//------------------------------// // Being worthy Of Her Trust // Story: Apart From The Pegasi // by KillerChainsaw //------------------------------// Having to mentally prepare herself Rainbow Dash took a few long, deep breaths as Lightning looked to her with a wondering expression for a moment, but then soon smiled to her as Dash glanced back to her, while the both of them were simply hovering, having just flown through the entrance of Cloudsdale, seeming to to be waiting for just a few moments as Dash looked all around, collecting herself. Taking in the sight of her hometown, 'It all looks the same as I remember it...I know I haven't been gone for long, but...it sure feels like I haven't come back here in years,' the cyan pegasus thought to herself as she looked around the familiar city, recognizing all kinds of small buildings, cloud-homes, certain places, and even a few of the other pegasi that she could see going about their day-to-day lives, wondering and kinda hoping that they wouldn't recognize her. Dash turning to Lighting as the other mare just smiled to her with her classic cheerful expression, outstretching her front hooves to the floating city, and causing Dash to look in front of them, "Welcome back home Rainbow Dash," she stated, before she gestured for the other pegasus to follow her into Cloudsdale. Dash just nodding in reply a moment later as she slowly followed after Lightning, and tried to keep the thought of Twilight's encouraging smile inside her mind to keep her pushing through. Slowly gliding through the floating city, Dash looked all around her, all her memories (good and bad) coming back to her of her time spent in her hometown, however there was something that felt 'off' to her as she saw the other pegasi all beginning to stare back at her, and some of whispering to each other it seemed, 'I have missed being here an awful lot, but somehow it all feels so...different then how it used to. When I was last here this beautiful city felt...it felt like it was my home, it doesn't feel like that anymore, it just feels like I don't belong. Maybe me coming here wasn't such a good idea after all,' she thought trying to avoid eye-contact with all the other pegasi, seeming like quite a few of them were recognizing her, giving her strange looks and even some slight glares, reminding Dash of when Lightning Dust had once stared at her with the same cold expression on her face. 'No Lightning is different from all these other ponies, she's...she's...' Dash paused, shaking her head as she then looked to Lightning flying in front of her, and sighed slightly, 'Do I seriously still think that Lightning isn't trustworthy? It seems like it...but if I still can't trust her after all she's done for Twilight and me, how am I going to trust the other pegasi that she wants me to meet? I said to Twilight that I would be willing to trust Lightning eventually, but...just when is eventually to me?' she questioned herself, thinking about everything that had happened since her and Twilight had first met Lightning Dust, and how she had gotten to this point where she was now, 'Just how long should I keep being so stubborn for?' she wondered as she stopped and just sighed slightly, causing Lightning to notice and turn to her. Lighting looking to Dash with a wondering expression as she now flew back over to her, getting her attention and causing Dash to look up to her, "Hey you alright Rainbow Dash?" she asked, as Dash looked back to her, seeming to be lost in thought for a few moments, before she just shook her head and averted her eyes from the other pegasus. "What if coming here...was a mistake?" she nervously asked, causing Lightning to seem a little confused as she smiled slightly back to Dash. "What do you mean Dash, isn't this what you and Twilight wanted, we're doing this to further our plans for the future right?" Lightning said, looking puzzled as she wondered what was suddenly making Dash have second thoughts now, when she had come so far already. "Yes, it's just what if...Listen coming here, it makes me feel how I did when I first starting coming into Ponyville more with Twilight, everypony stares and gives me weird looks...except this is meant to be my home, but it just doesn't feel like that anymore...it feels...wrong for me to be here. And with these pegasi that you want me to meet, what if...what if I can't trust them? After all it took much longer than it should've for me to be comfortable being around and talking with you, what if it's the same for them, or worse. I've only ever known the pegasi that used to steal and break stuff, I...I never knew a pegasus that was anything like you, that's why I consider you to be one of the more rare one's from here," Dash explained in a nervous, shaky voice, telling Lightning just how she felt right at this moment and what her worries were, causing the other mare to widen her golden eyes a little, before she smiled slightly and just rested a comforting hoof on Dash's shoulder. "It's okay, we don't have to stay here for long, we can leave for the library straight after we talk to the others for a bit, and remember what Twilight said, 'you can do this', I know it took time for us to really get along, but that doesn't matter, what does matter is that these pegasi all want what we do, to make a change, and if it takes time for you to