> Third Wheel Trouble
>  by King Ice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Theatre
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!
> Lunch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight had been surveying the area for some time now, scanning for potential places to eat as Rainbow Dash kept up the brisk pace. Ponyville had numerous restaurants to choose from, but Rainbow seemed to be passing them all up. This made Twilight wonder which restaurant they would ultimately settle on. Perhaps she was unfamiliar with some of them? Twilight was also curious since she didn't recall seeing any restaurants in the direction they were heading.

“I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me, Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed as her marefriend smiled confidently. “Will we be there soon?” She asked. It was more out of curiosity than impatience since they were having lunch early because she didn’t expect the play to end so abruptly for them.

“Actually, we’re already here!” Rainbow replied as she stepped in front of the alicorn, who raised an eyebrow and looked around.

“Oh, but where’s the restaurant? Wait, did you plan a picnic!” Twilight asked excitedly as Rainbow tilted her head, then snickered.

“Come on, Twi, stop pulling my leg! We’ll have lunch right there,” Rainbow turned around and pointed at the building behind her, which was Sugarcube Corner.

“That’s Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow,” Twilight chuckled nervously as her marefriend’s eyes wandered back and forth between the building and her.

“Yeah, I know! That’s where we’ll have lunch!” She answered.

“At Sugarcube Corner? That’s a bakery. They mostly sell sweets,” She argued as Rainbow nodded along.

“Well, you know how much I like sweets! I mean, you love them, too, so I figured you would be happy about it! Also, I kind of managed to get it to ourselves! No one else is gonna bother us,” The pegasus explained while smiling, which prompted Twilight to hide her disappointment as best as she could. “You’re not… You’re not mad or disappointed, are you?” Rainbow asked, getting suddenly worried since she noticed the alicorn’s silence.

“Me? No! No, no, no! Of course, not! No. No? No, I’m not disappointed! Hehe… Ha,” Twilight stammered, sweating while Rainbow Dash studied her face, then grinned.

“Alright! I knew that was a great idea! I bet we’ll get an awesome discount, too!”

“I can’t wait…” Twilight mumbled quietly enough for Rainbow not to hear while she followed her inside the bakery.

“HEY!” Pinkie suddenly shouted out of nowhere, making Twilight gasp in surprise as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

“Pinkie! Don’t do that, please!” The alicorn breathed heavily while clutching her chest as Pinkie simply laughed.

“I thought you weren’t working today, Pinkie,” Rainbow voiced as the pink pony turned its attention to her.

“I wasn’t supposed to, but the Cakes told me about that talk you had with them, and how you wanted to have lunch with Twilight alone. I wanted to be your waitress so bad they let me replace them for today!” Pinkie explained happily as Twilight’s eyes widened in horror.

No way! No way! Who could predict what would happen if they let Pinkie here?! How could she possibly enjoy some time alone with Dash when literally anything could happen at random?! Having to eat dessert when she didn’t have breakfast or lunch was bad enough, but now she would risk getting hit by a meteorite?! Wait… No… She shouldn’t be so dramatic… it wasn’t like trouble followed Pinkie. She was simply overreacting like she used to in the past, but now… Now she changed. She became better. She became calmer. She was less prone to anxiety attacks. Pinkie was one of her best friends, she loved her, and even if she had no concept of boundaries sometimes, she knew she could trust her to make her lunch go smoothly.

“And then, Princess Celestia banished him to what she called the shady realm or something. The Kirins over there see us as kind of divinities now,” Pinkie finished her story with a smile, making Twilight shake her head as she realized she wasn’t listening at all.

“That’s… a great story, Pinkie… And weird because I’m only hearing about it now,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head.

“You never asked!” The party pony grinned. “Come on, take a seat, girls!” She motioned to the small table and two chairs facing each other. “So? Are you, two lovebirds, ready to order?” She inquired the moment the two ponies sat down.

“What do you have?” Rainbow asked as Pinkie smiled, seemingly overjoyed with the question.

“We’ve got chocolate cake, vanilla cake, strawberry cake, raspberry cake…” Pinkie started listing every variety of cake she knew, which was clearly more than Twilight because there were some she never even heard of before. “Oh, and I almost forgot!”

“Let me guess… is it cake?” Twilight inquired tiredly as Pinkie beamed.

“Yup! You got it! Cupcakes! Blueberry cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, sugar-free sugar-filled cupcakes…” She started listing again as Twilight sighed and rested her head on one of her hooves.

“I think we’ll take the chocolate cake, right Twilight?” Rainbow replied as Twilight looked baffled. She didn’t find any of this weird? They weren’t going to eat a whole cake on their own for lunch, were they?

“Uhm… Do you have something else? Something that isn’t cake?” The alicorn inquired as Pinkie Pie shook her head.

“Nope!”

“Come on, Twi. Didn’t you listen to her story earlier? They only have cakes today,” Rainbow Dash poked Twilight on her shoulder.

“I wasn’t really paying attention to the story…” Twilight grumbled while keeping her calm. “You talked about fruit cakes earlier, so that means you have fruits, right? And berries, too!” Twilight asked Pinkie as the earth pony hummed while thinking about it.

“Yup! We do have fruits and berries!” She replied while nodding and smiling.

“Great! Can you make us a salad?” Twilight inquired, satisfied that something may go her way today.

“Nope!” Only for her hopes to be broken and swept away by the pink pony’s words. Twilight’s face fell.

“And why, exactly?”

“Against the policy,” Pinkie stated as if it was evident while Twilight began sputtering.

“A-Against the policy? What policy? Since when do you have a policy?” The alicorn questioned as Pinkie shrugged.

“Well, since always, I guess,” She replied as Twilight open her mouth to say something only for Pinkie to cut her off. “You never asked,” She said as if she just read her mind. “Anyways, those fruits are for cakes only,”

“Come on, Pinkie… Can’t you do us a favor? As best friends!” Twilight suggested with a wide shaking grin.

“Nope! Sorry!” Pinkie shook her head, still keeping her smile.

“It’s already thanks to her and the Cakes that we got Sugarcube Corner for ourselves, Twilight. I don’t think we should push it,” Rainbow reasoned, making her marefriend falter.

Twilight blinked a couple of times, surprised that Rainbow of all ponies wasn’t on her side on this one. When was she the responsible one?!

“I didn’t come here to eat salad,” Rainbow thought as she hoped Twilight would listen to her.

“Wait! Look, Pinkie!” Twilight suddenly noticed something and pointed out the window in the direction of a stand of fruits. “Those are fruits, right? Nothing prevents you from going there and buying some, correct?”

“You’re right!” Pinkie nodded eagerly.

“Alright, so that means… You could go there, buy those fruits, then make a salad here with them,” Twilight continued while Pinkie nodded along.

“Yup! I could do that!” She confirmed as Twilight breathed in relief.

“Nothing prevents me from giving you bits to buy these fruits, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yup!”

“Great! Then, I’ll give you enough bits to buy the fruits you will need for the salad, and you’ll prepare one for us! Is that okay?” Twilight suggested eagerly as Pinkie paused, seemingly in thought, then smiled.

“Nope!”

“W-Why?!” Twilight stammered in incomprehension, nearly willing to pull her mane out. “We’ve gone over this step by step! At no point did any of your answers infer you wouldn’t be allowed to make that salad!” She shouted, starting to lose her patience.

“Geez, Twi… I didn’t know you liked salad THAT much. You’re going to make me jealous at this rate!” Rainbow teased her as Twilight suddenly turned around, opened and closed her mouth a few times to find the correct words, but immediately fell back on her chair and sighed.

“Sorry… I’m… I’m still deeply affected by those pancakes and the breakfast we missed…” Twilight lied. It wasn’t like she wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings.

“Ah, it’s alright! Since when did you love pancakes so much, though?” Her marefriend asked as Twilight looked away awkwardly.

“T-That’s not important. Anything new happened at Wonderbolt training? Or during Weather patrol duties?” She diverted the conversation as Rainbow shrugged.

“Eh, nothing new. Wait, actually, I’ve got some great news recently! Since Soarin will be busy with something important apparently, he won’t be able to participate in the next performance, which is why I’ll replace him!” The pegasus pointed at herself.

“Really? That’s great, Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed happily. She was tired of receiving bad news lately or things going wrong, so seeing that Rainbow was faring better than her, did bring her joy. Watching her smile always brightened Twilight’s day, and it nearly made her forget how bad it started. She leaned her head on her hoof while staring at her marefriend. “You know… Maybe you could show me a glimpse of what you’ve pla-” She started while smirking.

“That’s awesome, Dashie!” Someone screamed right beside the alicorn, making her gasp in fright as she nearly fell off her chair. It was Pinkie, again, who couldn’t help but pop out of nowhere. “I always believed in you!” She expressed happily.

“Thanks, Pinkie. I always believed in me, too,” Rainbow flexed her wings, which Twilight really loved seeing her do usually, but now wasn’t exactly the time to admire them. The alicorn regained her balance and breathed in and out to keep calm. She would not snap now or at any point today… If she wanted to keep her sanity and avoid getting as crazy as she was during the want-it-need-it fiasco, she would remain calm…

“Ahem… Pinkie,” Twilight cleared her throat while giving her friend a twitching smile. “I’m really happy to see you… But… Where is the cake?”

“I’m baking it now! Since you’ve got to let some things rest when cooking, I thought I could check on you two!” Pinkie replied before nudging Rainbow’s shoulder. “Hope I wasn’t interrupting anything, huh?” She winked at the pegasus, making Rainbow blush at the implication.

“Na… Y-You didn’t interrupt anything important,” Rainbow stammered while Twilight opened her mouth only to be unable to form any coherent sentence.

“You… She didn’t- What? Just… Forget it,” Twilight sighed as she facehoofed, then looked at the pink pony. “What do you mean by baking, Pinkie? I thought you were going to bring slices of an already-baked cake,” Twilight commented as Pinkie shook her head.

“Nope! You two came here on a date, and as my best friends, I have to give you the best cake possible! So a cake baked a couple of days ago would be no good!” She explained as Twilight glanced at Rainbow, who was already salivating while imagining the cake.

