Time having passed for Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash as they both continued to calmly glide through the sky together, flying above the clouds as they were slowly starting to talk more comfortably with one another.
"I know it would be uncomfortable for you right now, but would going back up there really be that bad?" Lightning asked as she looked to Dash, the other pegasus keeping pace with her but would occasionally slow down and seem like she was trying to avoid keeping eye-contact with her.
Dash looked back to Lightning as she was going to answer right away, but then just gritted her teeth together as she bit her bottom lip and spoke in a low tone, "It's not just the fact that it would be uncomfortable for me, I just don't think I could deal with it all, the questions, the assumtions, the looks, everything. I get enough grief from all the stares that I get from the ponies in Ponyville, and I've gotten used to them at this point, but...I doubt I'll ever be okay with not feeling safe to go back to my own house anymore," she explained sighing deeply, and causing Lightning to look more interested now as she flew a little closer to Dash while the other pegasus just hung her head low, clearly this topic getting her to feel down.
Lightning wondered if she should just drop the subject and try and lighten the mood a little, 'Wait...this actually could be a good way to bond with Rainbow Dash, we've only just been able to have longer and less awkward conversations, I can't let this moment pass by changing the subject, I may not get another chance to connect with her,' she thought as she shook her head, deciding that she would keep pushing a little more before moving onto something else as she didn't want them to just go back to their past awkward silence, and hopefully she would be able to keep Dash talking to her.
"Can you really not go back to your own home? Don't you miss it?" Lightning questioned, causing Dash to look back to her, as she widened her eyes a little, before answering the other pegasus.
"Of course I do! But I...listen this may be hard for you to understand, but...I just don't feel like I belong up there anymore," Dash confessed as she turned her head away from Lightning while the other pegasus went a little wide-eyed as she was more than surprised to hear Dash say something like that, feeling sorry for her, as she was now starting to understand just what Dash was having to deal with at the moment.
"Really? Just how long have you been away from Cloudsdale anyway?" Lightning asked, wanting to see if she could find out more about Dash's feelings towards their hometown.
"I left a couple of days after I had told you all about Twilight and I dating, things were getting really tough for me and...I just couldn't cope with it all anymore, so I left and haven't gone back since. It's been at least a month I would say that I have been living with Twilight and Spike," Dash explained, going back in her mind to when she was last in Cloudsdale and remembering just how she felt when everything got too much for her to the point where she felt she couldn't handle anything at all and so left and hid herself away from it all.
Lightning was going to reply, but hesitated a little as she closed her mouth letting Dash continue instead not wanting to intervene just yet , "I know I'm running away and avoiding my problems like this but...but I...I'm just not sure what I can do anymore," Dash stated letting another sigh leave her lips as her eyes looked away from Lightning again, as although it did defintely seem like she was having a tough time talking about all this and bringing back old painful memories, the fact that she was opening up more and more was a clear sign to Lightning that Dash was slowly warming up to her and by talking about all this, just maybe they could hopefully improve on the rocky start they had had.
"I get it,"
Lightning said as she gave an understanding smile to Dash, causing the other pegasus to widen her eyes as she now turned back to her and surprisingly didn't feel like cringing or looking away when she saw that smile again, noticing that it was a little different from her normal polite smile, and a lot less off-putting.
"You do?" Dash questioned with a slightly confused expression, raising her eyebrow to Lightining now.
"Yeah, I think so, right now it kinda feels like you don't belong anywhere, and you don't feel like you can really relax at all, am I correct?" Lightning smiled as Dash widened her eyes slightly, but then shook her head in response.
"You're wrong...I can relax when I'm with Twilight, she's the only one I really feel safe around," Dash stated in a low voice, a small smile forming on her lips as she thought about her marefriend, wondering just how she was dealing with those other ponies from the town right now, and hoping that she wasn't having too much trouble with it all.
Lightning stopped for a moment, just hovering slowly as she watched Dash fly a little ahead of her with wide eyes, Dash noticing that the other pegasus had stopped as she turned and looked to Lightning tilting her head as she wondered why she wasn't flying beside her anymore.
"Is there something wrong Lightning?" Dash questioned with a wondering gaze to the other pegasus.
"Huh? Oh no it's nothing, I was just thinking that you really do love the Princess don't you Rainbow Dash?" Lightning asked as she smiled brightly, causing Dash to just turn away as she could feel a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks, glancing back to the other pegasus out of the corner of her eye, and seeing Lightning raising an eyebrow to her, while she just nodded slowly in reply, as Lightning chuckled slightly.
"But I fear the future that she is looking to is awfully far from were we are now, after all I know that there will be quite a few pegasi from Cloudsdale that will never want to have anything to do with the ponies of Ponyville, no matter try and make peace with them. To be completely it just doesn't seem like a future where everypony can get along is possible right now," Dash turned away again as she hung her head low and sighed, Lightning coming to catch her up as her smile formed into a slight frown, while she wondered why Dash seemed depressed so suddenly.
"But don't you also believe that there will be pegasi that do what to make a change, like me? Don't you think your friends from Cloudsdale will want the same for both towns?" Lightning asked now coming to fly beside Dash again as she caused the other pegasus to look back to her, and shake her head in reply.
