Twilight ran, her hair flowing behind her as she strained to keep Rainbow in sight. Her hooves pounded the dirt below her as she darted through the streets of Ponyville. She never looked away from the sky, her eyes locked on the remnants of a beautiful rainbow in the sky. She ran, shoving past stallions and mares alike. Thunder rang out overhead as a storm slowly rolled into town.
She heard ponies yelling to her, but all she could hear was Rainbow's voice repeating itself in her ears.
“I cried a lot that week and all because you were being selfish!” She had screamed before rocketing into the sky without another glance at the unicorn.
Twilight was broken out of her thoughts as she stumbled, yelping as she fell into a large puddle. She stood, wincing as her leg screamed in protest. She arched her head skyward, searching in vain for Dash. Her fur dripped with muddy water as the day's events crashed around her.
She fell to her haunches as sobs wracked her frame, her shoulders drooping as she wept. Tears streamed down her face, mixing into her muddy fur as she stared despondently at the puddle before her. The world around her seemed to fade away as she stared into its murky depths.
She gasped as somepony stepped up behind her, a smile on their face. She bit back sobs as a hoof came to rest on her mane, slowly stroking her back as she leaned into the comforting embrace. She turned, her eyes closed tightly, as she was pulled into a reassuring hug.
“Please don't leave me Dash, I'm so sorry! Forgive me, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I love you more than you know...” She wrapped her hooves around her, tears spilling down her cheeks as she trailed off into inaudible sobs.
“Come on Twi. Let's get you inside and out of this rain.” The mare said, patting Twilight on her back as she broke the embrace.
Twilight froze, her eyes opening in surprise as her voice ran through Twilight's mind. Even in her despair, she would know Rainbow's voice anywhere and this was not her’s. She looked up, tears springing to her eyes as she looked into the gentle smile of Fluttershy. Her ears fell as she looked around, almost hoping to see Rainbow's smiling face. Fluttershy nodded knowingly, a hoof held out to the purple pony.
Twilight stared at her for a moment and slowly grabbed her hoof, gasping as pain shot through her leg as she stood. Fluttershy braced her against her side, her wing covering the unicorn as they began the walk to Fluttershy’s cottage.
They walked in silence, the sounds of their trotting broken only by Twilight sniffling occasionally. They came to the small wooden bridge, their hooves thumping dully against the wood as they crossed over the small creek in front of Fluttershy's home. Twilight stared at the ground, lost in thought as Fluttershy pushed the door open with a hoof, pulling the wet unicorn inside behind her.
Twilight sat down on the floor as Fluttershy trotted into a side room, returning a moment later with a large towel clenched between her teeth. She reared back onto her back legs, gently rubbing the towel through Twilight's fur. Twilight hardly noticed; she was studying the cottage so intently. It was in this very place that she had found out that Rainbow loved her... and more importantly that she loved Rainbow.
Fluttershy nudged her, smiling as the unicorn looked at her confusedly. She guided Twilight to her couch, a frown spreading across her muzzle as the unicorn winced again. As Twilight sat down, she gently gripped the mare's leg in her hooves, slowly pressing down on the limb in different places until Twilight flinched and pulled the leg back with a groan.
“You've sprained your ankle Twilight. I'm going to get some supplies and bandage your leg, alright? I mean...if you want me to?” She said, waiting until the mare nodded slowly.
Twilight watched Fluttershy leave the room, her eyes lingering on a picture on the wall. Her horn flared weakly as she gripped the frame in her magical grip, lifting it from the wall as she floated it into her out stretched hooves. It was a picture of their group, taken a few months ago in the Crystal Empire. She smiled as she studied the photo, her heart pounding painfully as her eyes stopped on Rainbow Dash.
Out of all her friends there, Rainbow was the only one not looking at the camera. She was staring at Twilight, a small blush visible in the picture.
“She's loved you for a long time, Twilight.” Fluttershy said, smiling from the doorway as she observed Twilight holding the picture frame.
Twilight jumped, fumbling with the picture frame as she almost dropped it. She looked at Fluttershy curiously as she stepped forward, holding a bag filled with different medical supplies.
Fluttershy sat down and gently placed Twilight's injured leg in her lap.
“Do... do you wanna talk about it?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly, as she rubbed a thick cream onto her hooves. She leaned forward, gently working the cream into Twilight's ankle. She winced at first as she remained quiet, before nodding.
“Rainbow and I got in a fight after you and the girls left earlier today.” She said, watching as the Pegasus worked on her ankle. She could almost sense the pony’s next question. “I learned of a new spell that could turn me invisible... I scared Spike so badly with it that he ran out of the library screaming about ghosts. When I went looking for him, I eventually found him at Rarity’s...”
