Guardian Angel

by The Mysterious N


A New Day

Guardian Angel

Chapter 8: A New Day

Pinkie Pie bounced along Ponyville in a bright mood. Her Pinkie sense had gone crazy the past few days! While unsure about the meaning of the signals, she did know it was good news. Having heard little from Twilight in recent days, she'd set out to check on her lavender friend. Twilight had been acting rather strange lately. Pinkie originally dismissed it as just being tired from her trip, but something was off. Something that required further investigation.

Thus Pinkie continued on her way, the Golden Oaks library her destination. Arriving at the door she immediately noticed something. Twilight, the silly filly she was, had forgotten to flip the sign to say "Open". It was a normal day after all, the library was still accessible on Saturdays. Fixing it, Pinkie then opened the door and stepped into the library itself.

Immediately she noticed it was quiet, abnormally so. Looking around she observed no movement, the books were all in place, nothing seemed wrong. A grin formed on Pinkie's face, her eyesight catching on the two large marshmallow like cushions. She recognized Twilight's ear poking out beyond the edge of the cushion. Bounding over, Pinkie saw something that made her gasp, her jaw dropping open.

Twilight Sparkle was partly sprawled out on the cushion, curled around Rainbow Dash. Twilight's forehooves snaked around Rainbow's waist, her head resting near the base of the wings. A guitar lay beside the cushion, Rainbow's hoof still clutching the neck. Both of them were still sound asleep. Pinkie's gasp of surprise must have been louder than she thought for Twilight's eyes fluttered open, blinking rapidly to help bring the world into focus.

"Hi Pinkie, I'll be with you in a moment. Just let me get up,"murmured the groggy Twlilight. Ever the hard worker, barely awake and Twilight was already trying to help her. Pinkie had to suppress a giggle-typical Twilight.

It was then that Twilight noticed her position. What she thought was a comfy pillow was actually Rainbow Dash! Her eyes widened and a furious blush broke out across her face. It wasn't what it looked like! After singing long into the night it seemed the two just fell asleep right there on the cushions. That still couldn't explain the fact that Twilight was currently wrapped around Rainbow.

The commotion must have woken Rainbow Dash, because she reacted much the same as Twilight. Except instead of sitting there embarrassed, Rainbow took flight. Unfortunately for her Twilight was still holding on, so Rainbow ended up hovering a few feet off the ground. "Rainbow!" Twilight's shout forced her to realize what exactly was going on. She drifted down, over the recently vacated cushions. "You can let go now Twi," she said, shaking her midsection slightly to emphasize her point.

Twilight sheepishly let go, a blush once again evident on her face. While this was all happening, Pinkie had burst out into laughter. Both Twilight and Rainbow realized Pinkie was there and turned their attention to the party mare. "Wow didn't expect to see that this morning, especially from you Dashie." exclaimed Pinkie "Then again my Pinkie sense has been a bit crazy lately."

The pink mare continued to ramble on, mentioning something about treats. Twilight cleared her throat "I'll go make some breakfast, then we can sort out what just happened." With haste Twilight disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Rainbow and Pinkie sitting by the cushions. Pinkie's keen eyesight picked up the guitar from earlier, and she couldn't help but to ask. "Sooo, is that your guitar Dashie? Can you play any songs?!" Pinkie shook slightly, her Pinkie sense possibly acting up again. Or it could have just been her usual Pinkie Pie self.

"Yeah. It's mine," Rainbow replied, looking nervous. Her secret was out, no sense in lying about it. "And yes, I can play a few songs." Rainbow Dash had no problem admitting that. She did know quite a large number of songs, having been learning and playing since she was just a filly.

Pinkie Pie had calmed down now, sitting expectantly. Seeing no way out, Rainbow moved over to the guitar and picked it up. She sat down on the cushion, making sure the instrument was still in tune. After making a small adjustment with a slight twist of a tuning peg, Rainbow began to play. She needed some time to think over what had happened that morning.

It was a simple melody, nothing really special. Not even noticing Twilight joining Pinkie along with breakfast, Rainbow continued to play, lost in her thoughts and the music. The scent of food reached her nostrils, triggering a growl from her stomach. Now distracted she finished her song quickly, setting the guitar aside. Rainbow began to wolf down her meal, in typical speedy fashion. Pinkie clapped her hooves together, delight clear on her face. "That was super-duper awesome Dashie. I didn't know you could play guitar. How do you press down on the strings individually? Is it magic?!"