actually build a friendship with any or even all of them, then we'll deal with it together," Lightning said with a caring smile to Dash, reassuring her she would be there for her, and they would get through this, even if Dash did take a little long to become comfortable with the other pegasi just like she had with Lightning herself. Dash just looked uncertain, as she looked around at all the pegasi that were staring at her, clearly seeing that they were purposely avoiding her, and causing her to feel that she was more of a stranger rather than a pony that used to live here along with them all not too long ago. Looking back to Lightning again as she felt something different when it came to the mare that was in front of her, 'Whenever it comes to Lightning, I always feel so unsure about her, and so confused by her...so will it be the same for these other pegasi, or worse, could they possibly be the pegasi that I used to know before I got together with Twi, and left this place?' she questioned wondering about who these 'other pegasi' were and if she would be able to be comfortable around them like she was with Lightning now. "Trust me Rainbow Dash, you won't regret meeting the others, after all I know they've been dying to see you again," Lightning stated beaming as she always did, causing Dash to widen her eyes, as those first two words repeated over and over again inside her mind, making her think more and go a little quiet for a few moments 'Maybe I should just stop being so stubborn about this, after all these are pegasi that Lightning trusts, so I might as well at least give them the benefit of the doubt, right?' she thought with a slight sigh, before she nodded to herself and gave Lightning a determined expression now. "You're right Lightning, let's do this," She stated with a slight smile, causing Lightning to light up, and nod happily as she turned and quickly started to lead the way to where these 'other pegasi' were, while Dash followed after her, still feeling a little anxious about this, but knowing that she couldn't always turn back and run away, because that would solve nothing, she had to face these things head on, and it was about time she started doing just that. The two pegasi quickly flying off together as the other residents of the city would stare at Dash, seeming to be keeping their distance, which Dash was actually quite glad for, although it was a little surprising to her that the slight cold glares was the worst she was getting, thinking that she would get a lot worse when coming here again, and now kinda being thankful that she wasn't having to deal with anything too troubling. But still it was quite alarming to her that she even felt so alienated in the place she used to call her home. 'If this is how I feel when just in Cloudsdale again, then I don't think I want to go back to my old cloud-home again...my home...it isn't here anymore, it's with Twilight, she's the only one I really feel safe with,' Dash thought as she let her head hang a little, not wanting to see all the stares and cold looks anymore, as it was beginning to feel like they were piercing into her uncomfortably. However luckily it seemed like she didn't have to focus on those looks she was getting for much longer, as she heard Lightning call to her cheerfully, catching her attention and causing her to lift her head and be pulled out of her own thoughts. "There they are!" Lightning cheered happily as she now looked back to Dash, and pointed her hoof out to a bunch of pegasi that were all standing on a cloud together, Dash looking over to them all as she sighed a little, kinda feeling relieved that she didn't really recognize any of them, hoping that that meant they would be just like Lightning, and with any luck she would be able to get along with them all okay. Lightning patting Dash on her shoulder as she gave her an encouraging smile, while Dash just nodded in response, sighing deeply as the turquoise mare called over to the small group of about six pegasi all from Cloudsdale, as they all turned to her and smiled, waving her and Dash over, all of them clearly seeming more than happy to see the two mares making their way over to them. 'You can do this Dash, you can do this,' Dash repeated the same thing over and over again inside her mind, as she and Lightning flew over to the group, and they were all soon introducing themselves to her, not seeming to be wanting to waste any time, as within a few mere moments they were all asking questions and talking about the plans Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Lightning had about the future for the two towns. The situation causing Dash to feeling a little overwhelmed at first, but as time passed on and their conversations continued, she began to become more and more comfortable, and eventually she was feeling slightly more relaxed around the other pegasi. 'This feels different, all these pegasi clearly want what Lightning does, but...I don't feel like how I did when I first met Lightning, in fact I'm finding this a whole lot easier than I thought I would,' Dash thought as she looked at all the other pegasi as they all happily expressed the ideas they had to her and each other about how they wanted to make a change, and finally end the feud between the two towns, seeing all of them smiling to one another and then stopping as she looked to Lightning, and her slight smile began to fade. 