Chapter 14
The Letter
Rainbow Dash settled gently on the library’s balcony. Twilight slid from her marefriend’s back and patted down her windswept mane. When she turned to face Rainbow, her expression grew puzzled. Rainbow looked at her with a tentative uneasiness that reminded her of the night they had gotten together. The pegasus stepped forward and grasped Twilight’s face in her hooves, kissing the mare quickly and somewhat roughly. She pulled back and smirked, the smile not quite convincing, drawing Twilight’s brows further together in confusion. “Wait here,” Rainbow mumbled.
Opening the balcony door, Rainbow jumped into the air and sailed through the room and down the staircase. Still bewildered, Twilight tentatively entered her bedroom. The gentle clack of hooves on risers drew her to the staircase as Rainbow came back into view. Her marefriend had an opened envelope in her mouth. Smiling wanly around it, she leaned forward to present it to Twilight.
Lifting the envelope in a glow of magic, Twilight pulled the letter out and unfurled it in front of her.
Team Lead Rainbow Dash,
Your required two year Wonderbolt Academy enrollment is due to be completed by the end of the month. In light of your outstanding academy record in physical skill and leadership ability, a special deliberation committee was called to order last week, discussing you and your talents.
By unanimous decision, the Wonderbolts extend to you an official offer for placement on the team. A standard five year commitment contract pending your review and approval will be rendered available on Academy grounds in seven to ten business days. If you accept, a month-long team acclimation training period will be scheduled to begin the first of the month.
Congratulations, cadet.
With regards,
Captain Spitfire, WB
Twilight’s slack jaw gradually shifted into an enormous grin. She quickly moved the letter away from in front of her face and beamed at Rainbow. “Oh my gosh! You made it, Rainbow! I’m so excited for you!” Twilight rushed forward and swept Rainbow off the floor in a crushing hug, drawing a surprised wheeze. “You have your dream! Oh, this is such wonderful news!” Rainbow chuckled weakly as Twilight spun her around and set her back on the floor. Twilight hurried to her desk. “This calls for a Pinkie party! We need to tell everypony right away!”
Rainbow shuffled her wings without opening them and cleared her throat. “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” she said quietly.
Twilight halted and turned back to the surprisingly reserved mare. “Is everything alright?”
Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, yeah…” She gave Twilight a small smile. “I’d kinda like to maybe do somethin’ with just you first, though.”
Twilight’s confusion melted and her expression grew warm. She reapproached Rainbow and hugged her marefriend more gently. “I’d love to do that, Rainbow. Let’s go to that new bistro, just the two of us.”
Grinning, Rainbow pecked the unicorn on her cheek. “Sounds great.”
Twilight hurried away again, bee lining for the bathroom. “Oh, I have to get ready!”
Shaking her head and smirking, Rainbow slowly descended the stairs to the main room of the library. She wandered to the fireplace and sat down, fidgeting her wings. She grabbed a book without looking at it and tried to read, finding herself glancing up at the stairs every few minutes.
After an agonizing amount of time for Rainbow Dash, Twilight came down to meet her, looking much the same as she had before, although her mane and tail were completely devoid of signs that they had flown home and her coat shined almost imperceptibly brighter than normal. “You’re not going to get ready?” She blinked and shook her head. “Of course you’re not going to get ready; you always look good. C’mon, let’s go.” She floated a saddlebag around her neck.
Snickering, Rainbow dropped her book and headed for the door. “You always look good, too.” She held it open for her marefriend with a smile.
“That’s because I work at it. Believe me, when I was studying for finals as an undergrad, there was a solid two weeks where the only thing I did was shower to get the ick off.” Rainbow shut the door behind them and they took off at a sedate canter towards downtown Ponyville. “If I’m remembering right, I was almost late to my last exam because a couple of birds tried to use my mane as a nest.”
Rainbow gently shoulder checked Twilight. “I’d pay to see that. Bet you’d look even cuter with Owlowiscious curled up asleep on your head.”
