//------------------------------// // Reality Check // Story: The Reason I Love You // by Blue Dragon //------------------------------// "I don't want to talk about this right now, Rainbow... Whatever you think is going on, you're wrong." Twilight turned away from her friend, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. There was no way she was going to tell Rainbow Dash of all ponies about her relationship with Pinkie so soon after getting into it. Besides, they were both mares. Some ponies thought that was wrong, and Twilight wasn't exactly looking forward to everypony staring at her with their mouths agape. Not to mention the disapproving looks of her friends and family, as well as Princess Celestia. Before now, the realization hadn't really hit her--most ponies thought that mares shouldn't be together. Twilight had felt pretty neutral about the idea before she'd fallen in love with Pinkie, and didn't really care about romance at all. She loved Pinkie. Truly. But she wasn't a brave pony. Rainbow knowing about... this... terrified her to no end. It had all been a dream up to this point. A wonderful dream that countered her nightmares, leaving her in a blissful state of relief with Pinkie by her side. But because of this pegasus, those dreams were shattered and replaced with a very real fear. Rainbow had reminded her of all the dangers that this relationship could bring. "Come on, Twilight. Tell me the truth!" Rainbow Dash urged. When Twilight didn't say anything, the pegasus impatiently flew in front of her friend. She wasn't expecting to see Twilight crying. Rainbow blinked in surprise, feeling guilt suddenly twist her insides. "Twilight, why are you...?" Twilight reached a hoof up in front of her blurry vision, and felt the tears for herself. Her brow furrowed. "I... I don't understand..." And that was the truth. The pegasus sat back on her haunches, unsure of why her friend was suddenly so emotional. Had she done something wrong? "What do you mean? I should be the one telling you I don't understand..." It was... strange. Even if she wanted to, Twilight couldn't explain what she was feeling. She was scared, sad, relieved, and most of all: tired. Sleepy. Whatever energy she'd gotten from her marefriend fleeted, and reminded her of the fact that she'd stayed up all night. Twilight was afraid of the unknown--of what the future may hold. Thinking about it only made her want to sink into a pit of despair and mope for the rest of the day. But Rainbow Dash--that brash and loyal pegasus--would have none of it. "TWILIGHT!" she exclaimed suddenly, shaking the tree's very roots, "Snap out of it! What's gotten into you?!" Rainbow watched as the unicorn jumped, and had mixed feelings when Twilight glared at her. On one hoof, that was a lot better than her crying, and on the other, Twilight Sparkle and anger didn't mesh well at all. The lavender mare sighed, and wiped the remaining tears away. She spoke in an emotionless tone, but her eyes betrayed her. "...I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Dash. What did you come for again? The next Daring Do book? Let me go ahead and grab it." Rainbow watched helplessly as her friend trotted away. She was obviously still upset; what with the slumped shoulders, lowered eyes, and even the way her hooves dragged across the wooden floor. The pegasus caught up with the unicorn, and stopped her with a hoof. "Twi... I'm not very good at this kinda thing, but I can tell something's eating you. I'll... uh... try my best to listen. Okay? Just don't pretend that everything's alright when it isn't. AJ would kick you in the head if she saw you doing that." she shook her head at her own sad attempt at lightening the mood, "I'm your friend, so tell me what's wrong before I choke on these mushy words that are actually coming out of my mouth... Seriously, Dash?" The last bit was aimed at herself, and she blushed in embarassment. Twilight smiled in spite of herself. Rainbow was a true friend, and she always would be. How could she have doubted her? So, the unicorn did her best to explain her fears. How she was afraid of everypony elses judgment, how she didn't want them to know, and about how far her feelings went for the pink pony. Rainbow remained silent, though her expressions were incredibly easy to read. As impatient as Dash was, she loved her friends enough to put up with their shenanigans. Wasn't flight school with Fluttershy testament enough for that? When Twilight finally got everything off her chest, it was quiet. It felt... nice to confide in somepony, but at the same time, she felt vulnerable. Like... whatever Rainbow said, it'd either make or break her day. After what seemed like an eternity, Dash spoke. "...It's natural to feel that way." Shocked, Twilight looked the pegasus in the eye. She shrugged simply, and the unicorn found herself wondering how she could be so neutral about this. Rainbow continued, "Everypony feels like that at some point. Just ask Fluttershy; she's always afraid of what everypony else is thinking about her. I'll tell you what I always tell her: 'It doesn't matter what everypony else thinks. It's your life, so live it the way you want to.' Get it?" When Twilight said nothing, Rainbow tried again. "If you really do love Pinkie, and if she really does love you back, it shouldn't matter what the rest of Equestria thinks. Ugh... I'm gonna have to wash my mouth out after this... Here goes..." Rainbow Dash took in a huge breath, clamped her eyes shut, and exclaimed in trademark Pinkie Pie fashion. "We all love you! Me, Flutters, Rare and AJ! No matter what, we'll stay by your side. I said it, okay?!" Flustered and embarrassed, Dash wrenched an eye open to speculate on Twilight's reaction. She hoped that nopony else heard her say that. Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash for a long time. The pegasus must've thought this was a serious issue if she pulled out that card, despite it being the peak of embarassment. However, it did the trick. Twilight felt tons better, especially knowing that those words came from a pony like Dash. Maybe... Maybe everything would turn out okay. All her friends would stay by her side. They'd faced hydras, ursa minors, and dragons together. Why would this be any different? "Thank you, Rainbow Dash... You're the best friend anypony could ask for. Now, let me get you that book." she smiled, truly smiled, and trotted over to the book shelf. This time, the pegasus followed without complaint. Twilight pulled out the Daring Do book and gave it to Rainbow. The two walked over to the door, and the pegasus stepped out. "I... I won't tell anypony about what we talked about," the rainbow-maned pony promised, pushing the book into her saddlebag. Twilight reached out and pulled her into a friendly hug. "Thanks again, Dash... I won't tell anypony about what you said, either," she joked. Rainbow pulled back with a smirk. "You'd better not! I'd just deny it and say you were a crazy pony who needed help, anyway. But yeah..." Dash's smile dissolved into a thoughtful frown. "You sure you're okay?" Twilight nodded. "I'm fine, really. You were right; I have friends who care about me, and now a loving marefriend. If anypony does happen to disagree, it won't matter so long as I have you guys... Bye, Rainbow Dash. Come visit me soon, alright?" Rainbow took to the air and mock-saluted. "Will do, Cap'n! See ya later, Twi! Oh, one more thing..." the pegasus leaned in toward the unicorn and whispered into Twilight's ear secretively, "If I were you, I wouldn't talk about your fears to Pinkie just yet. If you brought it up, it'd just make things more complicated and would force the two of you to deal with it. Just... wait a while, okay? Bye!" With that bit of vague advice, Rainbow Dash flew off. Twilight blinked and was about to call after her for explanation, but she was already gone. With a sigh, she went back into the library. It was still early in the morning, and cold as ever outside. That was expected, though. What wasn't, however, was Spike standing at the foot of the stairs with his little arms crossed and a frown strewn across his face. He clearly wanted some sort of explanation. ...It must have been important to get him out of bed this early on a cold, winter morning. Pinkie wiped the sweat from her brow as she pulled out another batch of cupcakes from the oven. More ponies were wanting baked goods today than she expected, so she had to work harder. ...Which meant she didn't get a chance to make Twilight out of cotton candy. Absent-mindedly, she used the purple frosting on the fresh cakes. It reminded Pinkie of Twilight, and made her want to see the unicorn even more. But Pinkie could just imagine Twilight shaking her head and saying, No, Pinkie... Responsibility's important, and you really shouldn't... Hey, is that Smarty Pants? As Pinkie's focus shifted onto the doll on the countertop, so did her fake Twilight's. And, because her gaze wasn't on what she was doing, frosting now layered the counter and the pan the cupcakes were on. "P-Pinkie, dear!" Mr. Cake's voice rang out somewhere behind her, and he reached over and took the frosting bag out of her hoof. "Be careful... We have customers waiting, remember? We need these to be nicely done." Pinkie blinked, and an apologetic smile stretched across her muzzle. "Sorry, Mr. Cake! I was just a little distracted... It won't happen again, I promise!" She grabbed the icing back and continued, concentrating on the cupcakes with renewed vigor. She didn't want Mr. Cake to be upset with her. "So, Pinkie... What's the doll for?" Truth be told, the toy's beady eyes creeped him out beyond belief. Otherwise, he would've just let it go and passed it off as Pinkie being... well, Pinkie. He loved her like a daughter, but she could be weird sometimes. Really weird. Pinkie beamed at him, took a deep breath, and was about to tell him all about her success in landing the best mare ever--but then remembered that she wasn't supposed to tell anypony. She paused. As much as the earth mare hated lying to Mr. Cake, she couldn't tell him just yet. So, she gave him part of the truth. "It's a friend's! She just lost track of it, but I found it and am going to be giving it back after work!" The yellow stallion nodded in response, before taking the now-fully-coated-in-frosting cupcakes to the front of the store, where some ponies were waiting patiently. His wife was writing down special orders and hoofing out the sweets on display when a pony wanted to purchase them. She smiled and pecked her husband's cheek when he got close enough, before the two of them got everypony what they wanted. Usually, Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie would alternate in baking and selling, and they were planning on switching soon. Obviously, Pinkie's favorite station was the cashier, since then she could see all her friends come in to buy something. But at the same time, she liked making the sweets for her friends. It was a pretty controversial issue in her mind. So, the work day pretty much went like that. Pinkie made sure there never was a dull moment for the Cakes, while they made sure their customers didn't get too intimidated. It was a nice, if somewhat cold, day at Sugarcube Corner. And Pinkie was ready to leave. As soon as the clock hit six, signaling closing, Pinkie was on her way to the door. She was so excited to see Twilight--even though Pinkie had been thinking about her all day, she hadn't seen her for, like, more than twelve hours! Just before Pinkie had bounded out the door, Mrs. Cake's voice stopped her. "Dearie... You'll be coming back tonight, right? We were worried about you yesterday..." The pink pony blinked, and remembered that she'd told the Cakes about the situation the previous day. Well, she was speaking at a hundred miles a second and had glossed over the details, but they seemed to understand. Regardless, Pinkie's heart melted at the thought of the Cakes being worried over her. They were great ponies. "Well... I'll be back tonight! I Pinkie Promise that I'll be home before ten." Then, Mrs. Cake's expession turned somewhat suspicious. And mischievous. Very mischievous. "Are you going on a date, honey?" Pinkie blushed, and that seemed to be enough of an answer for the older mare. Mrs. Cake giggled. "I knew it! You'd better not keep him waiting, dearie. Have a good time, and make sure to tell me all about it when you get home!" Pinkie Pie didn't get a chance to correct her before she was pushed outside by the over-excited mare. When the doors closed behind her, it was quiet outside. One thing that Mrs. Cake had said was echoing in her mind, though. "Her... Not him." Pinkie smiled slightly before making her way to the library.