Did you know what was great about having a marefriend? Spending time with her. Snuggling with her while falling asleep. Or simply doing everyday activities together. It didn’t need to be anything grand or romantic because they were happy as long as they were together. That should have been obvious, but many ponies didn’t realize it until they lived it. That was the case for Twilight.
She heard that from Cadance, her parents, and her brother. However, she could only experience it now. She had started dating Rainbow Dash around a month ago. She still had a hard time believing they were really dating since she never thought something like this would happen when she met the pegasus. After becoming an alicorn and flying with her, she started developing feelings for her. She also knew that Rainbow began feeling that way about her even earlier than her.
The day they confessed their feelings for each other was undoubtedly one of the best days of Twilight's life. She was overjoyed to find out that everyone supported their relationship, from Cadance who celebrated enthusiastically after learning that Twilight wasn't a little filly anymore, and found a marefriend to Pinkie Pie who threw them a party. Twilight still couldn't believe she had found love with Rainbow Dash, especially considering she had never thought it possible when they first met. However, Twilight had grown and evolved as an alicorn, and her feelings for Rainbow had grown too.
They hadn't moved in together yet, but it was something Twilight was recently considering. Since they started dating, they had only managed to go on a few dates due to their busy schedules. As a princess, Twilight had a packed schedule, and Rainbow was occupied with weather patrol duties and training to become a Wonderbolt. She had even mentioned that she was on the verge of becoming a full-fledged member of the team!
And they also had a group of friends, which made it difficult to find time alone together. Twilight wanted to ask for some alone time with Rainbow, but she felt guilty about turning down their friends' invitations. Pinkie in particular always seemed thrilled whenever she suggested they do something together, and Twilight didn't want to disappoint her.
Nevertheless, today was going to be a different day. Since she was gonna be even busier than usual tomorrow, she planned to spend the entire day with Rainbow today. They both managed to have a day off to go on a date. First, they would start the day with breakfast together at the castle. Her marefriend promised her she would wake up early just to come here. They would have breakfast together, so that way Twilight would spend as much time with her as possible.
After that, they would go to the theatre to watch a play. Twilight already knew what the play would be about, but Rainbow didn’t. She wanted it to be a surprise.
Then, they would have a short walk to the new park they opened, before having lunch in a restaurant of Rainbow’s choosing since she insisted on participating in the planning at least a little.
After lunch, go to the spa. It was something both of them rarely ever did, but she thought it wouldn’t hurt to do it. Moreover, there was a special couple discount, and offer.
Finally, they were going to have dinner in a new restaurant that opened yesterday. It was a fancy outdoor restaurant. What was great about it was they picked the perfect spot for stargazing! They even had a few pegasi working in collaboration with the weather patrol to keep the sky above the restaurant clear. Naturally, they couldn’t do anything if clouds were scheduled for certain reasons, but she knew that wouldn’t be the case tonight.
If everything went well, they would end the night at the castle by reading the newest Daring Do book until they fell asleep. She even thought about possibly introducing Rainbow to new books! This was perfect! And Twilight couldn’t be prouder of her organizing skills! Everything would go according to plan today!
Knock Knock
“Right on time!” Twilight exclaimed cheerfully as she ran up to the door, and opened it, to reveal a smiling Rainbow Dash. “I can’t believe you didn’t oversleep!” She laughed as she let her in.
“I made sure to go to sleep early just so I wouldn’t be late!” The pegasus replied as she outstretched her wing, which was holding a bouquet of roses.
“Oh? Is that for me?” Twilight asked in a flirty tone as she grabbed the flowers with her magic.
“Yup! I wouldn’t be an awesome marefriend if I didn’t bring any flowers, after all!” Rainbow confirmed as Twilight hugged her.
“Thank you, Rainbow,” Twilight nuzzled her before putting the flowers in a vase and entering the living room. “Spike prepared pancakes and eggs for our breakfast. I know you love them!”
“You sure know how to speak to me, Twi! Can’t say pancakes aren’t worth waking up early for!” Rainbow licked her lips in anticipation as they sat down. Then they remained silent as breakfast was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow looked around while Twilight laughed nervously. “So… Where are they?”
“They should have been here already, but I’m sure Spike is almost done,” Twilight reassured her pegasus marefriend.
“Coming! Coming!” Spike yelled out from the kitchen as he came running with a plate of… Burnt pancakes? Considering they were all black, you’d have to be an idiot not to see they were burnt. The little dragon began sweating as he placed the plate on their table.
