Twilight woke up with Dash’s hooves wrapped around her front and her steady breathing tickling her ear. She sighed, leaning back into the embrace and enjoying how warm Dash’s chest felt.

She opened her eyes, only to be blinded by rays of sunlight glaring in through the window. It was much later than when she usually got up. She wiggled out of Dash’s hold, careful not to disturb the sleeping mare, and got out of bed. A loud yawn came from her lips, but she quickly covered it, glancing back to see that Dash hadn’t stirred.

She walked downstairs to the kitchen, her hoofs making a soft click-clack against the tiles as she walked to the fridge. She reached into the fridge and grabbed a carrot, sticking it in her mouth before turning and walking back to the main room. The bookshelves stood several body lengths tall embedded in the walls around the room. Twilight looked around, her eyes lingered on a section she had never had much interest in before.

‘Romance Novels’...

She walked up to the section for a closer look, reading the spines and backs of a few books, and pulling them off the shelf for a closer look. Every single one had a handsome stallion and a beautiful mare on the cover, or the names of ones on the back print. Her shoulders slumped as she looked through them, trying to find one about two mares, but it seemed there wasn’t enough of an audience to warrant one being published.

“Morning Twi,” Dash greeted behind a yawn as she walked down the steps leading to the loft. “Whatcha reading?”

“Nothing yet.” Twilight turned away from the shelf. “There’s waffles and syrup on the top shelf of the fridge if you would like to help yourself.”

Dash walked over to the fridge and opened it, pulling the waffles and syrup out of the fridge, setting them on the counter. “Have you had anything?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at Twilight.

“No thank you. I’m not hungry.”

Dash placed a pair of waffles in the toaster, and walked over to join Twilight by the Romance section.

Twilight noticed a small spring in Dash’s step as she walked over. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, I slept like a log last night. I think I’m even good to start practicing again.” Dash flapped her wings a couple times, testing them. “Romance novels?”

“There isn’t anything like us,” Twilight said, looking at the shelves as though hoping to catch something she’d missed. “The one time I’ve actually been interested in reading the genre, and they don’t have what I want.”

“It’s no real loss if you ask me.”

Twilight shook her head with an amused smile. “I’ve seen books written about stranger things. It’s just weird that something so obvious isn’t here.”

“Well, I should probably get going. I need to make sure everything back at my place is still in one piece, you know? Also, now that my wings feel better I’m really itching to do a bit of free flying.” Dash fidgeted, scratching the back of her neck. “But... I was thinking maybe after that, or maybe tomorrow, we could go on a date.”

“A date?” Twilight asked, turning to look at her in surprise. “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Oh... uh, we could go out to a restaurant?”

Twilight shook her head. “I want to keep it private, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Private as in...” Dash blushed red and rubbed the back of her neck with a silly grin on her face.

Twilight’s flushed once she figured out why Dash was blushing. “Dash! Get your head out of the gutter! I didn’t mean it like that!” Twilight’s blush faded as she got it under control. “I just meant I want to keep the fact that we’re dating private for now.”

Dash nodded, but the trace of a cheesy grin still remained on her face. “Okay, so we go to your place and...” she trailed off, fishing for suggestions.

“There’s a bunch of things we can do here. We’ll think of something.”

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Dash said, looking around at the library. “Hanging out at the library is okay and everything, but it’s not exactly a date.”

“If we can’t go out to someplace fancy, then I at least want to pick up something more than waffles or hayfries to eat here. How about I drop by Applejack’s and pick up a home cooked dinner to bring back here?”

“That sounds great,” Twilight said. “I’ll see you back here around... five then?”

“Five sounds good.” Dash stood up and gave her a hug. “I’ll catch you later then, Twi.”

Twilight turned pink at the show of affection as Dash walked out the door and took off, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. Twilight watched her fly off into the distance, wishing she could fly with her.

Dash soared through the skies and busted through the clouds. She greeted the sky like an old friend, and reunited, they danced. She laughed as she corkscrewed through a cloud, wishing that Twilight could be up there with her.

She lost track of time up in the clouds, spending hours simply flying, but as it started to get late she had to stop. Her date with Twilight was soon, and she wanted to do a couple of things before her date with Twilight. Angling her wings, she turned for home, trying to think of something special to do for Twilight later that evening. She still felt like she had to pinch herself to make sure everything from the last couple days was really happening.

Twilight wasn’t making it easy for her by not wanting to go out in public, and Dash couldn’t think of anything exciting to do in a library. Stargazing had been a good idea, too bad she’d already used it, and going stargazing again would probably just remind them both of that night, something she doubted Twilight, or her, wanted to do. Dash’s house came into view, and she landed on the cloud it was on, folding her wings and opening the front door.