She took a deep breath, staring at Fluttershy for a moment before turning away.
“She asked me to deliver a sweater for Angel to you... and when I was on my way I saw Rainbow in the window...” She trailed off, swallowing nervously as Fluttershy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “So I used the spell... I snuck inside and was going to scare her... but by the time I realized what you two were talking about, Rainbow had shut the door... I... I didn't know what to do!“ She said, fresh tears streaming down her face as she closed her eyes.
Fluttershy stared at her for a moment before she nodded, wiping her hooves on a small towel she had brought with her.
“When my door flew open like that I thought it was just the wind... I'm not angry with you, Twilight.” Fluttershy said, studying Twilight's hoof as she unwrapped a few feet of clean bandages.
Twilight looked up in surprise, wiping tears away as she looked at the yellow pony.
“Rainbow hates me now... She thinks I was avoiding her for a week but I wasn’t... I wasn't trying to hurt her. I just needed time to think!” She yelled, desperately searching Fluttershy's face for a hint of forgiveness.
Fluttershy remained quiet, silently wrapping the unicorn's ankle as she vented.
“Please Fluttershy... You know me! You know I wouldn't hurt her like that... I love her too much!” Twilight yelled, sorrow drowning out the desperation in her voice. Fluttershy eyed the mare for a moment before she quietly scoffed at her. Twilight's eye's widened as her jaw dropped ever so lightly.
“You say you love her so much Twilight, yet here you sit, on my couch trying to convince me! It sounds more like you're trying to convince yourself that you were in the right!” Fluttershy said, examining her handiwork. She turned, trotting into the other room. A moment later, she returned, feigning surprise. “Your leg's all fixed up, so why are you still here?”
Twilight opened her mouth, stuttering out a response as Fluttershy interrupted her.
“If you love her so much Twilight, go tell her that! Don't waste your time here and lose her!” She said, gesturing at the door.
Twilight sat up suddenly, a fire burning deep in her chest as she turned Fluttershy's words over in her mind. She stood, putting weight on her back hoof slowly, expecting a sudden spike of pain, but no pain ever came. She stood up straight, determined to set everything straight.
“Thank you, Fluttershy. I think I needed that more than I thought.” She said, smiling as the Pegasus wilted suddenly.
“Oh, good; I thought I was over doing it for a minute there.” Fluttershy smiled, trotting over and hugging Twilight briefly.
Twilight stepped forward, her horn flaring as the door swung open noiselessly. She galloped off, favoring her back leg as trees passed by in a blur. Fluttershy's cottage fell into the distance, the shops and buildings of Ponyville slowly appearing through the trees. She slowed to a trot as she scanned the skies above the town, grinning ever so slightly as she spotted Rainbow's cloud house drifting over the Everfree forest.
She galloped through town, winding her way closer to her marefriend’s cloud house with each step. Soon enough, she found herself shuffling nervously below the cloud house, her ears laid back against her head. She sucked in a deep breath, and teleported to the entrance of Rainbow’s house.
She stepped forward, knocking on the cloud door with a hoof.
“Rainbow Dash? It's me... Twilight... Can we talk?” She said, nervously running a hoof over her mane as she waited. A minute passed and no pony answered. She knocked again, a little harder than the previous time, her head cocking to the side as the door slowly swung open.
She peered inside, fidgeting as she examined the empty interior. She stepped forward, slowly pushing the door open as she called out once again.
“Rainbow Dash?” She stepped further into the house, her feet sliding over the clouds silently. The house was nearly devoid of furniture; a bookshelf, table, and couch made up the room's decor. Her eyes watered as she examined the photos scattered across the table. Various pictures of Rainbow and Twilight were scattered haphazardly across the cloud table, as if they had been shuffled through recently.
Her heart sank as she spotted the box she had given Dash earlier carelessly thrown under the table, the box torn and ripped in places. Her horn flared as she pulled the box to her, slowly rotating it in her magical grip. She choked back a sob as she held the box to her chest, the pain of their fight returning as she saw her gift so carelessly thrown away.
“Why are you in my house?” A voice called out, pain evident in the voice. Twilight looked up; jumping slightly as she dropped the box she was holding.
“I want to apologize, Dash...” She trailed off as Rainbow averted her eyes, tears slowly building in her eyes.
“Get out, Twilight!” She said, stepping forward as she spoke. Twilight took an uncertain step backwards, Dash's words hitting her like a slap across the face.
“Please Das-” She said, tears brimming in her eyes once again.
“No! Not right now, Twilight... Go…Just please go...” Rainbow said, stepping forward, her ears flat as she lowered her head to the ground.
