Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade


155. Cold Hooves

If there was a can lying on the floor of the Bitsburgh inn, Rainbow Dash would’ve kicked it.

She was bored. Her girlfriend Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, were hitting the town, Rarity and Fluttershy were off on an adventure, and Rainbow was left wandering the inn all by herself.

Twilight was still around, but that was…

How many times had Rainbow apologized to Twilight for being a bad friend? And how many times had she still gone out of her way to avoid being alone with Twilight?

Rainbow was all good vibes and positivity when she talked about Twilight, when she talked about how she trusted Twilight and believed in her and wanted to be friends with her still, and all that stuff was genuinely true!

But the second she was alone with Twilight, she lost her nerve.

Just like in Baltimare.

Just like any time that dragons were on the table.

Old habits died hard, Rainbow supposed, but that excuse sure sucked ass and it definitely wasn’t good enough to keep giving her friend the brush-off.

So. Rainbow figured she had to find Twilight. Now was as good a time as any to face her bullcrap fear— no, if Rainbow were being honest, it was now or never! When was the next time she could count on being alone with Twilight?

Rainbow’s lazy trot became a stomping canter as she made her way through the inn, headed for Twilight’s room.

Turns out, she didn’t need to even go that far. There was a little playroom off the side of the lobby, and Rainbow just so happened to look that way as she was walking past, and there was Twilight sitting on her knees with her son sitting in front of her.

The lobby wasn’t terribly busy, but the playroom was completely empty except for Twilight, so Rainbow didn’t figure she’d be bugging anyone by just poking her head in to see what Twilight was up to.

“Now breathe in,” Twilight said calmly, and she took a deep breath. Spike followed her example, and his wings unfurled and twitched a couple times. “Do you feel the Sky Aura flowing through your wings?”

“Mostly I just feel Rainbow Dash staring at me,” Spike said bemusedly, startling Rainbow and causing her ears to flick up.

She wasn’t nearly as startled as Twilight though, who opened her eyes and yelped when she saw Rainbow, darting to her hooves.

“Rainbow!” Twilight scolded, her face turning bright red. “Don’t sneak up on a girl like that!”

“Sorry,” Rainbow said awkwardly, lowering her head and rubbing the back of her neck. “M-my bad.”

“Eh, don’t even worry about it,” Spike sighed and batted his hand before falling onto his back. “I felt like my brain was gonna explode anyway.”

“Wanna take five, bug?” Twilight said slyly. “You can grab an ice cream popsicle from the fridge in our room if you want.”

“Can I take twenty instead?” Spike asked drolly, though he soon perked up and pointed at his mom. “But I still wanna take you up on that popsicle.”

“Sure thing, Spike,” Twilight giggled, and Rainbow found herself laughing under her breath too; she’d forgotten how cute Twilight could be, especially with her son. “And hey, if you wanna take a look around town—”

“DO I?!” Spike bolted to his hooves and pumped his fists.

“Go ahead then,” Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Make sure you have your beacon though!” Twilight yelled, cuz Spike was already way out of the playroom, little dude practically leaving a dust cloud in the shape of his body with the speed he bolted.

“I will!” Spike shouted back distantly.

Twilight sighed and put her hands on her hips, shaking her head gently.

“Kids, right?” Twilight said to Rainbow. “Always so eager to get into trouble, never wanna stay still and study.”

“C’mon, weren’t you like that as a kid?” Rainbow chuckled.

“Nope!” Twilight said proudly, puffing up her chest and smirking smugly. “I was a model student growing up!”

“So a narc,” Rainbow teased.

“Heh heh,” Twilight laughed sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at Rainbow. She took a breath and became somber though as she looked toward the door Spike had run out of. “I’m glad though. He’s got a lot of energy, and he doesn’t worry about much. I’m really happy I didn’t pass that onto him.”

“He’s a good kid,” Rainbow said.

“He’s the best,” Twilight nodded. Twilight took another deep breath, then let it out with an excited “Whoo!” before turning her full attention to Rainbow Dash, who felt a shiver roll up her spine when Twilight’s glittering eyes locked with hers. “So, Rainbow! What can I do for you?”

