library stairs, appearing back downstairs seconds later wrapped in what looked like Twilight's quilt.
"Did you have to pull my bed to pieces?" Twilight sighed. Rainbow muttered something unintelligible as she sat in the middle of the library, huddling under the quilt.
"Ah, there you are darling," Rarity called as she saw the quilt wrapped Rainbow, "I've got a little surprise for you." Opening her saddlebags with magic Rarity lifted out a light blue coat. At first Twilight thought it was a simple coat like the ones worn during the Winter Wrap Up but it seemed to be a lighter material than the one used for the Wrap Up. Rarity let the jacket turn in the air and Twilight saw the rainbow stripe running along the back and Rainbow's cutie mark stitched into the sides.
"This may seem like a common or garden piece of high end fashion, but notice the material," Rarity opened the jacket and let the two other ponies have a closer look. "this is Saddle Arabian cotton. It breathes wonderfully and it's as light as a cloud. There's plenty of space for wings but it's not going to slip off or chafe. It'll let your wings get some fresh air but still keep your dignity intact. And after a long talk with Fluttershy, she's convinced it's perfect for your delicate skin." Rarity didn't wait for Rainbow to reply as she whisked away her quilt. Dash managed a brief squeak of protest and folded her wings behind her back to keep them out of sight. Rarity didn't bat an eyelid as she replaced the discarded quilt with the coat.
"Et Voilá," Rarity said closed the coat with a flicker of magic. Rainbow was shocked at first but as her friend zipped the coat closed she got her brain working again. Her first reaction was to ruffle her feathers under the coat and to her surprise the cotton stretched to let her fluff up. As the coat settled again, Rainbow felt the material resting against her wings but even against her sensitive pin feathers it wasn't making them itch.
"I can go outside again?" she asked, not sure of her situation anymore.
"If you're feeling up to it," Twilight replied, "but nothing to strenuous." Rarity was lifted off her hooves as Rainbow wrapped her forelegs around her friend and about crushed the life out of her.
"Thank you Rarity," Dash cried, "you're a genius!"
"One tries one's best," Rarity replied once Rainbow had put her down, inspecting a perfectly manicured hoof.
Rainbow was already stretching her legs and back as she got ready for a run around outside. After being confined for almost three weeks, even mid moult, Dash had energy to spare.
"Alright! A quick sprint to Fluttershy's cottage then a run to Sweet Apple Acres." Dash's jogging plans were interrupted by another knock on the door. Twilight went to the door again and this time found Applejack.
"Howdy Twi, is Rainbow well enough for guests?" Twilight nodded and beckoned Applejack into the Library.
"Well from the sound of it yer back to yer ol' self again. And that's good because I need yer help. This random weather messin' up mah orchards somethin' fierce and there's a thundercloud stuck in my prize apple tree."
"I'm still on sick-leave from weather patrol. Derpy should be able to handle things."
"Well she tried, but all that she managed was getting stuck in the tree too. How she managed that ah have no idea." Rainbow rolled her eyes, "why am I not surprised? Alright let's go get this mess sorted out. See you later Twilight."
Without another word, both Applejack and Rainbow left the library and sped off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight was left at a loose end as the two ponies galloped away. Rarity however wasn't.
"Twilight, shall we do elevenses? I hear Pinkie's trying out a new recipe for angel cakes at Sugar Cube Corner."
"Why not. Come on Spike, we're going out for food."
The wind rushed past her as she galloped at full speed. The feeling of fresh air and sunshine on her face spurred Rainbow to run faster and faster. Despite Twilight telling her to take it easy, it wasn't in Rainbow's nature to do anything by half. Galloping along the paths and tracks surrounding Ponyville, Rainbow was starting to enjoy herself. True, she was still grounded, but at least she could go for a run outdoors. For an athletic pony like Rainbow Dash, even Daring Do could only occupy her energies for so long.
In the week since Dash had dislodged the thundercloud from one of Applejack's trees and rescued Ditzy from her mishap, she'd been exploring the freedom Rarity's gift had opened up for her. Coming to a stop at the top of a low hill, Rainbow looked down the road ahead as she caught her breath. Sweat stained her forehead and ran down her muzzle in trickles as she panted. It was also sticking her new jacket to the fur on her back. Letting her adrenaline levels drop, Rainbow suddenly felt drained.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she muttered as she dropped onto her flank.
