May! After the persistent rain for which April was famed, the warmer, more settled weather of the fifth month came as a breath of fresh air to the inhabitants of Ponyville. As with much of Middle Equestria, the natural climate - as opposed to pegasus-imposed climatic conditions - tended to remain fairly predictable throughout the year, and now that the sun had arrived, preparations for Spring cleaning and Summer holidays were beginning in earnest.
Starlight Glimmer, former dictator turned counsellor, breathed deeply, relishing in the cool breeze which helped to temper the unusual heat of mid-Spring. She was stood on the borders of Windigo Wood, the sun smiling down on her from on high, and with only the singing of birds and the rushing of the leaves of the trees above her - now in full leaf - for company.
She sighed, happily. Today was a good day to be alive.
Having arrived outside the wood shortly after breakfast - a far more leisurely affair than the hectic, frantic mix of cooking, cleaning and washing she had experienced at Sugarcube Corner a few weeks before - she was waiting now for her friend Rainbow Dash, the famed member of the Wonderbolts, and a pony widely acknowledged to be the Fastest Pony in Equestria (a title which Rainbow was perhaps just a little too fond of mentioning).
Not known for being an early riser, the wait for Rainbow came as no surprise to Starlight, and rather than being annoyed by the delay, it now being almost an hour past their agreed meeting time, she chose instead to simply enjoy the morning, taking great pleasure in her own company.
Over the past few months, her whole outlook on life had changed. It was only as recently as December that she had finally realised that the ever-present sadness and emptiness she felt wasn't normal, and it had taken all of her courage to admit this to her friends. But now, just five months later, and having been almost overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity, understanding and good-humour her friends had shown towards her, the unicorn was in a far better place. Though still suffering from the occasional off day, or fits of melancholia (Doctor Maneroe had told her she had a condition called dysthymia), in general her mental health and wellbeing were much improved.
So now, with the sun providing gentle, comfortable warmth, and with the prospect of an enjoyable day out with a friend in the offing, Starlight smiled to herself, shutting her eyes, and made the most of the peace and quiet.
"Argh! Look out, Starlight!"
With barely any warning, and only just managing to shake herself out of a half-doze in time to step out of the way, Starlight's solitude was shattered by the arrival - the very noisy arrival - of Rainbow Dash, who crashed to a halt in front of her, having apparently plummeted from the sky in a most uncomfortable fashion.
"Rainbow! Are you alright?" Starlight gentle prodded the prone form of the pegasus, who was lying spreadeagled on the grass, panting heavily.
Opening her eyes briefly, Rainbow nodded, before resting her forehead on the cool earth. After a minute, in which Starlight was able to gather that, though winded, her friend didn't seem to be badly hurt, she suddenly stood up, and announced, "That - was - awesome!"
Eyes open wide in disbelief, Starlight exclaimed, "How could anyone call such a hard landing 'awesome'? You could've been seriously injured!"
Rainbow just grinned at her, and laughed her trademark superior laugh. "Heh-heh! Maybe any other pegasus, yes, but not the Fastest Pony in Equestria!"
Starlight rolled her eyes; whatever else she may have hurt in the crash, at least her friend's sense of self-esteem appeared undamaged. Changing the subject, she inquired, "What happened there, RD? You seemed to just fall out of the sky!"
Still getting her breath back, Rainbow nodded, tongue lolling in a highly comical manner. "I was trying a new stunt," she panted. "Only I've not quite worked out the ending yet. . ."
Raising an eyebrow in an I can see that and I think you're being rather reckless sort of way, Starlight shook her head as though in despair at her friend's antics.
Having now recovered sufficiently to breath normally again, Rainbow flexed each leg and both wings in turn, ensuring nothing was damaged. Apparently satisfied with these checks, she announced, "Okay! Let's go for this walk, then!"
So saying, she trotted off briskly into the wood, Starlight in tow.
Starlight had to admit that, whatever her friend's faults, she was impressed at how willingly Rainbow had agreed to this suggestion - when the unicorn had put it to her that they spend an afternoon together on an enjoyable woodland walk, she had fully expected Rainbow to pooh-pooh the idea, she being usually averse to any form of leisurely pursuit which did not involve flying in any way.