“Uh, what do you mean?” Rainbow asked awkwardly.

“Oh,” Twilight puffed up her cheeks. “I just, y’know, I figured— I guess I assumed you were looking for me for some reason. Don’t worry about it, I’ll—”

“What were you teaching Spike just now?” Rainbow interrupted, partly to stop Twi from going into one of her spirals, but also cuz she was genuinely curious.

“Magic,” Twilight said casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world, but Rainbow’s eyes practically popped out of her head.

“You can just do that?” she asked incredulously. “I thought only dragons could use magic like yours!”

“No, ponies can do magic just like mine too,” Twilight said, again speaking like it was some total normal shit she was saying and not an amazing, life-altering piece of information, which it was for Rainbow. “Ponies have just forgotten. Dragons had mostly forgotten too, but now the few old dragons who still remember are beginning to share their craft with the younger generations. That’s how I learned.”

“Wow, I thought you were just born with it,” Rainbow said, blinking several times and trying to make sure she wasn’t dreaming this conversation.

Cuz if she were being honest, it wasn’t the first time she’d had it. It wasn’t the first time someone had spoken with her about the ancient magics, but Rainbow spent a lot of time wishing that first conversation had never happened.

To hear someone else say it though, to hear those old rumors confirmed by someone unbiased… Rainbow didn’t know where to even start grappling with that.

“Nope,” Twilight shrugged. “I mean, every living creature is born with magic. But learning to tap into and harness that magic takes time, and often it takes a teacher as well.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow gave a single dry laugh, “no kidding.”

“I could teach you if you’d like,” Twilight said with a smile that pierced right through Rainbow’s heart, which swelled in her chest like it was about to burst.

And not necessarily in a good way.

Was Rainbow sweating now? Yeah, looked like it. Room was spinning too. Geez, this sucked; this was gonna be so embarrassing when she had to explain it to Twilight… who was now…

…looking down on her? She looked worried.

Oh crap, Rainbow thought as she bolted upright, realizing she’d fallen on the ground and maybe even lost consciousness for a sec. Granted, bumping right into Twilight’s head when she got up didn’t help matters any.

“Owwww,” Rainbow groaned and rubbed her temples.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked frantically, also holding her head.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow tried to laugh but it only came out as a wheeze. “Was I out?”

“I thought so,” Twilight said, “but everything happened so fast so I don’t really know.”

“Oh okay,” Rainbow sighed in relief and put her hands on the ground, looking up at the ceiling for a sec. “Didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Twilight sidled up next to Rainbow and curled into a ball, arms laid over her knees and chin resting on top of ‘em. “What happened though? Why did you suddenly—”

“I had a magic teacher one time,” Rainbow said bluntly, and she wasn’t sure who between the two girls was more surprised by her blurting that out— though judging from Twilight’s gasp, it might’ve been her.

“Queen Celestia?” Twilight asked, and it was a good guess; Rainbow was friends with Celestia’s star pupil, and it was only the Queen and the Princess who could do magic easily enough to teach it, as far as anypony knew.

“Close.”

Twilight’s guess was good, but it wasn’t right.

“Princess Luna,” Twilight said coldly, and Rainbow grit her teeth at the mention of that name.

Rainbow thought she was over it. She thought she was clear of her bad blood with her former mentor. She even saw Luna— face to face!— super recently and she didn’t freak out!

But like a bad case of acne, it just came right back to her when she least expected it; all the failure and disappointment and shouting matches. All the high hopes and expectations that were shattered against the ground like a glass dinner plate slammed onto a concrete floor.

Rainbow remembered that time at the Moon District train station, when Rarity came flying on Luna’s back to the station all dramatically. Rainbow wanted to say something to Luna, to acknowledge her and to let her know that she doesn’t hold any bad feelings toward her—

—but honestly Rainbow wasn’t even sure if that was true, and even if it was it didn’t matter; Rainbow felt a violent knot seize her stomach and it gave her cold hooves.

She chickened out. Just like always.

Not this time.

Not ever again.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Rainbow turned her intense gaze directly at Twilight and bore a sneering grin, “will you teach me how to do magic?”