//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Alone With You // Story: Knight of Equestria - On Distant Shores // by SupraMacPringles //------------------------------// Another day passes and another begins. A lone figure was asleep on a library couch. Sure, she had a bed, but she had fallen asleep waiting for a dear friend to come home. "… Twilight?" a voice called out. Her ears twitch as her violet eyes begin to open. "Twilight? Why are you sleeping down here?" the voice asked. She moved her gaze to the voice, revealing the small form of her closest friend. "Spike? What do you…?" Then she noticed where exactly she had fallen asleep. "Oh… is Matt home?" she asked, remembering the previous night's worries. "I don't think so. He's usually awake by now." She felt an immediate rush of energy as she quickly rose from her place of rest, wings all a flutter. "Oh no! He hasn't come back yet!? We need to find him, quickly. I'll send for a dispatch of royal guards, I-" "Calm down!" exclaimed Spike, cutting her off. "I'm sure he can take care of himself. Besides, he spends so much time reading, he's bound to come back eventually. Just relax." Her fear and worry were very overtaking, but she knew Spike had a point. "I… you're right, Spike. You're right…" ............... He felt a beam of sunlight creep over his eyes. Though he tried to deal with it, he decided it best to roll over. Although, he could've sworn his window was on the other side of the room. As he adjusted in bed, he felt an unfamiliar feeling. A warm breeze that felt astonishingly like breath would occasionally brush his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see something he really hadn't expected; Pinkie Pie. She was soundly asleep next to him. A sense of panic and confusion overwhelmed him as he sat up and gazed around the room. He was in Pinkie's room, the same place he was last night. But he was in Pinkie's bed. Even under her blanket. He couldn't remember falling asleep at all. His sudden movement had awoken the small pink creature next to him. "Oh…" she paused to release a squeak of a yawn. "You're finally awake. Good morning, sleepyhead!" "Yes… good morning, Pinkie… why exactly am I here?" Pinkie had since gotten out of bed and took a moment to stretch about. "Oh, well I brought you up here to introduce you to Gummy and talk about pancakes and you fell asleep. I didn't want to bother you because you seemed so tired, so I just cuddled up next to you and let you sleep. You're welcome!" That matched up with what he remembered. Normally he'd apologize for being an inconvenience, but he knew Pinkie didn't mind. He stood up and attempted to crack his back, still being far from used to Equestria's smaller beds. "Thank you, Pinkie Pie. But I really should get home. Twilight was probably expecting me home at least twelve hours ago." "Okie dokie lokie, then. You and Twilight are pretty close now, huh?" He paused to think. Certainly he spent more time with Twilight then with his other friends, but did he consider them closer? "I suppose so. We do share a lot of common interests." "That's so great! She's been busy with royal duties a lot lately, so the rest of us don't get to see her as much." While it was true he rarely saw her not reading, he didn't think she was swamped with that many 'duties'. Maybe he just never paid enough attention. "I see… Well I'll be off, then. See you around, Pinkie." He said, heading towards the stairs. She enthusiastically waved after him as he began to make his way back to the Golden Oaks Library. He slowly opened the door, as he always did. He saw Spike gazing out the window and Twilight slumped over in despair. It didn't take them long to notice him. Twilight's slump vanished immediately. "Matt! I… You're… Where have you been!?" the joy in her tone disappeared quickly and was replaced with what sounded like anger. Matt simply tried to explain. "Pinkie Pie's. I ended up sleeping there last night. I apologize for any-" He stopped mid-sentence as Twilight's facial expression changed to one he'd never seen before. "You were…? Pinkie Pie…?" The anger had drained from her being as she tried formulating coherent sentences. "Hey…" began Spike. "I thought you were at AJ's all day yesterday?" "I was. Pinkie caught me on the way home and invited me in. The hard day's work really took it out of me. I fell asleep from the exhaustion." Matt explained. Twilight's expression changed again. "Oh… That's… That makes sense." "I apologize for any worry I caused." Matt sighs and crosses his arms. "Things would be so much easier if only we had the web…" "The web? What's the web?" Spike asked. "Does it involve spiders? I really don't want to talk spiders right now…" added Twilight. He couldn't help but chuckle. Things were so much simpler in Equestria. The only thing ponies had to really worry about was each other. It was certainly a liberating feeling. He took a seat in his usual spot. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's not important." Things seemed to return to normal, though Twilight's reaction earlier had puzzled him. He'd never seen her express anything like that. It looked like sadness, but a particular kind of sadness. One he wasn't entirely familiar with, but recalled seeing before. The only thing he wondered was; why? Why did she react so harshly? He decided to ponder that later and enjoy the current peace. ............... She wasn't nervous. Why would she be? She was just hanging out with a friend. That's it. But if she wasn't nervous, why was she hesitating? "… Ugh, c'mon Rainbow, you've flown through Ghastly Gorge! Suck it up!" she said to herself in an attempt to psyche herself up. She sat laxly on a cloud high above Ponyville. She just sat there, thinking over the best way to meet him. Matthew Nabal had always intrigued her. Whether it was his quiet, mysterious demeanor or coolly-unique appearance, she found herself being drawn to him. And today was the first snow fall of the year, and she had mustered the courage to ask him to join her in watching it. She was going to watch the snow fall with the only human in Equestria. All alone. "… Aw, horsefeathers!" She said, taking off in a trail of rainbows. She decided to swallow her pride and tackle this the same way she did most things; recklessly. Within seconds she was outside the library and with a deep breath, flew through the window. "Hey, Matt! Ready to go?" The young man dug his face out of a book to look up at her. "Ah, Rainbow Dash. Ready for…" he began, seemingly trying to recall plans. Dash noticed that Twilight Sparkle was also present, reading a small dark red book. Spike was in the middle of a nap. "Oh!" Matt exclaimed, "We're watching snow fall today, right. Just a second." He stood up and slid the book he was holding back onto the shelf. Twilight had shifted her gaze from her book, to him. "Oh…" Twilight began. "Today's the first snowfall of the year, huh?" "Indeed." responded Matt. "Rainbow and I are heading out to watch it." "Mind if I come with you?" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she landed. "What? No, uh-"she stuttered. Everypony's eyes were focused on her now. "Y-y'know what they say, Twilight, three's a crowd… heheh…" Matt raised an eyebrow. "Come now, Rainbow. The more the merrier, right?" She stares at him for a moment before her resolve is weakened. Rainbow Dash sighs, "… right." She wasn't thrilled about the sudden change in events, but still, she would make the most of it. Or at least, try to. Matt and Twilight trailed behind her. "Hmm, so…" she overheard Twilight say. "… nopony moves the weather clouds into place where you're from?" "Not at all. Clouds aren't made in a factory like the one in Cloudsdale, either. They form from water vapors and just drift around on their own via wind currents." he responded. "What about-"Dash began. "What about distinct weather patterns like storm fronts and hurricanes?" Twilight asked. The two went back and forth, talking about clouds and snow with words like 'precipitation' and 'meteorology', and Rainbow found herself unable to get a word in edge-wise. She flew back, face-to-face with Twilight. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, pulling her away regardless of her answer. She flew back just as quick, facing Matt. "Be right back!" she said with a smile. She flew back to where she left Twilight. "I know what you're up to." She said, hints of anger trickling through her voice. Twilight's eyes swerved around as she tried to regain balance. She hadn't expected to be whisked away so quickly. "Huh? What?" she stammered out. Dash's eyes narrowed as Twilight's began to focus. She noticed the angry look on her friend's face. "Something wrong, Rainbow?" she asked. "You know what's wrong." Dash replied sternly. Twilight raised a brow. "No, I really don't. But if you tell me, maybe I can help?" A grunt of frustration escapes Rainbow Dash as she realizes what she's doing is futile. Twilight Sparkle was definitely smart enough to play dumb. "Forget it. Just remember…" she held a hoof up to her eyes, before pointing it at Twilight's. "I've got my eyes on you." She slowly started walking away before quickly turning around and repeating the gesture. Twilight, though being immensely confused, shrugged it off and rejoined her friends to continue walking. Rainbow Dash now clung closely to Matt's side and dominated all conversation. She was telling some story that Twilight didn't catch all of. "… and so I said, 'in history, maybe!'" she finished, chuckling. After a moment of silence, a smile crept across Matt's face. "Oh, that's clever. I like it." He said. Dash's eyes lit up. "Really? I mean, yeah it was pretty good." Twilight