They wandered through the wood in silence for a while. Starlight quite enjoyed the presence of her close friends without feeling the need to make small talk, but Rainbow was obviously feeling a little uncomfortable at the lack of conversation, and seemed to be wracking her brains for something to say.
Eventually, as the two of them ceased walking for a while upon reaching a narrow, ancient bridge over a babbling beck, the sound of which Starlight found to be very soothing, Rainbow broke the peace, a forehoof self-consciously rubbing the back of her neck, by stammering, "S-so then, S-Starlight - how're you - y'know - f-feeling, and stuff?"
The unicorn couldn't help but smile at her friend's blatant discomfort. She had always known that Rainbow, as a rather narcissistic sort of pony, found any conversation regarding personal feelings and emotions - especially negative emotions - to be particularly difficult, and this was brought home to her now in both the stutter in Rainbow's voice, and the way she carefully avoided catching Starlight's eye, instead preferring to focus on the shimmering patterns of light thrown up by sunlight reflecting on the brook; she suspected that Rainbow was asking after Starlight's mental state largely out of a sense of obligation, perhaps having been pressured into doing so by one or more of their other friends.
She hastened to reassure the struggling pegasus. "I've been feeling a lot better lately, actually. Thank you for asking, Dash."
A look of intense relief washed over Rainbow's face, and she turned to look at Starlight again. "Phew! I mean," the quickly amended, "I'm really glad to hear you're doing alright now. After, y'know. . ."
She trailed off into another uncomfortable silence, and Starlight smiled. "It's alright Rainbow, I know what you mean."
Nodding her gratitude at the unicorn's tact, Rainbow grinned in return. After another minute or two of watching the water dancing beneath them, the pair continued their walk.
Not wishing Rainbow to feel more awkward than absolutely necessary, Starlight decided it was down to her to carry on the faltering conversation. "So, what've you been up to lately? I feel like I've hardly seen you, we've both been so busy!"
Rainbow chuckled. "Heh, I know what you mean! I've been doing a lot with the Wonderbolts; we've been getting ready for a new display pattern. We're going to debut it at the Summer Sun Celebration, and it's going to be awesome!"
Starlight smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "I look forward to seeing it."
"How about you?" Rainbow asked in return, stepping cautiously round a particularly muddy patch in the path. "What have you been doing? Anything cool?"
"In a way," Starlight conceded. "I've been staying with our friends, on and off, for the past few months. Applejack had me around for a few weeks in February, and we went camping in the hills, which was tiring and cold, but still fun. Then I stayed with Rarity for a while, which was a lot more relaxing." Though she said this, Starlight couldn't help but think of the startling revelation with which Rarity had presented her, and hastily moved on before Rainbow could ask any potentially difficult questions. "After that I spent the weekend with Fluttershy, helping her with the influx of animals from Winter Wrap-up."
She paused, wanting to gauge Rainbow's reaction to this last statement; she thought she detected a slight reddening of the pegasus' cheeks at the mention of Fluttershy, but couldn't be sure. She continued, "After that the Cakes let me stay with Pinkie for a few days, and I helped them with running Sugarcube Corner. Well," she added, "perhaps 'help' isn't quite the right word. It was all so hectic and busy, and they seemed to be getting on just fine without me, so I mostly just watched and did the washing up!"
Rainbow laughed. "Heh-heh, that sure sounds like Pinkie Pie!"
"And then," Starlight continued, "I had a couple of weeks to myself, and that brings us up to now!"
"Sounds like you've had a great time then!" Rainbow enthused.
Starlight said nothing, preferring to leave the conversation to Rainbow for the moment. Something about the way her friend kept glancing shiftily to the side, ruffling her wings, and rubbing the back of her neck, strongly suggested to Starlight that there was something she wanted to say, but couldn't quite work up the courage to say it. So instead she waited, allowing the pegasus time to formulate her thoughts.
