Chapter Six
Apologies
“You yelled at Rainbow Dash?” Spike said, eyes wide with amazement.
Twilight raised a tear-stained face from where it was resting on her forelegs, giving the tiniest nod imaginable. Flash draped a wing over her shoulders, offering what support he could.
“I-I was just so mad that nothing could go right.” She sniffled, grabbing a tissue from a box that Spike held. Used pieces littered the table, the amount so great that the poor piece of furniture was almost completely buried underneath them.
“I was mad that Rainshine kept messing things up. But she’s a baby! It...wasn’t...her fauLLWAAAAH.” She slammed her head into the table again, causing the tissues to dramatically shift position .
Spike and Flash exchanged looks, and Flash tightened his hold on Twilight with a sigh. Twilight turned and buried her face in Flash’s shoulder, immediately soaking his coat with tears.
“You messed up a bit, okay?” Flash said gently, wrapping his other wing around Twilight. “But everypony does that now and then.”
“B-but the other princesses!” Twilight sniffed. “They d-d-don’t.”
“What about when they were captured by Discord’s plants?” Flash said, maintaining the same calming and quiet tone in his voice. “Or even when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon? And what about—”
“I get the idea.” Twilight brought her hoof to her mouth, covering a watery cough. “But I’m the Princess of Friendship. And I just yelled at my best friend….who n-needed my h-h-help! I was being a completely unreasonable jerRWAAAAAAAH.”
Flash waited patiently until Twilight’s loud sobs died down again.
“You can fix that.” He said, once she was calm enough to listen. “Rainbow Dash can’t hold a grudge against you—you two are best friends.”
“But w-what if she does?” Twilight cried. “What if I just ruined our friendship?”
“Twilight, that’s a ridiculous idea.” Flash said. “You’re friendship has saved Equestria countless times and withheld numerous strains. How could it break up over something like an argument?”
Twilight raised her head, her eyes watering, and gave a thoughtful sniff.
“It….does sound the tiniest bit silly when you say it like that.” She admitted. “I don’t want to lose her as a friend.”
“And what do you think you should do then?”
I should...go find her and apologize.”
“That’s a very good idea.” Flash said, giving a weary smile. “Are you going now?”
“Yes.” Twilight said, wiping her eyes. She pulled away from Flash slightly to glance out of the window. The sun was sinking behind the horizon, casting deep purple silhouettes over the ground. “There’s this saying….’never let the sun go down on your anger’. I should really fix this now.”
“Good choice.” Flash gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek, relinquishing her from his grasp. “Good luck!”
Twilight nodded, taking a deep, calming breath, then teleported away with a flash of light.
There was a brief moment of silence.
“Question.” Spike said thoughtfully. “How do you get mares to hug you like that?”
“What?” Flash said, startled, pausing in the middle of using a crumpled tissue to dry his shoulder.
“Sweetie Belle never hugs me like that.” Spike said again, tapping a claw to his chin. “How do you get mares to hug you like that?”
“I don’t just do it with every random mare.” Flash stuttered, flushing. “She’s my wife.”
Spike shrugged.
“And?” He asked.
Flash’s only response was an indignant, speechless splutter.
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Twilight reappeared in mid air, the slight shock of gravity catching her off guard for a second.
It always happened when she teleported from ground into air—there was always a split-second of time before her brain caught up with her surroundings and let her beat her wings. But now she rose into the air, hovering on an evening breeze that blew faintly over the rooftops of the town.
She scanned the nearby clouds, searching for Rainbow.
She needed to fix her mistake….now.
“Hello there. Have you seen Rainbow Dash?” She paused, hovering in mid-air.
“Wha?” The Pegasus she’d adressed, a mare with a yellow coat and pale green mane, blinked in confusion. “Sorry, princess. I can’t say I have.”
“Okay, thank you.” Twilight sighed, disappointed, then continued flying on. Her gaze drifted towards the ground as she became caught up in her thoughts, and she forgot to watch where she was going.
She collided with somepony in mid-air, staggering backwards as she rubbed her forehead.
“Ouch!” She said, squinting through suddenly blurry vision.
“Oh my! I’m so sorry, Princess Twilight.” The pony she’d hit blinked her misaligned eyes, hovering anxiously over her. “I’m so sorry—I didn’t see you!”
“Oh, hello, Derpy. It’s fine—I’m the one who should've been looking out.” Twilight apologized. “Quick question—have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?”
“Mmmm…..” Derpy blinked again, tapping a hoof to her muzzle. “I think I may have seen her on a cloud somewhere near Town Hall?”
“Thanks a lot!” Twilight’s hopes soared. She offered a wave before flying off again. Derpy gave a confused smile, waving back.