“They look kinda crispy, don’t they?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she smelled the pancakes before immediately recoiling with a cough.
“They’re burnt. You can say it, Rainbow. They’re burnt,” Twilight sighed in disappointment.
“No, they aren’t! I-I’m sure they’re good still!” The pegasus retorted as she took a bite, nearly throwing up a second later as she slowly chewed on it. The loud crunches were enough to tell Twilight that there was no point trying to eat them. It looked like Rainbow really wanted pancakes, though.
“Spike, what happened?” The princess inquired while Spike rubbed the back of his head.
“Just… I just had some issues. That’s a… A-ACHOO!” Spike sneezed as green flames escaped from his mouth and burned the pancakes even more, making Twilight almost jump away to avoid the flames. Meanwhile, Rainbow’s jaw dropped in sadness as she witnessed the pancakes’ doom, the remains of what she was chewing simply fell out of her mouth and dropped on the plate covered in ashes. Spike wiped his nose with a tissue as he laughed awkwardly. “Well… Have a good meal!” He exclaimed before running off to the kitchen.
“I-I’m sorry about the pancakes, Rainbow. This isn’t starting well…” Twilight groaned as Rainbow pat her on the head with her wing.
“It’s alright. I wasn’t that hungry anyway,” She tried to reassure her only for her stomach to loudly rumble, making Twilight look at her marefriend’s belly. “I mean, I didn’t even like pancakes that much anyway,” She waved with one of her hooves.
“Rainbow… Are you crying?” Twilight asked worriedly while the pegasus laughed it off with teary eyes.
“What? No! Why would -nah! They were just pancakes anyway,”
“Well, at least we still have apple juice and eggs,” Twilight motioned at the two glasses of apple juice. As they were about to take a sip of their drinks, they were interrupted by the sound of a chicken being seemingly scared to death and chased around.
“Will you stop running already?!” Spike’s voice resonated from the kitchen while a ruckus could be heard.
“We’re not gonna get those eggs, are we?” Rainbow deadpanned as Twilight sighed disappointingly and facehoofed.
“Let’s just drink the apple juice,” Twilight muttered.
Several minutes later, the two ponies walked out, going in the theatre’s direction.
“I’m so sorry about the pancakes, Rainbow. I wish this day could have started better,” Twilight apologized, looking nearly heartbroken as if the pegasus were about to end their relationship.
“It’s fine, Twi! You already apologized like ten times! I promise I’m not mad! And I forgave you already,” Rainbow pat her marefriend’s head in reassurance.
“Okay… Okay, I’ll stop. The day is far from over, after all! You’ll see, the theatre will make you forget everything about what happened this morning!” Twilight declared hopefully.
“Usually, I’m not the kind of pony who goes to watch plays, but you’re really selling it to me there, Twi!” Rainbow replied excitedly as she and the alicorn nuzzled.
Twilight was happy that Rainbow didn’t seem as affected by the pancakes’ demise as she was earlier. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all, even if it didn’t start off well.
“And I just know you’re gonna love this play!” Twilight exclaimed confidently as Rainbow raised her eyebrows the same way she would when facing a challenge.
“Now you’ve got me interested! What is it about?” The pegasus asked as she brought her face closer to Twilight’s. Oh, Celestia’s student already knew what she was trying to do. Rainbow was aware that Twilight could never say no to that beautiful face of hers, and would often spill the beans when it came to surprises since her marefriend was very persistent.
However, this time, Twilight wouldn’t lose! So she simply chuckled and gave Rainbow a light shove with her flank, making her step away a little.
“That’s a surprise! You’re going to see the poster before we go in anyway,” Twilight replied before widening her eyes in happiness. “Look! We’re already here!” She pointed at the Ponyville Theatre nearby.
“Wait… Is that?” Rainbow started before flying off to the theatre, closely followed by a grinning Twilight. They both landed in front of the poster depicting what the play would be about and suffice to say, Twilight’s marefriend was completely speechless. Daring Do was on the poster, fighting Matton, a griffon, and the title read Daring Do and The Ring of the Dead. “Daring Do?! There’s a play about Daring Do?! How come I didn’t know that?! And it’s about that new bad guy! Best surprise ever!” She looped the air excitedly. Since Ahuizotl was revealed to be actually good and simply misunderstood, Daring and the adaptations of her book stopped using him as a villain. Instead, they replaced him with a griffon named Matton, who was supposedly a mastermind that caused the fighting between Daring and Ahuizotl in the first place. Rainbow wondered if he was real, too, like Ahuizotl was.
