The two mares boarded the train headed for Ponyville, a barrier of silence between them that caused both of them to ache. Their steps were stiff, a slow canter down the cars to a private room. Rainbow took a seat at the window and, after the briefest hesitation, Twilight sat down next to her, a chasm between them in every way except physically. The train embarked and they sat in silence as the snow-caked landscape drifted by outside. Ten minutes of silent contemplation passed before the cyan mare absent-mindedly slung a hoof around her marefriend’s shoulders and pulled her close. A barely audible gasp passed Twilight’s lips as she leaned against Rainbow, her head resting on a sky blue shoulder. The pegasus’ mind raced as she tried to think of something to say, a way to begin the conversation she was reluctant to have, when she realized the unicorn was trembling against her.
“…Twi’?” Twilight’s forehooves wrapped around her and grasped with a crushing tightness. Her whole body quaked as she sobbed into Rainbow’s shoulder. Her magenta eyes widened in shock. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” The unicorn sobbed silently and desperately into her. She ran a hoof through the despondent mare’s mane and rubbed her back in slow circles. She was crushed to see Twilight like this. Laying a series of light kisses on top of her violet mane, she whispered, “It’s okay, Twi’. Please don’t cry. I hate to see you cry.”
In shuddering hitches and gasps, Twilight slowly regained her composure. Her desperate grip never lessened. A quaking whisper barely escaped Rainbow’s shoulder to make its way to her ears. “Something happened.” The unicorn shuddered. “Something happened on Monday, and you’re gonna hate me…”
Rainbow’s heart was breaking to see her mare so crushed. She hugged her close. “I’ll never hate you, Twilight Sparkle,” she hissed, her voice filled with conviction. “Tell me what happened, Twi’. It’ll be okay, I promise.”
Twilight sniffled loudly. Her death-grip lessened to merely painful. “S-Scribe invited me to dinner...” Her voice hitched and faulted as she spoke. “I thought it was just to talk about work, but it was a date!” Rainbow was silent, impassive while her mare talked. “He kissed me, Rainbow!”
The pegasus’ eyes hardened and her jaw clenched, her comforting strokes stopping. “That jerk,” she muttered. Twilight stiffened in her arms. She returned to rubbing the mare’s back. “What happened after that?”
The unicorn sniffed again, some strength returning to her voice. “W-well, I realized I hadn’t told him we were a couple. I told him I was seeing you and that I was sorry for not telling him. I-it was a little awkward on Tuesday researching, but it seems okay now…” Twilight reluctantly withdrew from the comforting embrace, rubbing her face with a hoof. She looked ruefully at the wet and messy splotch on Rainbow’s shoulder. “S-so, you’re not mad at me?” She looked into her marefriend’s eyes, her ears down and back with guilt.
A sky blue hoof rested gently on her cheek. “Why would I be mad at you, Twi’? I was a little mad at him, until you said he didn’t know about us.” Twilight flinched.
“Oh, why didn’t I tell him?” She looked away to the floor, her head lowered in defeat. “I should have told him!” She glanced back at the pegasus. “Why aren’t you angry at me for not telling him?”
Rainbow snorted. “Twilight, when I asked you what his deal was, you started reading me his resume. You’re good at keepin’ things professional.” Twilight blinked. She took a shuddering breath and threw her forehooves around the cyan mare.
“Oh, Rainbow!” Tears came to her eyes again, tears of relief. “I’m so stupid. I don’t know how I could have-“ she sniffed and locked her lips with those of her mare, “How I could think you’d be different.” She kissed again, her breath hot and full of yearning. “You’re the best, Rainbow. I don’t know why I forget that.” Rainbow smiled. Her face felt hot and her eyes over bright.
“W-while we’re on the subject of stuff that happened to us…” Rainbow nervously ran a hoof through her mane, looking away. “I ran into Cloudy Moon in Cloudsdale…”
“Rainbow, it is you! I haven’t seen you in ages!” The peach mare brightened with pleasure. She had a winning smile. The sky blue mare was too shocked to return it.