“We’re flattered, Pinkie. But you really don’t need to do that. And… Wait, are you going to give us a whole cake?” She asked as the mare nodded in confirmation.

“Awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, making Twilight roll her eyes. 

“A whole cake?! Pinkie, that’s…”

“Don’t worry, Twilight! It won’t take too long! I have a special secret to baking them faster,” Pinkie whispered confidently.

“That’s not the issue here. We can’t eat an entire cake like that!” Twilight argued.

“I wouldn’t mind trying, Twi,”

“That’s because you don’t believe in yourself, Twilight! You’ll eat it whole in no time!” Pinkie assured them.

“It’s not about believing, Pinkie,” Twilight sighed desperately.

“Of course, it is! I’ll tell you a story! One day, I participated in a cake-eating competition! I was up against the toughest opponents ever! I mean, even Princess Luna was there, and she doesn’t look like it, but she can eat a cake before you can even blink!” Pinkie started telling her story while Twilight’s eyes couldn’t help shifting between the earth pony and Rainbow. She was supposed to be listening to Dash’s stories! Not someone else!  Ever since that day started, she couldn’t get a word to her marefriend without someone coming between them! Moreover, even Rainbow seemed interested in Pinkie’s story. “I kept thinking I couldn’t do it, but I did! I managed to eat those ten cakes without giving up once! And you know what happened?”

“You got diabetes,” Twilight deadpanned.

“I got diabetes. But I won!”

“Pinkie…” Twilight rubbed her nose in annoyance. “What was the moral of this story, exactly?” She questioned as Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, pausing to think.

“I don’t know!”

“Just… Alright, we’ll eat the cake,” Twilight gave up trying to reason with her. “We won’t hold you off any longer,”

“Oh, it’s fine! I still have some time!” Pinkie replied.

“Well, actually I would like to be alone with-”

“Since you were talking about your day earlier, I just gotta tell you what I did yesterday!” Pinkie cut Twilight off.

“That won’t be nece-” Twilight started only to be interrupted again.

“I went to the movies, and I saw Iron Mare 4!” She said as Rainbow widened her eyes and beamed.

“Wait, really? I didn’t even know it came out! How was it?” She asked before Twilight could stop her.

“Booooring!” Pinkie’s mood suddenly changed as if a switch had been flipped.

“What? No way! Why?” Rainbow continued her line of questioning while Twilight began drawing circles on the table with her wings in boredom.

“Barely any explosions. The bad guy is dumb! He could have killed her, but didn’t for some reason? Why would he do that? It doesn’t even make sense!” Pinkie began ranting as Twilight snapped her head in her direction.

“That’s! I’m sure he had a good reason, and-” She immediately gave up and sighed before slamming her face on the table.

“And the worst part is… There was no victory party at the end! There was no party at all!” Pinkie complained as Rainbow crossed her forelegs.

“That’s lame! And I was so waiting to watch it, too,” She said in disappointment, making Twilight look up.

“Rainbow, you have to make up your own opinion. You can’t just listen to what somepony else says and… and you’re not listening to me, are you?” Twilight deadpanned as Pinkie and Rainbow were too focused on their conversation to even hear her talking. She was lucky she didn’t plan on seeing this movie because they were even talking about spoilers now. The fact that the protagonist’s child died at the end might explain why there was no victory party. Just a guess, though.

“Well! I should get back to that cake! Later!” Pinkie suddenly shouted before running back into the kitchen as Twilight breathed in relief.

“Finally! We have some time to ourselves!”

“Can you believe that? How can a plot twist be so lame?” Rainbow Dash was about to continue talking about the movie only for Twilight to stop her with a kiss. The pegasus blushed as Twilight broke the kiss a second later and nuzzled her while her marefriend blushed. “Not that I disliked it, but where did that come from?” Rainbow smiled as she leaned forward while Twilight did the same, bringing their faces closer.

“I’m just happy to be-”

“I’m BACK!” Pinkie shouted, making Twilight scream in surprise and fall off her chair. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything! Wink Wink,” The earth pony winked at Rainbow, who was looking at Twilight’s lying body.

“Y-You were gone for ten seconds!” Twilight stomped the floor.

Pinkie decided to completely ignore her comment and instead started talking about something else entirely. Twilight gritted her teeth while mumbling in anger and annoyance. She. Had. To. Stay. Calm. All she needed to do was wait for Pinkie to finish telling whatever she was telling, then she would leave. And she did! She left! Only to come back again! Twilight was included in the conversation, but didn’t and wasn’t willing to participate. Mostly because she was mad and didn’t want to. Seeing Rainbow have so much fun with Pinkie when they were supposed to spend the day alone together was making her much angrier than she thought she would be.

It wasn’t like she was in a relationship before, so of course that feeling would be new to her. She now understood why Shining or Cadance would get jealous when seeing a pony talking so affectionately with their loved one. She wasn’t afraid Pinkie would steal Rainbow, not at all. She was more afraid of Rainbow thinking spending time with the other girls was more fun than spending it with her! She wasn’t a bore, was she?

“So… About your cake…” Pinkie slowly said as she came from behind the counter.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Rainbow Dash muttered while looking at the nervous Pinkie Pie.

“I kind of… burned it. It’s ruined,” Pinkie explained as Twilight blinked a few times before her eyes grew as big as platters.

“Y-You’re kidding, right? This is just a big joke, right?” Twilight’s right eye twitched while nervously laughing.

“Uhm… No? Why would I joke about that?” Pinkie looked from left to right.

“No. No. No, no, no! I don’t believe you! First Spike burned the pancakes, and now you burn that stupid?! Who put you up to this?!” Twilight suddenly shouted as she climbed on the table with her horn flaring. “Discord?!”

“Put me up to what?” Pinkie raised her eyebrow.

“Twilight? Are you okay?” Rainbow asked with uncertainty, distancing herself a bit from the table.

“Stop playing innocent and tell me who the mastermind is! Tirek?! Chrysalis?! No, don’t tell me… It’s Spike! I knew it! I never should have trusted that little…” Twilight shouted while staring at Pinkie with eyes full of madness.

“Twilight? Twilight! Relax!” Rainbow pulled Twilight back down. 

“But!” Twilight wanted to argue only to stop when Pinkie started giggling.

“It’s alright, silly! The cake burned, so I baked another one!” She explained as the alicorn’s jaw dropped.

“What? But why did you…” Twilight wanted to argue. Really wanted to know and understand why would Pinkie phrase it the way she did or even why she would tell them in the first place. What would she gain by playing with her emotions?

“I just wanted to tell you for no apparent reason at all! I’ll bring the new cake over!” Pinkie said before running off while Twilight’s lower lip quivered.

“Are you alright, Twi?” Rainbow asked worriedly as Twilight looked down. It would be hard not to notice your marefriend wasn’t feeling well when she snapped like that and seemed heartbroken. “You know you can talk to me…”

“I-I know, Rainbow,” Twilight hugged the pegasus while holding back her tears. “I…” She wanted to tell her but had no idea how or if she should. Would she sound needy? Or would she sound like an overbearing marefriend? She didn’t want to seem selfish either… Why was Romance so hard?! “I just haven’t had much sleep last night. And being hungry doesn’t help either. I’ll be fine. Really. I’m just glad to be with you,” Twilight nuzzled her as affectionately as she could, unwilling to lose her.

“Ok, but tell me if there’s anything wrong,” Rainbow pat her marefriend’s head.

“Here is the cake!” Pinkie announced excitedly as she brought the large chocolate cake over, nearly bouncing up and down. Suddenly, she tripped on her hind leg and collapsed on the floor while the cake flew away only to be caught in a lavender magic grab before it could hit the floor.

“HA! I knew something would go wrong!” Twilight celebrated as she kept the cake in the air with her magic. “It was so obvious, too! But dropping the cake on the floor is a bit too cliché for my tastes,” She breathed heavily, clearly proud of herself for catching it.

“Nice save, Twi! That’s some good reflexes!” Rainbow complimented her as Twilight puffed up her chest.

“Thank you, Dashie,” Twilight replied as Pinkie breathed in relief before grabbing the cake and putting it on the table.

“That was a close one!” She giggled. “Enjoy your ca- A… ACHOO!” She suddenly sneezed so hard that the cake exploded, sending parts of it flying everywhere, including on the ponies. Unfortunately for Twilight, nearly all of her face was covered with chocolate. “Oops…”

“Tastes pretty good,” Rainbow Dash said as she licked off the cake pieces around her lips.

Twilight just sighed.
> The Spa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“At least, Pinkie gave us some cupcakes,” Rainbow grinned as she licked the cupcakes' crumbs off her lips.

“Still wish I would have had a proper meal…” Twilight mumbled under her breath as her stomach rumbled, which Rainbow didn’t seem to hear. “Those towels didn’t help at all! I’m still so sticky from that cake…”

“Yeah, I am, too. Good thing the next step of our day is the spa, right?” Rainbow asked as Twilight sighed.

"I had planned for us to have lunch after visiting the park, but since we finished at the theater earlier than expected, I thought we could grab a meal before heading to it. I wasn’t expecting we would waste so much time in Sugarcube Corner. I don’t want to disrupt our schedule more than I already have." Twilight replied as Rainbow put a foreleg around Twilight’s neck in reassurance.

“It’ll be fine, Twi! We can still go to the park after the spa! It’s not like we’ll spend much time there anyway,” Rainbow reassured her. It was true that Rainbow Dash wasn’t quite interested in the spa and the services it provided. And honestly, Twilight wasn’t either, but it would be a nice change from their usual hangouts. Moreover, they could profit from being groomed a bit.

“Maybe I’m too stressed… I wouldn’t refuse to take some time to relax…” Twilight said as Rainbow nudged her shoulder approvingly.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Plus, don’t forget you’re the one who really wanted to go there in the first place,” Rainbow retorted as they made their way to the spa. Yes, Twilight shouldn’t forget how hard convincing Rainbow Dash was. The fact that she was ready to go through this simply to make Twilight happy just proved how much her marefriend loved her. “We don’t do hooficure, though. Seriously. No one touches my hooves,” Rainbow added with a bit more serious tone.

