It was a relaxing day at the spa. Fluttershy and Rarity were in one of the hot tubs relaxing as the jets propelled against their backs. Rarity sighed as she leaned up against the jets letting them massage her aching back muscles. Fluttershy, however, sat in the edge of the pool and stared into the water. "Rarity?" she murmured.
"What is it darling?"
Fluttershy swished her tail in the water. "You remember that Rainbow and I started dating right?"
"Of course I remember! You told us at the party and everything. That was quite an interesting experience."
Fluttershy blushed. She dipped into the hot water, hiding as much of her face as she could. "Well, what do you actually do on a date? I read lots of books but..."
"Rainbow Dash doesn’t seem to be much of a prince?" she asked.
Fluttershy blinked and shook her head. "No Rainbow Dash is great."
"Don’t get me wrong. Rainbow is a wonderful friend and we all do love her so very much, but let's not kid ourselves, she's not what you'd expect from a lover."
Fluttershy placed one hoof against the side of the tub. She raised her voice and stated, "I know that and I love her all the same. But that's not the issue. It's that the only experience I'd had with relationships are from books."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Romance novels?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"Darling, that's the same thing as no experience. Do not under any circumstances think that those books portray the truth of the beauty that is love. Each couple works in their own special little ways. Do not expect her to sweep you off your hooves with the most handsome and kind thoughtful gestures one could imagine. This is Rainbow Dash after all."
Fluttershy whimpered. "Yeah I know."
Out of the corner of her eye Rarity could see Fluttershy sinking into the tub. She reached in and pulled Fluttershy back up. "I'm sorry, that was quite rude of me," Rarity corrected herself. "I do not mean to besmirch the good name of Rainbow Dash, but please do not hold her up to the standards of those books you read."
"I wasn't trying to." Fluttershy paused. "I wanted to ask for help. Rainbow Dash is fine. What isn’t fine is that I feel like I have no idea what I should do."
"Help?" asked Rarity.
"Yes..." Fluttershy said.
"Well then," Rarity said. She wrapped her arm around Fluttershy. "Then don't you fret dear. I will give you the best advice I can think of!"
"Yay," Fluttershy whispered. Her ears perked up.
"Now first thing first, love is a special bond that you get to share with the one most dear to you. Remember to always love them as much as you can. Remember why you came to love them in the first place. Never lose track of that love if you can help it."
"I'll try not to."
"Now what was it specifically that you needed help with?"
"Well," Fluttershy started. She shuffled her hooves under the water. "Yesterday we met up at my place..."
Rarity's eyes lit up and sparkled. She leaned into her friend and drew her even nearer. There was very little distance between the two ponies. "And how did it go?"
"Not so well," Fluttershy sighed.
"Oh," Rarity remarked. "What happened darling?"
"Nothing..."
Rarity tilted her head and put her hoof around Fluttershy rubbing her back. "Don't worry darling, you can say it to me. I am here to listen."
"I mean literally nothing happened," Fluttershy remarked her voice growing in volume and sharpening in tone. "Neither of us have any clue what to do. Rainbow Dash seemed to be nervous the whole time. She also seemed to be under the idea that we were going to do it on the first date."
Rarity rolled her eyes. "How did she get a ridiculous idea like that?"
"I don't know," Fluttershy said. "You should ask one of her high school friends, they'd probably know."
"Noted."
Fluttershy sighed and sunk into the relaxing pool. "I'm not sure what I expected. I hear so much about love and I'm glad to finally have someone who loves me. Someone I love. But we have no idea what to do. It doesn't feel like a relationship. It feels more like stress." She flopped her head against the side of the tub. "I want to have a relationship."
Rarity patted Fluttershy's head. "And you do darling. You really do. Don't worry it'll get better with time. If you want something to happen you can be the one to make that change."
Fluttershy blinked twice. "Do you really think I can do it?"
"Of course you can," Rarity replied. "Rainbow Dash loves you and I'm sure she would like to go along with you in your romantic endeavors. Why not give it a try? Were you waiting for Rainbow Dash to do something that whole time?"
Fluttershy whimpered. "Well the princes in those novels always seem to-"
"As I said earlier, Rainbow Dash is not a prince," Rarity interrupted. "And from what it sounds like she doesn't know what she's doing either. Why not help her out?"
