//------------------------------// // Forming Close Bonds // Story: You Can't Always Get What You Want // by FireflyDash //------------------------------// You sat there, tears forming in your eyes. It had taken you ages, but you were finally able to admit your love for Rainbow Dash. A small drop trailed down your cheeks and dripped onto the page you had open, creating a damp circle on the word ‘love.’ You sniffled and wiped your eyes, clearing your vision that was beginning to blur from the water in your eyes. Your doorbell rang, frightening you a little bit. Who could it have been? You slowly reached the door and peaked through your peephole. Realizing who it was, you opened it. “Hey gramps, how’s it hanging?” A young tomboy pegasus walked in, carrying a bunch of groceries. She placed them on your kitchen counter, shivering slightly. “Sorry I’m late, but the storm slowed me down a bit,” she admitted. “That’s fine, Scoots. Thank you for running those errands for me. A guy my age would freeze to death in that weather,” you responded. She flashed you a grin, similar to what Rainbow Dash used to sport back in her day. They may have not been blood related, but there were some things between Rainbow and Scootaloo shared in common. “So I brought you some chocolate chip waffles, kale, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, broccoli, and a few of your necessities,” she listed. “I hope I didn’t forget anything.” “It’s okay if you did. I’m just happy to have a little help from you,” you admitted, giving her a pat on the back. “How are the kids? Have they been doing alright?” you asked. “Yeah, they’re doing alright. Thunder Breeze is having some troubles in school, though. Maybe I’ll drop by and you can tutor them one day,” she suggested. “That sounds like a plan.” It was your turn to grin. It was always a delight for Scootaloo to bring her kids over. They reminded you of you in your younger years. Becoming an old man was humbling, and like you said earlier, you never thought you would have made it this far. It was surreal at times. “Well, I must be on my way. My husband is probably worried about me,” she giggled, making her way back towards the door. Before she said her goodbyes, she noticed the notebook you had splayed out on your couch. “Oh, no,” she frowned. “What is it?” You followed her into the living room and noticed what she was staring at. “How many times do I have to tell you to not read that book? You know how it makes you feel.” She went over and attempted to grab your diary, but you were able to reach it in time as the both of you fought for possession of your memories. “Hooves of the book!” you shouted. “Not until you promise to stop reading through it,” she countered. The both of you spent quite a few moments wrestling each other for it and though you were older and more frail than the young mare, you still had some strength left to fend for yourself. At some point, your fingers gave out and you fell back onto your couch. Irritated at the young mare’s actions you shot a glare at her, as if you had your toy taken away from you. “Don’t give me that look,” she scolded. “You know I’m doing this for your own good.” She looked at the page you were on and went silent. She looked back at you, nostalgia hitting her hard. “I remember this.” She sat down next to you and continued reading. Unsure of what to do, you moved closer to see what she was talking about. “This was the day you and Rainbow became best friends.” She looked back at you, sympathy showing in her violet eyes. “I remember it well,” you recalled. A yawn escaped your mouth as you stretched on your couch. You smacked your lips as you rose from bed. Morning sunlight shined through one of your windows hitting you in the face. Instead of recoiling at the light, you welcomed it for some reason. You scratched your head and slowly stood up. The first thing you noticed was the putrid smell around you. “What the hell!” you shouted in disgust and you pinched your nose. You sniffed your underarms trying to locate the source of the offensive odor. Sure enough, it was you. “Well, I guess it’s time to take a shower,” you chuckled making fun of yourself. After entering the bathroom, you stripped away the clothes you had been wearing for four days straight, feeling slightly relieved from the sweat and dead skin that accumulated on them. You ran hot water and flicked the switch to direct the water to the shower head. You wasted no time to jump in. The feeling was amazing! You cracked your neck and back as the hot water hit those hard to reach places. You breathed a sigh of contempt. You stood idle for a while, letting the water massage your back. You didn’t feel like going anywhere, but the thought of returning to work crossed your mind. “I guess I should head back to work today,” you thought. You wasted no time after your shower and got ready in record time. Of course, you made sure you were thorough in your routine. You didn’t want to smell like death when you walked in to work. Everything was going smoothly until you realized that you haven’t