Daring snuggled farther into Rosetta's embrace, milking the unicorn's body for every drop of warmth it could spare. It had been a long night of research into the Ancient Cloudsdalian Ecological Manipulation Systems, and both her and her favorite professor were dead tired. Yawning, Daring slowly opened her tired eyes to see the first rays of sunrise sparkling against the snow and peeking through the window.
It's so late... she groaned inwardly. My schedule's gonna be messed up for days...
Though Rosetta's touch was completely platonic, Daring still felt chills running down her spine at the thought of her current position. She was so comfortable, snuggled up against her best friend's belly, that she didn't notice her eyes growing heavier and heavier as the minutes dragged by.
Stone had fallen asleep hours ago, her head slumped over her pile of notes and, somewhat ironically given the situation, with her foreleg wrapped around Daring's midsection. Naturally, Daring had immediately complied when the indigo mare's unconscious hoof pulled her close and held her tight. Now, they lay together on the floor of the Rosetta's and Daring's private library with the first rays of sunlight trickling down on them.
Scenes like this weren't atypical between the two; after years of friendship, Daring and Rosetta had developed a close, personal relationship that Daring could only describe as magical. They regularly ate dinner out, collapsed upon their piles of notes or spent days out of the lecture halls for research purposes—and maybe it was just Daring's imagination, but they seemed to grow closer and closer with every passing day.
Daring couldn't help but notice all the little things that Rosetta would do every now and then—a cursory glance, a smile, a giggle, the special moment they shared when Daring bounced into her classroom with yet another incredible find. Her heart would skip a beat whenever she realized she was staring at her friend, just before Rosetta's head would turn to catch her in the act and smirk. Every time they conducted research, graded tests or even studied up on rusty subjects together, they would, without fail, always wind up huddled over the same book with mere inches separating their muzzles and no space at all between their sides.
It wasn't that Daring was frightened or secretive of her feelings, she just didn't advertise them. Surely, she thought, there was a difference between not talking about something and actively trying to hide it. If asked what her feelings for the professor were, she would tell the simple truth—that nopony had ever made her feel more special or happy and that nopony could even think of rivaling Rosetta's beauty or intellect. There just wasn't any real time for Daring to say anything. They both led such busy lives and they hardly had any room in them for romance.
Still, the ache of keeping her feelings to herself was growing difficult to bear and every time she thought she had a good chance to explain herself, Rosetta seemed to be busy studying or grading—or the timing was awful, or the dining area had other ponies in it, or Daring's hat wasn't straight enough, or the weather was too hot, or the clouds weren't poofy enough, or the stallion across the restaurant's soup wasn't hot enough.
Daring just couldn't catch a break, it seemed, but snuggled up against the unicorn's belly on their little spot of floor, she made herself a promise: She would tell Rosetta about her feelings tomorrow, no matter what manner of problem was thrown at her. A smile crept onto her face as she imagined the unicorn's response.
Satisfied, Daring sank deeper into her friend's warm embrace and eased into a gentle sleep. She couldn't wait to spend even more nights like this with Rosetta—only they would be better than this night, because they would be together; she had little doubt of that.
Rosetta's squirmed a bit, murmuring something in her sleep and pulling Daring even deeper into—
“What're you readin' over there, RD?”
I looked up from my book and saw Applejack leaning back in her chair on the other side of the compartment. She was chewing of a sprig of wheat and her hat was pulled down low.
I covered the front of the book with my hooves as fast as I could; there was no need for Applejack, of all ponies, to know that I was reading something so... soppy. “Nothin',” I answered, hugging the book close to my chest and ignoring the heat on my cheeks. “I-it's just some Daring Do, y'know?”
Applejack raised the brim of her hat and eyeballed me. After a moment of silence, she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes again. “Uh-huh... Any good?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
Applejack chuckled. “I bet you missed those, didn't you? Got much to catch up on?”
“Not really,” I answered. “I only have this one. It takes a really long time to write books.”
“You speakin' from experience there, Rainbow?”
I huffed. “Shut up!” I couldn't help but whine, “I get it, okay? I'm not a good writer. You don't have to rub it in...”
“I thought it was good,” Applejack countered with a smirk. “I always wanted to read your dreams in story form.”
I stuck my tongue out and blew her a raspberry. I didn't know what else to do at that point—she was right, after all.
“Speakin' o' which,” she continued, “congratulations, RD, I'm proud of you!”
“Huh?”
“The Wonderbolts?” Applejack smiled. “Twilight told me you made it! When do you start?”