"The 'friends' that I had from Cloudsdale were part of the reason why this whole feud started in the fist place, they are nothing like you, and would most likely be the ones that would never want to have any part of this plan that Twilight and I have for the future. In fact I don't think there's one other pegasus from my home town that is anything like you and wants the same things as you Lightning, you seem to be more of the rear kind if you know what I mean," Dash explained rolling her eyes as she thought about her old 'friends' that were from Cloudsdale, knowing that they would never go for a plan like the one her and Twilight were thinking about putting into action eventually.
Looking a little confused at first Lightning tilted her head to Dash, not completely undrstanding what exactly she meant, and thinking for a moment as a silence fell on the two again, Dash wondering just how Lightning would respond, and hopefully this silence wouldn't last all that long.
'We've been talking for what seems so long...so it is possible for me to actually have a long conversation with her. Does that mean I could evetnually learn to trust her too? Somehow...that seems that something I just might be able to do, that smile of her's still puts me off a little, but...' Dash not being able to finish her thought as she heard Lightning suddenly gasp in surprise a little, looking to the other pegasus with a questioning expression.
"That's it!" Lightning suddenly stated in a loud voice, causing Dash to look to her confused.
"What's it?" Dash asked as she wondered just what had gotten into the other pegasus all of a sudden.
"I just thought of a way that could show to help both you and Princess Twilight with your little problem," Lightning said as she beamed brightly to Dash causing the other pegasus to seem even more confused as she was just about to ask what Lightning was going on about, but was cut off before she could say anything at all.
"Come on, we need to go and see Princess Twilight," Lighting gestured for Dash to follow her as she quickly turned and started to fly off into the distance.
"Wait up Lightning!"
Dash called after the turquoise pegasus as she quickly followed after her, still wondering just what had suddenly come over Lightning and what she could possibly be planning right now, as the two of them quickly soared back to where they had left Twilight with the other ponies of Ponyville, Lightning ready to tell the Princess just what she had come up with.
....
Lightning and Rainbow Dash soon being able to find where they had last left Twilight in the town, both of them noticing that the other ponies seemed to have mostly gone now, as there were still a couple continuing to hang around and talk to the Princess while she was waiting for her marefriend and Lightning to return. Lightning coming to a halt as she landed down on the ground and looked around a little, glad that it seemed like Twilight had been able to get rid of almost all of the other poines that were here not too long ago.
The turquoise pegasus seeing the familiar young Princess casually talking to another pony from the town, happily just walking up to her while Dash came following after Lightning, landing on the grass and looking to the other pegasus as she wondered just what she was going to do at the moment, walking after her quickly, while Lightning just simply made her way over to Twilight and the other pony she was talking to.
"Princess Twilight!"
Lightning called out to the Princess, causing her attention to be brought onto to the pegasus as she turned her head and smiled when she saw Lightning walking upto her with Rainbow Dash following close behind her, greeting the other two with a kind smile to them both.
"You two are back, I was starting to wonder if I would have to go flying trying to look for you both," Twilight stated as she smiled to Lightning and her marefriend, getting a polite smile from Lightning in return, while Dash just caught her breath and nodded to the Princess, before she was surprised by Twilight as she ran upto her and nuzzled her slightly, causing Dash to blush a little as Lightning just smiled to the other two.
"So how did it go?" Twilight asked in a whispered voice as she looked to Dash, causing the pegasus to realize just why she had suddenly come over to nuzzle her, guessing that she should have expected that the Princess would like to know just how things had gone between her and Lightning once they both got back.
"Well...umm..." Dash paused a little, hesitating, before she looked back to Lightning, "B-before I do, I think Lightning has something she wants to tell you Twi," she stated as she gestured to Lightning, as Twilight looked back to the other pegasus, while Lightning just stared back to them with a wondering gaze, seeming to not remember why she had decided to suddenly go flying back to meet up with Twilight.
"Was there something you needed to tell me Lightning Dust?" Twilight asked with a smile to the pegasus, causing Lightning to now widen her eyes a little as she seemed to suddenly remember and caught onto what Dash was trying to hint at her at the moment.
"Oh that's right Princess Twilight, there's an idea that I've come up with," Lightning stated, as her beaming bright smile from before returned as she seemed excited all of a sudden, casuing Twilight to raise her eyebrow as she questioned just what this 'Idea' of hers was.
"An idea for what?"
"For what you and Rainbow Dash have planned for the future with the two towns of course!" Lightning's tone raised a little as it was obvious that she really did want to reveal just what was on her mind right now.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looking to each other for a moment, both of them unsure of what to think of this, before Dash just shrugged her shoulders, and Twilight looked back to Lightning again, "Let's hear it," the Princess simply replied as she and Dash now waited to hear just what this idea of Lightning's was all about.
"Well I was thinking we should go and look for the pegasi that are like me and want to make a change, since I'm sure that there are others like me up in Cloudsdale, but since neither Rainbow Dash nor you Princess, can really go up there right now, I thought that I could go and fulfil this task for you both instead," Lightning explained in a excited voice as Twilight and Dash widened their eyes a little at hearing what the pegasus's idea was, causing them both to seem nervous as they looked to each other for a few moments unsure of what to say in reply, before Twilight soon turned back to Lightning again.