“Oh, really? No one?” Twilight inquired as she brought her head closer to her marefriend’s while giving her a suggestive smile.

“Well… There are some exceptions…” Rainbow stammered with red cheeks as Twilight snickered. “H-Hey! I’m the one who’s supposed to be teasing you! You’re the egghead!” The pegasus complained with still blushing cheeks.

“I know, I know. You can tease me all you want later, you big softie,” Twilight retorted as she used brushed Rainbow with one of her wings.

“I… Look! We’re here! The Ponyville Day Spa!” Rainbow Dash suddenly pointed at the spa, then started trotting to it. Arriving at the spa quickly reminded Twilight of the situation they were in, causing her to widen her eyes.

“Wait!” She shouted as she teleported in front of her marefriend and stopped her from coming any closer to the spa.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash inquired with a raised eyebrow as Twilight began frantically looking around as if she was chased by someone. Suddenly, she threw her head into a bush, seemingly looking for something. After looking through the bush, the alicorn started running around the spa until she reached the entrance again.

“Okay… Nothing here…” Twilight muttered, loudly enough for Rainbow to hear.

Oh, no. Rainbow recognized that look and that behavior… She was starting to get obsessed… It had been a long time since she did that last. However, every time something like this happened, it was a disaster. Like the time she stuck the entire world in a time loop because she didn’t want to miss her mother’s birthday. Or the time she made the whole town fall in love with a doll. When she got so competitive in a trivia quiz that she tried to steal Trixie’s soul… Woah, that was really messed up when she thought about it. Why did no one ever point that out?

Well, at least, she changed and promised she would never go crazy again. And she kept that promise for years! Now was the time for Rainbow to help her keep it!

“No Applejack… No Pinkie Pie… Fluttershy isn’t hiding somewhere, is she?” Twilight grumbled before sticking her head inside the spa, looking over the entrance to check for any familiar pony. “Nope, none of them are here either… Maybe… Maybe this day is finally getting better!” She chuckled under her breath.

“Twilight? What are you doing?” Rainbow interrupted her thoughts, bringing Twilight’s attention back to her.

“Me? Oh, nothing! Nothing you should worry about!” Twilight quickly replied as Rainbow tilted her head.

“Are you sure? It kiiiinda looks like… You’re having another cuckoo episode,” The pegasus retorted as she did a cuckoo sign with her hoof.

“W-What? No! No, I promise, I’m not! I promised, didn’t I? I wouldn’t do anything obsessive again… Please, believe me!” Twilight snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed the pegasus to embrace her while desperately pleading.

“Whoa, Twilight! Chill! I believe you, okay? I’m just worried is all,” Rainbow pulled away to look into Twilight’s eyes. “You probably just need to relax. I mean, who wouldn’t after a day like this?”

“A-A day like this? So… So you noticed the same thing I did?!” Twilight’s face lit up with hope. If Rainbow noticed, too, then maybe she didn’t need to point it out herself. Did that mean that it wouldn’t be rude of her to tell her friends that she and Rainbow needed some space from them? However, just like relief was filling her, her hopes were washed away just as quickly with Rainbow’s next words.

“Well, yeah! First, you get burned pancakes, then strawberry cupcakes instead of chocolate cake? I need a break, too, after that!” The pegasus noted as Twilight’s face fell.

“Oh, yeah… That… Let’s just go in,” She mumbled tiredly before going inside.

“Princess Twilight! Rainbow Dash! We are so happy to see you!” Lotus Blossom exclaimed as she came to meet them. “I’m honored to have you both in our establishment, but I would be even happier if you could come here more often. Caring for your body and beauty is important, you know?” She teased as Aloe joined them.

“It’s not really our style, but I wouldn’t mind coming back here sometimes,” Twilight smiled, ignoring that she was called by her title and too tired to tell them that simply calling her Twilight was fine for a hundredth time.

“I presume Miss Rainbow Dash will finally have a hooficure?” Aloe asked as Rainbow scoffed.

“No way! Anyone here tries touching my hooves, and they’ll get a kick in their face,” Rainbow warned as Twilight nervously chuckled while making her marefriend lower her hooves.

“She’s just joking! But no, we don’t need hooficure,” She assured them as the spa ponies nodded.

“Very well. I assume you’ll have the formula you told me about yesterday?” Lotus inquired as Twilight nodded in response. “Great! You’re both so lucky because only one other pony picked this one, so you’ll get to enjoy this as a couple, but don’t get too lovey-dovey,” She added teasingly as Rainbow looked away to hide her blush. It was common knowledge she and Twilight were dating, but seeing other ponies’ reactions was sometimes embarrassing.

Twilight, on the other hand, did not care for Lotus’ implications. The only thing she was focused on was the “other pony”, which was enough to make her jaw drop and widen her eyes in fear while her wings began shaking. This was ALL WRONG! Why was there someone else? She made sure to pick the one formula that the other ponies took the least! The one formula that didn’t have hooficure included, and hooficure was something most ponies came here for! No, even then, there were a ton of other formulas, and even if she expected to see other ponies during some of the care, like the sauna, she explicitly told them she wanted the special couple offer! Who was that pony dating exactly? Themselves?!

“Oh, uhm, excuse me, Lotus,” Twilight nudged her to get her attention. “I was just wondering… But why is another pony there? Isn’t it a couple-only formula today? Again, just wondering! I’m not… I’m not angry or mad enough to destroy a building! Just asking out of curiosity!” Twilight laughed nervously.

“Our other employees are all so busy today, and since she has been such a loyal customer, we thought we could make an exception for her and let her in on this formula instead of her usual one,” Lotus explained before noticing Twilight’s eye twitching. “I hope that doesn’t bother you, princess? Because I can just…”

“No! No, it doesn’t! I was just curious! That’s all! Wait… She?” Twilight stopped in her tracks as she came to a sudden realization. “R-Rainbow! Maybe we should…” She grabbed her marefriend to lead her away.

“Twilight, what is happening? Weren’t you eager a second ago?” The pegasus asked as Twilight tried to pull her again.

“We don’t have time for this! Quick before she…”

“Twilight! Rainbow Dash!” A voice exclaimed, making Twilight look down in defeat.

“Too late,”

“Oh, hey, Rarity,” Rainbow greeted her as the unicorn walked up to them. “We sure have been meeting a lot of our friends, haven’t we, Twi?” Rainbow poked her marefriend with her elbow.

“Really? I haven’t noticed…” Twilight mumbled sarcastically as they were led to the spa’s steam room.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been to the steam room, have you, Princess?” Lotus inquired as Twilight shook her head.

“So far, I’ve just been in the bath, had a massage, and the super-deluxe mane blowout,” Twilight replied.

“I remember when I saw you with that mane style! Wish we were dating back then so I could tell you how much I liked it,” Rainbow remarked as Twilight smiled satisfyingly.

“I wouldn’t mind having that mane style again if it’s for you, Rainbow,” Twilight gave her a wry smile, ready to nuzzle her only for Rarity to suddenly come between them.

“Oh, you’ll love the steam room, darling! And you won’t believe how much they’ve improved their massages, they’re soooo…. Relaxing,” The white unicorn said with a dreamy look. “Does that mean you haven’t indulged in the mud facial? You’ll see, it’ll make you feel at least five years longer! Although… You probably won’t need it considering you are an alicorn,” Rarity chuckled as Twilight sighed in annoyance.

“Thank you for reminding me of my unavoidable immortality, Rarity,” Twilight deadpanned while the unicorn laughed.

“You’re welcome, dear,” She replied, completely missing the sarcasm.

“Well, I sure love having a marefriend who’ll always stay young,” Rainbow said to Twilight flirtatiously, then widened her eyes in realization. “Not I would be unhappy if you’re getting old or anything! I mean, even if you were old, I’m sure you would look beautiful! And I-I’m not saying I like you for your looks! I…” Thankfully, the pegasus’ rambling was cut short by her marefriend.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow. I know what you mean,” Twilight smiled knowingly, which quickly reassured her marefriend.

“Here is the steam room! We’ve prepared everything inside already. You can pick your towels and bathrobes right here, and I’ll come to pour water over the hot stones once in a while if you need me to,” Lotus explained as she pointed at the shelf holding the towels and the bathrobes.

“It’s hot in there… But it feels kind of nice…” Twilight commented as she came in after taking a towel and a bathrobe with her.

“Eh, it’s cool, I guess,” Rainbow added as she sat beside Twilight while Rarity took a seat nearby. “I’m more looking forward to the preening! These guys aren’t even pegasi, but they do it even better than some of the pegasi I know,”

“Thank you for the compliment!” Lotus smiled as she poured water over the hot stones, creating even more steam. “Enjoy, ladies!” She declared before exiting the room.

Twilight put on the bathrobe while looking at her marefriend, who was doing the same, then glanced in Rarity’s direction. The white unicorn was humming while having her eyes closed, seemingly relaxing and simply enjoying the moment without saying anything. Was… Was Rarity not going to say anything? She wasn’t trying to talk to them or trying to ruin her date for purely comedic purposes. Yes, Twilight still believed Pinkie did those things on purpose and there was no way Discord wasn’t involved! Or maybe it actually was Spike… She needed to take this into her own hooves and prepare a trap for them! Right! If Rarity was part of their plan, then she needed… No, she was overthinking things and being paranoid. She wouldn’t do anything crazy! No way!

Rarity was simply being mindful and polite. She probably figured they were on a date and didn’t want to bother them. This gave Twilight a little hope.

“So, what are you two doing here?” Forget she said anything.

“We’re on a date!” Rainbow answered proudly as the white unicorn beamed.

“Really?! Oh, my! It’s nice to finally see you two doing something regular couples do!” Rarity exclaimed. Wait, what did she mean by that? “Sometimes you act as if you weren’t even dating,”

“Rainbow’s a little bit shy when it comes to showing affection in public. Romantic affection,” Twilight pointed out.