'So why is Lightning different, why do I feel so uncertain about her? Maybe what I really need to do is stop second guessing myself, take a risk and turn 'eventually' into 'soon', 'very soon'. After all Lightning has already shown me things that I thought would be impossible so...' she paused on that thought for a moment as she saw Lightning just smile happily back to her, causing her to sigh and give the mare a small smile back, 'Would giving her my trust really be all that bad?' she questioned feeling thankful towards Lightning and wondering if it was really about time that she stopped being so unsure about possibly finally trusting this one pegasus that really shouldn't haven't taken her this long to come to a decision about. .... Hours having passed since Rainbow Dash and Lightning had left as Twilight and Spike had been working on cleaning up the trashed library together, both of them having made quite a bit of progress it seemed as Twilight had fixed the table and chairs in the kitchen, while Spike had gone out to buy more food and milk from Ponyville's market. Getting back to find Twilight sorting out the remaining books that had been thrown about the library and putting them all back in their original places. "Hey Twilight," Spike smiled to the Princess as he greeted her and closed the door behind him, causing Twilight to stop what she was doing for a moment, turning around and smiling slightly as she greeted the young dragon back. "Hey Spike, were you able to get everything?" Twilight asked as she walked over to the young dragon, and helped him carry all the bags to the kitchen, while Spike just nodded in reply, placing all the bags on the kitchen counter, while him and Twilight began looking through them all and started to fill the empty fridge with fresh food and cartons of milk. "I think so, any news from Rainbow and Lightning?" Spike asked, as Twilight simply shook her head in reply, "They haven't come back yet, I just hope that's a good sign," the Princess sighed a little, as she was wondering if Dash and Lightning were going to be coming back anytime soon, and hoping that all had gone well for the both of them while they were up in Cloudsdale together. "Hey this is meant to be a good thing remember?" Spike gave a reassuring smile to Twilight, hoping to cheer her up and keep her thinking positively. "I know, but I guess I can't help worrying a little," Twilight stated as she smiled nervously to Spike, knowing that she had to think positively, but at the same time was just hoping for Dash to return home to her soon enough, and not have her worrying anymore. Spike just nodded slightly, giving Twilight an understanding expression, "Hey I saw Pinkie Pie while I was out, and apparently she's got this big 'Welcome party' all planned out for Lightning Dust," he said, seeming to change the subject now, as he didn't want the Princess thinking about her marefriend too much, which might just cause her to worry more about her. "Oh yeah when is it?" Twilight asked as she sounded only semi-interested as her mind was obviously more focused on other things at this moment. Just as Spike was about to answer the Princess, the two of them heard the door to the library being opened, and then hearing a familiar voice calling out to them both from the entrance, "Twilight, Spike, we're back!" they heard, as Twilight instantly stopped what she was doing and ran to the door to go and greet Dash and Lightning back, with Spike following close behind her. "Hey Twi-" Dash smiled slightly as she was glad to see her marefriend again, only to pause as the Princess threw her hooves around her and hugged the pegasus tightly, causing Dash to be surprised at first, before she soon just sighed and hugged Twilight back, guessing that she had been worrying about her since she had left earlier. "Welcome back, Dash," Twilight said, smiling brightly as she clearly was happy to see her marefriend had come back home to her, while Spike and Lightning just smiled slightly to the hugging couple. "So how did it go?" Spike asked as he turned to Lightning, as Twilight soon pulled away slightly from Dash and just smiled to her, the cyan pegasus smiling back to her, before looking to Spike and answering him. "It actually went...really well," Dash stated with a slight smile, glancing to Lightning for a moment, while the other pegasus just nodded happily with her signature cheerful smile resting on her lips. "Really?" Twilight asked as her and Spike seemed interested and clearly wanted to hear more about just what had happened when the other two had gone up to Cloudsdale together to meet with these 'other pegasi' that Lightning was talking about earlier. "Yeah they all seemed to get along with Rainbow Dash really well, and they're all really excited to meet with you too someday soon Twilight," Lightning explained with a bright smile to the Princess, causing Twilight to now smile back to her, glad to hear that everything had gone well, and luckily it didn't seem like she needed to worry very that much after all. "Still it was quite surprising how enthusiastic some of them were, I had no idea how many pegasi from Cloudsdale could actually want things to change from how they are now," Dash stated as she still seemed like she hadn't yet recovered fully from being