Twilight spoke up for Rainbow, who was busy gulping down a glass of orange juice. "The strings are magically bound with cloud particles, allowing Rainbow Dash to influence them with her natural pegasus magic." Rainbow simply nodded, confirming what Twilight said, still focused on her meal. Anything to distract the pink mare now. Pinkie asked the next questions, blurting them out in rapid fashion. "How long have you been playing Dashie? And how come you never showed this to any of us? This would have been great for some parties, you could have totally---mmmph."

Pinkie's spiel was cut off off by Twilight's hoof, the purple appendage resting over Pinkie's mouth. Rainbow responded glumly, "I didn't share this with you girls because I didn't want to look weak. The awesome Rainbow Dash liking to play guitar. An acoustic one at that. Do you have any idea what that would have done to my reputation! I'd lose all of my cool, any respect ponies had for me would be gone." Rainbow Dash's voice increased in pitch, tears threatening to burst free.

Pinkie processed Rainbow's outburst. Yes, Rainbow Dash had made a good point, but it still seemed like a weak argument. "I don't think you're uncool Rainbow." Twilight's voice reassured Rainbow slightly, she could count on Twilight at least. Pinkie gently nudged Twilight's hoof away, before responding more calmly. "Dashie you silly filly, nopony thinks you're weak or uncool. So what if you like the acoustic guitar. It's still a guitar, and playing one is a challenge. Many ponies have tried to play it, me included. To have reached the skill you displayed requires hard work and dedication. Nopony will judge you for that."

Rainbow perked up, Pinkies words ringing with truth. Her eyes scanned the pink mare's cerulean ones, looking for any signs of dishonesty. Seeing none Rainbow visibly relaxed. "Thanks Pinkie, that really means a lot." While she knew Pinkie had accepted her, some ponies might not. "So what now. Are you going to tell everypony?"

Quickly responding Pinkie reassured her distraught friend, "No, I can see you're uncomfortable with ponies knowing this. I still think you should share your talent though." Twilight who had sat quiet off to the side, chose to speak up. " I agree with Pinkie, Rainbow. This is a really wonderful gift you have. Nopony will judge you for it." Rainbow knew her friends were right. She knew they only told the truth. 'So what if somepony judges me for it! Why should I care?'

Rainbow pulled her friends into a hug, albeit a brief one. "I actually have something to tell you both, this isn't my only guitar." This came as a slight shock to Twilight. "I also own an electric model, it's pretty awesome." All three mares had silly smiles on their faces, each for a different reason.

"Oooh! I've got it!" Pinkie exclaimed, breaking everypony out of their thoughts. "Nightmare Night! You can play on Nightmare Night. It's perfect."

"Pardon my skepticism," Twilight broke in, "but I don't see how playing on Nightmare Night would be any different from any other night." Rainbow's thoughts trailed along a similar line, Pinkie's ideas usually had a large chance of backfiring. "How exactly is playing on Nightmare Night going to help? They'll still see it's me."

"They can't tell if you're wearing a costume." This shocked everypony. Pinkie was right. Rainbow and Twilight came to the same conclusion. It was almost perfect.

"But where would I play?" Pinkie had anticipated this and already had a response and a plan formed inside her head. "I could set up a show, a tribute concert to Princess Luna. You get to rock out on stage and it'll allow you to judge the crowd's reaction. See how everypony reacts to you. Then reveal yourself if you choose to."

Rainbow was smiling now. It was a solid idea. A piece of paper floated over, ink and quill following. Twilight immediately dipped the quill into the ink and turned to her companions. "If were going to do this we need to get organized." Groans sounded from both Rainbow and Pinkie.

"Before we start, I only have one condition. Twilight has to sing." Turning to the purple mare, Rainbow gave her a confident smile. Twilight returned it, albeit awkwardly.

"Done. Now let's get to it." While nervous about singing in front of a crowd, Twilight knew she had to do this, for Rainbow's sake. Focusing their attention on the parchment, the three began to plan...