“What? No, I’m not!” Rainbow pouted stubbornly as Twilight simply gave her a pat on the head.

“Anyway, yes, we’re on a date. As a couple. Only the two of us,” Twilight said, clearly trying to let her know that she wouldn’t want them to be disturbed.

“Of course, it’s only the two of you! That’s what a couple is, darling! Don’t worry about me, I’ll make myself as small as possible,” Rarity reassured them, making Twilight breathe in relief.

“Thank you, Rarity. I appreciate it,” The alicorn said as she leaned on Rainbow Dash. “Finally… Some time to relax,” She exhaled while keeping her head on Rainbow’s shoulder. They were only going to get hotter if they were so close because of the steam, but she honestly didn’t care since this was her opportunity to finally be with Rainbow.

“You don’t say. I had to fly the whole day yesterday! I felt like my wings were about to drop,” She said while leaning against Twilight, too.

“I know you’re dedicated to being a wonderbolt, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a few breaks, you know?” Twilight softly advised her.

“If I’m taking a break with you, then I might be willing to take some,” Rainbow nuzzled her. Twilight hummed in return, but before she could retort anything, someone squealed.

“You two are so adorable!” Rarity expressed with a gentle tone and lit face while clapping her hooves together.

“T-Thanks, Rarity…” Twilight blushed in embarrassment.

“Not awkward at all…” Rainbow muttered quietly enough so the unicorn wouldn’t hear it.

“If only your relationship was made public, you would be the one couple everypony talks about in Equestria! Oh, just imagine the magazines… They would love you!” Rarity insisted as Rainbow gained an arrogant expression.

“Of course, they would! I mean, me and Twilight are the most awesome pony in Equestria already, so if you combine us, then… That makes… Awesome times two? Maybe? Well, you get it!”

“Actually, it’s Twilight and I. A-Anyway, I think we get it, Rarity,” Twilight interjected, correcting Rainbow Dash while she was at it.

“Oh! Maybe I could make you some matching dresses! It will be difficult considering your differences in colors, but I can make this work!” Rarity continued after totally ignoring what Twilight said.

“It’s really not needed…” Twilight attempted to argue again only for Rarity to ramble on longer.

“You could wear them at the Grand Galloping Gala! It would be such an honor to have you wearing dresses I’ve made when everypony will be looking at you!” She insisted as Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Usually, I like it when ponies can’t help but look at me, but I’d rather they do it because I’m cool. Not because of who I’m dating,” The pegasus replied as Rarity scoffed.

“Do not worry, darling! They will…”

“Rarity!” Twilight finally shouted, interrupting her next monologue.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“It’s nice of you to offer, and I wouldn’t mind if we wore matching dresses, but right now, I just want to relax. Let’s not talk about the gala, dresses, whether my relationship is made public or not, or about the opinion of other ponies about MY relationship,”

“Oh, right. Right. That’s natural. It’s the spa, after all. I’m sorry, I don’t want to put you under any stress,” Rarity apologized while chuckling nervously. “I’ll pour some more water on these stones,”

“Thank you,” Twilight breathed in relief. Finally, someone that understood.

“So quiet I’d be ready to take a nap,” Rainbow mumbled as Twilight grinned.

“I don’t mind if you rest your head on me, Rainbow,” The alicorn whispered as she put her hoof on Rainbow’s.

“I think you already know that I’d nap on you even if you minded. You’re the best spot to sleep on when there’s no cloud around,” Rainbow chuckled as Twilight raised an eyebrow playfully.

“So I’m losing to a cloud? Great! I hope you’ll invite me to the wedding!” She teased, making Rainbow snicker.

“Only if you’re the one wearing the ring,” Rainbow retorted. And before Twilight could say anything in response, they heard a squeal again. The alicorn turned around in annoyance to look at Rarity, who was blushing embarrassingly.

“Sorry… Hehe. I couldn’t help it. Why don’t we add a bit more steam in there?” Rarity suggested before pouring water on the stones again. The truth was she wanted to hide them from her view to avoid squealing again at this cuteness.

“I-Isn’t that a bit much?” Rainbow asked as the steam nearly filled the room. Any more, and they wouldn’t even be able to see each other.

“So, you two never said when you fell in love with one another,” Rarity pointed out.

“I’d love to talk about it, but-” Twilight started before Rainbow interrupted her.

“Can’t say for Twilight, but I know when I started having feelings for this awesome mare!”

Twilight just facehoofed yet again today. She loved hearing Rainbow Dash talking about how she developed her feelings for her, but it really wasn’t necessary to do it now of all time! Even after Rainbow ended her story, Rarity asked more questions and even insisted on knowing when Twilight fell in love with Rainbow. The alicorn answered, naturally, but she tried so hard to make it known by her tone that she was tired of it and only wanted to relax.

At some point, Rarity poured so much water that the steam literally made it impossible for them to see one another. She stretched out her forelegs to try and reach Rainbow only to touch the air as if the pegasus had vanished.

“That steam is getting thick…” Rainbow mumbled before wrapping her legs around her marefriend. “That’s kinda fun! I’m happy we got to do this, Twilight. Wait… Aren’t you a bit fatter than usual?” Rainbow asked, stopping in her tracks right before she could nuzzle her marefriend, and started rubbing the alicorn’s body.

“Ahem, I’m not Twilight. Wait, did you just call me fat?” The pony she was groping replied, making Rainbow widen her eyes as she recognized Rarity’s voice.

“AH! Get away!” She shouted in surprise and panic as she threw a kick in the steam by total reflex.

“Ouch!” Someone let out a pained cry as they dropped to the floor.

“Crap! I’m sorry, Rarity! I didn’t mean to! You kinda scared me there!” Rainbow quickly apologized while looking for Rarity in the steam to help her up.

“Uhm… That wasn’t me, Rainbow,” Rarity replied again, this time, nervously.

“Not you? Oh, no! Twilight! Are you okay?” Rainbow ran around before finally getting her hooves on someone and helping them. She quickly hugged her.

“I-I’m fine,” Twilight muttered disoriented.

“Thank Celestia. I’m really sorry. I was just…” Rainbow began comforting her marefriend in her embrace.

“I’m still not Twilight, but I do appreciate the hug, Rainbow,” Rarity said again.

“AH!”

“Ouch!”

A couple of minutes later, the three ponies finally came out of the steam room.

“I’m so sorry, Twi. You know I didn’t mean it,” Rainbow assured to her marefriend.

“It’s okay… It was an accident. An accident that happened twice…” Twilight replied as she rubbed her right eye, where her blackeye was. “And on the same eye, too…”

“Don’t worry about it, darling! I’m sure Lotus or Aloe will cover it with some makeup!” Rarity reassured the alicorn.

“Oh, my! Princess, what happened?” Aloe inquired in worry as Twilight furrowed her brows.

“I fell. Can we go to the next part?”

“Of course! And don’t worry about that little incident. We’ll make sure completely unnoticeable,”

“Great,”

A few moments later, Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity were lying on their bellies, ready for a massage. Aloe stood beside Rainbow while Lotus was massaging Twilight, and Rarity was given a massage by Lavender Essence.

“That feels… really good…” Twilight mumbled dreamily as Lotus pressed her hooves on her back.

“Thank you, princess. Once I’m done with it, I’m sure you’ll love a horn filing and some preening?” Lotus replied.

“Yes please,”

“You’ll see Twilight, but they really do wonders for your wings!” Rainbow said as Twilight glanced over at her.

“I’m sure you’re just as good when it comes to preening my wings, Rainbow,” The alicorn pointed out. Rainbow helped Twilight learn how to preen her wings, so she knew how to do it herself. Still, that didn’t prevent her from asking Rainbow to do it for her. She just loved when Rainbow was doing it, really. For some reason, she thought she heard another squeal, which was much quieter than the previous ones.

“You’re so stiff! Your back feels like a rock! When was the last time you got a massage?” Aloe commented while massaging Rainbow’s back.

“I don’t know. A long time ago, I guess?” Rainbow answered hesitantly.

“If I may advise you, Aloe, you should massage well the spot between her wings. She loves it here!” Rarity said while being massaged. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the white unicorn, then at her marefriend, who seemed to be in complete delight.

“Ooooh, that’s the spot!” Rainbow breathed in relief while Aloe was massaging where Rarity indicated it.

“That’s going to make the next part of the massage much more relaxing now,” Aloe commented as she moved her hooves to another spot.

“H-How do you know about this, Rarity? Even I didn’t know,” Twilight inquired while Rarity kept her eyes closed, fully enjoying the massage.

“Sometimes, Rainbow’s shoulders or back get really stiff, so I help her out with a quick massage. I’m certainly not as good as the ponies taking care of us now,” Rarity sent a quick flirtatious smile to Lavender before resuming. “But I get the job done,”

“You could have come to me, Rainbow. I wouldn’t mind giving you a massage…” Twilight turned to look at her marefriend.

“No offense, Twilight. But last time you tried it, I felt like you would break my back,” Rainbow replied as the alicorn looked down, suddenly losing all the feeling of relaxation she built up.

“I wish I knew Rarity was giving you some, at least…” She muttered under her breath and remained silent while the other ponies kept discussing with each other.

At some point, Lotus began filing her horn and preening her. She didn’t even notice it, too preoccupied with her inner turmoil. She honestly didn’t care if she was left out of their conversation. She wasn’t mad about Rarity giving Rainbow a massage from time to time. She would have appreciated it if they told her, though. Weren’t they friends? And Rainbow was her marefriend. No, she was mostly upset because she was tired. She was tired of that horrible day! She was tired of things not going her way! There had been something wrong in literally every one of their activities thus far! They couldn’t be coincidences, could they?!

Pinkie and the burned cake certainly weren’t! She was still adamant about that! If only she knew who the culprit was, but she already had her main suspects! And… She was too tired to investigate that, too.

“That was so good! I feel so much lighter!” Rainbow exclaimed as she flew a couple of meters above the floor.

“See? You should come here more often! And you too, Twilight,” Rarity stated as Rainbow turned to her marefriend.

