Chapter 4: You May Be Right
The next morning, Rainbow Dash woke up at her home in Cloudsdale. She dragged herself to the window of her room to find that Celestia's sun was high in the sky, meaning it was the afternoon. Scratching her head and unkempt mane with one of her hooves, she trotted to the restroom so she could have a quick shower. Her face was one that lacked apparent emotion. Inside of her head, Dash was still asking herself the question she could not answer the night before. Did she really have a crush on Spike?
She thought about it more as she showered, 'What is with me? I mean, this is Spike, we are talking about. The egghead's little assistant. Sure he's cute in his own weird way, but he's not really that great….is he?' Rainbow was unable to answer her own question. With a frustrated grunt, she turned the water off and stepped out to dry herself off, 'I need something sweet to calm me down'
Leaving Cloudsdale, Rainbow flew down to the familiar town of Ponyville. Her destination came in to view, the town's bakery, Sugarcube Corner. Landing carefully, she entered the door and was welcomed by a familiar voice.
"Hiya, Rainbow Dash!" an excited pink pony greeted the blue pegasus.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie. Can I get two chocolate cupcakes?" Dash asked as she made her way up to the counter. She was doing her best to hide that she wasn't feeling her best.
"Of course! That will be four bits, please!" Pinkie spoke cheerfully as she got her friend's order.
Dash placed the money on the counter and took her sweets to an empty table. Just before the pegasus could take a bite, the front door opened and another one of Dash's friends entered, it was Twilight Sparkle.
"Hiya, Twilight! Would you like the usual to go?" Pinkie asked with warm smile.
"Actually, I would like it for here, if you don't mind," the purple unicorn said.
"Okey Dokey!" the pink pony replied as she hopped to a different part of the kitchen.
Twilight then turned to see Rainbow Dash. Trotting up to her table, Twilight spoke, "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash! How have you been?"
Dash placed the cupcake she was about to eat down, "Been doing alright. How was Canterlot?" She wanted to get the topic off herself.
"Oh, just royal business as usual. Nothing too fancy. Anyway, Spike told me you stopped by quite a bit while I was gone," Twilight commented.
Dash rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, "Oh, he did? Heh, I guess I was over there quite a bit the last few days…."
"And he got you to read Donkey Quixote. I must say I'm impressed you gave such a book a chance," the unicorn took a seat across from the pegasus.
Dash gave a small laugh, "It was pretty interesting. I liked it a lot."
Twilight smiled, "That's great to hear, I love it when friends enjoy reading new and interesting things. You know, not judging a book by its cover."
Rainbow fell silent for a moment. As she was quiet, Pinkie Pie appeared from the kitchen with a cup of tea and a blueberry scone.
"Thank you very much, Pinkie Pie," Twilight spoke.
"Not a problem!" Pinkie replied as she bounced back to the kitchen.
Breaking her silence, Rainbow Dash began to speak, "Hey Twilight, can I ask you for some advice? It's for a friend."
"Of course, what can I help you with?"
"Well, I have a pegasus friend up in Cloudsdale….and she's crushing badly on this….dragon."
Twilight looked puzzled, "Dragon?"
"Yeah, there are a few up in Cloudsdale," Rainbow lied.
"Okay. What seems to be the problem?"
"My friend is a bit older than the dragon and I- I mean, she doesn't know what to do about her feelings. She has known the dragon for quite a long time, and while they haven't exactly started hanging out together until recently, she kinda wants to let him know how she feels. Get it off her chest, ya know? It wasn't until recently that she saw him in a whole new light and she likes what she sees," Rainbow was trying her best to not trip over her words.
Twilight, with a hoof under her chin, continued to process the information she was given, "Anything else?"
Dash added one last statement, "Yeah, and I'm at a loss of what to do….for them, what to do for them. Since I want to help her and all!" She panicked as she added a little to her words.
After a bit of silence, Twilight finally spoke, "For your friend, I recommend that she be forward with how she feels. She should let this special dragon know how much he means to her, even it was just recently that she sees him differently."
"What about rejection?" Rainbow was concerned.
"Friendship, from what I've studied, is something that one cannot let issues stand in the way of. It might not be easy for somepony if another pony doesn't share the feelings they do, but honesty is something that all friendships must have," when Twilight finished, she took a sip of her tea.
"So, they should try to still be good friends, no matter what?" Dash asked softly.
"No matter what," Twilight nodded.
A small smile appeared on Dash's face, "Thanks, Twilight. I'll let my friend know she should do that."
"And I wish you luck," the unicorn smiled back with a wink.
"You knew?" Rainbow Dash was taken back by the fact Twilight figured it out.
The unicorn giggled, "I wasn't born yesterday, Rainbow Dash."
"But….it's Spike!" Rainbow Dash spoke in a hushed tone.
"I know, and I'm fine with it. I trust you and I know you're a great pony as well as a great friend."
Dash smiled, "Really?"
"Though you can be crazy sometimes," Twilight added.
Rainbow Dash gave a heavy sigh, partly because she knew her friend, "You may be right, Twilight, I might just be crazy."
"Love causes such, Rainbow Dash. I'm sure you've read enough books to figure that out," the purple mare spoke with a laugh.
Rainbow gave a small laugh, "That I have. And again, thanks."
"Of course, what are friends for?"