I Will Wait

by lLoveRainbowDash


Chapter 1 - Horrible News (Revised)

Rainbow Dash had been waiting on a cloud she had put together out front of Twilight's castle. The cool Autumn breeze flowing through her mane. She couldn't help but smile as the wind ruffled her mane. This is the day. I'm going to tell her, she thought with a determined look.

When she heard Twilight close the door to her castle, she snapped out of her thoughts and opened her mouth to greet her friend, but nothing came out.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Twilight called out from the ground below, knowing that Rainbow would be there. After hearing no reply, she glanced at the cloud Rainbow liked to wait for her on and saw her colourful, vibrant mane and cerulean head quickly duck behind the fluffy cloud, "I know you're up there, Rainbow," she deadpanned, staring dryly at the cloud. "I saw you. Are you alright, or are you just playing around?"

"I, uh... y-yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking," Rainbow replied, sheepishly coming back into view as her words steadily grew quieter.

Twilight barely caught wind of that last part but didn't ask. She was already running a bit late as is.

"Alright," Twilight replied skeptically, remaining no less suspicious as she proceeded. "Well, see you later, I guess. I'm heading off to the market to pick up some food for dinner." Twilight bit her bottom lip, averting her eyes to the ground. "Unless..." she drew out the word, beating around the bush as she hesitated asking her question, "you'd like to join me?" she asked, her voice carrying a slight, hopeful tone with each word as she lifted her gaze to meet her friend's. She then blinked, pausing for a moment as she came to realize that it was happening again. The symptoms, she had called them. Her heart was beating steadily faster, her face growing ever warmer.

She groaned internally. This had been happening a lot recently, whenever she was near Rainbow...

Just then, an idea popped into Rainbow's head. I can ask her if we can have a sleepover, then I will tell her. Yeah, that's a great plan! Rainbow felt calmer every time she talked things out in her head.

She decided to ask Twilight later and go with her to the market. "Yes! I mean, uh yeah sure," she tried to correct herself after replying too fast.

"Well, come on then! We won't get anywhere if you're on that cloud the whole time."

At this point, Twilight was in a rush to get to the market before everypony else did so she could be one of the first in the lines. The market was always a crowded place in the mornings, but not this early. At this rate, she would be waiting in lines for longer than she was hoping.

Rainbow was quick to jump off the cloud, gliding down before joining up with Twilight to walk alongside her. "Right, coming. Don't wanna be last in line. Those lines are always super boring." Rainbow noticed she was walking closer and closer to Twilight, and placed herself at a nice, comfortable distance, that wasn't too close. "What are you going to get? While you are at one shop, I could head over to another to get the other things you need." She was eager to get the shopping out of the way so she could ask the question that was bothering her.

Twilight leaned her head back with one eyebrow raised in astonishment at the offer. "Oh, um... well, I-I don't know, Rainbow, I appreciate it... thank you," she said with a relieved smile. She looked over to Rainbow Dash but found that Rainbow wasn't completely paying attention. "Rainbow?"

Rainbow jumped at the sound of Twilight calling her name. "Y-yeah, no problem," she blurted all the while grinning nervously.


"So, is that all that you needed?" Rainbow asked while motioning to the bag she was holding on her foreleg. "Cause I've got everything that you asked me to get, with two bits to spare!" Twilight had given her enough bits to pay for all of the food, after all.

"Wow, Rainbow, since when have you been so willing to help? Usually you're either napping or flying." Twilight accused Rainbow in a playful manner while giggling.

"Well, I just thought that my best friend needed my help and..." Rainbow was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say. She had wanted to tell Twilight how she truly felt about her for a while now, but could never muster the courage to do so. Why's it so stinkin' hard to tell your best friend how you really feel?

"Uh, Rainbow? Are you alright? You seem like you have something on your mind." Twilight furrowed her brow in concern, as she gazed in confusion towards her longtime friend. First she was acting unlike herself on the cloud, then she wanted to help me with shopping, which she hates doing... and now she is acting nervous again. What is going on with her? I don't mind if she helps or anything, but it's just odd for her to actually offer.

"Heh, it's nothin," she replied coolly, while unperceived by the alicorn, her right hoof was idly tracing circles in the dirt. "I was just thinking that you, uh... would maybe like to have a sleepover?" she asked as she instinctively winced, bracing herself for the inevitable rejection.

Her friend's invitation gave her pause. Now she's asking for a sleepover? What the hay's going on? It does sound fun though, with Spike and Starlight being away in Canterlot and all. Twilight continued to ponder the thought... when it occurred to her that her friend was awaiting her answer with a hopeful look in her eyes. A look that Twilight couldn't say no to, much less bear to let down.

So instead, she gave a welcoming smile. "That would be wonderful, Rainbow. Please, come on in." Rainbow's face lit up in both relief and joy as her best friend giggled some more, opening up the doors to her castle.

The two walked inside, Twilight feeling right at home once more, and both just glad to be inside and out of the chilly weather. Entering the castle's kitchen, Rainbow laid down her grocery bag on the center counter, while Twilight was fast at work unloading various fruits, vegetables, and other beverages into the fridge.

Several minutes went on by without a peep from either one of them, Twilight seemingly too invested in her chore to even think of making small talk. Rainbow fidgeted anxiously in place, having had just about all she could stand.

She opened her mouth... when the unexpected all of a sudden happened.

"So, what time are you going to show up so I can maybe squeeze in some chores before then?"