could feel a burning sensation, as if a fire had ignited within her. Rainbow was one of her best friends, but she was interfering with something special. For one of the only moments in her life, Twilight Sparkle was jealous. She flew over to Matt's other side. "Oh, Matt…" she began. "Did I tell you about one of my new books that details the entirety of the early magical period?" She knew he had a fascination with magic, even at one point trying to explain it with magnetism. When his theory couldn't support itself, he decided he'd look into it further. "Really? Excellent, I'd love to learn about how it was discovered in the first place." She smiled smugly ahead, tilting her head upwards. Rainbow had noticed this and sighed softly in frustration. This little game would not go without a victor. "Aw, that's all you guys do is read. Don't get me wrong, it's great and all. But wouldn't you rather go out and, I dunno, do something fun?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Reading is fun, Rainbow Dash." Twilight rebutted. "While I agree with Twilight, it wouldn't be too bad to get out more often. See the sights, and whatnot." Matt replied. Rainbow hoof-pumped in victory. They didn't exchange looks the rest of the way. No one even bothered to talk. That wasn't too surprising, seeing as everypony knew by now that Matt didn't usually speak unless spoken to. Twilight and Rainbow didn't really have much to say, either. They had more to think about, for now. They arrived at the spot Rainbow Dash had specified. Matt wasn't entirely surprised to find out it was the spot he had met with Princess Luna regularly. It had a really nice view of the weather ponies moving clouds into position. "If that were me over there, it'd be done by now." said Rainbow, seating herself in the grass. She and Twilight sat at Matt's sides, Rainbow on the left, Twilight on the right. "… Why isn't that you over there?" asked Twilight. Dash turned to face her, finding that Twilight was still looking forward. "Because I've been bustin' my hump all week. I deserve at least one day off." She replied. "Hmm." Twilight began, "At least this way it'll get done thoroughly." Dash gritted her teeth and glared at her before regaining her cool. "You're right." She said, causing Twilight to break from her thousand-yard stare and look at her. "Those ponies are trained experts, who know what it means to get the job done. Unlike… well, you know." Twilight frowned as Rainbow smirked. She knew what she was getting at. Twilight Sparkle was the only winged pony in Ponyville who didn't help prepping this winter. She wanted to, but she hadn't mastered full control of her wings yet. Another awkward silence ensued. It was broken by an unexpected intrusion. "Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! Matt! You guys came to watch the snow, too?" It was Pinkie Pie, along with Fluttershy and Rarity. Spike had tagged along, too, seemingly upset that they left him behind while napping. They obviously had planned to watch the snow fall, too. "We tried to invite you all…" began Rarity, "… But we couldn't find you. How quaint that you should already be here." She finished, smiling. Rainbow felt her blood begin to boil. It was bad enough that Twilight had to come along, but now more than half of the group had shown up. "Howdy, ya'll!" Approaching from the other side of the hill, Applejack and the three fillies that made up The Cutie Mark Crusaders soon joined them. "I promised the fillies I'd take 'em to watch the first snow." said Applejack. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo greeted everyone else as they all began to converse. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in frustration, but refused to show her anger. "Something wrong, Dash?" Matt questioned. Everyone else seemed oblivious, caught up in other conversations. Seeing that no one else was paying attention, she had no qualms about venting. "It's just… ugh. I just wanted today to go, I don't know, better?" "I think it's been pretty good so far." "Of course you do…" she trailed off. "… well, in the least, I'm happy that I got to see you today, Rainbow Dash." Matt said. "Huh…?" "You're always so busy. As much as I don't show it, I really like having you as a friend. All of you." "Really? W-well… I really like being friends with you, too. And don't worry, I'll have tons of free time soon!" she replied. They looked at each other for a few moments before Dash felt her face get hot and she turned away. "Look, everypony!" Scootaloo yelled. The snow had begun to fall from the clouds and everypony had bunched together in a tight formation to watch excitedly, Matt, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle being caught dead center. It slowly drifted down and a snowflake touched Matt's cheek. Rainbow was right; it looked so beautiful from up there.