Twilight returned to soaring over the town, on sharp lookout. Pegasi passed her, calling out respectful greetings, but at most she only acknowledged them with a simple nod.
As the sun fell lower still, the air took on the chill of night, and ponies began to finish their business, heading inside to warmth and light.
And Twilight finally caught sight of the pony she’d been looking for.
Rainbow was lying on a cloud high above the center of Ponyville—the only gray cloud in the burgundy sky. Twilight approached her carefully, landing lightly on the edge of the billowing platform. Her hooves sank into the surface slightly, leaving indentations.
“Hey.” Rainbow said in a flat, quiet voice. “You come to yell at me? Be amazed at my absolutely terrible parenting?”
“Oh, Rainbow.” Twilight said, reaching out a hoof. “I really didn’t mean what I said—”
Rainbow stood up abruptly, every inch of her body tense and radiating fury. That’s when Twilight realized she was grasping Rainshine in her forearms, while Thunder curled up on her back.
“Sounded to me like you meant it.” She spat, then took to the sky, soaring to another cloud.
Twilight exhaled slowly, closing her eyes for a brief second before following her.
“What I said was uncalled for.” She insisted, walking up next to her friend. “I never should have snapped at you.”
“But you were honest with me.” Rainbow mumbled, keeping her back to Twilight. “As you should have been from the beginning, instead of pretending I even had a chance.” Thunder tumbled off his mother’s back, rolling over in the cloud. Rainshine tried to follow him, but Rainbow Dash clutched the filly to her chest, preventing her.
“No, that wasn’t honesty at all.” Twilight said. “That’s not what I think!”
“But it was all true.” Rainbow insisted, her voice tight with unshed tears. “I’ll never be able to control Rainshine. I’m a terrible parent.”
“Don’t you ever think that about yourself!” Twilight said.
Rainbow turned to look at her friend, her eyes glistening.
“I am.” She whispered, then broke down.
Rainshine stopped struggling in her mother’s grip, and both her and Thunder stared at Rainbow in amazement as she buried her face in the cloud before her, emitting stifled, quiet sobs. Twilight lay next to her friend, draping a wing over her back.
Rainbow almost never cried….when she did, it was quite a shock.
“Sssh.” Twilight said soothingly. “It’ll be okay. You’ll learn—after all, I did too.”
“B-but.” Rainbow gulped. “You’re child, Galaxy, is a sweet, timid, and perfect little girl! How did she ever give you problems? I’ll always be a terrible parent!”
Following this last outburst, Twilight stared thoughtfully into space for a few seconds.
“She almost burnt down the library once.” She eventually said.
“Wait...what?” Rainbow broke of crying suddenly, lifting her head. Twilight gave her a small smile.
“Galaxy almost burnt down the library once.” She repeated. “We lost a bunch of kid’s board books. And the thing was? She did it because she was mad—I mispronounced the name of her favorite character, Fa Fa—er, Funa—um, Foofy.”
Rainbow sniffed, her whole attention now focused on Twilight.
“And another thing? I couldn't control her. I was basically powerless against her surges of magic. And I’m an Alicorn.” She gave Rainbow an apologetic look. “I was an unreasonable hypocrite earlier. If I couldn't control my child’s spontaneous magical outbursts, how could I expect you to? I’m really sorry for what I said, Rainbow. It was unfair. Please….is there any way you could ever forgive me?”
Rainbow blinked away the last of her tears, wiping her eyes with the tip of a wing.
“I think...” She said slowly. “I think maybe I could.”
Twilight let out a breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding, her face breaking into a smile. “Thanks so much.” She said. “I was so worried I’d ruined our friendship forever!”
“Naaah.” Rainbow snorted, back to her usual self, though her eyes were red-rimmed and a little puffy. “We could never let a little thing like an argument come between us! We’re best friends, and we’ll be so forever…….right?”
“Right.” Twilight agreed, grinning.
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The two friends had arrived back at Twilight’s castle, laughing and chatting. Thunder and Rainshine were awake and active, crying for attention.With a blast of warmth, the doors of Twilight’s home swung open to receive them, flooding the street behind them in light. Rainbow trotted in immediately, but Twilight lingered on the doorstep, looking out over the town that grew darker with the approach of night.
It had been one crazy day.
And she’d learned a lot.
She’d learned she needed to work on her patience, for one. But all joking aside...she felt as if something had changed.
She wasn’t stronger, or smarter, or even closer to Rainbow Dash than she was before.
But she’d survived the day, and that within itself felt like an accomplishment. She felt that there were many more adventures to come.
But for now….she had a friend that needed help, children that needed their mother, a husband that needed his wife. It was nice to be needed.
Yes…..
Life was good.
Very good.
The End