“Cloudy! Gosh…” Rainbow shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I haven’t seen you since flight school!” A furtive smile graced her face. Cloudy beamed, totaling the mare’s purchases.
“We should catch up, Dash-Flash.” Heat rose to Rainbow’s cheeks, hearing her old nickname again. “You live in Cloudsdale?”
Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Nah, I live in Ponyville now, but that’s a quick flight.” She smirked. “I am still the fastest, ya know.”
The peach mare giggled as she rung up the last item. “Well, we should get together over dinner! I’m off my shift in an hour, if you’re free.”
Rainbow felt a sweat coming on. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, okay. Izzat awesome diner in the weather district still open?” Cloudy nodded. Rainbow cleared her throat again. “Okay, I’ve gotta take this stuff home, I’ll meet you there in an hour and a half, kay?” Rainbow paid her bits owed and hooked her heavy bags onto either side of her flank with a saddle harness. She left quickly, taking to the air immediately outside of the store. She soared through the air and let some of the nervous energy be blown away. She sighed in frustration.
“Had to run into Cloudy Moon, didn’t I?” She muttered crossly to herself. “I don’t wanna see Cloudy; she’s why I’m so messed up!” She loped from side to side in the air, her brow knit and her jaw flexed. “Why’d I go along with dinner plans?” The wind felt good on her face, and the frustration and anger flowed away with it. Halfway through her flight back to her cloud home, she was calm and could think straight. She started a conversation with herself, something Twilight had recommended to help her puzzle out her feelings. ’Okay, Rainbow Dash. Think about this. You aren’t really angry at Cloudy Moon, are you?’
She shook her head reluctantly. ’No, I’m not angry at her.’
Rainbow knew it was true. She wanted to be angry with Cloudy Moon, to blame her for all of the trouble she’d had in the past with relationships and arrogance. But it wasn’t Cloudy’s fault. The pegasus knew the blame laid entirely on her own shoulders. She sighed, and accepted the fact that she held no ill will towards the stranger she once knew so well. ’This is a good thing, Rainbow. You can clear the air and make some peace with your past.’
She barrel-rolled lazily through the air, dragging out the flight. She stuck out a lip in a pout. ’But I don’t want to.’
’Do it for Twilight.’ Rainbow’s face set in determination. That was all the reason she needed. Beating her wings faster, she blazed off towards her house. When she got home, she checked the time. ‘Good,’ she thought with a smirk. ’I can get some of this setup before meeting Cloudy.’ She opened her shopping bags, her smirk widening into a grin.
“This is gonna be awesome!” She squealed, racing around her house to begin the work she needed to get done. Forty minutes later, the prep work was done and she took off back towards Cloudsdale. Her good mood stayed throughout the flight and she made short work of her return trip.
Landing near the rainbow factory, she made her way over to the diner. It had been there since long before she was born and by the looks of it, it would be there long after she was gone. She smiled at its plain, unpretentious, hoof-painted sign that simply read ‘Diner,’ rekindling the fond nostalgia from earlier in the day. She walked into the dining room, the sense that it could have been yesterday instead of a decade previously that she had been subjected to its cozy charm. She scanned the room and spotted a red mane.
“Hi Cloudy.” She sat opposite the mare and smiled. Cloudy Moon looked up from the menu and smiled back.
“There you are Rainbow. Glad you could make it.” She glanced around the diner with a grin. “I remember coming to this place as a filly with you and your dad…” Rainbow grinned, remembering the same trips. “I haven’t been here in a long time.” There was a long pause where both mares took stock in each other. They were strangers now, attempting to rekindle something that had long since gone dormant. A server came up and they both ordered their meals. The silence dissolved into conversation, at first light and small, but eventually they began to share stories of the past ten years. As the meal went on they both grew more relaxed, falling back into roles they had long since forgotten about. Cloudy gasped and giggled at Rainbow’s stories just like she did when they were fillies, and Rainbow growled and chuckled the same way Cloudy half-remembered she did.