She stepped inside. The place was a mess. Stuffing from ripped couch pillows lay strewn across the floor, and a dresser on one side of the room had all its drawers open, their contents scattered around the foot of the dresser. It looked as though a couple of thieves had broken in and clawed through everything, looking for something worth stealing.

Exactly how I left it.

Dash walked to her bathroom, which was tidier than the rest of the house, turning the bathtub taps and easing into the water once it was full. The hot water hazed her mind as she closed her eyes, drifting asleep in the water.

Seeing Dash fly away had given Twilight a spark of inspiration. Her spell she had been working on, the one she had hit a brick wall with, could work if she was right. While the other spells she had based her work off were temporary, there was a way to change that. It just needed a different approach.

She could create a spell that would give her wings. A permanent pair of wings.

Only in theory though. There were still details that needed sorting out, and the magic she was thinking of using that would make permanent flight possible was dangerous and difficult. It involved altering bones, hollowing out certain ones to imitate a pegasus’ skeletal structure and weight.

She’d pulled out an old deer skeleton she had put away in the basement, having gotten some time ago during her studies in Canterlot. She shuddered as she looked at its hollow eyes. They seemed to stare back at her.

Not enough to keep her from doing what she had gotten it out for. A pink aura surrounded her horn, the same hue glowing around the deer skeleton. She concentrated on making her magic seep into the bones, her horn buzzing with a high pitch whine as she imbued the skeleton with magic. She could feel the bone rearranging itself from the inside with her magic, compacting and hollowing. It was a slow process, and could only be done one part at a time, and she began to feel her magic dwindle as time wore on.

The pink glow around the skeleton faded, leaving the skeleton brittle and the changes incomplete. Twilight frowned, trying to call on her magic once more, but managing nothing more than calling on a small spark that fizzled out of her horn. She sighed, deciding to take the deer back downstairs to the basement.

She would have to come back to the experiment later. For the time being, she had a date to prepare for.

Dash woke up, the feeling of soapy bath water around her, and a warm weight on her chest. She opened her eyes to see Twilight on top of her, her hooves pinning Dash beneath her. Her mane was wet, the small blush on her face, and the look in her eyes immediately made Dash feel uncomfortable. Dash opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her mouth as Twilight slowly began to lean down. Dash blushed, and as Twilight leaned down she closed her eyes, and leaned up slightly to meet the kiss.

Dash’s eyes snapped open. She splashed in the tub as she looked around wildly for some sign of the lavender mare, her heart racing. When she saw she was alone, her frantically beating heart began to calm down as she relaxed and sank back into the tub.

It was just a dream...

She frowned, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. The water in the tub had gotten cold, and she whipped her head around to look at a clock on the wall.

It was ten past five.

She jumped out of the tub, spraying water everywhere. A grimace marred her face as she realized she still had to go pick up food for the date.

She bolted out of the bathroom, leaving a trail of water on the floor behind her as she galloped out the front door. With how fast she would be flying, the wind would get her coat dry by the time she arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. She could only hope that she wouldn’t take too long once she was there.

She sprinted through the air straight towards the farm, orchards of apple trees lining the ground beneath her

Dash landed at Applejack’s doorstep, panting. She knocked frantically on the door, hopping up and down as she waited for it to be answered.

Applejack swung the door open. “Didn’t somepony ever tell you it’s rude to... What in the hay? Rainbow? Why’re you bangin’ on my door like—”

“Applejack! Quick, you gotta help me! I need a dinner big enough for two ponies, and I’m late!” Dash put her hooves on Applejack’s shoulders and gave her a pleading look.

“Well, Ah was just doing some cooking to put in the fridge for later, but Ah guess Ah could let you have some of it.”

Dash tackled Applejack to the ground in a hug, nuzzling her cheek. “Thanks, Applejack, you’re a life saver!”

“Sure,” Applejack said, squirming and trying to push Dash off of her. “Now would you just get off me already so I can go get your food?”

Dash gave her a sheepish grin and got off her. Shaking her head, Applejack grabbed a basket and went over to the kitchen, taking a small stack of bowls and plates and placing them in the basket.

“You know,” she said, setting the basket down in front of Dash. “Ah’ll be expectin’ some sorta explanation for all this sometime—”

“Yeah, totally, I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I gotta get going.” Dash picked up the basket in her mouth, spreading her wings. “Bye, Applejack!” she shouted around the basket handle in her teeth. With a burst of wind, Dash took off back into the sky, leaving a rainbow blur and a confused Applejack behind her.

The dinner basket swung in Dash’s mouth as she sped through the sky towards the library, her freshly healed wings beating rigorously as the wind made her eyes water. She could see the library come into view, and she increased her speed even more.