“Oh...” My ears drooped. AJ's wheat sprig bounced as she gnawed on it. Up and down, up and down, up and down... “Yeah... I don't know...”
Applejack's head cocked. She picked her hat up once more, but this time, her expression was one of concern. “You okay, Rainbow?”
“What?” I cried, looking back up at her. “Of course I am! I-I'm as okay as ever! Why do you ask? Don't I look okay?”
“Just seems like you'd be happier 's all,” she said, frowning. “What's wrong?”
Stupid AJ, you just can't slip anything past her—she could spot any lie from a mile away. I knew I should have roomed with Fluttershy. I scooted closer to the edge of the seat and dangled my hind legs over it. The chair was one of those big, cushiony comfort chairs that are way too high off the ground for normal ponies to touch the bottom, so my hooves hung a good ways from the floor. I didn't think I had felt that small since I was a filly.
I sighed and let my wings hang free. “You promise not to tell anyone?” I asked. “Just for now? Until I can figure out how to say it?”
Applejack frowned. “'Course not,” she said, hopping down from her seat and sidling over to where I was sitting. “Not unless you want me to...” She laid a hoof on my knee. “Now, what's wrong?”
My eyes were starting to sting again, so I shut them tight. “Th-they invited me to join their Class A Division, AJ...”
There was a brief moment of silence before the earth pony spoke up, her tone carrying more than just a hint of confusion. “Well... that's, uh... great news?”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I... I told them 'no.'”
When Applejack didn't respond, I opened my eyes to look at her. Her brow was raised, her eyes wide open. “Now what in tarnation would you go an' do a darn fool thing like that for? I thought bein' a Wonderbolt was your dream, girl!”
I sniffled. “It was...”
“Well... what changed, Sugarcube?” Her voice was quiet—too quiet. She sounded like she thought she was tending to a baby or something.
I growled. Applejack was a good friend—a great friend, one I could always go to for advice—but she was still Applejack, and I couldn't stand the idea of her talking to me like I was a wuss. I couldn't just tell her that I'd given up on the Wonderbolts because I'd gotten soft! She'd never respect me again!
I got up from my chair and hopped down to the floor. Applejack stepped to the side as I pushed past her, though she was not entirely pleased to do so. Striding over to the compartment door, I opened it and stood there, contemplating a response.
I'd hoped that three months in the Wonderbolt Academy would be enough for me to get over my silly crush. Obviously, it wasn't—and the longer I thought about it, the less I was sure it was just simple infatuation. I mean, I'd even skydrew her cutiemark during a free-fly session after lunch one day—while I was talking to my classmates!
I took a deep breath. “Nothing changed, AJ,” I said wistfully. “Nothing at all.” I walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind me so she couldn't follow, and made my way down the aisle towards the dining cart; I didn't need the poor-yous or what's-wrongs from anypony, especially her—it was just... wrong.
The hallway was empty, more or less—a few ponies were mulling around, but they were far and few between. As I passed by the compartments, I could hear the ponies inside having fun. They were cheering and laughing and telling jokes—Pinkie Pie's room was blasting some kind of strange polka music on top of her howls and screams of delight. I paused to listen, for a moment, when I passed by Twilight's door, but I didn't hear anything at all.
Figures, I thought. She's probably reading or doing some other weird egghead thing. I frowned. Briefly, I considered knocking on the door and asking to talk to her—maybe try telling her about my feelings again—but the thought of talking to her again after I failed so miserably before filled me with dread. Besides, Fluttershy was roomed with her—the conversation wouldn't exactly be private, and I was sure that Twilight wouldn't appreciate having that kind of exchange in front of somepony else.
I continued on my way down the hall and opened the door to the dining cart. It was kind of small, but somehow still roomy, and it had plenty of seats. The lights were a bit dimmed inside, but the sunlight from the windows was more than enough to see by. A few ponies were talking at a small bar in the back, but I slid myself into one of the first booths by the entrance and stared out the window.
“—don't think that's right at all, leavin' a stallion at the alter like that.” the bartender said. A few seconds later, the clinking of bottles sounded. “That's just cruel.”
“Mmhm,” a throaty stallion grunted. “The poor bastard; it ain't easy, dealin' with that.”
“I heard they found him with a knife in his hotel room,” somepony else chimed in. “Courts ordered him to take a leave of absence until he gets his head on straight.”
“I'm sure that's just a rumor,” said the bartender, “he's the Mayor of Manehatten, I'm certain he's dealt with more stress than this.”