Giggling, Twilight shoulder checked back. “Couldn’t be cuter than when Tank falls asleep on your back.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. That little guy’s heavy. Makes me feel like he’s a paperweight and I’m a stack of papers.”
They shared a chuckle. “Has he done well since the move, by the way? I don’t see him around the library very often, and you always read him better than me, anyway.”
“Oh, he’s been fine,” Rainbow said nonchalantly, “He just keeps to himself a lot. Loner type, ya know? Plus, I think he found a lady tortoise friend who lives in the White Tail Woods.”
“Aww…”
“Chicks dig flying tortoises.”
Twilight giggled and shoulder checked Rainbow again. “I certainly dig the owner of one.”
“See?” she teased, “He’s just doing his job.”
Twilight glanced up, catching sight of the sign hanging above The Nosh and Nicker Bistro. “Wow, we’re here already.”
Rainbow held open the door for her marefriend and they stepped inside the cozy restaurant. The rich, stained wood walls and floor held an intimate warmth that was accentuated by the flickering lantern lights set along the walls and in the center of each table. After a short wait for a place to sit to come free and be cleaned, they were sat at a two-pony table in the middle of the main dining room, surrounded by the low murmur of conversations occurring throughout the space.
Their conversation shifted to discussing dishes, and after they had ordered their meals, Twilight smiled fondly at Rainbow across the table. She watched her marefriend shift and twitch her folded wings. “You look like you’re itching to fly, Rainbow. I’m so happy for you. We knew this day was coming, but it’s still so exciting!” She blinked and shook her head. “Oh, gosh! Think about how excited Scootaloo’s gonna be!”
Rainbow snorted and shook her head, grinning.
“Think about it!” Twilight teased, “Especially if you told her right after her first flight! She’d explode!”
Laughing lightly, Rainbow reached across the table and cupped Twilight’s hoof. “She totally would.” She grinned at the unicorn, idly stroking the soft hairs of Twilight’s coat. “Thank you, Twi’. For helping me plan all the training.” She looked down at that table, her expression growing coy. “After that very first speed test, I stopped worryin’ so much. I was prepared for her to start off way worse than she was…” Her smile fell as a ghost of memory passed over her face. “…My dad told me he couldn’t do one wing-up at all when he started learnin’ to fly…”
Twilight moved her other hoof to the table and squeezed Rainbow’s limb.
Squeezing back, Rainbow continued, “But after that? After I saw she’d definitely be able to make it?” Her smile widened and she shook her head. “I never would’a been able to plan the ‘Bolts training without your help.”
The server arrived with their food and they sat back, providing room for their plates. Twilight turned to the server and smiled. “Thank you.” She turned back to her marefriend. “And you’re welcome. I was happy to help. I’m so glad I did, too; being there for the training and watching the two of you together has been wonderful.” She inhaled the aroma of her eggplant parmesan. “Mmm, this smells good.”
“I’ ‘astes ‘ood, ‘oo,” Rainbow mumbled around her enormous mouthful of noodles.
Giggling, Twilight took a modestly sized bite. “It does taste good. Anyway, I’ve been more than happy through all the training.” She smirked ruefully between mouthfuls, her speech slowing down with pauses as she ate. “I’ve always liked watching you fly, but helping with the plans and watching you and Scootaloo in action…I get it now. I mean, I understood before, abstractly, but I really get it now. How much work and effort you put into it. It’s really amazing. And seeing you with Scootaloo…” Her smile widened. “It’s cute. She adores you.”
Rainbow snorted derisively, shoveling another wad of noodles into her mouth. To her credit, she swallowed before saying, “It’s been great seein’ you tutor her. I know she was a little cold for a while, but she definitely warmed up to you. That’s cute. Scoots an’ me? We’re cool. Get it right.”
Twilight had to swallow quickly to keep from choking from her chuckles. “My mistake.”
“You’re cool, too, so I’ll forgive you.”
Waving a hoof in a playful dismissal, Twilight mused, “Fine, if you say I’m cool, I can be cool. But you’re cute.”