Twilight whimpered, tears running down her face as she stepped back further, stepping out of the house entirely.
“I am sorry, Rainbow. I didn't mean to spy on you...” She trailed off as Rainbow glared at her.
“You don't even know why I'm mad at you!” Rainbow yelled, her anger building as she stepped forward, nose to nose with Twilight. “I could care less about you spying on me! What hurt was the fact that for a week after you found out I loved you, you avoided me!” She said, her voice cracking as she spoke. Twilight stepped back, her ears flat against her head as she backed away from the smaller pony.
Rainbow flared her wings, her eyes swimming with anger as she yelled at the unicorn before her.
“It would have hurt less if you had just slapped me and told me you weren't sure if you liked me like that!” She said, stomping her hoof against the fluffy floor.
Twilight lowered her head, a sob stuck in her throat as her back leg suddenly hit empty air. She let a surprised squeak as her back half slipped off of the cloud, her hooves desperately trying to gain traction on the empty air below her without luck.
Rainbow blinked suddenly, her eyes wide in surprise as Twilight slid off the cloud completely, her eyes wide in terror. She leaped forward, her hoof hitting the edge of the cloud as she tried to grab Twilight's hoof. She launched herself over the side of the cloud and saw that Twilight was already halfway to the ground.
She dove, her wings pumping as she rocketed through the air, fear clutching at her heart. She whistled through the air, her hooves out stretched as she gained on Twilight's falling form. Twilight was only a few feet from Rainbow when she was blinded by a magenta flash. When she looked back, the unicorn had vanished. Rainbow cursed, her wings flaring as she pulled out of the dive, her hooves clipping over the grass below.
She looked around, her eyes wildly searching for a hint of purple fur. A sob erupted from her chest as she looked from side to side, her mind racing.
She had almost killed Twilight. That thought alone was enough to stop her in her tracks. All she had wanted to do was vent at her, but she ended up backing the mare off her cloud. Her heart thudded in her chest painfully, almost as if each pulse was a reminder.
“Rainbow?” A timid voice called out from the edge of the field below.
Her ears perked up as she spun, and noticed Fluttershy trotting over to her. Fluttershy looked on in surprise, her eyes wide as Rainbow turned to her with a hectic look in her eye.
“Did you see where she went?” Rainbow said, her eyes still scanning the field around them.
“Who?” Fluttershy asked as she glanced around. She didn't see anypony else in the field.
Rainbow paused, her ears drooping as she bowed her head. “Twilight. She came to see me, to try to apologize and I... I didn't listen to her...” She trailed off, a miserable look in her eye.
Fluttershy trotted forward, patting Rainbow on the back consolingly. “Don't worry, Dash. She'll come back to you. She was at my house earlier telling me how sorry she was for hurting you and came rushing over here... What?” She said, a frown appearing on her face as Dash choked back another sob.
“I almost killed her Shy...” She trailed off as Fluttershy's eyes widened, a hoof covering her mouth. “She came in and I was surprised... I wasn't angry at first; I just asked her to leave, and she said she was sorry for spying...” She spat out that last word, almost as if it was horrible to have in her mouth.
“She made me mad. I started yelling, saying I could care less about the spying; what really had hurt was her avoiding me!” She said, almost begging Fluttershy to understand. “I kept yelling, and she kept backing up, and before I knew it, she had backed off my cloud...”
“Did you catch her!?” She blurted out, voicing her fears as she covered her heart with her hoof.
“No... She teleported away before I could...” Rainbow said, her voice thick with emotion as she sunk to the ground. “I... I don't know where she went.” She said as she laid her head on the ground pathetically.
“Come on Rainbow. We'll head into town and see if we can get the girls to help find her.” She said, trying to motivate the Pegasus beside her.
Dash lifted her head, gazing into the distance before nodding her head a few times.
“…Yeah, let's go...” She said, her wings flaring as she lifted herself into the air, waiting for a moment as Fluttershy flew to her side. The pair flew off, quickly leaving Rainbow's house behind.
~Twilight Sparkle~
Twilight slammed into the ground, rolling a few times before sliding to a stop. She screamed in surprise as she landed on her already injured leg. She lay still for a moment, pain washing over her body as she stiffled another scream. She slowly pushed herself off the ground, favoring her back leg as she swung her head around.
She was in a large forest, and there was something strangely familiar about it. Through the trees, she could make out ruins in the distant, a memory stirring in her mind as she limped forward. As she cleared the tree line, a familiar bridge leading across a large foggy ravine came into view, sending new worries down her spine.
She was in the Everfree forest. She was injured. And judging by the snapping of twigs behind her... she wasn't alone.