//------------------------------// // 121. Rainbow Dash Ponders the Meaning of Friendship // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// It had gotten pretty late and Rainbow Dash and the others were still on the train to the Crystal Empire—sheep had fallen asleep on the tracks or some nonsense, so there was a delay. Not that it mattered; the girls had decided to stop at Neighagra Falls and wait there for Rarity and Applejack, but the train hadn't gotten there yet either. Most of the others were snoozing in the cabins, but Rainbow was sitting in the dimly-lit snack car, trying to read a Daring Do book but only scanning the same sentence like fifty times as her brain buzzed with thoughts of Rarity and Applejack, and of Twilight and Fluttershy. When Rainbow had offered Fluttershy her friendship, it felt like the right thing to do at the time—it still did! But there was still this garbagey nagging feeling in her brain that Fluttershy was a dragon and that she was dangerous, but Rainbow didn’t want to believe that anymore! But she still couldn’t shake this crappy feeling in her stomach that kept reminding her of how scared she should be of them. “Rainbow Dash?” Twilight’s voice made Rainbow nearly jump out of her skin. “Uh, hey Twilight,” Rainbow hacked loudly, her voice echoing through the nearly empty snack car. “What are you doing up? I thought everypo— uh, I thought everyone agreed to catch a few winks before we hit Neighagra.” “I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight replied. “Well you shouldn’t sneak up on a girl like that,” Rainbow hissed. Twilight looked behind her and then at Rainbow. “I came from in front of you.” “Oh yeah,” Rainbow blushed, “so you did. Sorry.” “I’m sorry too,” Twilight said, “for sneaking up on you.” Was that supposed to be a joke? Or was Twilight patronizing Rainbow? No, probably not. Twilight wasn’t that kind of girl. Or was she? Rainbow didn’t know anymore! She hated that she was now trying to read way too much into every single thing that Twilight said, but how could she not? But she shouldn’t be though, Twilight was her friend and she deserved better from Rainbow than that, right? “I heard what you said to Fluttershy,” Twilight said, and her neutral tone and the way she was standing against the light and her face was all shadowy made it hard to read her, not that Rainbow was any good at that sorta thing anyway. “That was really sweet of you.” “What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “How you said you wanted to be friends with her,” Twilight brought her hands in front of her chest and twiddled her fingers together, “and you told her that we were still friends. That’s… is that true? Do you still consider me a friend?” Rainbow took a deep breath and leaned back in her booth. “Here’s the thing, Twi,” Rainbow sighed. “This situation with you, being a dragon and everything, is a little bit complicated.” “Just a little,” Twilight snorted, but when Rainbow arched an eyebrow at her she just meekly hung her head and said “Sorry.” “Either you’ve been lying to us about your intentions ever since we met,” Rainbow said, and every word felt like a hot coal being forced out of her throat, “or Celestia’s been lying to all of us ever since we were born. And honestly? I’m not really sure which would be more upsetting. “And that’s just me!” Rainbow slapped her hand on the table in front of her. “I’m just a colleague of Celestia, I just work for her! But Rarity? She’s Celestia’s star student, she’s known Celestia personally since she was a kid! Rarity practically idolizes Celestia! For her to have to come to grips with the fact that her idol may not only be wrong, but like, that she’s actively been pursuing this bloody war of attempted genocide for a thousand years—” “Do you think Rarity will ever be able to forgive me?” Twilight asked, collapsing into the booth across from Rainbow. “That’s what you’re worried about?” Rainbow asked, her face twisting in confusion. “Of course!” Twilight said desperately. “All I wanted when I came here to Equestria was to fit in and make friends, and that finally happened and it was the best time in my entire life, and now everything’s falling apart and I just don’t know what to do.” “You’re a lot less afraid of ponies than Fluttershy, huh?” Rainbow said, feeling the weight of this conversation crush her heart in her chest. “I made a choice a long time ago,” Twilight said, and her tone became hardened like steel, “that I wouldn’t live in fear. I’m still afraid of the Slayers, you know that, but I refuse to be afraid of common ponies. “So no,” Twilight shook her head, “I’m not afraid of you, or of Rarity. What I’m afraid of is being alone again.” “I dunno what to tell ya about Rarity,” Rainbow folded her arms across the table. “But I’ll tell ya this; Rarity’s a smart girl, and she’s really dedicated to doing the right thing. I think she’ll come around.” “Does that mean that you—” “Like I told Fluttershy,” Rainbow muttered, tapping a finger against the table, “you’re my friend. Sorry I haven’t been acting like it.”