“So? What’s next?” She asked while Twilight was looking away.

“Now is time for mud facial, then seaweed wrap!” Rarity replied before any spa ponies could.

“Sounds gross, but I guess I can try,” Rainbow responded.

“No,” Twilight suddenly said, bringing the pegasus’ attention back to her.

“Huh? What’s up, Twilight?”

“I don’t want to do these. I’d rather go to the park right now,” Twilight sighed as Rainbow tilted her head, then gained a worried expression.

“But you looked so eager earlier! Is something wrong?” The rainbow-maned pegasus inquired as Twilight looked into her eyes.

“Can we just go to the park, please?” She asked in a sad and desperate tone, which was enough for Rainbow to respect any of her wishes.

“O-Of course! If that’s what you want, then we don’t have to stay,” Rainbow placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder as Twilight hugged her with quivering lips.

“Thank you, Dashie,” The alicorn murmured before pulling away and walking towards the exit, without forgetting to give Aloe and Lotus a few bits.

“Is she okay?” Rarity asked worriedly as she approached Rainbow.

“She’s been weird all day. She just doesn’t want to tell me why. At first, I thought it was one of her episodes again, but I guess it’s something else…” Rainbow replied, then followed closely Twilight.

The alicorn kept a steady and confident pace as she kept narrowed eyes. The park was their last stop before the restaurant, and she refused to have something go wrong there, too.
> The Park and the Snap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two mares reached the park in no time, just as they had anticipated. It was exactly as Twilight expected—peaceful and serene. Ponies strolled by, savoring the scenic surroundings, much like Twilight herself. The melodic chirping of birds filled the air, providing the park with its own delightful soundtrack. The park had a reminiscent charm of Canterlot Palace's garden, albeit on a smaller scale and with less opulence. Despite that, it boasted a charming fountain and a few statues of the princesses, including one of Twilight. She vividly remembered the process of posing for that particular sculpture, as the sculptor was determined to capture every detail accurately.

Despite the park's serene and picturesque atmosphere, it failed to uplift Twilight's spirits. After all, her day had been nothing short of a disaster so far. She couldn't shake the feeling that something else would inevitably go wrong. Reflecting on the events of the day, Twilight realized that the only friend she hadn't encountered yet was Fluttershy. She hoped to avoid running into the gentle pegasus, but given her luck thus far, she wasn't particularly optimistic about it.

“You were right, Twi! This place isn’t too bad! I always flew above it but never thought of checking it out,” Rainbow commented while walking beside Twilight and looking around.

“It is pretty nice… Too bad the sun’s setting soon, so we won’t get to enjoy it,” Twilight mumbled, barely hiding her displeasure. “I think I’ll rest my legs on that bench a little,” She added before unfolding her wings and flying to the nearest bench, closely followed by Rainbow.

“But we didn’t even walk that much,” Rainbow pointed out in confusion but didn’t insist more than that. She already knew that Twilight wasn’t in a good mood and that there was something wrong.

“I guess I just want to admire the view a bit. The offer to nap on me is still open if you’re interested,” Twilight suggested with a small smirk as she sat on the bench and folded her wings again.

“Maybe when we’re someplace more private,” The pegasus chuckled before joining her marefriend and sitting wing to wing. The rainbow-maned pony’s eyes drifted around the park until they landed on a statue depicting Twilight. “Woah! They even got a statue of you here?!” She exclaimed.

“It was even the first one they sculpted. Probably because I’m the one princess who lives in Ponyville. It was embarrassing at first, thinking there’s a statue of me somewhere, but you get used to it eventually,” Twilight shrugged while Rainbow stared at her with a suggestive smile. “What?” The alicorn asked only for Rainbow to remain silent. “What?”

“I was just thinking they got your flank right!” She snickered as Twilight blushed.

“Oh, shut up, you!” She playfully hit her marefriend’s shoulder, then leaned on her. Maybe she could actually relax now.

“So, Twilight… Seriously, what’s wrong? I know you told me you were fine, but you can tell me anything,” Rainbow suddenly said, making Twilight sigh.

“I…” She started as she gave the pegasus some space. What would she even say? What if Rainbow wouldn’t like hearing her say that she thought their friends had been annoying all day, and that Twilight slowly descended into madness until the thought of burying the others alive until the date was over crossed her mind multiple times today? Rainbow certainly seemed to have fun unlike her. And she didn’t even seem bothered by everyone else. Actually… Everyone thought this was perfectly normal! “I’m fine… Really,”

It was as if she was the only sane pony in this town! Or was she the crazy one? Are relationships supposed to be like that? No! She refused to accept it! There was no way she was insane for thinking she would like to spend some time alone with her marefriend! But she already knew how that would go! Everyone would think she was going crazy! It sure would be fun to see if they would think she was crazy after trapping them in Tartarus! Or better yet, she could banish them to the moon for a day! While she was it, why just her friends? When she could do that with all of Equestria?! That way, she would be certain that no one in the world will bother her on her date!

Perhaps she could try that time loop spell again… Sure it nearly shattered the flow time, and that was because of a silly reason; making sure she wouldn’t miss her mother’s birthday. But this time, it was for a good reason! So no one would ruin her date! The next pony that comes and ruins things… Was a goner. She didn’t know what she would do exactly, but they wouldn’t see the light of day again.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Twi. I know you, and I know you’re really not feeling great. I can literally see you in your face,” Rainbow insisted as Twilight finally broke out of her thoughts.

“W-What do you mean?”

“That’s the look you get when you’re plotting something. And when you’re plotting something, it’s usually because of something that bothers you. See? I know you. So please, tell me what’s wrong. And I promise you I’ll help in any way I can! I’m even ready to go to Tartarus and kick Tirek’s butt!” Rainbow Dash replied, making Twilight’s face light up.

“R-Really?” She asked with a hope-filled tone.

“I was ready to do that when we were best friends, so you bet I am now that we’re dating! So if what’s bothering you is a pony… Just tell me who they are and I’ll bash their face in right now!” She insisted as Twilight nearly got teary-eyed.

“Oh, Rainbow… That’s why I love you,” Twilight blurted, making her marefriend blush. They didn’t say the L word a lot to each other since they haven’t been dating for that long, but Twilight always had an easier time saying it than Rainbow. Not that the pegasus loved her less. She was simply unused to this. “You’re right. I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid that… That I would be a jerk or a killjoy. I don’t even know! But I guess staying quiet didn’t make things any better. So here we go. Ever since I woke up, I wanted to spend time with you alone and relax. I-I wanted us to do something romantic in an everyday setting! But every time I thought we…” Twilight started explaining as Rainbow listened intently, focused on every one of her words.

“Watch out!” Someone suddenly screamed a warning, making Twilight raise an eyebrow and turn to look in the scream’s direction.

“Huh?” She muttered before being slammed by something huge, covered in white feathers and green scales.

“Twilight!” Rainbow shouted as the bench was torn in half and sent flying along with Twilight and the thing that slammed into her.

Sliding several meters, leaving behind a trail the size of her body on the ground, the alicorn winced in pain. The creature that had knocked her down stood back up, only to dart off in a different direction. As Twilight glanced up, the first thing that caught her attention was her marefriend standing by her side. Meanwhile, the monstrous entity continued its rampage through the park, uprooting trees and scattering ponies in a frenzy of fear.

“Is that… A cockatrice?” Twilight asked out loud while the cockatrice screeched as if to answer her.

“Hey! Hey! Twilight? You okay in there?” Rainbow shook her a little as Twilight focused her attention back on Rainbow.

“Y-Yeah. It didn’t hurt that much,” Twilight reassured her.

“You sure? It slammed into you so hard I would bet a regular pony would have been blown to bits!” Well, it certainly felt like what Rainbow described. It was a miracle she didn’t break anything! Even if her ribs felt like they were broken…

“Oh, my… Are you ok, Twilight?” Someone interjected, whose voice Twilight immediately recognized, which was enough to nearly make her forget about the cockatrice.

“Fluttershy. You’re here. What a surprise,” Twilight commented with her right eye twitching. “I’m sure you can give a perfectly logical explanation as to why a cockatrice is here,”

“Yeah! What’s the deal with that?! I thought it killed Twi for a second!” Rainbow added with her wings unfolded.

“I was trying to befriend him. That poor little cockatrice was so lonely and had no friends. Apparently, he caused some havoc in the everfree forest and the other animals wanted him out,” Fluttershy began explaining while Twilight was nodding along, keeping a wide smile on her face. “Poor little thing was so sad… I couldn’t just leave him like this. So I thought about bringing him back home, but he… Uhm… Went wild,”

“Oh! That explains everything!” Rainbow Dash replied with a satisfied smile.

“Oh, yes! It explains everything!” Twilight added, still holding her wide (and a bit crazy) smile.

Even the park? Even that place wasn’t safe? Alright… Now that was so close to being her last straw. So very close. Well, time for someone to die. She did say she would kill someone. Her last straw would actually be something far worse than murdering someone, but that would be for another time.

“Ka cow!” The cockatrice screeched before launching itself at the three ponies.

Twilight pivoted on her hooves, a determined expression etched across her face, as she ignited her horn with a brilliant glow. Within her, a fiery surge of hatred coursed through her heart, fueling her gaze as she locked eyes with the menacing cockatrice. With fervent determination, she harnessed all the emotions and experiences that had consumed her throughout the day, channeling them into the power emanating from her horn.

Without giving the cockatrice a chance to respond, she enveloped him in a captivating lavender aura. With a forceful spin, she propelled the creature into the heavens with such velocity that it shattered the sound barrier. A final screech escaped the cockatrice's beak before he vanished into the direction of the sun. As the adrenaline coursed through her veins, Twilight's breaths came in heavy gasps, her face radiating sheer elation. A maniacal grin spread across her features, leaving the two onlooking ponies utterly astounded, their jaws hanging in shock.

“T-That was scary… But it kind of turned me on? I have conflicting feelings about this…” Rainbow Dash muttered, voice filled with uncertainty.