“The play is fairly new, so it makes sense that you didn’t know about it. I heard the costumes were great, and the actors are really good!” Twilight replied as Rainbow landed beside her, still overjoyed.
“I’m surprised they even came to play in Ponyville if they just debuted!” Rainbow said while still looking at the poster.
“We must have been lucky, haha! Besides, a princess lives here, so maybe they thought it would make good publicity,” Twilight blushed while chuckling nervously.
That was a total lie. There was no luck involved. Twilight simply did something she didn’t usually like doing: she used her princess privileges to pull some strings and get them to play in Ponyville. The theatre was large enough for their play since it was renovated a few months ago. And this would only be their second performance. Twilight paid extreme attention to every single bit of news about Daring Do just so she could pull something like that off. But Rainbow didn’t need to know that.
Suddenly, Rainbow threw herself at her marefriend and wrapped her forelegs around her neck as she hugged her with all her might, nearly blocking Twilight’s respiration.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyou! That’s gonna be awesome, Twilight!” The blue pegasus shouted while Twilight giggled.
“Rainbow! I can’t watch it with you if I can’t breathe!” Twilight grinned while nudging her, which made Rainbow quickly let go of her and reddened her cheeks.
“Oops! Sorry! Got a little bit excited there,” Rainbow blushed in embarrassment as the alicorn seductively narrowed her eyes a placed a wing on her marefriend’s back.
“Well, don’t get too excited. At least not until tonight,” She whispered so the ponies around wouldn’t hear as Rainbow’s wings suddenly straightened.
“Woah, egghead! Since when were you so forward?” She returned Twilight’s grin.
“I guess I’m just in a good mood today. Shall we?” Twilight motioned at the theatre’s entrance.
“Let’s go! I can’t wait anymore!”
That was it. They were just about to enter the theatre, and Twilight would spend a few hours with her marefriend in silence, holding hooves or wings while quietly enjoying a delightful play about their favorite book series. Maybe they could even do like in those romance novels she started reading recently, and kiss passionately while no one could see them because of the darkness cast by the shadows in the audience! However, just as they were about to go in…
“Hey, Twilight! Rainbow!” A little voice shouted from behind them, making them turn around to take a good look at the one calling them. It was Applebloom, closely followed by Applejack.
“Oh, how you doing, kiddo? Hey, AJ!” Rainbow Dash waved them hello as the two sisters walked up to them. Meanwhile, Twilight couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows in surprise since she really didn’t expect them to come to the theatre, especially now.
“Howdy, Twilight, Rainbow!” Applejack greeted them with that large smile of hers, which Twilight really wanted to wipe off for some reason. Oh, right. It was because her date was being interrupted!
“Hey…” The alicorn quietly greeted them. She didn’t want to seem hostile, and it wasn’t like she wanted to make them leave either because that would be rude, and she didn’t want to be mean. But she really wanted to spend some time alone with Rainbow Dash. She hoped they were just here to say hello.
“Are you here to see the play, too?!” Applebloom asked as Twilight nodded.
“Yes. We… Well, we are on a date and I thought about showing-” Twilight started only to be abruptly cut off by her friend.
“Oh, yeah! Ah forgot you two had a date today!” Applejack said as Twilight recoiled in surprise.
“Wait? You knew we were on a date?” She inquired.
“Rainbow told me about it yesterday,”
“I told her about how my awesome marefriend would take me to see a play! And get this, AJ, it’s about Daring Do!” Rainbow jumped up and down as Applejack beamed.
“Well, I’m happy for you, Rainbow!” Applejack said before turning to Twilight. “I wasn’t going to come here, but Applebloom heard us talking about the play yesterday, and she really wanted to see it. Don’t worry, we won’t bother ya! Promise!” Applejack explained as if she read her thoughts.
“Oh, well, I guess if you…” Twilight started only to be interrupted by Applejack’s younger sister.
“The more we are, the merrier! I don’t even know anything about Daring Do, but Scootaloo said she is awesome,” She beamed. Twilight wasn’t going to tell them to leave in the first place, but seeing Applebloom so happy was the final nail in the coffin. There was no way she could make such a sweet foal sad… Even if she kind of wanted to… A little bit…
“Oh, you’re gonna love her! She’s at least as cool as me,” Rainbow Dash replied while not forgetting to brag about herself a bit.
“Why don’t we go in before the play starts?” Twilight suggested, cutting off their discussion. The good thing about theatre was that everyone had to stay silent or as quiet as possible.