“Slander!”
They fell into giggles, working their way through the rest of their meals. Twilight’s grin gradually shrunk and became introspective. “…It’s been really great having Scootaloo around so much.”
“Yeah, it has.” Rainbow finished licking her plate and set it back down as the waiter approached. She quirked an eyebrow at her marefriend. “Dessert? I think I saw tiramisu earlier.”
“Mmm, coffee.”
The waiter nodded congenially and cleared their plates. A pleasant lull fell over their conversation as they waited, bellies full of food. Rainbow sat back and sighed in satisfaction, fidgeting her wings.
“There you go again,” Twilight teased, “Still wanting to fly. I’m surprised you actually walked the whole way here.”
“It was a short walk.” The waiter returned with their dessert and the check.
Twilight levitated a fork to the plate and grinned mischieviously. “Open up; tell me how it is.” She floated a bite past her marefriend’s lips.
Rainbow’s eyelids fluttered as she chewed. “Oh, man…” she murmured. Her voice grew serious. “It’s poison. I’m gonna have to eat all of it, just to protect you.” She grabbed a fork and dug out a large piece.
“I’ll take my chances,” Twilight struggled out through her mirth, bringing a bite to her mouth. “Oh, wow…” Her muzzle crinkled in satisfaction as she chewed. “We’re definitely gonna need to bring the girls here. They’d love it. The food is terrific and the atmosphere is—”
Rainbow cut her off, as much with the sudden downshift in tone as what she said. “I’m not gonna do it.”
Twilight froze with a forkful of tiramisu halfway to her mouth. Her eyes trained on Rainbow’s face, suddenly as serious and resolute as her voice. She set her fork back down. “What?”
“I’m gonna tell Spitfire no.”
Shaking her head hard enough for her ears to loudly flap against her head, Twilight marveled, “What? Why? We’ve been waiting for this for years!”
Rainbow shrugged noncommittally. “Not gonna do it.”
“But it’s your dream, Rainbow! You can’t get cold hooves now, just because it’s here! You’re the best flyer I’ve ever seen; you’ll do fine—fantastic even—you have to say yes.”
Taking a long and slow breath, Rainbow shook her head. “I know I’d be great. I know they’d love me an’ I could make a name for myself doin’ it. I could probably make captain after Spitfire retires.” She took another chunk of their dessert and chewed it slowly. “Still not gonna do it.”
Twilight stammered in disbelief. She shook her head again. “Why?! It’s your dream!”
“It was my dream, Twilight.” She sat forward and smiled wanly at her marefriend. “It isn’t anymore.”
Twilight gaped silently.
“Y’know what bein’ a Wonderbolt means, Twi’?” Her eyes dropped to the table, lingering over the sticky crumbs of the finished tiramisu. “Month long trainin’ at the academy, then I’d go on tour. Tours are three months, with two weeks off in between ‘em. Outdoor stadiums for warm months, indoor coliseums for cold ones. Couple’a weekends off here ‘n there, a break for Hearth’s Warmin’, and then I’d do it all again.” She sat back, shaking her head. “Five year contract to start. Then another, an’ another. Most ‘bolts stay active for twenty years.” Her eyes became hard set and she met Twilight’s gaze unwaveringly. “Twenty years, Twi’. Twenty years of me bein’ home for three months of the whole year.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight reached across the table and held her marefriend’s hoof. “We’ve talked about this before. We’ll find time. I can come to some of the shows and we can spend down-time together. Sure, we’ll be busy a lot, but we’ll make it work.”
Rainbow smiled sadly. “We talked about it when I went to the academy; that was two years ago, Twi’.” She set her other hoof over Twilight’s and squeezed tight. “So much has changed since then. For us. We were together then, yeah, but now…” She dropped her head again, her voice growing even more reserved. “I love you, Twilight. I love you with all my heart. I wake up every day with you right there next to me, and go to sleep every night curled up around you, and I don’t ever want that to stop.”