"Ah could have told you that, Sugarcube." Applejack had appeared behind Rainbow without her noticing. The rainbow mare could have sworn she'd left her friend behind her when she tore off down the road.
"Ah know you've been cooped up fer a couple of weeks, but there ain't no reason to go gallopin' off at full pelt. 'Specially when you've been under the weather." Rainbow gave Applejack a scathing look, "You did that deliberately." A grin was the only reply Applejack gave Dash.
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow started back down the path to Ponyville only to almost fall over. Her brief gallop had drained her energy completely. Rainbow decided to sit down before she keeled over, causing Applejack to replace her smug expression with a worried one.
"Y'all right there, Rainbow?"
"I'm out of energy," Rainbow muttered, "I hate moulting..."
"You hate what now?" Dash seemed to shrink as she realised Applejack had heard her muttering.
"Moulting. Shedding feathers and growing new ones. It take a lot out of a pegasus."
"So that's why you've been down in the dumps? And why you've been hidin' out with Twilight?" Nodding, Rainbow tried to get back to her hooves, but her legs almost gave out again. Seeing Dash's problem, Applejack leaped over the fence at the side of the road into the orchard on the other side. A swift buck of the nearest tree dropped three apples in front of the orange pony. Scooping up the fallen apples with a foreleg, Applejack returned to Rainbow and offered her the first one.
"Get this inside you. Then I'll walk you back to Twilight's." Rainbow bristled, "I'm not a foal. I don't need to be walked home."
"Maybe not, but I want to make sure my friend doesn't run out of energy again on her way home." Rolling her eyes, Rainbow demolished the first apple and then the second. By the time she finished the third apple, she was well on her way back to being her normal, athletic self. After a few more minutes, Dash was able to get back to her hooves again. Both ponies set off towards Ponyville again, but at a far less energetic pace than before. Without meeting Applejack's eyes, Rainbow muttered, "Thanks, Applejack."
"Don't worry about it, Sugarcube."
-------------
Twilight frowned as examined Rainbow Dash. The pegasus' coat was covered in dust, her face was streaked with sweat and her mane was dishevelled.
"You. Shower. Now. Then we'll have breakfast." Dash didn't bother to argue and slunk off towards the bathroom. Halfway there her jacket was unzipped and whisked off her by lilac magic. There was a blur of speed that left Rainbow's jacket floating in mid air, without Twilight's magic assisting it, and the bathroom door slammed shut a minute later. Rolling her eyes, Twilight turned to Applejack.
"Thank you for bringing her back."
"S'what friends do, they look out fer each other when one of them runs out of steam." Twilight was puzzled, "Runs out of steam?"
"Rainbow tuckered hersel' out going at full gallop. Just about couldn't stand when I found her."
"She didn't collapse, did she?" Twilight asked, immediately concerned from her friend's well-being. Applejack shook her head. "Nothin' like that. And she was fine when ah got some apples in her."
"That's that what she gets for going for a run before breakfast," Twilight sighed. "How much do I owe you for the apples?"
"Don't you fret nothing about them. Three apples ain't gonna be missed and 'sides, it was an emergency." Applejack turned back to the library's door,
"Anyway, ah've got trees to buck. I'll catch y'all later, Twilight."
"I'll see you later then," Twilight called as she shut the door behind Applejack.
Twilight picked up Rainbow's jacket in her magical grip and was about to hang it up but decided against it when she noticed it was filthy. Rainbow had clearly been enjoying her freedom as there were mud, dust and twigs all over her jacket. The unicorn was about to teleport the garment into the washing basket but paused as she realised she didn't know how to clean it. The last thing she wanted was to damage the gift that Rarity had worked so hard on. She decided she'd have to ask Rarity how to clean it, but that could wait until tomorrow. Right now Twilight had other plans to attend to.