"Are you sure about this Lightning- Twilight was going to continue to question Lightning if this was really something she would be upto doing, after all she wasn't sure how the pegasus would deal with this kinda task, but was cut off by Lightning before she could say much.
"I'm sure, I want to help you two make a difference with the two towns, and besides since neither you, nor Rainbow Dash can go up there just yet, I'm kind of just the pegasus that you need for this task Right?" Lightning asked, while Twilight looked nervous again as she didn't want this plan of Lightning's to backfire at all, but then again it did seem like she would be the more suited one to do this for them, rather than her or Dash having to do something that wouldn't be such a good idea from them right now, and could potentially make things worse from here.
"I believe that I can do this for you two, so please even if it turns out not as well as I might have planned, please let me at least try this out," Lightning now gazed to the other two with a hopeful look in her eyes, pleading for them to let her go through with this idea of hers, and see just how it will all turn out.
Hesitating a little Twilight looked to Dash, as it seemed like neither of them knew just whether they should agree to this or not, however it seeming that Lightning had thought about this idea of hers, and it sure sounded like a good option for them right now. Dash sighing slightly as she just nodded to Twilight and gestured for her to reply to Lightning.
Copying her marefriend's slight sigh Twilight now looked back to Lightning, and smiled to her a little, "Very well Lightning if you believe that you can really do this, then by all means you can go ahead with your idea," she replied, causing Lightning to now light up as another beaming smile formed on to her lips.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise I will not disappoint you two, and will be sure to find some pegasi that would defintely want to take part in making a change between the two towns, in fact I will even start looking this afternoon!" Lightning cheered happily, as she smiled brightly and thanked the other two over and over again, while Twilight nodded her head and just chuckled slightly in return. Dash still seeming a little anxious about all this, wondering if Lightning's idea really was going to be a step in the right direction or not.
....
Early afternoon soon coming around as Twilight and Rainbow Dash had headed back to the library together, getting their dinner ready while Spike was off cleaning and sorting the bookshelfs a little. Lightning having already said goodbye to the two of them and left to go back to Cloudsdale by herself, leaving Twilight and Dash to feel slightly nervous still as they stood in the kitchen talking to each other.
"Do you really think this idea of Lightning's could work?" Dash asked as she looked to Twilight, obviously still feeling uneasy about this idea that Lightning had come up with, and whether they were right to say that she could go ahead with it.
"To be honest I'm really not sure, we'll just have to trust that Lightning Dust knows what she is doing, and wait to see how things will go from here," Twilight answered as she gave Dash a reassuring smile, and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, being a little worried for Lightning herself, but also trying to stay hopeful for now and not think about things going wrong too much.
Dash giving a slight smile to Twilight in reply, as they went back to preparing their dinner, both of them going silent for a little while. Twilight wanting to say something, not wanting them to jusy stay quiet like this and so she casually started up another conversation, "You know while we're on the suject, you never did answer how things went while you were alone with Lightning Dust, did you two talk?" the Princess asked as she looked to her marefriend out of the corner of her eye, while Dash turned back to her nervously.
"Yeah we did actually, we talked quite a bit and...I think I was actually kinda warming up to her, we even got to know each other a little better I feel," Dash stated speaking in somewhat of a low voice, while Twilight just smiled in response to hearing the good news.
"Well since you've found that you can actually get along with her now, could you maybe try being more trustworthy of her as well?" Twilight asked raising her eyebrow slightly to her marefriend, and she was glad that Lightning and Dash had been able to talk and get along for a while, but wasn't sure if that would be enough for Dash to consider trusting the other pegasus.
Dash not answering for a few moments as she thought about all that had happened today, and sighed a little before replying, "You know, with a little more time, I think it could be very likely that I could come to trust her more," she now smiled to Twilight, causing the Princess to light up as she turned to fully face her marefriend as she beamed brightly and nodded her head happily, glad to see that the talk between Dash and Lightning had caused the two to connect and bond it seemed.
Dash just smiling to her marefriend as the two soon went back to focusing on finishing off making dinner, while they continued to talk about Lightning and other topics. Dash not being completely sure, but figured within time she could learn to trust Lightning Dust, now that today had shown that it was possible for her to get along with her relatively easily once they were past all the awkwardness. But being sure to still keep her eye on the cheerful pegasus as there were still a few things that she felt were a little off putting about her.
....
Meanwhile right around the same time Lightning Dust had quickly made her way back to Cloudsdale, looking up to the floating city above her as she now hovered just below it, taking a deep breath as she built up her courage and felt ready to put her plan into motion, looking to her fellow pegasi with a determined expression, 'Alright, let's do this,' she thought mentally encouraging herself as she took a couple more moments to go over her plan having confidence that it would work, and nodded, before she flew up pass the thick clouds and into her home town, ready to take action and hopefully be able help Twilight and Rainbow Dash to move forward with the future that the three of them were all aiming for.