overwhelmed after talking with the other pegasi from her hometown, Lightning just chuckling slightly as she smiled to Dash, and the two pegasi started to talk about all the things they had talked about while up in Cloudsdale together, while Twilight looked to their smiling faces, and could see that something was different between the two of them now. Dash seemed to be an awful lot more comfortable around Lightning, and it looked like they both were almost like best friends causing the Princess to think that whatever had happened up in Cloudsdale must have been good, since it had this result to it. Twilight smiling slightly at the two pegasi talking to each other happily, before she heard Dash's voice, and looked to her marefriend a moment later, "Looks like you two have managed to clean up the library nicely, were you able to replace all the food in the fridge?" Dash asked as she looked around the library and was glad to see it looking like it did before it was trashed, being happy to see their home looking like it normally did once again. "Yeah I went into the market and replaced all the food that had been emptied out of the fridge," Spike stated in a proud voice, while Twilight and Dash just smiled to him in reply, as Dash looked to the kitchen and saw the bags of fresh food resting on the counter. Feeling like she had wanted to help Twilight and Spike with all the cleaning up, but was kinda glad she had agreed to go to Cloudsdale with Lightning after all, and was a little relieved that her marefriend and the young dragon had not had too much trouble cleaning up everything by themselves while she was gone "Oh that reminds me, I was telling Twilight this just a minute ago. I ran into Pinkie Pie while I was out, and it seems she's organized a party for you Lightning," Spike said as he suddenly seemed to remember what he was talking to Twilight about before Dash and Lightning came back, causing the other three to now all look to each other, before they all turned back to the young dragon again. "Really?" Lightning asked, sounding surprised, as she felt really flattered to have a party being thrown for her, and began to feel a little excited for it, as Spike just nodded to her in reply. "There's just this one thing that might be a little unexpected though," Spike sounded a little nervous now, causing Lighting and the other two to seem slightly confused in return. "What is it?" she asked, seeming eager to know the young dragon's reply. "It starts in only a few minutes," Spike replied nervously as Lightning and the other two mares all looked to each other in surprise, all seeming a little taken aback by what Spike had told them, it looking like they were all thinking for a few moments and taking in what the young dragon had said to them all, before Lightning soon just smiled and caught the other's attention. "Then we better get going, after all I think a little celebration is in order, don't you Rainbow Dash?" Light asked as she looked to Dash with a slight smirk, as Dash looked to the other pegasus with a wondering expression before she soon just smiled back to her and nodded her head happily in reply. "I think that a little celebration is just what we need right now," Dash agreed simply, as she looked to Twilight a moment later, while the Princess just looked back to her and nodded her head in agreement, it seeming like they all wanted to go to this party for Lightning, but Dash then thinking about something as her smile formed into a slight frown now. "But wait, what if while we're gone the library is in danger of getting trashed again?" she asked, as she seemed worried now, while it took Twilight a few mere minutes to think, before she just smiled to her marefriend in reply. "I can just cast a protection spell on the library, it won't be permanent, but I'm sure it will be able to keep our home safe until we return to it," Twilight stated happily, knowing that there wouldn't be just some quick fix to keep the library from getting broken into and trashed again, but she was sure she could at least keep it safe for now. "Are you sure that will work?" Dash asked seeming a little unsure as she looked to Twilight with a slightly nervous expression, while the Princess just smiled back to her and nodded in reply. "Don't worry, it'll be fine Dash," Twilight simply replied, giving her marefriend a reassuring expression, before Dash just smiled slightly and nodded her head in return. All of them soon leaving the library together and heading off to Sugarcube corner, Spike leading the way since he seemed to know exactly where the party was being held. .... The four all soon making their way to the location of where the party was being held, as they knocked on the door to the bakery, and were almost immediately greeted by Pinkie Pie, as the pink pony happily welcomed them all and wasted no time in inviting them all inside. "I'm so glad you're all here, I was going to make this a 'surprise party', but then I thought that you might not like surprises, even though I know everypony loves surprises, but I thought just in case I would tell Spike about it all when I saw him in the market a little while ago, sorry that it was such short notice by the way," Pinkie explained in a rushed voice, as she pulled Lightning into the room more, and the turquoise pegasus was surprised to see that pretty much the