If Applejack and Appleboom sat behind them, there was no way they would be able to bother them. That meant that Twilight and Rainbow could enjoy that time to themselves. The princess of friendship was also sure that the Apple sisters would be focused on the play and won’t pay attention to the couple and… and their passionate kisses. Twilight was feeling all tingly already!
“Woah… You were right, Twi. Those costumes are great! This looks like the real Ahuizotl!” Rainbow Dash whispered as she stared at the two actors on the stage. “I know they’re not enemies anymore, but I wasn’t expecting them to be so friendly,”
“The joy of character progression, my friend,” Twilight released a blissful sigh before sitting closer to her marefriend and putting a wing over her shoulder. “I’m happy you’re enjoying this. After the pancakes incident, I was afraid this would somehow be ruined,” She commented as Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“You worry too much, Twi! This is going great,” She retorted before holding her marefriend’s hoof.
Twilight widened her eyes in surprise and bliss. This was it! Hoof holding! Oh, she really hoped this play had a romantic scene or something because it would be the perfect scenario for her kiss with Dash! This was what she needed for days now. They were all alone, in the dark, while the audience watched the play. All alone…
“That’s Ahuizotl? He’s scary…” Applebloom commented beside Twilight, making the alicorn deadpan in disappointment.
Alright, maybe they weren’t all alone. It wouldn’t have been so bad if only Applejack and Applebloom didn’t sit in the same row as them! At least, they could have left a few seats free between them! But no, they just had to sit right at her side! She tried to ignore most of Applebloom’s questions and remarks throughout the play, and let Applejack answer them. However, Rainbow Dash couldn’t exactly keep her mouth shut and sometimes talked to Applebloom, too. Naturally, she even occasionally talked with Applejack even if she was totally on the opposite side. The fact that they were giggling and having fun together as if Twilight wasn’t even there certainly wasn’t a problem at all! Still, Twilight wasn’t mad at her… Her marefriend simply wanted to share her passion for something. And maybe Applebloom and Applejack would become avid readers after that.
That was the thought process Twilight wished she had. Unfortunately, the only thing she wanted now was to slap that little filly because she did the worst thing possible. Questioning the plot of the play while it was still going on… And also while Twilight was trying to enjoy a nice moment with her marefriend. Both of those were equally bad!
“Oh, no! If Matton takes that ring to the altar, he’ll become invincible! We must stop him before it’s too late!” The actor playing Daring Do shouted to a pegasus on her left, then ran ahead with the pegasus following behind until they left the stage.
Only a couple of seconds later, a griffon dove in and landed in the center of the stage, where Daring had stood previously. In his claws, he held a dark ring. He chuckled maliciously before bursting into uproarious laughter.
“Soon, no one will stand a chance against me and my army of the dead! I’ll wait for Daring to come, and take her blood to fuel the ring’s power!” He declared while looking toward the audience, then flew off the stage.
“I think we’re approaching the climax…” Twilight whispered to Rainbow, who was eating popcorn.
“Daring Do is gonna kick his butt!” She whispered back.
“What? That doesn’t make sense…” Twilight widened her eyes as she heard that, then looked in the direction the voice came from. It was, of course, Applebloom. “Why isn’t Daring Do flying to him? Her friend and she are pegasi, aren’t they? If they’re in such a hurry, then they should fly instead of run…” She scratched the back of her head in confusion.
“Hold on now, Applebloom. You shouldn’t say that something doesn’t make sense so quickly… It is clear you missed something,” Twilight replied with a nervous tone. “Matton has several of his subordinates watching the sky, so if she ever tried to fly, they would spot her and call reinforcements,” She explained as clearly as possible.
“I get that, but they’re in a hurry, so you’d think they would take the risk… And why didn’t Matton kill her earlier? She was right there in his trap, but he left without hurting her… I don’t get it,” Applebloom scratched her chin as Twilight scoffed.
“Well, obviously, it’s because he is arrogant and too full of himself. He simply thought she would die in his trap without his interference. He didn’t expect her to escape and underestimated her. Even some of the villains we fought did that,” Twilight replied before sighing in relief, satisfied with her explanation.
“Well, that’s still dumb. I mean, didn’t she like escape him already before? I don’t know anything about the books, but they probably faced each other in the past, didn’t they?” Applebloom asked, making Rainbow Dash look over Twilight’s shoulder to join in their discussion.