-------------
Locked in the bathroom, Rainbow decided that she would take a shower. She'd bolted for the nearest cover when Twilight had taken her jacked, which happened to be the bathroom. Turning on the shower, Rainbow didn't manage to avoid the first splash of cold water. Suppressing a yelp of surprise as the icy water hit her sensitive pin feathers, Rainbow backed out of splash range and waited for the water to warm up.
A minute or two later, the bathroom was starting to fill with steam and Rainbow tested the water with a hoof. With the water up to temperature, the pegasus stepped into the shower and fluffed her feathers as the water hit her wings. The waterproofing on her feathers keep them from soaking up the water but the dirt was lifted off and carried down the drain. Rainbow shifted in the shower and the stream of water moved onto her back.
As the warm water washed away the dust and mud from her coat, Rainbow's mind wandered and turned inwards against her will. She'd been trying to understand her feelings over the past few days, but analysing things in fine detail wasn't one of her talents. The bond she shared with Twilight was unlike anything she'd ever felt for another pony; not even when she'd spent time with Fluttershy. The feeling reminded her of the warmth she felt when lazing on a cloud on a summer evening as the sun was just starting to set, except the warmth was from inside her.
Irritated by her own thoughts not making sense, Rainbow cranked the water temperature back down to freezing. Her trick succeeded and she was brought back to reality with a bump as she fell out of the shower. Lying on the bathroom floor with her hooves over her head, Dash heard a voice coming through the door.
"Are you all right in there Rainbow? I heard a thump," Twilight's voice asked from the other side of the door.
"I'm fine," Rainbow replied, shutting off the water and crossing to the door. There was a click as she unlocked the door and Twilight came in to make sure her friend was all right. Rainbow was standing in the middle of the bathroom with water dripping onto the floor in a neat ring around her. She was about to shake herself dry but Twilight reacted quicker.
"I am not having you make a mess of the bathroom again," the unicorn said as she wrapped Rainbow in a towel. Dash's vision was filled with towel as Twilight rubbed her friend's mane dry. She tried to tell Twilight not to bother but every time she did her mouth was filled with flannel.
"So Applejack was telling me that you wore yourself out on your run this morning," Twilight said. "What happened to taking it easy?"
"I'm too awesome to take things easy." Twilight started rubbing again, getting a little carried away due to Rainbow's carefree attitude. Rainbow yelped, in surprise more than pain, as Twilight pulled the towel over her wings.
"Watch the feathers!" she squeaked. Twilight immediately dropped the towel and took a step back from Rainbow.
"I'm sorry. Are you all right?" Rainbow flexed her wings, inspecting them for damage. "Nothing broken. I'm OK." Twilight relaxed but still felt bad for forgetting about her friend's condition. She looked away from Rainbow's face and her eyes settled on the floor. Rainbow started trying to organize her feathers but they seemed to be rebelling, splaying out in every direction at once.
"Let me help," Twilight said as she took a cautious step forward again. Dash offered Twilight her left wing while she started on the other. She was grateful Twilight was so eager to assist her, but more often than not Twilight's help made Rainbow blush. As Dash wasn't giving her full attention to preening, Twilight ended up taking over Rainbow's other wing after finishing the first. After making sure to apply the waterproofing oil to Rainbow's feathers, Twilight stood and walked out of the the bathroom.
"Shall we have breakfast now?" she called over her shoulder as she left. Rainbow nodded, not trusting herself to reply and trying to stop blushing.
-------------
The rest of the morning was uneventful after breakfast. Twilight pulled a set of books from the shelves and started to study while Rainbow buried herself in Daring Do. Though Dash had her nose in the book in front of her, she wasn't truly reading. She tried to read, but her mind kept puzzling over her feelings. Her ears twitched when somepony knocked on the front door.
Downstairs, Twilight emerged from a pile of books and parchment and went to answer the knock. She was getting used to the interruptions to her studies with Rainbow Dash sharing her home. Despite her guest not doing much more than reading, sleeping, and eating, Rainbow still managed to be the centre of attention somehow. Twilight opened the door to find Fluttershy waiting patiently.
"Good morning, Twilight," Fluttershy chirruped.
"Hello, Fluttershy," Twilight replied, beckoning her friend to come inside, "And what brings you to the library today?"