whole town of Ponyville had come to this little 'event', and she felt kind of embarrassed as they would all look over to her and wave to her happily every now and again. Rainbow Dash seeming to be watching Lightning walk off with a nervous expression, causing Twilight to look to her marefriend with a wondering expression, clearly seeing that something was on her mind right now, "Is something the matter Dash?" she asked, catching Dash's attention and causing the cyan pegasus to look back to her, as she just shook her head in reply to the Princess. "Huh? No, it's nothing really Twi," Dash replied, before she looked back to Lightning again, and soon was making her way over to her, while Twilight and Spike looked to each other, before they both watched Dash walk over to Lightning slowly. Meanwhile Lighting now noticed all the banners and other decorations that had been hung about, all the balloons that were around, all the food and drink that had been laid out on the tables, and how amazing everything looked to her, having no other pony go through this much work for her, as she looked to Pinkie with a grateful expression. "I feel so honored Pinkie, you really didn't have to go to this much trouble for me," Lightning stated with a slightly nervous smile to the pink pony, while Pinkie just shook her head in reply. "Nonsense, this is your welcome party after all, so you deserve for it to be rememberable, now go mingle!" Pinkie replied happily, before she went walking off to go and talk to the other guests, causing Lightning to just smile and chuckle slightly, nodding to Pinkie, before she made a move to go and talk to some of the other ponies, but stopped as she felt a small tap on her shoulder. Looking back Lightning now saw Dash standing beside her, looking to her with a nervous expression, and seeming to be wanting the other pegasus's attention, as Lightning just looked back to Dash with a wondering expression. "Can I talk with you for a moment Lightning?" Dash asked as Lightning glanced back to Twilight and Spike for a moment, wondering just what had gotten into Dash, but only getting a simple shrug from the Princess, as the pegasus just looked back to Dash and nodded to her with a smile in reply. "Sure, what's up Rainbow Dash?" Lighting asked as her and Dash walked off to the side of the room together, Dash seeming hesitant for a few moments, as she built up her confidence and soon nodded to herself. "Listen since meeting you Lightning you've shown me nothing but kindness and encouragement, and I haven't really been all that fair to you, so I believe...I should stop being so stubborn, and finally do what I should have done a good while ago before now," Dash explained, seeming to be a little nervous as she just caused for Lightning to seem more confused in return. "What are you saying Rainbow Dash?" the other pegasus asked, unsure of just where this conversation was going, and where exactly it was coming from all of a sudden. "I'm saying that...maybe it's about time that I started really putting my trust in you,Lightning," Dash stated as she now sighed and smiled to Lightning, causing her to widen her eyes slightly, as she now seemed to catch onto what Dash was saying, and wondered if she was actually being serious at the moment or not. "Really?" She asked as hope filled her eyes, while Dash just nodded to her with a smile, and caused her face to light up brightly, as a moment later she happily threw her hooves around Dash and hugged her tightly. Surprising her at first, but Dash soon regaining her composure as she smiled and simply hugged Lightning back happily, believing that she really could trust Lighting after all she had done for her in what really was such a short time. Twilight looking over to Rainbow Dash and Lightning as she smiled happily, seeing the two hugging, and guessing that they must be talking about something good, noticing that the two definitely did seem much closer than they ever had since they first met not too long ago. The Princess feeling happy to see the two pegasi seeming like they were on such good terms now, and Dash finally didn't seem nervous or suspicious around Lightning anymore. As the two hugged tightly Dash sighed slightly, while Lighting held her close, resting her head over her shoulder, as she soon however let her overjoyed expression slowly change into a blank, and unreadable one, while she kept a tight hold on Dash, but beaming once again as the two soon separated as they both smiled to each other, before Lighting went off to 'mingle' with the other guests, and Dash went walking back over to Twilight and Spike. Lighting glancing back to Dash and watching the cyan pegasus with a blank stare it seemed, not looking away from her until she almost caught her eye, and instead just looked to the other ponies and greeted them politely, however coldly glancing back again soon after she was sure Dash wasn't looking back at her anymore. The turquoise pegasus definitely seeming to have something on her mind at this moment as she continued to blankly stare to Dash out of the corner of her eye, while she didn't seem to be paying much attention to the ponies around her anymore and was clearly more focused on the cyan pegasus instead, as she narrowed her eyes a little and gave a slight glare to Dash before just choosing to look away from her once again.