//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Embrace // Story: Loving Rainbow // by Swift Bolt //------------------------------// The next morning, Pinkie awoke; she didn’t waste anytime as she got ready for the day. After getting dressed and eating a quick breakfast of toast and strawberry jam she bolted out of the door in the hopes of finding Rainbow before school. Once, Pinkie made it to main entrance, she sat on the steps leading to the school’s entrance. Pinkie sat on the far side of the stone steps to make sure that she wasn’t in the way of incoming classmates. Her icy blue eyes were constantly scanning the numerous students. Those blue spheres never stopped looking for a flash of rainbow hair in the river of teens. The loud chime of the school bell signaled the end of her search. Her lips slowly turned into a frown as she walked to her first class of the day. Not having any luck finding Rainbow, Pinkie started to feel nervous. The more she thought about it the more she was sure something was wrong. She did have a sixth sense about these kind of things. While her English teacher droned on about the lesson plan. Setting her phone on her lap she texted Rainbow a quick message asking if she was okay. With the teacher’s back turned Pinkie clicked send. A small bit of her worry eroded after sending the message. The moment of comfort was chiseled away with every passing minute without a reply. As the hours ticked by, switching from class to class. Pinkie began to get impatient waiting for the lunch bell. As soon as it rang she bolted out of the room as fast as she could in the direction of the cafeteria. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she ran at a breakneck pace. Reaching the door to the cafeteria caused her to screeching a halt. Flinging open the door, with a crazed look in her eye. She scouted the lunch room for any sign of her athletic friend. Rainbow was nowhere in sight, feeling deflated Pinkie took a seat next to Applejack and Sunset. While Rarity and Fluttershy took their seat just opposite of Pinkie. Spotting Fluttershy filled Pinkie with a new found hope. If anything was seriously wrong with Rainbow then Fluttershy would be the first to know. Launching herself across the table Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. The quick action caused the skittish girl to squeak out in surprise. “Fluttershy! Have you seen Rainbow Dash?” “No, I haven’t seen her?” An icy pit began to form in her stomach with the return of her anxiety. Without a word Pinkie released her grip, her face smacked the table as she slid back to her seat. Rarity and Fluttershy both shared a concerned expression. “Pinkie dear, is everything alright?” asked Rarity. Pinkie’s face was still on the table making her response muffled. Fluttershy bit her lip in guilt knowing that she just couldn’t do anything for Pinkie since the others were present. Applejack was too busy feeding Sunset to notice anything. Which caused Rarity’s eye to twitch in frustration. Sunset and Applejack’s PDA was annoying enough. While, Rarity attempted to lecture Applejack on common courtesy. Pinkie sat in silence for the rest of the lunch period. The more she thought about Rainbow, the more her anxiety grew. The rest of the day was a blur. Pinkie perked up as soon as the last bell rang for the day. She quickly gathered her things and ran as fast as she could to Rainbow’s house. It didn’t take her long to reach her destination. Cautiously Pinkie walked up to the door. There was no response after she knocked a few times. Taking a chance Pinkie reached for the doorknob. With a turn of her wrist the door creaked open. “Rainbow, are you home?” whispered Pinkie. Poking her head in nearly room, came with the same result...empty. Now there was only one room left to check. Rainbow’s room was at the top of the stairs. Creeping on her tiptoes Pinkie could see Rainbow fast asleep in her bed. Once, Pinkie made it to Rainbow’s side she saw a sea of discarded tissues. It didn’t take a genius to see that Rainbow was very sick. Pinkie’s lips formed into a thin line as she watched Rainbow’s labored breathing. She also noticed that Rainbow was nearly out of tissues, cough drops and cold medicine. Like a ghost Pinkie disappeared into the hallway and grabbed Rainbow’s house key on her way out. Locking the front door behind her. Pinkie headed to the nearest convenient store. She bought all of the things that Rainbow would need to recover. After paying for her items she rushed back to Rainbow’s