Song Prompt: "Te Mando Flores" - Fonseca
Note: This chapter is directly related to Chapter 6!
In Ponyville, Rainbow Dash lay slumped on a cloud above Sweet Apple Acres. She let out another sigh. She’d been doing that a lot for the past week or so. In all honesty, Rainbow’s been keeping herself busy with clearing the skies of Ponyville, napping, and thinking about Twilight for the last several days.
Who knew she’d fallen so deep in love with Twilight that a week without her felt like an eternity? She felt empty, a strange sense of being hollow without Twilight around.
“Rainbow Dash!” a familiar voice called, “What in tarnation are you doing up there?!”
Heaving another sigh, Rainbow flipped off the cloud she was current occupying and glided down to greet her friend.
“Heya Applejack. I already finished up my weather duties for the day and was just taking a break,” Rainbow explained.
“Taking a break my Great Aunt Gala! You’ve been moping around ever since Twilight left for her research assignment!” Applejack accused.
“Hey! I do NOT mope!” Rainbow shouted in defense.
It was Applejack’s turn to sigh as she did her best to reign in her temper and suppress her annoyance at Rainbow’s antics of late, “Look sugarcube, I get that you miss her, I really do, but lying around all day missing her isn’t gonna make her come back any sooner. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you practicing your stunts in a while. Why don’t you go do that? Take your mind off of Twilight?”
“No! You DON’T get it Applejack! That’s the problem! Nopony gets it! I’ve tried going out to practice my flying, but it doesn’t feel the same without Twilight there on the ground cheering me on! It just feels so…unnatural without her there. I can’t read the latest Daring Do book without her!” Rainbow fumed, her pent up frustration coming to the surface.
“Ya really love her, don’t you RD?” Applejack asked softly.
Collapsing on the ground, Rainbow covered her face with her hooves, “When did I get so sappy AJ? Ugh, I should hate it. I should hate feeling that I can’t do anything without another pony there. I’m the Rainbow Dash, for Celestia’s sake! The fastest flier in Equestria, the only pony to ever pull off the Sonic Rainboom! Since when am I this mushy?!”
“I don’t think I can answer that, sugarcube,” Applejack said, taking a seat next to her prismatic friend.
“The weird thing is…that I don’t hate it AJ. I don’t hate feeling this way about another pony. I don’t hate that I want, no, that I need to do these things with her by my side. I love it. And I love her. What I do hate is that she has to be gone for so long on this stupid research trip…”
Applejack nodded understandingly, “Well, maybe a walk through town might take your mind off of things? Maybe you should go visit the other girls. I bet ya Pinkie will be doing something interesting.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll do that. Thanks for listening AJ. But don’t think that this mushy stuff is gonna soften me up! I’m still the best athlete in Ponyville!” Rainbow proclaimed, puffing her chest out in pride.
“We’ll just have to wait and see for the next Running of the Leaves. Now get going before I have to kick your loitering flank off my farm,” Applejack retorted with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah. Catch ya later!” Rainbow said as she took off.
Flying into town, Rainbow spotted a pink blur darting around town square.
“Hey Pinkie, what’s up?” she asked as she came in for a landing.
“Oh! Dashie! My knees wobbled, ears flapped, and tail twitched! That means somepony’s coming back to town!” Pinkie said excitedly, bouncing around the square.
“Really?! Ahem, uh, I mean, oh really? Who do you think it is?” Rainbow asked, trying and failing to hide her excitement.
*GASPS* “I LOVE guessing games! Hmmm,” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, “Oh! Oh! Is it Doctor Hooves! No, Rosebud! Or is it Octavia?”
“Uhhh, never mind Pinkie. I think I know who it is. Gotta go, bye!” Rainbow said as she took off, making a beeline for the florists.
Twilight…she’s coming home early!
She couldn’t explain how she knew, or even why she thought so in the first place. Maybe she was just getting her hopes up, maybe she just missed Twilight too much, but for some reason she felt certain that it was Twilight.
She’s gonna get one heck of a welcome!
A few hours later…
Twilight stepped off of the train from Canterlot onto the Ponyville platform. As expected, nopony she knew was there to greet her.
Perfect.
Twilight smiled as she gathered her things and left for home. Shortly after, she arrived back at her library home, excited to see the surprise on Rainbow Dash’s face.
She opened the front door and announced her return with a “Guess who’s home?!” giggling all the while.
She was stunned, however, to find a large banner hanging from the ceiling that read ‘Welcome home Twilight!’ in large friendly writing.
Before she could contemplate what she was looking at she was tackled by a certain rainbow-maned pegasus.
“Twilight! Hahahaha! You’re home!” Rainbow shouted, wrapping Twilight up in an all-consuming hug, her smile threatening to break her face.
“R-rainbow?! What is this? How did you know I was coming home?” Twilight asked, baffled by her marefriend’s behaviour.
“Pinkie’s pinkie sense went off, and I don’t know how, but I knew you were coming home! Oh! And I got you these! Your favourite!”
Rainbow produced a bouquet of lilacs and roses from behind her back.
“Oh, Rainbow! They’re beautiful!” she said as she sniffed the flowers.
She put the flowers on the table and kissed Rainbow, “I missed you too much to stay away any longer.”
“I missed you too Twi’. You have no idea.”
Twilight giggled, “I think I do.”