“So Rainbow…” The cyan mare looked up from her sundae, whipped cream and chocolate sauce smeared on her face. Cloudy stifled a giggle. “How’s your life right now? Any special someponies?” She had a look of polite interest on her face, but even after all the years separated Rainbow could see past it. There was nervousness there. This was what Cloudy had wanted to talk about to begin with but had just steeled her courage enough to do it. Rainbow swallowed messily.
“Actually, yeah.” She studied the peach mare carefully. Her nervousness seemed to recede and was replaced by relief. Rainbow hid her puzzled frown; this was not the time to be pushing things. “I’ve got a marefriend. Her name’s Twilight…” She looked away lost in thought, a small smile on her lips. “We’re pretty serious.” She regained her focus when Cloudy let out a small sigh of relief.
“That’s great! I’m so happy for you, Rainbow.” The sky blue pegasus frowned in thought, watching her old friend carefully.
“What aren’t you tellin’ me, Cloudy?” The peach mare jumped in her seat and looked at Rainbow, ears drooping and a grimacing smile of guilt on her face.
“Can’t put a thing past you, can I Dash-Flash?” She sighed and straightened up. “I was, uh…Kinda worried you agreed to come because you still had feelings for me.” Rainbow’s jaw clenched and she could feel her pulse thumping in her ears. She took steadying breaths to not explode at the mare. Cloudy’s face went a little pale. “B-but you don’t! That’s all ancient history! We can just be friends again!”
She withered under Rainbow’s glare. There was no passion in the anger; there was only disappointment and resentment. “…Really, Cloudy?” The mare gulped. She was more confused than anything, but she was not used to being treated with such disdain. “That’s what you think of me? Is that why you stopped talking to me in Flight School? Thought that I’d just be some sorta lovesick filly forever?” She snorted and shook her head.
Cloudy stared. She was at a complete loss concerning what to do, what to say. Her jaw hung open as she attempted to respond. The cyan mare continued before she could puzzle anything out.
“Do you know how much it messed me up when you stopped talkin’ to me? I couldn’t hold a marefriend to save my flank for years, worried I’d drive everypony away from me…” As she spoke, the anger drained away, replaced by sadness. “I got cocky and bragged to keep ponies from getting too close, too. All ‘cuz I didn’t wanna lose any friends…”
Silence hung between them. The peach mare didn’t think she’d ever felt quite as awkward, including the painful memory she harbored of turning down her blue filly friend. Rainbow was looking out the window. Slowly the morose look broke, a genuine smile gracing her lips. “But none of that matters anymore, I guess.” She looked Cloudy in the eye. “I have Twilight now. I’ve gotten over it.” Hearing the words escape her lips, she knew it was true. “I’m not perfect. I still act like a jerk sometimes. But I’m happy.” She looked down at the remnants of her ice cream, feeling light and free. “I’m happier’n I’ve ever been in my life.”
Rainbow looked back up from her dish. The look of guilt on Cloudy’s face struck the cyan mare harshly. She opened her mouth to apologize when the peach mare started talking. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, Rainbow.” She looked her old friend in the eye. Rainbow could feel the regret pouring off of the mare’s body. “I never meant to hurt you. I was just so scared. I missed you so much through all the rest of Flight School. I was so angry at myself; you were the only real friend I had there. And I gave that up because I was scared.” Cloudy’s eyes were swimming. The cyan pegasus looked down at the table. “I hope you can forgive me, Rainbow.”
The sky blue mare’s eyes softened. “I forgave you a long time ago, Cloudy-girl.” The old nickname flowed from her lips with ease, despite Rainbow not remembering until it came out of her mouth,. The mare sniffled and gave her old friend a smile. “I don’t have a reason to be angry anymore.” She looked at her hooves. The feeling of freedom that had been quelled by seeing the peach mare so upset had returned. The cyan pegasus felt lighter than air and warmer than a summer day. “I’ve got everything in Equestria that I need.”