"I was hoping to see Rainbow, if she wants to see me that is."
"Well your timing is perfect, I need to run out and get more quills and things, can you keep an eye on Dash while I'm gone?" The pegasus nodded, "I don't have anything urgent to do today so that won't be a problem."
"Then I'll leave you to look after Rainbow while I'm gone," Twilight told her as trotted towards the door. "I'll only be about an hour. Thanks, Fluttershy." And without more than a backwards glance Twilight was gone, leaving Fluttershy to mind Dash.
A quick glance around the library confirmed that Dash wasn't on the ground floor and Fluttershy doubted she'd find her in the kitchen, so she went up. Unlike other pegasi, Fluttershy took the stairs rather than unfurling her wings and flying to the second floor.
Lying on her bed and still not managing to get into her book, Rainbow looked up as hoofsteps came up the stairs towards her. She was surprised to see her childhood friend. Fluttershy smiled as she saw Rainbow and came across to her bed.
"Hello, Rainbow, you seem to be doing well." Rainbow shrugged in reply, "As well as a grounded pegasus can be. Twilight's been helping but it's still a nightmare being stuck walking everywhere." Having known Rainbow for most of her life, Fluttershy could easily tell when Rainbow wasn't telling the truth, and this was one of those times.
"Something's bothering you, Rainbow, isn't it?" Not meeting Fluttershy's gaze, Dash nodded, "You can still see right through me, Fluttershy."
"Are your feathers bothering you? I know there are parts you can't get to yourself." Getting back to her hooves again, Fluttershy climbed onto the bed and sat next to Rainbow. Knowing what was expected of her, Rainbow extended her wing for Fluttershy to examine. There wasn't really much for Fluttershy to do as Dash's wing sported no broken feathers and her pinfeathers were all clean. The only thing Fluttershy was able to do was apply another coat of waterproofing.
"You've really been trying, Dash, everything is coming along really nicely." Without looking around, Rainbow replied, "Twilight's been helping me preen."
Fluttershy paused, digesting what Rainbow had just said. She felt a pang of something shoot through her as she thought about Twilight helping Rainbow preen. Somehow Fluttershy felt Twilight was intruding on her bond with Rainbow. The pegasus immediately felt a wave of guilt rushing through her as she realised what a horrible thought that was. Fluttershy pushed her internal struggle aside for now as she examined Twilight's work.
"For a unicorn, she's done really well." Rainbow nodded again. Through experience and her books Twilight had soon become quite adept at preening. Her willingness to help had helped Rainbow during her moult, but that brought its own problems. Rainbow had found herself seeking out Twilight when she wanted to preen or if her feathers were irritating her. Fluttershy watched Rainbow in silence for another few moments before speaking again.
"But there is something bothering you."
"You know I'm not good with the whole feelings thing," Rainbow said, pulling her pillow up under her chin, "but when I'm around Twilight, I feel like I'm lying in the sun. I'm all warm, but from inside rather than outside." Silence fell again as Rainbow clearly couldn't find the words to continue. Fluttershy's mind shot back to the day Dash had told her about her orientation. It hadn't been long since Dash had moved into her cloud house above Ponyville. Fluttershy noticed Dash had been subdued throughout the day and she'd worked up the courage to ask Dash what was wrong. It had taken more than just asking, but Fluttershy had eventually managed to coax the answer out of her. Rainbow confided in Fluttershy that despite going on dates with colts she never felt any connection with them romantically. Even with Thunder Star, her coltfriend of two years, Dash didn't feel anything beyond friendship. Fluttershy snapped back to the present as her subconscious put two and two together faster than her conscious mind could and threw it at her. Rainbow liked mares and she'd developed a crush on Twilight. Gathering her courage for what she was about to ask, Fluttershy took a deep breath.
"Do you think that maybe you've... grown fond of Twilight?" she asked. For a second, Dash couldn't understand what Fluttershy was implying, but then the realization hit her like a cloudburst and she went cold. She had a crush on Twilight. Rainbow buried her face in her pillow and groaned.