Twilight bit her lip and blinked rapidly. “Rainbow…”
“Goin’ away for a week regularly was one thing, but a whole month? Three whole months? Three months away, stealin’ little bits and pieces of time with you?” She shook her head, looking back up. “No. No, that’s not a dream of mine. I’ve got too much here. Too much of me here, in Ponyville, to leave like that. What’m I supposed to do with Tank?” Twilight opened her mouth, but Rainbow shook her head. “I know you’d take care of ‘im, or Fluttershy, but that’s not fair to the little dude. He’s got his home. With me. With us.”
“Rainbow, I—”
“—Hold on, I’m almost done.” Her small smile grew a little in strength, taking on a wry quality. “Tank’s hardly the biggest thing. What about the other girls? They’re not gonna be able to drop stuff to come to shows. I’ll hardly see anypony at all for years. And…and what about Scoots?”
Rainbow dropped her gaze again. “…Sure, she’s just about done trainin’, but you’ve seen what those Taker ponies are like. She needs us there. She’s spending more an’ more time at the library each week. I can’t get her flyin’ and then take off for the ‘bolts, Twi’.” She shook her head, vehemently, angrily. “I refuse to just take off. I refuse.” Her voice wavered with emotion on the last word and she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. She extricated one of her hooves and wiped at her eyes.
Twilight’s voice grew concerned. “You okay?”
Sniffling and swallowing again, Rainbow answered, “Yeah,” her voice low and husky. She cleared her throat. “My…my dad died right after I got back from Junior Speedsters. He, uh…he helped train me right before I left for it. It was the last thing we really did together.” She sniffled wetly again. When she met Twilight’s gaze, her eyes looked haunted. “I can’t train Scoots an’ disappear from her life, even if it’s just most of the time. I can’t. And if I did, I’d miss so much.” She shook her head again. “I’d miss helpin’ her after her first crash, helpin’ her with her first trick, seein’ her first trick. I’d miss all of it.
“And I’d miss you, Twi’. Stolen weekends and off-hours stuff every once in a while on tour sounded okay two years ago, but it doesn’t anymore. Does it still sound good to you?”
Twilight paused for a long time, meeting her marefriend’s steady and saddened expression. Very slowly, she shook her head. “…No,” she whispered, “No, but I’d deal with it.”
Rainbow nodded. “I’d deal with it too, if that’s all it was. But it isn’t, Twi’. There’s too much other stuff.” A smile cut through her melancholy and she leaned forward, lifting Twilight’s hoof off the table and holding it fiercely. “Too much good stuff. I’m so happy, Twi’. I love my life. Weather stuff is fun most of the time, and even when it isn’t, I’m done so fast it doesn’t matter. I make just okay money, but uhh…” She flushed, her face and voice coloring with embarrassment. “...Well, we’ve been over the bills…I don’t need to make a lot, anyway. We’re comfortable as it is.”
Twilight stroked Rainbow’s hoof soothingly; she knew the subject was touchy for her marefriend. Rainbow smiled at her and a bit of the color drained away from the mare’s face.
Rainbow cleared her throat. “Anyway, so money’s not a problem, and I get to fly for fun all the time already, so who cares if it’s on a team or not? It’s all flying, an’ I get to do it as much as I want right now. And work stuff aside, I get to spend all this time with our friends, and trainin’ Scoots, and seein’ you. You’ve made me the luckiest mare in Ponyville.”
Still smiling, Rainbow squeezed Twilight’s hoof again. “Bein’ a Wonderbolt? That was the dream of a different pony; one who needed everypony to know who she was, ‘cause she didn’t have anypony at all. Before I met you, I was always on my own. No real friends, ‘cept Gilda who I never saw, goin’ from place to place, never droppin’ anchor. I could always be a ‘Bolt, ‘cause I never had a home, Twilight. My home died with my dad.” Her voice and eyes wavered. “You gave me a home again. And I’m not gonna give that up for a fillyhood dream that doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. Not when I have a new dream. A better one.”
