//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Shut The Blinds // by The Rainbow Blunderbolt //------------------------------// Epilogue “…Your loyal subject, Rainbow Dash. That sound good, Twi?” “It’s perfect, Dash.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she felt Twilight nuzzle her cheek affectionately. Over the last few weeks, the two had been growing closer and closer, and with their relationship growing stronger as each day passed, they could now officially call themselves a couple. But, as amazing as it had been to the both of them, it hadn’t been the easiest of experiences. Still, the pair had been through more trying times. And, while their new relationship had blossomed, Rainbow Dash had been getting much better at flying blind. She had been awesome at it before, if she said so herself, but now she was even better, and that was all thanks to Twilight. Well, her other friends had helped as well, but Twilight had done the most. Each day they had kept working on what they had once thought to be impossible, and each day they kept improving at it. Rainbow Dash wasn’t perfect yet, and she was nowhere near at the level she once was, but she could happily say that she was steadily getting there. Even so, she still had those occasional times when she would miss something and end up with her face in a tree trunk or buried in a hole in the ground. But that didn’t stop her. To add to the situation, Ponyville had started to accept that she was now blind, and they had begun to think much less of it than before. Now, it had become part of the norm. However, there were those occasional odd glances or the whispered remark. Luckily Rainbow Dash had learned not to pay too much attention to that minority. Overall, things were returning to normal in Equestria (or as normal as they could be) and Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle couldn’t be happier. Rainbow Dash sat carefully on her stomach, holding Tank in between her front hooves. She had been asked by Twilight if she could possibly write a letter to Princess Celestia about what she had learned throughout this whole experience. At first she had asked why. “Because, Dash,” Twilight had said. “I’m sure that Princess Celestia would love to hear what you have to say about this little lesson on friendship.” Ever the loyal one, the pegasus accepted. And, since she couldn’t exactly write one herself, Twilight had taken on the role of writing it whilst Rainbow Dash dictated what she wanted the letter to say. But, the unicorn was glad to do it. “Wow, Dash,” Twilight said as she scanned over the scroll. “I didn’t know you could be so literate.” “What can I say?” Rainbow Dash laughed, tossing her bangs off her face. “I’m full of surprises.” Twilight grinned and moved a bit closer to Rainbow Dash. “I know,” she whispered slyly as she felt the wing of the blind pegasus wrap around her tenderly. “And that’s why I love you.” The sentence sent a rush down Rainbow Dash’s spine. That became even more intense as she felt her fillyfriend nibble gently on her ear. Twilight did this sometimes, and it was always a pleasurable experience for Rainbow Dash. Not just because her ears were rather sensitive, but because it was a little gesture of Twilight’s feelings for her. All too soon, she felt the pressure from before disappear, but that wasn’t to say Twilight went anywhere. “Well, that was painless enough. Now, all we have to do is send it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Yeah…” Twilight agreed absentmindedly. Rainbow Dash winced when she heard the silence that followed. Of course she said that. Of course she said the one thing that would cause Twilight to stay silent for an extensively long period of time. Quickly, she went into damage control mode. “Uh, say, Twilight…do you want to do…something?” she asked quickly, hoping the awkward offer would break the tension. Twilight glanced at the pegasus suspiciously for a few tense moments. But, she let the gaze drop almost as quickly as it had come around. She rolled the scroll up and put it on the desk just in front of the couch they were both seated in. “No, not particularly,” Twilight assured. “Why do you ask?” Rainbow Dash let out an audible sigh of relief and Twilight felt the pegasus deflate just a bit. It was actually amusing when she did that. “No reason,” the pegasus answered breezily as she shrugged her shoulders. “Just thought it was getting cramped in here, that’s all.” “Well, do you want to do something?” Twilight asked. “Nah, I’m fine.” Twilight decided to leave it at that. She let her head rest on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder carefully, just enjoying the company of her beloved. It was an odd thought that she was dating Rainbow Dash. Never did she think that