Arriving at the front door, she set her basket down and raised a hoof to knock on the door, but hesitated. Her mane was a disheveled mess, and she was still panting from the flight over. She fussed with her wind-whipped mane, taming it to a point she could be content with, cleared her throat, and knocked on the door.

Shuffling came from behind the door, and Twilight opened it.

“Hey, Twilight, sorry I’m a little late..” From the doorway, Dash could see the clock hanging on the wall, and she cringed upon seeing it was half an hour past when she was supposed to show up. “Maybe more than a little...”

Twilight followed her eyes and looked back at the clock. “Oh,” she said, turning back to Dash. “It’s no problem. I lost track of time while reading a book anyways.”

Dash let out a not-so-subtle sigh of relief. “I guess that makes two of us... two of us losing track of time, I mean.”

Twilight giggled. “It’s no problem. Would you like to come inside?”

“Actually, I got this idea on the way over, and I was thinking for our first date that I could take you flying.”

“Really?” The corners of Twilight’s mouth turned up in an excited smile. “You can do that?”

“Absolutely. I can fly all day! It’ll be no sweat flying another pony around for a while.” Dash smirked, sticking her chin up in the air. “So, I take it you’re interested?” she asked, receiving an emphatic nod in reply.

Twilight took the basket Dash had brought inside and set it on a table before going back to the door. The two looked at each other wordlessly with matching nervous smiles.

Dash turned and snapped her wings open, motioning for Twilight to hop on her back.

Twilight’s blushed as she climbed on, wrapping her hooves around Dash’s neck and giving her a small squeeze. Dash stared at the ground as Twilight climbed on, feeling the Twilight’s breath on her neck. She swallowed, shaking her head and taking off into the sky with a few strong flaps, the hooves around her neck tightening.

The clouds around them were painted a pale orange by the setting sun, and Dash only wished she could see the look on Twilight’s face as they flew towards the sunset.

Spotting a small cloud, Dash landed on it and looked over her shoulder. Twilight had a wide-eyed look as she gazed at the horizon, the reflection of the sun shining in her eyes. She closed her eyes and her horn flared with magic for a moment, before she took a hesitant step off Dash’s back and stood on the cloud.

“It’s a spell that lets you walk on clouds,” Twilight said. “I read about it recently as part of a spell I was working on.”

“I didn’t know unicorns could do that.” Dash laid down on the cloud, resting her head on her hooves. “You know, sometimes I wish I had a unicorn’s magic. I mean, I’d still rather be a pegasus. I don’t think I can picture a life without flying.” Twilight smiled, and lay down on the cloud next to Dash, their bodies touching.

Dash turned to look at her in surprise, seeing her looking back nervously with a blush on her face. She smiled slightly and turned back to look at the view from atop the cloud. The buildings cast long shadows in the fading light, and the sky was lit with brilliant hues.

Dash noticed she was being stared at out of the corner of her eye. She turned to Twilight, who blushed, but didn’t look away. Instead, she let out a happy sigh and leaned her head against Dash.

“You know,” Dash said. “I’ve sat up in the clouds watching the sunset a few times before. I don't think I've ever enjoyed it as much as I have tonight.” Dash turned and smiled. “Maybe it’s the company.”

Twilight smiled and leaned against Dash’s shoulder. “Maybe,” she said, looking at the clouds. “This was a great idea, Rainbow. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is,” Dash replied, leaning her head to rest atop Twilight’s. The two stayed afloat on the cloud, until the last of the sun’s rays disappeared below the horizon, and the first stars began to come out.

Dash stood and looked down at Twilight. “Come on, it’s getting cold out.”

Twilight stood reluctantly, looking at the sky. “It’s so tempting to just stay up here.” She looked at Dash. “Will you take me flying again sometime?”

“Of course.”

Twilight climbed on her back, wrapping her hooves around Dash’s neck once more as she took them through the dimmed sky. It was freezing out, and Dash felt her wings growing numb as they landed in front of the library, her wings hanging limply at her sides. Twilight slid off Dash’s back, careful to avoid her wings, and looked at Dash with concern.

“Are you alright?”

Dash shrugged, giving her a weak smile as they walked inside. “Yeah, I guess I’m still recovering a bit.”

Twilight lifted one of her wings gently, looking at it. “You probably shouldn’t do any more flying tonight.” She looked at Dash before looking away, a faint blush on her cheeks. “You can stay here tonight, until your wing gets better.”

“Sure.”

They both smiled, light blushes on their faces. Twilight darted in, lightly pecking Dash on the lips. Dash’s eyes widened as she stood there, staring dumbly at Twilight.

“I just wanted to say that I’m glad I gave this a try,” Twilight said.

“I’m glad you gave this a try too,” Dash replied. Twilight leaned forward once more and Dash was there to meet her. Despite the chilly evening, warmth spread through their bodies as they kissed.