After a minute or so, Rainbow coughed self-consciously and, as if the thought had only just come to her and she was in no way particularly bothered what the answer should be, inquired, "Hmm! When - when you were staying with Fluttershy, did she. . . mention me, at all? Just, like, y'know, in passing or anything. Or whatever."
Internally, Starlight was punching the air with her hooves. I knew it! she thought excitedly. Outwardly, however, she remained the picture of placidity. "Well, let me think," she murmured, holding Rainbow in suspense with a sense of wicked enjoyment. "You know," she announced at last, "I think she did mention you. Y'know," she echoed, "just in passing."
Seeming even more uncomfortable than before, the usually so self-assured pegasus stuttered, "W-was it - like - d-did she say. . . I mean, was it a - a good mention?"
Perhaps something of the evil dictator remained in Starlight's psyche, for she couldn't resist holding her friend in suspense just a little longer, asking, as though she had no idea what Rainbow could possibly mean, "Why d'you ask?"
Visibly sweating now, her eyes darting rapidly from side to side, Rainbow scrunched up her muzzle in silent anxiety. After a few moments she seemed to come to some decision, saying, "Well, it's just that - you see, the thing is - the fact is, you see. . ."
Something seemed to tell her that she wasn't explaining herself very well, as she broke off again to remarshal whatever it was she was trying to say. "It's just that," she began eventually, and now very noticeably finding it difficult to retain her cool, collected composure, "It's just that I've always had a - a bit of a soft spot for Fluttershy, if you know what I mean. Like, as something. . . more than a friend. If you know what I mean," she repeated, as though for extra clarification.
Starlight decided she'd feigned ignorance long enough. "Oh, I see what you mean!" she cried, causing Rainbow to scan the skies in consternation, as though afraid their conversation might be overheard. "I think," the unicorn continued, "I think that you can be. . . hopeful on that front."
Rainbow, her anxiety disappearing in an instant, turned to Starlight with wonder in her eyes. "Really?" she gasped, acting for once like an excitable young filly, dropping completely the suave, debonair front she was always careful to present to the world. "You think - you think I might have a chance with her?"
Starlight smiled warmly. "I'm sure of it," she confided.
The lovestruck pegasus stopped dead, staring blankly into space, a wondrous expression on her blushing face. After a moment she turned to Starlight, grinning dopily. "Wow. . . thanks, Starlight!"
The pink unicorn refrained from pointing out that she hadn't actually done anything, other than passing on what she knew, instead choosing to savour the rare show of gratitude from Rainbow Dash. "Oh, that's alright," she twinkled, for all the world like an old uncle who had just informed his favourite niece that he'd bought her that dress she'd always wanted.
Much of the remainder of the walk was passed in silence, Rainbow seemingly fallen into a sort of happy trance. As the day waned to a close, and the pair made their way out from the wood and along the earthen path back to Ponyville, Rainbow finally spoke. "I never thought. . ." she began, her sentence petering out as her thoughts whirled.
Starlight beamed. "Well, now you do," she intoned suggestively, "And you can stop wasting time wondering about her!"
At that, Rainbow snapped out her daydream, wings poised alertly ready for flight. She seemed hesitant. "Er - thank you so much for a lovely walk, Starlight, it's been really nice to - y'know, to spend time with you, and all that. I was just - I was just thinking -"
The unicorn chuckled goodnaturedly, following the pegasus' train of thought completely. "It's alright, Rainbow. I understand perfectly." She winked, nodding to the sky in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage, which was just coming into sight at the edge of the Everfree over on the other side of the village. "I know my way home from here, and I think there's somepony waiting for you. . ."
Smiling gratefully, Rainbow suddenly lunged forward, giving the surprised Starlight a hug. "Thank you!" she cried again, before leaping into the air, and taking wing with all the speed the Fastest Pony in Equestria could muster.
As she watched her erstwhile companion shoot like a bolt into the distance, Starlight grinned to herself. "Miss Starlight Glimmer: Evil Dictator, Guidance Counsellor, and Matchmaker," she murmured aloud.
With her heart soaring almost as high as the clouds above, she began trotting briskly for home.