“T-Twilight! What have you done?! Oh, my Celestia!” Fluttershy stammered before tears streamed down her cheeks. “Y-You k-killed him!” She shouted with her wings and hooves covering her eyes.

“H-Hey, now!” Rainbow Dash woke up from her stupor and rushed to the other pegasus’ side. “I’m sure the cockatrice is fine! These guys are tough! And he can fly, too!” She attempted to reassure her.

“R-Really?” Fluttershy sniffed as Twilight walked up to them.

“Of course! I didn’t even try to hurt him! I thought about what you said and sent him to a nice farm with other animals he can play with! He is probably having a lot of fun right now!” Twilight smiled warmly. She looked so sincere while saying this that it almost scared Rainbow Dash… among other things.

“T-Thank you, Twilight! I knew I can always count on you!” Fluttershy hugged the alicorn. “Can I go see him?”

Twilight laughed in response before patting Fluttershy on the head and turning her attention back to her marefriend.

“Go home and dress up. Night should fall in an hour, which is the perfect time for our dinner,” Twilight ordered before walking away without even waiting for a response.

“That… Was something,” Rainbow mumbled while Fluttershy was humming happily.

Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire…

Shining Armor breathed in satisfaction as it was another tranquil day. No changeling invasion. No Sombra return. No Tirek or Discord. It was peaceful. Now that was a job day he could get behind!

“Captain!” Another guard came running outside, making Shining furrow his brow and grumble in annoyance.

He talked too fast, didn’t he?

“Something’s wrong?”

“It’s Princess Cadance!” Now that was enough to make Shining take this matter seriously.

“Is she okay? What happened?!” He quickly inquired, getting more panicked as seconds passed.

“She’s okay… But… It appears that a giant fried chicken crashed through her window… and the wall. That’s what she told me, at least,” He explained as Shining paused, confused. He opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to find the words.

“I-Is that code for something? Is she trying to tell me something?” He asked the guard who reported it only for him to shrug. The white unicorn turned to another guard, who seemed just as confused as he was. “Junior, you’ve been married longer than me. That makes any sense to you?”

“Nope, sorry, sir. It doesn’t,”

“Well… I suppose I’ll check this out myself, then,”

An hour later, Twilight was facing Rainbow Dash. Both wore a variation of the dresses they wore at the previous Grand Galloping Gala, and both couldn’t help but check out the other.

“I forgot how gorgeous you look in that dress…” Twilight blushed as she complimented her marefriend.

“T-Thanks. You’re pretty cute, yourself,” Rainbow replied as Twilight brushed her wing against the pegasus’.

“So? Ready to go?” Twilight inquired with bedroom eyes.

“Ready as I’ll ever be! So what was that restaurant about again?” The pegasus asked as they walked toward the entrance. Simply by looking at it from the outside, it was as clear as day to Rainbow that it was a fancy one. She supposed that was the reason they wore dresses like these. It was outdoors, but they had great decorations. Lanterns emitted a dim light, bright enough so ponies could see each other. Although, they weren’t even needed thanks to the moon’s light. They even had a statue of Luna there.

“As you can see, the specialty of that restaurant is that you eat outside. It opens in the evening, so that way everypony can stargaze while they have dinner. Luna actually helped them open by sponsoring it. She was really happy that ponies would come to eat here just to admire her sky, which is magnificent by the way. And their food is great too, from what I heard from the ponies that came at the opening yesterday!” Twilight replied with delight. Now was finally the time her day would get better. “The Stellar Bites,”

“Wait, that’s the name? That’s what the restaurant is called?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as Twilight frowned.

“I’ll let you know that coming up with names is already hard enough, so guess how annoying it is to come up with a name for a restaurant!”

“Woah! Okay! I get it! I didn’t you would take it so personally, Twi. I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash backed away in surprise as Twilight chuckled nervously.

“I-It’s okay! I don’t know what came over me,” Twilight apologized as they reached the Stellar Bites.

“Oh! Princess Twilight! Welcome to our fine establishment. It is an honor,” A male unicorn standing at the front door welcomed them.

“The honor is mine! This is Rainbow Dash, we would like a table for two,” Twilight smiled, which nearly made Rainbow beam. She seemed in a much better mood already.

“How could I not know Miss Rainbow Dash, one of Equestria’s heroes?” The unicorn mused as Rainbow chuckled proudly.

“I know. I’m pretty hard not to recognize,”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Breeze Horn, and allow me to be your humble host tonight,” He bowed his head as Twilight nodded.

The two ponies were quickly led to a table at the far end of the restaurant, where they were fewer ponies, but the view was just as good. The waiter likely figured they were less likely to be swarmed by fans that didn’t originate from Ponyville. Just as Twilight was about to reach for her chair with a magical grab, Rainbow flew behind it and pulled it for her while grinning.

“Thank you, Dashie,” Twilight nuzzled her cheek before sitting. Seeing that Rainbow was about to reach for her chair, too, she lit her horn and pulled it before she could.

“Hey! I was supposed to be gentlefilly here!” Rainbow teased as she sat down while Breeze watched the scene unfold with a smile.

“You two make quite a cute couple, princess,” He complimented them, which made Rainbow so embarrassed she blushed.

“Thank you, sir,” Twilight thanked him. She was delighted to finally see someone with manners! Someone that likely wouldn’t bother her while she wanted to enjoy a nice alone time with Dash.

“I will bring you your menus at once, but if you already have a drink in mind, I am all ears,” Breeze said as Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other.

“I dunno… What do you want, Twi?”

“I think we’ll both have wine,” Twilight decided, making Rainbow breathe in relief.

“I will bring it right away, along with the menu, your majesty,” He bowed before walking away.

“Thank you, I thought it would be weird if I ordered an alcoholic drink on our first real date,” The pegasus revealed as Twilight snickered.

“I didn’t think you would care so much about something like this, Rainbow. Usually, that’s my job,”

“What can I say? I’m learning from you,” She chuckled as Twilight’s face almost melted. She loved hearing her laugh so much…

Now that she paid attention, she also realized there was quiet music playing. Looking around, she noticed Octavia nearby playing her cello. Now that she remembered, Octavia did get a job in this restaurant as a musician. The other clients were minding their own business and were even talking quietly to avoid bothering the rest.

There were no clouds in sight. Only Luna’s gorgeous jeweled night sky with stars shining brighter than they ever did. It honestly felt like a dream. And maybe she would have thought it was if not for the disaster of a day she had. However, now that she thought about it… It didn’t seem so bad. If she could get this night in return, then it was worth it.

“Twilight? You’re spacing out again. You’ve been doing that a lot today,” Rainbow commented, bringing her back to reality. “By the way, you didn’t finish talking about what was bothering you,”

“Rainbow… I…” Twilight started, breaking into a smile while staring into her marefriend’s eyes. Her worries, her disappointment, and anger were slowly washed away. “I’m fine now. I think. I’m happy we get to be together like this. Sometimes, it feels like we can’t talk… Either because somepony might be listening or because it’s… Just not the right time. Every moment I spend with you makes me so happy, and you can’t imagine how much. Honestly, I never thought I would feel this way before coming to Ponyville. I thought I would be a loner forever,” Twilight chuckled at the memory. It seemed so long ago. “Then I came here and you girls taught me about friendship. Then… Love. Romantic love. Sure, Cadence and Shining or my parents tried doing it with words, and they could never really make me grasp the concept. But you did. You taught me that,”

“Twi…” Rainbow whispered, getting all emotional, too.

“I-I’m getting sappy, I know. It might sound crazy since we haven’t been dating that long, but I can’t imagine myself with another pony. I’m not even just talking about this lifetime! I could live for a thousand more years, and I still wouldn’t imagine myself with somepony else!” Twilight insisted as her marefriend snickered.

“And you think I would? It doesn’t sound crazy at all, Twi. I’m actually happy you feel the same way… I thought I was the only one,” She rubbed the back of her head embarrassingly.

Twilight nearly teared up while looking at and listening to Rainbow Dash. This was it, wasn’t it? The perfect moment for their passionate kiss. She wasn’t lying when she said that to Rainbow. She already imagined the next countless nights they would spend together, entangled in each other’s hooves and wings. When they would have more free time, they would even go on trips or visit each other’s families. She couldn’t wait to have a family dinner with Rainbow. She could bet that her parents would love the pegasus. Would they… Would they get married? That was the next step, wasn’t it? She would wait a couple of more years before proposing, but still. A nice thought.

She was a princess, had great friends, and an amazing marefriend. What could she ask for more in life? She did it! She achieved the goal of all living creatures in life! Happiness!

“Rainbow, I…” Twilight started before stopping herself as the waiter arrived with the wine and the menus.

“Here are your drinks, ladies. And the menu,” Breeze said.

“Thank you, sir,” Twilight replied as the waiter smiled while looking at her, making her raise an eyebrow.

“Now, your majesty. I was recently informed by some ponies that… You were glum and that you’d had a hard day. I am sorry to hear that but know that many ponies love and care about you. That is why they have decided to show you that love and care in a special way,” He explained as Twilight’s heart started beating faster.

“W-What are you talking about? What are you saying?!” Twilight barely kept herself from shouting.

“How do you know about that, buddy?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow while the waiter simply smiled. Suddenly, loud music started playing.

“What is that music?! Where is it coming from?!” Twilight started hyperventilating while looking around. The other customers couldn’t help but overhear as they turned to look at the commotion. “No, no, no! Everything was perfect! We… We have to run! To fly away!” She shouted as she rose from her seat under Rainbow’s worried gaze.

“Lady! Careful!” Breeze warned her but was too late to intercept the glass of wine that fell on her dress when she hit the table.

“Twi! Calm down! Nothing’s wrong! See?” Rainbow caught her to reassure her before pointing at the entrance.

“Everything is wrong…” She muttered.

“Surprise!” Pinkie and every one of her friends, followed by many of the town ponies shouted at the top of their lungs while carrying party items. Confetti, balloons, and party hats. A banner that said ‘Get well, Twilight party!’.

“That’s awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed while Twilight remained focused on the arriving ponies.