“If it's true what they say, then I hardly blame him,” the stallion drawled. “Ain't too many things worse in life than losin' your love.” His glass clinked as he set it back down on the bar. “Drive anypony crazy—especially after all he's sacrificed.”
I sighed and tuned them out to watch the scenery pass by. The greens and blues and yellows mixed together to create a moving picture that could rival any fancy painting in Canterlot, I was sure. I saw a flock of geese flying to the south. I caught sight of a woodchuck charging across a field with his cheeks stuffed full of nuts. In the distance, a huge, towering bull moose and his family were wading through a marsh, their long legs coated in mud and leaves.
I chuckled a bit when the smallest moose—their calf, probably—stumbled through the muck and fell. He lay there for a moment, struggling against the slippery earth, but his inexperienced hooves found no purchase to cling to. For a scary moment, it looked like he'd gotten himself good and stuck, he stopped fighting gravity and sunk deeper into the earth, but then his mother nudged him back up and, after a few shaky steps, he was swinging right along with his parents again, happy as ever.
“I love it when we travel,” a quiet voice sounded far too close. “The sights from the train are always so beautiful...”
I jumped at the sudden intrusion. Spinning my head, I noticed a yellow pegasus sitting on the other side of the table. “Fluttershy? Where did you come from?”
She gave me a funny look. “Um... I've been sitting here this whole time, Rainbow,” she said, gesturing to her half-eaten plate of salad. Her eyes suddenly grew wide as a grimace overtook her features. “Oh! Did you want to be alone? I'm sorry...”
I rolled my eyes. “No, Shy,” I groaned. “I just didn't see you there. I've been kinda distracted lately...”
“Oh...” Her eyes drifted back down to her salad. “Um, what's wrong?”
I snorted. I'd just spilled my guts to Applejack, I wasn't too keen on doing it again—especially when the pony I'd be doing it to would cry harder than me! “Nothing,” I said firmly. “Stuff... kinda. Don't worry about it.” I waved a hoof for emphasis.
“...Are you sure?” she pressed, giving me a skeptical look. “You look like you could use an ear. Um... not that you can't handle things by yourself, it's just that—”
“Yeah, yeah,” I waved a hoof. That pony could be so paranoid sometimes. “I get it, Shy. But really, I'll be fine.”
I hope...
“What was that?”
I bit my lip. Had I actually said that last bit out loud? I hadn't meant to! Stupid, stupid! She's not gonna let it drop now!
“Nothing!” I smiled at her, making sure to show every single one of my pearly whites. I've brushed every day, twice a day since I was trained to; my teeth are a marvel to look at, if I do say so myself.
And I do.
Fluttershy's wing twitched, and, for just a split second, I could have sworn her lip curled back into a deep snarl before she smiled back. “Okay,” she answered evenly, returning to her salad.
I cocked an eyebrow. It was very unlike Fluttershy to just ignore a slip-of-the-tongue like that. I was surprised that she wasn't trying to stare me down for the information she wanted. Maybe she'd actually taken the hint for once?
Yeah, right; that pony had once forced me to confess to her that I'd accidentally dropped my entire collection of Stable Mares magazines into the Ponyville lake back when I'd first moved into my house, then spent an hour trying to “comfort” me for my loss. Fluttershy was a caring pony, the only problem was that, sometimes, she could be a little too caring.
So what was different about this time?
There was a moment of silence, broken only occasionally by the discussion of the ponies around the bar. Fluttershy's eyes never left her plate as she stabbed the leafy greens on it and brought them to her mouth. Even while chewing, her eyes never rose farther than her fork. I hate silence. It means things are awkward. Why should things be awkward with friends?
“So, uh, what brings you out here?” I started casually, leaning back in my booth in what was supposed to be a cool action, but resulted in my falling back into the cushion after misjudging the distance. “I mean, I thought you'd be in your room with Twilight.”
Fluttershy continued to chew her food placidly.
“I mean, you guys must have like, the coolest set-up in there, right? She likes to read; you're really quiet...”
With an grunt, she reached out with her fork to scoop up some more lettuce and bring it to her mouth.
“Totally cool. And really understandable, actually. I mean, she couldn't possibly read if she'd roomed with Pinkie 'cause she's so loud and hyperactive and stuff—she'd never be able to concentrate...”
Fluttershy swallowed and looked up. After a moment, she went back to eating, and I gave up as the silence took over again.