"I've got a crush on Twilight," she moaned. She started bashing her head against the pillow and using words that made Fluttershy squeak in shock. Fluttershy pulled her friend away from the pillow and wrapped her forelegs around her in a hug.
"What am I going to do?" the rainbow-maned pegasus cried.
"Just tell her the truth. Lying about how you feel won't do either of you any good."
"You sound like Applejack," Rainbow muttered. "But Twilight isn't like me; she likes stallions."
"It doesn't matter who you have a crush on. Nopony can choose who they have feelings for," Fluttershy told her. "What matters is how you deal with your feelings." Silence fell over the library again as Rainbow tried to figure out what to do. Rainbow knew Twilight wasn't the same as her, but her heart didn't seem to care. And that wasn't Rainbow's focus at the moment. Her whole being was trying to figure out how to tell Twilight.
-------------
The bell over Carousel Boutique's door tinkled as Twilight entered. There was no sign of Rarity, but busy noises could be heard coming from the back room.
"Hello, Twilight, I'll be through in a minute," Rarity's voice called from behind a curtain. Twilight cocked her head to the side. "How did you know it was me?" Emerging from the back of her shop, Rarity brought a tray bearing teapot and cups with her.
"You seem to be making a habit of visiting on Friday mornings exactly at eleven." The lavender unicorn glanced at the clock on the wall, and its hands told her it was exactly eleven AM.
"Am I really that predictable?"
"Don't worry about it, Twilight; I enjoy taking my elevenses with you. It's like my appointment with Fluttershy at the Spa." Clearing a table of scraps and ribbons, all being neatly tidied away in a suitable box, Rarity set down the tray and set out the plates, napkins and cutlery before moving onto the tea. She poured tea for both of them before offering Twilight a cup, which she accepted, and took a sip from her own.
"So what is on your mind, Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"I wanted to ask about Rainbow's jacket and cleaning it."
"Oh, it's machine washable, darling. Knowing Rainbow, I made it with an active pony's lifestyle in mind. Just pop it in on a low temperature wash with fabric softener and it'll be fine."
"Well that's good," Twilight took a drink of her tea, "and there's something else I wanted to talk to you about, too."
"Do go on, dear, I'm all ears." Twilight hesitated, unable to gather the words to articulate her problem.
"Something odd is happening whenever I'm around Rainbow. I start to feel warm and fuzzy here," Twilight patted the centre of her chest. "I feel the same when we spend time together, like when she asks me for help with preening or when we share a book. And when goes out for her runs in the morning, I find myself missing her." Rarity raised an eyebrow, "When you were a filly in Canterlot, did you have much experience with colts?" Twilight's cheeks went pink and she shook her head. "I was too preoccupied with books and lessons to worry about colts. But what has that got to do with this?" The white unicorn's other eyebrow joined the first as took another sip of tea. Ignoring Twilight's own question she continued. "So you've never had a coltfriend?" Twilight shook her head again. Rarity set her teacup aside as she considered the matter at hoof.
"Well, normally the feeling you'd be describing is the attraction between a young colt and filly." Choking on her tea, Twilight pulled a napkin to her mouth and spluttered into it. When Twilight stopped coughing, Rarity continued.
"You're probably not aware of Rainbow's... preferences, are you?" Twilight still couldn't speak but her puzzled look prompted Rarity to continue. "I'm not positive, but I'm almost certain that Rainbow doesn't like stallions. At least, not in the same way most mares do." Doing a marvellous impersonation of a beetroot, Twilight squeaked, "How in Equestia do you know that?" Rarity pursed her lips as she drew up straight. "It was something discussed in the fitting room. And what goes on in the fitting room is to be shared only by myself and Rainbow Dash. I've already said more than I should, just please trust me when I say this." Twilight went quiet as she took in all Rarity was telling her in silence, mulling over her own thoughts as they mixed with the new data the white unicorn was giving her.
"I don't think I'm like Dash in regard to stallions. I don't like mares in that way." Rarity sipped her tea, considering her next words carefully. "Rainbow knows that, darling. It's just something to bear in mind considering your own-"
"But I think I like Rainbow," Twilight interrupted.
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.
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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.
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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.