“Give it up for Twilight, everypony!” Pinkie screamed as the other ponies clapped. “I made a cake just for you, Twilight!”

“The others told me you weren’t feelin’ good, so I brought some apple pies just for ya, sugarcube!” Applejack added while widely smiling.

“See, Twilight? Whatever it is, we’ll help you with it! And what you need now, dear, is some cheering up!” Rarity grinned with Spike on her back.

“You should have told me you weren’t feeling good, Twilight!” The small dragon said.

“You helped that poor cockatrice even if you were feeling bad yourself… I’m sorry for not noticing it, Twilight,” Fluttershy apologized as the other ponies started talking at the same time, all trying to cheer her up with kind words.

“Seeing that an entire town loves its princess so much is beautiful, your majesty!” Breeze exclaimed while getting emotional.

“They sure know how to cheer somepony up, right, Twi?” Rainbow laughed as she looked at her marefriend. “Twilight?”

“Twilight!”

“We love you, Twilight!”

“Twilight!”

Twilight. Twilight. Twilight. That was all she was hearing. Her teeth clenched as the unbearable screams of the ponies around her drowned Rainbow’s voice. Her mane slowly started rising while she let out a low growl. All the accumulated anger built up inside her since the start of the day was waiting to be released. Everything was so perfect. And everything was ruined. Something broke inside her.

That was the last straw.
> Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone was talking and shouting at the same time as Pinkie Pie started sharing slices of cake with everyone, including the customers that came here before them. And of course, everyone was shouting her name. Whether it was to comfort her, to get her attention, or whatever, she didn’t care. She had enough. She was tired of this mess.

“Twilight! You okay?” Pinkie asked with a mouthful of cake while the alicorn was shaking in righteous fury.

“Come on! Say somethin’, Twilight!” Applejack added, totally missing Twilight’s current state.

“ENOUGH ALREADY!” Twilight finally snapped and hollered in the Canterlot royal voice. It was louder than it had ever been.

The sheer force of her proclamation created a mighty shockwave, propelling every pony, except for her trusted friends and Spike, out of the restaurant. Applejack's hat soared into the distance, while Pinkie's clown costume was torn asunder, reduced to scattered fragments. Even her fellow princesses couldn’t help but hear the scream, startling them into thinking a new threat had come to Equestria, only to recognize Twilight's voice… And prepare even stronger countermeasures than they would have for an actual enemy.

Twilight panted, her throat hurting, and because her anger was such that it made it harder for her to calm down and breathe. Her eyes traveled from friend to friend, all with their jaws dropped in shock and surprise.

“Twilight? Are you alright?” Spike dared to ask as Twilight’s glare befell him, silencing him instantly.

“Do I look… ALRIGHT to you?!” Twilight questioned him as the little dragon looked at their other friends. “No, I’m not alright. And I haven’t been alright a single time since that day started!” She shook again, looking like she was barely containing her anger. “The whole town?! Really?! You brought the whole bucking town?! What’s next?! Should I wait for Sombra?! Wait, no! Don’t tell me! The princesses are gonna come for some bullshit nonsensical reason and try to ruin my evening, aren’t they?! Or better yet, Chrysalis comes and tries to invade us again because that bitch just has nothing better to do!” The other ponies gasped as Rarity covered Spike’s ears.

Suddenly, a green light, from which Chrysalis emerged, flashed behind Twilight, making the alicorn’s friends and marefriend widen their eyes in panic.

“Twilight Sparkle! I’ve had enough of these games! Fight me here and-” Chrysalis began commanding the alicorn, who turned around and didn’t even bother responding to her. Instead, her mane and tail caught on fire as she breathed a gigantic stream of fire followed by a monstrous roar. The changeling queen hadn’t been fast enough to dodge it. But the fire wasn’t even the worst part. Before being hit by, what seemed like the flames of Tartarus, she had a glimpse of what true fear was. Looking into Twilight’s eyes… She saw nothing. As if she had no soul… Or maybe Chrysalis’ retina was completely burned because of the fire, causing her to go blind. She honestly had no idea at this point. When the fire stopped, the changeling queen coughed a couple of times, spitting out soot, which she was covered in. “Y-You could have just said you were busy… You know? I’ll come back next week… Wouldn’t want to impose on you… Or anything…” She coughed a few times before teleporting back to where she came from.

“I’m happy there’s somepony here that can take a hint!” Twilight spat before turning her attention back to her friends, who were still a bit shaken from what just happened. Thankfully, one of them did manage to get out of their stupor.

“The party didn’t cheer you up, Twilight? What’s the problem?” Pinkie Pie asked as Twilight’s eye twitched.

“What’s… What’s the problem? You still don’t get it?! I have to spell it out to you? You! You’re the problem! All of you!” She shouted in response while pointing at the other mares, excluding Rainbow.

“Us?” All of them gasped while her marefriend raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“B-But what did we do?” Rarity inquired sadly.

“Did I mess up the cupcakes?” Pinkie Pie added, alarmed.

“Did it ever occur to any of you that I wanted to be alone with Rainbow Dash? That I wanted to have a regular date with my marefriend without anypony butting in?!” Twilight yelled as she stomped the floor.

“Ah-Ah’m sorry, Twilight. Ah didn’t know you wanted to have some alone time,” Applejack looked down apologetically.

“Of course, you didn’t know! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about it, would we?! It should have been obvious from the start! For Celestia’s sake, I’m the one here who’s been socially awkward the longest! And it feels like I know more about relationships than you!” Twilight retorted, making Applejack avoid her gaze with her cheeks red in embarrassment.

“Hey! Wait a second! I was just doing my job, Twilight!” Pinkie tried to argue. If there was one thing she was absolutely afraid of, it was disappointing and making her friends mad.

“Your job is to bake food and serve it! Not tell stupid stories, during my date, and so close to my marefriend’s face it looks like you’re trying to stick your tongue in her throat!” Twilight quickly replied as Pinkie and the others gasped again. “Has it ever crossed your mind that I was, maybe, looking forward to having a nice lunch with the pony I love? And that I didn’t need you to butt in at random to say something stupid? Who cares about that Iron Mare movie?!” The alicorn fumed while Pinkie’s mane deflated.

“I like those movies…” Spike muttered under his breath, quietly enough for everyone else to ignore him.

“And you!” Twilight pointed at Rarity with her hoof as the mare winced in surprise, then looked around to make sure she was the one being addressed. “I don’t need you telling me how cute we look every second you spend with us! And I sure don’t need you interrupting our conversations with private questions! I have journalists and crazy stalkers for that!” She stomped the floor again, making the white unicorn look away. Then, Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “As for you…” Flutterhsy’s lower lip quivered fearfully as the alicorn stared her down, ready to rant about her, too. However, she just sighed instead and put a hoof on her face. That was almost as bad as getting yelled at.

“You could say something, at least,” The yellow pegasus mumbled.

“Oh, you want me to say something? Bringing a cockatrice near Ponyville is bucking stupid, Fluttershy,” Twilight spat as Fluttershy looked away in shame. “I’m not your mother, I shouldn’t have to tell you something so obvious,”

“Forget I said anything,” Fluttershy whispered.

“T-Twilight… Let’s calm down, okay?” Rainbow tried to reason with her marefriend.

“Calm down? Did you already forget the day I had? First, I’m kicked out of the theatre without even getting to watch the play, which was in Ponyvile thanks to me, by the way! Then I get no lunch besides stupid cupcakes because breakfast was charred and the cake exploded in my face! I can’t even relax at the spa! My marefriend kicked me in the face! Twice! Then a cockatrice comes out of nowhere and tries to kill me! And now this… This surprise party!” Twilight stomped the floor in anger. “I wanted to have at least a day with you without anypony interfering before having to go to Canterlot tomorrow. I won’t even come back for a week!”

“Huh? You’re going to Canterlot?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as Twilight glared at her.

“I told you that yesterday!” She shouted, making Rainbow wince.

“I-I’m sorry! It must have slipped my mind or…” The pegasus started only for Twilight to abruptly cut her off.

“Of course, it did! Or maybe you didn’t listen at all?” Twilight glared at her marefriend, who stammered, unable to form a sentence. “Do you know what the worst part about today was?” She asked, her horn glowing while purple electricity cackled around it. Her friends stepped back as Spike dove to the ground and put his hands on his head to take cover.

“Twilight, wait!” Rainbow Dash shouted, worried that they just opened the gates of Tartarus on Equestria. However, to their greatest shock, Twilight did not lash out or release a wave of destruction. She didn’t cast any dangerous spells or magic that would mess up their world to fix this day. Instead… She cried. Hot tears streamed down her face while she tried to hold them back, only managing to cry in anguish instead. This nearly broke Rainbow’s heart, and her friends’.

“You didn’t even seem to care. Actually, it even looked like you were having more fun with them than with your marefriend!” Twilight accused her, making Rainbow flinch.

“No! You know that’s not true, Twi! I loved going to that play with you! And that’s not something I usually do, but I decided to do it this time because it would be with you!” The pegasus explained herself as Twilight didn’t look any less hurt.

“Except it wasn’t just me. There was Applejack, too, who came thanks to you by the way. And every time a problem occurred, you just went along with it! Do you know how it made me feel… Thinking that I was the only one who was bothered because I couldn’t be with my marefriend? Is being alone with me that bad?” Twilight inquired as Rainbow’s eyes grew wide.

“What? No! I-I know I was a bit neglectful, that’s my fault, but believe me…” Rainbow argued as Twilight tried to wipe her tears with one of her wings.

“Actions speak louder than words, Rainbow. And you spoke a lot today,” Twilight interrupted her while wiping her tears, which just didn’t seem to be willing to stop flowing. “I thought that it was just me. That I was in the wrong and being a drama queen or something… And maybe it’s the case. I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s normal, but I do know that it hurt me. And I’m done. I’m leaving,” She said as she took off her stained dress and threw it on Spike, then turned around to leave.

“Twilight! Wait!” Rainbow ran up to her only for Twilight to turn around, still mad.