Cloudy had recomposed herself. She chuckled lightly. “Didn’t know you’d made the Wonderbolts, Dash-Flash.”
Rainbow grinned. “I said everything I need, not everything I want.” The two laughed away the remaining gloom. They left the diner, promising to meet again. Rainbow insisted that her newly rekindled friend meet Twilight and the rest of her circle, and Cloudy promised to write and come out to Ponyville when she could. The two parted after a warm hug that seemed to stitch together a decade of lost time. Not completely, but enough that both mares felt a gaping wound they were only half-aware of begin to close.
Rainbow flew through the moonlight back towards her home over Ponyville. She had a smirk tugging at her mouth; there was still a long night of satisfying work ahead of her.
Twilight listened to her marefriend’s story, resting her head on Rainbow’s still soggy shoulder. She remained silent for a few minutes after Rainbow had finished. She took a cyan hoof in her own, whispering softly, “Did you really mean it?”
“Hmn?” The pegasus had drifted off in thought. Twilight’s voice did not rise above its whisper.
“Are you really that happy?” Twilight’s eyes were watering again. She lifted her head to look her marefriend in the eyes. The rose-colored pools held all the answer she needed, but Rainbow spoke up anyway.
“Yeah, Twi,’ I meant it. I’ve never been so happy.” Twilight sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of a hoof. She grasped her lover’s neck and pulled her close, forehead to forehead. Rainbow returned her watery smile.
“…I’m happy, too, Rainbow,” she whispered. “I was so afraid after what happened with Scribe, but I realized something, and it kept me from falling apart.” She sat up straight, bringing her eyes level with her marefriend’s. She took in a deep breath before continuing, her courage at its peak. “I was worried what would happen if I found a stallion I was attracted to, how I’d react. And when it happened, all I could think about was you. All I wanted was to be with you and see your face, hear your laugh, feel your hooves on my coat.” The moisture left her eyes, and her voice grew stronger with conviction as she spoke. “I don’t want anypony else, mare or stallion. Rainbow Dash, I-” she sucked in a breath and pulled her head back to regard all of her mare’s face, “I love you. With all my heart.”
Rainbow stared. Her eyes started to water and a smile struggled its way across her quivering lips. She sniffled roughly and pulled the lavender unicorn against her chest. It was her turn to quake against her lover. She buried her face in indigo hair. “I knew,” she whispered, “I knew it on Monday, too.” Her body heaved in halting spasms. “When I was talking to Cloudy. I figured it out at almost the same time you did.” She pulled back and Twilight could see the twin tracks of moisture running down her cyan chin. “I love you too, Twilight. I don’t need anything else in Equestria, ‘cuz I’m in love with you.”
The two mares sat in each other’s embrace for the rest of the train ride. They left hoof in hoof, a soft, strong wing wrapped around the lavender mare. Rainbow’s smile grew wider as they exited the train. “I’ve got a surprise for you, Twi’.”
The unicorn nuzzled her lover’s face. “I’ve got everything I need already.”
“You’ll like this, trust me.” They cantered through the snow-drifted downtown of Ponyville, rounding past Sugarcube Corner and bringing the library into view.
Rainbow’s cloud home was floating directly over the tree. Thick chains of hardened cloud tethered the second home to branches, keeping the whole structure stably in place regardless of the weather. A newly sculpted stairway of cloud spiraled down the side of the tree, ending at the ground off to the side of the library’s doorway; a second column of cloud containing a staircase went into the top of the tree. The rivers of rainbow that cascaded off the side of the cloud home’s yard fell into two freshly dug ponds, each glittering in the winter sun with swirls of colors. What could have been an ungainly addition looked planned from the start, a magical mansion.