"I guess I could do that. Do you have any ideas of what to do?"
Rarity's eyes lit up. "Of course I do!" she chittered. The fashionista proceeded to supply many different ideas for Fluttershy. The amount was so numerous that by the end of it Fluttershy was fed up with hearing about romantic overtures.
______
Rainbow Dash camped herself out in front of Carousel Boutique. Unlike the other pony that situated itself out on the porch steps she was not there to buy clothes. Rainbow Dash buy clothes? As if! Rather she was there to meet with the maker of the clothes. "It's been thirty minutes already,” she groaned. “Where could she be?"
The other pony shrugged but Dash flicked her tail back at him. "Argh! I don't want to wait here forever," she pouted. "Rarity better get here soon."
As she said that Rarity trotted up to the boutique with her head held high. "Hmm I didn't expect to have any ponies waiting," she said. "I thought I put up a sign that said the store is closed.”
The other pony noticed the sign. "Ooh." He sulked away with his head lower than the dirt itself.
Rarity eyed the other pony. She felt bad for him as he sulked off. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash jumped in front of her. She dug her hooves into the ground and flicked her tail defiantly. "Rarity! I need your help."
Rarity chuckled to herself. Considering her earlier conversation she already knew what it was. But she rather have Rainbow explain it herself. "What is it darling?" she asked.
"Well let's say I had a friend," Rainbow Dash said. Rarity nodded along. "And let's say this friend recently got into a relationship and they had never been in a relationship before. They don't know what to do now that they were in one. What should I tell my friend to do?"
Rarity rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe that Rainbow Dash went for the ‘it's for my friend’ type of hook. This would likely be much harder than Fluttershy. "Well it depends on what this friend is looking for. Do you happen to know what your FRIEND wants help on?"
"She wants to know what to do on a date! How to be romantic."
"And has she learned anything before?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow shook her head. "She's very new to this. Even though she was super popular in school she never went out with anyone. She didn't care about romance so she never listened to what others said about it. Now that she's in a relationship she's worried about messing it up for her partner."
Rarity grinned and patted Rainbow's back. "That is quite noble of you Rainbow Dash." she said. "You want to learn how to be romantic?"
"My friend does!" Rainbow shot out. "I'm totally fine with it. I may not seem like one but I am a natural charmer." she paused before adding, "and I've had lots of dates before and did it many times."
Rarity blinked and placed her hoof onto her head, digging her face into it. "Very well darling. That is quite noble of your friend. Now let's see. To be romantic is to fulfill your partner’s desires. To set an intimate mood where the two of you can bond and share yourselves with each other. A night that will etch into your hearts forever."
"How do I do that?"
"Well how about something simple? Like a romantic dinner. A dinner date is a staple in romance. Tell your friend to take their loved one and set them up a nice dinner. It doesn't have to be anything too complex, make it something your friend will enjoy. Tell her all the heartfelt things that you feel about her. Give her flowers or something sweet, something that she'll enjoy. You know Fluttershy well Rainbow. I'm sure you could think of something that would make her feel happy."
Rainbow crossed her hooves in front of her body. "I don't know. That sounds really sappy."
"Well of course, it's sappy," Rarity replied. "Romance is sappy. And while I prefer not to be too sappy at least a little sap is necessary for a proper romance."
Rainbow Dash huffed and her tail flicked behind her. "Well I'd rather it not be sappy."
"Yes I'm sure you don't. But why don't you give it a try and see how it goes? If it really is that bad surely you won't ever have to do it again. It would be a nice starting point. No one is saying for you to give up yourself. Try out things and see what two like."
“Yeah you’re right," Rainbow Dash stated. She shuffled in place and swayed from side to side. “I guess I should try that.”
Rarity beamed. “Well I’m glad you understand Rainbow. I hope it goes well for you and Fluttershy.”
“Thanks,” Rainbow said before pausing and adding. “I said I was asking this for a friend."
Without further comment she zoomed away from Rarity. Rarity watched as she left and put a hoof on her chin. "I certainly do hope my advice got through to her. That Rainbow Dash can be stubborn as a mule sometimes. Although not quite as stubborn as Applejack."