//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Rainbow Dash's Spike // by Lenora Goff //------------------------------// I’m finally ready, everything is back the way it should be. I’m going to go out there, tell that little lie, and we’re both going to enjoy our dinners. Our food should be there by now, I know it. If it isn’t, I’ll just have to come up with something else to talk about. That won’t be so hard, talking is something I’m fairly good at. Door open, I look out to see that Rainbow is still there. That part isn’t really a surprise, she is the most loyal of friends. Besides, she seemed to be enjoying this just as much as I had been. As I got to the table, the one question that I had been preparing to answer came. “Something wrong?” I had been thinking, the entire walk, about the exact way to word it. “Nothing to worry about, I just had to take care of a dragon issue.” I hadn’t come up with anything specific, my brain was still trying to come up with something. I was going through all of the books that I had read, or more accurately had been lectured about when Twilight had gotten the idea that I needed to learn. She didn’t look convinced, her eyes staring into mine. “Dragon issues, huh? You don’t have to lie to me, Spike. I can’t do anything to help if you don’t tell me the truth.” She was onto me. I had to come up with something more specific, or tell her the truth. The second one didn’t seem like a good idea, so I would have to quickly come up with something that she couldn’t refute. “I didn’t want to say it, but…” I motioned for her to come closer, as if this was some secret. I had started to get something, from one of my lectures about reptiles, but I needed a few more moments. “But what?” She whispered back, though she still seemed to be wary of my next words. “I felt some of the scales on my back starting to shed. It’s a fairly embarrassing, sometimes painful, thing. I just didn’t want anypony to know because they might not be a big fan of scales being flushed down their toilet.” “Why’s that?” “Oh, it sometimes clogs if I lose too many at once. New scales push the old off, it’s how I grow.” That sounded pretty cool. What was it that it was called when reptiles did it? Molting? Or was it really shedding? I wasn’t good with the wording, I had completely forgotten what it was from the lecture. “Like Pegasi and their feathers?” That was actually a good comparison. I hadn’t thought of the fact that this was something she might actually know something about. The only thing that saved me was that she only knew what it might be like, not really knowing if I was telling the truth or not. I simply nodded. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, then. It’s just something that has to happen.” That was amazing, it really was. I hadn’t expected her to be like this, so supportive of something that was completely uncool. “Thanks, Rainbow.” I looked down, my food did look really good right now. My stomach rumbled, and then I leaned back and chuckled. “But I think it’s time we both enjoyed our meals. I left you waiting out here for a while, I don’t even know how long the meal’s been here.” “Not too long, but you’re right.” Thus, the awkward silence stated. I didn’t know what to say, and it was rude to talk with my mouth full anyway. Twilight had told me that plenty of times, ice cream normally ending up in her mane while I was talking. Rainbow would occasionally look up at me, as if she was trying to think of something. We were at an impasse, neither of us knowing what to say to the other one. A swallowed a bit of food, about half-way through the meal, when I finally thought of the most obvious conversation re-starter. “This is delicious.” That wasn’t enough to get more than agreement, I knew that, so I continued. “You really do know how to pick out the best.” “I’m glad you like it. I was actually a little worried you wouldn’t.” “You? Worried? I didn’t think I’d see the day.” I snickered, though the joke obviously wasn’t as funny to her. She smirked, but something about it looked forced. “You shouldn’t have worried, it’s just food.” “I know, but I wanted tonight to be perfect for u- for you.” I saw a flash of a nervous grin, but I decided to try to ignore that. “But how about you? Are you enjoying yourself?” “Hay yea- I mean … yes, I am.” The smile widened, and it sure was a lovely smile. “Good food, the best company.” I couldn’t help it, my cheeks started to feel warmer as she kept talking. “Who wouldn’t enjoy themselves?” Another drink, we both had the same idea, to wash down the food. This felt right, somehow. I don’t know how to explain it, but everything here just felt like it should have been. This was the date, the friend-date, that the night was meant to be occupied by. -To Rainbow- I have to tell him. I almost slipped it out, but then I got nervous. This wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. I’ve done things that no other pony could claim, but this made those seem easy by comparison. If I messed up on one of those, then I got hurt in a way that would heal. I still worried about what might happen if he didn’t return my feelings. Another drink, things seemed to be easier with