“We’ve been talkin’ about moving in together, so I figured I’d get a head start.” Rainbow chuckled. “I reinforced the floors since it doesn’t need to fly anymore. You can walk on it without a spell. Probably need one to do anything but walk around, though.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open limply. “Rainbow…It’s beautiful!” She squealed and galloped ahead, testing her hoof on the stairs. “Oh, it still feels like cloud!” She pounded her way up the spiral staircase. The pegasus lazily drifted up to meet her, beaming. “Oh, and it’s connected inside, too?”
Rainbow landed next to her, unlocking the door while giving her marefriend a second key. “Yep, had to open up a new hole in the tree. It connects the lower floor of your room with the stairway in my, er, our living room.” Twilight rushed past and down the new stairs, not even noticing the thorough cleaning Rainbow had undertaken in her cloud home. Rainbow followed behind, a bounce in each step. “This must have cost a fortune!” The unicorn marveled at the new stairway seamlessly molded into a formerly blank stretch of wall from her room.
Rainbow chuckled, following Twilight back up the stairs as she took off again. “Nah, I did all the work myself. I built my house without any help when I first moved here, ya know.” The lavender mare rushed around the newly remodeled home, delighted at Rainbow’s workmanship. As the day waned and Hearth’s Warming Eve really started, their four friends arrived and toured the revamped house with excitement. No one there came close to matching Twilight’s joy.
Twilight awoke, wrapped in spongy cloud and her lover’s limbs. She smiled and snuggled close. Her mind replayed the weekend. If there was any question whether she really was the happiest she’d ever been, those doubts had been laid to rest. Being back in Ponyville with her friends and Rainbow had been a whirlwind of activity that left her breathless. She kissed her mare awake with fluttering pecks to her eyes, muzzle, and cheeks. Rainbow moaned and her eyes slid open slowly.
“Mmm, morning, Twi’.” She yawned widely and stretched, using the motion as an excuse to pull the unicorn closer. “Your wake-ups are the most awesome thing ever, you know that?” Twilight giggled. The pegasus casually rolled on top of her marefriend, making her squeak. “We’ve got all morning before your train leaves, whaddya wanna do?” She nibbled a lavender ear, eliciting a gasp.
“Mmm, how come we never did this on clouds before this weekend?” Twilight’s hooves snaked around her lover, finding the base of each wing. Rainbow growled in her ear.
After finding a variety of ways to pass the morning, the two set off for the train station. Twilight’s spirits were high, even if she was being whisked away from her lover once again. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in Canterlot,” the mare mentioned, “We had a breakthrough on Wednesday. If the tests go well, I might be back in a month.”
Rainbow’s hoofbeats carried a bounce that had been there all weekend. “I’m not worried. We’ve got all the time in the world.” Twilight grinned at her marefriend.
“Well, however long it takes, no more big romantic gifts. One more surprise like that and I might just have a heart attack.”
“No promises, Sparkle.” The unicorn laughed as they arrived at the train. Rainbow had work that couldn’t wait for her to escort Twilight to Canterlot and fly back, so they made their goodbyes there. “See ya in a week, Twi’. I love you.”
“I love you too, Rainbow.” After a final embrace and fiery kiss, Twilight boarded the train. Rainbow waved a hoof as it disappeared along the track. Twilight sat in the train compartment and rifled through her bags. She floated the small box out of one and opened it in mid-air. The golden locket, shaped like a lightning bolt, opened to reveal its contents; a picture of the two of them from one of their first dates eating cotton candy at a Sweet Apple Acres summer fair. ’Best Hearth’s Warming Eve ever,’ she thought as she floated the locket around her neck.
Rainbow Dash trotted back to the library, a bounce still in her step and a shining, star-shaped locket swinging merrily from her neck.
Author’s Note: Y’all have diabetes now. I’m not sorry.
Ech: “After finding a variety of ways to pass the morning” bats' version of clop....I fapped.
Doctors Note: He told me this would be D’awwww inducing stuff of the highest caliber, I am disappoint.