Rainbow let go of Twilight’s hoof and stood from her chair. A pregnant hush fell over the restaurant as heads turned in curiosity to regard the striking pegasus. With deliberate and practiced slowness, Rainbow stepped around the table and lowered down in a half bow, half crouch. Her twitching wings extended from her sides, sweeping in front of her towards Twilight.
Twilight looked down at Rainbow’s feathery limbs with wide and bewildered eyes. In the crook of Rainbow’s right wing, hidden from view throughout the evening, she held a small, worn, wooden box. With the strange and innate wing dexterity that all pegasi seemed to have and which Twilight always puzzled over, Rainbow slid the box to the end of her right wing and grasped the lid with her left.
Rainbow’s voice, while gentle and bare, carried across the preternaturally still restaurant. “Twilight Sparkle. Will you make me the luckiest mare in all of Equestria?” She opened the box.
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. The humble container, lined in old and worn burgundy velvet, served as a stark contrast to its contents: a single, tiny, blue feather, the sheen on its vane worn dull with time and the quill stained by age to a dirty yellow. She recognized it immediately: a molted pegasus feather. Rainbow’s first molted feather. She shut her eyes and tears rolled down her face.
“Oh, yes, Rainbow, yes!” Twilight leapt to her hooves. She cupped Rainbow’s face and pulled her up to standing, kissing the pegasus fiercely, emphatically, pouring the full weight of her acceptance into the act. She wrapped her legs around Rainbow’s neck as her fiancée gripped her waist. She felt the tears on Rainbow’s cheeks mix with her own.
In their embrace, Twilight’s horn began to glow. A shimmering field of magic surrounded both ponies and slowly, delicately, they floated off the hardwood floor. Suspended in space, enrobed in energy, they were two individuals cut off from the world around them. There, in the moment, they had each other and nothing else mattered.
Twilight had never felt so in love.
Rainbow Dash hadn’t, either.
When they eventually drew away, grinning broadly with happy tears trailing down their faces, Twilight’s magic slowly faded. As they drifted downwards, Rainbow whispered, “I guess we’ll open that bottle of wine early.” Twilight cupped Rainbow’s face and kissed her again. Still tightly in each other’s hooves, their hindlegs clicked down on the floor.
The entire restaurant roared to life in applause.
Hooves rhythmically stomping, cheers and whistles rebounding off the walls, the intimate venue became an overwhelming din of noise. Twin blushes spread across Rainbow and Twilight’s ecstatic faces, but despite the sense of embarrassed exposure, neither had the heart to let the other go right away.
Rainbow kissed Twilight once more and stepped away with lingering reluctance. Still smiling hugely, they nodded thanks across the room to the many calls of congratulations and sat back down. Eventually the restaurant quieted enough that they could hear each other speak, but for a while afterwards all they could do was grin stupidly at each other.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “So…”
“I love you,” Twilight said simply.
Rainbow paused, smiling fondly. “…I love you, too, Twi’.”
Her voice growing tentative, Twilight asked, “Are you really going to decline?”
“I mailed a letter saying 'thanks but no thanks' this mornin’.” She took one of Twilight’s hooves in her own again. “This is my dream, Twi’. This life we’ve made together. Might not be as flashy as bein’ a ‘Bolt, but it’s what I want. Just this…” Rainbow’s smile lost distinction and her eyes grew distant and introspective. “This and some other stuff I wanna talk to you about.”
“Oh?”
Rainbow refocused on her fiancée and grinned impishly. “Stuff about Scoots...but let’s go home and open up that wine first.”
Twilight removed a pouch of bits from her saddlebag to pay their tab and slid the wooden box inside to take its place. After shaking hooves with a number of well-wishers, they left the restaurant, Twilight occasionally pressing her hoof to the contours of the box inside her bag, assuring it was still there, relishing in its existence. Twilight and Rainbow took the winding way back to the library, pressed shoulder to shoulder the entire trip.