Whatever, I didn't need to talk to anypony to keep myself entertained. Fluttershy had never been very exciting anyway. Somepony like Pinkie was more my speed. With her over-the-top super-crazy antics, I was almost always guaranteed to have a good time—like that time when there was ten of her and we were down by the lake. Sure, that was kinda scary, but it was also really fun. I wondered what I would do if I had to watch paint dry for hours until I'd proven my legitimacy, or face Twilight's wrath.
I shivered as I remembered the look on Twilight's face as she'd cast those spells. She'd looked really cool—a bit scary, but still really cool. She'd been so confident, so sure of herself. I wasn't so sure that I would be, in her position, when faced with the Pinkopalypse. Actually, even she shouldn't have been so cool about it; dozens of Pinkie Pies charging up and down the streets was certainly not something that had been expected for the day and things like that usually drive her nuts!
Still, she looks really cute when she's upset. She taps the ground and her nose gets all scrunched up and she starts pacing around like the ground is too hot for her hooves or something. Come to think of it, there isn't really anything that Twi does that isn't cute. Even her scowls of discontent were adorable, with her scrunched up eyes and flared nostrils—
I groaned and buried my head in my forehooves. Even when I don't wanna think about her...
“That doesn't look like 'nothing' to me...” Fluttershy commented, barely loud enough for me to hear.
I looked up from the table and growled. “Shut up! I'm fine!”
The buttercup mare yelped and shrunk back into her seat with a look of total panic. “I'm sorry!” she cried, shivering behind her mane. “I-I just wanted help—“
“I don't need your help, Fluttershy!” I argued, getting up from the booth. “And I don't want it, either—or anypony else's, for that matter!”
The bit of her face that hadn't disappeared behind her mane quickly did just that as the yellow pony squealed. “I-I—”
“Just mind your own dang business, for once!” I cried, bashing my hoof on the table. Her plate bounced and turned over, launching a mess of leafy greens onto the table and floor. “I'm not one of your stupid animals, so stop acting like I am!”
Ignoring the stares of the other ponies, I stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut. “Stupid Fluttershy!” I huffed, crashing down the hall. “Stupid Applejack!” I shoved somepony aside and completely ignored Twilight's door when I passed it. “Stupid Twilight!” My eyes were really stinging now, and I could barely make out anything through the blurriness. “Stupid Wonderbolts!”
Finding myself at a dead-end, I ripped open the last door to reveal the outside world. “Stupid life!”
The wind blew my mane around in a prismatic inferno. I let go of the door, and it slammed itself shut tight against the frame. I rammed my hoof into the iron guardrail and screamed as loud as I could—which wasn't very loud, considering the whooshing of air that surrounded me.
I'd overreacted—I knew I had. I probably just made Fluttershy cry, actually, but I just couldn't take it anymore; first Applejack, then Fluttershy—were all of my friends going to grill me on my personal life? Like I don't get that enough from my own stupid brain!
I felt my weight shift as the train made a major turn around a rock formation. Gripping the iron pole, I flapped my wings a few times to make sure I didn't go crashing into a wall. That would have been unpleasant. I could already feel the impact of my head against the wood.
When the train stopped turning, I relaxed my grip on the bars and watched the scenery go by. I wondered how fast we were going that I had to worry about head injuries. A few trees passed by in the span of a couple seconds. Here and gone.
Not that fast... I grunted. I could totally fly way faster than this thing. My ears perked up and I flapped my wings a few more times. Now there's a thought!
Flying always solved everything!
When I was up in the sky, the world just seemed to make so much more sense; I could think clearer than ever and even my biggest problems didn't seem so big. Nopony could bother me up there, either! Nopony had wings, except Fluttershy, of course, but there was no way she could keep up with me! I wouldn't have anypony bugging me or asking me “what's wrong,” with their stupid pitying faces! Heck, what was I still doing on the train?
With a few beats of my wings, I glided over the rail and began my ascent into the world above. I focused on nothing but flapping my wings and reaching a decent height for a few minutes, before I noticed the sky: it was a gloomy ceiling with no blue in sight. Heck, even the sun wasn't visible through the thick blanket of clouds. I sighed. The clouds were haze gray and thick and constant; they covered the sky like a huge, insurmountable wall.
I spiraled through the air a few times and tried to clear my mind. The air was cool, but very humid thanks to the clouds hanging over me, so it was a little harder to get that awesome feeling of breathing fresh air in my lungs, but I was still flying! I was high in the sky and far away from everypony in the world! Just me, my wings and the clouds—those dark, depressing, kinda scary-looking clouds...