“He’s a bad guy, so, of course, he’s dumb!” Rainbow shrugged as Twilight winced. This wasn’t helping, at all! He wasn’t dumb! Just… Just arrogant! Matton was a great and intelligent antagonist, but also an arrogant one! Right?
“I gotta admit if Discord ever tried to turn bad again, he would probably not make the same mistake twice,” Applejack joined in as Twilight started sweating.
“D-Don’t forget Matton needs the blood of a pure-hearted pony for the ring to work! He needed her still, so that’s why he didn’t kill her! She’s the perfect candidate to have the blood taken!” The alicorn argued.
“I don’t think he knew it at the time or maybe I missed something…” Applebloom narrowed her eyes in thought as she recalled the rest of the play. “Even if he did know, why did he try to kill her, then? Why didn’t he take the blood sample when she was caught?”
“Well… There is a perfectly logical explanation for all of this! And… Uhm…” Twilight started loudly before trying to think of answers only to come up with nothing. “You see…”
“Twilight… I think you should quiet down…” Someone said in her ear, which she completely ignored.
“And how did he swoop in and get that ring right under Ahuizotl’s nose?” Applebloom asked further, making Twilight even more nervous.
“He didn’t just swoop in! He created a clever and creative distraction!” Twilight shouted with her wings spread out.
“Hold on, Sugarcube. Ah know how excited you get when you get to teach somepony something, but that might be a little too much,” Applejack chuckled before putting a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “As for you, Applebloom, it’s better if you ask for clarification about the story when it’s over. Besides, sometimes, stories have a plot hole or two, or plot conveniences. That’s normal,” She explained as Twilight widened her eyes in shock.
“This is NOT a plot hole! You just have to pay attention to the story!” She shouted as stood up from her seat and stomped the ground. Applejack and her sister stepped back in surprise and stayed silent while Rainbow nudged her marefriend.
“Uhm… Twilight… We have a problem,”
“What!?” She turned to look at her marefriend, who pointed at the rest of the audience. Twilight gulped, then slowly turned around… To see everyone in the room, including the actors, looking at them. “Oh… Sorry?”
“My Lady, you may be a princess, but we simply cannot condone someone breaking the laws of theatrical plays and speaking during a scene! We humbly ask, you four, to leave,” One of the actors ordered.
Twilight sighed in disappointment and facehoofed even harder than she did during breakfast. A few seconds later, the four ponies exited the theatre. While Applebloom had a huge grin on her face, Rainbow Dash was saddened and disappointed while Applejack looked angry.
“That was fun! Wish we could have seen the end of the play, though!” Applebloom exclaimed happily as Applejack looked back at the theatre.
“They could have given us another chance instead of throwing us out immediately!” The earth pony complained while adjusting her hat.
“Tell me about it!” Rainbow crossed her forelegs as she flew up. “What a bummer! First time I get to see Daring Do in theatres, and I can’t even watch the entire thing!”
“Ah was startin’ to get invested in the story too,” Applejack added before turning to Twilight. “What about you, Twilight? Uh… You alright?” Twilight had furrowed brows, a clenched jaw, and narrowed eyes as if she was trying to contain her anger.
“What? Me?! Of course, I’m alright! What makes you think otherwise? I was just… really getting invested in the story!” Twilight quickly replied with an obviously fake smile as Applejack stepped back.
“Right… So, I guess we’ll leave you to your date, girls. Ah wouldn’t mind going to the theatre with the others one day, that was fun!” Applejack smiled uneasily before leaving with her sister.
“That’s that… I guess…” Rainbow muttered as she landed beside Twilight. “Sorry we got kicked out, it looked like you were enjoying it,”
“It’s… It’s okay,” Twilight couldn’t stay mad for long when Rainbow Dash was comforting her, after all. “It’s my fault we were kicked out anyway, and it seemed you were having fun, too,” She let her head down and sighed. “No matter! I’m sure nothing else will go wrong today! Let’s just have lunch and relax a bit!”
“And I already have the perfect place in mind for that!” Rainbow declared confidently as Twilight smiled.
She already pictured the restaurant Rainbow had in mind, nothing fancy, but still charming. She knew it wasn’t very romantic, but she would enjoy a hayburger and some fries while listening to what Rainbow’s recent days were like. Or maybe they could do like in those romantic books she read and share a big plate of spaghetti! Then they would passionately kiss. Or maybe the spaghetti was better for dinner… She would have to mull over it still.
“I can’t wait to see it!” Twilight replied ecstatically.
Alright! This time, nothing would go wrong!