Once home, the bottle of wine disappeared quickly amidst excited conversation. Two more fell shortly after that. As the rays of morning peeked their way over the horizon, Twilight and Rainbow finally nodded off, nestled in each other’s hooves, staggeringly drunk, slightly queasy, and hopelessly in love.
“Ugh, Rainbow, my head…”
“C’mon, Twi’, I feel like mud, too. But we talked about this; it’s somethin’ I gotta do.”
“Can’t it wait?”
“Um…We kinda slept for fourteen hours…”
”What?!”
“Augh, not so loud, Twi’…But yeah, it’s the middle of the night. And you know Scoots is gonna say she’s ready to go—”
“—the first possible second, yeah.”
“So if we don’t leave now, we’re not gonna get back by tomorrow afternoon.”
“…Okay, Rainbow. Make some coffee.”
“Already did.”
“…I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Waiting is hard! I need more adorableness and sappy romance in my life!
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It must be done!
Awwwwww!
I kinda assumed that they were just in a civil union or some sort of equivalent, I wasn't sure if they could get married in this universe. How odd. Oh well, that just means that the cuteness was unexpected, and therefore more effective.
Adorable. A tad bittersweet what with Rainbow changing her dream like that, but well done nevertheless. Sounds a lot like something that a lot of people go through, that realization that the life they built is more important and better than the life they wanted growing up.
Severe lack of Scoots in this chapter!
Damnit batsy, you don't pull a fucking proposal right out of the blue on me when I'm mentally unstable. How could you?!
You're killing me here, bats! I don't know how much more d'awwwww I can take! And knowing we'll have to get back to the Scootabelle debacle is just too suspenseful...
That is all.
ADFASDFASFADSFADSFADSFADSFASDFADSFASDFADSFADSFASDF
^^^my excellent critique of this chapter
Aaaaw... Almost over already
I had hoped it'd keep going for longer.
MOAR!
YOU GODS DANMED FOOL, TOO EARLY. TOO SOON
YOU FOOLcdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/21501942.jpg
The proposal AND no cliffhanger? You spoil us.
I think this might well replace Twilight's List as my favorite Twidash. It's wonderful.
Saw Dash's response coming. I'm hoping Spitfire can... tweak the terms of the contract some, maybe. And I can't wait to see what they've got planned for Scoots.
HAH! I KNEW this would happen this chapter!
On an unrelated note, I wonder where the "first molted feather" thing for pegasi came from.
2807205
Earliest story with its use is Building Bridges, I believe.
Well of course this version of Rainbow would put her family first.
Next episode: Scoot adoption!
2807217
And I know the artist Nyuu Chan Dianne Pie uses it a lot.
Daaaaaaaaaaamn. That was... I have no words save for a few shed tears.
Manly tears.
Liquid pride.
Damnit... You know what I mean!
~Skeeter The Lurker
2807245
I think Nyuuchan ran with the idea after Building Bridges. I think that's the genesis of it, although most uses have it as more of a promise ring sorta thing. It's just so damn cute, I went for it here, too.
Aw, this was wonderful! Twilight and Rainbow getting married, Rainbow realizing she already has everything she wants, and Scoots all set to be adopted into the TwiDash family.
I'm confused; where are they going?
2807300
Purposefully vague. You'll see.
2807309 Oh you! *limp wrist*
Pretty sure I'm in the minority here going by the preexisting comments, but Dash turning down the Wonderbolts? And Twilight letting her do it with barely even an argument?
Still reading, still thumbs up, just not 100% happy with the development.
Dat chapter... Now lets see how the action with Scoots and Sweetie running off turns out
SO, how about someone invent a time machine that can alter time on a earth-wide scale so we can have Thursday already? Those 3 days of waitin will be agonising...
you have no Idea how much I love this story, yes I have said that before, but that is cuz you keep out doing your self!. Bats, I am this close to printing this out, making it into a book, and sending it to you, just to have you sign it.