side. She set down a new box of tissues, a bag of cough drops and a fresh bottle of medicine on the nightstand. Pinkie cleaned up Rainbow’s ocean of tissues and emptied the wastebasket. Before she left the room Pinkie lovingly kissed Rainbow on her forehead. A strong smell of tomato soup wafted throughout the house. The delicate aroma was nearly lost on Rainbow’s stuffy nose. It was just enough to arouse her from her slumber. Every muscle in her body ached as she stumbled her way into the kitchen. “Dad, is that you?” Rainbow’s voice was hoarse as she barely got the words out. “Rainbow! Your up!” squeaked Pinkie in her excitement. Rainbow flinched at Pinkie’s shrieking, her head throbbed in pain from being congested. Realising her mistake, Pinkie wordlessly ushered Rainbow to the nearest seat at the table. Feeling weak, Rainbow did not resist Pinkie as she pulled out a chair for her. A large grin found its way to Pinkie’s lips as she thrusted a bowl of tomato soup in front of Rainbow. As well as a cup of water with a large pink curly straw. Hungrily Rainbow took a few sips of her soup. Pinkie sat across from her with her own bowl of soup. The only sound in the room was the noise of clinking spoons. Rainbow was grateful for the silence. She wasn’t sure that she could take Pinkie’s usual chatter at the moment. A tired smile tugged at Rainbow’s lips when she took a small sip from her pink curly straw. The action was so ridiculous that she couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks Pinkie for the soup.” The small compliment made Pinkie’s smile just grow in size. She grabbed up Rainbow’s dishes to wash them. Now that dinner was over Pinkie escorted Rainbow back to her bed. Once they reached her room, Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Now that she was awake she noticed that her room was a lot cleaner. Not only that, but now she had a brand new supply of medicine. The gesture was not lost on Rainbow. She was genuinely touched by Pinkie’s action’s. Just as Rainbow pulled the covers over herself; Pinkie handed her a dose of night time cold syrup. It didn’t take long to Rainbow to get drowsy, soon the room was filled with Rainbow’s light snores. Sitting on the edge of the bed Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that Rainbow was okay was like a weight lifted off her shoulders. The next morning Rainbow felt a little better. She sleepily made her way to the living room. A loud snore caught her attention Rainbow saw Pinkie curled up in a ball on her couch. The foggy memories from the night before sluggishly made their way back to the forefront of her mind. Seeing her hyperactive friend sleeping peacefully was a rare occasion. It didn’t take long, before Pinkie began to stir from her dreams. After yawning loudly Pinkie darted into the kitchen to make a Saturday breakfast for the both of them. With nothing to do Rainbow sat at the table. Alone with her thoughts Rainbow began to tap her fingers on the table. Minutes later a bowl of chopped fruit and a small portion of cinnamon oatmeal was placed in front of her. Even a simple meal like this looked like an artistic masterpiece. Rainbow didn’t know how it was even possible to create something so beautiful. Reluctantly, she disrupted the delicately stacked fruit with a flick of her spoon. Out of the corner of her eye Rainbow saw Pinkie staring at her with a content smile. Something deep inside her began to stir. Rainbow set down her spoon with a pained expression as she stared her hyper friend in the eye. “You don’t have to take care of me you know.” Her statement seemed to catch her pink friend off guard. Though it didn’t last long. With a swift shake of her head Pinkie recovered. “ I know, I don’t have too. I just want to.”replied Pinkie with a warm smile. It was as Rainbow feared, Pinkie was not going to come out and say it. It was as if she knew that admitting her true feelings would only lead to rejection. And she was right Rainbow couldn’t return her affection at least not in the same capacity as her dear friend. “Look Pinkie, I know alright. I know you have a crush on me.” Pinkie’s light pink cheeks were immediately drained of color as she stared at the ground. “I...Just.” She was at a lost for words so she continued to blankly stare at the ground. Rainbow stared at her sympathetically. “Fluttershy told me and you’re really awesome. But I just don’t feel the same way.” Pinkie stood there frozen with shock as Rainbow’s words continued to flow from her mouth. “I don’t think I even like girls like that. I’m sorry Pinkie.” said Rainbow as she watched for some kind of reaction. “It’s okay, I just...I don’t know...I thought that maybe-” Pinkie let out an exasperated sigh. “I should go, I probably annoyed you enough.” Rainbow flinched at her friend’s words, feeling a small pang of guilt. After realizing that maybe she wasn’t as subtle with her growing discomfort of Pinkie’s constant attention. Gathering her things Pinkie headed towards the door. “I..um..see you later Dashie.