they would ever go beyond friendship, but she was certainly glad that they had taken the chance. Rainbow Dash made her feel genuinely loved, and she adored the pegasus for that. But there were so many other reasons why she loved Rainbow Dash. If she wanted to, and if she had the desire to, she could probably write a book about what the many dazzling features the pegasus had to offer, but that could be saved for another day. “Hey, Rainbow?” Twilight asked suddenly as she felt the pegasus rest her chin softly on her forehead. “Hmm?” “I love you.” Rainbow Dash chuckled softly and pulled her fillyfriend closer. No matter how cheesy this may have looked, or how cheesy it may have felt, it never got old to her. “Love you too, Twi,” she replied softly, giving the unicorn a soft kiss on the forehead. Just as silence had taken over the Library, a careful albeit excited knock was heard. Twilight groaned and gently got to her feet. Rainbow Dash helped her by lifting her wing up and stretching it. The sudden air from Twilight’s movements felt good to her sensitive feathers and she kept it outstretched even as she heard Twilight slowly walk away from her. She only put it down when she felt Tank gently nudge her chin. Rainbow Dash sighed and let him nuzzle it. Tank had just recently been dropped off by Fluttershy at Rainbow Dash’s request. As far as the pegasus was concerned, it was much too long since she had last been with her faithful pet. She had silently swore that she would never neglect her pet again after such a long period of being away from him. Soon, she heard a door slam and hoofsteps walking back to her. “Who was it?” she asked curiously. “Just the mail pony,” Twilight grumbled as she plopped back onto the couch and once again snuggled up to Rainbow Dash. “He got backed up again?” Rainbow Dash wondered out loud. “What time is it?” “About seven in the morning,” Twilight sighed. “The mail service usually comes around six.” That was certainly interesting, but still not all that unexpected. “Again?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pulled Twilight closer to her with her wing once again. “This is, like, the third time this week. And I still can’t believe you got me up this early.” “It’s not that early,” Twilight grumbled. She could feel the bitter annoyance radiating off Twilight in waves. For some pony who was used to being so organized and liked things to be both on time and right when they were delivered, the delays of the mail pony must be driving her crazy. It didn’t take a genius to know that. “But, that’s the worst part of it,” Twilight replied in annoyance. She slapped her head into her front hooves and closed her eyes. “I would probably be a bit more understanding if this hadn’t become a regular thing for the mail service.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep in a lighthearted chuckle. Twilight, whether or not she believed it, was cute when she was agitated. “Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash soothed as she nuzzled Twilight’s cheek. “I’m sure that this is just a one-time thing; they’ll get back on time soon…hopefully.” Unfortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to be swayed so easily. “I’m not so sure, Rainbow,” Twilight told her skeptically. “From the patterns that they’ve shown this week, and not to mention last week and the week before that, the possibility that they’ll get any sense of time back is incredibly unlikely.” The pegasus rolled her dull eyes and patted Twilight front hoof gently. “Have you ever heard of speaking in plain English, Twilight?” she teased. “Shut up,” Twilight replied. Rainbow Dash laughed and moved her hoof away. She was thinking about suggesting that they go out and get some dinner from a local eatery. That always helped cheer Twilight up when she was irritable like this. There was no reason for it not to work now. “Why don’t we…” She was interrupted. A sharp knock was heard. “Oh come on!” Twilight groaned as she got up off the couch once again in an agitated rush. She raced over to the door, fully expecting the mail pony from before to come forward and admit that he had forgotten to give her something. Again. “If this is that stupid mail pony, Dash, Celestia help me I will…” Twilight trailed off unexpectedly as Rainbow Dash heard the door swing open. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow with curiosity when she didn’t hear an enraged Twilight tell the innocent mail pony to screw off. “Hey, Twilight?” she called out. “Who’s at the door?” “Oh, is that you, Rainbow?” a strange voice asked. “Didn’t think that you’d be up so early.” Her jaw fell to the floor. “So,” Spike asked nonchalantly as he stood in the doorway of the Library completely unharmed, save for a few minor scratches. “What’d I miss?”