each passing drink. I wouldn’t become drunk, though, I’d have to drink a lot more wine than we could afford to get drunk. I would just drink enough to make sure that I could say what I needed to say. No more, no less. The meal was starting to wind down, actually. We were both almost done with our food, delicious as it had been. I was running out of time, I had to get the words to come out of my mouth. If only I could get the words to come out, this would all be over. As much as I was afraid of the possible outcome, I wouldn’t know until I tried. “Spike. I have something really important to tell you. Please … please hear me out before you say something.” -To Spike- This had to be something big, I knew it. That didn’t take a genius to figure out, though. Rainbow had said it was something important, said it was something that she wanted me to hear out before I said anything. She had told me a lot of things tonight, so it could be anything. For all I knew, she could be telling me about some sort of crime, or something else that would change the lives of everypony around her forever. She could be sharing the news with me first. If that was the case, I didn’t have much of a choice. I felt nervous, but also trusted. She was going to tell me something important, something she might not have told anypony else. It felt good to be trusted, especially by Rainbow. Why especially by Rainbow? I was confused, but the time for thinking would come after I listened to what she was going to tell me. “Alright, Rainbow, I’ll listen until you tell me you’re done.” -To Rainbow- I opened my mouth again, and nothing came. That was my rotten luck, so I took the opportunity to take another drink. That would probably make it seem as though I had just been thirsty, not that my mind had gone blank for a while. “Spike, we’ve been friends for a long time. I saw you come to Ponyville, and I’ve had the joy of being around you a lot since then.” Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn’t I just tell him how I felt right then and there? Speeches weren’t my thing, yet here I was giving a speech. “And it’s been amazing. You’re kind, caring, generous, honest, and you’re always there when somepony needs you.” I saw a blush, but I didn’t acknowledge it. I simply continued. “Whether it was helping us with our pets, or helping save Applejack from the Timberwolves, you’re always there. And you’re strong. I mean, who else can say they’ve taken down one of those things? None of us, I’m telling you that for certain.” If I hadn’t quickly given the answer, he might have said something. I wanted to get this off of my chest before he said anything. I didn’t want to lose the little confidence that I had. “Throughout everything we’ve done, you’ve always been there for me.” Did I just repeat myself? I think I did, but I was just going to have to continue as if I didn’t just notice that. “And that’s not even saying how handsome you look, like tonight with your tuxedo.” Another blush, it seemed that I was going to get a lot of those tonight. “Listen … I said all of that because I need to get something off of my chest.” I couldn’t say it, in the end. I couldn’t use those three mystical words that would have probably fixed everything. I couldn’t get the word love out, but that didn’t mean that I was going to call this whole thing a bust. I leaned over, motioning for him to do the same. As soon as he did, I pressed my lips against his. I didn’t have to say it, I had to show it. I was Rainbow Dash, I was bold. Words weren’t needed, not for me, I just needed actions. -To Spike- I hadn’t seen that one coming. Throughout the entire speech, I was getting more nervous. She was saying so many good things about me, so many things that made me it more obvious what she was going to say. My heart started to beat faster, my blushes became more frequent with each passing compliment. Everything was leading up to the final moment, the kiss, her lips pressed against mine. I didn’t have to think about what I should do, it became obvious in that split second. In my mind, I knew that I would always love Rarity. That was something that I couldn’t change, as much as it hurt me to think. She was not with me, though, she was a mare who has a special somepony. It all came back to why I was here. I told myself it was to make Rainbow feel better, but tickets to the Wonderbolts would have done that. This was something more. This had been for me, this had been because I did something more than simply consider Rainbow Dash a friend. As the kiss ended, I pulled back. A smile was on my face, this was the happiest I had been the entire night. “I love you, Rainbow.” -To Rainbow- Those words, they should have been said by me. Wait. I wasn’t the one that said them? A look of shock took over my face for a few moments, my mind trying to process what had just happened. I had been so afraid that he wouldn’t want to be around me anymore, I had thought that I might have to come up with an excuse if things went wrong, but things couldn’t have gone more right. He loved me. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that, Spike.” The rest of the night didn’t matter, it was already the best night ever.