done laundry in a while. Your closet and dresser was void of any clean clothes, much to your dismay. You looked down at your floor and searched for some clothes that were somewhat clean. You examined them with your eyes and did the smell check to make sure they were at least viable to wear throughout the day. Once you were satisfied, you went through your last minute checks and proceeded out the door. You welcomed the fresh air of Equestria, feeling a soft, yet cool breeze hit your face. You took a deep breath, taking in everything you could. God you missed this. You released the air you held in your lungs and continued on. For some reason, you felt happier than usual. You thought back to last night and remembered that you finally admitted to falling in love with Rainbow. Now that you looked back on it, you did seem a bit childish, denying what your subconscious was trying to tell you all along. You wanted to shout to the world that you loved Rainbow, but held your tongue. “Huh, I wonder where everyone is today,” you asked yourself. You peered at your watch and noticed it was 8:30am. Usually the ponies of Ponyville would be bustling at this time, but there were seldom any. After finally making it to your building, you noticed the lack of a line at the door. “Weird,” you thought. You tried to open the door yourself, but noticed it was locked. Huh, must have been a pony holiday or something. “Well look who decided to wake up today,” a scratchy voice taunted. You turned and looked up to the already predictable speedy pegasus that had been causing you all this grief. She was sporting that cocky grin that made your heart melt every time you saw it. “You want to hang out, or are you still down in the dumps?” she teased. “I would, but I have to go to work today.” You felt sad. You really wanted to spend some time with her, but responsibilities were responsibilities. She giggled. “Are you sure about that? I never heard of a post office open on a Sunday.” “Wait, what?” you looked at the store hours posted on the door. Oh, wow it was Sunday. That explained why there weren’t as many ponies out. “But I guess you’re too cool to hang with The Dash, so I guess I’ll just leave and see what my coltfriend is up to,” she mocked, feigning sadness. She turned away from you, slowly distancing away from you. You sported your own grin and decided to play her at her own game. “Oh really now? I think you’re just scared to be compared so lowly to me in public.” This caused her ear to twitch. That got her attention. “Excuse me?” In the blink of an eye, she flew back towards you, her face close enough to yours that you could feel her breath. Your spine reacted slightly, sending waves of pleasure throughout your body every time her breath touched your skin. She glared at you, begging for you to challenge her. And challenge you did. You wanted to kiss her so badly, but refrained from doing so and opted to tease her a bit more. You guided her face away from yours with your hand and walked away from her, your back now turned towards her. “I mean I am pretty awesome, being the only human in Equestria. You’d only be the sideshow, making me look better.” God, you loved playing with her like this. Why didn’t you ever do it before? “That’s it!” A sudden burst of air behind you knocked you to the ground before you could react; and before you could even pick yourself up, Rainbow landed on top of you, pinning you to the ground with her two hooves. “Rainbow what are yo-” you tried to say, trying to struggle away from her grip. “You asked for it!” she argued, flashing her victory grin. “Are all humans this weak? For as tall as you are, you don’t have much strength. Even Soarin put up a better fight than you.” You stopped struggling. Oh, hell no! She did not just compare you to Soarin! It was on. Using your body weight against hers, you managed to escape her grip and flip her onto her back. Now it was you who had her pinned. “Who’s the weak one now?” you mocked, mimicking her grin. She was surprised at your dexterity, and to be honest, you were a bit as well. You were a docile human being, never picking a fight with anyone even when they came looking for you. You avoided any altercation at all costs. Maybe it was the diet you sustained her in Equestria? “Don’t get too confident, ponyboy! I have more than one trick up my sleeve,” she warned. “Ponyboy?” Before you had another chance to speak, you found yourself back in the same position Dash held you in, this time more securely. She made sure you couldn’t use your weight to your advantage. For all the ridicule she got from the lack of schooling, she was smart. The two of you messed around like this for quite a while, verbally fencing each other while wrestling. It was in an odd place to fool around at the front of the post office building, but that didn’t stop you from having fun with her. Stray ponies who passed by the two of you shot odd glances, but never intervened. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the two of you separated from one another. The lack of contact from Rainbow left you wanting for more physical interaction. You didn’t wrestle her in a sexual way or anything, but that didn’t stop you from enjoying the close physical contact the two of you shared. Sweat rolled down your face from the physical exertion. For a pony her size, she was stronger than she let on. You were afraid what Applejack could do if you wrestled her. “Not bad,” she said in between pants. Rainbow was slightly exhausted as well, but her conditioning was far better than yours. “But you still have a long way if you ever want to compete with me.” “Ha! I wasn’t even trying,” you shot back. Honestly, you were giving it your all. You weren’t about to have some three foot rainbow-colored pony have her way with you. Oh god, that innuendo. “So what do you want to do today?” she asked, changing the subject. Her breathing returned to normal, much to your dismay as you were still gasping for air. So much for trying to impress her. “I’m not really sure. What do you like to do?” you asked. “Well I obviously love to fly,” she responded, flaring her wings out. “But you can’t fly and I can’t carry you on my back. No offense or anything.” She was right. Even with all of the magic in this world, there was no way you could fly. Even Twilight was hesitant using magic spells on you, as she didn’t know what side-effects you could possibly develop. But then you had an idea. “How about I watch you do your stunts? I never actually got to see them before,” you suggested. This seemed to have made Rainbow happy as she wasted no time taking to the sky. “So you want to see The Dash in action, huh? You should be paying me for giving you a show.” Oh god, the innuendos. “Now watch as I perform the most awesome tricks I pulled off at the Best Young Flyer Competition!” She landed on a cloud, and glanced down to get a feel of where everything was at. When she was satisfied, she jumped of the cloud like it was a diving board. How did that even work? She flew down back to the ground at incredible speeds, leaving a gust of wind behind her. You only knew that because you felt it as she zoomed past you, dazing you for a moment. She swerved around houses and other buildings with dexterity and ease, causing the few ponies that were walking to stop and stare at the show Rainbow was putting on. You had a feeling that her ego had jumped to unparalleled heights as a crowd slowly gathered to watch the local weather pony. She flew into the air again, this time circling around clouds. Her velocity alone was able to spin the once idle clouds. Ponies who gathered around gave a couple of cheers, while you stood there stunned. That was pretty amazing. No wonder you fell in love with her. After she had finished her cloud phase, she gained altitude while doing what seemed some back-breaking loops. As soon as she was satisfied, she began her decent. If you thought she was flying fast before, she just set a whole new record in your mind. It seemed impossible at first, but you swore you could have seen a cone forming around her as she flew faster and faster towards the ground. You couldn’t help but feel a little worried. You weren’t the only one as the crowd who spectated collectively held their breath. What was that crazy mare up to? Then something happened that you never expected. Instead of increasing speed, she was decreasing speed. For a moment, you breathed a sigh of relief, thanking whatever deity that ruled this dimension that she was safe, but that relief diminished as you saw Rainbow come to an abrupt stop. It lasted about a second or two before she was flung back. You heard a gut-wrenching scream from her as she had no control in the direction she was flying in, which was straight towards you. “Oh, crap!” You were no athlete, but seeing Rainbow in trouble called for action. You flung your arms open in either direction and tried to guess the approximate position where Rainbow was going to land. “I gotcha!” you screamed at the flailing pegasus. She heeded no mind to your assurance as she was desperately trying to correct her flight path. You didn’t want to catch her, you needed to catch her. You didn’t think of it then, but you needed to show her that you were there for her. You gulped as she approached you. You were going to feel this in the morning. Impact in three…two…one… SMACK! You caught her, but the impact literally knocked you off your feet as you flew backwards, tightly holding Rainbow in your arms. Time seemed to slow down around you as you glanced at her. Her eyes were as wide as they could have been, and her mouth was ajar. She was shocked, but gave her the most sincere smile you possibly could, letting her know that everything would be okay. Time sped up as you hit the ground, the contact shocking your entire body. All of the air you had in your lungs was forcefully knocked out, leaving you breathless. Rainbow immediately got off you as you struggled to get back up. “Omigosh, are you okay? You didn’t get hurt did you?” She was hysterical, but that didn’t matter to you so long as she was uninjured. You writhed and groaned in