Whatever, they were just clouds; I could buck the heck out of any cloud in my sleep! I'd proven that dozens of times, like when I cleared the whole sky to prove it to Twilight on the day before the Summer Sun Celebration! I smiled as I remembered her face after I'd done it—it was priceless! With that messed-up mane and dropped jaw, her sparkling eyes and shining lavender coat...
I shook my head and sped up my flapping until my muscles started to burn. Get a grip, Dash! I scolded myself.
Relishing in the clarity that the sweet stinging of my limbs brought me, I quickly surpassed the train. The trees were getting blurry, and the boards of the tracks were starting to blend together. I like speed, it's the ultimate in mind-numbing techniques; if you aren't paying attention when you're going really fast, you're likely to crash into something and get hurt. I knew I couldn't go too far or too fast, lest I leave the train too far behind, but I didn't want to go too slow either, or I might lose my focus again.
I wasn't exactly world renowned for my abilities to concentrate on anything—Spitfire often yelled at me for daydreaming in formation back in the academy—but I knew that if I tried hard enough, I could get Twilight out of my mind; I'd managed to do it when I was training—I remembered when my flying partners and I would talk for hours about what we would do when we got accepted into the organization; we'd talk about parties we'd attend, friends we'd brag to, celebrities we'd schmooze, but I didn't think we'd ever brought up failure. Heck, I'd never even thought about the possibility of failure—none of us did—it just wasn't an option! I needed the Wonderbolts and they needed me! I couldn't possibly fail! And I didn't! I might as well have though. I might as well have never even gone to the academy at all! The only thing I learned while I was there was what could have been if I'd been strong enough to ignore that stupid feeling I got in my chest every time I thought about—
With a snarl, I flapped my wings harder, ignoring their screams of protest. What was wrong with me? Flying always helped! I always felt way better after zooming through the sky, so why not now, when I really, truly needed it? Why was it failing me the only time I needed to just leave the stupid world behind and just forget everything?
Why did Twilight have to be so dang cute? Why did the Wonderbolts have to be so freaking awesome? Why did I have to be so stupidly sappy? Why did Pinkie have to go and interrupt me right in the middle of talking to Twilight? Why couldn't Flutterhsy leave me alone? Why couldn't I be braver?
Why couldn't I just bucking fly?
I felt trapped—like I was locked in an iron cell and nopony anywhere had the key. Everywhere I went, these stupid thoughts followed like a stray dog begging for scraps of food that I didn't have. I wished it were so simple—if only so I could lock the dog in the cage and walk away for a while, then come back when I actually had something for him to eat.
I growled in frustration when I distractedly missed a wing beat and—for a heart-stopping moment—entered a free-fall. I recovered easily, but I lost a lot of altitude in the process. “Ugh! Why is this so hard?” I cried out, waving my forelegs at the sky. I didn't get any response but the continued rolling of darkened cumulus. I huffed and crossed my forelegs. “Fine!” I grumbled, “Whatever! I give up!” I slowed down and waited for the train to catch up to me. With a few swift movements, I landed back on the deck and walked inside.
The halls were quiet now; the only sound I could make out was the rhythmic chugging of the train engine. I hoped I wouldn't run across Fluttershy—I didn't think I could handle her crying on top of everything else. I'd apologize to her later, but for now, I just wanted to go back to my room and take a nap or something.
As I passed Twilight's door again, I hesitated; if Fluttershy was still in the dining cart, then this might be my big chance to finally tell her about my feelings without getting interrupted!
Did I want to try again? Of course I wanted to! But... wouldn't everything would change after that? After all, we'd... we'd be... My heart started to pound wildly. I grinned as I imagined everything with perfect clarity—the surprised light in her eyes, the slowly widening smile upon her blushing face when we both leaned in to kiss...
I could hear my blood rushing in my ears and I felt my cheeks grow hotter and hotter with each passing moment. Like the crescendo of a song, my life was at it's peak; I would remember this one moment for the rest of my life. I had to be brave; years from now I would look back on this day with Twilight as we held each other in our bed. My heart swelled with pride as I knocked on the door and put on my patented Rainbow Dash grin—known to be able to charm crowds of thousands. Except, this time, it was for just one pony: Twilight Sparkle.