“The message isn’t clear yet? I want to be alone, okay? I need time… To think,” She uttered before spreading her wings and flying away far, far until she disappeared behind clouds.

No pony or baby dragon spoke as the rainbow-maned pegasus continued to stare where Twilight disappeared.

“You blew it, girl,” Pinkie Pie suddenly said as everyone around turned to look at her with a glare to shut her up, which she totally ignored. “The way she was crying… She looked heartbroken! You must feel like a monster…” Pinkie shook her head in sadness.

“Pinkie!” The other reprimanded her, startling her.

“What? Oh, right… I guess we screwed up, too… Didn’t we?” Pinkie scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “In my defense, telling her the first cake was burnt was Discord’s idea,” 

“Pinkie… Just stop…” Applejack shook her head with a hoof in her face.

“No. She’s right! I blew it! I always thought I would kick anypony’s butt if they ever made Twilight cry like that, and I’m the one who made her cry!” Rainbow Dash slapped her head, before widening her eyes and looking at her friends. “Actually, she’s partly right! Seriously, none of that would have happened if you didn’t bother us all day!” She flailed her hooves around while flying up.

“To be fair, I didn’t come with the intention of interrupting your date… I was simply following the cockatrice,” Fluttershy argued but stayed quiet enough for them not to hear anything.

“We realize our mistake now, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity replied weakly, her head low.

“Now’s too late! I-I can’t believe I finally found my special somepony and I’m gonna lose them in just a day! I really… I really love her, okay? If she breaks up with me because of one of my stupid mistakes, I’m never going to forgive myself,” Rainbow Dash hung her head down as she landed back on the ground in defeat.

“What about you?” Applejack asked as Rainbow raised her head quizzically.

“What about me?”

“What did you think of us getting between the two of ya?”

“I… Good thing she isn’t here because she would be even more mad at me. Truth is… I kinda liked it,” Rainbow revealed, making them step back in surprise. “I’m not good with that mushy stuff! Doing something cheesy with friends was one thing, but I never dated somepony before! Every time I’m alone with her, I’m scared I’ll say something stupid! Or that I wouldn’t know what to say at all! But if one of you is there, maybe you’ll prevent me from doing one of those things. That there wouldn’t be any awkward silence either…” Rainbow explained, then sighed. “She must have felt pretty bad when she saw me having more fun with you, didn’t she?”

“I think we can all agree on one thing: we all screwed up,” Applejack said as she looked at the others, who all nodded in agreement except for Spike.

“Speak about yourself. I didn’t mess up anything,” He scratched the back of his head before nervously laughing as they all stared at him. “But let’s just say I did… Yeah, I think I screwed up too… A lil’ bit,”

“I’m sorry, Dashie,” Pinkie put a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. She certainly wasn’t in a joking mood, and her apology felt sincere. However, Rainbow had a hard time not resenting them a bit for this. “We promise we’ll help you. We’ll all make it up to her!”

“But how? The damage’s already done!” She complained with her head still low.

“Believe me, it’s not. You know how Twilight is. If we speak with the heart AND show her with her actions, then she will truly feel how sorry we are,” Rarity assured her.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy inquired as Rarity smiled confidently.

“We will all have different roles, but Rainbow likely knows Twilight better than any of us now. Which means you are the only one who can tell us what to do. Think. What would make Twilight happier than she ever was?” Rarity asked as the pegasus widened her eyes, then put a hoof to her chin.

She smiled.

“I might have an idea. But we’ll need to be quick,”

“Count on us!” They all declared.

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she gazed at the stars. She never thought sitting on a cloud at night could be so calm before getting her wings. That may have been one of the reasons Rainbow napped so much on clouds or why any pegasus decided to live on clouds really.

This wasn’t the first time she had trouble with other ponies. It wasn’t the first time she had friendship-related problems either. However, it was certainly the first time she had romantic problems. She… Honestly had no idea how to deal with it. It was something else she needed to learn, like friendship when she came to Ponyville, but she wasn’t sure if it was worth the hurt…

No. Of course, it was worth it! Still, she wished she had someone to give her advice. She was tempted to send a letter to Princess Celestia or Cadance but decided against it. She didn’t want to bother them at this hour. Maybe Princess Luna? She supposed she could try and talk to her through a dream. She was certain she wouldn’t be bothered by anyone else, at least. She didn’t really want to go back to the castle too soon since she didn’t want to deal with Spike or anyone else. But it was starting to get chilly up there.

She would have loved having someone to cuddle with right now. She observed the sky for maybe an hour or more, then decided it was time to go home. A good night of sleep will do her good. And maybe being in Canterlot for a week will get her mind off of what happened today.

She wasn’t surprised to see that the lights were turned off when she got to the castle since she was expecting Spike to be back home and asleep. She realized she was wrong when she saw Spike standing near the stairs leading to her room.

“Spike? What are you still doing up? If you’re expecting me to talk about today, forget it. I said what I had to say,” Twilight warned as Spike shook his head while smiling.

“Nope! It’s fine if you don’t talk about it. Instead, put on this! And maybe don’t forget to check your balcony,” The little dragon replied as he handed her a dress, making her raise an eyebrow. It was a gorgeous dress, but one she had never seen before.

“What is this?”

“A dress!”

“I know that, but why? It’s like 11 pm,” Twilight argued.

“Just trust me, and put it on, Twilight!” Spike insisted as the alicorn sighed and took the dress.

“If this is a prank…” Twilight started, not willing to finish her threat as she put on her dress.

Spike didn’t say much after this, and simply let her go up the stairs to her room. Twilight nearly took off her dress when she reached the top but changed her mind at the last second. She said she would trust him, so she would. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was a trick or if someone was going to play a joke on her. They wouldn’t, right? Not after that horrible day!

“Huh?” She uttered as she reached her room and looked at the balcony. A dim light was coming from it. She hesitantly walked up to it and opened the windowed doors before going out. “Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?”

The pegasus was wearing a dress and sitting around at a table with two chairs, two candles, and plates. She didn’t remember having a table for romantic dinners on her balcony…

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m on a date with my marefriend!” She declared with a wide smile. “What are you waiting for? Take a seat,” She motioned to the chair facing her as Twilight hesitantly sat down, still unsure of what was happening.

“Okay, Rainbow… I see what you’re doing, but…” Twilight trailed off as she noticed something unusual in the sky. “Weren’t there supposed to be clouds above my castle tonight?”

“Don’t worry. I know a nice pegasus who volunteered to clear the skies for us tonight. That way, we can both stargaze as long as we want to!” Rainbow replied as Twilight sat speechless. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react to this. But she was mad, wasn’t she? She couldn’t just pretend she wasn’t!

“Rainbow…” She started before the pegasus suddenly put a hoof over her mouth.

“Look, food’s coming!” Rainbow motioned at the door as Pinkie Pie joined, tape on her mouth, holding a tray with food on her hoof. “It’s apple based; I hope it’s okay,”

Pinkie Pie spoke a few muffled words, impossible to understand because of the tape on her mouth, and gave them their food. Two apple burgers with hay fries. A real meal, which was enough to make Twilight salivate. The earth pony also put two glasses and a bottle of wine, then left without a word.

“We thought taping her mouth would be best,” Rainbow explained sheepishly as Twilight opened her mouth to talk. “Wait. First, I’m sorry. And the others are sorry, too. They shouldn’t have bothered us when we wanted to be alone. And… I should have said something. The truth is… It didn’t actually bother me, but I should have seen that it upset you,” Rainbow apologized as the alicorn’s face softened. “I didn’t want to make you feel like I wasn’t having fun with you. Lately, I can’t even read a Daring Do book without you around. Every time I feel like taking a nap, I just get bored and my first thought is to look for and hang out with you. If I didn’t know I was going with you, I wouldn’t have even thought of going to the spa or to the theatre. The reason I didn’t tell anypony to back off today is… Because I was afraid,” Rainbow looked down as Twilight widened her eyes.

“Afraid? Of what? It wasn’t of me, I hope?” Twilight asked worriedly as Rainbow quickly shook her head.

“Of messing up. Hanging out with you like we usually do is easy. All I gotta do is act like a friend, cuddle and kiss you a few times. But on a real date? I don’t know the first thing about romance or all that cheesy stuff. I thought I wouldn’t be good enough and that I would ruin the date for you. In the end, I did,” She revealed while looking ashamed.

“Rainbow Dash… You couldn’t have ruined anything for me just because you’re inexperienced. Do you really think I have any experience? I didn’t even know how kissing worked before dating you!” Twilight replied. Well, she didn’t know how it worked if you excluded the scientific part of it, but that probably wouldn’t help you become a good kisser, would it?

“I wish I had known that sooner… Can you give me another chance? Please don’t break up with me…” Rainbow pleaded as Twilight nearly got teary-eyed.

“Break up with you? I never even thought about breaking up with you. I love you. If that single argument was enough to make me doubt that, then my love couldn’t be that strong,” Twilight lifted Rainbow’s face with one of her wings. “Were you the one to organize that improvised date?” She asked as the pegasus slowly nodded. “I’m proud of you, and… Thank you. You even thought about stargazing!”

“Of course! You said you wanted to stargaze tonight,”

“Oh, so you do listen sometimes,” Twilight chuckled before kissing her.

“I-I love you, Twi,” Rainbow said while the alicorn smirked.

“I know,” She retorted, then looked at their food. “So… Is this the official start of our date?”

“Yup!”

“No one is going to interrupt us?”

“Nope! And if they, I’m kicking them all the way to Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash said confidently.

“Even if it was Princess Celestia?” Twilight raised her eyebrow teasingly as her marefriend began stammering.

“Well… I’ll try talking to her first,” She smiled nervously.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her. Friendship beam right into her face until she’s trapped in the moon!” Twilight retorted as both ponies laughed until Twilight paused and took a bite out of her apple burger. An eerie stillness suddenly settled in.

“Y-You were joking, right?” Rainbow inquired while her marefriend just snickered and took another bite of her burger. “You’re joking, right, Twilight? Twilight?”

Perhaps, in retrospect, that day wasn't as terrible as Twilight had initially believed.