pain for a few moments as Rainbow repeated the question over and over. As the pain subsided, air filled your lungs as you could breathe again. “I’m fine,” you told her. You slowly got up, still feeling sore. That was the last time you would catch a pony going at terminal velocity. “You idiot!” she punched you hard. “Ow, what was that for?” you asked. “Why did you get in my way? I totally had that in the bag!” she shouted at you, anger plastered on her face. You were at a loss of words as you didn’t understand what she was talking about. Why was she mad if you saved her from hitting the ground? “But it looked like you were going to crash,” you pleaded. She groaned as she turned away from you, hiding her face. “I can’t believe I did that.” The ponies that were once spectating had dispersed and resumed their day as if nothing had happened. “At least Soarin wasn’t here to see that,” she mumbled. You remained silent for a moment as Rainbow mumbled things to herself. Then it hit you. “Where is Soarin?” you asked. “He went back to the Wonderbolts Academy. He’ll be gone for the rest of the season.” A dejected sigh emitted from the once proud pony. “Listen,” she turned toward you, “Sorry for snapping at you like that. I’m just a bit disappointed in myself for not being able to pull the sonic rainboom off. I can do it sometimes, but not all the time,” she admitted. Your mouth hung open. That was so unlike the Dash you knew. You were kind of surprised she had a humble side to her. “Soarin was impressed the first time he saw me do it. That’s how we met in the first place. After winning the Best Young Flyer Competition, I had a chance to spend the whole day with the Wonderbolts. It was a dream come true,” she continued, reminiscing her past. “Soarin wants me to do another sonic rainboom for him, but I haven’t been able to for a while.” As much as you hated talking or even thinking about Soarin, this was important to Rainbow. And if it was important to Rainbow, it was important to you. You approached her and did something you haven’t done before. You hugged her. It was the least you could do, since she was the one always comforting you. You couldn’t give the type of hugs Rainbow gave you, but you tried your best because those types of hugs were the ones that helped you move on. She gasped in your embrace, not expecting the sudden affection, but she didn’t struggle. She hesitantly wrapped her hooves around you and buried her face into your chest. God, this felt glorious to you. To be there for the love of your life was something that you could never put into words, other than the fact that it felt awesome. Knowing that Rainbow wasn’t the one for public affection, you broke your embrace and gave her a reassuring smile. “I know you’ll be able to do it when you need too,” you reassured. “You are THE Rainbow Dash, after all.” She playfully took a jab at your chest. “You are such a sap,” she criticized. “But thank you. I am pretty awesome, after all.” Her trademark grin started showing. There was the Rainbow Dash you knew and loved. “Don’t let it go to your head, or I might have to pop it,” you teased. Rainbow was about to respond to you, but she was interrupted by a small filly’s voice, “Hey, Rainbow Dash!” A small Scootaloo came running up to where the two of you were standing. “Is everything alright? I saw you in the sky doing some amazing tricks!” “Hey, squirt!” Rainbow greeted. You met Scootaloo before when you arrived in Ponyville. She was scared and untrusting of you at first, but eventually warmed up to you. You didn’t see much of her, unfortunately. She seemed like a cool filly hang around. She was like a mini-Dash. “Hey, Scootaloo,” you made your presence known. The little filly turned her attention towards you for a mere second. “Hi, Anon!” “So, what’s my number one fan been up to?” Rainbow asked. “Well yesterday, me and my friends were setting up a shop to get our cutie marks in customer service,” she beamed. Who in the right mind would want a cutie mark in customer service? You’d have to be really good with peo-, er ponies to get one of those, and while Scoots was an outgoing little filly, she was just too impatient to deal with that kind of stuff. “We, kind of got some ponies mad and the Mayor shut down our shop,” she admitted, slightly embarrassed. Dash giggled and so did you. You wished you were there to see that. “Is it alright if I can spend some time with you today, Dash?” she asked. Rainbow looked towards you for confirmation, to which you just shrugged. “I don’t mind.” “You sure you can hang with the adults, squirt?” Rainbow asked. “Heck, yeah!” she shouted. The three of you spent the rest of the afternoon down by the lake, splashing around and playing silly little games like Marco Polo and nonsensical splash fights. You were so happy, you didn’t even bother taking off your clothes when you took a dip into the lake. Did you mention that there was a lot of body contact between you and Rainbow? At one point you role-played as the legendary hydra, substituting your appendages for heads. Your goal was