After a few moments, the door slid open to reveal my favorite pony in all her glory. Her beautiful mane fell down around her neck and flowed perfectly with her shoulders. Her coat was clean and brushed—no doubt Twilight had pulled out all the stops in her preparations to meet with the Princesses. Heck, she looked pretty enough to be a princess! She gave me a puzzled look for a moment before smiling. “Oh! Hello, Rainbow! Is there something you need?”
I took a deep breath and tried to avoid looking too deep into her sparkling eyes. “Uh, yeah...” I started, licking my lips. “C-can I talk to you?”
“Of course!” she said instantly. She opened the door wider and motioned for me to come inside. “What's wrong?”
I took a few steps inside her compartment and sat beside one of the beds. There was an open book sitting on the table next to a steaming cup of tea. A few suitcases were stacked in the corner by the window. “Uh...” I scratched the back of my suddenly itchy neck. “Nothing's really wrong,” I answered as she closed the door and walked over to where I was sitting. “I just kinda... wanted to tell you something...”
Twilight's head cocked to the side. “Oh?” she asked, “Is this about before?”
My heart was racing. My throat felt dry. My stomach felt like it was going to float away if I didn't tie it down with one of AJ's bull-ropes. I nodded. “Mmhmm...”
I jumped as something settled on my shoulder. “Rainbow?” Twilight's face was only inches from my own as she spoke. “Are you sure you're okay?”
My heart skipped a beat. Twilight was touching me, I realized. Twilight was touching me! Oh, Celestia! Twilight was touching me!
I almost slapped myself right there; it took almost all of my strength not to, but I didn't want to freak out Twilight. Get a grip! It's not like she's never touched you before!
Twilight frowned. “Rainbow?”
“Twi...” I looked back up at her, trying not to squirm too much. “Remember back at the train station? I-I wanted to tell you something, but then Pinkie Pie kinda... well...” I trailed off, letting my wings fall to the floor.
Nodding, Twilight sat down. “Yes, but I thought you said it wasn't anything important...”
I clicked my hooves on the floor and watched as the dirty, stained wood tried to suck them like a sponge. “It was to me...” I mumbled.
“Then why did you say it wasn't?”
I gulped. “W-well, it wasn't really at the the time...” I said quietly. “All those ponies, a-and the others...” I took a deep breath to keep from shuddering at the thought. “But I don't wanna keep it a secret anymore, Twi; it hurts too much...”
Twilight frowned. “Keep what a secret?” she asked. “Rainbow, what aren't you telling me?”
“W-well, um, you see...” I shifted my weight from one hoof to the other as Twilight's eyes bored into my face. My cheeks grew hot. “Th-the truth is... I... I kinda, um...” I stopped to take another deep breath. “I, um, I-I really like you...”
When it was out, I opened my eyes—I hadn't even realized that I'd shut them! Twilight was smiling. She gave me a playful shove and rolled her eyes.
“Well, duh!” she laughed. “It's kinda hard to be friends with somepony you don't like!”
I frowned. “I... Twi, I didn't mean... I meant I like you like you...” I pressed, biting my lip. I took a step forward and closed the small gap between us. I looked her square in her gorgeous amethyst eyes and finished. “Heck, I think I love you...” I leaned forward and sealed the deal, planting my lips directly onto hers. She smelled like lilacs and she was soft and warm and a million other things that I knew she'd be. I fought back a giggle—she wasn't going to misinterpret this!
I wasn't sure what I expected; to be honest, I was pretty sure she would lean into the kiss and we'd have a really awesome make-out session or something. What I wasn't expecting though, was for her to stumble backwards and fall to the ground. I especially wasn't expecting the look of sheer horror on her face. Her jaw bounced up and down, forming words she didn't have the breath to say aloud.
My wings twitched. “Uh, Twi?” I stammered, fighting the sinking feeling I felt building up in my gut. “A-are you—”
Without warning, my vision was flooded in a pinkish haze. I experienced a sudden feeling of vertigo as the world flipped and spun around me in a torrent of colors before I crashed into something—hard. My left wing exploded in pain as I hit something else soon afterward. There was a loud slam, then nothing.
Once I got my vision back, I realized that I was back in the hall. I'd been flung like a rag-doll and I'd landed upside down with my legs against the wall. Twilight's door was shut and I had a good feeling that it wasn't about to open anytime soon.
I picked myself up off the floor and flexed my wing. A sharp jolt rocked through my limb, but it wasn't bent out of place or showing any bone, so it wasn't like I was going to die or anything. I looked back at the door. No, I wasn't going to die from a sprained wing-joint...
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
I was alone in the halls again.
All alone...