2807163 you forget we still havent found out what happend to sweetie belle and scoots
damn you bats this story is so wonderfully amazing i cant wait for the next chapter
Aww. I don't think Rainbow could have planned a better speech and proposal here. Wonderful chapter.
Flying shelled reptiles... It was either this or something from Super Mario Brothers.
Edit: better video here.
2789588 It's not that releasing it all at once can't be done, it's just that it's really stupid ;)
And how the fuck does this thing not have more upvotes?!
2807366 Things change. People change. Rainbow's priorities have violently shifted from what they were before. It was pretty well set up.
2807228 Unlikely. The next chapter is probably gonna be Scootaloo dealing with the Sweetie Belle situation.
2807630
Hear hear on the really stupid thing. That's basically what I meant about feasibility. I *could* put the whole thing online at once. And people would see the instantaneous 75k words with no views and no votes and say 'lol, nope.' Good way to kill a story before it even starts.
Well, for most people. I know a number of my followers would at least check out the first chapter and probably read it from there, but it's a lot harder to pull in passing interest on something that's tens of thousands of words when it has no votes and no views than it is to pull in passing interest on the same thing with 2000 views and close to 400 upvotes.
As for the exact votes on this, close to one out of five readers of the first chapter upvoted it. That's a damn fine ratio. This story is admittedly one of my less read ones overall, but the voting stats on it are pretty solid. Longer stories are always a slower build up for votes anyway, since so many people wait for them to be finished before they render their final judgment.
I appreciate the sense of injustice on my behalf, though. It's quite gratifying.
2807679 I'm actually indignant, really. The premise is simple but the execution is marvelous. I'm hawking this thing, so help me.
This is a hell of a lot better than many of the stories I've read that have 1000+ upvotes... But then, there's some super popular shite out there.
2807635 It certainly must have been since I'm the only commenter who didn't like it. *shrug*
Mainly I'm just not a fan of the "give up on your dreams to stay home with your love" plot point. Lots of people join the military/similar organizations and end up separated from their friends and family for months or years at a time. You work through it.
2807722 Sure, but while the Wonderbolts have been portrayed as being a semi-military organization, it's very obvious that Dash's desire to be part of them isn't a "king and country" patriotism kind of thing. It's a fame thing. She's found something that matters more to her than being a highfalutin important person... pony...?
2807635
Exactly, I wanted to be a preacher when I was growing up. Now I know better
My exact reaction to the restaurant scene.
Okay, that was just absolutely adorable and very beautiful in the same breath. And I can definitely see Rainbow as you've put her together in this story doing just this. Well done!
Cheese louise...
Not that I'm complaining.
If only all Dashes did this.
A week and a half?!
But... but...
Great chapter! Adorable and romantic in all the right ways.
Now, I have an idea...
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What if... you posted all the chapters... on a faster schedule?
Like, not all at once, but maybe one chapter every other day.
That would be cool.
Unless by "drafted" you mean unedited. In that case, a chapter every two days might be a lot of extra work.
2808382
It is mostly unedited, yes. Everything has been partially edited, but thorough edits aren't done yet.
It's only three more update days! Just imagine if this was being updated like some of those other stories, that give you 2-3k word chapters months apart!
2808408
My story does that...
I guess I should write more often.
Either way, I understand completely. As much as I can't wait to read the rest of this story, I can wait if needed. This one's worth it!
2807092
But in all seriousness, yes, it was adorable.
THAT was the most awesome and adorable proposal I've ever read.
I loved how Rainbow outlined why she's turning down the Wonderbolts and what her life in Ponyville has become. It's really showed just how much she's grown.
That was just an amazing piece of writing. Really well done.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to collapse from feels.
2807309 I'm putting my chips on they went to Canterlot to get the adoption papers... just a hunch though.
2807217 Aye, Bridges used it, but not to the extent of a Marriage Proposal, but it does reference certain cultures which do it as a form of proposal. The first molted reference did make me squee, though.
Amazing chapter, bats. The story keeps getting better. It makes me sad that it's gonna end soon.