Rainbow's heart skipped. She stared at Twilight, startled. She breathed out deeply, hoping to try and compose herself. "Y-yeah, so, uh... I'll uh, swing by around nine—i-if that's alright with you!" she added worryingly.

Twilight smiled back at her, simply nodding her head and doing wonders to ease her nerves.

Phew... Rainbow looked up in relief at the bedroom clock, only to see it was already ten in the morning. Well, at least I gave myself eleven hours to work up the courage to tell her... and undoubtedly make a fool of myself, she deplored, before quickly doing away with the disparaging thought. No! she decided, I can't keep pushing this out of the way! I... I have to tell her tonight.

She turned without remembering to say goodbye, leaving her friend confounded as she proceeded towards the door to the kitchen.

Yes, she assured herself, overcome with an air of determination, all I have to do is tell her how I feel. I am Rainbow Dash, after all. It would be totally uncool of me to give up without even trying! I mean, it's just a few simple words! That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Easy shmeezy! Heh...

Her confidence quickly sunk, worry and doubt setting back in.

Oh, who am I kidding...? She bowed her head in dismay. Easier said than done...


Rainbow Dash found herself facing the door of the castle. She raised a hoof to the door and knocked. After what seemed to be a minute of waiting, she heard the door begin to open with a purple magic aura covering it.

"H-hey, Twilight," Rainbow greeted her friend with a sorry smile. "Sorry I'm running a bit late, I just... lost track of time, y'know?"

"Oh no worries, Rainbow. It's only ten minutes past nine! There's nothing wrong with that—unless of course you're late for a meeting with Princess Celestia herself."

The two shared a knowing laugh. Rainbow had to admit, at times like these... she liked just how understanding Twilight could be.

It was one of the things she loved about her.

Twilight collected herself, stepping aside and motioning for her friend to step inside. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm sure it's freezing out there!"

"Heh. Thanks, Twilight." Rainbow smiled back at her.

Silence set in between them as the two walked into the castle, and, as they proceeded through the main foyer... a certain subject still weighed on Twilight's mind.

"Hey, Rainbow? All day you've been acting... well, how should I put this? Awkward," Twilight said with a calm yet concerned tone. "Do you maybe want to talk about it?"

Rainbow's breath froze before she frantically explained, "It's nothing! I-it's not important. We can talk about it later, but right now, let's do something cool. Maybe something like, reading the latest Daring Do books or you could show me a cool book series that is like the Daring Do books."

Twilight gasped, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "What about a board game? I have plenty of those in that closet over there!" she said as she raised her foreleg to point to a door down the hallway. She smelled something she didn't recognize at first, until she saw where it came from. Did Rainbow use perfume? It almost smells like... roses? That's odd, I don't think Rainbow uses perfume. Unless... she paused for a second.

Rainbow spoke before Twilight could continue any further. "I guess a board game would be cool."

She shrugged, after all, she just wanted be around Twilight.

"So, you go into the bedroom, and I'll go get the games we can play, alright?" Twilight started off towards the closet to get the board games.

Rainbow walked into the open room. It seemed to be the biggest room in the castle, other than the map room. She set down her saddlebag, which was, for the most part, empty. She had only brought her favorite Daring Do book to read later. She sat down on one of the six beds that were in the room and waited patiently for Twilight to come in with the games.

Twilight had just set the board games down and released them from her magic when they both heard a rushed knocking on the castle's doors. "I wonder who that could be..." Twilight whispered as she walked to the doors and opened one slightly. Seeing that it was only one of Celestia's guards, she opened the door even more.

"Pardon this interruption, but I have an important message for you, Your Highness," the guard stated, while giving Twilight a letter.

"Thank you, and Twilight is just fine; you don't need to call me Your Highness."

Before Twilight could say anything else, the guard was back into the night sky. The sky was lit up by all of the sparkling stars. Each star, seemingly, taking turns blinking.

Once she caught up, Rainbow hesitantly spoke up after Twilight had closed the door to her castle. "So what is that letter about? It must be important if you got it this late at night."

"I have no idea what it is, but yes, it has to be very important." agreed Twilight. She opened the scroll and began reading aloud:

"Hey, Twily. I'm sorry for the short notice, but the crystal heart suffered a major fracture, and Cadance has fallen ill due to this; she can't even get out of bed without help. If you could get here as soon as possible that would be helpful. Please don't bring along any of your friends or she may feel cluttered. I hope to see you soon. We need you here.

Love,
Shining Armor"

"Oh no, oh no no no! I-I have to go," Twilight exclaimed as she was already running to her bedroom to gather some supplies.

As Twilight was dashing from room to room with papers and books in her magical grasp, Rainbow was trying to reason with her, hoping to calm her down. "C'mon Twilight, don't you think that you're overreacting a bit? I mean, yeah it's important, but you don't need to panic about it! Just, stop for a second and take a deep breath."

However, Twilight wasn't paying attention to her friend that was following her throughout the castle rooms. Once her saddlebag was filled, she packed another bag full of warm clothes to wear on nights like this night, the breezy Autumn air ruffling the leaves that the trees had left.

With her magic, Twilight grabbed a quill and began writing messages for her other friends, and finally spoke up after writing five complete messages. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to give these to the others for me, okay? I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly but I need to hurry up and get to the train station before I miss the last train tonight."

Before Rainbow could get a word in edgewise, she was given the notes and left alone in the doorway of the castle.

Rainbow Dash, feeling alone, abandoned even, now sat where she had once stood before.

"Twilight, I..."