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The door closed ever so softly behind Pinkie as she walked out. A single tear dripped down her face. A loud thud nearly made the fragile girl jump out of her skin. Whipping around to see what was going on; she saw Rainbow coming towards her. Closing her eyes Pinkie braced herself for the worst. Instead she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her. As Rainbow embrace her in a gentle hug. “Hey, it’s okay. I don’t hate you or anything. I just need a little space that’s all.” A small smirk pulled at the corners of Rainbow’s mouth. “ Besides, how can I be upset with someone who thinks I’m so amazingly awesome!” Rainbow shook slightly as Pinkie giggled while she was pressed against her chest. “You are pretty great.” “Laughing huh? That’s always a good sign.” chuckled Rainbow. With a goofy grin on Pinkie’s face, Rainbow playfully ruffled her bubble gum colored locks. “Let’s go finish breakfast before you go.” said Rainbow. Tightening her grip for one last squeeze, Pinkie released her grip and skipped into the house. Rainbow felt a content smile pull at the edges of her mouth. The following weeks Pinkie had kept her promise to give Rainbow a little more space. The two of them would still spend time together but Pinkie no longer stalked Rainbow. The final school bell rang throughout the school, Pinkie nearly jumped through the ceiling. She could barely contain her excitement. It was Friday after all, not only was the weekend in sight. But it was also the day of Rainbow’s latest soccer match. Watching Rainbow play was always the highlight of her week. Like a whirlwind Pinkie grabbed her things and burst out onto the soccer field. Patiently, Pinkie waited for her favorite soccer player to make her grand appearance. Not long after she arrived, Rainbow made her way to the edge of the field. Rainbow waved to Pinkie Pie in the stands before she started her warm up routine. By juggling the ball from foot to the other in a rhythmic pattern. It slowly became their new tradition before every game. Rainbow continued her warm up until the head referee called the team captains onto the field. She headed over and went through the motions of coin flip. Rainbow called heads as the referee tossed it into the air. The coin landed flat in his palm revealing heads. Pinkie squealed with excitement as she watched Rainbow’s team get to the ball first. Moments later the two teams were all set up to start the game. Blowing his whistle the game could finally begin. A few minutes into the game Rainbow scored the first goal of the game. Right on cue Pinkie cheered at the top of her lungs. The game was now tied 3-3 with only two minutes left on the clock. Rainbow received the ball in midfield. After getting the ball she broke out into a sprint. Now at full speed she blasted down the field and dribbled past a few opponents. With only a minute remaining she passed the ball to her teammate, Fleetfoot. She didn’t waste anytime as they both ran down the field. Fleetfoot managed to dribble the ball all the way to the goal box. Now that Rainbow was open once again. Fleetfoot crossed the ball into the air towards Rainbow. Seeing her chance Rainbow planted her strong foot on the ground and leaned forward. She got just enough air so that her head connected with the ball. With enough power to fly right past the goalie and into the net. Rainbow’s footing was slightly off causing her to land on her back just as the ball entered the goal. Jumping up, Rainbow quickly dusted herself off before running to the stands to celebrate. Instinctually Rainbow made a beeline to her number one fan. Swept up in her excitement Pinkie grabbed Rainbow into a crushing bearhug. Seeing the startled look on Rainbow’s face made her shrink back. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t like it when I get all clingy.” A faint blush crept over Rainbow’s features as she returned her friend’s hug. “It’s okay...I’m getting use to it.” muttered Rainbow.