to ‘eat’ Scootaloo, while Rainbow acted as her guardian, trying to stave you off. Rainbow had done her best to hold you down, but a quick reflex of your hand stopped her assault as you mercilessly tickled her. The noises that she made melted your heart. She had the cutest laugh, hands down (no pun intended). While you were busy with Rainbow, Scootaloo took initiative and attempted to thwart your tickling plans, but in the end it proved futile as your remaining free hand got a hold of her and began tickling her, too. “These ponies are delicious,” you exclaimed in an overly-exaggerated monster voice. Their cries for you to stop fell upon deaf ears as they were both helpless to defend themselves. Finally, after thinking they had enough you released both of them, satisfied with your own victory. Unfortunately, what goes around comes around and you weren’t prepared when Rainbow pinned you to the side of the lake while Scootaloo began tickling you. All in all, it was a great day. As the sun began to set over the horizon, the three of you took a moment to dry off. It was getting late and everyone had to return to work tomorrow, including you. Scootaloo was the first to leave, saying that she was expected back at her house by sundown which left you and Rainbow by yourselves. “I didn’t know you were so great with kids,” Rainbow complimented you as she shook herself dry like a dog. “Neither did I,” you chuckled. “Maybe I should be a teacher.” “Either way, I had a blast today. You aren’t as uptight as I thought you were, Anon,” she admitted. “You always wear fancy suits and walk around like you own the place.” “Heh, I can be serious sometimes, but I just take things as they come. There’s nothing wrong with being spontaneous.” You opted to air dry, feeling uncomfortable undressing in front of Rainbow. “Definitely, that what I like in a stallion,” she agreed. She brought her hooves to her mouth, as if she had said something wrong. You raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she meant by that. Was she interested in you? “Sorry, I’m not hitting on you or anything like that. I know how much you dislike the thought of dating somepony. What I meant to say was, I like ponies that aren’t held on a strict schedule, you know? I already have that egghead Twilight doing that,” she chuckled. Well, there went your hopes and dreams. “I know that feel. The first time I came here, Twilight made me a set schedule and I followed it for about a week until I became frustrated.” “Anyways, I should probably get going. Gotta keep up that good behavior at work to dig myself out of that hole,” she blushed. “We have to hang out again, sometime.” She flew down to you and gave you a tight hug. The sun had just disappeared over the horizon, light only faintly emitting in the darkening sky. You returned the hug and like always, you felt like the king of Equestria. “See ya around!” she said releasing her embrace. Before you could say your goodbyes, she was gone in the blink of an eye. Your smiled faded into a neutral expression as you felt alone once again. A single tear escaped your eye and streamed down your cheeks. “I love you,” you whispered. You made your way back into the middle of the city, where ponies were closing down what little shops were open for the night. Tomorrow was Monday; the beginning of a new week and so far, it looked like that week was going to be one of the best you had in a long time. Before you could reach your house, you ran into Applejack. “Howdy, Anon! Fancy seeing you here this late,” she waved. As much as you hated to admit that Applejack was right, you had to give credit where credit was due. “Hi, Applejack. I was just out by the lake with Rainbow and Scoots earlier. Just got back as you can tell,” you pointed towards your dampened clothes. “Spending time with your special somepony,” she teased. You blushed slightly, avoiding eye contact. “So did you do what I told ya to do?” she asked. “Yeah, I did. As much as it pains me to say it, you were right. I am in love with Rainbow Dash. Sorry, if I ever snapped at you or anything.” She waved it off. “So long as you’re honest with yourself from now on, I accept your apology. You definitely seem like your old self, again.” “Yeah, being honest with myself really helped me with my mood. I never knew how lying to yourself could bring you down like that,” you admitted. “But I’m glad you helped me through it, AJ.” You walked up to her and gave her a hug similar to what you gave Rainbow earlier. “I appreciate your friendship.” “Don’t be getting all mushy on me now, but if you ever need anything, I’m here to help you,” she offered as you released her. “You know, I wouldn’t mind some advice from the Element of Honesty from time to time. Thank you Applejack.” “You’re welcome, Sugarcube.” You said your goodbyes to each other and separated. You entered your house, feeling a bit drained from all the physical activity you did today. If you were going to be hanging with Rainbow Dash more, you had a slight feeling that you may develop that six-pack you’ve always wanted.